Yahrah John - Taming Her Tycoon

Would she be strong enough to fight him off when her own traitorous body found him irresistible?

* * *

Lucius woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed given there was no valet or butler to assist him for the day. He was on his own. And perhaps that was just as well. He suspected that to get through to Naomi he would have to be himself.

There were no airs to Miss Brooks. Instead, she was a woman who appreciated the simple, basic things in life. So he was sure it came as a shock to her that she too could be led astray by the desires of the flesh. She’d probably been bedding nice guys who had no idea how to bring out the vivacious woman he’d seen last night.

But she was there. He’d seen it in her eyes and body language.

And he was just the man to bring out the sensual side of her nature. Once he got her alone, he would seduce her. Last night, when his hands had roamed over her body, he’d had just a sample of what it would be like to touch that beautiful body of hers, and he craved more.

An added bonus was that while he was rattling Naomi’s cage, Adam would be working on Kelsey. The soon-to-be second-time mother might be his way to get enough shares of Brooks and Johnson for a takeover.

But first things first—he had a certain woman to woo.

Downstairs in the convention center, Lucius discovered that finding Naomi wasn’t all that easy. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she was avoiding him. After reading the itinerary for the second day of the expo, he attended a lecture he’d thought would surely interest her, but when he’d arrived he’d found the lady wasn’t in attendance. Nor was she in the second lecture later that morning.

Lucius was quickly becoming annoyed that he’d yet to spot her—until he arrived at the trade show. Naomi was standing in front of her display talking to several customers. And she was doing a heck of a job. She’d convinced him, and he was only standing a few feet away.

She looked feminine in a sleeveless pink wraparound top and gray slacks and pink peep-toe pumps. Glittering silver earrings adorned her ears and only emphasized her beautiful face, on which she wore very little makeup other than a touch of blush, mascara and pink lipstick.

When she was done and had handed her business card to one of the customers, he applauded her.

She turned, and when she saw him, her smile faded. “Lucius.”

“Good morning,” he responded, not allowing her lackluster response to faze him. “I missed you this morning.”

“Duty calls.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“One of my salespeople came down with a bad case of food poisoning and is currently in their room praying to the porcelain god, so I’m here in their stead.”

“So it wasn’t my charming personality that kept you away?”

“You wish.” Naomi bent down and retrieved several cellophane-wrapped Brooks and Johnson products from underneath her display table.

“I was actually hoping I could steal you away and talk about how Brooks and Johnson might benefit from being part of Knight International.”

“Changing tactics, I see,” Naomi stated. She began stacking the promotional items on the table. “I have executives that handle that kind of stuff for me. Besides I’m needed here.”

“Don’t hide behind your work,” Lucius responded, glancing around him. “The trade show is going to slow down for lunch anyway, and you have to eat.”

Naomi let out a long, beleaguered sigh. “Fine. If it’ll get you off my back.” She turned and whispered something to her staff.

Lunch at a nearby bistro was not only delicious, but the conversation was less charged than their previous encounters. The change of flow seemed to please Naomi immensely, and she became more at ease during the course of the meal. They talked about politics. The Lakers. Even some charity work she’d started doing. Until eventually the conversation turned to business and the purpose for the lunch.

Lucius explained the reach of Knight International and how having a distribution arm like his would allow Brooks and Johnson to not only be a national phenomenon but an international success. “We could sell B and J products in stores abroad.”

“That’s all fine and good, Lucius,” Naomi responded, “but I’m happy with where the company is right now.”

“C’mon, don’t tell me you don’t have big dreams.”

“I do, but I also want to be approachable. I can’t do that overseas. I do want a family someday.”

Lucius frowned. Family. There was a dirty word in his vocabulary, and one he wasn’t altogether fond of. If it wasn’t for his grandma Ruby, he wouldn’t have any to speak of.

Naomi caught his frown, because she asked, “Are you not close with your family?”

His sat upright in his chair, his shoulders stiff. “No, I’m not.”

She must have detected his body language and the note of finality in his tone, which said he didn’t wish to continue on the subject, because she dropped it. “I have to get back.” Naomi used the napkin in her lap to wipe her mouth.

“So that’s it?” Lucius asked. “You’re not going to give my proposal any more thought?”

Naomi’s eyes narrowed. “I did. I gave you the benefit of lunch and you didn’t convince me that the company I started, I nurtured since infancy, belongs with someone who doesn’t even believe in the word family. Good day, Lucius.”

Lucius stared at Naomi’s retreating figure as she went through the revolving doors of the bistro. How had their lunch gone so horribly wrong? He’d been certain he could convince her that Knight International was the next logical step in the evolution of Brooks and Johnson. But not only had he failed at that, he’d also struck a nerve with Naomi when he’d cut down her attempt to open up about his family.

Had he killed any hope that Naomi Brooks would ever give him the time of day again?

* * *

“You won’t believe who was at the conference,” Naomi told Kelsey the next day when she made it back to Long Beach and phoned her friend from her three-bedroom craftsman-style bungalow in Belmont Heights’ historic district.

“Who?” Kelsey asked from the other end of the line.

“Lucius Knight,” Naomi replied, placing the teakettle on the stove.

“Lucius. Now there’s a blast from the past,” Kelsey responded. “You haven’t spoken of him since college, when you told me about the monumental crush you had on him.”

“Yeah, well, that ship has sailed,” Naomi responded, turning on the burner. “He’s not the bad boy of every teenage girl’s fantasy anymore. Instead, he’s a pompous, arrogant, conceited jerk.”

“Wow!” Kelsey laughed. “I’ve never heard you speak that way about someone. He must have really gotten your goat.”

“He did.”

“What happened? Do tell—married women such as myself have to entertain ourselves with sexy single girl stories.”

“Wh-what? There’s no sex in this story.”

“Naomi, chill. I was just kidding. What’s gotten into you?” Kelsey inquired. “Did seeing Lucius again really upset you that much?”

Naomi sighed. “Yes—I mean, no.”

“Which is it?”

“He was just so smug and confident, saying that I’m attracted to him and that we would eventually sleep together.”

Kelsey perked up. “Oh, really? And why would he think that? Did you give him fodder to think he’d have the time of day?”

“No...”

“Hmm...it sounds like you’re not being one hundred with me, Naomi. Give up the goods. What happened between you two?”

“All right, all right. We kissed,” Naomi answered in a rush as she leaned back against the counter to wait for the teakettle to boil. “Are you happy now?”