Sinfully Sexy by Linda Francis Lee Page B

as if he vibrated with tension.
Because the truth was, he had come to a crossroads in his life. He was
successful, had made more
money for the family than they could ever spend. But he no longer felt
the challenge and excitement that he had felt when he first stepped up
and took over the helm of Prescott Media.

He felt uncomfortable now, remembering his father's embarrassment when
Sterling had stepped in and made it clear the elder Prescott wasn't
needed. But Sterling had been too focused and consumed to care. He'd
been too pissed off about the state of the company to feel anything but
determination to fix what
his father had broken.

But he'd done that, and more. Then why did he feel this emptiness? Why
did he feel that if he were cut, he wouldn't bleed? Why had he nearly
made love to a stranger in a hotel bathroom? Could it be because of the
fact that she hadn't known who he was? That she was drawn to him, not
to Sterling Prescott?

As much as he hated to think about it, how long had it been since a
woman had cared solely for him,
not about the money and status he brought to the equation? And how long
had it been since he'd faced
a challenge of the sort that he couldn't easily fix with his name and
money?

He had the sudden urge to roll up his sleeves and feel the charge of
his twenties and early thirties. But
his time was too valuable for that. His job now was to find the
properties, buy them for cheap, then
hire someone else to turn them into moneymaking machines.

Just as Ben had said.

Just as he intended to do with KTEX TV.

Just as Chloe Sinclair had predicted.

Sterling stared through the glass enclosure in the office wall, looking
out into the world he was on the verge of ... disrupting. And then he
saw the woman.

Chloe.

She walked down the hall, her dark hair brushing her shoulders, her
bangs framing the largest blue eyes he had ever seen. Her skin was pale
and white, with a dash of freckles across the bridge of her nose,
making him think of the elegant china dolls his sister had collected as
a child.

But there had been nothing childlike in the woman last night.

The memory hit him hard. "Kiss me."

She had wanted him, had wanted him to be a stranger. She hadn't cared
about his name.

Chloe Sinclair had been drawn to him without any clue as to who he was.
She had wanted him, just him, not because he was a Prescott, not
because he was a man of wealth and power—as she had made abundantly
clear this morning.

But now she wanted nothing to do with him, and that was brought about,
at least in part, because she thought he was merely associated with
Sterling Prescott. He refused to admit the shudder he felt
thinking about what she would have said if she had known that he
actually was that man.

He was alternately intrigued and angry at the woman.

But more than that, now that he had found her again, he couldn't
imagine going the rest of his life
without finishing what he had started in a hotel bathroom less than
twenty-four hours ago.

Chloe disappeared into an office, and Sterling turned back to his
brother, who studied him with an expression he didn't like.

"What?" Sterling demanded.

"If I'm so wrong about you, then prove it."

"What are you talking about?" He shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"A challenge, big brother. Fix KTEX TV without the use of your name or
your money. Turn the
station around and win Chloe Sinclair's approval. And do it all as Trey
Tanner."

"This is ridiculous."

"If you don't think you can do it..."

The words hung between them as a challenge.

Sterling's jaw clenched. "You're talking about a childish game."

"I'm talking about proving that you aren't who Chloe says you are.
Prove that you aren't everything I'm afraid you've become. Turn this
station around, save those women's careers, and prove that you aren't
as cutthroat and callous as you're accused of being."

Sterling's heart began to pound, his temples throbbing as he stared at
Ben.

The younger man looked away, glancing at the