backto her bed. She should never have let him walk out her front door. Because she knew tomorrow she was going to start doubting that a man as handsome and sexy as Steven Devonshire could really want a girl like her.
Two days later Steven found himself in an odd predicament. He was in the middle of a meeting with the Everest Mega Store team at the Leicester Square location when he caught a glimpse of a woman on the retail floor who looked like Ainsley. He knew Ainsley was in New York and it couldn’t be her, but he watched the woman for a minute just to make sure it wasn’t her.
She was an obsession for him. He should have bedded her the first night they were together. Instead, he had waited because he wanted to unravel her secrets. Now he was thinking, secrets be damned. He wanted her out of his mind so he could get back to normal.
He wasn’t the type of man to spend too much time thinking about a woman—any woman. But with Ainsley on his mind all the time he was starting to believe that something dangerous was happening to him.
“Mr. Devonshire?”
His secretary stood in the doorway. The woman was proving to be a good fit here.
“There is a woman downstairs asking for you,” Marta said.
Was it Ainsley? He would be very surprised if it was. But if this attraction he felt was two-way, maybe she had come back early.
“Did she give a name?”
“Dinah…I can’t recall her last name, sir.”
Dinah. That was what came of letting a womanpreoccupy his mind. “I’ll be downstairs and then back at the office. Can you finish up here, Marta?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take your lunch and then be back by two.”
He walked out of the office. Dinah, his executive vice president, waited in the middle of the retail floor where a display of classic 1970s musicians was displayed. There was a full-sized cardboard cutout of Tiffany Malone—Henry’s mother.
An earthy sexuality suffused her stare. Her hair was tousled and she wore a pair of skintight, faded denim jeans and a flowing top. It was a classic seventies photo, but Henry’s mother made it so much more. She looked iconic standing there.
He wondered how Malcolm could have been attracted to his mother after being with someone so overtly sexual. His mum exuded none of that. She was smart and classically beautiful, but compared to Tiffany Malone…she would definitely come in second.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” he said to Dinah.
“Not a problem. You promised me a nice bonus, so I wanted to jump in and get started on this project of yours,” she said.
“Just the attitude I like. Let’s discuss the details back at my office.”
“Okay, but why did you have me meet you here?” she asked.
“I want you to take a look around. This is our best-performing store. What are they doing here that is different?”
“You want me to go to all the stores?”
“Not all of them, but most of them. I want to knowif it’s the location or if it’s the product. Should we have something different in each location? I mean in addition to the music.”
“Very well,” Dinah said. They walked the store. He and Dinah made notes on what they saw and then they went back to the office to discuss their findings.
Steven stayed late at the office and worked. It hadn’t taken him too long to realize he could easily beat both of his half brothers in this competition. He’d had the financials from the record label and the airline sent to his office. Dinah had e-mailed her recommendations for the North American operation based on the data they had.
Someone should go to New York, he thought. They needed to see the operation there to make sure that their recommendations could be implemented.
He picked up the phone and dialed Dinah’s number.
“Yes, boss?”
“How do you feel about a trip to New York?”
“Like you are a mind reader. I was composing an e-mail to that effect when you called. I’d like to take Harry from finance with me.”
They discussed the
Two days later Steven found himself in an odd predicament. He was in the middle of a meeting with the Everest Mega Store team at the Leicester Square location when he caught a glimpse of a woman on the retail floor who looked like Ainsley. He knew Ainsley was in New York and it couldn’t be her, but he watched the woman for a minute just to make sure it wasn’t her.
She was an obsession for him. He should have bedded her the first night they were together. Instead, he had waited because he wanted to unravel her secrets. Now he was thinking, secrets be damned. He wanted her out of his mind so he could get back to normal.
He wasn’t the type of man to spend too much time thinking about a woman—any woman. But with Ainsley on his mind all the time he was starting to believe that something dangerous was happening to him.
“Mr. Devonshire?”
His secretary stood in the doorway. The woman was proving to be a good fit here.
“There is a woman downstairs asking for you,” Marta said.
Was it Ainsley? He would be very surprised if it was. But if this attraction he felt was two-way, maybe she had come back early.
“Did she give a name?”
“Dinah…I can’t recall her last name, sir.”
Dinah. That was what came of letting a womanpreoccupy his mind. “I’ll be downstairs and then back at the office. Can you finish up here, Marta?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take your lunch and then be back by two.”
He walked out of the office. Dinah, his executive vice president, waited in the middle of the retail floor where a display of classic 1970s musicians was displayed. There was a full-sized cardboard cutout of Tiffany Malone—Henry’s mother.
An earthy sexuality suffused her stare. Her hair was tousled and she wore a pair of skintight, faded denim jeans and a flowing top. It was a classic seventies photo, but Henry’s mother made it so much more. She looked iconic standing there.
He wondered how Malcolm could have been attracted to his mother after being with someone so overtly sexual. His mum exuded none of that. She was smart and classically beautiful, but compared to Tiffany Malone…she would definitely come in second.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” he said to Dinah.
“Not a problem. You promised me a nice bonus, so I wanted to jump in and get started on this project of yours,” she said.
“Just the attitude I like. Let’s discuss the details back at my office.”
“Okay, but why did you have me meet you here?” she asked.
“I want you to take a look around. This is our best-performing store. What are they doing here that is different?”
“You want me to go to all the stores?”
“Not all of them, but most of them. I want to knowif it’s the location or if it’s the product. Should we have something different in each location? I mean in addition to the music.”
“Very well,” Dinah said. They walked the store. He and Dinah made notes on what they saw and then they went back to the office to discuss their findings.
Steven stayed late at the office and worked. It hadn’t taken him too long to realize he could easily beat both of his half brothers in this competition. He’d had the financials from the record label and the airline sent to his office. Dinah had e-mailed her recommendations for the North American operation based on the data they had.
Someone should go to New York, he thought. They needed to see the operation there to make sure that their recommendations could be implemented.
He picked up the phone and dialed Dinah’s number.
“Yes, boss?”
“How do you feel about a trip to New York?”
“Like you are a mind reader. I was composing an e-mail to that effect when you called. I’d like to take Harry from finance with me.”
They discussed the
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