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“Hopefully bad boy billionaire Vincent Sorenson thinks the same way”

“I’ve seen you working nonstop for this irl Either e’re going to have fun tonight Don’t forget about that”

Of course, a full afternoon and evening of adventure with Riley I was looking forward to it With a wave, I left the hotel room and took the elevator down to the lobby where I was supposed to meet Richard As I stepped onto thea clack, I checked reed tous plenty of time to walk the few blocks froo over any last minute details should they arise in our sleep God knows I’d had dreahtmares And for some funny reason, all of them ended with me in my underwear

I spotted Richard seated on the edge of a cozy lounge chair, his eyes glued to his Blackberry He wore a slate-gray suit with a cerulean tie, giving hiht-year-old Only the few strands of gray hair would betray he was closer to forty

“Morning,” I greeted him

“Have you eaten breakfast yet, Kristen?” His response didn’t include prying his eyes away from his device It wasn’t an unusual occurrence and I didn’t take offense to it as I usually would have If Richard could be boiled down to one word, it would be “business” It was both his strength and flaw In the six et his undivided attention was by saying so relevant to his career advancement In this, he was like most of the people orked at the firm

“I had an orange juice and a granola bar I could go for soh”

“Let’s get going then We can stop for a cup” He gathered his briefcase and I followed him as he left the hotel

As we stepped out fro of the valet area, the view of the ocean in the distance and a cool breeze helped calm my nerves It was theWe continued a leisurely stroll through the heart of don Cape Town We had only flown in the previous day and had been busy with prep work so I hadn’t had tis piercing the sky, honking cars, an eclectic ly every corner—in a lot of ways, it reht colors, unfaave this place its own charm

Along the e paused for a cup of coffee and Richard took the opportunity to review our strategy

“When we get inside the building, I want you to be all smiles, Kristen I want to see your teeth at all ti, but you play an important role as well Clients may have more money than some countries, but first and foremost, they’re people People are emotional Men, in particular, are weak to feminine allure You soften them up, and I mold them”

Sounds like my role could be replaced by a cardboard cut out with boobs Great Richard’s back-handed compliment irritated h there were plenty of women in the finance world, the upper echelons were e one day, but unfortunately office politics were neverresearch docuraphs were enough for me I really wanted to do well at my job, so I’d have to trust in Richard’s experience