Anna DePalo - CEO's Marriage Seduction / His Style of Seduction - CEO's Marriage Seduction / His Style of Seduction

She swung her attention back to her father.

She sometimes felt like just another prized possession in Marcus Tremont’s asset portfolio—and by marrying Carter Newell, she supposed her father wasn’t getting the return he’d banked on.

Still, she refused to weaken. “Mom and I will be checking out possible venues and going dress shopping.”

Her father’s eyebrows lowered. “Your mother knows about this already?”

She pasted on a sunny smile. “I suggested that’s what my plans were to her before I came in here, yes. But I decided to go beard the lion in his den by myself.”

Her father glowered.

“I hope to see you at the wedding—whether you can bring yourself to give me away or not.” The words were said flippantly, but a thread of emotion ran beneath them that she refused to analyze too closely.

She turned on her heel and, not sparing another glance at Griffin, strode out of her father’s library.

She was everything he desired, but in the wrong package.

Griffin watched Eva Tremont sashay out of the library, her clingy knit dress hugging every curve.

His lips twisted.

She was quite a package, and had been ever since he’d first laid eyes on her. She was equal parts headstrong heiress, savvy businesswoman and sexy single woman.

It was also clear she despised him. If he had to guess, he’d say it was because he reminded her of every way she fell short as Marcus Tremont’s heir.

That he’d more recently become CEO of Tremont REH was probably just rubbing salt in the wounds.

Still, his ties to Marcus Tremont and Tremont REH were also the reason Eva was off-limits to him, he reminded himself. He wasn’t the commitment type, and committed was the only type of relationship that would be acceptable with the boss’s daughter.

Of course, now that he remained on as CEO of Tremont REH more as a favor to Marcus than anything else, Eva wasn’t really the boss’s daughter any longer, but she remained related to someone he valued as a friend, a colleague and a mentor.

“That bastard Newell,” Marcus Tremont said, calling him back from his thoughts.

Griffin had met Carter Newell only a couple of times. But he’d been able to size the guy up as a smooth operator on the make.

When Carter had trumpeted his skills as a financial advisor, Griffin had listened detachedly, unimpressed by the guy’s salesmanship—not to mention that he was happy with his stockbroker and liked to keep an eye on the markets himself.

And yet, despite the sales pitch, he’d gotten the impression Carter didn’t like him much, judging by the sour expression that had flitted across the guy’s face from time to time.

Carter had obviously done some sizing up of his own and come to a conclusion he didn’t like: Griffin was Marcus Tremont’s anointed successor. His possible future father-in-law’s single, unattache successor .

Without a doubt, Newell had put him down as a rival for control of the money spout, and possibly for Eva as well.

Evidently, though, Carter had been willing to put personal feelings aside where financial gain was concerned—namely, reeling in another client.

And that’s what bothered him, Griffin thought. Not just for himself, but for Eva. If Carter was willing to overlook a lot to score another client, how much would he be willing to do to acquire a rich wife?

Griffin watched as Marcus Tremont’s eyes met his. “Look into it for me.”

He tensed. “What are you asking?”

He had a good idea, but he didn’t want there to be any room for misunderstanding.

Marcus gestured dismissively. “I mean, find out what you can about Carter Newell. Get the investigator that we use for Tremont REH.” The older man’s look turned grim. “I want to know what Carter Newell is hiding before he becomes my son-in-law.”

Griffin lifted his eyebrows but was careful to keep his expression in place otherwise. “You have reason to believe he’s hiding something?”

Marcus regarded him steadily. “What I know about the Newells, I don’t like. They were able to hide their decline in wealth for a long time. Subterfuge is the family currency.”

“I see. Still, if Eva found out…”

He let the thought trail off. He just wanted to make sure the older man appreciated the possible consequences of his decision. Marcus might do irreparable damage to his relationship with his daughter if Eva discovered they’d had Carter investigated.

And as far as his own relationship with Eva went, well, that was bound to head further south.

“There’s no reason for Eva to know,” Marcus said brusquely, his eyes sharpening. “Unless of course, we pin something on Newell—in which case, it’ll be well worth the price to save her from that slick salesman.”

Griffin nodded.

The truth was he’d derive some pleasure in bringing down Carter Newell if the guy wasn’t on the up-and-up.

He pushed aside the thought that the cost to himself of having Carter investigated might be too high….

Two

Griffin stared out the window of his Pacific Heights mansion at the twinkling evening lights of San Francisco Bay. His grip on his wineglass constricted, putting dangerous pressure on the delicate crystal, as he thought back over the events of earlier that day.

Though he’d agreed to it, Marcus’s request had put him in a difficult position.

Over the years, he’d put his own selfish desires aside where Eva was concerned. Still, he’d fantasized about making love to her on numerous occasions—even though she irritated and perplexed him by turns.

She reminded him of a sleek, lithe cat. Everything was perfectly proportioned, and exercise kept her body limber and supple.

Her straight black hair hung in a curtain past her shoulders in a blunt cut. Her mouth was a little too large for her face, and her topaz eyes tilted upward at the corners. And yet, those elements added character instead of suggesting she fell short of ideal beauty.

Now he was being asked to dig up dirt on the man that she intended to marry—the man, his lips curled tightly, she fancied herself in love with.

But he couldn’t say no to Marcus Tremont’s request. Because, all else aside, Griffin found himself agreeing with Marcus’s instincts where Carter Newell was concerned.

Not to mention he owed Marcus a debt that couldn’t be repaid.

After his parents’ death in a private plane crash when he’d just gotten out of high school, he’d become guardian to his fifteen-year-old brother, Josh, and fourteen-year-old sister, Monica. He’d had to become an adult almost overnight and had become grimly determined to succeed on his own in the world.

Fortunately, though his parents had not left behind a lavish estate, it had been significant enough to allow him to send his younger siblings to boarding school and to further his own education.

After college and business school, he’d been given a break by Marcus, a business acquaintance of his father’s, in the form of a job with Tremont REH, where he could learn the ropes of the real estate business.

The business relationship had proven lucrative to them both. Griffin had soon discovered he had the Midas touch when it came to real estate deals. He’d eventually formed his own company, Evkit Investments, and become immensely wealthy through savvy management of his own ever-expanding real estate portfolio.

But loyalty to Marcus Tremont had kept him involved with Tremont REH. When Marcus had decided two years ago it was time to step back from the day-today management of Tremont REH, he’d asked Griffin to take over the reins as CEO. Marcus had insisted that, in his continuing position as chairman of the board, there was no one he trusted more at the helm of the company he’d spent a lifetime building.