he wanted her! Why the hell did she have to go out and watch the horses in jeans that tight? And a sweater? What’s wrong with a giant sweatshirt? She’d look perfect in a sweatshirt! A big, huge sweatshirt that wouldn’t allow him to notice those soft, full breasts or her tiny waist. And sweatpants! Yep, sweatpants wouldn’t allow him to notice how long her legs were. She was too short to have legs that long, wasn’t she?
Juliette picked her bag up and sighed, wishing she could come up with a zinger that would put him in his place. Kissing him popped to mind. Yes, wouldn’t it really shock him if she just reached up…well, dragged a chair over to him so she could reach him before kissing him.
“What?” he asked when she continued to stare up at him.
Juliette jerked, standing up straight and shaking her head, trying to knock the idea of kissing him out of her mind. “Sorry,” she whispered, looking down into her bag. She knew that everything was there, but it gave her a way to hide the blush rushing into her cheeks. “Um…yes.” She pulled her notebook out and flipped several pages until she came to a clean sheet. “What disabled, defenseless company are you buying up to today?”
He realized that his coffee mug was empty and took a soda out of the fridge and popped the top. It wasn’t even that he wanted the soda; he just needed something to do with his hands to keep himself from grabbing her around the waist and pulling her against him. Not a good plan, he told himself firmly. No matter how soft and inviting she looked, she was bad news. The worst kind of female. She was the kind that got under a man’s skin and drove him crazy. Case in point, he was standing here with a soda when he rarely drank soda!
“No companies to buy up today, but I’m always on the lookout if I find a good company that will fit in with my network.”
“And don’t even worry about the employees who lose their jobs because of your takeover.”
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. “First of all, I buy up two different kinds of companies.” He looked down into her pretty, brown eyes, noticing the darker brown around the edges for the first time. He mentally shook his head, trying to remember what they were talking about. Oh, yeah. She was deriding his business model. Can’t take that. Not from a little woman like Juliette. “The first kind, which are usually the most lucrative, just so you know, are the companies that are about to go out of business. So when I come in and buy them up, incorporate them into my other holdings, it actually saves thousands of jobs.”
“Except for the people who have redundant positions, right?”
He shrugged again. “Yes. That’s the way of the world. There are some people who are going to be hurt but I save the majority of the jobs.”
Her eyes flashed at his calm dismissal of another person’s heartache. “I’m sure the people who are redundant are reassured by that statement.”
His eyebrows came down in irritation. There she goes again, he thought, getting under his skin. He never defended his business decisions to anyone. Why was he standing here doing it now? Just because he knew how soft her pink lips felt against his, or because the last time he’d kissed her, she’d tasted so sweet and delicious and he wanted another taste, he still shouldn’t be standing here arguing with her.
Hell, he should be carrying her cute butt back up the stairs and showing her who was the boss. And finding out other places that might be sweet and delicious.
He focused on the issue of her maligning his companies. “The second type of company I buy up are firms that would fit into my holdings but aren’t necessarily in trouble financially. They just might not be utilizing their full potential. I go in and show them how to increase profits by using their resources more effectively. And usually, I can leverage their people and their assets more effectively with my current assets.”
“At the
Juliette picked her bag up and sighed, wishing she could come up with a zinger that would put him in his place. Kissing him popped to mind. Yes, wouldn’t it really shock him if she just reached up…well, dragged a chair over to him so she could reach him before kissing him.
“What?” he asked when she continued to stare up at him.
Juliette jerked, standing up straight and shaking her head, trying to knock the idea of kissing him out of her mind. “Sorry,” she whispered, looking down into her bag. She knew that everything was there, but it gave her a way to hide the blush rushing into her cheeks. “Um…yes.” She pulled her notebook out and flipped several pages until she came to a clean sheet. “What disabled, defenseless company are you buying up to today?”
He realized that his coffee mug was empty and took a soda out of the fridge and popped the top. It wasn’t even that he wanted the soda; he just needed something to do with his hands to keep himself from grabbing her around the waist and pulling her against him. Not a good plan, he told himself firmly. No matter how soft and inviting she looked, she was bad news. The worst kind of female. She was the kind that got under a man’s skin and drove him crazy. Case in point, he was standing here with a soda when he rarely drank soda!
“No companies to buy up today, but I’m always on the lookout if I find a good company that will fit in with my network.”
“And don’t even worry about the employees who lose their jobs because of your takeover.”
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. “First of all, I buy up two different kinds of companies.” He looked down into her pretty, brown eyes, noticing the darker brown around the edges for the first time. He mentally shook his head, trying to remember what they were talking about. Oh, yeah. She was deriding his business model. Can’t take that. Not from a little woman like Juliette. “The first kind, which are usually the most lucrative, just so you know, are the companies that are about to go out of business. So when I come in and buy them up, incorporate them into my other holdings, it actually saves thousands of jobs.”
“Except for the people who have redundant positions, right?”
He shrugged again. “Yes. That’s the way of the world. There are some people who are going to be hurt but I save the majority of the jobs.”
Her eyes flashed at his calm dismissal of another person’s heartache. “I’m sure the people who are redundant are reassured by that statement.”
His eyebrows came down in irritation. There she goes again, he thought, getting under his skin. He never defended his business decisions to anyone. Why was he standing here doing it now? Just because he knew how soft her pink lips felt against his, or because the last time he’d kissed her, she’d tasted so sweet and delicious and he wanted another taste, he still shouldn’t be standing here arguing with her.
Hell, he should be carrying her cute butt back up the stairs and showing her who was the boss. And finding out other places that might be sweet and delicious.
He focused on the issue of her maligning his companies. “The second type of company I buy up are firms that would fit into my holdings but aren’t necessarily in trouble financially. They just might not be utilizing their full potential. I go in and show them how to increase profits by using their resources more effectively. And usually, I can leverage their people and their assets more effectively with my current assets.”
“At the
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