Ken offered to pour the Chardonnay when it arrived, leaving the poor maître d’ with nothing else to do for now. Once he was dismissed, the drink began to flow, splashing beautifully into the crystal provided for their dining pleasure. “My job does bring in a sizable income, but I already have plenty of money in my investments. Ideally I see my job at Lois & Bachman as my ticket to networking. There’s a reason I volunteered to come to this conference. I want to know as many people as possible in this industry before I strike out on my own.”
“Your own agency? I remember you saying something about that last night.” Their actual conversations were somewhat of a blur since all Lana could really remember was the endless fucking and nipple sucking. “You know, when your face wasn’t crushed between my thighs.”
Ken’s sizzling smile was only matched by the way he sipped his first taste of the Chardonnay. Lana waited until he put his glass back down before coyly plucking the stem and bringing the glass to her own lips. Why drink her glass when she could indirectly kiss him?
“I’m not sure exactly what I want to do yet. I don’t really want my own agency, per se. Employees, yes, but not like what you and I are used to right now.” He wavered between making love to her with his entrancing eyes and admiring the Chardonnay in his glass. Or perhaps he was taken with Lana’s fingertips massaging his glass. Oh, that must’ve been it. Why else would he slip his fingers over hers and hold them there? Their thumbs circled in an endless, sweet flirtation. It made Ken clear his throat before continuing. “I want to build an empire that is all my own. Trouble is, that’s hard to do without a partner, and I would need a partner I absolutely trust with that sort of enterprise. Hence the networking.”
“Is this an immediate plan?”
“I’m hoping within the next few years. Once I’ve built up a sizable enough portfolio I can decide what’s working and what I can learn from.”
“Sounds interesting.” Lana had often wondered how that worked. She knew plenty of bigshots who no longer ran agencies and instead bought and sold properties entirely for their own benefits. True, most of them worked with their families. Unless Ken’s family members were all into real estate like he was, then there wasn’t much point jumping in.
“Have you ever thought about striking out on your own?”
Lana sighed. This wasn’t exactly what she had in mind for a date night. “Sometimes. I don’t think I’m in a position where that’s a viable fantasy, though. I’ve still got a lot to prove to others in the industry. Let alone to myself.”
“That’s wise. But you’re young. Within twenty, thirty years I don’t doubt you’ll control a whole city somewhere.”
“You’re young too.” Lana pulled her hand away. “I did a little digging into you, Mr. Andrews. I had no idea you were barely a year older than me.”
“Is that all? I thought we were the same exact age.”
“Hardly. You got a head start on me, though.”
“Ah, I didn’t think my age mattered. Although I would say I intentionally hide how young I am at times. Most people assume I’m older than I am, and I’m happy to let them do that.”
Lana could see why. People probably took him more seriously in his position. “I wish you luck in your professional endeavors,” she sincerely said. “Can we talk about something else now? It’s a date night, right? We should talk frivolously about ourselves. I’m paying you for pleasure, Mr. Andrews.”
He propped his chin up on his hand. Keep looking at me like that and I’ll have to kiss you. She already planned to kiss him plenty that night. No sense jumping in right now. Maybe. “What are you paying me with, exactly? Because I don’t recall any money changing hands. You don’t know. Maybe all these buildings I own are in the hole and need a woman like you to save them.”
“Sounds like a reverse rom com.”
“If I had to choose, I would rather live in a romantic comedy than a Sparks novel.”
“Don’t tell me you read Sparks.”
“Who the hell has time to read? I watch the movies.”