by Addison Fox
“Far be it from me to stand in your way. The man about town’s got to get out there and keep spreading the news of his impending takeover target.”
“And since said target is the dinner’s emcee, it’ll be even sweeter.”
Holt let out a low whistle. “You really do have ice in your veins, Nathan Cooper.”
He didn’t offer any response to the obvious compliment. “Call me once legal reviews the deal.”
As he flipped off his phone, an image of Keira McBride flickered through Nathan’s mind.
With startling clarity, he recalled the oval shape of her face, set off by high cheekbones, and the rich shade of her eyes. Dark and sensual, they captivated and intrigued. They were the eyes of a temptress with a gaze that could make a man forget himself.
As his driver came around to open his door, Nathan brusquely pushed aside thoughts of Keira McBride.
He wasn’t a man who forgot himself.
Ever.
…
“Did you get a load of Trip Kennelworth? I swear, that man should have been neutered about two decades ago.”
Keira couldn’t stop the smile as Mayson shot a ferocious glare across the large hotel ballroom rapidly filling up with people. “You know he’s always had a fondness for you, Mayse.”
“Fondness?” Her sister snorted as a dark blush crept up her neck. “Fondness is offering to get you a drink. It is not groping your ass while standing next to you at the bar and leering down your cocktail dress.”
Keira held up a hand. “Touché. Besides, it’s all my fault. I wanted to come early to avoid the press gauntlet. Had we come late, Trip would have already been three sheets in and leering down at whatever adoring bimbette he’d picked up for the evening.”
“You know I never mind grabbing a drink in the bar and catching up with my sister. It’s when we get here to grab a drink and she hides out in the ladies’ lounge that I mind.”
“I was not hiding.” Keira let out an indignant sniff. “I was closing a rather sizeable deal with some folks on the west coast. Their car client just got the deal of the century.”
“I doubt that. You make everyone think they’ve won the negotiation, but I’ve seen your profit margins. You’re not fooling me.”
“I sell with a smile.”
“And a spine of steel.” Mayson glanced around the ballroom. “Speaking of that steel rod in your back, are you ready for your emcee duties?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“You’ll do great. Besides, I’ve yet to see an audience that doesn’t fall instantly in love with you. You’re a natural-born charmer.”
Keira resisted a snort of her own at the description. While she’d never run from public speaking, she wasn’t nearly as comfortable as her sisters always assumed. While she did usually enjoy it—the rush of a crowd and the shared energy—tonight she felt like she was preparing for battle.
Round one of a very public battle.
Sally and Camryn chose that moment to come up to them, hands full with a round of champagne. “Is he here yet?” Sally asked as she did a full twirl in her sequined red cocktail dress, the move a barely veiled ploy to observe the room.
Keira shook her head. “I haven’t seen him.”
“Is he as good-looking as his photograph?” Mayson reached for one of the glasses as her gaze hovered just over Sally’s left shoulder.
“I wouldn’t know.” Keira took her own glass. “And why is that all anyone can talk about? He is interested in taking over our company. Put your hormones on hold.”
“I’m not dead, K.” Mayson waved a hand in surrender. “But fine, your point’s noted. What I want to know is how you haven’t run into him. I thought you knew every business leader in New York who bought, sold, or advertised in media.”
Now that she was questioned about it, Keira realized her path hadn’t ever crossed with Nathan Cooper’s. “No, actually, I haven’t met him. It is a bit odd, now that you mention it.”
Mayson’s gaze resettled firmly on their small quartet. “Why is he interested in buying a media company if he’s not involved in the industry?”
“He’s a corporate raider. That’s what they do. He doesn’t need to have a reason. Besides, his father is the owner of MediaCorp,” Keira said. “It’s in his blood.”
“Nathan’s illegitimate blood,” Sally said.
Keira wasn’t sure why the description chafed, but a raw feeling settled at the base of her neck. “West Harrison is still his father, blood or not.”
Sally waved a hand, but her broad smile dimmed. “I didn’t mean it that way, dear. Rumor has it, Nathan had a chance at one of the MediaCorp divisions years and years ago and he basically tossed it in his father’s face. Wasn’t going to play second fiddle to his older brother.”
“Who is no doubt the legitimate heir,” Camryn said.
“But of course.” Sally’s tone dropped as her gaze drifted toward the broader ballroom. “It’s all very Machiavellian the way West Harrison has run his empire. Even his children haven’t been spared.”
“I don’t know.” Keira shrugged before she could stop herself. “It feels sort of sad. And very, very cold.”
“Oh, don’t shed a tear for me, Ms. McBride.”
Keira whirled in the direction of a husky, deep voice, the butterflies in her stomach taking wing. Nathan stood a few feet away, clad head-to-toe in a custom-fitted tuxedo. Heat swept through her body even as she felt goose bumps stirring on her flesh. His tuxedo covered a very impressive set of shoulders and a wide chest before tapering down to a trim waist. Long legs had him standing about six foot two, by Keira’s estimation, and all that height was topped off by a shock of black hair that curled deliciously at the nape of his neck. He might be dressed in a three-thousand-dollar tuxedo, but she couldn’t stop her assessment. He even looked like a pirate.
It was all in the eyes, she realized. They were a vivid shade of blue, full to the brim with the clear intention of plundering and looting his way through her company. She fought the rush of heat that flooded her chest when it finally sunk in that his gaze was leveled straight on her. Funny how the feeling that he was primed to plunder and loot only grew stronger.
And far more personal.
As the heat creeping up her neck registered, she pulled herself together. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you it’s rude to eavesdrop, Mr. Cooper?”
He stuck out a hand, a wry smile on his lips as he bared even white teeth. “Clearly not, seeing as how my father lacked the appropriate motivation—or time—to ensure I learned the basics.”
Sally let out a heavy gasp. “Mr. Cooper. My apologies for my insensitive comment.”
Nathan amped up his thousand-watt smile. “Please don’t think anything of it. He is a bastard and he’s my father, so you were absolutely accurate.”
“Yes, well, that’s your business and none of mine so the apology stands.”
“Accepted.” On a nod, he held out his hand. “Nathan Cooper. You’re Sally Hughes, yes?”
“Why yes.”
Introductions were made all around before Keira felt the full weight of Nathan Cooper’s sky-blue gaze again focused solely on her. “So you’re hosting the event this evening?”
“Guilty as charged.”
“Outstanding. It’s important the business community sees what a vibrant, forward-thinking organization McBride Media is. Add on your status as a darling of the media and this is the perfect opportunity for us to mix and mingle.”
A dark, creeping suspicion edged the butterflies completely out of her stomach as she stood there staring up at Nathan Cooper. His broad shoulders blocked the rest of the ballroom from view, and it felt like the weight of his stare bore down on her with no one to save her. “And why would I want to do that?”
“You don’t want the media to think our impending business deal is going poorly, do you?”
She heard her sisters’ whispered murmurs but refused to turn to them and take her gaze off of Nathan.
Like wary prey, she was unwilling to break eye contact. “There is no impending business deal.”
“I believe the Financial Journal reported on it just this morning. He might have missed out on solid parenting skills, but there are some things my father manages to get right.”
“How lovely for him.” Keira knew her voice sounded as brittle as dry toast, but heaven help her if she could keep quiet. “Look, whatever little act you’ve got going this evening is all yours. As far as I’m concerned, McBride Media is under a hostile takeover attempt. That’s the feedback I’ve given my board of directors. I see absolutely no reason to pretend otherwise.”
Nathan leaned in and she took a step back, the pale liquid sloshing dangerously close to the edge of her champagne flute. The husky tone of his voice rolled over her nerve endings, the flute shaking in her hands as she let out an involuntary shiver. “I prefer my takeovers to be anything but hostile.”
With the battle lines drawn, Keira planted her four-inch heels in a firmer stance and held her ground. Chin high, she looked Nathan Cooper straight in the eye. “I guess you’re going to have to live with disappointment. I refuse to be taken over.”
Chapter Two
Nathan didn’t miss the salivating looks from the various media outlets assembled around the room. The annual advertising dinner might not be evening-news material, but the business press followed the industry diligently. And a media company blazing a comeback trail led by three sisters who were as smart as they were beautiful made for good press. That same media company under attack made it even better.
He’d never attended the Publishers Association Dinner before and that, Nathan knew, was drawing speculative looks as well. As his business interests had always run to non-media entities—a clear departure from his father’s chosen profession—his interest in McBride Media was big news.
He took a sip of the wine served for dinner, a surprisingly good vintage, and placed his full attention on Keira McBride. She owned the room like a pro, fulfilling her hostess duties with a mix of humor, fun quips, and a strong sense of how quickly attention could wane if she didn’t keep the event moving at a good clip.
She was magnificent.
It really was the only apt description. The black gown she wore was a stunning number, simple in design, yet form-fitted enough to ensure anyone who looked at her knew she was all woman. Her dark hair was pulled up into an elegant twist and the long column of her throat enticed him as he imagined pressing kisses along its length.
His gaze followed her as she retook her seat at the table next to him, the speaker she’d just introduced now making his presentation. Tamping down on the heat flooding his system, he leaned toward her, grateful the tightly packed tables put her in easy distance of his seat. “You’re quite the hostess. You’ve got the room in your palm.”
Keira made a show of settling her napkin on her lap, but he didn’t miss the slight trembling of her fingers. “It’s a crowd I’ve known for years. They make it easy.”
“That doesn’t mean it is easy.” When she didn’t reply, he leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. “If you don’t smile, the press vultures in the room are going to make this far harder when the dinner’s over.”
Her eyes widened even as her lush mouth firmed into a prim straight line. “You’re one to talk. You were quite chummy with those so-called vultures this morning.”
“I use the press to my own ends, nothing more.”
“Clearly that end is the ruin of my company.”
Nathan shrugged, more because he knew the action would bait her further than from any sense of entitlement. “It’s a highly lucrative investment. I can offer your board significant expansion and a growth plan for the next decade. I’ve already indicated the same to your major shareholders.”
She folded her arms, but the action did nothing to cool his interest, as the motion accentuated her breasts. “I have a multi-year growth plan and am well into the execution of it.”
The scent of honeysuckle drifted from her, no doubt a reaction to the rising heat of her body. A broad smile cracked his face at the knowledge he was getting to her. Leaning in even farther, his voice nothing but a light murmur against her ear, he whispered, “I bet mine’s better.”
…
Keira didn’t know when she’d ever been so frustrated, with a situation or with herself. She kept her hands firmly clenched in her lap as she fought a more urgent problem—the heat flowing through her body in long, languorous waves.
How dare he say those things to her! And how dare her traitorous body react like this.
Damn, but the man had a lethal charm that ought to be illegal. And he was also canny enough to know they were in a setting where she wouldn’t fully react to his taunting comments for fear of embarrassing herself. Especially because it would mean making a scene between two tables full of people. How had he managed to get the seat right next to hers? The thought only added to the irony of the moment. Here she was, her body tingling in anticipation of something she had no business wanting while she pasted on a smile for the assembled looky-loos who were convinced her business was in trouble.
Unfortunately, they were right. It was.
If she’d had any doubts about that earlier, they’d evaporated in full. Nathan Cooper was very, very dangerous. And his sights were set on her.
No, she amended to herself, they’re set on McBride Media. She was just collateral damage.
“I think you’d be surprised, Mr. Cooper. I know my company better than anyone. It’s my legacy, and I’ll be damned if I give it up without a fight.”
The grin she’d dubbed “cocky” only that morning flashed as heat coalesced in his blue eyes, turning them a dark shade of indigo in the muted light of the ballroom. “There’s nothing like a good fight, Ms. McBride. And getting your opponent right where you want them? Well, there’s nothing more satisfying than that.”
Keira didn’t even attempt a response as she rose to walk to the stage and close out the evening’s event. And if her legs wobbled slightly as she walked to the podium, well, that was no one’s business but hers.
Fifteen minutes later, she was forced to admit a disheartening truth. While dinner had dragged on interminably, she wished it had lasted a whole lot longer. During the meal, she could hide behind the guise of acting as the evening’s hostess. Now, at the post-event cocktail and dessert hour, she was the head of McBride Media. The press circled around like sharks scenting blood.
“Come on, Keira. Surely you can give me something. I was more than generous with my coverage of your new site launch last spring.”
She glanced over the rim of her wineglass at the eager face of Ted Simmons, business reporter for one of the country’s leading news magazines. She’d known him for years and while his thought pieces on the modern era of business were exceptional, his poker face was nonexistent.
“Ted, you know as well as I do you got that exclusive because you’ve got the best audience of the business elite out there. And you loved every minute of it, so don’t try to play it off now like it was such a favor. Besides,” she added, unable to repress a teasing note, “I introduced you to Maria. That entitles me to favorable consideration for the rest of my life.”
Ted ran a hand through his thinning hair, his sigh audible over the noise of the crowd in the bar. “Don’t pull that card on me, Keira. Something’s brewing between you and Maverick Capital. That article this morning wasn’t a random guess.”
“No, it wasn’t.” That dark, husky voice that belonged only in fantasies floated over her as Nathan interrupted her conversation with Ted. “Not random or a guess,” he added, as if his statement required further clarification.
“Would you care to comment further on that, Mr. Cooper?”
Any loyalty Ted felt for her had clearly evaporated in the face of the business story of the year. Keira knew it, and she also knew she shouldn’t fault him for it. But was it so much to ask that she be able to conduct this battle in private?
&
nbsp; It was her family’s company. A product of her grandfather’s hard work and clear vision. Her father had fallen down on that, unable to understand that even family legacies required hard work and daily effort, which was why they were in this position. He’d taken the company public, all too happy to take the money and run, and turned control over to a board of directors.
She and her sisters had known better. They’d had Sally’s help, which had been considerable, buying them the time they needed to turn things around.
Piece by careful piece, she, Mayson, and Camryn had rebuilt McBride Media, convincing the industry’s best and brightest to come work for them. They invested in the best journalists, purchased original photography instead of stock, and ensured both the words and the photos were shown to optimum advantage on their magazine pages or to anyone with a computer, a mobile phone, or a tablet.
Magazines that were once the laughingstock of the industry had new editorial teams, new sales teams, and technology platforms that were the envy of the ad business, with company after company scrambling to get into the pages of McBride magazines or on their websites. And turn it around they did. McBride Media was a vibrant business, returned to its once-former glory.
She’d be damned if she gave it up without a fight.
“Actually, Ted, I’d prefer not to comment any further. Ms. McBride and I are in high-level discussions and they’re not meant to be public.”
A casual shrug lifted Ted’s shoulders. “In my experience, private conversations have a way of leaking out. A few sound bites would be more than welcome.”
Nathan clinked the ice in his cocktail glass, his eyes hard and unyielding. “Then I’m afraid I need to disappoint. I have far too much respect for what Ms. McBride and her sisters have rebuilt to divulge our discussions.”
“We’re not having any discussions,” she grit out between clenched teeth and a fake smile.
Before Ted could respond to that, Nathan laid his glass on the edge of the bar and settled his hand at her waist. Keira felt the warmth of his long fingers immediately where they lay firmly against her hip, the touch a hot brand through the thin silk of her dress. “On that note, we need to be going. If you’ll excuse us.”
