Whatever You Like

by Maureen Smith

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. It was…fun.” Lena blushed, and was glad her sister’s head had disappeared through the neck hole of the shirt she was trying on.

  “Where was the party held?” Morgan asked.

  “On his yacht.”

  “Champagne and caviar?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you see Oprah?”

  Lena smiled. “Not this time.”

  Morgan sighed dramatically. “My big sister, companion to the rich and famous. I’m so jealous.”

  “That’s funny,” Lena said wryly. “You were singing a different tune when I first told you I was going to become an escort.”

  Morgan met her gaze in the mirror. “That was before you explained the agency’s no-sex policy. I didn’t want you selling your body just to keep Poppa in that fancy retirement home, and he wouldn’t have stood for it either. But once you told me that you wouldn’t be having sex with your clients, I was okay with it.”

  Lena suddenly became absorbed in an inspection of her Jimmy Choo suede ankle boots. She’d never told her sister about her experience with Glenn Donahue. Morgan had always looked up to Lena as a role model. She would have been disappointed to learn that Lena had slept with a client, violating not only the agency’s policy but her own personal values as well. Needless to say, Lena had no intention of telling her sister about Roderick.

  Morgan struck a pose in front of the mirror, modeling a leopard-print designer shirt. “What do you think?”

  Lena wrinkled her nose. “Too loud.”

  Morgan laughed. “I agree. It looked better on the mannequin.” As she began removing the rejected shirt, she asked, “So who was the lucky guy this time?”

  “Lucky guy?”

  “Your client. The one you just went out with.”

  “Oh.” Lena dug out her cell phone, pretending to check for missed calls. “His name’s Roderick Brand.”

  Morgan’s eyes widened, and she spun around to gape at her sister. “You went out with Roderick Brand?”

  “Yeah.” Lena affected a nonchalant tone. “You’ve heard of him before?”

  “Hello? He only happens to be one of the richest men in Chicago! Didn’t you see him on that episode of Oprah last year that featured movers and shakers in the world of business and entertainment? Oprah couldn’t stop gushing over Roderick because he’s a hometown boy.”

  “I must have missed that show,” Lena said dryly.

  “I think you were out of town that week.” Wearing only her bra and panties, Morgan hurried over and plopped down beside Lena on the bench. “So, dish. What was he like?”

  Lena laughed. “Can’t you talk and try on clothes at the same time? There’s probably a long line of women waiting to use this dressing room.”

  “Let them wait,” Morgan said, waving a dismissive hand. “As much money as we’re about to spend in this store—”

  Lena snorted. “We?”

  “—I have every right to shop at my leisure. Besides, it’s not as if this is the only dressing room. Now give me the scoop on Roderick Brand. Is he as sexy in person as he was on TV?”

  “I didn’t see him on TV,” Lena reminded her.

  “Girl, you know what I mean.”

  Lena chuckled. “Roderick is very sexy. Stop-your-heart sexy.”

  “Oh, man.” Morgan groaned. “Does he smell good, too?”

  Lena grinned. “Delicious.”

  Her sister squealed. Some women got turned on by great abs. A good-smelling man did it for Morgan every time.

  She sighed deeply. “You’re so lucky, Lena, going on a date with Roderick Brand.”

  “Sure.” Lena smiled weakly. “Lucky me.”

  “So how’d the date end?” Morgan demanded excitedly. “Did he ask to see you again?”

  Lena glanced toward the dressing room’s closed door. “I really think you should finish trying on those outfits, Morg. You haven’t even gone through half the pile you brought in here.”

  “In a minute. I want to hear more about your date with Roderick.”

  Lena swallowed. “You know,” she evaded, “the agency’s clients are wealthy, influential men who expect discretion from the escorts they hire. Technically I’m not even supposed to discuss who they are, let alone what happens on our dates.”

  “But I’m your sister,” Morgan protested. “It’s not as if I’m going to tell anyone.”

  “That’s not the point. It’s a matter of privacy.”

  Morgan huffed out an exasperated breath. “Fine. Keep your client-escort confidentiality.” She paused. “But I must point out that this is the first time you’ve ever been so protective of a client.”

  “That’s not true,” Lena protested.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Well, maybe that’s because this is the first time you’ve ever taken such an interest in one of my clients.”

  “Maybe.” Morgan studied her, a speculative gleam in her eyes. “Or maybe you’re hiding something.”

  Because Morgan was four years younger, it was easy for Lena to forget just how perceptive she could be. “I’m not hiding anything,” she said with a straight face. “Roderick and I had a great time, but I’m not going to see him again.”

  Morgan frowned. “Why not? You have repeat customers all the time.”

  “Not this time.” Before Morgan could press the issue, Lena playfully slapped her bare thigh. “Now get your ass up and finish trying on those damn clothes before I change my mind about footing the bill for this little shopping trip.”

  Laughing, Morgan jumped up and scrambled across the dressing room. But she wasn’t quite ready to drop the subject of Roderick. As she shimmied into a designer skirt, she said offhandedly, “If Roderick stopped using the agency, he’d no longer be a client. Right?”

  Lena hesitated. “That’s right.”

  “Then you wouldn’t have to worry about breaking any rules with him. You’d be free and clear to date him.”

  Lena frowned. “It’s not that simple, Morg. Roderick Brand isn’t the kind of man who’d be cool with having his girlfriend work as an escort.”

  “So quit.” Morgan winked at her. “Let him be your sugar daddy.”

  “Excuse me?” Lena sputtered in disbelief. “Aren’t you the one who’s always preaching the importance of female empowerment and independence? Isn’t that the main reason you broke up with your last boyfriend? Because he was pressuring you to move in with him and you weren’t ready to give up your own space?”

  Morgan sucked her teeth. “I broke up with him because he was an asshole. Trust me, if Roderick Brand had asked me to move in with him, my stuff would’ve been packed up and loaded onto a moving truck before he could say Baby, please.”

  Lena chuckled, shaking her head. “Girl, you’re crazy.”

  Morgan snorted. “You’re letting a gorgeous billionaire get away, and I’m the one who’s crazy?”

  Lena rose from the bench. “Let’s go. We’ve been in here so long my butt’s falling asleep.”

  Morgan sighed, reaching for her skinny jeans. “I don’t think I’m in the mood for shopping anyway. Although I did see a cashmere coat I wanted to check out in Macy’s. It’s supposed to be a really bad winter.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Lena grumbled darkly.

  Chapter Nine

  Over the following week, Lena made phone calls to the remaining organizations she’d solicited for funds. She offered to provide more information if necessary. She offered to travel to their offices and do presentations. She did everything but barter her firstborn child.

  To keep her boss off her back, she assured him that she was working on the “revisions” Roderick had requested. Fortunately, Ethan took her at her word and didn’t press her for details. Although she felt guilty for lying to him, she had no other choice. If she told him the truth about Roderick’s outrageous ultimatum, she’d also have to explain how she’d met him—and that was out of the question.

  But as the week wore on, t
he rejections began to arrive. The reasons given reverberated through Lena’s mind like the sound of doors being slammed in her face, one right after another. We’re experiencing severe budget cuts…mandatory funding freeze until the economy stabilizes…limited resources due to corporate downsizing…and so on and so forth.

  By the time Lena heard from the last prospective donor on Friday, she was beyond dejected. She’d exhausted all her options and come up empty.

  So there was only one thing left for her to do.

  She had to swallow her pride and make a deal with the devil.

  She had to give Roderick what he wanted: her.

  Heat washed over her at the thought of spending the next three weeks as his lover. She would be at his complete mercy, his for the taking and commanding. She would be expected to satisfy his every sexual need and desire, no matter what he demanded of her.

  Could she really agree to such an arrangement?

  What other choice do you have?

  “I don’t,” Lena muttered aloud to her empty office. The choice had been taken out of her hands the moment Roderick set his sights on having her. All that was left for her to do was surrender.

  Surrender to the sexiest, most compelling man she’d ever met in her life.

  Surrender to the most amazing lover she’d ever had.

  Who are you kidding? she asked herself. There are far worse fates than becoming Roderick Brand’s sexual companion. Hell, most women would kill to trade places with you right now!

  With a sigh of resignation, Lena got up and closed the door to her office. After returning to her desk, she retrieved her cell phone and Roderick’s business card from her handbag. Taking a deep breath to shore up her courage, she punched in the number to his private line.

  He answered on the third ring, his deep voice spreading heat through her limbs. “Roderick Brand.”

  “You win,” Lena said as calmly as her pounding heart would allow.

  His soft chuckle drifted through the line. “I must have missed it.”

  “Missed what?”

  “Hell freezing over.”

  “Very funny,” Lena grumbled, chafing at the reminder of what she’d said to him after lunch that day. “You just couldn’t resist, could you?”

  “When it comes to you,” he drawled, “I don’t know the meaning of the word resist.”

  “So I’ve noticed.” She dragged in a shaky breath. “So how do you want to do this? We need to discuss the details, establish some ground rules.”

  “I agree,” he said silkily. “Are you still at work?”

  “Yes.”

  “What time do you get off?”

  “Four, but I usually don’t leave until after five.”

  “I want to see you tonight.” It wasn’t a request, and Lena knew it.

  She swallowed. Twice. “Tonight’s fine.”

  “Good,” he murmured. “I can’t wait to see you again. It’s been too damn long.”

  Her stomach bottomed out. “It’s only been a week.”

  “Like I said, too damn long.”

  She closed her eyes, leaning weakly against her chair. “Roderick, I—”

  “Leave now. I’ll send my driver over to pick you up at five-thirty. That should give you enough time to get home and get ready for me.”

  The words echoed through her mind, seductive and dangerously alluring. Get ready for me.

  “I’m heading into a meeting,” he told her, “so I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Wait.” Her head was spinning. Everything was happening too fast.

  “Yes?” Roderick prompted softly.

  She licked her dry lips. “H-how do you know where I live?”

  He laughed, the sound husky in her ear. “By the time our three weeks are up, I’m going to know everything about you, Lena. Everything.”

  He ended the call, leaving her shaken and wondering what the hell she’d just gotten herself into.

  Lena wasn’t surprised that Roderick chose his yacht as the destination for their first rendezvous. The Native Sun was where it had all started, so for Lena, going back there was like returning to the scene of a crime. Admittedly, it was hard to think of crimes when confronted with the vision of Roderick’s gleaming white yacht silhouetted against a spectacular sunset.

  When she saw him sauntering down the ramp to meet her, her mind went blank and she forgot to breathe. He was devastatingly handsome in a black dress shirt, black slacks and black boots. Between the dark clothing, his cocky swagger and the backdrop of the massive ship, it was no wonder her mind conjured an image of a marauding pirate come to take her captive. Her heart began thumping as he neared her, and she wondered again if she could really go through with this secret arrangement.

  “Lena.” Just the way her name poured out of that deep, intoxicating voice sent her imagination into overdrive.

  She strove for composure. “Hello, Roderick.”

  His slow, lazy gaze swept over her body, taking in her attire. A strapless sheath dress that skimmed the top of her knees and tall heels that accentuated her long, shapely legs.

  The eyes that traveled back up to her face glittered with pure male appreciation. “You look beautiful,” Roderick said huskily.

  “Thank you. You didn’t tell me where we were going, so I wasn’t sure how to dress.”

  “You’re perfect.”

  Her insides tingled with pleasure.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Roderick nodded at his driver, who waited on the pier beside the Rolls Royce. “Thanks for delivering her safely, Ed.”

  The man tipped his dark head with a smile. “Enjoy your evening, boss. Miss Morrison.”

  “Good night, Ed.” Lena smiled, fighting an irrational urge to beg the friendly driver to take her back home.

  Roderick looked down at her. “Ready to go inside?”

  Mentally she squared her shoulders to bolster her courage. “Lead the way.”

  A brush of electricity sparked along her veins as he tucked her hand under his arm and guided her down the ramp. They boarded the yacht and were greeted warmly by the captain, who looked spiffy in a nautical dress uniform. After assuring them that everything was on schedule, he strode off toward the wheelhouse at the top of the yacht.

  “My chef’s putting the final touches on dinner,” Roderick told Lena. “In the meantime, I thought I’d give you the grand tour, since we didn’t get around to it last time.”

  Lena’s face heated at the memory of how they’d gotten sidetracked, and what had followed later that night. “A tour sounds good.”

  Keeping her arm securely tucked through his, Roderick escorted her to a double staircase at the stern, which led them up to the main deck.

  The night of the party, Lena had been too distracted by her raging libido to fully appreciate the magnificence of Roderick’s mega yacht. The Native Sun was a mansion on water, four stories of sheer luxury suitable for cruising around the world. In addition to the grand ballroom where the party had been held, the ship featured a spacious salon, a huge formal dining room, a bar on every level, a gym, an aquarium, an observation lounge, a private movie theater with an enormous plasma screen, a spa and sauna, and a pool with a retractable roof. Lena admired crystal chandeliers, gleaming onyx countertops and rich mahogany walls and floors offset by plush carpeting. The guest staterooms were large and elegantly furnished, complete with Jacuzzi bathrooms and private balconies. Each deck boasted high ceilings surrounded by huge picture windows that overlooked the water. There was a helicopter, as well as a remote-controlled vehicle below deck for guests who wanted to see the ocean floor.

  Three years of hobnobbing with the rich had not immunized Lena from being awed by Roderick’s luxuri ous yacht, which surpassed anything she’d ever seen.

  “Wow,” she breathed as they neared the end of the tour. “This is absolutely amazing, Roderick.”

  He inclined his head modestly. “I’m glad you like it.”

  She laughed. “What’s not to like? It has everyt
hing. And I mean everything. Do you spend a lot of time on the yacht?”

  “Not personally, no. I mostly use it for entertaining clients and chartering cruises for my family.”

  “You must have a big family.”

  He smiled. “Five siblings and a slew of nieces, nephews and cousins.”

  Lena gave him a knowing grin. “I bet they’re all spoiled.”

  “Rotten. Every last one of ’em.”

  They shared a quiet chuckle.

  Holding her gaze, Roderick reached out and trailed a finger down her cheek. Heat suffused her skin, and she found herself leaning into his touch as he pushed a tendril of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

  “Are you ready for dinner now?” he murmured. “Or should I take you to the last stop on the tour?”

  “What would that be?” Lena whispered.

  “The master stateroom.”

  Her stomach quivered. There was no mistaking the seductive gleam in his eyes. He intended to have her before the night was over.

  Lena gulped. “I think I’m ready for dinner,” she said, hating the tremor in her voice.

  Roderick smiled slowly. He’d heard it, too. “Dinner it is, then. We have a lot to discuss.”

  Chapter Ten

  They dined by candlelight on the sky deck.

  It was unbelievably romantic, with soft music playing in the background and a warm breeze blowing across the glistening waters of Lake Michigan. Instead of jumping right into negotiations regarding their arrangement, they broke the ice with small talk that gradually deepened into more personal subjects.

  Relaxed by good food and wine, Lena found herself answering Roderick’s questions about her childhood. She told him about growing up in south L.A. and being raised by her grandparents after losing her mother to breast cancer that was detected too late. When Roderick murmured his condolences, she said ruefully, “I guess the only consolation is that I was only four. Too young, really, to remember her. And my sister was just a baby.”

  “Morgan, right?”

  “Right.” Lena gave him a wry look. “Did I already mention her name, or did you uncover it during your background check?”