Chapter 3

"Twenty minutes.” Adam muttered under his breath as he glanced at the Rolex watch on his wrist and tapped the table nervously. He had chosen a table that would give him a vantage position at the entrance. He wanted to see Veronica walk in. He knew she was going to come. Her clicking heels gave her away.

He looked up and struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. There she was; she wore a black silk dress that ended just before her knee. Her hair was let down all around her face, giving off a sexy, vibrant look. Her legs travel down her shapely thighs to the black stiletto on her feet.

It rocked him again, that feeling of Deja Vu. He thought he had seen her somewhere in the past - New York?

He stopped thinking as she scanned the faces of the diners, and when their eyes met, she lifted a hand in the air and moved over to join him. Many of the men in the cozy restaurant looked up at her silhouette as she walked past, and he felt a warm glow of pride spreading on his face.

“This had better be important.” She said as she settled into a seat, dropping her gold clutch on the table. He took a peep at her manicured fingers. Her fingernails were coated in red. The color of passion.

Red.. had a quick thrust in the bedroom. Her red panties were discarded on the floor.

He shook his head and cleared the lustful thought away. He looked at the woman before him. She looked breathtakingly pretty and...familiar.

“You look beautiful, Veronica.”

“I’m not here for your compliments. I got your message.” She hissed. Her eyes gave away her anger.

He had worked out an elaborate plan to get Veronica Hussey to meet him. He had telephoned a man in France, Leonardo. He was a celebrity jeweler, and Adam had been his favorite customer. He had called in a favor and transferred half a million dollars to an account belonging to a children's charity fund. Veronica was on the board of trustees. Things had been easier from that point. He had insisted on a dinner date as a thank you from her.

“Thank you for coming. We need to talk.” She darted her lips to the corners of her mouth, and he was drawn to the succulent moist of her lips. She wore no lipstick, and he found that thought tempting.

“Cut the bullshit, Adam. You made a huge donation to the NGO, and now you want us to pretend you aren't here to talk me into marrying you.”

He lifted a brow, amazed at her cool. “I want to marry you, Veronica Hussey.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. Just at that moment, the waitress arrived with the drinks. Adam sat watching her as he poured the red wine into their glasses. After he left, she continued.

“What is this about? You are bankrupt, and suddenly you are in love with me?” Adam shifted in his seat and fixed his eyes on hers.

“I'm not in love with you, Veronica.”

She blinked rapidly as though surprised at his words. She opened her mouth to talk, but then she closed it. “If you don't love me, then why am I here?”

He decided this was the time to lay his cards on the table. Adam took a sip of his wine and exhaled.

Here we go...

“Your father wants me to marry you for some big favor. Something bad is happening, and right now, I don't have a hang of it. I need to get my life back.”

“And I have to lose mine. I'm not interested in you. You are surely not my type.” She picked up her wine glass and sniffed the liquid before taking a sip. It was elegant, pose, and a little erotic. He smiled ruefully and thought about kissing her lips.

Maybe a kiss would change her mind about me.

“This marriage will benefit both of us. I know your father doesn't think you can run his business. I think you can.”

She looked up quickly. “Is this some sort of trap?”

Adam smiled sarcastically. “No. When you become my wife, I will ensure your father places you at the helm of affairs, where you truly belong.” He saw her eyes widen, and her breath hitched up.

“Even if you propose a marriage of convenience, there should be a measure of affection in the union. My first impression about you isn't pretty,” she said with a self-assured smile.

He ran a lazy look down her body, taking in the swell of her breast and the mole beside her aquiline nose.

That mole! He had seen it before, somewhere.

“I intend for this marriage to be fully consummated. You are breathtakingly beautiful, and I'm going to have a hard time fighting my hands to stay still around you.”

She gasped, and Adam could see a tinge of red on her face. The icy Queen was blushing.

“Consummation?” she sneered. We aren't even married yet. Don't get so confident now.

He chuckled like she said a joke. “We are going to be married pretty soon, Veronica.”

“You will have to make me say yes to you first.”

“How about I start now?” He said as he placed his palm upright before her.

“What? Are you asking for a dance?” He could see a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.

“Let me try and change your mind with a dance.” She slipped her hands into his rough big ones. Her palm was cold, and he felt a familiar tremor run through his body.

“Who are you, Veronica?”

He took her to the dancefloor. The band played a slow love song, and as he drew her into the space in his arms, the lights dimmed.

“Is this a ploy to get me to like you?” she whispered against his shoulders. Even in her high heels, she could only reach his chest.

“A man can only try.” He said as he held her warmly. They stayed locked in his arms as they swayed to the beat. Adam's hands snaked around her waist, bringing her closer to his body. His nose was filled with her perfume, just like her, mysterious. He dropped his hands lower till they rested on her buttock. He held her gasp aloud. The smooth feel of the silk fabric felt lustrous on his palm.

He felt her stiffen when he closed the gap between them and sniffed her hair.

“Orange. You used a minty orange shampoo for your hair.” He said softly, remembering that night in New York. This couldn't be a coincidence.

He liked that she smelt good enough to be eaten. His body hardened at the thought of unraveling the mystery she represented. Heat pooled between them, the sparks were flying above their heads, and he struggled not to bend and kiss her. He kissed her ears instead, and she shivered.

“Adam, what are you doing?” Her voice was hoarse.

“I’m dancing with you.” It wasn't just dancing for him. It was a blatant attempt to seduce her. He wanted her putty to his demands. Had didn't know how long they stayed in that position. He walked her back to their seat when the band changed to a funky, upbeat tune. Her face was glazed with something unreadable.

“So, what do you say, Veronica? Are you going to marry me?”

She looked at him and darted her sight around. Adam could sense the tension in her shoulders, and her pretty face worked in confusion.

“Adam, I ---” He cut in before she finished.

“Let’s call your father and tell him the good news.”

It was then she laughed, the sound reverberating long after it ended.

“You don't get it, do you? I'm not going to marry you, Adam. If you plan to seduce me to say yes to you, you are a bigger fool than I thought.”

He sat still in shock, reeling from her words. She drained her wine and got to her feet.

“Goodnight, Adam.” she slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the table. “For my drink.”

Without any word, Veronica Hussey turned and walked out into the night.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Adam. The management insists you vacate the presidential suite immediately. The bills are piling up, and we know you ----” Her voice trailed off, and Adam struggled to breathe evenly. His whole life was falling apart, and he couldn't stop it.

“I'm going to write a cheque for all of that as ---” The woman put a hand up and stopped the rest of his words.

“We won't accept any more cheques from you. You can only pay cash or leave, please.” He turned to Bruce and saw him bow his head to the floor, embarrassed.

“Alright. I will just find another hotel then.” She looked at him with pity in her big brown eyes, which gnawed at him.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Adam. I will get the porter to take your things downstairs. I wish the circumstances were different.”

“Of course. I will be fine.” Adam struggled to keep a blank face. His worst nightmare was here now.

They stood outside the hotel. His luggage piled beside him in the parking lot. He eyed his Porsche Cayenne, knowing he had to sell it soon and quickly.

“How much can I get for this?” His throat constricted with pain as he spoke. He was sentimentally attached to that car, and it felt like he was going to lose a child. It had been a gift from his mother. She was always spoiling him with exotic gifts that made him gasp aloud. Now he had to sell it or stay on the streets.

“Please don't. You need this car more than you know, Mr. Adam.”

He shook his head. “I have no choice right now. Veronica Hussey called me bluff, and right now, I think I might just get used to this. Being thrown out of a hotel, getting my cards declined, and having my friends cut me off.”

His eyes blazed when he thought of his friends at the club. They had turned their back on him, too.

“What are you going to do? You have to find a way to convince Ms.Veronica. You need her now.”

Adam remembered the thrill of her body and the look in her eyes. “She's as cold as her father. She's not going to help.”

Bruce shrugged. “You can stay over at my place. It isn't exactly luxury, but there's a couch and TV.”

He turned to Bruce and wanted to hug him. He had grown up having his presence around. Before his parents' death years ago, he was his father's head of security, a role that he naturally let him continue after their demise. He knew the forty-five-year-old was divorced and had an eight-year-old daughter who stayed with his ex-Latino wife.

“You don't have to do that, Bruce .”

“I want to help you, sir. I'm glad your father isn't alive to see all of this.” Adam blinked to keep the tears away. His father was a shrewd businessman, and he had wanted him to carry on the family business legacy. He had failed him, and it made him feel so rotten.

He straightened his spine and turned to Bruce. “Anything on Derek?”

“Nothing so far. He's probably hiding somewhere waiting for all of this to end.”

“I'm going to hunt that bastard and make him pay for all this.” He swore.

“Now is not the time to concern yourself with revenge. You need to find a way to get Ms. Veronica to marry you. We need that to rebuild.”

Adam threw his hand up in exasperation. “I have done everything. Donated to her pet charity club, took her to dinner, danced with her, and what do I get in return? She insulted me.”

Bruce smiled kindly and started to move his luggage into the car. Adam was hot-tempered like his late father, who knew he was too proud to keep asking for help. “She's probably angry at her father and then you. She probably feels like a lamb to the slaughter and resents you for your roles.”

“All of this was her father's idea. I never wanted to be a part of this, but he insisted.”

“She's probably thinking you put her father up to this. The date and dance sounded like a seduction plan. Maybe you should have just talked to her.”

“How come you know so much about women?”

Bruce cackled briefly and fingered the wedding band on his fourth finger. “I was married once; I think I know something about women that you don't.”

“So what do I do? How do I convince her this is the best option?”

“The best option for you or her? Think about it.”

They fell silent after that, and he watched the guests come and go. Maybe he should get some rest and figure something out. A loud ringtone blared from a cell phone, and he watched Bruce take his call in a hushed tone.

When he turned to Adam, he was crestfallen. “It's Ms. Veronica.” His heart doubled its beat. She hadn't met with an accident after their ill-fated date, had she?

“What happened to her?” He was hoping she sprained an ankle for the insult she gave me. He recalled the intimate dance they had shared and got hot all over his body.

“She’s at the Rainbow nightclub. I think she's in some kind of trouble.”

“Shit.” The Rainbow nightclub was dangerous. The owner was a trigger-happy son of a bitch called Byers. He had a thing for pretty women. He had once raped two sisters in a night and shot them when they reported to the cop.

He flung the driver's side of the car open and climbed into the seat. He ignited the car, and it coughed to life.

“Where are you going?” Bruce asked with a look of surprise.

“I'm going to catch the stubborn sassy heiress before it's too late.”