One year ago…
“I want those reports at my office before the end of the day or you can kiss this deal goodbye, Frank.”
Quinn Harrison clenched his jaw as he tapped the Bluetooth device in his ear. It was near noon and he’d snuck away from the office for a quick rendezvous with one of his female companions. Waiting for the elevator in the hotel lobby was taking much longer than he cared for. He’d been standing there exactly one minute and twenty-five seconds.
Finally, the elevator doors opened and he waited until the cubicle emptied. The phone rang as soon as he entered. He snatched the instrument from inside his jacket pocket, glared at the screen before touching the earpiece.
“Frank, I hope you have good news,” he paused. “You’re thinning my patience.”
Quinn Harrison - wheeling and dealing of small flailing companies was his one passion. With billions of dollars at his disposal, he could easily purchase or merger with any company he desired. He savored the idea of owning controlling shares in several small businesses across the country.
In most cases, these businesses approached him first. Take for instance Crane Pulp and Paper. Frank Crane approached him over a year ago, and everything had gone as planned. They signed the deal with the company and Quinn had begun his investment.
Like always, he’d had an independent auditor examine the books presented to him. What he never expected was that the accounts were forged. Frank had pulled a fast one and now he refused to present the correct accounts. Quinn had given him a chance, telling him that he’d continue to support the company and help him fix whatever had gone wrong. The condition was that he should come clean and give him the correct financial reports.
Quinn had given Crane Pulp and Paper his utmost attention for the better part of the year. He made it a point of duty never to deal more than one company at once. This way, he could give his full attention to the one on the table before moving on to the next. In addition, he wasn’t doing this because he was greedy, but because he genuinely felt that he could make a difference.
For Crane Pulp and Paper, he liked the idea that the company had been around for generations and he would like it to return to its former success. As the elevator doors started to close, he relaxed and switched his mind from business.
Before the doors completely sealed shut, someone wedged the tip of a shoe between them. Black, shiny, pointy three-inch heels stopped the doors. His eyes moved from the shoe to a light honey colored leg. His eyes lingered on its curves. As soon as the doors parted, the owner of the shoe entered. With her, came a light flowery scent that pleased his sense of smell. What was it … rose? No, it was something unusual. It was a wonderful, yet unfamiliar scent.
She quickly entered and turned her back to Quinn as she punched in her floor number. His eyes perused her from behind in her light lavender suit. Curvy hips and slender waist greeted him. He liked that. His eyes moved upward to dark hair partially covered by a wide-brimmed hat. The lift started ascending. Quinn shifted to the left of the cabin and leaned casually against the wall. His eyes stayed with the woman as he tried to get a glimpse of her face. Her head was down while she read something from a tablet.
It was then his eyes fell on the garment bag thrown over her arm. Through the clear plastic, he could see a wedding dress. So this one was walking down the aisle … too bad, he decided. With a shrug, he closed his eyes.
The sound of chirping birds and waterfall caused him to open them again. With a frown, looked up, thinking that the hotel had installed some kind of elevator music.
“Hello?” the woman’s silky voice answered her phone.
I should have known - what with that perfume, Quinn mused. He chuckled and she turned her head briefly in his direction. The moment was so fleeting that he thought he’d imagined the bottom half of her face. The hat obscured the top half of a face he knew was exquisite. Now he was so damn curious that he was tempted to rip off the headwear.
He closed his eyes as the partial view of her face resurfaced - soft luscious lips and small pert nose. Her face was smooth and he was sure the skin was as soft as a baby’s butt. But she was getting married and he couldn’t be bothered chasing a woman like that. He much preferred the ones with no expectations.
Quinn did not intend to trap himself. Perhaps when he was fifty, or there about, he might consider it. Now wasn’t the time to even ponder such things. There were too many women who needed his kind of attention and he wasn’t about to let them down.
His phone rang again. It was Frank. He tapped the earpiece and listened as the man spoke.
“Frank, stop f**king around with me,” he said easily. “The deal is off the table.”
The elevator doors opened and he glanced at the floor number. He had three more to go. The woman quickly rushed to the doors as they opened. Something fell from her hand as she stepped onto the corridor.
“Frank, are you serious?”
As she turned and bent to pick up whatever fell, Quinn’s brain froze. Her heart shaped face was indeed exquisite. His eyes followed her every move as she bent over and picked up her item. His breath hit a snag as he caught a glimpse of her cleavage.
Frank’s chatter brought him back to the conversation. The woman straightened and hastened along the passageway. Before the door closed, two men entered.
“Isn’t she gorgeous?” one said.
“You’re married,” the other man scolded.
“Yeah, but that wedding planner man, she is the bomb.”
The other man frowned. “You mean, she’s the wedding planner?” he thumbed at the closing doors.
“Yeah, Rick introduced her to me the other day.”
“Why the hell didn’t you say hi to her?”
“I don’t know. I get nervous when I see her.”
“You idiot,” one man snapped. “I thought she was the bride. She had the dress and all.”
“Don’t you know Rick’s cousin’s fiancé man? She’s redhead.”
Quinn chuckled. So she wasn’t the bride after all. He could kick himself. In any case, Frank was beginning to get on his nerves and he returned to the conversation.
“I’m giving you one last chance,” he said to Frank. “Consider it your lucky day because I’m in a good mood. When can you have it ready?” he paused. “No more excuses.”
Quinn cut the line and tried to recall why he was in the elevator in the first place. Yes, Carla. He concentrated on that. The men exited on the next floor and a woman he knew well entered. Quinn cocked a brow and inwardly groaned.
“Quinn, you are here?” she said.
“Brittani, how have you been?”
“I’m good. What are you doing here?”
Quinn eased from the wall as he realized his floor was next. He closed the space between himself and the woman. Lifting a hand, he traced her cheek.
“That’s not your business now is it, Brit?” he kissed her lightly on the lips as the doors opened.
Quinn stepped out of the elevator, leaving Brittani staring after him. By the time he reached room #207, his tie was loose and he was almost out of his jacket.
* * *
Two hours later, Quinn entered the elevator with his jacket thrown over his arm and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. The top three buttons of his crumpled shirt were undone with the shirttails hanging loose. Two cougars coming into the lift raked their eyes over him.
One of them turned away while other regarded his crotch. He watched her, seeing the gleam in her eyes as her brain processed what she was seeing. Quinn knew what she thought and she was damn right about it. And if she wanted, he’d be willing to fix her right there.
He lifted the shirttail so she could get a better look at the front of his pants. With deliberate movements, he unbuckled his belt and tucked his shirt in. The woman licked her lips while her eyes glued to his every move.
When he had secured his tie and slipped into his jacket, he extracted a business card and handed to her. Her friend’s eyes widened at the silent exchange between the two of them. They exited the elevator a few floors down as the woman in the hat from earlier entered. That scent again, it teased his nostrils that he had to inhale deeply.
She was on the phone. “Listen Jonathan, I have nothing to say to you,” she spat. “You’re wasting both our time.” She paused while listening to Jonathan. Quinn noticed how her shoulders lifted when she inhaled a deep breath. “You sonofa…, I don’t ever want to see you again. You cheated on me and expect me to forget it? Are you out of your freaking mind?” Another short pause. “I will never forgive you as long as I live.”
She removed the cellphone from her ear and dropped it into her handbag. Her low growl told him how agitated she was. He could sense the tension in her. The elevator stopped. They’d reached the ground level. The doors opened and she rushed out. Quinn calmly stepped out and watched her half run through the hotel lobby and out the double rotating doors.
The scent of her perfume evaporated and as quickly as she’d appeared, he put her out of his mind. Now Frank needed a wakeup call and Quinn knew exactly how to give him that. He made his way to the ground floor restaurant and took a table. Once there he made a few calls. His next move would make Frank wished he hadn’t tried to double cross him.