by Jinx Jamison
“Mya’s fine. I just meant, are you worried about her stealing this account from you? You know how resourceful she is.”
Milo let out his breath. “I’ve got this in the bag. Mya needs to be worried about me.” If everything went according to plan, he would finally have the delectable Mya Taylor in his bed in less than five hours. If she had a problem with being bound to his headboard for the next two days then she’d better come up with a kick-ass presentation because he wouldn’t be satisfied with just one night. Once he got her in his bed, he planned to keep her there as long as possible.
“You’ll do anything to win, won’t you? You’d really fuck over your best friend to get this account?” James chuckled and shook his head in mock dismay as he pushed open the door to the boardroom.
Milo choked and leaned against the outer door until the coughing fit passed. He shook his head wryly at his boss’s choice of words. “James, you have no idea.”
* * * * *
Mya gasped as she almost crashed into someone directly inside the boardroom. When her eyes took in exactly who she’d almost mowed over in her haste she wanted to sink into the floor.
“Mr. Lavin. I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Great. She’d hoped to slip into the room relatively unnoticed and now all eyes were on her.
“Oh it’s quite all right but actually my dear, it’s La Veeen. Only the clothing line is pronounced La Vin. We thought it would be easier for the American market to say.” Andre Lavin was tall and dark haired with thickly lashed steel gray eyes. He wore his black suit with a plain black collarless shirt underneath and managed to look both casually elegant, and sophisticated. It was a look that only European men seemed able to pull off.
Mya felt a rush of heat to her face as Milo chuckled behind her. She’d already screwed up and they hadn’t even started the presentation yet. The presentation for which she had absolutely… hmm… nothing.
“One as beautiful as you can call me whatever you wish but I hope you’ll call me Andre.” He took the hand she’d extended for him to shake and placed a gentle kiss inside her wrist. Milo coughed violently behind her and she snatched her hand back. He didn’t think she was flirting with the client did he?
As Andre sat down next to his business partner Jason Gautier, Mya looked around the conference room and gulped. There were two other men already seated, discussing the sample clothing that hung casually on racks around the room. James stood next to his seat chatting with his executive assistant Anya, which meant she would have to sit next to Andre or Milo. She gulped. She’d take the evil she knew over the evil she didn’t any day.
“What’s the matter, nervous?” Milo spoke softly, using one of his folders to shield his lips as Mya sank down next to him.
“No, I am just fine. How in hell do you have boards for your presentation when this is supposed to be spur of the moment? I thought they just wanted to hear our ideas.” Mya sat back in her chair with a huff. She wasn’t sure how to talk to Milo anymore after his sudden confession of lust. What if she confessed she wanted to tear his clothes off with her teeth and then found out it was all his idea of a joke? She’d be forced to murder her best friend. It was better to wait and see how things played out. If Milo was just trying to throw her off her game, she’d know soon enough.
“You’re really going to pretend the last hour didn’t happen?” Milo sighed when she averted her eyes. Andre and his partner were still deep in discussion and James hadn’t moved to start the meeting yet.
Milo shifted in the chair next to her and his leg brushed against hers. “You know there’s no shame in being nervous. Anybody would be.”
“You’re not.” Mya scowled when Milo sat back in his chair, a wry smile on his lips.
“Well this is my kind of job. Hell, I own half the man’s spring collection already.” Milo absently stroked his tie a few times then tucked it back inside his jacket.
“And this isn’t my scene, right? After all, I couldn’t even pronounce his name. If you think I’m such a hick why should I believe you’ve been secretly pining for me? You must really want this account.”
“You really think I’d make that up? To insinuate that I need to cheat to win is just insulting. Besides you would have known how I felt if you weren’t so stubborn. Did you really think I didn’t have anything else to do on Fridays besides sit on your couch and drink beer? I hoped we’d finally—”
“Okay, let’s get started. Milo, you’re up first.” James spoke in a hush behind them. He crossed to the far side of the room and dimmed the lights slightly before he returned to stand at the head of the table to address the group. “Milton Hamilton III will present first, followed by Mya Taylor. Milo just finished a top-notch campaign for Indigo Jewelers and Mya was the brains behind the sexy new ads for Peek-a-Boo lingerie. They’re our top two designers.” James motioned for Milo to take the floor.
Mya rolled her eyes as he stood fluidly and strode to the front of the room. Maybe she didn’t wear three thousand dollar suits to work but she wasn’t a complete disaster. She dressed well and attended the theater. She read whatever was on Oprah’s book list and kept up with current events. In over her head indeed.
Milo reached below the table and pulled out the built-in stand used to hold storyboards and placards. His first board featured several men in dress shirts, some open at the neck and untucked, others more formal.
“Mr. Lavin, members of the board. My vision of your company is an ad campaign designed for what I call “the every man”, the man who is both businessman and party animal, who works hard and plays even harder. This is a man who wants it all, luxury, power and class.” Milo looked completely at ease in front of the group, not even a small tremor of his hands to betray any nerves.
She leaned forward and rested against her forearm, posing as if absorbed in the presentation. She tugged slightly on the edges of her blouse and leaned over to display the top of her breasts. She was rewarded when Milo stopped mid-sentence and swallowed several times before he yanked his eyes back to his notes. He wouldn’t look at her after that.
Mya raised her hand and waved it eagerly. He couldn’t ignore her, not in front of a potential client and their boss.
“Yes, Mya.” His voice was tight as he turned to her with a blank look on his face.
“I would love to hear more about these beautiful visuals you’ve brought with you. Especially your secret to completing them so quickly.” Mya smiled innocently when Milo glared at her.
“Certainly. These are just stock images I’ve compiled from what we have in our database but a similar layout of LaVin clothes could showcase how versatile the line really is.”
“How would you set us apart from all the other clothing lines out there?” Andre leaned forward and avidly scanned the design. He was obviously impressed.
Once everyone else was focused on the boards, Mya caught Milo’s eye. Before she could lose her nerve she reached up and pinched her nipple. Her eyes closed on the sharp sensation, her lips open in a silent cry. Milo’s mouth fell open and he dropped his notes, the little white index cards scattering all over the floor. He didn’t even stoop to retrieve them, just stood staring uncertainly. Finally he gulped and shuffled another storyboard on the conference table in front of his now obvious erection.
“Mr. Hamilton, are you all right?” Andre peered at him closely and frowned. “You were just about to tell us your marketing plan to distinguish the line from its competitors.”
Milo shook his head quickly and whipped around to face his boards again. He had to clear his throat several times before he could continue. “I won’t just create an advertisement for clothes. I plan to help you brand a lifestyle. I live the LaVin life myself.”
Andre laughed and clapped his hands loudly. “I can see that, Mr. Hamilton. You seem to be a man of discerning taste, especially in ties.” The rest of the room burst out laughing when Milo lifted his LaVin tie and swung it around comically. Only Mya could tell his laugh was strained, his tight
smile almost a grimace.
Oh wow, he wasn’t just saying those things. He really wants me. As the applause died down Milo turned to look at her and she could see the meaning behind his narrowed eyes perfectly. She would pay for her actions later. Her pussy tightened at the thought, wondering what he would do to get back at her.
Milo turned back to face the room as he gathered his materials. “The major thing I would do to distinguish you is develop a memorable logo. A distinctive mark that will represent both you and the company. Based on the attention the line has gotten recently, it won’t be difficult to develop your brand identity.”
Andre nodded and extended his hand to Milo. After another round of applause settled down, James looked pointedly at Mya. He was still mad about this morning but he’d forgive her if she nailed this. She had to come up with a plan in the next ten seconds that could top Milo and his “everyman” campaign. The only thing she knew about men was that “everyman” seemed to want sex.
Andre turned to Mya and rested his hands on top of the table. “Well, my dear. I’m ready for you to impress me.”
Mya laughed weakly and dragged herself to the front of the room. She had no notes and no illustrations. She had nothing for inspiration other than the clothes on the racks.
The clothes! When she’d worked on the Peek-a-Boo account, she’d gotten most of her ideas when she looked at the lingerie and imagined herself wearing it for Milo.
Mya stalked over to the rack and flipped through the clothes quickly until she came to a white dress shirt with a crisply starched collar and cuffs. Milo had worn a similar shirt last week. How many times had she imagined tearing it off him? What would it be like to have the right to see his body whenever she wanted, to wake up on a Saturday morning after making love to him and pull on one of his shirts to wear around the house? She turned back to the table where all the men watched her closely, Andre in particular. She swung the shirt over her shoulder casually and stalked back to the front of the room, aware their eyes followed her every step.
“Well, it’s true Mr. Hamilton is a LaVin man and I’m not sure how to compete with that. I think it’s obvious I’m not any kind of man.” She smiled at Andre’s low chuckle and slowly walked around the table until he had a clear view of her. For her plan to work, she needed him to get the full effect. She’d heard European men were more accepting of voluptuous figures and she prayed Andre Lavin was one of them.
“I don’t have any elaborate design boards or catchy phrases but I think I bring something even better to the table. I’m a woman who knows what men want.”
“Is that so? What is it you think men want, Ms. Taylor?” Andre leaned back in his chair casually but the hard edge in his eyes told her he was interested.
“Mr. Lavin, the ultimate reason you want a new campaign is to get men to remember your name and equate it with what they want which, like Mr. Hamilton said, is mainly luxury, power and class. However Mr. Hamilton forgot one very important thing on the list of what men want.”
“What is that, bella? Do not keep me in suspense.” Andre leaned over the table and pinned her with his eyes.
She quickly shed her suit jacket until she stood in just a sleeveless silk blouse and skirt. James gasped but Mya ignored him as she pulled the dress shirt on over her clothes and pulled the pins from her hair. She shook it out until her curls tumbled over her shoulders in a chocolate cloud. She stalked over to Andre and hopped up on the table in front of him.
“It’s what every man will think of when he sees the ad I design for you. An ad featuring a woman wearing a LaVin shirt instead of a man.” She leaned over so her hair fell across her face, partially shielding them from the view of everyone else at the table. “Tell me, if you saw an ad with me wearing this shirt, would you want to buy it?”
Andre leaned forward as if to touch her hair, but pulled his hand back at the last minute. “Cara, if I saw you wearing this shirt, I’d buy anything you wanted me to.”
Mya hopped down and carefully re twisted her hair into a casual bun. “I apologize that I wasn’t able to do a mock up for you, but my idea is so unique that we don’t have any stock photos of women wearing men’s clothes.”
“That’s quite all right. Your presentation style is most effective.” Andre watched her with his stormy eyes, his hand on top of the table curled into a fist. Mya snuck a glance at Milo. His jaw twitched but he didn’t lift his eyes from his lap.
“The goal of my advertising plan isn’t just to communicate that men who wear your line have the best clothes but that LaVin men have the best of everything. Luxury, power, class and sex. I call it the ‘everything’ campaign.” She quickly hung the shirt back on the rack as everyone clapped.
She had nailed it. Andre wanted her and he wanted her idea. There was no way to know which designer he would choose but at least Milo had something to worry about. She sat next to Milo triumphantly but he didn’t look her way, just stared at his hands. The only evidence of his feelings was the bulging vein in his forehead. Oh man, he was pissed at her.
“Who’s in over their head now?”
Keep reading for an excerpt from Casey’s Night In (The Mirage Agency Book 1.5) , the prequel to Book 2, Asking for Andre.
Excerpt of Casey's Night In
CHAPTER 1
Casey flopped down on her overstuffed couch and blew her bangs out of her eyes. It had been a hell of a day. She was ready to sit back, relax and do what she’d been thinking about since lunchtime.
She leaned over and pulled the shiny new magazine from her purse. She placed it gently on her lap and stroked a finger down the crisp uncreased page. She’d passed the magazine on the store rack while buying a sandwich at lunchtime and had been powerless to resist buying it. After a quick glance at the table of contents, she flipped it open to page thirty-six. A pair of brilliant gray eyes stared back at her. The same eyes that haunted her every night while she slept.
Andre Lavin.
Fashion Designer Extraordinaire. Italian Bad Boy. Multimillionaire. The article’s headline was deliberately sensational but there weren’t enough labels in the world to adequately describe this man. Not enough in the universe to describe the way he made her feel.
The agency she worked for handled his advertising and PR. She’d only been working the reception desk at Mirage Advertising for a few months but she’d seen him countless times. Unfortunately the majority of those times consisted of her either stuttering or doing something equally embarrassing.
“Such as spilling my coffee all over myself.”
The dark brown stain on the front of her white blouse was evidence of her humiliation. He’d been in the hallway as she was leaving the employee lunchroom that afternoon. All it had taken was him saying hello, those marvelous eyes crinkling at the corners. She’d been so lost in his gaze that she’d kept walking straight ahead.
Right into a wall.
Embarrassment swept through her all over again. Luckily he didn’t come in to the agency every day. She needed some time before she could look him in the eye without blushing.
She had to give him credit though, he hadn’t laughed at her when it happened. He’d actually been really nice, had even offered her his handkerchief. It was still in her pocket.
She wasn’t accustomed to mopping up spills with delicate squares of linen that probably cost more money than she made in a week.
The entire time he’d been muttering in Italian and she’d been too flustered to point out that she didn’t understand. So after he’d left she’d asked Milo, one of the designers who spoke Italian fluently, to translate some of the things he was saying.
Apparently piccolina meant “little one”, which wasn’t surprising because she knew she was short. However, the other word he’d used, tesoro, was something used as an endearment. Milo had given her a knowing smile when he told her it was something you’d call a lover or a close friend.
What the hell was she supposed to make of that?
“Don’t make it mor
e than it is, Casey. He probably has a pet name for all the girls who dump coffee on him.”
She pulled the neatly folded cloth from her pocket and held it to her cheek. It smelled faintly of sandalwood, shaving soap and what could only be his cologne. She stroked the soft cloth over her skin, pretending it was the touch of his hand.
“Alright, enough fooling around. Time to get the laundry done.”
She leaned her head back against the back of the chair. She just needed to rest her eyes for a moment. There was always so much to do and so little time. Daydreaming over a handsome man in a magazine was the closest thing to a vacation she could afford. Plus it wasn’t as if he’d ever know all the wicked, dirty things she’d imagined doing with him. Things she would never be comfortable doing in real life.
The sudden peal of the doorbell yanked her straight up in her seat.
“Just a second,“ she called out.
She swiped a hand over her face as she plodded to the door. Who would be visiting now? She wasn’t expecting any deliveries and doubted any of her neighbors had suddenly gotten the urge to be friendly. She pulled open the door and stared at the man who stood with his hand raised, poised to push the bell again.
Lightning gray eyes stared back at her.
“Oh my god, it’s you,” she whispered.
All the oxygen in her lungs seized up into a knot. A few beats passed and her breath left her body in a big whoosh of air.
Andre Lavin is at my apartment.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Asking for Andre (The Mirage Agency Book 2)
Excerpt of Asking for Andre
CHAPTER 1
“You need to have a fling.”
Casey Michaels grinned and picked up her headset. She’d been working as a receptionist at the Mirage Advertising Agency for three months now and as cheesy as it was, she felt she’d finally found home. She could wear business-casual attire, she had plenty of free time to do the assigned reading for her online classes and the administrative assistant, Anya Petrova, was quickly becoming her best friend.
