Mariah nodded. River really didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would ever settle down. Which meant that she normally wouldn’t like a guy like him, but when she was close to him, Mariah couldn’t think about anything else except River and the possibility of having his hands on her body.
Her thoughts weren’t PG rated either. Mariah thought about River’s hands running up and down her naked body while he explored every inch of her. She couldn’t stop herself from imagining what his face would look like as he perched atop her and made her scream with desire. Nothing about River Anders was boring to Mariah, and she knew sex with him wouldn’t be boring either.
“Okay, come over at six and help me out. I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear to a business dinner with a guy like him.”
“Just go naked, he’ll agree to whatever you tell him too,” Elizabeth said as both girls burst into laughter.
Throughout the day, Mariah found herself reliving the morning. She felt so out of control in the room with River. It was so hard to think straight with him looking at her, so hard to come up with the right things to say. She had to do better at the dinner that evening. Mariah didn’t want to be seen as the ditzy girl who didn’t know what she was doing. She wanted to be professional and wow River with her knowledge and skills.
Being a business professional was often hard for Mariah, even in her own office. Her bright blonde hair and cute figure made her the target of people often. But Mariah had proved everyone wrong over the last year at her father’s office, and she was going to prove them wrong again with River Anders’s case. Mariah was going to make a statement about her abilities and kick some ass with his case.
It didn’t matter that she found him incredibly attractive. It didn’t matter that his sexy eyes drilled into her and made her wet at the thought of him. Mariah had to be professional, calm, and in control that night. She couldn’t let her attraction for River get in the way of the work she needed to do. By doing a good job on this case, Mariah was setting herself up for a future of lots of work and clients. She was also going to show her father that she wasn’t a little girl anymore and could handle a full workload in the office.
She spent her afternoon googling River and reading all sorts of stories about him. He seemed to have a perfectly balanced professional and personal persona. The tabloids covered him out with the hottest new Victoria Secret models, and the newspapers covered his incredibly fast growth as a company. There weren’t many stories that appeared to chastise him at all for the life he led, just business stories that talked about how stern he was. Sure, he dated a lot of women, but it always appeared very casual. So far, Mariah hadn’t found anything that was too concerning to her about his life.
By the time Mariah arrived back home, she was exhausted. After her night of drinking and getting up early for work, she certainly didn’t plan on spending very much time at dinner with River. She would go and talk with him, make him feel comfortable, and finally hear from River about what the secret was he needed protection from.
Mariah had taken some notes about River’s public image as well as his personal one. She wasn’t sure what he wanted to hire her firm for yet, but she wanted to be as prepared as possible. She folded the notes up and placed them in her clutch purse along with a pen so she could write down additional notes at the dinner.
When Elizabeth arrived shortly before six o’clock with a bottle of vodka, Mariah originally declined. She already felt so out of control when River was around, and the last thing she wanted was alcohol in her system.
“I can’t get drunk. I have to be focused. I have to be professional.”
“That’s the point. You get all nervous or angry when you’re doing business. We are just going to take a shot or two and get you loosened up for your dinner. Do you know what you want to wear yet?”
The girls each took one shot of the vodka, and Elizabeth poured an additional one for Mariah to take before she left for her dinner.
“I didn’t bother picking anything; I knew you would just make me change my mind,” Mariah laughed.
It was true, though. Mariah liked to dress comfortably, and Elizabeth always made her change into more form-fitting clothing. Like for work that morning, it was Elizabeth that insisted on the tight-fitting blue dress and her hair down; Mariah would have been happy to have gone to work in her usual business pants suit.
“Okay, let’s see what you have here,” Elizabeth said as she dove into Mariah’s closet.
She threw out items that were potential prospects for the evening. A pair of form-fitting slacks, a pencil skirt, a black A-line dress. None of them were at all what Mariah would have chosen. She liked to dress conservatively, especially when it came to work events. It was hard enough for guys to take her seriously because of her blonde hair, she didn’t want to give them another reason.
“A turtleneck,” Mariah said with a smirk. “Find me a turtleneck to wear.”
“Um, no. You have a banging body like that, and you want to wear a turtleneck. That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s what I want to wear. I’ll wear a skirt with it if that makes me look cooler.”
As Mariah climbed into the final outfit that she and Elizabeth had agreed on, she actually felt sexier than she had in the tiny dress she wore to the dance club the other night. Her turtleneck was black and form fitting; it showed off all her curves. She paired it with a red pencil skirt that was also form fitting. It was a good compromise Mariah thought and very professional.
She swept her hair up into her usual bun, but Elizabeth quickly came and pulled it back down.
“You can’t wear your hair like that, it makes you look old.”
“He’s old. It’s fine.”
“No. I don’t care how old he is. I’m so over you and your bun hair. At least, wear it down for tonight. Please.”
Elizabeth knew that Mariah was a pushover, and she quickly went to work styling her hair so Mariah could wear it down. Mariah’s platinum blonde hair against the dark black turtleneck was a beautiful contrast. Even though Elizabeth would have preferred that Mariah had worn something a little more exciting.
Mariah was going out with River Anders, one of the most eligible bachelors in the state, probably even the country. It made Elizabeth sick that Mariah didn’t want to sex it up a bit and flirt with the guy. But she understood that getting River on board with their company was also a really big deal.
By the time River arrived, Elizabeth had hidden herself in the back bedroom and was trying to peek out the door to get a glimpse of him. It was impossible to see too much of what was going on, but she could hear them talking when he came in.
“Thanks for texting me directions; I never would have found this place,” River said as he stood in the doorway. “Shall we get going?”
“Yes, that would be great. Just one quick second.”
Mariah ran back into her kitchen and downed the large shot of vodka that had been left on the counter for her by Elizabeth. The warm liquid shot through her body, and she instantly felt more confident and less shy. She was ready to take on River Anders and any public relations mess he had going on.
She followed him out the door and down to a waiting SUV that was in front of her apartment complex. Mariah hadn’t been prepared for him to have a driver. She had never been on a date with someone who was rich enough to have another person drive them around.
It’s not a date!
She corrected herself as she climbed into the back seat of the leather clad vehicle. But as much as she told herself it wasn’t a date, Mariah couldn’t stop looking at River and imagining that it was a date. He was absolutely delicious, and she had to stop her mind from thinking about all the naughty things she wanted to do with him.
Mariah wasn’t used to being so attracted to the guys she worked with. Most of the men in her office were either really young and immature or old like her father. River seemed to be the perfect combination. He was old enough to be successful, but not so old that he had lost all
appeal to Mariah.
She crossed her legs and leaned toward him; this was about to be one hell of a dinner meeting.
Chapter 5
RIVER
After spending about twenty minutes on the phone with his best friend Edward, River finally made his way up to Mariah’s apartment. The matter that he needed a PR firm for was so top secret that he couldn’t just tell anyone. He had to be sure that they wouldn’t spill the information to a tabloid at the first opportunity that came up.
A little test was in order, and as much as River hated the idea, it was necessary to ensure loyalty to him no matter what the news stories said. River had dealt with far too many organizations which offered privacy and the best help possible, but at the first opportunity to get their company name out into the press, they took it.
Public Waves seemed like a typical PR firm at first when Mr. Waves came in and met with River. It wasn’t until Mariah arrived that he actually felt like he may have found the right firm.
River didn’t need to be coddled or have the truth hidden from him; he wanted a firm that could tell him the truth about how damaging something was going to be. Then he wanted that same firm to help prevent that damaging truth from becoming a reality if it was at all possible.
As River knocked on the door to Mariah’s apartment, there was one huge problem that he felt lingering. Mariah was beautiful, funny, and full of attitude. She was the kind of girl that drove him crazy, and he always avoided girls that drove him crazy.
River stuck to dating women that were beautiful but didn’t have much else to offer. It made things simpler for him when he wanted to move to the next woman and not get attached. But River wasn’t dating Mariah; he was simply going to use her firm for PR.
He didn’t know why he was so damn nervous while he stood at her door, though, a business dinner shouldn’t make a man nervous. As she opened the door, River initially was relieved at the attire Mariah had chosen. At least, she wasn’t wearing something revealing that would tease him throughout their dinner; that would have been torture.
He followed her into her apartment and watched as she downed a shot of what looked like vodka. River had to turn around as he laughed at the look on her face when the harsh liquid entered her body. Mariah certainly wasn’t a heavy drinker; her cheeks were flushed almost instantly from the alcohol.
She must be nervous.
He couldn’t help continuing to smile as Mariah grabbed her things and they made their way downstairs and into his waiting vehicle. The more River looked at Mariah, the more he realized her outfit was just as distracting, if not more so, than a revealing outfit. Her black turtleneck made him laugh because of their conversation earlier, but it was so tight he could see all the glorious curves of her body. The tight skirt was certainly not revealing in a traditional sense, but it also gave River a beautiful view of her hips and the curves that accompanied them.
As they arrived at the Sushi restaurant, the manager quickly took them to a table in the corner. It wasn’t that River minded when he was recognized, but on that night, it was important that they have some time to talk quietly. Plus, River had a plan to test Mariah’s reactions, and it required them to be seated a little out of the normal table area.
River needed to get to know Mariah a little more, and he wanted her to pass the test he had planned, only then would he tell her the scope of what was going on for him. Scandal was something that he didn’t mind in his personal life, but only if it didn’t affect his business. This particular scandal was surely going to change his business, and he just couldn’t afford that.
Within the year, he was going to have a family friend food delivery line released that would be delivered throughout the country. The new line that was to be launched was in partnership with one of the most family-friendly companies in America, Wholesome Foods. Wholesome Foods was already leery about working with River, and he had promised them he was a trustworthy and honest man. If his secret got out, it was surely going to make his new business venture tank and probably take down most of his company with it.
“Do you always look this beautiful for business dinners?” River asked as they both slid into their seats.
“I don’t go on business dinners,” Mariah said, looking down.
“But yes, you always look this beautiful?”
Mariah laughed, and River felt his whole body freeze still as he watched her. The way her smile broadened from ear to ear; her blue eyes fixated on him. Her cheeks arose to an even higher spot on her face—it was mesmerizing.
“You’re trying to make me blush,” Mariah said as she did indeed blush.
“Do you have a boyfriend? I can’t believe a woman like you doesn’t have a boyfriend?”
“Well, you didn’t let me answer the first question before you asked the second, but no I don’t have one. Is that a normal question to ask when on a business dinner?” Mariah asked with a wry smile.
Just then the waitress joined them, and River made a point to look at her and listen while she rattled off the specials of the night. He didn’t like it when people of his status looked down on the waitresses and waiters; it was a bit of a pet peeve of his.
“We have California rolls with tempura for half price. We also have buy two get one free tonight,” the waitress said as she looked from River over to Mariah.
River ordered everything that the waitress mentioned as specials for the night plus several other rolls and some sake to drink. He didn’t look away from the waitress to even ask Mariah what she wanted to eat or drink.
As the waitress left the table, River looked back toward Mariah and smiled. His smile was met with a less than warm response, though. Mariah looked away almost instantly and appeared agitated with River about something. He didn’t mind, though, beautiful women were often easily agitated by him.
It was part of his plan, though, being a little brash with Mariah. If his test for her later was going to be effective, River knew he needed to be less wrapped up in how beautiful Mariah looked. He had to be a bit of an ass and hoped that later he could make it up to Mariah if she passed his test.
“So tell me, Mariah, how will you handle my case?”
Mariah looked annoyed as she searched for the words she wanted to say. River knew she wanted to know all the details, but that wasn’t going to happen yet. He wasn’t going to give her the information she needed yet. He wanted to hear how she would handle a case even if she didn’t have all the details to hand.
“I can’t give you details about how I can help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Okay, let’s just assume I’ve got a gay lover, and I need to hide him. How would you handle that?”
Mariah earned instant points in River’s mind when she didn’t seem shocked or thrown off her game at all by the idea that River might have a gay lover. Instead, Mariah quickly went into work mode and came up with a plan of attack.
“First, we would need to discuss why you were hiding it. It’s the twenty-first century, and being a gay man is cool. So my advice would be to come out publicly by doing a well-known magazine article first and then one interview. But if you insisted on keeping it quiet, we could discuss who you thought knew about it and how we could convince them to stay silent. So is that it? Are you gay?” Mariah said as she looked intently at River.
He could tell that she didn’t believe a word of what he was saying. It was obvious she thought there was some other secret going on that he hadn’t gotten to yet.
“Yes, that’s it. But I don’t want anyone to know. I want to keep it a secret. Where do we go from there?”
“Who’s your boyfriend? I need to meet him, discuss the situation.”
River tried to keep a straight face, but the way Mariah was looking at him made it practically impossible. Her bright blue eyes sliced through him and made it downright unfeasible to keep a straight face.
“I can’t let you meet him. He’s married to a woman.”
Mariah’s look got more sinister as she
tried to analyze what River was saying. She wanted to stay professional, River could see that, but she didn’t believe him. River knew he was going to have to move his plan forward a little bit if he was going to test her at all.
“I can’t help you then,” Mariah said with a firm, stern look.
“So you aren’t actually a good public relations person after all. Okay, I understand. Not everyone knows how to do their job well.”
“What? How do you know what I can and can’t do if you won’t tell me what’s going on?”
“I told you.”
“Don’t give me that shitty lie about being gay. You aren’t gay.”
Just then a man came up behind River, wrapped his arms around him and sat down next to River. Mariah’s face changed hugely as she watched the two men and studied the situation. Suddenly, she felt horrible about saying that River wasn’t gay, the look on her face said it all.
“Mariah, this is my boyfriend Edward,” River said as he grabbed his friend Edward’s hand and pulled it up to his lips.
“Nice to meet you, Edward. Will you excuse me for a moment?” Mariah said as she jumped up from the table and made her way to the bathroom.
River and Edward broke into uncontrolled laughter as soon as Mariah was out of view from them. He couldn’t remember if the gay idea had come from him or from Edward, but it was hilarious.
“So what’s this supposed to do?” Edward asked.
“Well, watch this.”
River sent a text message, and within two minutes, there was a woman with a camera standing near the back of the restaurant and taking pictures of River and Edward. When Mariah came back to her seat, she would easily see the woman before she was able to sit down.
“Go handle her,” River said rudely as Mariah looked at the woman.
“She’s just taking a picture of her boyfriend across from her.”
Breaking the Rules: A Billionaire Romance Page 4
