The Tycoon's Tender Triumph

Elizabeth Lennox - The Tycoon's Tender Triumph

The Tycoon's Tender Triumph
Elizabeth Lennox

romance/billionaire

Chapter 1

Chloe slipped out of the comfortable sedan nervously, forcing a smile to her face as David came around to help her out.

“Dinner was very nice,” she said anxiously and glanced up at her apartment, feeling the cold air on her cheeks and ignoring the scent of garlic and onions on David’s breath. Was there any way at all to escape the next few awkward hours? She cared for David but she just wasn’t in the mood to be with him.

The thought struck her that, recently, she rarely wanted to be alone with him because of the increasing pressure she felt to take their relationship to the next level. As she pulled the heavy apartment gate open so they could both walk through, she realized that she didn’t particularly like kissing David. What was wrong with her? He was an attractive guy. All her friends in the office envied her whenever he came to take her out to lunch. His blond, blue eyed good looks combined with a great smile made the other women sigh whenever he tossed one of his winks their way.

So why didn’t his gentle touch make her heart race? Why couldn’t she be even slightly attracted to him? Why, why why? She hated this! It wasn’t fair that one man from her past could affect her so dramatically, leaving all other men mere shadows of his memory. Would it be like this forever? Would she always be comparing her current boyfriend to that one man who had loomed so large throughout her childhood? Or was it just lately? It was probably just those irritating letters, she thought, pressing the button on the elevator more firmly than she needed to.

“Ouch!” she gasped, looking down at her finger and groaning when she’d hit the button so hard she’d broken her fingernail.

David took her hand in his and kissed the end of her finger. It was a sweet gesture, but because it was David, the touch left her unmoved and feeling guilty because of it.

In an effort to get more in the spirit of the night, she smiled engagingly up at David. She cringed only slightly when she saw his eyes flare with excitement but she managed not to step backward.

He put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer as the elevator rose through the various floors. “You look beautiful tonight,” he said softly and took her hand to lead her into the hallway once the doors opened up.

Chloe sighed heavily. Maybe tonight would be different, she thought sadly. He certainly seemed to be different tonight.

“Are you warm enough?” he asked when they reached her floor and she shivered slightly. He wrapped his arm around her but Chloe couldn’t help but feel awkward with his affection.

“I’m fine,” she replied, but couldn’t look in his eyes. He was going to kiss her, she thought sadly. And it would be yet another disappointment.

Chloe walked beside him down the hallway to her apartment, wishing things were different. She desperately wished she’d never met that other one, hadn’t seen him struggling to make his way in the world and grown to respect him so much, to admire his determination and intelligence. No man could match him and she should just leave him in the past and get on with her life.

Sam Marchant was not the man for her and she needed to get over her silly infatuation with him.

Who was she kidding? All other men looked anemic compared to that other man. Unlocking her door with more force than was necessary, she pushed that man’s physique out of her mind and forced herself to focus on David. Sam was nothing to her. And never had been. Just because they’d shared a few dinners while she was in college, one every few months when he flew into town, that didn’t mean that she was ruined for other men. So the evenings had been wonderful, leaving her knees weak and her heart pounding with her infatuation. It had also hurt horribly when she’d seen the society papers showing him with another woman the following night.

Every time, no matter where she was in the world, from the time she turned eighteen he’d called her up and invited her to dinner. At first, those nights had been magical. He was so witty, so fun to be with and amazingly handsome with his dark hair, tall, powerful stature and a five o’clock shadow no matter what time