“Nice to meet you properly, Ms Carter. Thank you for throwing yourself into my arms, but I guess we’d better behave for now. We don’t want people gossiping, do we?”
He winked suggestively, inciting an aching desire between Amy’s thighs. She tried to stifle the blush that wanted to creep onto her cheeks, knowing she shouldn’t show any weakness. Adam offered his hand for her to shake. His grip was firm and powerful.
“I can assure you, Mr Quinlan, there will be no reason for anyone to be gossiping.”
He folded his strong arms across the front of his tailor-made suit, as if he owned the world and everyone in it. “Well, let’s just wait and see, shall we?”
Amy drew herself to her full height of five-five. “I don’t know what kind of person you think you’re dealing with, Mr Quinlan, but I can assure you, I’m here for one reason only, and that is to do my job. The purpose of my visit is to ensure that you and your brother aren’t planning on screwing my company. And let me be clear; you will certainly not be screwing me as part of the negotiations.”
He laughed kindly. “I’m not sure I believe you – I saw the lustful gaze you swiped over me just now. And that cute little blush. But, okay, we’ll let it go for now… maybe we can renegotiate later.”
“You really are an arrogant asshole, aren’t you?”
Adam shrugged. “I know what I want, and I usually get it. By the way, I got a message saying Frank was in a crash. Is he okay?”
Amy pushed aside her anger at Adam and sighed. Her boss had been involved in a car crash on his way to the London airport last night and he’d been rushed to hospital. He should be fine, but it meant the pressure of this crucially important meeting with Quinlan Brothers was crushing down on her shoulders alone.
“He will be. I’m sorry he couldn’t be here. Obviously you need his signature on the contracts ultimately, but I’ll do all I can.”
Adam waved his hand dismissively. “No problem – I’ve asked my PA to send him our best wishes. As you say, we can discuss the finer details with you over the next few days, then get Frank to sign when he’s out of hospital. But we’re ke
en to acquire Grafton Techs as soon as we can.” Adam glanced towards the elevator. “Let’s go up. I’ll introduce you to my brother, and you can show us what you’ve got.”
He squeezed Amy’s shoulder which stirred her weary body with fizzy excitement. Her heart thumped with a desire to snuggle into those strong arms again, but she stifled it and shook him away. She was here to do a job and was determined to keep her distance. How dare he assume she was going to sleep with him? The man oozed arrogance – he wasn’t her type at all… So why was it that every time he smiled she craved to feel his hands all over her body? It was like her mind hated him, but her body yearned for him to possess her entirely.
But her body would have to do without. He was the enemy and she was here to defend Grafton Techs, not become another notch on the probably already crowded bedpost of Adam Quinlan.
She smiled tightly. “Yes, let’s go up. I’m here to demand answers from you and your brother – and I won’t leave until I’m completely satisfied.”
Chapter Two
From the moment Amy had fallen into his arms, Adam had wanted to fuck her – to get that tight little body of hers wrapped around his cock. She stirred something primal inside him. She was beautiful, intelligent, and charming… and that delightful English accent made him go hard each time she spoke. He was desperate to bend her over and grip his fingers around her blonde ponytail, while biting her neck and pounding her hard from behind…
But it wasn’t just her wonderful curvy body that had seized Adam’s attention. There was something else about her, too. She seemed… interesting. There was obviously much more going on behind those beautiful blue eyes than she wanted people to see. She enchanted him, like an enigma to be cracked. And Adam was determined to unravel the puzzle.
She clearly wasn’t just going to drop to her knees and suck him off, though. There was a brick wall around her, making her unattainable – and for Adam, this made her the perfect challenge. He loved the chase – but there wasn’t usually much of one these days. He was happy to give those wealthy socialites a good time, to buy them expensive gifts, and fuck them into such a frenzy that they couldn’t remember their own name… it was what they wanted, too. But there was never any substance. It was fun, but unfulfilling.
Amy was different to any woman he’d met before; she was steadfast and cool. But he would have her. He was determined to erode her razor-wire defences. He couldn’t wait to see that uptight little minx lose control as he fucked her senseless; his goal was to get her screaming his name with an orgasm so intense, all others to come after it would pale in comparison.
Thrusting her into ecstasy would be his prize. And hers.
He pulled himself out of his fantasy and back to the huge boardroom, which overlooked the stunning Manhattan skyline. His older brother Dylan was sitting opposite him at the huge walnut table. Both men were facing front, as the beautiful Amy clicked the remote to begin her PowerPoint slideshow.
She threw them a professional smile. “Grafton Techs are the global experts in ‘top-down’ data analytics. We take corrupted data or unfamiliar hardware and use our expertise and cutting-edge tools to unlock the…”
Dylan interrupted her. “We know this, Ms Carter. That’s why we want to buy you.”
Amy pressed the button on the remote and skipped through the next few slides. “Alright, I’ll leave the niceties and get down to business. The purpose of my visit, gentlemen, is to determine your intentions for our company.”
“Only noble, we assure you,” Adam said.
She didn’t smile. “We need a guarantee, Mr Quinlan, that there will be minimal disruption. Frank Grafton has taken seventeen years to make our company a success in its niche. We’re a family at Grafton Techs. There are only twenty-five of us, and we couldn’t bear to lose any of our family members. Not one.”
Adam suppressed the haunting memory of his dead brother. “We appreciate that, Ms Carter – we’re also family men. And we guarantee that all Grafton Techs personnel will be retained in the buyout.”
“I hope we can trust your word, sir. The last email I read of yours was pushy and threatening. Perhaps it’s the way business is done in New York. But it isn’t what we’re used to in London.”
She leaned over to pick up a brochure from the table, and Adam caught a whiff of her floral perfume, which made him want to bury his face in her thighs and lick her pussy into ecstasy. Then she could wrap those red lips around his cock…