The Geek Billionaire Makeover
by Theresa Meyers
Copyright © 2014 by Theresa Meyers. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Chapter One
Through the haze of fragrant jasmine and steam, a persistent phone kept ringing. After the fourth time, Caroline gave up trying to ignore it. She turned off the shower, popped open the glass door, and stepped over the pile of workout clothes on the cool tile floor. Her big, plush dark green towel slipped and she tucked it tighter around herself as she ran into the bedroom.
There was something wonderful about working for yourself, but there was also a dark side. She never stopped working. If the phone was ringing off the hook, it was because her assistant, Alexa, had something pressing that required her immediate attention or her father was in trouble at the VA hospital.
She took a deep breath and released it, then snapped up the phone. “Hello?”
“Caroline Parker?” said a deep male voice she didn’t recognize.
Definitely not Alexa. “Speaking. Who is this?”
“That’s not really important. What is important is that I’m about to make you a very rich woman and give you a chance to get even in the bargain.”
The soft downy hairs at the nape of Caroline’s neck prickled. When an offer sounded too good to be true, it always meant trouble. Big trouble. Instinct shouted at her to hang up, but a healthy dose of entrepreneurial curiosity got the better of her. “I’m listening. You have two minutes before I have your number traced and call the police.”
There was an amused chuckle, the sound of someone used to being in total control who saw her threat as empty and useless.
“You’re not going to do anything of the sort, because I’m hiring you.”
Caroline sighed, brushing the thick, dark strands of her wet hair back over her shoulder, and stared out over the Seattle skyline to the deep, blue waters of the Puget Sound backed by the snow-capped peaks of the Olympics. It was a hell of a view and worth every expensive penny. “I don’t take on clients I haven’t met.” As an image consultant, she’d found this to be imperative. While you could do a lot of things to modify a person’s image, you couldn’t turn charcoal into diamonds.
“Oh, but I think you’ll be willing to make an exception in this case, especially since I’m offering up Joshua Martin to you on a silver platter.”
The phone slipped in her damp hand and she nearly dropped her towel as her grip on it slackened. “I’m sorry. Say that again?”
“Joshua Martin. The Joshua Martin.”
“As in the reclusive multibillionaire software genius?” At twenty-eight the guy owned Softech and half of Seattle, and was rumored to be investing in a private space exploration venture. He’d changed the course of her life once—and not for the better. Perhaps this was her chance to change the course of his.
“Yes. I want you to be his image consultant.”
Her heart crawled up into her throat. This was big. Huge. Okay, who was she kidding? This was ginormous enough that if she landed Martin as a client he could propel her image consultation business into not just another universe, but another dimension. Fleeting glimpses of shaking hands with movie stars, senators, and international royalty flitted through her mind. This gig could at the least make her very rich. “And what exactly were you expecting out of my consulting services?”
“I want you to get inside Softech and get close enough to him to find out where he hides the things most important to him. I want you to find me something he took and return it.”
That sounded reasonable enough. “And how would this possibly benefit me?”
There was a rasp of stubble against the phone. “I know you want revenge. I can give you that and pay you very well for returning my property.” It was true. She did want revenge, but not at the cost of being anywhere near Joshua Martin ever again.
“I suppose Mr. Martin could pay me just as well.”
“Oh, I highly doubt that. At least not as much as what I had in mind.”
“And if I’m not interested?”
“Then you can kiss your image consulting business good-bye.”
Caroline contemplated the threat and decided it wasn’t enough. Few people could carry through on such a thing. “Still not interested.”
“Then perhaps you’d be more inclined if your brother was about to be framed for murder.”
Caroline instantly tensed all over. “What are you talking about?”
“Connor Parker, the good little engineer working for the government, could easily lose his security clearance, his job, his home, his wife, and his family—all gone. All I have to do is make a call.”
The threat seemed all too real now, draining the flush of the hot shower from her skin. “You don’t leave me much choice. Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll get into Softech and get whatever it is you want.”
She could almost hear the man smile on the other end of the phone. “I knew you could be agreeable. You have two months. A package with directions will be delivered to your apartment.”
“My apart—” The line went dead.
The doorbell rang and Caroline jumped, clutching her towel closer. She went to the door and checked the peephole, but saw no one. Caroline cracked open the door, letting it slide back on the chain lock. Through the narrow slit she spied a package on the floor. Great, now she had confirmation that whoever this psycho was, he knew where she lived. Not hard to do when he already knew her phone number, but unsettling all the same.
She retrieved the plain manila envelope and ripped it open. Inside was an invitation to a party that night with a typed note attached that read:
Go tonight and make contact with Antonio Carvales. He is Martin’s VP of Public Relations and is looking for an image consultant for Martin. Convince him to hire you.
She shook the envelope, but nothing else came out.
Great. Just great. What exactly had she gotten herself into?
…
“As much as you’ve already sunk into this new company, you can’t afford to let the launch go sideways. Josh, are you even listening to me?”
“Yeah. Sideways.”
In truth, Josh Martin was only half listening to the nagging of his head of public relations and longtime best friend Antonio Carvales. Beyond the plate-glass windows of Softech, shadows stretched long, tenacious fingers across the manicured green lawns of the business complex and moved toward the sapphire waters of Lake Washington. Shadows meant one thing when you lived near Seattle: sunshine.
He knew he should go get a dose of vitamin D while he could, but more important matters were claiming his attention. How many years had he put business before pleasure?
“Do you realize how much you’ve invested in Aeon Industries?”
He watched two of his techs on the lawns below remove their jackets; their steps slowed so they could enjoy the rare burst of sunshine. He wanted to be out there with them, the sun on his face, no responsibilities. For an instant, the lure of being just an average guy, with a girlfriend who liked him just for who he was, pulled at him.
“Josh?”
“About one point five billion, more or less. Check with Eric in accounting.”
Carvales sighed. “You can’t be just the pocketbook of this venture. You’ve got to be the face of it. I’m telling you, no one is going to buy into living in space if they think the company of the future is run by a bunch of guys old enough to be their grandfathers. They need you. You’ve got the clout as a techie genius and billionaire.”
Josh turned and speared his best friend with a glare. “Then what’s the problem?”
Carvales pushed his fingers through his thick black hair and gave a mirthless chuckle. “You’re a geek. A billionaire, but a nerdy geek, man. A little chic, maybe, but still. There’s no other way to say it. If you want this to work you’ll have to be the face of Aeon Industries, and to do that you’ve got to be not just a rich, smart guy with passable looks who’s a workaholic, you’ve got to have the ‘it’ factor that’ll bring in the celebs and high-paying customers into the venture. You’ve got to make living in a luxury space community the hottest trend out there. You’ve got to get people talking, raving about it. This isn’t just some app you’re selling. This is a lifestyle and you’ve got to make people want it, which means they’ve got to want you.”
Josh sat down, slouching into his leather executive chair, propped his high-top Converse up on the expensive black marble top of his desk, and stared at his autographed collector’s-edition Star Warsposters on his wall. He’d never let anything stop him before, especially anyone’s opinion of him. “No” was just an invitation to try harder.
“What do you want me to do?” Not that he wanted to do whatever Carvales suggested. He was just curious what the guy would come up with.
“I want you to work with an image consultant, someone who can get you on the cover of magazines or television as one of the hottest billionaires around.”
“And if we don’t find someone to help me get the ‘it’ factor we’re looking for?” Not that he believed anyone could bestow the magical “it” that made people popular. His “it” factor was in other areas.
“Then the chances of getting Senator Wymer to sign off on the regulations for privatizing space exploration and settlement we’ve been lobbying for are screwed and the investment in Aeon’s IPO will tank. Basically, you’ll have pissed away one point five billion on a daydream. Unless…”
Josh noticed the twinkle in his friend’s eye and smiled. “Unless we get Senator Wymer’s daughter on our side.”
“Bingo.”
“You’re scary sometimes, you know that?”
Carvales grinned. “You got to be one step ahead, man. And to that end, I’ve already secured the services of an image consultant. She’ll be here in half an hour.”
…
This was her chance to take Joshua Martin down. The weedy little geek deserved it, especially after what he’d put her through. It might have been ten years ago, but the humiliation and isolation transformed her life. One letter from Josh to her uptight military father and she’d been packed off in April of her junior year to a boarding school in Eastern Europe without getting to explain her side of things, or even ask Josh why he’d done it. Only her boarding school hadn’t been like the movies. It had been more like a prison, with twelve-foot-tall concrete walls topped with razor wire, where no one spoke English and the military-style command felt physical abuse was the rule, not the exception. It had been hell. Then there was the matter of robbing her brother of his share of billions as an original founder of Softech. She traced all of it back to Josh, blamed him really. And when she’d finally cobbled together enough of her life and frayed nerves to confront him a few years after she’d returned to the States, she’d been brushed off by some low-level secretary. He was too important, too busy to deal with a blast from his past. But that was then, and she planned on making now count for all she was worth.
She gripped the handle of her Coach purse a little tighter and glanced out the glass walls of the rising elevator at the impressive spread of manicured grounds that hugged the headquarters of Softech. The compound was nestled in a velvet emerald blanket polka-dotted with vibrant bursts of pinks, whites, reds, and purples of blooming rhododendrons beneath islands of tall fir trees. Just past them she caught a glimpse of the lapping deep blue waters of Lake Washington. This all could have been Connor’s—at least a third of it.
The lush scenery did nothing to ease the butterflies attempting a Cirque du Soleil performance in her stomach. While this was potentially the biggest client of her life, she had no intention of seeing the venture succeed.
Oh, she’d give him a makeover, all right. She’d ensure he got on every magazine and TV show, then when his efforts to launch Aeon tanked and his starlet girlfriend—the one he didn’t have yet, but she would fix that soon enough—dropped him, his failures would become a feeding frenzy for the paparazzi. There were two things the media liked: covering who was hot, and covering their downward spiral. She was going to take Josh to dizzying heights, then watch as he crashed and burned. Payback was a bitch.
But right now she intended to strip Joshua Martin down to nothing and see what she had to work with. Even though she’d already researched the reclusive high-tech billionaire, it was hard to know precisely what she’d need to do to remake the image of a client until she met them face-to-face. After all, she hadn’t even laid eyes on him in ten years. And she couldn’t exactly ask Connor about the man he’d once considered closer than a brother. Joshua and her brother hadn’t spoken since college. Contemplating revenge and actually getting this close to making it happen were two different things.
Her stomach bobbed up into her throat as the glass elevator bounced, stopping at yet another floor on her way to the top-floor offices of Mr. Martin. The doors spread open and a woman with long, straight dark red hair, dressed in olive-green cargo pants and a faded rock band T-shirt, stepped into the elevator. She offered Caroline a brief, friendly smile, and a sideways glance.
“You here for a job interview?”
“Sort of. Why?”
“Because no one here dresses up that nice unless they’re here for a job interview or they work in accounting or PR.”
Caroline ran a hand down the side of her black wool pencil skirt. The simple string of pearls around her throat suddenly seemed overkill. But what exactly did a girl wear when she was planning on hunting down a CEO? “I’m here to meet with Mr. Martin,” she said, as if that explained everything. Surely people didn’t meet with the CEO in jeans and T-shirts.
“You here for Aeon?”
From what little Caroline had dug up on the fledgling company Josh was starting as a side venture, Aeon was about to become the biggest player in the aerospace industry, even though it hadn’t even officially opened its doors yet.
All she remembered of Josh was that he was an annoying little sneak. He’d not only managed to ruin her last two years of high school, and change the direction of her adult life as a result, but had ignored her brother’s rightful claim to his share of Softech. Connor and Josh hung out together during high school and the first years of college at MIT, but when Connor opted to stay in school rather than drop out and chance everything on a tech start-up they’d dreamed up together, he’d been left out in the cold when the venture actually succeeded.
Josh made his first billion by twenty-three and now Softech was one of the big kids on the block. Connor was pulling down a comfortable income as an engineer, but nothing like what she believed he was entitled to. But obviously Josh’s success wasn’t enough. Now he was restless and starting another company in a different industry. She was here to get justice for her brother and find the plans for Aeon’s first major living development for her anonymous employer she had dubbed Mr. X in her head.
Caroline clicked her teeth together as the thoughts rushed through her mind. “No. Just here as an image consultant.”
The girl whipped her head around and snapped her pale green gum, the mint scent of it filling the air in the elevator. “For Mr. Martin?”
Caroline nodded and the elevator bounced again, followed by the soft mechanical hiss of the doors opening. “Good luck with that. You’re going to need it,” the girl said as she strode out of the elevators. The doors slid shut behind her.
What did she mean by that? Caroline tapped her index finger against the smooth leather handle of her purse. Perhaps she’d taken on a bigger challenge than she expected. She didn’t plan on blackmail, although she’d considered it. Problem was, a botched blackmail attempt could tank her image consultation company completely. No, straight-up blackmail was out. But she did intend to set Josh up and let him fall on his own and take his precious plans away from him, giving them back to the original owner.
Two more floors and she exited at the top level of Softech’s headquarters. A secretary, who looked far more conservative than the girl in the elevator, greeted her and led her to the impressive double doors of the corner office. So far, so good. Everything in this area of Softech looked professional. Her heartbeat elevated as the doors to the large corner office at Softech opened before her.
Caroline strolled in, chin held high, shoulders back. It looked like a teenager’s gaming room had collided with his dad’s corporate office. There were vintage upright video game consoles side by side with a huge flat-screen television. On his desk, among the papers and file folders, were video game controllers. Right now, in her professional estimation, Joshua Martin was a red-hot mess. He wore a badly rumpled green plaid button-up shirt open at the front over a faded, threadbare blue T-shirt. The long-sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, exposing nice forearms lightly dusted with dark hair, and he had a broad set of shoulders she didn’t remember seeing before, but his outfit was too shapeless to tell what she might have to work with as far as his physique.
His dark brown hair was on the longish side, falling into his eyes, hiding his ears and brushing the tops of his shoulders as if he’d let a haircut from six months earlier grow out and hadn’t done much with it since. Fine for a college kid; not so good on a CEO. But even so, Joshua Martin wasn’t a pushover. Far from it. He radiated confidence, as if he didn’t give a damn how he looked and did it intentionally to unsettle corporate types. He knew what he wanted and how to get it, no matter who stood in his way. She and Connor had been just a few of the many casualties he’d piled up along the way to his über-wealthy status in the tech world.
He still hadn’t looked up from his desk, so Caroline cleared her throat. “Mr. Martin?”
He glanced up. His face had changed since high school. The change surprised her, bringing an unwelcome flash of heat to her skin. Back then he’d been just another geeky kid hanging out with her little brother. Now his jaw had grown more angular, with a scruffy dark five-o’clock shadow. He’d filled out. Grown up. He had good bone structure. She hated to say it, but he looked good. The only thing that was exactly the same as she remembered was his eyes. They were a piercing blue that had the potential to steal your breath away. And those dark lashes were enough to make every girl jealous. Too bad they were half hidden behind his dark, thick-rimmed rectangular glasses. From the glimpse she’d gotten under the desk, he wore faded blue jeans and high-top basketball shoes. Definitely too casual for a multibillionaire who wanted to rock the world and ooze sex appeal. Josh Martin had promise. He just needed the right person to help him—then let him fall flat on his chiseled chin, and make it look like it had been all his fault.
…
Josh stared at the exquisite brunette in a tailored, ivory silk blouse and tight black skirt across the wide black marble-topped desk. She sat down in one of the chairs across the desk from him, not saying another word.
She hadn’t changed a bit since high school, two grades ahead. Oh, she’d grown more mature, her form creating killer curves in all the right places. Her auburn hair fell in a straight shiny spill over the silk on her shoulder instead of in a perm, but she was still the same. Unattainable. Clearly, she didn’t remember him. But he’d done everything he could to forget her.
“I trust Mr. Carvales explained what we are looking for.”
“A makeover. Something high-profile so you can attract the attention of the right kind of investors in a new company you’re launching.”
“That’s correct. What do you propose?”
“I haven’t said I’ll take the job yet.”
He stared her down. “I haven’t said you’ve been offered it. There are a dozen well-known consultants I could hire with a tap on my phone, so why, Ms. Parker, should I hire you?”
Chapter Two
For a moment she just stared straight through him. A slight rose color infused the creamy skin of her neck and cheeks, and the sultry scent of jasmine drifted toward him when she moved.
For ten years he’d been waiting to kiss her. For ten years he’d been waiting for the right time to get her to notice him, not just as her kid brother’s geeky friend, but as a man. And for ten years he’d promised himself that one day Caroline Parker was going to beg him to touch her. Getting her to beg for a job was a nice start.
“Mr. Martin, I assure you if you select our firm to consult in this matter, you will see results.”
“And it’s absolutely confidential?”
She nodded. “Guaranteed.”
“What about getting me into People magazine in the Sexiest Men Alive issue? Can we base your guarantee on that or my money back?”
She frowned slightly, just a momentary pull of her brows together that showed him she was slightly confused by his choice of goals. “I’m looking to capture the attention of a particular woman who would see that as an asset,” he explained.
“May I ask who?”
He hesitated. He didn’t like revealing too much of his plan, especially to someone outside the company with no vested interest in the outcome. It unsettled him. He preferred to be the one in control of the situation at all times. “Not at this time. If we can come to an agreement, then we can discuss it in greater detail.”
She paused for a second. He could tell from the flicker of doubt in her eyes she was considering how much of a challenge that might be. The momentary lapse in Caroline’s perfectly controlled facade intrigued him. Just who had Caroline grown up to be? Had she changed as much as he had?
“I believe we can do it.”
“And who would I have for my personal consultant?”
Caroline smiled. “I’ll take care of you personally, Mr. Martin.”
He liked the sound of that. Possibly too much for his own good. What would it be like to have Caroline Parker in his bed, even if it was just for one night? He intended to find out.
Josh leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk and flipping the pen in his hand back and over his hand, between his fingers over and over again. He’d been deliberately lounging back in his office chair, appearing uncommitted to the idea of using her company for an image consultation. He didn’t want her to see how eager he was for this meeting. Caroline did something to him with her mere presence; it wasn’t normal. Hell, just her perfume made him want to touch her and gave him one hell of a hard-on.
“So how do you suggest we proceed?”
“I have a four-step plan prepared for you, Mr. Martin.”
He gave her an easy smile. “We’ve known each other since we were teenagers. If you’re going to be the one remodeling my public image, I think you’d better start calling me Josh.”
Her mouth pursed for a moment as if she’d sucked on something particularly sour. She straightened her shoulders and sighed. “So you do remember me.”
“Kind of hard to forget the most popular girl in school, especially when she was your best friend’s older sister who turned you down flat, and you get knocked out by the football quarterback for asking her out.”
Caroline looked out the window, a pained expression flitting across her features.
“But that’s all in the past, isn’t it?” he said dismissively.
“I hardly remember it.” The words were simple, but her tone told a different story.
“Well, Josh, I’ve done a bit of research. Based on what I’ve been able to find, your style is a bit too casual for the goal you’re pursuing.”
“Are you trying to say in a really nice way you think I look like a teenage kid who plays video games all day?”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Who doesn’t always shave,” she added with a smirk.
Good. She was honest. This had potential. It wasn’t often he found people who could be straight with him. Most thought the way to get into his good graces was to tell him what they believed he wanted to hear. But he’d learned early, and heard often from his mentors that honesty from the people closest to you was invaluable.
“Good. So what would you change?”
Her gaze drifted over him again, assessing him, and Josh felt it physically, like a caress. “We’re going to create a very specific image for you, something that says powerful, attractive, and a little bit rogue.”
Josh found himself enthralled by her. “You mean Han Solo rogue?”
She raised one brow, questioning his choice. “If you want to think of it that way, sure.”
…
Divine intervention came in the form of Josh’s secretary who came in silently with a tray bearing two glasses of ice water garnished with paper-thin slices of pale green cucumber and bright yellow wedges of lemon. She set the tray on the edge of Josh’s desk, then efficiently departed. Caroline rose from her chair and picked up one of the tall glasses and took a sip.
The crisp flavors floated over her tongue. The drink gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. Han Solo? Seriously?
Perhaps it was a good thing he was so reclusive. It would cut down on the time it would take to transform his image from powerhouse of the techie geek circles to top of the Sexiest Men Alive list. She turned slowly and set down her glass on his desk. “Step one will be getting you a new look.”
He frowned a little, a flash of defiance lighting his blue eyes. “You’re not going to make me give up everything comfortable, are you?”
“I think we can find you some alternative clothes that are both comfortable and stylish.”
He flipped the pen between his fingers over and under his hand again. That was a habit she’d need to break.
“Fine. What next?”
“Step two, we teach you how to have fun around other people. Until you get that element, everything else we do will look too forced to be credible to the media, and in particular Peoplemagazine.”
“All work and no play makes—”
“Joshua Martin a recluse,” she finished for him. “Which leads us to step three, updating your social skills and getting you out in public places.”
The geek billionaire turned that icy glare on full blast. “I don’t do public appearances.”
Caroline pivoted, then curled herself back into her chair, deliberately mimicking his posture, and clasped hands to make him feel more at ease subliminally. “What bothers you most about them?” This was something she really didn’t understand. How could he avoid this in his line of work?
“Everybody wants something from you. It’s like you’re at an all-you-can-eat buffet, but you’re the buffet.”
“I can see where that would be draining.” She sat back, stroking her finger across her mouth. His eyes dilated a fraction, which surprised her, but she continued, trying not to betray that she’d noticed his unintentional sign of attraction to her. As an image consultant she was trained to make note of every little twitch and unconscious movement of her clients. “But let me ask you this, have you ever been to an event where you just had fun?”
He brightened. “Yeah, when I bought out a theater to watch the rereleases of the Star Wars films.”
“Who did you take with you?” There wasn’t a woman in his life, was there? she wondered.
“Myself.”
“Ah. Anything else?”
He shook his head, making the longer strands of his dark hair shadow his eyes. “Not really.”
She had the sudden compulsion to brush the hair back with her fingers, but resisted it. Touching clients was a no-no, especially anything that hinted at intimacy, unless they expressly knew it was all just practice. The desire to touch him took her aback.
“What about with friends?”
“I don’t have time for a social life,” he said as if it were a fact rather than a choice.
She spread her hands down the thighs of her skirt and watched his gaze follow the movement. “You know what your problem is?”
His eyes locked on hers, blatant male interest there for just a moment before it disappeared behind the professional image. “Enlighten me.”
“You don’t know how to have fun.”
He gestured at the gaming consoles and vintage video games. “Look around. I play plenty.”
“By yourself. You’ll have to learn to play well with others if you want them to admire you and follow your lead in setting a new trend.”
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair as she studied the vintage Star Wars posters that adorned his office walls. “I have a basic set of social skills, enough to run this company. I’m not a complete workaholic.”
Caroline came closer, leaning over to glance at the doodles of X-wing fighters he’d made on the notepad in front of him. “Yes, but unless you’re talking to other Star Wars fans online or your staff in the boardroom at Softech, I’m guessing you don’t get into discussions with people very often.”
“I have plenty of interactions with people. On all sorts of topics.” He refused to meet her gaze, but the defensive, angry tone in his voice came through, telling her much more than mere words alone.
Caroline deliberately sat on the edge of his desk, intruding on his personal space. His eyes dilated slightly and his respiration rate sped up. Yeah. Just like she thought. While he’d grown into a man’s body —a nice one if her initial assessment was correct—deep down inside he was still the geeky kid who’d played video games with her brother all night. Not a girl in sight. “And how many of those have been casual, non-business-related dates with women?”
“Some. I don’t date much,” he murmured. “I can afford to be highly selective and I’ve been too busy to find suitable dates. Let’s just say I’m picky.” He sounded a bit surly about it.
She gestured to the walls of his large top-floor office. “And you’ve done fantastic things with that dedication, but what we’re really focusing on is getting you prepared for step four, remaking your reputation.” She crossed her arms over her chest, emphasizing her cleavage, and saw the hot flicker of interest flare again in his eyes. “I can do amazing things for you, Josh, but I can’t remake your reputation into one of the sexiest men in America without the media believing women are willing to throw themselves at you.” She leaned in a little closer, watching his reaction. “I myself would have to be willing to throw myself at you. And we aren’t there…yet.”
He shifted in his chair. “Well, you’re the expert. Is that all there is to it?”
“No, we have one more step. In step four we find someone to fall in love with you.”
Josh bolted up out of his chair, the soft leather seat rolling silently backward from the force. The piercing laser-like intensity of his stare made her breath catch.
“What? You can stop right there. I have no intention of getting that serious about anyone.”
Caroline swallowed hard and forced her lips into a cordial smile. The power radiating off him stunned her. Josh might be a geek, but beneath that techie exterior was some real drive and command, a real alpha male, who was used to being in command. It made sense. How else could he have accomplished all that he had in the ultracompetitive high-tech field before he was even thirty? He was smart. Determined. A man who didn’t take no for an answer—from her or anyone else.
“Don’t stress out.” She stood again, backing away from her perch on the edge of his desk, giving him space. “It’s a calculated PR move. I’m not a matchmaker, but if you want to really lock in a nomination for the magazine, we need to have your face in every newspaper online, every entertainment television show and blog out there. That means we make a name and we hook you up with an even bigger name—someone in the entertainment industry, a singer or actress. Even if you two only date, the coverage will boost your chances of getting into the top ten on People’s list.”
He grumbled beneath his breath and sat down again.
“Did you have a question?”
“No.”
Joshua Martin didn’t mince words.
“I think it’s time you were honest with yourself, Josh. Just from the basic research I’ve done, you eat, sleep, and breathe this company and your other business endeavors. That’s the very definition of a workaholic. We need to change that to put you on the radar of the top-tier customers you’re looking for and the mystery woman you want to notice you.”
He sat back in his executive chair and stared out the window, distant once again. “When do we start?”
She stood up and smoothed her skirt, pulled her shoulders back, flipped her hair back over her shoulder, and gave him a broad smile. Getting what she wanted from Joshua Martin might not be as simple as she thought, especially with how he made her body feel and his obvious interest in her as a woman. A slight complication.
“Tomorrow. Your place. Nine o’clock.”
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