Fighting Seduction by Claire Adams Page A

at the bank.”
    “That’s great,” Mr. Kirk said, with much less
enthusiasm and started walking away. I had never quite taken someone plain to a
public event like this. Sure, I fucked all the young women that worked for me,
but that was usually confined to the walls of my own house; I never dared take
a teller out to a coveted event like this one.
    These things were boring beyond belief though, and
her company, with her snarky humor and challenging attitude, would provide a
lot of entertainment. I enjoyed having her around.
    “I think you’re being judged pretty hardcore right
now,” Aria looked at me with amusement.
    “You aren’t… offended?”
    She laughed. “Why should I be? I am sure he’s used
to seeing you with supermodels. Everyone is. It is quite amusing watching
people’s reaction. I never quite realized this before, but messing with rich
people is fun.”
    “Fucking rich people is even better,” I winked.
    “Okay I practically led you to that one,” she
shrugged. “What does a girl have to do to get a drink around here?”
    “I’ll grab one for you,” I said and started walking
but remembered something. “You’re not twenty-one.”
    “Meh, it’s just a matter of a few months, nobody
will care.”
    “I hear it’s impossible to get a comfortable
king-sized bed in jail,” I retorted.
    She rolled her eyes. “Fine, if it’s such a big
deal-”
    “I’m teasing you. Champagne okay?”
    “Grab me a beer,” she grinned. “Let’s see how your
acquaintances will react to a working-class girl who also shamelessly drinks
beer at a classy event.”
    I chuckled. “You are crazy. I don’t think they even
have beers at this thing. I can ask Ned to-“
    “It’s okay, you don’t have to make everything happen
at the snap of your fingertips. Get me anything you want.” She put her hand on
my shoulder again and smiled. Her touches were distracting.
    I returned with two glasses of red wine and handed
her one. “So I have to make a speech in like five minutes, you think you’re
going to be okay on your own for a little bit?”
    “Of course not. Oh wait, I’m not a five-year-old
that needs constant adult supervision,” she pulled out her tongue. “Break a
leg.”
    “Don’t interrupt my speech if you need anything.
You’re on your own. We can always screw later.”
    She covered her face with both her hands. “Zayden,
go make your big important speech.”

 
    CHAPTER
9
    ARIA
    I took a huge gulp of my wine as Zayden proceeded to
the mini-stage that had been crafted in the middle of the room. It was a very
interesting taste; bitter, but rich enough to make my whole mouth feel like
velvet. I was already starting to get a bit buzzed from a few sips. I looked at
Zayden adjusting the mic and took a deep breath. The plain black suit fit his
lean body immaculately, and the dark blue shirt made his eyes pop. His skinny
black tie was slightly loose and I wondered how it would feel to undo it. And
then his shirt. Aria, focus. I slapped my own forehead and frowned, trying hard
to pay attention to the words now coming out of his mouth, rather than his
mouth itself and just how succulent his lips looked.
    “As many of you know, I lost my grandfather to
cancer,” Zayden was saying. The room was utterly silent, every pair of eyes
concentrating on him, as though he was reciting the next set of global
constitution. What must it feel like, commanding any room you walk into?
Someday, I would find out. I may never make it to Zayden’s status – I wasn’t
born with the right set of luck in order to get there – but someday I would
become successful enough to have a room full of people care about what I am
saying.
    “It was my complete honor to sponsor this gala, and
I want to thank you all so much for your generous contributions to this truly
wonderful cause.” It was obvious that this truly meant something to him, that
he actually cared. There was a rumor around the office that he turned down an
offer