Not Husband Material (Billionaire's Contract Duet 1)
I raised my eyebrows, glancing around the place. “Do you see anyone else walking around the master suite like he owns the place?”
As if on cue, the bathroom door opened, and the Greek chick stepped out, a towel already wrapped around her body, and her curly hair dripping wet behind her. She glanced between me and Jillian, then glared daggers at me.
“Well, besides her,” I said to Jillian with a grin.
“Who is this?” the girl asked, looking Jillian up and down before turning her razor-sharp gaze on me.
I opened my mouth to answer, but Jillian beat me to it.
“I’m the yacht broker handling the sale of this ship,” she said, and her voice had a crisp, professional tone to it that I wasn’t used to hearing in her voice. She’d always been a tightly-wound ball of awkward anxiety when I knew her. This kind of professional confidence I could sense in her was refreshing, to put it politely.
To put it impolitely, it was keeping my naked cock at half-mast, and I’d all but forgotten the fact that I was supposed to be getting a towel.
“You’re the broker?” I said, taken by the same surprise that had taken Jillian a moment ago. I gave my head a shake, then ran my hand through my hair as if making myself look a little neater. With the same kind of professional posture and tone as if I weren’t completely naked, I thrust my hand out to Jillian with a charming smile.
“Bruin Kinkaid, pleasure to meet you. Welcome aboard the Mirabella. I’m sure you’ll find everything up to and beyond your expectations,” said in the same tone of voice I used with the businesspeople I dealt with on a daily basis.
Jillian was dumbstruck, and she stared at my naked form for a moment before the other girl interrupted by clearing her throat.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, giving my head a shake and gesturing to the girl, “Jillian, this is…” I paused, realizing I never got her name. “Shit,” I muttered.
“Maria,” the girl finished for me, this time with a bitter look in my direction, stomping over to the foot of the bed to pick up her clothes and trudge back into the bathroom, muttering something under her breath before slamming the door behind her.
Jillian gave me a look of total disbelief, and I rolled my eyes with a chuckle as I finally went to the closet to get a spare towel. I used it on my hair for a bit, giving her another good look at my body stretched tall.
“So, yacht broker, huh?” I said once I’d finally finished toweling my hair, and I ran my hand through it before wrapping the towel around my waist at last. “I’m impressed, Little Jilly.”
“Only my brother calls me that,” she said wearily, but I noticed the flick of her gaze to the edge of my towel, where my abs descended into an enticing V.
“Good point,” I said, glancing at her professional attire and the confidence in her posture. “Out on your own, executing mul
ti-million-dollar sales on yachts, socializing with handsome billionaires.” Watching her face shift into different shades of blush was truly entertaining. “You’re right, Little Jilly’s a little juvenile for you now. You’re all grown up. How about Jill?”
“I go by Jillian,” she said flatly. If I was being honest, I only called her Jill because I remembered Jeff telling me she’d been teased with the Jack and Jill rhyme in elementary school, and the grudge against the name just stuck.
“And a little professionalism you didn’t have when you were younger,” I commented, putting my hand to my chin. “If you’re trying to get my attention, Jill, you’re doing a decent job. I have to say, I’m not surprised very often.”
“Excuse me?” she said, her eyes wide.
“As a peer, of course,” I clarified, a grin on my face. “It’s part of my job to spot potential, Jill, and I can clearly see that potential is something you’ve got in spades,” I noted, but my eyes were drinking in her body. I thought she could tell, but I didn’t care.
She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, but finally, she took a breath and said, “I’m here to tour the ship, Bruin.” She narrowed her eyes and added, “Or maybe Mister Kincaid would be more appropriate, since we’re being professional?”
“I do like the way Mister Kincaid sounds, coming from you,” I said, striding over to my dresser and taking out a bottle of designer men’s cologne and giving myself a quick spray under my jaw. “But you can call me whatever you want, Jill. Maria in there calls me sir,” I added with a flash of a smile to Jillian, whose jaw was in a perpetual clench.
“Whatever the case may be,” she said with impeccable professional grace, “I have a tour to finish. If I’m a little taken off-guard, it’s because I wasn’t expecting anyone to be on board.”
“That’s the difference in doing business with me,” I quipped with a cocky smile as I checked myself out in the mirror. “I wouldn’t want to make you wander around aimlessly. I’d planned on taking the broker out to breakfast afterward, you know, but if I’d known the broker was my best friend’s little sister, I’d have had something a little more personal ready.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jillian said, brushing some hair out of her face as she moved to the opposite side of the room, her eyes going to the furnishings and the layout of the room. She was doing a fabulous job of dodging every double entendre I was throwing her way. It was frustrating, but there was something about that I liked. So, she really is doing this broker thing after all, isn’t she? I frowned. “I’ve done my homework on this class of yacht, so I generally know what I’m looking for.”
“Good, I was starting to wonder if you wanted me to be your first,” I said, unable to resist. Her cheeks were burning, but she kept her face from moving to show it. “I’ll be in my office if you need me. If you forget anything from your ‘homework,’ come find me,” I said with a wink.
“I’ll keep it in mind,” she said, turning to leave. I was expecting her to slam the door, but I heard her hesitate a moment. “Nice to see you again, Bruin,” she said at last, awkwardly, and when the door finally closed, my smile split into a grin.
I was going to enjoy this.
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