Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“He’s a philanthropist.” She shrugged. “Who cares what his reasons are as long as he donates to the foundation and spreads the word.”
I didn’t share the same confidence. But I didn’t have any more time to think it over because one of the receptionists appeared in front of us with a smile.
“Mr. Burton is ready for you now.”
She ushered us down the hallway and into his office. It was huge and completely ostentatious. The walls were a deep mahogany color, and they were filled with awards and photographs of Mr. Burton and some very notable faces.
When I swung my gaze to the real life version, I was surprised to find he didn’t really look at all like I’d imagined him. He was tall and lean and had dark appraising eyes and jet black hair. He oozed charm and sophistication, and his features were carefully schooled to reflect that, even as his eyes trailed over my body.
I suddenly felt very much on display.
“Please.” He gestured to the chairs opposite his desk. “Have a seat, ladies.”
Nicole and I both sat, and I wrung my hands together in my lap as he continued to watch me. It might have been paranoia, but I swore he hadn’t even glanced at Nicole yet.
“Miss Valentine.” He smiled. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard great things about you.”
“You have?” I blinked.
“Of course.” He tilted his head back in laughter. “San Francisco is really just like a small town when you take into account this industry. I would have poached you myself if I wasn’t certain that Ryland had no intention of letting you slip away.”
I shifted in my seat and gave him a weak smile. His words were friendly, charismatic even, but I wasn’t comfortable with him talking about Ryland. And I wasn’t dumb enough to believe that my credentials were in high demand. Nicole must have felt the same tension because she brought the subject around immediately.
“Thank you so much for meeting with us to discuss our foundation, Mr. Burton. We are so very pleased that you’ve taken time out of your busy schedule for this.”
“Yes, well…” He tapped a pen against his oak desk and leaned back in his chair. “We’ll get to all of that. First, I want to know something.”
He was looking at me. I swallowed and glanced at Nicole. She gave me an encouraging smile like all of this was normal.
“What would you like to know, Mr. Burton?” I asked.
“What I’d like to know is…” He leaned forward with a charming grin. “If you’d share one dance with me at the charity gala next week?”
My cheeks flushed, and I couldn’t hide it. Was he flirting with me? Surely he could see I was pregnant. It was blatantly obvious.
He held up his hands in a placating gesture as if sensing my discomfort. “Just a harmless dance,” he assured me. “I’ll be honest in saying that while I do appreciate a good charitable function now and again, they need to be beneficial for me as well in some way. And me being connected to your charity is good publicity.”
I didn’t see how those dots connected in his mind, but I didn’t really understand these things. Ryland was also forced to attend some events he’d much rather not because he said it was good for business. So I didn’t see the harm in having one dance at a public event with this man, even though Ryland was going to hate it.
“Okay,” I relented. “I guess that could be arranged.”
“Perfect.” He grinned. “Once that’s accomplished, I’ll be more than happy to make a rather sizable donation to your cause.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Burton.” Nicole bobbed her head in excitement. “We really appreciate this opportunity to have you attend one of our events.”
He looked at me again and winked. “Believe me. The pleasure is all mine.”
***
Three days had passed since my meeting with Alex, and I still hadn’t told Ryland about it. I hated hiding things from him, but everything was going so well I didn’t want to ruin it.
The charity gala was on Saturday, and Nicole and I were out shopping for dresses. There wasn’t a large selection of maternity wear that I liked, and everything seemed to cling to my body too tightly. I grumbled in frustration as I shoved another silky gown back onto the rack.
“What about this one?” Nicole held up an emerald green dress.
I wrinkled my nose in response. Everyone always told me I should wear green because of my red hair, but it was so not my color.
“Well, I’m afraid that’s the last suggestion I have,” she said. “Should we try another store?”
I nodded, and we walked back out onto the street. There was a man leaning against the brick building across the way reading a newspaper. Normally, I wouldn’t have even noticed, but I’d seen him earlier while Nicole and I were having lunch too. That was all the way over by our apartment.