George Hunter was a stranger in town. But he did not ask Molly where to go. He led her unerringly past the chain coffee shops to the little lace-curtained café run by two Polish sisters who made the best coffee in Kensington, the heart of fashionably exclusive West London.

He summoned a waitress, by sheer animal magnetism as far as Molly could see.

"How do you take your coffee?"

"B-black.

"She shook her head at cream pastries and he gave the order. Then sat back and considered her thoughtfully.

"So you don't like millionaires."

Molly pulled herself together. It was difficult with warm brown eyes wandering over her in leisurely appreciation, but she managed it.

"What's to like?"

His eyes glinted wickedly. "Is that a challenge?"

She hadn't meant it as a challenge. But Molly had one rule: You never, ever run away. Her chin lifted.

"Take it any way you want."

He nodded. "You know, you interest me."

"Oh gosh. You really know how to flatter a girl."

She widened her eyes at him. They were sea green and eloquent, with heartbreakingly long lashes. Smitten copywriters had been known to compose odes to them.

George Hunter did not look as if he was about to break out in poetry. He looked amused, entertained, and very slightly wary.

"That's no use. What I need to know is how to get you interested in me," he said coolly.

Molly sat up straight. "We are talking professionally, of course."

His lids dropped. "Take it any way you want," he quoted back at her.

Fortunately the waitress brought their coffee then, so she was off the hook for an answer.

When the woman had gone, he said, "I'm a bit disappointed, I admit."

Molly stiffened. "Oh?"

"Well, you haven't asked why I want a PR consultant."

"You want everyone to love you. That's why anyone wants a PR consultant."

"You're as smart as a whip, aren't you?" Just briefly there was a hint of annoyance in the slow-as-molasses voice. "Why should I want people to love me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you want to run for president one day."

He said flatly, "I want to sell a car."

She was so startled she stopped playing it cool. "A car? But I thought you started up a software company."

"I diversified."

"But ? a car!"

"I trained as an engineer. And I like solving problems." Yes, definitely annoyed.

"What problems?"

"Now you're sounding much more professional," he said, so approvingly that Molly wanted to hit him. "It's revolutionary. Lighter, fewer moving parts, runs on sugarcane residue. Renewable energy source."

She sipped her coffee, frowning. This was not what she expected from a millionaire friend of supercool Jay Christopher.

"If it's that good, it won't need PR," she pointed out. "Everyone's desperate for a green car."

"Yeah, but nobody knows me here. And I'll have to start up in Europe. Back home we don't get real excited about saving oil."

"I ? see."He leaned forward. "I don't want you to make me look warm and fuzzy. Or even hip. Just a reasonable man with a good idea."

Put like that, it was difficult to turn him down. Which was no doubt what he intended. Molly eyed him broodingly.

"It's not my usual field, but ?"

"We're going to make a great team."

She looked into eyes that were much, much too warm, and felt a warning flutter up her spine.

"No teamwork," she said with determination. "You brief. I implement. That's the way it works."

"But I like to work closely with my consultants."

"Tough. I don't."

He raised an eyebrow. It made him look like the God of the Underworld. Relaxed and amused but still, definitely, a Dark Lord.

Molly said as much to herself as to him, "Don't do that."

He looked even more amused. "Do what?"

"Purr at me."

He laughed aloud. "You're very jumpy."

She said between her teeth. "I am not jumpy. I just don't do tall, dark, and handsome."

He considered that. "Seems a pity," he murmured at last.

She gasped. Then, reluctantly, laughed. "No false modesty about you, is there?"

"No false anything. What you see is what you get."

His eyes locked on hers. She felt hot all of a sudden.

"I hope not," she muttered.

He considered that for a moment. The Lord of the Underworld considering a human's destiny. Then he gave a small nod.

"I think I might just have to do something about that."

To be continued?



chapter: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20