The Prelude (A Musical Interlude Novel) - By Kasonndra Leigh Page 0,54

you care to highlight for us?” Petre asks.

My, my aren’t we nosey today, doctor? “I think she wants me to know that the person I met is good for me,” I say, shrugging.

“And what does Erin believe?” He asks yet another question.

“I’m not sure yet.”

Chapter Fourteen

Erin

Luca, Carla, and I along with Black Butterfly’s two new interns have all been working late hours, staying at the shop well into the evening. Contracts from clients all over the country have been rolling in since last week’s showing.

Tonight, the BB crew’s obsessive work behavior has helped to keep me from chewing all of the skin off my bottom lip while I wait for Alek to arrive. It takes nerve to challenge a man like him. He’s already given me a taste of his, um, dominant side.

What the hell makes me think he can’t meet my criteria? I mean, challenging him to out dance you in a night club? Seriously? I try to take comfort in knowing that he’s only a few years older than me. But if he puts me to shame, which I’m pretty sure he can do if I’m not on my game tonight, then I have to deal with answering his damned proposal.

We’ve all pitched in late hours to help finish prepping the final touches on the clothing sets that Alek will use in his preview show next week. I owe much of the successful preparation to Carla. She has this wicked ability to be able to turn an idea into an outfit in less than an hour. She took all of my kooky ideas, transferred the final vision to a pattern, and was able to have a rough version of the final product ready by the time I finished my morning coffee.

Everyone in the design room stops talking when Alek strolls into the shop. He’s dressed in a light colored shirt and black slacks, it’s almost the same outfit he wore when we first met each other, the day he comforted me until my asthma attack ended.

“Are you ready, Erin?” he asks in that accent he uses when he knows he’s on display the way he is right now. He’s a natural born performer and a damn sexy as hell one at that.

A smile spreads across Carla’s face, and then she makes a giggly laugh. “When you called him a hot date, you weren’t kidding around, were you?”

That’s right. My date is panty-drop gorgeous. And I have him all to myself tonight.

But Alek knows how he affects women, and I still feel a bit strange about his neglect to call me after the showing. So, I act as blasé as I possibly can, when inside I’m jumping up like a little bunny who found a big ass carrot garden.

I head to my office in the back and grab my purse. On the way out, I remind everyone not to work too late considering this is Saturday night. My boss and coworkers are still staring even as Alek and I walk out the door.

* * *

The lights in the Alcatraz flash across both Alek’s face and mine. Two floors of wild party madness greet Alek and me as soon as we walk through the doors. The Maestro wants an arrangement based on sex. And he did one hell of a job in trying to prove his point. But if I'm going to be partnering up with him and putting my options aside then he's going to have to prove he's worthy of my time and efforts.

I can't just agree to something like that without giving him a reason to appreciate what I'm doing for him. Otherwise, I'll wind up being a pretty little dolly that sits on the shelf and waits for her owner to come around and play with her again. I'm sure his previous partners jumped at the chance. He's used to getting his way with women. I probably let him go a little further than I should've done the night of the showing; but hell, I am human and my body has needs. Okay, so we know he has confidence down, and he's damn good with his hands. But what about the rest of the package? Can he move that sexy body of his the way I suspect he can? Well, I guess we'll find out. Choosing one of Milan’s largest nightclubs turns out to be a great idea according to Alek.

I’m surprised, but then not really. There’s this surreal battle going on between us. You know