Don't Ever Stop: A BDSM Billionaire Romance by Vivie Rock Read Free Book Online

drop away from me,’ I continued, ‘and to just be able to surrender… ’
    Mr. Cooper coughed, and then reached over to the teapot and poured us both a green tea. ‘Rose,’ he said, handing me a china cup. It looked so dainty, almost translucent. It looked like real bone china too, which I knew was actually made of bone ash. It was also extremely strong, in spite of its appearance, and very difficult to chip.
    ‘Thank you for being honest with me,’ Mr. Cooper said. ‘I asked you to do it, and you complied. It takes guts to do that. A lot of people wouldn’t be able to do it.’ He took his own cup, raised it to his lips, and blew gently over the hot liquid.
    I looked into my cup. It was like looking at liquid amber. I lifted it to my lips, smelling the exotic dark, savoury steam rising off it, and then took a sip. It was a strange taste. Floral, herbal… a little smoky, maybe.
    ‘It’s Que She,’ said Mr. Cooper. ‘Also known as Sparrow’s Tongue.’
    I couldn’t hide my grimace.
    ‘It’s produced in the Sichuan province, on Emei Mountain, one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.’
    I nodded, as if I knew where that was.
    ‘It’s traditionally regarded as a bodhimaṇḍa , or place of enlightenment. It is said that, as early as the sixteenth century, martial arts were practised in the monasteries of Mount Emei.’ I think Mr. Cooper sensed he was losing me, as he returned to the subject of the tea. ‘Gets its name due to the shape of the leaves. It’s one of the more delicate green teas. You can just make out the faint aroma of chestnut.’ He breathed in deeply over his cup. ‘Some say the Lonjing variety is the world’s best green tea, but I much prefer the fragile, unassuming beauty of this one.’
    I took another sip, trying to acquire a taste for it, but struggling. ‘I hope you don’t mind me asking,’ I said, ‘but why did you bring me here today?’
    The words hung in the air between us for a moment, clumsy and awkward, and I felt terribly embarrassed, even rude, for being so direct.
    Redmond Cooper placed down his cup. ‘I want to help you, Rose,’ he said. ‘Seeing Jen bully you in public like that reminded me of something similar that happened to me, early in my career. I almost lost everything. I don’t want it to happen to you.’ He opened out his palms as he spoke, making me weirdly trust what he was saying, even though it sounded so unlikely. ‘I’ve done a little research into you. I’ve read some of your advertising copy. You’re not so bad, you know. With a little training, I think you could make a very good journalist.’
    ‘A journalist ? I’ve only been working in advertising three weeks!’ I couldn’t help but blurt this out.
    ‘You don’t want to be working in ads all your life, do you?’
    Nervously, I shook my head.
    ‘Then come and work here. Work for Global. I’ll get you shadowing someone. Make sure you receive the necessary training. Within six months, if you work hard, you could be working on pieces of your own.’ His eyes were glued to mine. I don’t know if it was his penetrating gaze, or the heady scent of green tea, but my head was spinning. A journalist at Global? People work their way up the ladder for years to get a break like this. Most of them never manage it!
    ‘Think it over,’ Mr. Cooper said. ‘I know it seems sudden, out of the blue perhaps. But I mean it. I’m going to take a very close interest in your career, if you’ll let me.’
    ‘I don’t need to think it over,’ I said dizzily, ‘I mean, of course, I’ll do it. I’d be mad not to jump at an opportunity like that. If you’re serious. If you really think that I can–’
    ‘Rose,’ he said. ‘I’m going to let you into a little secret. ‘Ninety-nine per cent of journalism is about attitude. And I like yours. You deserve a break. Let me give you one.’
    My china cup was rattling in its saucer. My hands were shaking. I put it down on the coffee table,