Cass had done very well for herself thanks to him. Gage had been her mentor for eight months and turnabout was fair play. She owed him. And he’d help her see that by reminding her of how he’d guided her at a time when she had no idea how to navigate the shark-infested waters of the cosmetics industry.
With any luck, Cass would be curious enough to see him on short notice. Gage couldn’t call ahead and lose the advantage of surprise. Not when he was here to get his hands on Cass’s secret formula.
So secret, he shouldn’t even know about it since it wasn’t on the market yet. His sources had whispered in his ear about a miracle formula developed in Fyra’s labs that worked with a body’s natural healing properties to eliminate wrinkles and scars. His intel adamantly insisted it was better than his. And he wanted it.
You didn’t spring that kind of request on anyone over the phone, not even a former girlfriend. They hadn’t even spoken in eight or nine years. Nine. Maybe it was closer to ten.
“Gage Branson. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
The husky feminine voice raked over Gage from behind before he’d managed to get ten feet from the Hummer.
He spun to face the speaker and did a double take. “Cass?”
“Last time I checked.” High-end sunglasses covered her eyes, but her tone conveyed a hint of cool amusement just fine. “Did I leave my face in my other purse again?”
“No, your face is right where I left it.” Gorgeous and attached to a hell of a woman.
But this überchic version in five-inch heels and a sexy suit with cutaway panels at her hips did not resemble the Cassandra Claremont who lived in his memories. Her voice wasn’t even the same. But something about the way she held herself was very familiar. Confidence and the ever-present “look but don’t you dare touch” vibe had always been a huge part of her attractiveness.
Obviously he hadn’t changed much since graduate school if she’d recognized him from behind.
“Moving into the dog transportation business, are you?” she asked blithely.
He glanced at the Hummer. “You mean Arwen? Nah. She’s just company for the drive. I came up from Austin to see you, actually. Surprise.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
The lack of question in that question said she already knew the answer. And wasn’t planning to adjust her calendar one tiny bit, even for an old boyfriend. He’d change that soon enough.
“I was hoping you’d see me without one.” He grinned, just to keep things friendly. “You know, for old times’ sake.”
His grin grew genuine as he recalled those old times. Lots of late-night discussions over coffee. Lots of inventive ploys to get Cass’s clothes off. Lots of hot and truly spectacular sex when she finally gave in to the inevitable.
She pursed her lips. “What could we possibly have to say to each other?”
Plenty. And maybe a whole lot more than he’d originally come to say. Now that he was here and had an eyeful of the new, grown-up Cass, a late-night dinner and a few drinks with a former lover had suddenly appeared on his schedule for the evening.
Everyone here was an adult. No reason they couldn’t separate business from pleasure.
“For one, I’d like to say congratulations. Long overdue, I realize,” he threw in smoothly. “I’ve been following along from afar and what you’ve accomplished is remarkable.”
Once her name had been dropped in his lap as a potential game changer, he’d searched the internet for details, first with an eye toward how well she was executing his advice and eventually because he couldn’t stop. Strangely, he’d liked seeing her picture, liked remembering their relationship. She was one of a small handful of women from his past that he recalled fondly, and for a guy who held on to very little in his life, that was saying something.
“Thank you.” She inclined her head graciously. “It was a group effort.”
He waited for her to say she’d been following his entrepreneurial trajectory in kind. Maybe a congrats or two on the major retail distribution deals he’d scored in the past few years. An attaboy for Entrepreneurs of America naming him Entrepreneur of the Year. If nothing else, Fyra’s CEO should be brushing up on her competition the way he had.
Nada. She hadn’t been a little curious about what he’d been up to? Was their time together such a blip in her life that she’d truly not cared?
But then, their affair had been brief, by design. Once he’d escaped his restrictive childhood home and overprotective parents, he’d vowed to never again let his wings be clipped. He owed it to his brother, Nicolas, to live on the edge, no regrets. To experience all the things his brother never would thanks to a drunk driver. Sticking to one woman didn’t go with that philosophy and Gage liked his freedom as much—or more—than he liked women, which meant he and Cass had parted ways sooner rather than later, no harm, no foul. He could hardly blame her for not looking back.
“Come on.” He waved off her “group effort” comment. “You’re the CEO. We both know that means you call the shots.”
She crossed her arms over that sexy suit, drawing attention to her breasts. In spite of the cool breeze, the temperature inched up a few degrees.
“Yes. Because someone has to. But Trinity, Harper, Alex and I run this company together. We’re all equal owners.”
Yeah, he’d figured she’d say that. The four women had been inseparable in college and it wasn’t hard to imagine they’d extended their tight circle into the company they’d created together. Fortunately, he’d always gotten along with the quartet of savvy females, but Cass was the one he had his sights set on. She’d make this deal happen.
“Can we take this inside?” Hoping she’d like the idea of getting behind closed doors as much as he did, he sidled closer. “I’d like to catch up.”
“Gage.”
Her husky voice wound through him as she moved closer in kind, tilting her head toward his in a way that shouldn’t feel as intimate as it did. A hint of jasmine filtered through his senses and it was a powerful punch. “Yeah, Cass?”
“You can save the ‘Kumbaya,’” she murmured. “You’re here because you’ve heard about Fyra’s breakthrough formula and you want it.”
Back to business, then.
He grinned and reined in his thundering pulse. Going toe-to-toe with Cass was such a turn-on. Smart, sexy women who didn’t take any crap had always floated his boat. “Am I that easy to read?”
Cass laughed in his ear, a throaty sound he instantly wanted to hear again. “I’m afraid so. Sorry you’ve wasted your time. The formula is not for sale.”
All right, then. Cass needed persuasion to see how his tutelage had launched her into the big leagues. He’d anticipated that.
“Of course it isn’t. Not to the rest of the world. But I’m not one of the masses,” he reminded her. “I’m not unreasonable. I’ll pay fair market value.”
He turned his head at just the right angle to almost bring their lips together. The pull between them was magnetic, and he nearly forgot for a second that he’d instigated this sensual tease to get him closer to his goal—the formula.
She didn’t flinch, holding herself rock steady. “You think you have special rights because of our former relationship? Think again.”
His element of surprise hadn’t worked to catch her off guard and, for some reason, that made her twice as attractive. Or maybe the unexpected draw had come about because they were equals now. It was an interesting shift in their dynamic he hadn’t expected, and it was throwing him off.
So