“It's a pleasure to meet you, Olivia,” he greeted me, rising to shake my hand. A tingle went up my arm as his hand squeezed mine. He gestured to one of the two chairs opposite his desk. “Please, have a seat.”
“It's very nice to meet you as well, Mr. Hayes,” I replied. My voice only shook at the first word, but I hoped he hadn't noticed. I sat nervously, smoothing my non-wrinkled skirt again before setting a copy of my proposal on the desk. Despite my best intentions, I had already crinkled the edges with my nervous grip.
“Call me Logan, please. I've been over your proposal, and I love the concept. There's a couple of things that would need to be changed, but overall, I really think the concept is amazing.” He leaned back in his chair and watched my reaction. His eyes were warm, chocolate-caramel pools that seemed to absorb me. Being the sole object of his attention was distracting enough to make me forget how to breathe. I wondered if all his clients felt this way in his presence.
“Thank you, sir,” I finally sputtered. “I've worked really hard on it. Having the resources of Travel, Inc. would make it exponentially easier, and far more viable.”
His lips perked up in a small smile at my nervousness. I hoped he found it endearing, because I was having a hard time concentrating with his eyes on me. It didn't help that he was exactly my type.
“I agree,” he said, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the desk. “What are you hoping to get out of this meeting?”
My lips suddenly felt very dry and I had to fight the urge to lick them. “Honestly? I would love it if you decided to purchase my company and let me run it under Travel, Inc.'s banner. A big sticking point for me here is that I get to continue to work with this. I have put my heart and soul into this program and the business. I won't sell it just to walk away.”
“It's your baby. I can understand that,” he said, sitting back in his chair again. He looked thoughtful for a moment as a small smile crept onto his face. He was wearing an unbuttoned, light gray suit jacket. It accented the width of his shoulders and the lean build of muscle underneath the fabric. He belonged in a magazine. “I have a couple of questions about your business before I bring the proposal to my father,” he said, never taking those delicious brown eyes off me.
“Your father?” I frowned slightly. I was under the impression he was in charge.
He pointed to the name plate on the edge of his desk. Logan Hayes, Senior COO.
“I'm just the COO. My father is the official CEO of the company. A transaction like this will require his approval, so I want to make sure I present it accurately,” he explained. “I really think that your company will be a major asset, and I want to present it as such.”
I nodded, wiping my sweaty hands on my skirt. “Okay. Do you think he'll like it?”
Logan grinned. “I wouldn't bring it to him if I didn't.”
His smile made my insides heat. He had to be the company's secret weapon for negotiations. When he looked at me, I felt like I was the center of his world. I was the only thing that mattered with those dark brown eyes absorbing me. I could stay in those eyes forever, basking in his attention.
I could already feel myself falling head-over-heels for him, which was ridiculous. He wouldn't be interested in me. This was a business tactic to warm me up to his negotiations. I merely represented a small company asking to become part of Travel, Inc.'s empire. I could only imagine the level of charm he probably bestowed upon bigger-name clients.
“I do have to ask something, though,” he said. “Do you have any other investors who will complicate a transition to Travel, Inc.?”
I shook my head. “Not currently. There are a couple of other companies that I have met with, much like this one, but no forms have been signed yet.” I didn't tell him just how interested a couple of them really had been. I had two other companies completely ready to combine my business with theirs, but Travel, Inc.'s budget blew all of them out of the water. The business prospects of joining with the biggest travel company in the world were the best I could hope for at this point. Logan and Travel, Inc. were the ones I wanted.
“That's good to hear.” His smiled widened, and my heartbeat sped up. I couldn't imagine a sexier smile than the one lighting up his face. He played with a pen on his desk, his eyes never leaving mine. “If you want to continue to be a part of this project, I have some ideas for improvement, if you have the time.”
“That would be wonderful,” I gushed. “I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I have some plans that I think Travel, Inc. would really benefit from.” I'd have rescheduled a date with Brad Pitt for this opportunity. One of the most successful men in business, specifically my field, was offering to go over ideas for improvement. Not to mention the effect he was having on my pulse. I wouldn't have missed this for the world.
He chuckled softly and pressed a key on the phone resting on his desk. “Virginia, hold my calls.”
“Yes, sir,” a voice replied through the intercom.
Logan stood and straightened his jacket as he came around the desk. He sat in the chair next to me, and my heart rate shot up again. By the end of this meeting, I would have had my cardio for the day
“It's easier to talk to you over here. The desk just gets in the way,” he explained nonchalantly. I nodded nervously. Our knees were almost touching here. My mind was imagining all the wonderful things I wanted to do with him. Tangling my fingers in those honey curls. The way those broad shoulders would look without clothes on. The touch of his skin against mine.
“Right,” I stuttered.
Focus, I told myself. He's a billionaire. He could have anyone. He's had supermodels. He's not interested in you. This is just a business tactic.
Flirting and charm were as deadly of weapons in the business world as swords and arrows.
He smiled again, and those brown eyes threatened to swallow me whole. “So, how do you plan on keeping work hours down? Personalizing someone's travel is difficult and time-consuming.”
“I have a form for prospective clients to fill out. I then run it through a computer program that I created specifically with travel customization in mind. The program is actually the basis for my company. Using the customer entries, user ratings, pricing, and some other variables, I created the program to come up with a number of basic vacation plans,” I explained. I tried not to blush when he nodded encouragingly. “Then, with that base, it's easy to customize the trip as needed. Most people actually want very similar vacations, so it's not as much of a time sink as you might think.”