“Spoken like a true king,” she said, nodding up at his profile.
He shook his head, his eyes forward. “No. A king conquers others.”
9
Lola ate everything put in front of her—oysters on the half shell, beef tenderloin, roasted vegetables, berry soufflé tart.
Beau looked as satisfied as she felt full. “Ready for our next stop?” he asked as she finished off her last bite.
She wiped her mouth with the napkin in her lap. She didn’t answer—the question was rhetorical. Whether or not she was ready didn’t matter.
Beau scooted his chair out and stood. His smile was inauthentic, but Lola doubted anyone else noticed. Except for Churchill, they seemed more interested in perfecting their own imitations at happiness. Lola was the only woman at the table who hadn’t pulled out a compact at some point to check her lipstick. Maybe she should have, but she didn’t own one. The men were the same with their cell phones. Beau hadn’t so much as glanced at his phone once that she’d noticed, and that surprised her. A man like him had to be busy all times of the day.
“Thank you for such great company tonight,” Beau told the table, “but you’ll have to excuse us. Lola and I have pressing plans.”
Glenn came around to shake Beau’s hand. “Olivier, how come we’ve never had that meeting?”
“You’re an important man, sir.”
The mayor teased Beau by winking at Lola. “Let’s get one on the books,” he said to Beau. “Have your secretary call mine.”
“Consider it done.”
Glenn smiled and nodded over at Lola. “Word of advice? Don’t screw this up. I like this one. She’s good for you.”
Lola thanked the mayor and let him hug her before they left.
Out front, Beau went to the valet stand while Lola waited at the curb.
“That went well with Churchill,” he said, his hands in his pockets as he returned to her. “All I needed was a meeting. The rest will take care of itself.”
“I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you, but you can be very convincing,” Lola said.
“But these things aren’t about business. They’re about networking and relationships. Churchill liked you. That’s the only reason he gave me the time of the day.”
“I think that was a compliment,” she said. “So thank you.”
He turned all the way to her. “No, this is a compliment. You’re not just beautiful, but smart too. Churchill saw that. I see it.”
“You can drop the act,” she said. “I don’t think the valets need to hear it.”
He took her chin and pulled her mouth an inch from his. “I have to be a certain person in my professional life. I try not to be that in my personal. I may not always be forthcoming or virtuous, but when it comes to you, I don’t act.” He kissed her softly without lingering. “Don’t underestimate yourself. You may have just earned me a great deal of money.”
Lola twisted her face away at the mention of money. “I’m so glad.”
“You should be. Nothing puts me in a better mood than making money.”
Lola stepped back a little. She couldn’t fall under his spell. Once, she’d been unimpressed with Beau’s past because attaining his level of success often meant screwing someone over.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“This meeting I helped you get…it isn’t anything illegal or corrupt, is it?”
“He’s the mayor, Lola.”
She pursed her lips. “And elected officials are always angels.”
“You have nothing to worry about it. It’s all legit.”
“Well, what’s it about?”
“You really want to know?”
Why did she care? Beau’s business was just that—his business. It had nothing to do with her. She’d convinced herself coming into this that spending the night with Beau would be easiest if he were just a stranger. Bu
t to say she wasn’t curious about him would’ve been lying to herself. She nodded. “Sure.”
“The meeting’s about tax breaks and incentives for angel investors—those of us putting a lot of money into early-stage startups. Los Angeles has access to so much talent with USC and UCLA, plus the arts and entertainment industry—we need to work on keeping that talent here. But it’ll follow the money if it goes to a city with more benefits.”
“Why wouldn’t he want to do that?”
“It’s not that he doesn’t want to, he’s just not very tech forward. I’m sure he has people telling him different things, but I want to lay it out for him from the perspective of someone who has a vested interest in this city. Unfortunately, he thinks my businessman’s heart has bad intentions.”
Lola lifted an eyebrow. “Does it?”
“Tax credits are good for me, no doubt. The more money I save, the more I can invest, and that’s potential to earn. Local talent would also help me. If a startup is headquartered in Los Angeles or does significant business here, they’re on my radar.”
“How come?”
“Because it’s good for our economy. Los Angeles is my home, and I want it to stay competitive with places like San Francisco and New York.”
Lola could understand that—she’d never lived anywhere else, so she was particularly fond of L.A. Still, Beau would always be a man with a bottom line. “I can see why Churchill is skeptical,” she said. “It’s hard to believe you don’t have an ulterior motive.”
“I’ll be upfront about how I benefit in the short and long term. I just want Los Angeles to benefit equally.”
It wasn’t until a silver sports car pulled up that Lola remembered Warner. “What about the limo?”
“We’re finished with that portion of the night,” Beau said. “I’ll be driving to our next destination.”
“Your hotel,” Lola said.
“Not yet.”
The valet hopped out of the car, beaming. “This is why I love working these events. The Lamborghini’s no joke, dude. I mean sir. That was my first time driving the Aventador Roadster.”
“How was it?” Beau asked.
“Fucking awesome. I had to restrain myself from finding out the zero-to-sixty.”