No Strings__ - By Janelle Denison Page 0,3
on several different levels, her utter focus, control and drive when it came to advancing in the corporate world reminded him of his ex-wife and how her ambition had eventually destroyed their marriage, and his trust. Paige had refused to allow anything to get in the way of her success as a defense attorney, not even an unplanned pregnancy that she’d made clear she never wanted. A pregnancy she’d terminated without any discussion or input from him.
The end result of what she’d done in order to pursue her professional goals still cut Aiden deeper than a knife and had shattered his illusions of love and commitment, and the sanctuary of marriage. After their bitter divorce three years ago, he’d vowed that he’d never get seriously involved with another career-minded woman again. No, the next time he put a ring on someone’s finger, he’d be damned sure she was on the same page as him when it came to the importance of family.
Career-wise, Aiden recognized that Chloe and Paige had a lot in common. But while his wife had been cold and calculating, Chloe was the complete opposite. Chloe was undoubtedly driven to succeed, but having worked with her for the past two years, he also knew she was warm, genuine and friendly. Most important, she respected her colleagues and had a great reputation in the industry—two exceptional qualities that were hard to find in such a cut-throat business.
But damned if he wasn’t overwhelmingly attracted to her, despite the many reasons why he shouldn’t want her. He’d be a liar if he said all that confidence and sass of hers didn’t do it for him in a major way. Sexually, he liked a woman a little on the aggressive side, a woman who knew what she liked and wasn’t afraid to challenge him in the bedroom. Judging by their seductive flirtations and Chloe’s determined attitude when it came to getting what she wanted, Aiden highly suspected she was exactly that kind of woman.
Not that he’d ever have the pleasure of discovering for himself what kind of lover she was. Resisting Chloe and the tempting awareness between them was paramount, not only because of the no dating policy the company enforced, but because Aiden was fairly certain she was seeing someone—some guy he’d seen her with a few times down at the Executive Bar after work. Besides, even if she wasn’t dating someone else, Aiden wasn’t about to risk a career opportunity that was so close to being within his grasp by having an office affair that ended up damaging his future plans to start up his own ad agency.
Right now, his sole focus was on acquiring the multi-million dollar St. Raphael Resort account, because the substantial bonus that was being dangled as an incentive was exactly what he needed to fund his new venture. It was between himself and Chloe as to who would be assigned to St. Raphael, and considering the exceptional job she was doing on the Organic Kitty campaign today, there was no doubt in Aiden’s mind that the competition for the resort account was going to be fierce. Making the choice between him and his office rival for the job was going to be very difficult indeed.
Chloe wrapped up her PowerPoint spiel, and it was evident that the client loved her ideas and was eager to implement them. Perry, the owner and CEO of the firm, had been present during the sales pitch, and he appeared equally pleased with her campaign. Right on the spot, Organic Kitty agreed to sign on with Perry & Associates, and Chloe’s surprise and delight made Aiden smile. He knew how amazing it felt to close a deal. The adrenaline rush of victory and the high of success was almost as good as sex.
With the presentation over, he stood up to leave the conference room, and on his way out he gently grabbed Chloe’s arm to get her attention for a moment. She glanced up at him, her hazel eyes bright with exhilaration, and her face flushed with the sheer joy of success. Her pink, glossy lips were curved into a delightful smile, and damn if he didn’t want to kiss that luscious mouth and discover if she tasted as good as he imagined she would.
He cleared his throat and released his hold on her arm. “Nice job, Reiss,” he told her, meaning it. “I don’t even like cats and you made me want to buy their product.”
She laughed at his attempt