Mr. Hot and rich.

NATASHA’S POV

“I am so glad you have finally decided to join the company. Now you can work hand in hand with me and see how things are done. And lucky for you, you get to meet all our business partners today.” My father, Mr. James Philip, CEO of James Chains of Hotels and Corporations, said with astonishing gentleness—one I didn’t know he was capable of. 

To any other person, he was the most loving father on earth. To me, he was the most emotionally manipulative person I knew. 

I smiled between gritted teeth as I walked down the stairs. My body tightened, as if my muscles had sharpened and my skin shrunk. 

“You left me no choice, father,” I said. “You know there is nothing more I want than to be a blogger. To find my own feet outside of your name and wealth.” My voice was low, but I gave a defiant little tilt to my chin. 

I walked the rest of the way down the stairs and stood in front of my father. He snorted at my words but said nothing in response. Instead, his eyes surveyed me from head to toes. He began from my pin-curled hair. His eyes lingered on my perfectly blended layers of foundation, concealer, blusher, powder and eyeshadow that had taken me two painstaking hours to hide my real, slightly screwed-up self. My dress—a white jumpsuit, layered with purple suit—was the next on his list of things to approve. Finally, his eyes landed on my kitten-heeled shoes which were half killing me. 

Finally, his eyes strayed back to me, his blue eyes swirled, catching me in the storm of them. 

“You are presentable.” His voice was flat. Uncompromising. Unimpressed. 

His words pierced my pride, but I quickly composed myself. “How freaking mortifying,” I said, smiling up at him from between thickly mascaraed lashes. 

His eyes gave me a cold dismissal before he turned and walked away, his silence issuing the command that I better follow him. Even though I hated myself for being weak, I dragged my feet after him. 

The ride to the hotel for the annual meeting of top executives and business owners of the United States was silent. As expected, they were using one of the hotels that belonged to my father. Once we were there, I got out of the car before the chauffeurs could come open the door. I was already walking to the door of the hotel when the clearing of my father’s throat stopped me in my heels. I tensed as I turned to face him. He said nothing until he got to my side. Then he wrapped his arms around my waist. 

“It would do you a whole lot of good if you behave in there, Cherie.” He warned. “Remember what is at stake.” He added. 

Of course. What was at stake was why he was able to drag me here in the first place. He had threatened me with cutting off my allowance if I refused to attend this annual meeting. Much as I wanted to stand on my own feet, I knew I still needed the allowance from him to fund my blogging career. 

I gave him a tight smile and walked alongside him. The moment we got to the door, it flew open when the security saw us. 

The hotel was as opulent and expensive as the owner was. It was one of the oldest, and definitely the most glamorous of the James family's many five- star hotels. It rose above the city, sleek glass reflecting the skyline, golden light spilling from every floor. Inside, the air was cool and perfumed with sandalwood and something darker, richer. Polished marble floors stretched out beneath crystal chandeliers, each one glittering like champagne.

We stepped in and were immediately swarmed in by people and cameras flashing everywhere. Once we were done with taking pictures, my father propelled me in the next direction. I clutched my handbag tighter, wondering when I would be able to get free from his clutch to get videos and pictures for my blog site. We barely made it two steps before we were stopped by one of his associates.

“Mr. Derek, it’s so good to see you again.” My father chattered, his expression that was once stoic suddenly changed to that of pure joy. He shook the other man, still smiling from ear to ear. 

I tiptoed, ready to take off once his attention was no longer on me. 

“Meet my daughter, Natasha.” I heard him say. I froze immediately and quickly turned to face them. I smiled and nodded my head at Mr. Derek, a man who looked to be in his late seventies. The man nodded right back.

“Nice to meet you, Natasha.” The man who stood beside Mr. Derek said. He seemed to be in his late twenties and looked like a younger version of Mr. Derek. He extended his hand for a shake but I ignored both his hand and his greeting. 

“That’s my son, Leo.” Mr. Derek said when he noticed that I had no intention of honoring his son’s formality. “He is now part of the family business.” He added proudly. 

I opened my mouth to say something about that but my father beat me to it. 

“So has my daughter.” He said, making me turn beetroot under my heavy makeup. “Mr. Derek, why don’t we leave the youngsters alone to chatter while we talk about the next deal we need to sign?” 

Just like that, my father and his friend walked away, leaving me to the devil that was grinning from ear to ear. Once we were alone, Leo gave me a charming smile—one I was sure he used in drawing women into his arms— and tried to spark up a conversation with me. 

My panic sharpened the moment I realized that our fathers just tried to play the role of matchmaking. 

“Are you always this beautiful?” Leo said, with surprising softness. 

I cast a disbelieving gaze at him for the failed attempt at humor. 

“Are you always this annoying?” I whispered to him. I looked around, trying to see if our parents were close. My desperation to leave the patronizing jerk was clinging to me. 

That was when my eyes fell on him. 

His back was turned to me, but there was something about his stance that held me spellbound. Perhaps it was the way it emanated strength. He stiffened suddenly and looked up. His eyes searched around until they fell across the short distance, right at me, totally catching me staring at him. He looked me over—slowly, blantany, appraising every inch of me. 

“Do you want to catch up with me sometimes?” Leo asked, shaking me and dousing the flame of attraction that was building up in me. 

That jerk!

I eyed him with disdain. My eyes darted back to my object of attraction and I saw his mouth tilted to the left side, almost as if he was amused by what just played out. His lips pressed into a thin line and his demeanor implied a total thumbs-down when Leo shook me again. The man left who he was speaking to and walked to us. 

“Is he bothering you, ma’am?” He asked, his American accent carried across the clear space. His visual disapproval and dismissal of Leo was just plain rude. 

I yearned to answer him, but I couldn’t find my voice no matter how hard I tried. 

So wildly tempting, I noted as I scooped him out from head to toes. 

He was about six feet tall. Sharp muscles in a lean way. His stance emanated power. His attire denoted power. His dark hair was sleeked back into a style befitting for his face. His oxen blue eyes drowned me as I locked gaze with them. I looked away, trying to quell the nerves churning my stomach. 

“Walk with me.” He commanded, wrapping his arm around my waist. 

“Hey! You can’t just walk away with—“ Leo began his protest. One look from the man shut him up. 

“I just saved your ass, Miss.” He whispered in bemused wonder. 

I nodded grimly, following him like someone who was under a spell. His fingers were slack around my lower waist, such that I could walk away if I wanted to, but I had no inclination to do that. I wanted to be under his spell. I wanted to kneel down and do whatever he commanded me to do. My mind drifted to how good his fingers would be slicking into my wet cunt and I let out a low grunt. My legs wobbled as I struggled to walk. His hand tightened and he cleared his throat. 

“If you let out that kind of sound again, I might lose control. And unless you don’t mind being ravished in a room full of people with cameras flashing everywhere, behave yourself.” He whispered into my ears, his tone warning and meaning what he said. 

“Yes, daddy,” I murmured back. I gave him a quick lick on the neck just to spice up the moment. 

He groaned loudly. His hand travelled down my waist, lagging lazily around my upper hip. “Behave.” He warned. He was losing control, just like I was. 

I was about to dare him on what would happen if I didn’t behave when footsteps echoed loudly behind us. 

“Oh, Natasha, I see you’ve met Mr. Dougal Wilde.” My father’s voice came from behind. The man walking me stopped and so did I. My father left our backs and came to stand directly in front of us. “Mr. Wilde, I see you’ve met my daughter, Natasha.” My father added, extending a hand to the man whose name I now know. 

Instead of shaking my father, Mr. Wilde removed his hand from my waist and looked at my father. “Daughter?” His voice shook with disbelief. He turned back to look at me and I could swear he looked less impressed - or more hostile toward me. He left my side and stood beside my father. 

“I thought… never mind.” He said. He made sure to look anywhere except me. 

“She will be joining me in the family business soon and I hope you can help me take care of her and help her settle in when I send her over for the deal next week.” My father added. Then he turned to me. “Natasha, that’s Mr. Dougal, the man I was telling you about a few days ago.”

I nodded my head to acknowledge him but my mind was far away. Why was the man suddenly acting like I was a plague? Was he going to deny that he didn’t feel the sexual chemistry between us just a few seconds ago? Why was he acting like being a daughter to his business partner was a crime?

By the way, for someone so young, he seemed to be doing well for himself if he was securing a deal with my father. Or was he like Leo and I who were joining the family’s business?

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wilde,” I said, extending my hand for a shake. 

“Miss Natasha.” He said, nodding at me, instead of taking my hand. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance.” Then he turned to my father. “I didn’t know you have a daughter.” He shrugged, trying to make the conversation casual. 

“Oh.” My father laughed. “She is the rebel of the family. Always disappearing because she doesn’t want to join the family’s business.”

“I see.” Dougal’s eyes raked me from head to toes. His face was void of any expression, so it was hard to tell what was running through his mind. “If you will excuse me then.” He said, turning to face my father. He didn’t wait for any confirmation before he walked away, leaving my jaw hanging. 

What the actual hell?