The Hot-Blooded Groom. Emma Darcy

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      The managing director of the Sydney branch had already commented on his absence from conference sessions, as well as his failure to attend any of the social functions at night. Derek might be considered a top consultant but playing the corporate game was important, too. He was earning a big black mark here in Las Vegas, not only on a personal level, but a professional one, as well.

      Still inwardly fuming over his behaviour, Sunny made her way to the very front row of tables in the auditorium, where she was entitled to sit as one of the presenters this morning. Having settled herself and greeted the other delegates in the team she’d been attached to all week, she did her best to push Derek’s disturbing behaviour out of her mind, concentrating on listening to the buzz about Bryce Templar’s arrival on the scene.

      Had he come to announce some new technologies being developed by the company? Was he here to reward someone for outstanding performance? Speculation was running rife.

      It ended abruptly as the man himself made his entrance, accompanied by the conference organisers. A hush fell over the room, attention galvanised on the CEO of Templar Resources. He took the podium without any introduction but whatever he said floated right over Sunny’s head.

      From a purely physical viewpoint, she couldn’t help thinking that Bryce Templar had to have the best gene pool in the whole world, and if she could choose any one man to be the father of the baby she’d love to have, he would top the stud-list.

      The woman in yellow kept attracting Bryce’s eye. She was the only spot of colour amongst a sea of grey and black business clothing. Since she was seated right at the front, he couldn’t miss seeing her, and as women went, she was definitely worth a second look.

      Great hair. Lush wide mouth. Big dreamy eyes. A strong impression of warmth, which stayed with him as he left the podium, niggling at the bitterness his lawyer had stirred with the call about yet another change Kristen was demanding in the prenuptial agreement. His fiancée was fast dissipating any warmth he’d felt for her.

      As he sat down at the official table with the conference organisers, he reflected on the black irony of having thought he’d picked the ideal wife. Kristen Parrish had enough beauty and brains to meet his father’s criteria, plus a very stylish career as an interior decorator, which meant she wouldn’t be hanging on having a husband dance attendance all the time. She had a business of her own to run. Which suited Bryce just fine.

      The problem was, her sharp brain was proving to be one hell of a calculating machine, and Bryce fiercely resented the way she was manipulating the situation. Just one mention that he wanted a child, preferably within the first year of marriage, and she’d started using it as a bargaining chip to ensure she would always have funds to raise their child should the marriage fail. She was literally bleeding him for all she could get, and if it wasn’t for his father, he’d tell her to get lost.

      Then she’d probably sue him for breach of promise.

      And would he find anyone better?

      His gaze flicked to the woman in yellow and caught her looking at him. Her head instantly jerked away, thick dark lashes swept down, and her cheeks bloomed with heat. Quite an amazing blush. She had to be in her late twenties or early thirties, and very committed to a career to be here at this conference. Hardly the shy type. She wouldn’t be wearing yellow if she was shy.

      Her cheeks were still burning, lending even more vivid colour and warmth to her face. It was a very appealing, feminine face, finely boned, though not quite perfect with the slightly tip-tilted nose. Her hair drew his attention again, copper and corn colours tangled through a tousled riot of waves and curls, the thick mass of it falling from a centre parting and tumbling down over her shoulders. It looked…very touchable, unlike Kristen’s ice-blond sculptured bob.

      He wondered what the woman in yellow would be like in bed, then put a firm clamp on those thoughts.

      He’d made his bed.

      Besides, would the woman in yellow prove any different to Kristen when it came to the money angle?

      With a cynical shake of his head, Bryce reached for a glass of iced water. No point in getting heated about anyone he didn’t know…or Kristen’s greed.

      His forthcoming marriage was a done deal. Almost a done deal. He didn’t have the time to settle with someone else. The doctors had told him it was a miracle his father was still alive and they were using experimental drugs to treat his condition. Such risky medication held out no guarantees, and Bryce didn’t want to delay giving what peace of mind this marriage might bring, at least in the short term.

      No point in brooding over the outcome for himself, either. He’d flown to Vegas to hand out awards and get a feel of how the rank and file were dealing with the company products. His mission this morning was to listen and observe. Which he proceeded to do.

      First up was a panel who role-played selling the concepts of particular products to customers who have no idea how they would work in business, or that they even existed to be used. Bryce was favourably impressed by their understanding and the concise way they focused on customer needs to adopt and apply more profitable business practices.

      Next came a sample presentation to a company board level, delivered by a Business Development Manager from Sydney, Australia. The program noted that Sunny York had the enviable record of always achieving her quota of sales. Her…a woman? His interest piqued, Bryce waited curiously to assess why she was so successful.

      The conference organiser finished his patter on her, raised his arm in a welcoming gesture, and in a typically hyped-up voice, announced, ‘Miss Sunny York.’

      Up stood the woman in yellow!

      She had a smile on her face that would captivate and dazzle even the hardest-headed financial directors. And she was tall—six feet tall, Bryce estimated—and more than half of that height was taken up by the longest legs he’d ever seen on a woman. He couldn’t help watching them as she stepped up to the podium. Her skirt ended above her knees but it wasn’t a mini. It simply looked like a mini on those legs, and she wasn’t even wearing high-heels, just comfortable court shoes with enough of a heel to look elegant.

      His gaze travelled slowly upwards from her feet…what would it be like to have those long, shapely legs wrapped around him…the curvy cradle of her hips underneath him…plenty of cushion in those nicely rounded breasts, too…that mouth, so full-lipped and wide, made for sensual pleasure…and her hair tumbling everywhere.

      ‘Hi!’ She spread her smile and twinkling eyes around the audience, drawing everyone to her with a flow of warmth that sparked responding smiles. ‘I’m here to help you make money…and save money.’

      She had them in her hand from that very first delivery and didn’t let them go for one second in the whole forty minutes of her presentation. It didn’t feel like a hard-sell. She came over as concerned to serve the customer’s very best interests, her voice carrying a very natural charm, allied to a mobility of expression which was almost mesmerising. The line of logic she injected into selling sounded so simple and convincing, she left no doubt this was a winning move, and her own positive energy literally generated positive energy through the whole auditorium.

      Bryce found himself totally entranced.

      Even her Australian accent was endearing.

      Sunny…

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