five-percent of the offer should suffice."
"Okay, if it'll make you happy." She took the clip out of her hair and shook her head. "But I don't plan on losing, Ken."
"You know, if anyone could win against Nico Cruz, it'd be you." He chuckled. "I can't wait to see what happens."
"Brace yourself for fireworks." If only he knew how true that was. She hung up the phone and ran into the bathroom. A shower, some sprucing, and she was out the door and headed downtown.
The guards at the front desk in the lobby stopped talking when she entered.
She strode right up to them, her heels clacking with purpose. "I'm here to see Nico Cruz."
The one seated at the desk tapped something on his keyboard. "Is Mr. Cruz expecting you?"
"In a manner of speaking," she answered with a smile. "I can guarantee he'll want to see me."
The guards exchanged looks she read as yeah, right. But the one manning the desk picked up the phone. "What's your name?"
"Daniela Rossi."
The guard lowered his voice as he spoke into the receiver. He paused, shrugged, and then nodded before he hung up. "You can go up," he said as though he were surprised.
She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she walked to the elevator. The other guard followed her and swiped her into it. "It'll take you up to the top."
"Thank you," she said as the door closed.
It was so smooth a ride that she didn't realize how far up she'd gone, or how quickly, until she stepped out and saw the view of the city from the windows around the reception area.
A beautiful blond receptionist, sitting behind a long elegant counter, smiled politely as she stood. "Ms. Rossi? Nico's waiting for you in his office. This way."
Daniela followed the cliché down the hallway and to the right, all the way to the end. The receptionist knocked lightly and then, at the muffled sound, opened it and gestured Daniela inside.
She lifted her head and strode in.
He sat behind his desk. He was groomed perfectly, wearing an expensive shirt with the cuffs rolled up, a Patek Philippe watch flashing at his wrist, and still he looked like he could have easily slipped into the underworld. Everything about him screamed that he wasn't safe.
But safety was overrated. She was willing to risk it. Based on their one kiss, the rewards seemed so worth it. "You found me," she said.
He stood up, his gaze lingering on her legs. "You knew I would."
She dropped her purse on the nearest chair and sauntered right up to him. "The question is, what are we going to do about it now?"
"I have an idea or two." He ran a fingertip along the ridge of her collarbone.
She shivered, feeling the slight touch all over her body. "I hope they include you, me, and a bed."
"They do." He lifted her chin. "Eventually."
She went molten the second his lips touched hers. This was what she'd needed all week. She wound her arms around his neck and gave herself up to it.
To him.
She'd been worried that she'd imagined how outstanding their first kiss had been, but she shouldn't have worried. It was exactly how she remembered it, rich and delicious.
He kissed his way down, giving her goose bumps when he paused at crook of her neck and inhaled.
She sighed in delight, closing her eyes to savor the feeling. "It was clever of you to put in the fake bid on the building to meet me."
"It wasn't fake." He nipped her skin with his teeth.
"I—" Her shiver of pleasure ended abruptly as his words registered. She pulled back enough to look him in the eye. "What?"
"I wanted to see you again, but I want to buy the building, too."
She pulled out of his arms. "Well, you can't have both."
He pulled her close again and showed her differently.
Daniela tried to resist but he was like her mojito cake: intoxicating and too tempting to deny.
She pushed at his chest to give herself enough space to breathe. Even though her lips throbbed with the memory of his kiss, she glared at him. "You're a bastard."
He smiled self-deprecatingly. "By birth and by nature."
He spoke without sentiment, but she still heard a touch of sadness there, and her heart bled for him.
But she steeled herself, refusing to be played for a sucker. "You aren't going to soften me up with sob stories of your poor youth. You're a powerful man now, with everything the world has to offer, and I won't