Chapter One
Daisy Parker watched the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Roth Owens Agency as he worked his charismatic magic with their clients, not at all surprised to find herself just as enthralled with Aiden Stone as the other four women sitting at the dinner table.
She understood their rapt attention, because even after three years of working together at the same company, she still wasn’t immune to everything that was Aiden Stone. Like the smooth, rich, seductive tone of his voice that never failed to make certain body parts aware of him the moment he spoke. The sexy, whiskey-colored eyes that had caused her to lose her train of thought much too often while looking into those mesmerizing orbs during a conversation. The gorgeous, symmetrical face and jaw with full, soft lips that inspired all sorts of naughty fantasies of how that sinful mouth would feel against hers, and then there was his close-cropped beard that she’d spent way too much time wondering if that facial hair would feel soft against her fingertips or just prickly enough to leave a trail of chafed skin in sensitive places.
And when he grinned and flashed that charming dimple in his right cheek, like he was doing right now with widowed Mrs. Darlington, the owner of Darlington Jewelers, the resulting female adoration never failed to amuse Daisy because she knew how potent that dimple could be. After much practice, she’d learned to temper her outward response to that lethal weapon of Aiden’s that had sealed many deals for their firm, but as she glanced at each of Carol Darlington’s three single daughters—all of whom had been vying for Aiden’s attention since the moment she and Aiden had arrived earlier that afternoon to pitch their marketing campaign for the family jewelry business—it was hard not to laugh at the varying reactions around the table.
Liza, the pretty blonde and youngest Darlington, sitting next to Aiden, wore an expression of utter infatuation as her big blue eyes remained fixed on his face. Jenna, sweet-natured daughter number two, had her hand pressed against her chest in mid-swoon, which Daisy could totally relate to because Aiden was deliciously swoon-worthy. And to Daisy’s left was Mallory, the oldest and most aggressive of the twentysomething siblings, who was biting her lower lip while her gaze blatantly ate Aiden up like he was a piece of candy.
“God, please tell me that he’s not married and doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Mallory said, leaning close to Daisy and keeping her comment between the two of them while Aiden replied to a question Carol Darlington asked him. “Hell, even if he does, I might not care,” she added with a laugh that said she was used to getting what she wanted, and tonight she wanted Aiden. “He’d be worth sinning with.”
Daisy couldn’t argue that latter point because Aiden was the embodiment of sex on a stick. He had a tempting body to match his handsome face—clearly, he’d won big in the gene pool lottery. But she didn’t think it was cool that Mallory had no qualms about poaching on another woman’s territory. As much as she wanted to say that her co-worker was off the market, mostly because she didn’t care for Mallory’s personality, it clearly wouldn’t dissuade someone so determined.
And really, what business was it of hers to cock block Aiden when he had a Little Black Book app that was always pinging with notifications—courtesy of his techie younger brother, Dylan, who’d designed the app and was making a small fortune off it? Bottom line, Aiden was a good-time guy who never lacked for female companionship, and going by office chatter, he was all about the casual hookup and didn’t do relationships. That gossip was backed by the dozens of different women who’d adorned his arm at various company functions since she’d met him. She’d never seen him with the same woman more than once . . . which made him a perfect candidate for what Mallory was insinuating.
From the moment Daisy and Aiden had stepped into the conference room at the Ritz-Carlton to pitch their campaign ideas to elevate Darlington Jewelers’ internet presence, Mallory had made her interest and attraction to him clear. And Aiden, who was genuinely a nice guy and a consummate charmer who didn’t discriminate when it came to the female gender, had easily flirted right back.
Daisy knew it was all a big part of his easygoing personality and who Aiden was as a person. He loved women and enjoyed indulging in all that playful banter when it came to the ladies, young and old, which only made him all the more appealing. And it definitely worked to his advantage when it came to persuading a client to sign on the bottom line, which Carol Darlington had done right before insisting she take them to dinner.
Realizing that Mallory was still looking at her and waiting for an answer to her question about Aiden’s marital status, Daisy gave her the truth. “He’s single.”
“Perfect,” the other woman replied, a tinge of excitement in her voice as she shifted her gaze back to Aiden. “I’m going to make his night in San Francisco a memorable one.”
Because establishing a connection with their clients was important to the firm, she and Aiden had traveled from San Diego to pitch their concept and ideas to the Darlingtons in person. This was Daisy’s first business trip for the company since her recent promotion, though Aiden’s position required him to travel more often for that face time with their clients. They had a flight back to Southern California tomorrow morning, so yes, Aiden was free for the evening, and he’d probably take Mallory up on her offer . . . while Daisy went back to her hotel room and lived her sex life vicariously through the fictional characters she read about in the steamy novels that had become a guilty pleasure for her since she’d sworn off men after being duped so spectacularly.
For the next half hour, while everyone finished their dessert and coffee, Mallory did her best to make sure Aiden’s focus remained on her. Anytime he tried to address one of the other sisters, Mallory answered for them and redirected the conversation back to her. Dai
sy found the whole situation comical to watch, though she did feel bad that the other two girls appeared disappointed that they’d essentially faded into the background while their sister dominated the conversation as well as Aiden’s attention.
Finally, after the waiter cleared away the dirty plates and the bill was paid, Carol interrupted the two-way exchange, suddenly looking tired after their long day discussing strategies and marketing ideas. “Aiden and Daisy, it was a pleasure meeting with you today and we’re very excited to start working with the Roth Owens Agency.”
“Yes, we’re very excited,” Mallory added with a slow, provocative wink at Aiden.
Daisy had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the other woman’s obvious, and cheesy, seductive tactics, and smiled at Carol instead. “We’re looking forward to making sure that Darlington Jewelers has a strong internet and social media presence.”
“I promise you, you’re in great hands,” Aiden assured the older woman, his voice as confident as the man himself. “I’ll be overseeing the account and working closely with the marketing team, but with Daisy as the newly appointed manager of design and development, I can assure you she has proven herself many times over when it comes to establishing creative branding ideas that will get you the results you’re looking for.”
Considering Aiden had been with the company for the past eight years, Daisy couldn’t deny that his praise made her feel good and gave her morale a bit of a boost. She’d started with the Roth Owens Agency at the bottom rung in the design and development department, and spent the ensuing years focusing on the one thing in her life she could control after her personal life had fallen apart—her ability to be a strong, valuable branding consultant for the firm.
Her hard work had paid off. She had the respect of her colleagues and she was building a name for herself in the branding and marketing industry. The cherry on top of that sundae was her promotion, which came with a nice pay raise that would hopefully allow her to get a bigger place of her own, instead of the small studio apartment she was living in. Even her mother had shown subtle signs of being proud of her accomplishment. That in itself was a huge feat considering how badly Daisy had screwed up in the past, which had caused an awful tension between herself and her mother that was always tinged with disappointment whenever they were together.
She really wished Diane Parker’s approval didn’t matter so much to her. Unfortunately, that desire to please her only parent had been deeply ingrained in her as a child and had carried into her adulthood.
With business and dinner concluded, they all stood up. Aiden extended his hand to Carol in a gentlemanly gesture, which she accepted with a beaming smile as he helped her to her feet. Then he slid his arms back into his tailored Brooks Brothers jacket and fastened the front button . . . and bam, the man was instantly transformed into the epitome of suit porn. The expensive fabric fitted immaculately to his broad shoulders and the width of his chest and was tapered perfectly everywhere else. He exuded power and confidence and sex, and there was no doubt in Daisy’s mind that any woman in the vicinity looking his way had just orgasmed a little bit—including Mallory, who did nothing to disguise her appreciative, breathy sigh.
As they made their way through Parallel 37, the upscale restaurant located at the Ritz-Carlton, Mallory managed to push past her sisters and latched herself to Aiden’s side so that he had no choice but to acknowledge her. She petted his arm through his suit jacket and said something that made him laugh, and Daisy couldn’t deny that the low, sexy sound made her own body ache for what Mallory would most likely be enjoying tonight with Aiden. Hot, sweaty, exhausting sex.
Daisy shivered at the thought, surprised at the flicker of envy that made itself known. She definitely missed the touch of a real man . . . and knew that the small, discreet vibrator she carried in her purse—that looked like a lipstick tube—was going to come in handy tonight when she was alone in her hotel room and dirty fantasies of her co-worker filled her imagination. She wasn’t ashamed to admit that Aiden was her go-to fantasy when she needed a little extra to push her over the edge of release.
They all stopped just outside of the restaurant, and not wanting to hang around for small talk while watching Mallory make her move on Aiden, Daisy decided to politely excuse herself so she could head up to her room. “Thank you again for dinner, Mrs. Darlington. I’ll have those changes to the new company logo we discussed today sent over by the end of the week so we can move forward on the branding package.”
“That sounds wonderful, dear,” Carol replied with a smile.
Then she glanced at Aiden, who didn’t seem to mind that Mallory had her breasts smashed against his arm as she leaned possessively against him. After their earlier meetings and before dinner, the other woman had changed into a formfitting dress that was low-cut in front and a pair of designer heels, most likely to entice Aiden—making Daisy all the more aware of her bland business attire that made up most of her wardrobe: a prim and proper buttoned-up blouse, a nondescript black A-line skirt, and sensible pumps. Oh, yeah, and her hair pulled back into her normal knot or twist at the nape of her neck so she looked professional and would be taken seriously, at least according to her mother.
“Aiden, I’ll meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning at ten thirty for our ride to the airport?” Daisy asked, mostly as a reminder that no matter how he spent his evening, she didn’t want him to forget they had a flight to catch back to San Diego.
He nodded. “That sounds good.”
“Have a good night,” Mallory said, giving Daisy a little finger wave, a presumptuous smile curving her red lips. “I know I certainly plan to.”
Nope, sticking around and being a third wheel wasn’t Daisy’s style. After making her way to the elevators, she stepped into the first one that opened and pushed the button for the floor that both she and Aiden were staying on, grateful that they didn’t have adjoining rooms so she didn’t have to listen to any of his sexcapades with Mallory through the walls.
However, once she was inside her room with her shoes kicked off, she realized she wasn’t tired and the thought of being cooped up and lying in bed reading for the next few hours—which was what she did almost every night at home—made her feel even more restless. It was barely eight o’clock, and she realized she should have gone to the bar, appropriately named the Lounge, for a drink to relax and unwind since she’d passed on any alcoholic beverages during dinner to make sure she kept a clear head.