CHERISH (The Billionaire's Rules, Book 12) by Kelly Favor Read Free Book Online

what the
position entailed.”
    “And you didn’t ask?”
    She sat there, stumped.   “It’s been very busy.   I was moving into a new
apartment—“
    “Yes, you mentioned that already,” Brayden noted.   He folded his hands and stared across the desk at her.   “So,” he said sighing and giving a
subtle shake of his head.   “What are
your thoughts about Hookup?”
    Lanie shifted in her seat.   “It’s obviously an amazing thing.   An amazing,
umm…convenient thing.   It’s very,
very innovative and successful at what it does.”
    Now his stare had intensified.   “Do you even know anything about
Hookup?”
    “Of course,” she said.   “It’s a dating app.”
    “A dating app,” he said, but his tone
wasn’t approving.   He stood up.   “Are you single, Lanie?”
    She swallowed but her throat was
dry.   “I don’t see what that’s got
to do with anything.”
    “You’re, what, twenty-two, twenty-three
years old?”
    “I’m twenty-two,” she acknowledged.
    “That means you fit right in our target
demo.   And if you’re single, you fit
even better.   That’s why I’m
asking.”
    “Yes, I’m single.”
    He smiled.   “Good.   So have you ever considered using the
Hookup app?”
    She thought for a long moment and decided
she couldn’t be dishonest.   As it
was, she knew it was highly unlikely that she would get the job.  
    “I can’t say I have,” she admitted.
    Brayden’s hazel eyes were staring so
intently at her that she almost felt like he was trying to read her
thoughts.   And for the briefest of
moments, she thought it possible that he could read her thoughts after all.
    “You mean to tell me that you came to an
interview today for an unknown position with a company that you know nothing
about.   Is that right?”  
    She looked up at him as he stood there,
arms folded, judging her.
    “This was all very last minute.”
    “I don’t think you respect what this
company does,” he told her.
    She licked her lips.   “Of course I respect you.   This is a very successful
company—“
    “I didn’t say anything about you respecting
me,” he chided her.  
    “What?” she asked, her heart beating
faster.   She felt confused, almost
dizzy.
    Brayden walked around the desk again and
moved into her personal space.
    Her heart was pounding faster now, as he
stood nearby.  
    She wondered if he had this effect on
every woman he met, and she suspected that he did.   The truth was, she was thrown off by how
handsome and sexy and confident he was.  
    And it showed.
    She felt completely exposed and
humiliated, and she thought that Brayden Forman seemed to be taking some
delight in the effect he was having on her.
    Now he leaned against the edge of his
desk, directly in front of where she sat.   His palms gripped the edge and he rocked slightly back, looking down at
her.
    “Admit that you think Hookup is slimy,”
he said.   “Just tell me the truth,”
he continued, his voice growing lower, confidential, as if this was just real
talk between friends.
    Lanie scratched her head.   “I wouldn’t say slimy.”
    “What word would you use to describe it,
then?”
    “I don’t know.   Maybe immature.”
    He stared at her for a long, long
time.   His eyes were burning into
hers, and she looked away.
    His lithe, muscular body was so close to
hers, and she felt that she would have perhaps given just about anything to
feel what it would be like to touch his bare chest, run her hands down his
belly…
    “Hookup is a service,” Brayden said.   “A very necessary service that helps
likeminded people find each other and truly connect in this modern age where
everyone is so disconnected.”
    “Is that what you call it?   Connecting?” she asked, raising an
eyebrow at his spin.   “I’d call it
cheap sex.   Connection is something
altogether different.”
    “Spoken like someone who wouldn’t know
the difference,” Brayden shot back, as he moved from his desk