Seducing Avery

by Barb Han

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  Seducing Avery

  by

  Barb Han

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Seducing Avery

  COPYRIGHT © 2013 by Barb Han

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com

  Cover Art by Rae Monet, Inc. Design

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Champagne Rose Edition, 2013

  Digital ISBN 978-1-61217-626-0

  Published in the United States of America

  My Deepest Thanks To:

  Tori Spence, exceptional editor, your belief in this book and dedication to make it better are treasured gifts.

  My agent, Jill Marsal, for your spot-on advice and honesty.

  Jerrie Alexander, your critiques are as invaluable as your friendship.

  To Brandon, Jacob, and Tori, for giving me endless inspiration and courage.

  To my Beta reader, Jill Salzman, your boundless enthusiasm, encouragement, and kindness make me lucky to count you as my friend.

  Diana Layne, this book would not have happened without you. I’m deeply grateful.

  To the strong women in my life, Mom, Tonia, Aunt Violet, and Mary, you have been unwavering in your support.

  To Jacque Lambiase, Emily Martinez, and Michelle Strayer, for your absolute belief and encouragement along this incredible journey.

  To Candace Havens and Laurie Schnebly Campbell for everything you’ve taught me about the craft of writing.

  Most of all to my own Asian hero, John, for being the inspiration in my life. Everything you do nurtures me and my muse. I still count myself as the luckiest woman in the world to be married to you.

  Chapter One

  Ryker Li knew the value of a personal appearance. No one turned him down in person.

  He wedged his car into a parking spot in front of the New York pre-war office building and took the stairs three at a clip to reach Avery McAdam’s fifth floor office. He located the suite number above an etched glass door that read, E². Simple. Witty. And probably a hell of a lot cheaper than paying to write out Exceptional Events. Impressive.

  The door was ajar and the lights were on so he didn’t knock.

  “Hello,” he said, taking a step inside.

  When no one responded, he checked his watch. It was still early for some, he guessed. He’d already squeezed in a five a.m. workout and spent two hours at the office finalizing the Japanese deal.

  Might be out for coffee. He could give her a few minutes. After all, he’d made her wait all night for the tally from yesterday’s event.

  Except, on closer look, someone was there asleep on the leather sofa tucked behind the door. He stepped forward to get a good look at the curled up little ball. She rolled over. The blanket scarcely covering her slipped off and tumbled onto the floor.

  Her disheveled honey-colored hair splayed out brilliantly across the dark leather. The skin of her heart-shaped face glowed, and she had the most perfect chin with a dimple in the middle. She looked peaceful. Her golden, home-grown aura appealed to him on a primal level.

  Ryker didn’t want to disturb her, but he couldn’t rightly watch the little thing freeze either. These old buildings weren’t known for keeping heat, and there was a draft in the air. Plus, it was dangerous to leave herself vulnerable like this.

  When he bent over to pick up the throw, the young woman sat bolt upright. “Who the hell are you?” she asked. Her bottom lip quivered as she rubbed sleep from her wide eyes.

  Was she scared of him?

  “Ryker Li,” he said as a muscle in his jaw knotted, and his gaze slid over her. “And you should lock the door if you plan to sleep in your boss’s office.” He tossed the blanket toward her.

  “I didn’t plan on falling asleep,” she said, looking outright offended by his presence. “I was waiting for something.” She rubbed her temples and eyed him up and down suspiciously. Focusing on the details of his expensive hand-tailored suit, her face muscles relaxed as she must’ve decided he couldn’t be a burglar. “Why do I know your name?”

  This was not the reaction he was used to from women, but then he didn’t normally hover over them as they slept either. He gave her a moment to let his name sink in as he turned his attention to his Blackberry.

  “You’re texting?”

  He silenced her by holding up a finger. When he’d hit send, he turned his gaze back to her. “I ordered coffee. For you.”

  “Oh. Thanks.” She sounded distracted or still sleepy. Sexy. Damn if his hormones weren’t reacting to her.

  “I’m looking for your boss,” he said flippantly. This woman looked innocent and natural. Like nothing the shrewd woman who pulled off last night’s event would be. He surprised himself in needing to stare at her more closely. Seeing her tremble ever-so-slightly brought out a protective instinct it shouldn’t have.

  Her brow arched. “I’m the boss.”

  “You’re Avery McAdams?” Or whatever the hell her real last name was. He knew it wasn’t really McAdams and was vaguely intrigued by her choice to use a different name professionally. Even Ryker’s private security firm hadn’t been able to uncover her secret. Given enough time, they could find anything, but he wanted to know now. Getting what he wanted, when he wanted it had never proved a problem when Ryker turned on his legendary charm.

  “Ohh.” She blinked as recognition brightened her eyes. “You’re Ryker Li. From last night. Right. Your event. Forgive me. Lack of sleep doesn’t do good things to me. I didn’t get much.”

  It took him a moment to absorb the fact this beautiful young woman was mature enough to pull off the most successful event in the history of the charity. “Coffee’s on its way.”

  “I’m sorry I missed you yesterday. I looked everywhere, but as you well know, with press involved these things become a circus,” she said, and her sea-green eyes were enormous.

  Despite his best effort, Ryker couldn’t completely erase the sexy, sleep image of her. He glanced at the cushion pressed to her chest. Lucky pillow.

  “I wasn’t there. I lend my name to the event,” he said deadpan. Ryker almost felt guilty for allowing himself to be distracted by the sensual redhead from the club. The memory curved his lips in a tiny wry smile. He couldn’t regret Red.

  “Oh. Too good to get those perfect hands dirty...” Avery stopped herself as though she realized the words weren’t just sounding off in her head.

  “Do what?” Ryker looked down at her, bemused.

  Those pink lips curled into a yawn, and he recognized the stall tactic. He smirked. Good. She needed to tread lightly.

  “No. Nothing. I did
n’t mean...So, why did you say you were here again?” She rubbed her temples as though trying to physically stimulate the return of common sense. “Oh. The receipts. You must be looking for the total.”

  “I’m here to congratulate you on a job well done.” He already knew the hell of a job she’d delivered last night. “Your plan was simple, honest, and brilliant. No glam party to raise money for orphans. An opportunity for the top fifty global companies to send their executives to be seen rolling up their sleeves and serving food at a soup kitchen.” Sexy with brains too. Lethal combination.

  “It’s important in today’s age for CEOs to be seen caring.”

  “A lot of people saw. Based on this morning’s news feed, your event drew international media coverage. Organizing orphans to hand top executives personal pledge cards while the world media watched was brilliant exploitation.”

  “Exposure,” Avery injected as red climbed up her neck.

  Was she embarrassed? Interesting.

  “Coverage is good,” she clarified, stretching out her arms. “Knowing the tally would’ve been better. I’m sorry I don’t have that yet.” She bit down another yawn. “I need to make some calls and find out what happened to the courier. He might have mistakenly taken it to my house.” She fumbled around in her purse.

  “No need.”

  She stopped and raised another honey-brown brow at him. “How so?”

  Ryker knew exactly how much she’d raised. He enjoyed being present to deliver news with those kinds of results. Her calendar was about to be overbooked. He wanted her for his social event and wasn’t above a little personal exploitation to get it. When he handed her the tally from yesterday’s pledge cards along with his customary matching check, he’d nail down her agreement to plan his next affair.

  “You’re about to see for yourself.”

  ****

  “You have it, don’t you? That’s why you came all the way down here personally?” Avery’s gaze intensified as it reached his. And his was quite perfect. Mesmerizing actually. Even as his tight-gripped resolve was cool, he looked almost put off by the fact she didn’t melt at his feet. Then again, a man as gorgeous as he was probably didn’t expect a woman to criticize any of his actions. And she’d been rude so far.

  “I came to see you,” he said. “Only I didn’t expect you to be Avery McAdams.”

  “Why not? What’s wrong with me?” Never mind. Don’t need to go there. She didn’t need to hear her list of imperfections from a complete stranger.

  “Forgive me being direct. You’re far too young and beautiful to be the woman who put together last night’s event.”

  “Sorry for shouting before,” she said, changing the subject as she tore her gaze from his and scrambled to compose herself. Had he just said she was beautiful? Surely not. Exhaustion had her hearing ridiculous things. “You scared me half to death.”

  He stood there, staring down at her, and Avery felt her throat constricting as she stared back up at him. Command wasn’t the word for what Ryker Li did to a room. He owned every molecule in it. Effortlessly. And his smile was even more devastating. Law should require a smile like his to come with a warning label.

  “What do you want?” She blinked up at him deadpan. She’d worked damn hard to build her professional reputation, and her success had nothing to do with age or looks. Wait? Didn’t he just say she was beautiful? A man like him didn’t throw around compliments; he must want something. Well, he poured it on a little thick. What did he really want? A phone number from one of the starlets last night? If you’d bothered to show, I’m sure you’d have no problem getting it for yourself.

  “What makes you think I need anything?”

  “The compliments. The coffee.”

  Bemused, he smirked. “Ironic. A woman nearly as jaded as me. You are beautiful. That part’s true. The coffee is so you’ll have a clear head and I’ll have a clean conscience. It’s my fault you slept here.”

  “Oh. Apology accepted,” she said.

  He didn’t look moved. In fact, all the sex appeal crackling in the air around his physical presence shifted to his charismatic eyes. “I wasn’t trying to scare you before. But I do have a question. With global media coverage, how did you manage to stay out of every shot?”

  A knock on the door interrupted them.

  “Coffee delivery,” said a young man wearing a Nero’s cap, a khaki shirt, and matching pants.

  Ryker motioned toward the solid oak desk in the center of the room. “Set the coffee there.”

  “Nero’s doesn’t deliver,” Avery said as she mumbled a thank you and then made a near-fatal mistake in raising her face to really look at Ryker. There was something very threatening about this man, and it was more than just his devastating looks. He was powerful, dark, and outright dangerous.

  Hadn’t she read an article somewhere about his surprising rise to the top after a youth spent as a thug?

  He was a wolf in a hand-tailored suit, which was the worst kind of hazard, because she would never see past all his attractive packaging.

  He crooked a tiny, sexy, devastating smile. “You can get anything you want in this city with proper motivation.”

  Didn’t he mean with enough money? Or power? Or the right name attached to your request?

  “I guess,” she said with a shrug.

  “You didn’t answer my question. How did you manage to avoid the photographers?”

  “When you despise something, you’d be surprised at what you’re willing to do to avoid it.” She picked up the blanket, noticing how the air in the room had gone thin. Avery couldn’t swallow. Her throat dried up, and her stomach quivered. Being near this man made her pulse thump at the base of her throat. Because when his gaze landed hard on hers, it spoke pure sex.

  Thick, sooty lashes framed the most intoxicating shade of exotic brown eyes. His high cheekbones framed hard planes on his face, anchoring perfectly full, perfectly formed lips.

  Looking at those lips almost made her forget that he thought himself too important to attend the charity event he lent his name to. She quirked an eyebrow at him, curious as to why he really stood here in her office. After all, he’d been too busy or too good to show last night. Then again, why would a man like him waste an evening on orphans when he could have any supermodel he wanted at his side, and in his bed?

  Coffee. She needed caffeine. She gripped the Styrofoam cup and took a sip.

  His thick lips curled. “What is it now?”

  Avery felt flush, hot, and a feeling she couldn’t quite put her finger on stirred deep inside her. “Nothing. Sorry.” Her tongue darted across her lips. “Much as I appreciate it, I’m slow today. Tell me why you’re here again? It can’t be to feed me coffee.”

  “I’d have scheduled an appointment, but I’m leaving the country, and I thought you might like these.” He held up the tally sheet along with his personal check, looking downright confused by the reception he received.

  “Nice of you to make a donation,” she said with just a hint of sarcasm. What did he expect? Her to fall over and melt from his physical presence and his ability to make a pen move? Avery was certain most people—and by people she meant women—made no secret of enjoying Ryker’s presence. He completely unnerved her.

  Frazzled, she snatched the piece of paper out of his hand and scanned the document for an amount.

  “Oh. My. God.”

  The dollar figure was substantial.

  In fact, it was fall flat on her back big. The attached check nearly dwarfed it.

  “Wh-at? I knew we’d do well, but this? It’s even more than I expected. Wait. This was supposed to be sent over via courier last night. It’s why I fell asleep. Waiting.” Avery looked at him, fighting against the impact he had on her senses. “How did you get this before me?”

  “I have my ways.”

  Oh, she was sure. With him standing so close, she could scarcely breathe for the fractured air around him. She got up to put her desk between them, needing a littl
e distance to keep her sanity. No need to make eye contact. She knew he was a beautiful man already.

  So he was attractive.

  And had sex appeal in buckets.

  Big deal.

  When it came down to it, Ryker was the same as all the fancy rich people she’d watched make conspicuous financial donations. They won good press but never dreamed of getting their fancy clothes dirty by volunteering. Weren’t they all good looking on the outside too? Okay, not this beautiful.

  The bottom line was, Ryker Li hadn’t been the kind of man to roll up his hand-tailored sleeves and help in person. It would take a lot more than looking at nice packaging the next day to impress Avery.

  Good thing this arrogant man was about to leave.

  She’d shake his hand, kiss the baby, or do whatever political action it would take to have him walking out her door with a smile.

  A grin spread over his perfectly white teeth. “I want you to work for me again.”

  Avery stumbled backward, grabbing the edge of her desk to keep herself from falling. She set the check down. “Absolutely not.”

  His gaze scraped over her. “I haven’t said what or when. Wouldn’t you at least like to know what you’re passing up before you decide?”

  Not used to being turned down, I see.

  “I don’t need to know. I’m too busy,” she quickly countered. Too quickly.

  Ice shot from his glare. His sheer force of personality had Avery feeling at a complete disadvantage. If he wanted her blood, she was sure he’d take it like he did everything else he wanted. But she didn’t have to stand here and lamely roll over for him now, did she? And she sure as hell didn’t have to accept more work. Not from him.

  “You’re not busy,” he said abruptly. “Let’s be honest. You need the work, and I need the best.”

  “How do you know what I need?”

  “I investigate everyone I do business with.”