6 She's Good

She was already so different from the other night. Derek could feel her cold, demanding air like a sword. She’s all logic. There’s no hint of emotion or lust anywhere. For some reason, it makes him want her all the more. He wanted to pull her heartstrings.

“Well, as we both know, Sapphire Jewelry is taking a very big step by opening their first official store.”

“Yes.”

She’s so straight-faced it’s making him sweat already, and they haven’t even gotten to the meat of the conversation yet.

‘Damn, she’s good.’

Derek cleared his throat, sit up straight, and puffed his chest out like the best of them.

“HA Group is entering a new old market—shopping malls. I’m offering you, and your grand opening a spot in ours, which is currently under construction.”

June smiles. Her smile is gorgeous which draws Derek away from his thoughts, but he knew it’s not necessarily approving, which ties him up in his own mind.

“Shopping malls?”

“Yes.”

“Are you aware that shopping malls are a dying breed?”

“Absolutely.”

She tilted her head. The smirk she’s wearing turns warm and curious but is short-lived, and she quickly snaps back to the decisive hard-pressed CEO mask.

“I should be investing my time, money, and grand opening to a dying concept… why?”

“Because it’s not actually dying.”

“Explain,” June said, tapping her perfectly painted nails on the desk in front of her.

“The idea of physically going to malls may be dying, but the idea of having all your favorite stores in one place isn’t. Shopping isn’t just in person anymore. It’s online. We have plans to open our mall both physically, and virtually, which gives us an edge over the others.”

She leaned back in her chair, and Derek have to fight the urge to let his eyes wander down her body, unlike his hands the other night.

“Hmm.”

She’s considering it.

“We have a significant online market of our own, and the idea of virtual malls has been brought up to us on occasion. It’s one we’ve never put much thought into because quite frankly, it seems like we’re bringing more to the table with that. What else do you have to offer?”

“Aside from our mall being virtual and in-person, we’ve already signed on several other name brands. Supreme. Rolex. Balenciaga. I’m well aware that you intend to bring Sapphire to a wider market, and we won’t only have exclusive name brands.

We’ve signed on indie designers, and we have a healthy rotation of pop-up shops and exhibits. We’ve got a portion of the mall for shows. Each store and designer can donate and get a share of the profits. You’re not just sharing with your clientele; you’re now sharing it with designers all around the world and their audiences. This is going to be a truly one-of-a-kind experience.”

June stared at him with her gorgeous and intense daggers, making his heart race, but lucky he has been around people like this his whole life, and even though his heart is beating hard, there was no way she can tell.

“What exactly does your company have that the others don’t?”

She raised her eyebrow, cocking it at him. She’s begging him to cock it back, to play her game.

“Me,” he replied.

June has to say, she was very impressed with his pitch so far. He isn’t backing down, and that’s exactly what she needed.

Derek walked around to the side opposite of her, obviously satisfied with how this is going so far. He’s so beautiful, she could stare at him all day. He caught her looking.

“I work out twice a day,” he said with a smirk.

“Who has that kind of time?”

June sat down at the conference table and tried not to look him directly in the eyes. If she does, she knew she will lose control.

He continued with his pitch.

She listened and tried not to imagine him in her bed.

Derek winked at her when he caught her staring at the abs that are outlined by his too-tight shirt.

She took a breath and looked away. What is it that’s holding her back?

Usually, she would be going at him in full force. She thought she was a bit scared of him. He’s the playful, naughty type. His youth is inspiring, and she realized he must have a whole lot of stamina in bed.

As Derek continued with his pitch, he looked at her with desire in his eyes.

June felt turned on.

“Are you listening, June? Or are you too busy, staring at my hot body?”

“I’m doing nothing of the sort.”

“You could’ve fooled me.”

Derek resumes his pitch. June was extremely impressed with his presentation, but at the same time, she has to squeeze her legs together to try to stop the wetness that seems to indicate just how much she was turned on by his sexy hot body.

She was very turned on by this young guy. That makes two Alphas in the past week that have excited her. Paul with his suaveness and Derek with his playfulness and confidence. Paul broods while Derek aggressively meets one challenge after the other.

June asked the tough questions, and he has a good answer for each one. Derek and Paul may be different in their approaches, but they are both alpha males. She loves a good alpha male in the morning and between the sheets.

When dealing with anyone that wants her business, she checked out their aura. Derek doesn’t have as strong of an aura as Paul does when it comes to his presentation and business—but he’s so energetic, youthful, and persuasive.

Paul is the type of man that exudes sexiness. The whole time they were together, all she could do was flirt. Both Derek and Paul have their unique charms, but Derek is very charismatic.

She was hypnotized by everything he was doing.

Usually, she’d jump across the conference table and nail this guy, but she knew that guys like this love the challenge. She couldn’t just offer herself up for free. She was going to have to run this guy through a maze of desire.

When Derek finishes his presentation, she has a dozen challenging questions for him. She really gets serious about learning more about Derek’s business goals.

She wondered if he is just a pretty face presenting someone else’s work.

Paul shared with her the challenges that he has faced in his business career. Instead of thinking that he was weak, she left their lunch together feeling that she could respect him. He might have a reputation for being ruthless, but she felt that he has a decent code of ethics. She wasn’t so sure about Derek.

She realized that this is going to be a hard choice for her. Derek has offered her a wonderful deal, but Paul has experience and longevity in this business. However, she could tell that Derek is brilliant and worked like a lion. She wanted to work with both of them. But that’s impossible.

“So, what do you think?” Derek asked.

“I think I have a lot to go over. Can you send me your Annual Report? I’d like to see your company's track record.”

“Done.”

Derek has his smartphone out and it’s clear that he’s sending her the documents she asked for.