Chapter 5

Leo

I bang on the door as hard as I can. Surely there’s someone around to hear me. Now I wish I hadn’t gone down so many unused hallways. I was trying to get away from those vultures.

Now I’m stuck in a closet with one.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I scroll through my contacts to find Martin’s number. I hit call, but there isn’t a signal. Not even the hint of one.

Holding the phone in my long arms, I wave it through every inch of the little room, desperate for cell phone coverage.

There is none.

“Try with your phone,” I snap.

“I’d love to show you what our app looks like,” Grace says, digging her phone out of her little purse.

“Grace,” I bark. “What is your problem? We have to focus on getting out of here. Do you have any coverage?”

Her mouth quivers. She looks at me with her big eyes, looks at her phone, and looks back to me again. Shaking her head, she stuffs the phone back in her purse.

“What do we do?” she asks, mindlessly trying to turn the door handle.

“Make noise,” I say, and kick the door.

“Help!” she screams.

I continue kicking and pounding on the door, as Grace screams over and over. My eardrums are bursting from her yelling, but I ignore it in the hopes of getting free.

After ten minutes, I say, “It’s no use.”

“My throat,” Grace says, rubbing her neck.

She turns to the little sink and turns on the faucet. Bending over, she scoops water into her mouth. I can’t take my eyes off her luscious ass. And bending over has made her already short dress ride up higher, revealing more of her creamy thighs.

Why did she have to turn out to be from a startup, wanting something from me? Everyone I meet wants something from me, with no exception.

Too bad. I was really looking forward to fucking her.

Grace stands and turns back around to face me. She takes a deep breath and I recoil against the door, waiting for her to start going on about her company again.

“Since we’re stuck here and all, you might as well listen. And look.” She digs in her purse again and pulls out the phone. “Let me show you. You will love it, I promise.”

“I won’t, I promise.” I glare at her, willing her to stop.

What kind of torture is this? Being stuck in some cruddy little storage room with the sexiest woman alive, only she isn’t interested in getting down and dirty. All she wants is my money.

“Just have a look, please.”

I need out of this cupboard. Now. My blood boiling, I turn back to the door and start kicking it as hard as I can.

“There’s no point, remember?” she says.

“It stops me from having to listen to you.”

“I don’t know why you won’t hear me out.”

I stop kicking and spin to face her. Through my gritted teeth I say, “Do you have any idea of how many people like you try to get me to invest in their companies every single day? Did you not see the people out there trying to get things from me? Why do you think we ended up in this cupboard? Because I was running from them.”

“Yes, but our company is different.”

“Everyone says that.”

“But in my case, it’s true.”

“No, sweetheart, trust me, it ain’t.”

“Just have a look,” Grace says, her fingers flying over her screen.

Unbelievable. This woman will not drop it. She’s got nerves. First stalking me in my hotel lobby, then going all the way through this charade of dinner when she knew I thought she was an escort.

God, I can’t believe the things I said to her, or the ways I touched her.

Why didn’t she stop me? I would never treat a woman that way unless I knew they wanted me to do that.

“Our revenue model is solid. Our marketing is solid. All we need from you is your brand license, and we are one hundred percent sure we will be a massive success.”

I kick the door, glare at her, and say, “If I buy your company will you shut the fuck up?”

Grace’s eyes flare at my words. She stares at me, her perky tits heaving with her breath. I could bury myself in that Grand Canyon cleavage right now.

“Do you really mean that?” she asks.

Shaking my head, I pull my eyes from her chest. I lean my head against the door, to listen in case anyone walks down the back hallway.

“Mean what?”

“That you’ll buy our company?”

“If that’s what it takes to make you shut up.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but I glare at her with a death stare and she shuts it again.

I sink to the floor, with my back against the door. That way I can hear if someone walks down the hallway.

I’m eye level with Grace’s thighs, and my mind wanders. Images of me undressing her flow through my mind. All evening, I’ve been thinking about all the things I wanted to do to her.

My dick is twitching at the images. I should stop, but what else am I supposed to think about in a situation like this?

Is she a screamer or a moaner? I bet she’s a moaner.

For a moment I consider standing and pulling her into my arms to find out. But she’d probably talk about her company the whole time I was fucking her.

Grace pulls the back of her dress down, and sits on the floor with her back against the stacks of toilet paper.

“How are we going to get out of here?” she asks.

“Someone will do a sweep of the convention center before it closes.”

I glance at my watch, it’s getting close to midnight. We’ve been trapped in this closet for what seems like an eternity.

“Your speech was good,” Grace says, breaking the long silence.

My eyes shift up, and I worry she’s going to start talking about her company again.

“It was really insightful, but also funny and entertaining. You were great,” she continues.

I wait, but no plea for money comes.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I say.

“I guess it helps the nerves when you know everyone in the room worships you.”

Chuckling, I say, “No one worships me, they worship my money.”

“I don’t know. I think you’re more than a dollar sign.”

“Not to them, trust me.”

“Is that why you hold them all in contempt?”

“Pretty much. I learned that the hard way.”

Grace’s head tilts to the floor, and she plays with the tip of her stiletto.

“I can understand why you react to them the way you do. It must be nonstop, and frustrating.”

“Especially when you get trapped in a small room with one,” I say, chuckling.

She bursts out laughing, and the two of us laugh hysterically. I can’t stop laughing at the ridiculous situation I’m in.

We laugh and laugh until suddenly the lights switch off.

“What just happened?” Grace asks, a remnant of laughter still in her voice.

Flicking my phone screen on, I checked the time. Midnight.

I hold the screen up for Grace to see, and say, “I guess it’s lights out for the night.”

“Now what do we do?”

“Pray for a signal?” I say, standing and moving the phone around to try to find a single bar.

I stumble over Grace’s feet, which I can’t see in the darkness. On reflex, I flick the phone screen down and see her gorgeous face peering up at me.