Billionaire Erotic Romance Boxed Set: 7 Steamy Full-Length Novels (164 page)

“You’re going to do well Samantha. I have complete faith that you will succeed,” Alexander had said. His words rang in my head.

The glass of white wine had helped calm my nerves, but I had restricted myself to one. I would not get drunk or have more than a single glass so I would still be sharp at the meeting. I needed to come off like I was confident and aware. I wanted to seem like I was razor-edged.

“When you come back, I’ll have something special waiting for you.”

I closed my eyes and longed to know what that something special was. It made me grow hot between my legs to think about what Alexander could think was special for me. I longed for him to be here right now. He could take me in his private jet while we flew to Beijing to further his company’s projected goal. Just the thought of being so high up in the air and in his arms, his throbbing cock pushing in and out of me while his eyes burned into me made me wet.

My food arrived before me and I pushed the thought of Alexander’s perfect sexuality out of my mind. I ate slowly and carefully, tasting every succulent morsel of perfectly cooked steak. I laughed out loud when I thought of my typical dinner at my house—baked chicken and microwaved broccoli, a side of brown rice and a glass of red wine from a ten dollar bottle.

“Alexander is counting on me,” I said aloud to no one. “I can do this.”

I finished my steak and looked out the window. I was beginning to feel confident.

I slept like a baby on the jet. When I woke, the flight attendant informed me we were preparing to land. I buckled myself in my seat and drank coffee as we landed. I looked out on the tarmac and saw that a limousine was waiting for me. I hadn’t needed to do anything; the logistics of the entire trip had been set up for me beforehand. I thanked the flight-crew as I exited the private jet and walked towards the limousine.

Two men stood by the open door of the limousine. One was obviously the driver and he bowed to me courteously as I approached. The other man was a man that I had expected to be there. Before leaving Alexander’s penthouse, he had informed me that while the businessmen that I was going to be negotiating with spoke perfect English, it would be wise to have a translator with me. The translator, he explained, was someone he could trust as well. I was to feel completely at ease with him.

“Welcome, Miss Dubois,” he said in perfect English. He had no accent I could discern. “I am Richard Chen.”

“Pleased to meet you Mr. Chen,” I said, shaking his hand. He held out a hand for me to enter in the limousine and I did.

“It will not be a long ride, please sit back and relax. While you may not need me, please know that I am here for anything you may need. Also,” he said, lowering his voice slightly. “I am here to make sure there is no whispering in Chinese that is out of your understanding. Mr. Strauss was perfectly clear that he wants you to be privy to every single bit of information in the meeting, down to the last word.” And with this, Mr. Chen was silent for the rest of the limousine ride.

I took stock of myself. I was once again dressed to kill in business attire—very professional, not sexy in the least, but still very feminine. I looked like I could be a CEO myself. I felt confident in my appearance. I reassured myself that if Alexander believed in me, I should believe in myself too. There was no way that he would entrust me with such an important task as acquiring necessary parts for the water filters project if he did not believe that I would be successful. I could do this.

We arrived at our destination, the Sun Industries and Manufacturing corporate offices. It was a modest building in comparison to the Strauss Engine’s building, but still large nonetheless. I walked in next to Mr. Chen and we were greeted by two security guards waiting at the entrance. We signed in at the front desk in a large lobby area and we were escorted up an elevator to the top floor. The security guards had not spoken a single word to us or even to each other. They waited by the elevator doors as we walked down a short hallway to a conference room. I took a deep breath and we walked in.

Three men and one woman sat at a conference desk. Two of the men were older, early sixties, while one of the men was in his mid-thirties. His eyes were sharp and attractive. All three men rose and extended their hands. With each handshake the men would bow, and I followed suit, wanting to show them the utmost respect. The woman rose as well and walked around to greet Mr. Chen first.

“Richard, it’s always a pleasure,” the woman said.

“And you as well Joyce,” Mr. Chen said. He turned to me and whispered in my ear. “Joyce Lin. She is American. She works as a translator for Sun Industries. They apparently have the same idea as Mr. Strauss.”

The younger of the three men was Delun Sun. The older man to his right was his father, Lei Sun. The other man never gave his name. His face remained stoic the entire meeting. I never saw him blink, and even though I was moving between talking to Delun and Lei, I could have sworn that even if I had watched him the whole time, his eyes would never have moved off of me nor would they have blinked.

“Welcome to China, Miss Dubois,” Delun Sun said.

“Thank you, Mr. Sun.”

“Although I must admit that I am very unhappy that your boss could not, or perhaps would not, grace us with his presence.”

“Please, Mr. Sun,” I said, addressing Delun first and then Lei. I looked over to the unnamed third man and said nothing, but bowed my head slightly as I continued. “Accept his apology on my behalf. There are many developments which he must attend to and his time is spread very thin. I can assure you that he sends me, his best representative, in his place as a sign of his utmost respect for your company.”

I felt like a student on her first day of college. I thought of that little girl, so scared by the world and unsure about how to even speak. The transformation that took months and years before she stood up and took charge—became a leader—would have to happen again. Except this time, I did not have months and years. I had minutes, perhaps seconds. I maintained a calm demeanor and breathed in slowly. I can do this, I thought. I will do this.

Lei Sun leaned over to his son and spoke rapid Chinese. It flowed so fast that at first I didn’t even think it was words but a musical tune he had sung. I had to acknowledge the beauty of their language.

“He said ‘We’ll see for ourselves what this woman has to offer’,” Mr. Chen whispered into my ear.

I decided quickly that it was a good sign that they were willing to see how I would play out in this discussion.

“All right, Miss Dubois, we accept his apology. Would you like anything to drink before we begin to talk business?” Delun asked.

“No, thank you,” I said politely. I did not want to give the slightest indication that I was weak.

Accepting water or tea, while such a small gesture, might be construed as such. I was here for one purpose and one purpose only. Negotiate the deal and get out.

I blinked. There was a flash of myself as younger woman in college. I remember being in the student meetings, terrified to speak. I remember the thoughts well. What if I sound stupid? What if no one listens to me? What if they agree with what I say and I have no idea what to do afterwards? That was ages ago.

A lifetime had passed since then. I was a new woman now. I would not fail. Yet I admitted to myself that I was terrified. I let the feelings temper me. I would not act too rash or capitulate easily. Being scared was a normal reaction, but I would not show it for a single instant.

“We’re interested in an initial order of ten thousand units of the BR36 prototype,” I said.

“Yes, the BR36 prototype. Our rate per unit for the BR36 prototype is one hundred and fifty American dollars,” Delun said.

“One hundred and fifty dollars is an unacceptable price for such a high order, Mr. Sun,” I said. I paused and let the weight of my words fill the space in the air. The unnamed man’s face wrinkled slightly.

“Since we are going to be ordering an initial order of ten thousand units, we would of course need a discounted price for such a high order. I also should inform you the importance of the key aspect of what I have said, which is that it is an initial order.”

Delun Sun turned to his father Lei and gave him a look that I could not decipher. It was as though they were communicating telepathically. Both of their faces were perfect poker faces, giving away nothing. I searched for the slightest sign of acceptance or outrage, anything, and I could discern nothing.

“One twenty-five per unit,” Lei Sun said. His voice was flat, his face calm and placid.

“One hundred,” I said. I knew it was a low offer. I kept my face of stone, trying to judge their reactions. I tried to exude confidence from every pore. I wanted them to believe that I didn’t need their BR36 prototype. I wanted them to know that Strauss Engines could build an entire fucking company just to manufacture an identical prototype that would blow theirs out of the water. I wanted them to know this without having to say a single word to suggest it.

I could see myself standing at the orientation event in college, watching everything I had worked for come to fruition. I had realized then that it was a small feat, it was no international manufacturing deal, but it had still taken effort and creativity to make happen. I had known then that I had the ability to make things happen. It had been the first little scrap of belief in myself. I could feel that same feeling now growing exponentially.

“One hundred is much too low, Miss Dubois. Insultingly low,” Delun said. His voice had taken on a gravelly edge when he said “insultingly low”. His eyebrows narrowed down at me. His sharp eyes had seemed a little blacker. The unnamed man remained a statue, but I could almost swear that I saw an evil smile spread across his lips.

They were trying to intimidate me. I felt a flash of anger and embarrassment. I would not be pushed around. My offer had not been insulting, it couldn’t have been. They were both shrewd businessmen, that much I could tell. They must have known I would try to get the lowest rate.

“My offer was by no means meant to be insulting,” I said, offering no further apology. “It’s meant to be a beginning.”

“A beginning? What do you mean, Miss Dubois?” Delun asked.

“I know that you have all seen the press announcement that Mr. Strauss made yesterday,” I said. They must have seen it. And since they had seen the press conference, that means that they had seen me. Alexander’s idea of bringing me up there had been brilliant. Now I was recognizable to these men. I had clout. “Strauss Engines is taking an entirely new direction for the future. Water filtration systems are going to be their primary focus now. A billion dollar company moving forward with revolutionizing water filters for the world could prove a very powerful ally for your company.”

Their eyes finally gave me something I could work with. Both of the men gave looks of understanding. Their eyes softened, looking at me with something new. Wonderment.

“If you supply Strauss Engines with the BR36 prototype at a flat rate of one hundred and ten dollars per unit, a very fair price, for the first order of ten thousand units, you will have entered into a business venture with a company that has a significant interest in your product developments. The BR36 is still a prototype. When it becomes fully developed, Strauss Engines is going to need more units as they expand operations even outside of India,” I said. I paused to assess Delun and Lei. I looked over to Joyce and smiled. “Your company could be supplying parts for water filters used over the entire world. You could be responsible for clean water for billions of people.”

I turned to Joyce. “Actually, I will take that water,” I said. “Gentlemen, do you still feel insulted?”

We signed the deal five minutes later, a bottle of ice cold water in front of me. I drank it all at once as I walked out of the building. Mr. Chen was smiling from ear to ear, and when we boarded the elevator, he laughed out loud. The security guards made no sound.

“That was phenomenal!” he exclaimed. “You’re a hell of a negotiator.”

I had made the transformation in the minutes necessary. When I realized Alexander’s purpose for putting me in front of the press conference, it all became clear to me. An avenue opened up in my mind. It was all about small moves towards a greater future. Small, smart moves.

We drove back to the airport in the limousine and I drank a glass of champagne with Mr. Chen. We were the only two around to celebrate, but we kept it a muted celebration. When I left the limousine to board the jet, he bowed and waved me off. I smiled and boarded the private jet. The same flight attendant greeted me warmly and I smiled.

“A glass of wine, please,” I said. “Oh, and bring me the nicest dinner possible on this jet. Lobster, perhaps?”

Success had been mine.

Chapter Eight

The private jet landed without any problems. I took a quiet limousine ride back to Alexander’s condo. I had not talked to him since I had left to go to Beijing. That had been almost two days ago. I had been in Beijing all of four hours, but the plane ride alone had taken nearly twenty four hours. Despite all the traveling, I did not feel sleepy or tired. I had slept well on the plane and now I was excited to get back to Alexander to tell him about how well I had performed. And I was going to receive my something special.

We pulled into Alexander’s private garage. I took out the keycard that he had given me to use the elevator. Another huge sign of trust that I held in my hands. I had access to his apartment. Sort of. I still needed to get into the private garage, which only his limousine or one of his cars seemed capable of, but still it was an entrance key. I felt my chest swell with pride. I had been given a task that I had accomplished and I could return to Alexander with my head held high.

The elevator could not go fast enough. I wanted to run when the elevator doors opened and yell for Alexander so I could tell him everything. I kept my cool. I walked calmly into his apartment and looked around. Soothing classical music was on at low-volume. Something smelled like it was cooking in the kitchen, and god did it smell good. In the living room, I could see two wine glasses filled with red wine waiting on the table. My heart began to beat hard in my chest. I was beyond excited. I was beyond turned on.