Chapter 2

Grace

“We’re almost there,” Leo says, as the cab rounds a corner.

My heart is beating so fast that I can barely breathe.

Leo Newbury is a real piece of work. No. He’s a jerk. Even if he is a super hot one who smells delicious.

He must think he’s God’s gift to women. I can’t believe the things he said to me, or that he assumes we’re going to have sex tonight.

And what was all that stuff about it being my first time? How can he tell I’m a virgin?

The only explanation is that Shawna told him.

But does she even know? My brain races through my memories. In the back of my mind, there is a hazy instance during a drunken night out where I told Anna, my roommate and closest friend at work, that I’m a virgin.

Did Anna betray me to Shawna? Or did someone overhear us talking?

Does it even matter? If my boss does know I’m a virgin, why the hell would she tell Leo Newbury about it?

The taxi pulls up in front of the large conference hall.

“We’ve arrived at this evening’s hell,” Leo says.

“Hell?” I repeat.

Leo ignores me and pays the driver. My stomach is twisted in knots, but I have to do this. I have to convince Leo to let us use his brands in order to save our company, Mini Motivations.

The company and all our jobs, including mine, are depending on me. This afternoon, the company founder, Shawna, called me in for a meeting and begged me to approach Leo Newbury in his hotel tonight and convince him to license his toy brands to our app, Mini Motivations.

He’s our last chance. The company is running out of money and will go under. We’ve tried going through his company, and speaking to his various vice presidents, but haven’t gotten anywhere.

So today, the senior executives begged me to take these extreme measures to get Leo Newbury’s attention and convince him directly. They know I’m as determined to be rich as they are.

The entire reason I moved to Silicon Valley was to make something of myself.

Shawna said the best way to get his attention was in a skimpy dress.

She never said anything about my virginity being involved.

Sigh.

Ignoring the tremble in my hand, I reach for the handle and open the door. I step out of the car. Leo is standing waiting and reaches his hand out to me.

My feet freeze. I don’t want him to get the wrong idea. Well, he already seems to have the wrong idea, I don’t want to solidify it. Because at eleven o’clock I most definitely will not be in his hotel room.

Even if that is what it would take to save the company. There is a line I won’t cross, and sex is most definitely over that line. I didn’t get to twenty-three without having meaningless sex for no reason, and I’m not about to start now.

I’m not a prude, I’m simply waiting to lose my virginity to Mr. Right. So far, all my brief boyfriends have been Mr. Wrongs.

Even though I’ve stopped moving, Leo comes to my side and wraps his arm around my waist, resting his palm on my hip.

Good Lord, this man is presumptuous. We’ve only just met.

But holy hell he smells good. And I can’t ignore the circle of heat around my waist wherever his arm is in contact with my body.

“Let’s get this over with, then we can move on to the fun stuff,” he says, squeezing me to accentuate his words.

He steers me to the door and I decide to play along with whatever is going on in his head since that will give me my best chance of getting him to talk business with me.

If I tell him who I am right now, he’ll probably leave me standing here, and I can’t risk that.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“A silly awards dinner.”

“What kind of awards?”

“Some electronic toys bullshit. I have to give out an award for a doll with artificial intelligence. What’s wrong with a simple fucking doll?”

Holy shit, it’s the Intelligent Toys Awards Dinner. At Mini Motivations, we dream of getting invited to this event.

“A doll with artificial intelligence sounds cool. What’s wrong with that?”

Leo sneers at me, and I recoil. I decide to keep my opinions to myself, now more than ever, I need to make sure I don’t fuck this up. I have him, and now I also have the opportunity to network with other companies that we would love to collaborate with.

I wish Shawna hadn’t dressed me so provocatively. She must not have known where Leo Newbury was going tonight. The executives are going to freak when they find out.

Leo lets go of me to hold the door open. I tug at the hem of my dress, trying to look a little more respectable. Though there’s not much I can do about all the cleavage.

As soon as we’re through the doors, Leo puts his arm back around my waist. Even though I’m outraged by him, the heat in my body burns hotter than before.

Holding me tight, I can’t help but notice how hard and muscular his body is. And the smell. I still can’t get over how amazing he smells. Clean and rugged at the same time.

He is God’s gift to women.

I shake my head. I have to focus on my task. And I have to remember the way he acted in the taxi. Leo Newbury is no gentleman.

We follow signs marked Intelligent Toy Awards Dinner. They lead us to the far reaches of the sprawling building.

Finally, we arrive at the room our event is being held in. There must be two hundred or so people already here. All the men are in tuxedos. The women are all wearing beautiful, long evening gowns.

I stick out like a sore thumb.

“I don’t think I’m dressed right for this,” I say in a hushed tone.

“Who cares? You look beautiful,” Leo says.

I don’t want his words to affect me but my insides puddle. The most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen just called me beautiful.

“Thank you,” I say.

“The less clothes on you the better. I can’t wait to rip that dress off you when this BS is over with.”

I gulp. Words can’t even form in my head right now.

“Mr. Newbury, I’m so grateful you’ve joined us tonight. You’re really a huge inspiration to everyone in the toy industry,” a man with a shaved head says, shaking Leo’s hand.

The man looks at me, his nose crinkled as his eyes run down my body.

He shifts his gaze back to Leo, and says, “We weren’t aware you were bringing a companion.”

“I always have a gorgeous woman with me.”

“And never the same one twice, right?” the man says, chuckling.

“Not if I can help it,” Leo says.

I shrink back into myself, my shoulders rounded. They’re talking about me like I’m not even here. And right now I wish I wasn’t.

My head turns to the door, I want nothing more than to run through it and straight back to my little apartment.

How much humiliation can I endure? What is the value of twelve people’s jobs?

I shift my attention back to Leo and the man. I catch the man staring at my cleavage and glare at him.

“I’m Grace,” I say, sticking my right hand out to him.

“I’m Martin. It’s nice to meet you, Grace,” he says and winks. Fury replaces the nervousness in my belly.

“Are you in the e-toy industry?” I ask.

“I’m the president of the association.”

“But have you ever worked in it? Are you familiar with the challenges e-toy startups face?”

“Oh, well, I have many years of experience in many industries.”

“But e-toys face a particular challenge because our market is children. We have children from birth, and they don’t know any different now. So, the biggest problem e-toy companies face isn’t who our market is, but who our investors are. It’s the adults who are the problem. They don’t understand what kids today want,” I say. The passion in my voice is impossible to miss, and I stand up tall, fully confident in my words.

Martin stares at me, his eyes wide and his jaw slack. I hold his gaze, my eyes narrowed at him.

Leo tugs on my waist, snapping my attention back to him. I look up and meet his eyes. His glorious blue eyes.