Page 60 of Titus

I’m so fucked, I thought when I saw her.

She was dressed sharply in a black dress that accentuated all her flawless curves, and her hair was slightly undone after the long evening. She had one hand braced against the table as she quietly reviewed something on her tablet while speaking to one of her staff members.

She was still working. Still perfect. Still pretending I hadn’t rattled her completely tonight.

A slow smile tugged at my mouth. Damn, this woman got under my skin in ways I didn’t entirely understand yet.

My primal instincts came alive, and now I craved the hunt. The desire to break through that perfect control of hers and see what she looked like when she finally unraveled.

And knowing that I couldn’t even get close enough to just fucking hire her for work, no matter how much money I offered her… well, that told me she didn’t want me for business or pleasure, and that turned my ass on.

“Ms. Veléz,” I said as I approached her.

She shouldered her bag, turned, and her eyes locked with mine. Damn those mysterious, enticing eyes that I knew held so much behind them that she was hiding from me.

I had to find a way to break this woman down.

She smiled. “Mr. Hawk,” she said. “I’m shocked you’re still here. Most of the⁠—”

“I know,” I said, sliding my hands into my pockets. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t disturb you with the donation I made in your name.”

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows pulled together tightly. “Disturbed wouldn’t be the word I would use,” she answered.

For the first time since meeting her, she seemed slightly unsettled.

Good.

“What word would you use?” I kept my eyes locked on hers.

“Confused, maybe,” she responded. “I don’t understand why you did it. And that amount was⁠—”

“It was how much I offered you to host the event on my yacht,” I finished her words, loving how she was slightly off balance with me right now.

“Exactly,” she said, becoming firmer. “What is your reasoning? I’m not sure I follow what you’re doing when it comes to me.”

“Your loyalty to your clients, and the fact that no amount of money can persuade you to abandon them, is something I greatly admire about you.”

I smiled as her eyes drifted from mine and she readjusted her bag on her shoulder. She was clearly off balance and exactly where I needed her if I was going to stand any chance of getting this woman to do more than say no to me every time I interacted with her.

I resisted the urge to gently touch her chin and lift her eyes back to mine.

“Perhaps I will get in line and do whatever is necessary to retain you for future service,” I offered.

This shit was so fucking unlike me. It should’ve disgusted me to hear myself talk like this to anyone on the damn planet. Instead, here I was, giving her everything she wanted just so I could hire the woman.

The truth was that I didn’t want to just hire her anymore. Somewhere along the way, this stopped being only about Jameston. That realization really should’ve scared the hell out of me.

Now, here I was, bending to her requests instead of the other way around. I was certainly in unfamiliar territory.

“I’m booked pretty solid for the next seven months,” she replied.

I nodded. “Very well, I will seek your services at that time.”

She looked confused. Her lips twisted in a way that made her look entirely different. Dare I say the sharp, firm woman looked adorable as hell right now?

“Good evening, Ms. Veléz,” I said, then turned to leave, hoping she would trust me in the near future.

“Titus. I mean, Mr. Hawk?” she said, prompting me to turn back to her.