ALL THAT HE WANTS (Volume 1 The Billionaire's Seduction) by Olivia Thorne

for you.”
    Mr. Connor Brooks, skipping naked down the street… huh. That was an interesting visual.
    I giggled.
    “What? Who was that?” the gay voice snapped. “CONNOR, do NOT tell me you are blowing off the New York meeting to cavort with some random FLOOZY.”
    ‘Floozy’?
    I sat up ramrod straight, miffed as hell. “ Excuse me?”
    “That’s RIGHT, Ms. Thing, I’m talking to you.”
    “Sebastian,” Connor barked.
    The speakers went silent.
    “Sorry,” Sebastian finally said in a chastened tone.
    “The lady you just insulted is Lily Ross,” Connor lectured. “Apologize.”
    “I said I was sorry,” the voice said petulantly.
    “Yes, you said it to me. Now apologize to her .”
    “Is she an investor? In that case, I am deeply – ”
    “It doesn’t matter if she’s an investor or not!” Connor shouted.
    “Okay, so she’s obviously NOT an investor,” Sebastian said, then added under his breath – but just loud enough to get picked up by the phone – “Floooo-zeeey.”
    I covered my mouth with my hand and giggled. Despite how much of a jerk the guy was trying to be, the bitchier he was, the funnier he got.
    Connor glowered. “Sebastian, you are treading perilously close to losing your job.”
    “You mean, the job where I make travel plans and schedule meetings that you blow off at a moment’s notice?”
    “Sebastian – ” Connor warned.
    “I’m SORRY, Ms. Ross. I do hope you will forgive my impertinence and accept my most abject apologies.”
    “That didn’t sound very abject,” I sniffed – although I wasn’t actually ‘sniffing.’ I was rather enjoying the surreal back-and-forth. If I didn’t have strong evidence to the contrary, I would have pegged Connor and Sebastian as some longtime gay couple who bicker endlessly.
    “Well, it’s as abject as you’re gonna get,” the voice shot back.
    I laughed out loud. He was just too funny not to.
    But Connor was seriously getting angry. “Sebastian – ”
    “I didn’t realize you were taking us to a comedy club,” I said, trying to divert Connor’s attention – and get in a little dig of my own. “He’s pretty funny… for amateur night.”
    There was an overly dramatic gasp on the other end of the line. “Oh no you didn’t!”
    “Oh yes I DID,” I said, then snapped three times – click, click, click. “In a Z formation.”
    There was a pause.
    Connor just stared at me. I grinned and shrugged.
    “Oh, I guess she’s alright,” Sebastian grumped. “A thousand times better than the last one, anyway – ”
    “THANK you, Sebastian,” Connor grimaced.
    I looked over at Connor, one eyebrow cocked. “You do this a lot?”
    “No,” he said, then added almost as an afterthought, “Not anymore.”
    I didn’t believe him.
    Of course he did this a lot. A pang shot through me.
    What, did I think I was special?
    Actually, until that moment… I did.
    And it hurt to realize I wasn’t.
    “Unh, unh, unh, honey child, I could tell you some stories from back in the day,” Sebastian clucked.
    “THANK YOU, Sebastian,”Connor raised his voice. “Now, onto business.”
    “Oh God, I tremble to ask.”
    “I want my regular. Two nights ought to do it, I think.”
    “You DO realize it’s almost nine on a Friday night, yes? And that they’ve almost assuredly booked it, yes?”
    “Make it happen.”
    “‘By any means necessary,’” Sebastian groaned. It sounded like he was quoting someone – and I was guessing it was Connor.
    “Yup. By the way, I’m hungry – you hungry?” he asked me.
    I actually hadn’t noticed it because of all the craziness that had preceded this moment – but when he asked, I realized I was . I nodded.
    “You like filet mignon? Lobster? You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”
    “Uh… yes, yes, and no,” I answered, a little stunned. I think the last time I’d had filet mignon, it was to celebrate my college graduation. Lobster, I couldn’t even remember.
    Both of them together at one