The Billionaire's Touch(2)

“Courtney Bell, here for her annual review?” Her mysterious stranger held out his hand. “I'm Vance Forster, your reviewer.”



She swore as she shook his hand, trying to ignore the excited little tingle that ran through her at the contact. She couldn't believe her luck. Whatever small hope she'd been harboring regarding a good review vanished. The innuendo in the elevator made more sense now. He wasn't attracted to her. He just wanted to know what she was willing to do for a promotion. Usually it was only creepy Raymond Lee who hit on her, and based on office rumor, he wasn't anyone she wanted to know better. One intern said she'd accidentally walked in during a personal call. She'd only heard part of his conversation, but it had involved latex, butter and a few things she'd had to look up on the internet.

“My office is this way,” Vance stretched out his arm.

Courtney followed in silence, her prior bleak mood returning. She really didn't want to do this, especially after ogling him in the elevator. She'd never found any of her prior reviewers attractive and didn't want to start now.

She stopped next to Vance and looked around, confused.

“Figured we take my private elevator the rest of the way.”



Understanding hit her hard enough to make her gasp. Vance Forster. Of course! She should've recognized the name, but she'd been so distracted by what had happened that she hadn't really registered it.

Vance Forster, thirty-one year-old Princeton graduate and youngest ever CEO of the Asgard Corporation.

Oh shit. This was not going to end well.

“Come, Ms. Bell,” Vance's business-like tone startled her. “I'd prefer you go first. I don't have another shirt.”



Courtney flushed, whether from the embarrassment of having spilled coffee on the CEO or the memory of him without a shirt, she wasn't sure. Hard muscles, flat dark nipples, pants that hung just right on his hips, showing those deep V grooves...yeah, it was the memory.

“I hope this isn't indicative of how much attention you pay to your work,” Vance's voice cut through Courtney's reverie.

To her chagrin, she realized that he was still waiting for her to move. Cheeks burning, she stepped inside. The private elevator was smaller than the one they'd been in before, but Vance stood closer than necessary, the scent of him surrounding her. She'd never smelled anything like it. Sharp and clean, like a mountain forest she'd visited as a teenager.

Fuck. She was doing it again, letting this absolutely gorgeous man distract her. What was worse, a quick sideways glance revealed a grin that suggested he knew exactly what his proximity was doing to her. She tried not to squirm, but there was something about her boss's gaze that made her think squirming was precisely what he had in mind. Neither one of them spoke on the short ride up to the top floor, the air between them almost too thick to breath. When the doors finally opened, Courtney didn't wait for Vance to ask her to step out. She took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs as she willed her heart to stop pounding.

“Shall we begin?” Vance's voice was even, revealing none of the tension that had permeated the ride.

“Where do you want me?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to take them back.

“I can think of quite a few answers for that question,” Vance shrugged out of his jacket. He crossed to another door, opening it to reveal a closet. He pulled out a pristine dress shirt and hung it on the doorknob. “But for right now, why don't you have a seat.”



Courtney wiped her palms on her skirt and took the proffered chair. She pressed her knees together, folded her hands on her lap and tried to focus on maintaining a business-like composure, waiting for the questions to begin. To her surprise, Vance didn't put on the clean shirt or sit in his posh-looking chair. Instead, he walked over to the front of the desk, stopping just inches away from where she sat. He leaned back against the edge and peered down at her, not saying anything.


Seconds turned to minutes and still he didn't speak. Courtney had started out determined not to break first, sensing that this was some sort of test, but as the minutes ticked by and Vance didn't move, she began to wonder if she'd misread the signs. Maybe he was waiting for her to do something, say something. She squirmed ever so slightly and the spell was broken.

“You have quite an impressive resumé, Ms. Bell,” Vance spoke with a quiet authority that instantly made it obvious why he'd risen to power so quickly, though Courtney was sure his looks hadn't hurt. He continued. “It's too bad your performance hasn't lived up to it. You'd think that someone with your education could manage far better.”



Courtney's jaw dropped. He was the first reviewer who'd ever mentioned her background and he was using it to berate her? All right, she conceded, berate may have been too strong a word, but she'd already been feeling foolish enough that the words hurt more than they would have normally.

“Are things too hard for you, Ms. Bell?”



She snapped her mouth shut, sure she had imagined the stress he’d put on that one word. There was no way he was hitting on her. Was there?

“You did well your first two years here,” Vance straightened and took a step towards Courtney. “Maybe all you need is some discipline.”