Conference Cupid by Eden Elgabri Page B

she tried to catch up
with her friend.
    Devin looked at Peter who raised an
eyebrow a fraction of an inch. “None of us are prostitutes that I know of, but
we are guys, so anyone that’s unattached will oblige a lady in need.” He
grinned at Devin. “Thinking about becoming one of us for this conference?”
Peter elbowed him. “With the right clothes no one would know the difference.”
    Devin caught the eye of his employee and
crooked his finger at her.
    The girl at the front desk walked into the
alcove where her boss stood.
    “Small change of plans. Galloway. The room you just assigned to her
change to the one I reserved for Peter here.”
    “Hey,” Peter protested.
    “She paid for all of the extras.” He
turned to wink at Peter.
    “But she has her key card and she’s gone,
Mr. Barnett.”
    Devin looked at his watch. The workshops
started in an hour. “Wait an hour and a half and then have housekeeping knock
on her door. If she’s there, inform her of her good luck. If not, pack up her
things, send them to Peter’s suite and leave a note to contact the front desk.”
    The woman stood for a second, silent and
motionless in confusion. “Um, sure thing, Mr. Barnett.”
    “What the hell was that all about? And I’d
better still have a suite.”
    “You’ll be staying in my suite and hopefully,
I’ll bunk with Keary .”
    “Pretty sure of
yourself, huh?”
    “She believes her friend is giving her a
man for research and she hasn’t fucked in a year. What do you think my odds
are?”
    “Pretty damn good. But not dressed in a
suit and tie looking like an undertaker. If you’re going to look like you’re
paid for, show your body. Help me unpack and you can borrow something of mine.
Remember how to seduce a woman, Dev?”
    “If I run into trouble I’ll give you a
call.”
    “Have to admit, Dev, you’ve changed a bit.
I can imagine me pulling this kind of stunt, but to be honest, I didn’t think
you had cojones that big. Especially
with some random woman.”
    “Who said anything about her being
random?”
    Peter’s eyes widened. “You know her? Won’t
she be acquainted with the fact you own this little slab of stone? Might be
difficult to convince her that a hotel owner can be bought as, um... research.”
    Devin shook his head. “I remember her, but I don’t even resemble my high school self, and at the time she didn’t even
seem to see me. She only met me once in college. She was so infatuated with the
man she ended up marrying she didn’t see anyone else.”
    Peter crossed his arms over his chest and
nodded sagely. “Ah, a little revenge of the nerds thing.”
    “Iwasn’t a nerd and it’s not
revenge. You heard her. It’s like Keary’s given up and doesn’t even realize how attractive she is.”
    “So you’re what, doing the girl a favor by
slipping her the salami? Not getting anything out of this yourself ?”
    “I didn’t say that. I’m getting the chance
I wish I’d had a million years ago. And no parties in my
suite. Remember, it’s my home. Guest bedroom is yours. Don’t destroy the
place.”
    “Can we go up now so I can unpack? There
are some ladies I want to get to know before my competition sniffs out all the
best selections.”
    “Is that really how you see women?” Devin
had never been so cavalier about women or about sex.
    “I wasn’t even thinking about that yet.
Some of the ladies out there can actually request the model they want on the
cover so it’s necessary to schmooze and charm early on in the night. I don’t
mix business with pleasure so later on in the evening some unpublished lady
will get her wet panties charmed off.”
    Would Devin be able to charm the pants off Keary ? He’d fantasized about it for years: imagined
the creamy skin, smooth and soft, his hands caressing her, his mouth nipping at
her breasts, tongue licking her nipples, licking the slick wetness between her
legs…
    He must be temporarily insaneto
honestly believe hecould pull this