“I like where this is going,” I tell her, feeling uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t describe.
“So maybe, in their desire to please you and seem like good future wife material, they aren’t being honest about your, ah, carnal skills?”
“Damn Poppy, don’t hold back.”
“Just a theory. I could be wrong, but I won’t be finding out.” She was so confident she could resist me but I could hear the thread of desire in her voice, giving it a slight wobble and pitching her voice lower. Poppy might not want to want me, but she did.
“Then you’ll have no trouble resisting my charms tonight. See you at six.” I ended the call before she could tell me not to come.
“Real smooth, Blake. It’s like you totally…oh!” Lacey grinned as she bounced in and took a seat on the edge of my desk. “So, where are you taking her?”
“Who?”
“Is that how we’re going to do this, the hard way? Fine. Where are you taking Poppy, the woman whose company you’re attempting to take over while you try to get her in bed?”
“It’s not like that, Lacey.”
“No? You just happen to want the one woman in the world who can give you the thing you want most. Right.” Arms crossed, she rolled her eyes and grunted her disapproval. “I really hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t I always?” My decision making was one of my best skills. I set my sights on a goal, plan out every step and execute each one to perfection until the goal is achieved. It had helped me take Peak Adventures international.
“No, but you always think you know what you’re doing.” She hopped off the desk and turned away. “Good luck.”
“Is that why you came in here?”
“No.” She shrugged again, smiling with her whole face like she used to when she was a girl. “I came in here to bitch at you about the apparel again but you already look so down I couldn’t pile on.”
“Well, I appreciate it.”
“Not that it would matter anyway,” she said as she walked out of my office.
Maybe my baby sister was right and I did need to take a closer look at the apparel, but first I needed to see behind the scenes. I spent the rest of the day gathering data from the research department to get the answers I needed. There was so much to go through because we were constantly in search of answers on demographics, market share, buying trends and any other factor that could help us sell more of our goods to more people.
The answers were, at best, inconclusive. Clearly we needed to do better and there was a problem somewhere. Peak Adventures was one of the top names in outdoor sporting equipment and extreme outdoor sporting goods, but people went to my competitors for apparel. My company needed OAA and as much as I hated that fact, I was more determined than ever to make it true.
“Mr. Sayers it’s time for you to leave.”
“What time is it?”
“Five thirty. There’s a car waiting downstairs,” my assistant said as she grabbed my jacket and shoved in my arms. “There’s a call for you, Mrs. Sanchez. She wouldn’t say what it was about.”
“Thank you, Meg. Don’t stay too late.”
“Good evening, sir.”
Meg was the best assistant I’ve ever had and I’d already gone through four before I found her. She was smart and capable, efficient and she doesn’t take any shit from me. Kept me on schedule and dressed appropriately for any occasion. And best of all, she was happily married with no designs on me.
I slipped into the back of the car and answered the call on my cell. “Good evening, Victoria.”
“Blake, I’m calling with good news,” she said because Victoria Sanchez wasn’t a woman who wasted time with niceties. “Robert Krakauer and I have decided to sell you our shares, which now gives you twenty five percent stake. Get to work on the rest, Blake.”
The call ended and I stared at the screen. “What is up with women hanging up on me lately?”
I closed my eyes and laid back on the seat, letting the sounds of the city fade away. I needed to clear my mind before seeing Poppy again. This was too important to leave anything to chance.
Poppy
What was I thinking, agreeing to let Blake come to my house? I should have called him back as soon as he ended the call with that little threat he wrapped up like a promise. Resisting his charms, like it would be that hard. He was handsome, gorgeous even, and charming as hell. But he also wanted to take my company, which meant that I couldn’t trust him. Especially now that I knew that his tool of choice, would be seduction.
He would be sorely disappointed on all counts. First, because as a virgin, I didn’t sleep around. Also because I’d invited Talia and her date to come by and play chaperone. He wouldn’t have an opportunity to turn those big blue eyes on me and seduce OAA out of my hands. I made it home with thirty minutes to spare, plenty of time to change into a plain black t-shirt that didn’t show off my assets. There was no point tempting fate with a man so desperate to get his hands on my company that he was willing to sleep with me to accomplish it.
Just to be sure, I placed an order at Angelo’s for garlic shrimp, meat-a-holic’s pizza and salad. Greek salad. That was enough bad breath food, carbs and meat to make a night of romance all but impossible. At least I hoped so. Then again, Blake was a determined man.
Too bad for him, I was just as determined. Determined to do what, I had no idea. I still had time to decide if I wanted to run Out & About Adventures or sell it, but I knew one thing.
If Blake succeeded in seducing me, which he wouldn’t, I would never sell him the company. Ever.
The bell rang and I jumped up off the sofa, closing my laptop and put it away before pulling the door open. “Talia, thank god you’re here!”
She laughed and stepped inside with her date, Kyle. They’d only been dating for a few months but there was something about him that I didn’t like, but being a damn good friend, I kept my mouth shut. She liked him and for now, that was enough. “I can’t remember the last time someone was so happy to see me,” she laughed.
“Oh hush up, I’m always happy to see you. Every single morning.”
“Only because I bring you coffee,” she shot back, pecking a kiss to my cheek as she entered with Kyle following behind.
“Yeah but your coffee always comes with bad news, so it’s not that.” With all the drama at the company, there were threats and bad news that cropped up all the time. “Hey Kyle, how’s it going?”
He shrugged. “It’s going.”
Great conversationalist, that one. “What time are your reservations Talia?”
“Eight thirty, so we can’t stay long.” She flashed an apologetic smile but with enough mischief to let me know she could have changed plans if she wanted to. “Besides, you can handle one little hot as hell CEO, can’t you?”
“Absolutely not, Tal! If I could, he wouldn’t be on his way over any minute now.”
“You could just not answer the door,” Kyle added. Did I mention that Kyle was useless?
“He’s determined enough that it wouldn’t matter.” I didn’t know much about Blake Sayers, but I knew the man had no quit in him. At least where my company was concerned. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You’re leaving at eight and it is what it is. Wine or booze?”
“Booze,” they both answered at the same time and I found my way to the kitchen to get drinks.
The bell rang again and seconds later, Blake appeared in the kitchen. “You sent for reinforcements.”
I turned and my gaze slammed right into a dazzling grin that made me want to kiss him. And punch him. “No, I invited my friend and her boyfriend over because two person gaming is lame.” And because I didn’t trust myself alone with him.
He just smiled. “Got one of those for me?”
“No expensive Chateau whatever, but red, white and silver.”
“Silver?” He barked out a laugh when I lifted up the bottle of tequila. “I like your style, Poppy.”
“Sure you do,”
I told him and handed him four glasses. “Take those out front and I’ll be there soon.” He looked at me curiously and I turned him around and pushed him out of the kitchen, ignoring his narrow waist, tight with muscles and his ass, looking even finer in denim than it did in his expensive slacks. This was a bad idea. A really bad idea.
“You plan to hide out in here all night?” Talia leaned against the counter, smirking at me while I made margaritas.
“No, I’m making cocktails,” I told her in my most prim and proper voice. She opened her mouth to speak again and I turned on the blender to drown her out. She glared and I did it two more times because it was my right as her best friend to screw with her.
“Done?”
I grinned and nodded, pouring the contents of the blender into a glass pitcher. “Yep.”
“What’s the big deal? He’s hot and charming,” she leaned in and sneaked a glance at the door. “And rich. What’s the problem?”
“He wants to seduce me into selling him the company.”
“So?” She shrugged and leaned forward. “He can use you, or think he is and you can use him too. Let him pop your cherry thinking he’s getting you close to OAA, and you can just…get off.”
I stared at her. “I can’t believe you just said that!”
“What? Whatever else he is, Blake is smoking hot. Just think about it.”
“Like I’ll be able to avoid it now,” I told her, my tone grumpy as I took the pitcher into the living room, where Kyle and Blake were already into a game.
“You’re welcome.”
I rolled my eyes and took a seat on the floor, far away from Blake and his expensive, intoxicating cologne. “I got winner.”
Five minutes later I reluctantly switched spots with Kyle, ignoring the way Blake scooted closer until his shoulder brushed mine. “Ready to lose?”
“In your dreams,” I told him as the game started, gripping my joystick and ready to throttle him. “It helps if you actually hit the button, it’s that big orange circle right there.”
“Graphic designer, CEO and comedienne. Who knew?” His tone was amused, despite his snarky words.
“You’re supposed to kill the aliens, not make friends with them.” His laugh was loud and deep, filled with amusement as the sound bounced off the windows and walls. It was sexy as hell and I crossed my legs, squeezing them tight to stop the throbbing that started with his closeness and short circuited when he laughed.
“Worry about your fight. I’ll befriend them and we’ll work together to beat you. It’s a solid plan.”
“Someone needs to tell your date that’s not how you play,” Kyle added. The guy had a perpetual stick up his ass. He was handsome, in an accountant kind of way, but the man didn’t make or get jokes, sarcasm or fun.
“Not a date,” I shot back, focusing on the important stuff.
Talia snickered and I shot her a wary glare. The little traitor smiled and wiggled her eyebrows. “Since you don’t need us anymore, we’re going to head out so we can make it to dinner.” She stood and motioned for Kyle to do the same.
“Already? You just got here?” I couldn’t believe she was actually leaving me so soon.
“Poppy it’s five minutes to eight. You two have been doing some kind of weird nerd foreplay for more than an hour.”
“Dinner,” Blake said. “We’re going out to eat?”
I opened my mouth to tell him he was more than welcome to leave and go in search of sustenance, but the doorbell interrupted what Maple would call my rude mouth. “No, we’re not. They are. You can.”
He frowned. “Nah, I’ll just make something here,” he said, flashing a seductive grin that made my legs wobbly when I stood.
I opened the door for the delivery guy, took the food that seemed like too much now, and tipped him. Without casting one damn look at Blake, I carried the food into the kitchen as Talia and Kyle made a quick, quiet exit. And I was alone in my house with Blake.
“I guess we have dinner after all.”
“Of course. I wasn’t going to starve myself just to get you out of here faster. Plus I won, I have no reason to feel bad.”
He grinned. “Except you wounded my fragile ego. My poor, fragile ego.”
I nearly dropped the garlic shrimp as laughter burst out of me. “Oh god,” I panted, “your ego? Fragile?” I couldn’t help the laughing even though I knew it was rude and I knew Maple would have given me a proper finger wagging lecture for my behavior, but the idea of Blake Sayers having a fragile ego was hilarious. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard you say.”
He frowned and walked to the counter, those piercing blue eyes staring at me over the delicious aromas wafting up between us. His gaze was intense and I felt it in places I shouldn’t. “Are you implying that I am an egomaniac?”
“No, not implying. I’m saying it outright.”
“Confidence,” he said, leaning in so just a few inches separated us. “I have confidence. And yeah, my kid sister thinks I have an ego problem but she’s predisposed to think that.”
“And me?”
“Your mind is just clouded by how much you want me so you’re looking for any reason not to.” He was so confident, so damn arrogant that I really did want to punch him in the gut. But he wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Maybe I don’t want to because your motives are suspect.” Which was the honest to goodness truth. My gaze dropped to the table and the food, anywhere but at Blake. “Grab some of those dishes so we can eat, lover boy.”
“Not yet, but soon.” Blake watched me and took a slice of pizza, eyes like a caress over my body. “My motives aren’t suspect at all. You’re gorgeous and I fully plan to take you to bed. But separate from that, I want Out & About Apparel. And I plan to get it.” He walked around the counter, leaning against it and staring down at me with an intent look on his face.
I knew that look and I took step back, but Blake took a step forward. And smiled. I took another step back and pointed. “You stay right there.”
He chuckled and advanced on me until my back was pressed up against the fridge and I gasped. “Why would I want to do that, when you’re all the way over here?”
My breaths came in quick, shallow pants as his body pressed into mine. Big and hard, smelling like sandalwood, coconuts and hot, sexy man. My body responded instantly, no matter how much I told her to stop being such a dirty, dirty girl.
She didn’t listen. “Because you don’t want me, Blake. You want my company.”
“They’re not mutually exclusive,” he said and before I could say anything else, his mouth was on mine, hungry and insistent as he devoured mine. They were as soft as they looked, but firmer and stronger. His tongue slid over my lips, first the top and then the bottom before he darted inside and his tongue danced with mine, played and teased every square inch of my mouth. It was divine. It was heart stopping. Panty melting. Earth fucking shattering.
All of my senses were on high alert when his hands cupped my face and held me so he could deepen the kiss. I thought what he’d done before was what it felt like to be devoured, until he actually fucking devoured me. Made sweet, dirty love to my mouth until every nerve ending in my body stood on end, poised for explosion.
I tried to step back and break the kiss, but there was nothing but wall behind me. Hell, in front of me too. Blake’s mouth continued to lay claim to mine until my body shook and vibrated with need. It was too much.
It wasn’t enough.
I pulled back anyway and it smacked on the wall for good measure.
“Why’d you do that?” He frowned, pouted adorably at the broken kiss. “It was just starting to get really good.” His smile returned, hot and charming.
“I know,” I told him, my fingers grazing over lips that still tingled from his kiss. “That’s why I stopped it.”
“Scared of all this chemistry?”
I laughed, placed my hand on his chest and shoved him away to give myself some space. “You really are unbelievable.” And
very close to the truth.
“It’s true, I am. But don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” He winked and his gaze went right to my lips like he was picturing the hottest kiss I’d ever experienced. “I demand a rematch, Poppy.”
I laughed. “We’ll see, Blake.” I moved him towards the door, eager to have the place to myself so I could clear my head. And yeah, maybe relive that kiss a time or ten. “The night wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
He frowned again. “Then I need to make sure next time is better than ‘not that bad’, don’t I?”
“No! That wasn’t an-,” he stepped out the door and closed it. “invitation.”
After that kiss, I knew one thing for certain.
I needed to keep my distance from Blake Sayers.
Blake
“Is this how you repay my loyalty, Blake?” Victoria sat straight as an arrow in her blush pink suit, legs crossed at the ankles and her hands clasped in her lap. She’d chosen to meet for lunch at a private club on the outskirts of the city.
“Loyalty? You act like you’re not getting anything out of this, Victoria. Is this an act of altruism?” I appreciated her assistance in securing the first twenty-five percent of shares of OAA, but I didn’t owe her my loyalty.
She sniffed as though the thought of what she’d done was now distasteful to her. Right. “This is business Blake, but there is a place for loyalty.”
“I’m not tying myself to your daughter, Victoria. Let it go.” If it meant that much to her, she should have gotten that promise before selling me the shares.
“For heaven’s sake, she’s a beautiful, well-bred woman, not an albatross!”
She was also vain, shallow, beautiful and ditzy. Spent more time on her appearance than she did doing anything else. “She is also a wild child with a penchant for always making the worst possible decisions in life.”
“Which is why she needs a man like you.”
“Not happening, Victoria.” I sat back and folded my arms, barely noticing the other diners in the large, dark room. “If that’s your condition, there’s still time to reverse the sale of the shares.”
His Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 4
