A Busty Bride for the Billionaire (Contemporary Erotic Romance) by Vanessa Wilde Page B
Authors: Vanessa Wilde
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wanna die I wanna die...
“I'm sorry, I... I can't look at you right now.”
“Hah... Honestly, you're taking this way too hard. I'm not saying I wouldn't have called you out if you hadn't made that mistake and put your blog on your profile... but I will say that it definitely helped. I felt a real sense of knowing something about you, of getting to see past some of the carefully-crafted dating website self-presentation, and into something more genuine...”
Kim moved her fingers apart a little, and peeked out from behind her hands with one eye.
“Though, even then... I gotta say your dating website self-presentation wasn't quite as carefully-crafted as some of the other people...”
Kim let her face, still covered by her hands, fall onto the table. The man in front of her laughed again.
“Ha ha... is it really that bad? You really not going to look at me for the rest of the time?”
“Yep.”
“Don't wanna look up, even just for a second?”
“No way...”
“Hm, won't be much fun for you, staring at your hands the whole time... Fine, then. If that's how it is, let's go somewhere higher up the building.”
“Huh?”
Kim lifted her head up a second with that, made brief eye contact, and retreated back into her hands on the table.
“Thought if we went somewhere with a view of the city, you could look at that instead of me...”
Kim heard a scraping noise of a chair across the floor, and felt the man across from her get up from the table.
She had to look up for that. When she did, she saw his back turned to her, a couple paces away, headed toward the door of the cafe.
She looked around herself furtively, as if looking for a clue as to how to proceed.
When no one immediately jumped out with a list of instructions, she just picked up her purse and scurried out after him. Coming up behind his long stride, she asked:
“But... shouldn't we pay the bill?”
He looked back at her over her shoulder, an eyebrow cocked. Without meaning to, she looked down at her feet, as a reflex.
“I really wouldn't worry about that. I doubt the manager'll complain.”
“Why wouldn't he?”
“Because I just gave him a raise last week.”
“Oh, I guess that'd....... huh?”
The man in front of her was hailed by a elevator attendant in the main hall, and started a light conversation.
“Ah, good morning, Martha; how's the new baby? Wow, is he already that big? Well, make sure you don't stay at work too late, OK? Tell Tom I said it's fine for you to get out an hour or two early when you need to. Anyway, yeah, I think we'll take the private elevator; less bustle. Thanks; you too!”
The woman led them around a corner, to a subtly nondescript black elevator a little way's off from the main ones, activating it with a keycard. The man held it open for Kim, inviting her in.
Once inside, he pressed the button to some floor halfway up the building, and the elevator ascended smoothly, the street and surrounding buildings retreating steadily beneath them through the glass panes which made up the elevator's walls.
“There's a nice restaurant on the 20 th , and a cocktail bar lounge thing on the 30 th . It just opened; I haven't had time to check it out. We could take the tour, if you w–”
“I... what did you say your name was, again?”
“Ah, yes, sorry about that. I used the details of my personal assistant's husband on the website: profile picture... name. Couldn't really use my real ones, unfortunately, for reasons of security... and simple practicality, really.”
He looked her in the eyes, and she managed to meet his cool gaze for a few seconds.
“My name is Will Locklear.”
Dimly, a series of images and phrases flashed through her mind – half-remembered tabloid front pages, gossip she'd overheard at dentists' waiting rooms or on the radio. Will Locklear. Head of Ferrus
“I'm sorry, I... I can't look at you right now.”
“Hah... Honestly, you're taking this way too hard. I'm not saying I wouldn't have called you out if you hadn't made that mistake and put your blog on your profile... but I will say that it definitely helped. I felt a real sense of knowing something about you, of getting to see past some of the carefully-crafted dating website self-presentation, and into something more genuine...”
Kim moved her fingers apart a little, and peeked out from behind her hands with one eye.
“Though, even then... I gotta say your dating website self-presentation wasn't quite as carefully-crafted as some of the other people...”
Kim let her face, still covered by her hands, fall onto the table. The man in front of her laughed again.
“Ha ha... is it really that bad? You really not going to look at me for the rest of the time?”
“Yep.”
“Don't wanna look up, even just for a second?”
“No way...”
“Hm, won't be much fun for you, staring at your hands the whole time... Fine, then. If that's how it is, let's go somewhere higher up the building.”
“Huh?”
Kim lifted her head up a second with that, made brief eye contact, and retreated back into her hands on the table.
“Thought if we went somewhere with a view of the city, you could look at that instead of me...”
Kim heard a scraping noise of a chair across the floor, and felt the man across from her get up from the table.
She had to look up for that. When she did, she saw his back turned to her, a couple paces away, headed toward the door of the cafe.
She looked around herself furtively, as if looking for a clue as to how to proceed.
When no one immediately jumped out with a list of instructions, she just picked up her purse and scurried out after him. Coming up behind his long stride, she asked:
“But... shouldn't we pay the bill?”
He looked back at her over her shoulder, an eyebrow cocked. Without meaning to, she looked down at her feet, as a reflex.
“I really wouldn't worry about that. I doubt the manager'll complain.”
“Why wouldn't he?”
“Because I just gave him a raise last week.”
“Oh, I guess that'd....... huh?”
The man in front of her was hailed by a elevator attendant in the main hall, and started a light conversation.
“Ah, good morning, Martha; how's the new baby? Wow, is he already that big? Well, make sure you don't stay at work too late, OK? Tell Tom I said it's fine for you to get out an hour or two early when you need to. Anyway, yeah, I think we'll take the private elevator; less bustle. Thanks; you too!”
The woman led them around a corner, to a subtly nondescript black elevator a little way's off from the main ones, activating it with a keycard. The man held it open for Kim, inviting her in.
Once inside, he pressed the button to some floor halfway up the building, and the elevator ascended smoothly, the street and surrounding buildings retreating steadily beneath them through the glass panes which made up the elevator's walls.
“There's a nice restaurant on the 20 th , and a cocktail bar lounge thing on the 30 th . It just opened; I haven't had time to check it out. We could take the tour, if you w–”
“I... what did you say your name was, again?”
“Ah, yes, sorry about that. I used the details of my personal assistant's husband on the website: profile picture... name. Couldn't really use my real ones, unfortunately, for reasons of security... and simple practicality, really.”
He looked her in the eyes, and she managed to meet his cool gaze for a few seconds.
“My name is Will Locklear.”
Dimly, a series of images and phrases flashed through her mind – half-remembered tabloid front pages, gossip she'd overheard at dentists' waiting rooms or on the radio. Will Locklear. Head of Ferrus
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