could hardly
take her eyes off the very edible – and beddable – vision that was
Malcolm West. She’d read up a lot about him when she’d heard he was interested
in their firm; she’d seen the pictures. But now that she’d met him in person,
she admitted that nothing had prepared her for the real thing. And none of the
photos or news features she’d read about him had done him justice.
He was, quite
simply, perfect. In every way. How he could be so all-round irresistible and
still act so collected and easy-going was beyond her. Men she’d met who didn’t
have even half his looks, persona and wealth were so stuck-up and pretentious they
assumed every woman they met had to be panting for them.
Malcolm West didn’t
seem to have such short-comings. In fact, Eva was certain he was totally
unaware the kind of effect he had on women. Despite her drooling and blubbering
her way through the whole meeting, Eva told herself he probably had no clue
about her alarming reaction to him.
Thankfully, Cheryl
saved the day with her ever-efficient dependability. The presentation seemed to
go well. Malcolm West looked just as impressed – perhaps even more so
– than he had been when they’d first walked in. Eva heaved an inner sigh
of relief and hoped that before too long, he’d be signed on and his mega-buck
backing would be theirs to appreciate.
Too bad that Eva
wanted more than just Malcolm West’s money to relish…
*
“I’m sorry I messed
up at the meeting,” Eva apologized as she joined Cheryl in the elevator taking
them down from Malcolm West’s offices.
“What do you mean?”
the petite redhead asked quizzically, turning to Eva in surprise. “You did
great. You made sure all the information I needed was on hand. I think it went
fabulously well.”
Eva heaved an
inward sigh of relief. If the faultlessly perceptive Cheryl hadn’t noticed
anything amiss, then chances were, neither had Malcolm West. Eva figured she
just might have managed to escape discovery, if just by the skin of her teeth.
An agreement had
yet to be signed, but Malcolm West had assured them that he’d simply need a short
time to run over certain legal and fiscal details and he’d let them know his
final decision. But judging by the way things went, Cheryl sounded confident
he’d be signing up with them soon.
“The best part
about having him on board is that he’s not looking to take on a controlling
interest,” Cheryl said with obvious relief as they headed out of the
ultra-modern building that housed the West Enterprises concerns. “And although
he seems like the type who’d require top performance at all times, he doesn’t
strike one as the type to make inordinate demands we wouldn’t wish to meet
– or what do you think?”
They were already
at their cars, and Eva couldn’t help thinking that if Malcolm West chose to
make any demands on her , she couldn’t
see herself not wishing to meet them. But she wasn’t thinking at all about work
and that was the problem…
“Oh, I think he’s
our best bet from all the oh…two other investors we have beating down our
door,” Eva said with mild humor. “He’s got the most promising offer so far and
I could just see myself working well with him.” Among other things, she thought
wickedly. But then pushed any idea of having anything to do with Malcolm West
aside. Cheryl would positively lay an egg, Eva knew, if her partner guessed the
designs Eva was secretly nursing regarding their would-be investor.
Not that it would
come to anything, Eva knew. They were just fantasies, nothing more. A girl
could dream, right? It wasn’t as if she was going to make it obvious to the man
or anything. No way she could let him discover that with just his voice, so
deep and mellifluous, he got her panties wet. The way he fit into his suit and
tie…his broad shoulders, lean hips and trim waist…She knew he was above thirty,
around thirty-five judging by his press bio. But he had the fit bod of
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