The Tycoon's Secretive Temptress Read online

  Exactly as he was doing now.

  Damn, she was also brilliant and funny. He needed to treat her with respect.

  At least until he understood her motives for being here. Why would a woman like Gianna travel halfway around the world to work in Colorado at a cosmetics company? It just didn’t make sense.

  “Sir?”

  Ignoring his timid assistant, he made a decision. With a flash of inspiration, Brant stood up. “Come with me,” Brant ordered, taking the materials that Todd held out for him. “Make another copy of this for Ms. Lianar and bring it to the conference room. She’ll sit in on the meeting.”

  He was at the door before he realized that Gianna was still sitting. “Are you coming?” he snapped.

  Gianna leapt to her feet, grabbing catching her pen before it hit the floor and tucking it into her notebook. She straightened gracefully and nodded. “Pronto!” she replied, frowning slightly as she realized she’d slipped back to her native tongue. “Ready,” she repeated in English. Although she had no idea what she was ready for, so in reality, she couldn’t be ready. Especially not after that heated look! Her lips felt warmer than they should, almost as if she could already feel his kiss...

  Wait! What was she thinking? Kissing Brant Jones? No! No way! Brant Jones was boring and tedious! He was completely un-kissable! He worked too hard and didn’t know how enjoy life! He probably only had sex in missionary position…

  Her gaze lingered on his shoulders before sliding down to his lean waist and long legs…

  “Gianna!” he snapped.

  Under other circumstances, she might have laughed and teased the man in question, trying to get him to lighten up and smile. But Brant Jones wasn’t capable of smiling. She’d learned that over the past several weeks of working for him. He didn’t smile, he never lightened up and his whole world revolved around Rembrandt Cosmetics, the company he and his brother owned.

  When she’d applied for this position at the Denver based company, she had no idea that such an innovative, exciting company would be run by such a harsh, tediously boring man. He had no life outside of the building. She arrived in the office before he did most mornings, but he was here late into the night, working seventy or more hours a week. And that was just the hours she knew about. Gianna suspected that the man probably worked from home as well.

  Hurrying after him, she let herself enjoy watching him walk down the hallway. He was deliciously tall with tantalizingly wide shoulders that a woman could lay her head upon and sigh with happiness. She could see the muscles rippling under the tailored dress shirt, tapering to a lean waist. There wasn’t a spot of extra fat on his body.

  What would his butt feel like? As she walked behind him, she examined his butt which was currently covered with well fitting, expensive material. She imagined her hand exploring...moving along the curve. Firm, she decided. Firm and incredible!

  Just the thought of touching him caused her breath to catch. Gianna could definitely imagine her fingers moving over his back, his shoulders, his…

  He paused to speak to someone, glancing at her as he turned and she froze. Did her face reveal what she’d been thinking? Goodness, she certainly hoped not!

  Gianna waited while he spoke, continuing to enjoy her view.

  Such a pity! The first time she’d seen him, Gianna had thought he was a god! He was so tall and masculine, so appealingly sexy. Then she’d gotten to know him. Now…okay, so he was still handsome and sexy, but she fought her attraction constantly. No way did she want a man like Brant Jones. He was boring. He didn’t live life, he toiled it away, working long hours and never appreciating the beauty of the world. He might exercise like a demon to maintain that physique, but the man didn’t know how to truly enjoy life. On top of all that, he was angry all the time.

  Gianna wanted a man who smiled and laughed. A man who would take a day off, just because it was a beautiful day! Someone daring and adventurous.

  “Here!” he pointed as he sat down at the head of the conference room table.

  Gianna shivered at the hard authoritative tone even as she rebelled against it.

  “Here?” she asked innocently, pointing at the chair.

  “Yes. Sit.” And he turned away as everyone hurriedly took their seats.

  “I heel pretty well too, if you ask nicely,” she whispered, settling into the chair he’d indicated.

  Her words caught his attention and he turned his head, scowling at her. Unfortunately, he only paused long enough to make her knees feel all wobbly before turning back to the others in the room.

  For several minutes, Gianna pretended to take notes, but she was actually admonishing herself for taunting him. Why couldn’t she just leave well enough alone? Why did she have to…what was the American phrase? Poke the panda? That didn’t sound right, but she shrugged, then looked up to find that the man in question was staring at her.

  “Forgive, I was writing down what you said a moment ago. Was there a question?” she asked.

  Once again, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. The man was very distrustful! Sheesh! Just because he was right, well, that didn’t mean she was going to admit that to him!

  Thankfully, Todd stepped into the room, handing her copies of the report everyone else already had in front of them. “Here you go,” he whispered with a smile and a blush.

  Gianna beamed gratefully up at him. “Grazie!” she whispered back.

  Todd’s smile widened in return and he actually tripped on his way out, but Gianna had already turned her attention back to Brant. She lifted her eyebrows curiously, wondering what she’d missed.

  He sighed, rubbing his forehead and Gianna stared at his hands. They were strong hands. Long fingers. One of those fingers ran down a chart on the report the group was discussing and Gianna wondered what it would feel like to have that finger slide down her skin. She shivered at the images flashing through her mind.

  Again, Brant stopped the meeting to glare at her.

  Gianna’s eyes widened with surprise and she lifted her hands in the air. “I said nothing,” she responded defensively.

  Another heavy sigh from him, or was that a growl? Several people brought up new information and Gianna forced her attention on the conversation. The meeting participants were discussing a new line of cosmetics and the best way to market them. Brant was the financial genius of the company, and Gianna thought it was hot when he started discussing numbers. Every time his deep voice started talking about variances or gross contribution, a shiver went through her. Odd, yes, but she didn’t care. The man was sexy! Intelligence was hot and Brant Jones was smarter than average!

  Or maybe it was just his deep voice. She’d read about the deep voices of American men but, until she’d met Brant Jones, no American man had come even close to that sexy, husky tone. Italian men were good looking, but there was just something…more…about Brant Jones. He was appealing in so many ways.

  Unfortunately, he was also a fuddy duddy. Such a pity!

  “Ms. Lianar will take over developing the budget for the launch,” he announced abruptly.

  Gianna sat up in her chair, startled. “I am?”

  He turned and those dark eyes sizzled with challenge. “Think you can handle it?”

  Oh, he was good! Creating a budget for a new line would be…exciting! So many issues, problems, and expenses! There would be marking costs, advertising, capital expenses, indirect costs….oh, glorious challenges! “Absolutely,” she declared, eager to begin.

  For the past several weeks, she’d been assigned tedious reports that were nothing more than data entry. Gianna had earned a master’s degree in business administration from the prestigious London School of Business. She’d come to the United States wanting to dig deep into the numbers, truly challenge herself with her knowledge. But so far, she’d been pushed into pathetically basic roles that didn’t test her abilities in any way.

  This was different. Creating a budget for the entire launch wou
ld be…oh, this was exciting!

  “Excellent,” the fuddy-duddy replied. Turning back to the meeting participants, he continued, “Everyone, send your requirements to Ms. Lianar. She’ll have a budget ready for next week’s meetings complete with indirect impacts. Barbara, make sure that you send Ms. Lianar the expenses you anticipate. Jeanie, don’t forget to include the distribution costs. We had problems with that during the Magic perfume release last year.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jeanie agreed, diligently writing notes.

  Gianna frantically scribbled notes of her own. “Who will send me the packaging, training, and promotional expenses?”

  Was that a spark of admiration in his eyes? Gianna held her breath for a split second, shocked at the thought. She was so used to his suspicion and anger, but admiration was pretty nice!

  He gave several more instructions and they set a time to follow up next week.

  Everyone stood up except Gianna, who leaned over her notebook, already lost in the challenge of setting up a budget for this new effort. Creating a budget was a proper challenge! There were so many variables, so many ways that the product launch could fail.

  “You got this?” a deep voice asked.

  Gianna looked up, startled to find that she was alone in the conference room with Brant.

  Straightening, she nodded eagerly, still scribbling. “Yes. I have so many ideas!” she breathed, eager to get back to her tiny office and start building the spreadsheet. “I will keep you informed every step on the way. I will ensure that this is detailed enough to give you the background into my numbers.”

  He chuckled and the unexpected sound drew her gaze upward. He’d laughed? Brant Jones never laughed! She made him laugh?

  Her eyes widened as her body tingled with that unwelcome awareness that seemed to be the status quo lately.

  “Slow down and send me the data as you get it.” With that, he walked out of the conference room, leaving her stunned.

  Had he really laughed? Yes, it was just a small sound of amusement, and it had been at her expense. She was overly enthusiastic, but who wouldn’t be, with such an exciting challenge in front of her? Still, giving him a reason to laugh was…nice. Really nice!

  Chapter 2

  “What’s wrong?” Reid asked, stepping into his brother’s office. It was late, and the office was almost empty. Brant sat in near darkness, but he hadn’t even noticed the deepening shadows, too focused on trying to work.

  Brant blinked and scowled at his brother. “Why would you think something is wrong?”

  Reid chucked and leaned a shoulder against the door jam. “Because you have that throbbing vein going on the side of your head. Always a bad sign.”

  Brant stared at his older brother as if he’d lost his mind. But after a moment, he conceded that he was stressed, then sighed and tossed his pen to the middle of his desk, leaning back in the leather chair to stretch sore, stiff muscles. “I just gave Gianna the launch budget project.”

  Reid dropped into the chair in front of Brant’s desk. The chair Gianna had used earlier today. But Reid didn’t look nearly as enticing as she had.

  “Isn’t that what she’s been asking for?”

  Brant cringed, nodding as he glanced out the windows, but he still didn’t see the Denver skyline or the lights of the city. He was thinking about Gianna’s excitement when he’d announced she’d be taking on the budget process. “Yeah, those monthly variance reports I asked her to do were beneath her. She has good skills.”

  Reid shifted. “She has the credentials to do so much more, but you’ve been holding back on giving her responsibility. You’ve never treated an employee like that before. What’s going on?”

  Brant stood up and walked over to the window, rubbing the back of his neck. The sun had set a long ago, but the lights of Denver lit up the night until the mountains created a dark, impenetrable barrier. Damn, he loved this city. He loved the mountains and the throbbing pulse of the growing, urban area. He loved that he could drive a half hour away and be surrounded by mountains, forest, and silence. Or he could walk a few blocks down the street from his house and find twenty restaurants, each with unique flavors and offerings. There was nowhere else like Denver!!

  Or Gianna, he thought with a sigh.

  “Is it because she’s a woman?”

  Brant swung around with that question, glaring at his brother. “Why the hell would you ask that? Seventy-five percent of our staff is female. In a cosmetics company, it’s essential to have women on the staff. Hell, any company should include at least fifty percent female staff. You know that men and women provide unique perspectives. Bringing them together only makes sense.”

  Reid held up his hands, laughing softly. “Hey, I agree with you. Preaching to the choir here. I’m just wondering why you’re holding this particular woman back. You’ve never been reticent about pushing an employee when they obviously have the skills, talent, and desire to take on more. What’s so special about Gianna?”

  Brant sighed again, trying to figure it out himself. “I don’t trust her.”

  “Because she’s beautiful?”

  Brant stiffened and had to hold back on grabbing his brother by the front of his shirt and punching him out. “Why the hell are you looking at Gianna?”

  Reid’s eyes widened. A moment later, he whistled. “So it’s like that, huh?”

  Brant glared at his brother, his fists clenching and unclenching. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But stop looking at Gianna. She’s an employee and we treat our employees with respect!”

  Reid lifted his hands in surrender. “Hey brother, I’m with you. I just want to understand. And by the flare of temper that happens every time I ask about her, I’m wondering if there’s something going on between you two.”

  “Absolutely not!” Brant asserted forcefully. Although, the image of her soft breasts as she bent over to catch the pen this morning came to mind.

  “Earth to Brant!” Reid called, waving a hand in front of Brant’s nose.

  Brant focused, then scowled at his brother. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you home with Selena?” Usually, Reid hurried out of the office at the end of the work day, eager to be home with his new wife.

  “Because, at the moment, you’re more amusing. Besides, she went to a spin class. I’m meeting her in a few minutes.”

  “Don’t you cook dinner most nights?”

  Reid grinned happily. Brant’s envy of his marriage amused him.

  “You’re annoying, you know that?” Brant grumbled, but in a light-hearted way. As much as he was annoyed by Reid’s love for his wife, Brant wanted that too. He wanted a woman he could come home to, someone that made him want to leave work to be with. Selena was a lovely, softhearted woman who had stolen Reid’s heart from the moment he met her several months ago when Reid flew out to discover the trainer that was ramping up sales and offering brilliant new marketing ideas.

  “Yeah,” Reid replied cheerfully, unconcerned with his brother’s irritation. “I know. And I don’t care either.”

  Brant turned away from his brother, not wanting to see the happiness on his face, even though Reid deserved every moment of it.

  “So, why don’t you trust her?” Reid asked, bringing the subject back to the original topic.

  Brant rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know.”

  “Has she done or said something that would make you doubt her loyalty to the company?”

  Was his brother seriously bringing logic into this conversation? “Not at all,” he admitted. Although…why did she stuff papers under files or into her desk whenever he entered her office?

  “So, what is it?”

  Brant banished the issue, trying to focus on his brother. He turned and leaned a hip against his desk meditatively. “Why is she here? Gianna has the credentials to work anywhere. Why Denver? Why not in London or New York? She could be making so much more money as a hedge fund manager or investment
manager. Why a cosmetics company?”

  “People say the same thing about you and I running a cosmetics company,” Reid reminded him.

  Brant smiled, thinking back to the genesis of their idea. “Yeah, well, that was pretty brilliant of us.” Brant and Reid had dumped all of their savings into the company. With their youngest brother, Mack’s, contribution as well, they’d created a small line of products and gotten them into the market. They were high quality, innovative, and environmentally friendly. The company had taken off so strongly, he and Reid had barely been able to keep up with the demand. Long days and nights of building up the company had brought them to the point where they were a major player in the global cosmetics market. Brands that had previously scoffed at Rembrandt Cosmetics were now playing catch up. Stores that had originally declined to carry their products were now demanding more stock. It had been difficult, but they’d created a successful company.

  “What? Deciding on the makeup we liked women wearing and producing it?” Reid laughed. “Yeah. We had a real spark there.”

  “I know that no one understands. But I like beautiful women and love the confidence they show when they feel beautiful.”

  “I know the company line, brother, but you haven’t answered my question. What has you so suspicious about Gianna?”

  He sighed, shaking his head slightly. “I don’t know. There’s just something about her that irks me.”

  “You mean, she keeps distracting you?”

  “She just…” he shook his head, irritation igniting his temper. Throwing his hands in the air, Gianna-style, he tried to explain to Reid. “How the hell can she speak English so perfectly, and yet, she messes up every single idiomatic phrase? What the hell is up with that?”

  Reid smiled, surprised by Brant’s outburst. “I think it’s amusing. Some might even call it enchanting.”