The Tycoon's Tender Triumph Page 0,35
best friend. But you’re going to be my lover.”
“I’m not!” she fired back, sitting up straighter in her seat.
“You are,” he came back with absolute certainty. “You’re afraid of me for some reason, or someone did something to you in the past, but we’ll work through that and we’ll be lovers. Make no mistake about that.”
“Nothing happened to me in the past,” she lied, not wanting him to figure out that the reason she was against becoming his lover was because of the impact of the other women he’d dated right after her. But as soon as she’d said it, she realized what it meant. That she was actually afraid of him. So in reality, both statements were true, and both had just landed her in a conversation she didn’t want to have.
And he picked up on it just as quickly, his mind working ten times faster than the average person’s. “That means you’re afraid of me. And I can fix that.”
She turned away at his calm assurance, wanting to break his confidence. “What makes you so sure?”
“Because there have been times when you weren’t afraid of me.”
Chloe didn’t want to go there. “What makes you think those men’s’ treatment of me was your fault?”
“Because you were with me and I haven’t invested in your business. They don’t understand, and wouldn’t understand no matter how much explaining you do. If I’m not in it, but I’m close to you, then they see it as me not endorsing your business venture. If I don’t endorse something, most people don’t trust it either.”
Chloe realized the truth of his comment. It wasn’t bragging, it was just a calm statement of fact. “So, when I attend these functions with you, they’re all going to treat me as a non-entity unless I let you invest. Do I understand this correctly?”
“That’s basically it, yes.”
“That’s….”
“That’s business. Many of those men in there have asked me to be on their board of directors or are in business with me themselves.”
“And they know that all your ventures are profitable.”
Sam only nodded his head. “I have a bit of luck on my side.”
Chloe laughed. “You have a bit of financial genius, Sam. Don’t be coy.”
Sam chuckled. “I’ve never been accused of being coy.”
They pulled into her driveway at that point and Sam turned off the engine. “Invite me inside, Chloe.”
She couldn’t believe she actually thought about it. He was very tempting as he leaned one arm against the steering wheel and the other on the back of her seat. “I’m not inviting you inside.”
“Why not?”
“Because it would be pointless.” She reached down and unlatched her seat belt, not daring to look at him.
“I could change your mind.”
That brought her head back up. “Please don’t,” she whispered.
He considered her request for a long moment. “I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t try and convince you to invite me inside, even though we both know it would be incredible…” he put a finger over her lips when she started to protest, “but you have to do something for me.”
Chloe started to agree, but then realized that she didn’t have to do anything. “Sam…”
“If you argue with me, I’m going to lean over and kiss you until you’re speechless. And you know I can,” he said with his deep sexy voice going even huskier.
“You have to let me invest in whatever business you’re trying to start up. I want a forty-nine percent share.”
She opened her mouth to argue but he put a finger to her lower lip this time. “In return for that share, I’ll make sure you’re introduced to all the right people but just to show you how much confidence I have in your abilities, I won’t say anything to anyone when I introduce you. You do all the talking, all the convincing. That way, you can create your own network, show the business people and potential clients than you’re serious about whatever it is you want to do, and then let your expertise do the rest.”
She thought about it for a moment, the darkness of the truck creating a sort of cocoon around them, insulating them from the outside influences. And possibly reason, Chloe thought.
“And what if I don’t agree?”
Sam smiled and leaned forward about an inch. “Then I get out of this car, carry you inside, make love to you until you’re mind blows, then ask you all kinds of questions about why you waited so long to let something like that happen between us.”
“That’s blackmail,” she said