He wanted her.
Who
ever she was, whatever it took, Jude Stone knew he would have his way. He always did.
She
was dressed in a calf-length, black-sheathed dress, with its broad straps crisscrossing
over her shoulders. She filled out the outfit nicely, her ample curves hugging
the thin fabric. He drew in a breath of sexually charged awareness at this voluptuous
beauty that stood in the middle of the room; totally clueless about the effect
she was having on his long-deprived hormones. Her generous bust seemed to
strain against the bodice, with its heart-shaped cut and revealed a delicious
deep shadow of cleavage. She had to be a 40D, Jude’s well-trained eye decided
– and her five-foot frame served to emphasize further her deliciously
buxom proportions. He took his time to trail his eyes from the top of her
top-knotted hair to her heeled feet, and decided that he hadn’t seen anything
so alluring, so utterly desirable, in a long time.
“Who
is she?” he heard himself ask tersely, cutting through the words of his
assistant who was standing next to him.
His
assistant, the long-suffering Carly, followed the line of his gaze and narrowed
her eyes in recognition.
“Sir,
why do you ask? Because if Miranda Quinn has caught your eye, then I’m going to
have to disappoint you.”
***
Carly
couldn’t help the trace of satisfaction in her voice. She knew her boss –
for whom she’d been working the last nine years – too well. She knew that
look in his eye, understood exactly what he was thinking even without it being
spelled out for her. It was rare, but when she saw that dark, purposeful glint
in his eye, she knew it meant that he’d set his sights on a potential female
acquisition. And he was the type who never could understand that not everything
– or everyone – had to fall into his lap.
Jude
Stone was not just her long-time employer, but he was one of the richest men in
the city. He was known as the “Bust-up Billionaire” because of the way he’d
made his fortunes on ruthlessly leveraged takeovers – turning a thriving
family business into a goldmine. Now, at age thirty-four, he was running a
billion-dollar business empire left to him by his tycoon father when Jude had
been only twenty-five. In the ten years since then, Jude Stone had become a
billionaire several times over – and he didn’t seem ready to slow down
yet.
And
if that wasn’t enough, he had the looks of a god. His face had graced enough
magazine covers, both in the field of business and of style. He was nothing
short of a celebrity thanks to his undeniable physical attributes as well as
his money. People were intrigued by his corporate savvy, and were even more pulled
in by his handsome looks.
He
had links to the top-most politicians, movie stars and business moguls. His
last girlfriend had been one of the top three supermodels in the world –
and the break-up of their one-year relationship had been fodder for the gossip
sheets for months.
Carly
carefully analyzed the target of his interest, and had to admit she was certainly
a voluptuous beauty. Certainly on the curvy side, and was hardly what Carly
would consider his ‘usual’ type. And yet Carly could see where the appeal lay.
The woman known as Miranda Quinn looked confident, at ease in her own skin. Her
poise was evident in every inch of her carriage. Yes, she was certainly quite
lovely, with regular, striking features. Her dark hair was swept up, leaving
her shoulders bare. She stood in her group and talked and laughed, oblivious of
the scrutiny from across the room.
“Her
name is Miranda Quinn? Why does that sound familiar?” her boss mused.
Carly
turned to face him. “Well, for one thing, because you were responsible for
taking over her father’s company,” She told him bluntly. “Her father was Jepson
Quinn, and his company was just another of your bust-ups of last year. So
really, you can’t expect to have any luck with his daughter, can you?”
“Why
do I
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