They went onto a separate tier and Eric led Jason to a table by the window overlooking the beach. Jason knew as soon as he saw the woman which table was his. Short curly black hair and smooth dark brown skin, dressed in a white pants suit that was a startling contrast to her dark complexion. She sat back in her chair, tapping away furiously on an iPad, a frown between her pretty eyes.
Eric hovered nearby as Jason approached and leaned on the vacant chair.
"Well, well. We meet again."
Carla looked up. Her eyes widened and Jason heard the sharp intake of breath. But then she recovered quickly and she schooled her expression into a pleasant smile as she stood and held out a hand.
"Mr Liu."
"Jason, please." Jason took her hand, still smiling, and raised her hand to his lips. "If you don't mind me calling you Carla?"
He heard an audible swallow.
"Not at all."
This was going to be a lot of fun.
*****
"More wine, Carla?"
Carla laid a hand over the top of her glass as Jason reached for the wine bottle, vigorously shaking her head. The little she had drunk tasted foul despite being an excellent vintage and she wasn't prepared to drink more to get rid of the taste.
"One is my limit, thanks." She lied. "I like to be in control of what's happening."
"All the time?"
Jason's eyes glinted. Carla felt a fluttering in her belly. The damn man had been charming throughout their meeting, answering her questions smoothly and pleasantly. They had even gone into some banter which Carla had enjoyed. Jason Liu was an attractive specimen.
And that was dangerous seeing as he was a potential criminal.
"Cheeky." She deflected. She sighed. "Actually, the one and only time I've been drunk was at university. I was pressured into drinking too much by people I thought were my friends and ended up in hospital in a coma for three weeks. I nearly died." She gulped as she remembered the memories she had suppressed. "While I do have a bit of alcohol on social occasions to fit in, I prefer not to drink at all."
This, Carla hadn't been expecting. She didn't often divulge things from her past. Her friend Amy knew about what happened to her, as did one or two other very select people. But she didn't blurt out things like this to complete strangers. And Jason was a complete stranger.
What had just happened that she needed to tell him this?
Jason was staring at her.
"Why didn't you tell me before I ordered the wine?" He demanded. "I wouldn't have tried to ply you with it." He smirked. "I would've plied you with some steak instead."
Carla laughed and eyed the red and bloody meat on Jason's plate, now mostly eaten along with his fries and salad. Her pasta was still half-eaten, showing that she had spent too much time focusing on the man and not on the assignment. Now her stomach was growling at the mention of more food.
"If it's well and truly dead, I'll go for it."
"What's wrong with rare?"
Carla snorted.
"That is most certainly not rare. I'm amazed it hasn't walked off the plate."
Jason chuckled and cut another piece, which he popped into his mouth.
"I like it bloody."
"And still mooing when you cut into it."
"Each to their own."
They held each other's gaze for a second too long. Carla could see the intensity in Jason's eyes and swallowed. Struggling to find her composure, she looked away and tapped at her notepad with her pen, her phone recording their conversation placed beside it.
"Mr Liu, we are meant to be having an interview."
"This could be added in, if you like." Jason picked up a fry. "With you talking about alcohol-induced comas and steak with legs."
"With legs?" Carla couldn't help laughing. "That's a thought."
The imagery of a cow sitting on Jason's plate was too comical. Jason sat back and surveyed her as she laughed. Carla found it unsettling and stopped abruptly. Sitting like that, no tie and his shirt collar open, his jacket now on the back of his chair and his sleeves rolled up, the man looked like a model. Even the imperfections she had noticed before she didn't notice now. He looked far too handsome for his own good.
She wished that was a crime in itself.
Jason smiled.
"Well, you've asked me about being a successful Asian man in a sector which is predominantly white, do my ethnic roots put more obstacles in the way and if my upbringing gave me a specific mind set." He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you worried this will sound like a racist article?"
Carla blinked and looked at the questions she had hurriedly set up before she arrived at the restaurant. She cursed.
"Now you've said it, I can see where you're coming from." She flashed him a grin. "But I'm good with words. I'll be able to transform it so it doesn't look like it at all."
"I'm sure." Jason said smoothly. "Journalists are so good with words."
Carla paused. She knew from internet articles she had found on Jason that he didn't like journalists on principle so the fact he had agreed to this meeting was a surprise in itself. And it sounded like he had been burned from words being twisted so they didn't look remotely like what they should have.
"I'm not a tabloid journalist, Mr Liu..."
"I told you to call me Jason."
Carla bit her lip. Calling him Jason sounded too good. Too intimate.
"I'm a freelance writer by trade and my friend works for a magazine. She's desperate to have an interview with you and I was the only one brave enough to go for it."
"Brave enough?"
"You do have a habit of taking journalists apart." Carla pointed out.
That she had also got from the articles. Most of the writers had been insulted by Jason or had him walking out. If he stayed and they fluffed something up he crucified them.
Jason shrugged.
"They didn't ask the right questions."
"That's our job."
"And they weren't as pretty as you."
Carla stumbled for a moment. Jason was looking at her with a teasing look but his eyes were saying otherwise. The man found her attractive.
Carla had to squeeze her thighs together as her core began to throb. This was not good.
"Flatterer." She muttered.
Jason chuckled.
"I try." He indicated her notes. "Have you got what you need?"
"I think so." Carla stopped the recording on her phone and gathered her things together, putting them in the tote bag Amy had lent her. She was eager to get out of there as soon as she could so she could cool down. It felt like the room had suddenly heated up several degrees. "I do need some interviews with your staff. Just so I can get an insight on what you're like as an employer."
"I'm a great employer."
"You would say that." Carla stood, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "I'd also need a few pictures to glam up the pages. Maybe something for the front cover as well. My friend said this would make the front page."
Jason shrugged. He didn't seem alarmed about the photo shoot. Carla surmised he probably wanted to get his clothes off. Suddenly she had an image of him naked and she blushed, mentally trying to switch away from the picture to something bland and boring.
But it didn't really work.
"I don't have any problems with that. Just tell my personal assistant when and where." Jason leaned forward. "On one condition."
"I wasn't aware there would be any conditions."
"That you have dinner with me."
Carla swayed. She stared at him.
"Dinner with you?"
She couldn't have heard properly. Jason chuckled.
"It's not that difficult. Just wear a nice dress and turn up to a fancier restaurant and enjoy my company for a couple of hours."
"I heard you." Carla said faintly. She gripped the straps of her bag. "I just didn't believe it. People don't ask me on dates."
"Are guys normally threatening to beat you up?"
Carla sm
iled.
"Usually."
Jason grinned. He stood. Carla felt like the air had been sucked out of her as he stepped closed.
"Dinner with me and I'll let you do your worst with my staff."
Carla didn't know what to think for a moment. She was meant to be investigating the man, not having dinner with him. But, on the other hand, what better way to investigate him than to be close to him? She wasn't going to sleep with him - Carla had her boundaries - but a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant didn't often come around.
She looked up at him and nodded.
"Okay."
*****
Carla arrived at the cafe first and went in to find the lunch rush easing off. Their favorite table was clearly not being used. Carla plonked her bag on one of the chairs and her jacket onto another before going up to the counter, giving a young couple sitting at the next table a smile and a wave when they gave her a scowl.
Some people would be upset about anything.
Carla got to the counter and ordered a mixed berry smoothie and a slice of shortbread. What she really wanted was a black coffee and a slice of fudge cake but if Amy came in now and saw her eating it there would be a lot of nagging and scolding for ruining her diet.
Carla hadn't even been aware that she was on a diet; her body was half a stone heavier than she wanted it to be but she was happy with what she had. But Amy saw it as weight that desperately needed to move and had told Carla to go on a diet and cut down on the foods she enjoyed while stepping up on her exercise. That had been three months ago and Carla wondered if Amy was going to mention the fact that she hadn't shifted the weight at all.
She was back at her table when a tall, beautiful black woman came in. Statuesque in white jeans and a pale blue blouse with big glasses and black stilettos, Amy Thomas was a sight to behold. With her straightened hair pulled back in a high ponytail away from her slim face and porcelain skin, she could have been a model. Amy liked people to think she was instead of an overworked editor for a gossip magazine.
Carla nibbled on her shortbread while her friend ordered, then stood up to greet her as Amy approached.
"Hey, girlfriend. I was wondering where you'd gone."
"Sorry, honey. Traffic was hell getting here."
Amy put her decaf tea and flapjack on the table before giving Carla a hug. She gave the male of the couple behind them a wink and blew him a kiss. Carla saw the girlfriend look furiously at her friend as Amy turned away and sat down. She shook her head.
"Always breaking up relationships you're never in."
"I know. It's fun." Amy sat back and crossed her legs. "So, did you get it?"
"Yep. He answers the questions without any arguments."
Carla had been surprised at that considering the responses she had got when asking a few journalists who had graced Jason's presence. Amy looked surprised as well.
"How did you manage all that? I've struggled to get a phone interview with the man, let alone a face-to-face. Those who have managed have had a rude man sitting opposite."
"He did say I was prettier than them and I asked the right questions."
Carla had been flattered when Jason said that. She didn't describe herself as overly pretty, merely nicely attractive. Her looks weren't something she prioritized, especially during an assignment despite her boss' intentions to make her part of several honey traps. So to hear someone compliment her in the way Jason had was something Carla wasn't used to but was starting to like.
"I'm sure he was focused on your looks." Amy snorted. "Considering how much was on display."
She pointedly looked at Carla's cleavage. For maximum effect Carla had chosen to wear her suit without a blouse, merely putting the jacket on over her bra. Her breasts were a good, ample size and she knew Jason would appreciate them enough to be distracted in what he was saying.
"It worked, didn't it?"
Partially. Jason had seemed to make Carla distracted just by sitting opposite her.
"I guess it did." Amy conceded. She picked up her cup and took a sip. "But what part of your soul did you have to sell?"
"I'm sorry?"
"There's always a catch. He never wants something for nothing."
Carla sighed and looked at her smoothie, unwilling to look at her friend. Somehow now this felt like selling her soul.
"He asked me to dinner tonight. I had to say yes to get access to his staff." She added quickly when she glanced up and saw Amy's expression.
Amy snorted.
"And for dessert you'll be in the back of his limo legs akimbo with his cock fucking your pussy to make you scream his name."
"Amy!" Carla felt her cheeks flaming as the description conjured up an image that had her pussy demanding a recreation. She glanced over Amy's shoulder and saw that the young couple had now left. Even then she lowered her voice. "You have a dirty mind."
"So do you if that blush is anything to go by." Amy chuckled. "You really need to get laid."
"I wasn't planning on having sex with him!"
But now the thought was there, it was cemented in Carla's head and she couldn't get rid of it. Again the image of Jason naked came back to her mind's eye. This time she saw a cock that was long and almost as thick as her wrist. She knew she was exaggerating but her mind had a habit of blowing things out of proportion.
Swallowing, she focused on her friend, who was watching her skeptically.
"I'm not going to sleep with him." She said firmly. "I happen to like him. That's why I accepted."
That and it allowed her to talk to his employees.
"You like Jason Liu?" Amy shook her head. "You are a strange person."
Carla knew that. She always knew she was in trouble if anything further went on with Jason. If her thoughts were anything to go by, Carla knew it was only a matter of time before she broke her main rule about sleeping with someone on an assignment.
That's when the shit would be hitting the fan.
Chapter 3
Jason felt nervous. He knew he shouldn't be. There wasn't anything in this dinner except he had virtually bribed Carla into having it so she could get what she wanted for her article. It was to his advantage, having dinner with a beautiful woman.
But now he was sitting at the table he had reserved, dressed in a tuxedo with the bow tie feeling on the tight side and threatening to choke him, Jason wondered if Carla would actually turn up. She had accepted graciously enough without much argument but he had a feeling that she was going to make a fool out of him somehow.
He wouldn't be surprised if she did; she was a journalist, after all. His contact at the security firm was away on vacation so he couldn't do the background check he wanted on her. He could have used someone else but there was no one else he trusted other than his kid brother to check up on Carla Romaine.
Jason could still smell her subtle perfume from their lunch meeting. It had put his head in a spin for the rest of the day. He had struggled through two meetings because he had been thinking too much about her scent. A new writer had been upset at his lack of interest but Jason had managed to save it by quoting parts of the guy's book and had pacified him. It wouldn't do to lose a client because of his inability to pay attention.
Perhaps Richard was right. He should just bang her and get rid of her. It would, at least, get her out of his system. But, try as he might, Jason couldn't bring himself to treat Carla as another potential bed mate. She wasn't that sort of woman; she needed more from a man. Jason wasn't sure if he could provide that for her.
And with their different lifestyles he was sure she would turn him down flat.
There was a rustling of cloth and he looked up to see Carla sitting opposite him. She looked stunning in a black dress with spaghetti straps, the dress outlined her slim figure to perfection. Jason swallowed as his cock stood to attention.
"I was beginning to think you were never turning up."
Carla smiled.
"I was thinking about it." Her eyes twinkled. "But then I decide
d I've got nothing else to do tonight."
"Cheeky."
Carla grinned and winked. Jason bit back a groan as his cock twitched. He shuffled his chair further under the table, using the tablecloth to hide his erection from the waiter as he arrived with a menu, which he presented to Carla.
"Would the lady like something to drink?"
"I'll have a glass of Pepsi, please." Carla opened the menu. "Ice, no slice."
The waiter bowed and walked away. Jason picked up his beer glass, which was half empty, and took a sip.
"More confident about not ordering alcohol?"
"Now you know about it."
"My mom's a teetotal. She doesn't like alcohol. Says it tastes like cat's pee."
Carla chuckled. "She does have a point. Have you ordered yet?"
"I was waiting for you."
Jason reached for his menu and opened it, trying to focus on the choices and not on Carla's cleavage. It was more subtle than the amount she had had on display earlier but Jason wasn't complaining. He liked the view.
Shaking himself, he indicated for the waiter to come over and ordered the roast chicken. Carla ordered the same. The waiter scribbled the orders down and took the menus away. Then Jason openly admired Carla.
"You look gorgeous, by the way."
"I was wondering when you were going to say something about my appearance."
Even though she said it carelessly, Jason could tell from the way she touched the simple silver necklace that adorned her neck and the slight blush dusting her cheeks that she was flattered by his compliment.
"I was just glad you had turned up."
"I don't see why. You must have women queuing up, begging to go out with you. You can't be that insecure that one of them isn't going to make an appearance."
Jason sipped at his beer. He pondered how to answer the question. While he had only met Carla that day, he felt a certain pull towards her. Something about her had him wanting to open up and tell her everything.
But, then again, she was a journalist. They thrived on getting information out of people. But Jason couldn't be bothered to argue that point tonight.
"Since I started making lots of money, I've never had a woman turn me down or stand me up." He winced when he realized that sounded very arrogant. "Before was another matter. The geeky looking Asian kid who couldn't get a date to save his life."
Never Let Go (Brothers From Money Book 9) Page 17
