Read The Tycoon's Defiant Southern Belle for Free Online Page A

niceties.  He would play along, at least for the next few minutes.  But
     that kiss told him that she’d been thinking about him just as much as he’d been planning
     his next move.  “Buying a pharmaceutical company that holds a patent that I want.”
    She blinked at that.  “You bought a whole company just to obtain a patent?”
    He shrugged and moved closer, his eyes assessing her health and noticing the dark
     circles under her eyes.  “I needed the patent.  It will be very valuable in the future
     but it isn’t being marketed well.  Besides, I bought another company last month that
     holds a patent on another drug.  If both of them are combined, they are much more
     effective.  But since the separate companies aren’t marketing their drugs effectively,
     neither is thriving.”
    She was stunned at the idea of how much knowledge he must hold in order to know that
     one drug interacted with another drug in a way that made both of them better, but
     also knew how to not just market both of them together, but how to obtain both companies. 
    She cleared her throat and shook her head.  “That’s impressive,” she replied quietly,
     feeling suddenly shy and inadequate.  Was this why he was buying up so many of the
     businesses in this area?  Was he trying to make everything work better and create
     medicines that could save lives? 
    His phone rang at that moment and he looked at the number.  “I’ll just be a moment,”
     he said and pressed the button to accept the call. 
    She looked up at him and shook her head.  Stop trying to make him into a hero, she
     admonished herself sternly.  The man was in this business to make money.  And then
     more money.  He might be handsome and dynamic and incredibly sexy…no no no!  She wasn’t
     attracted to him.  He was just a good kisser!  And she wouldn’t do that anymore! 
     She was with Dave and Dave was her boyfriend.  They were going to get married. 
    Everyone has these moments when they find themselves attracted to another person. 
     It was just part of life.  She had to be disciplined and remember what was important. 
     Tradition, history, kindness and generosity.  Those were the qualities she admired
     in Dave and which Angelo Donati didn’t even know the meaning of. 
    As she listened to him on the phone, throwing out numbers and legal issues to overcome,
     giving whoever was on the other end of the line instructions on how to move forward
     in what sounded like an extremely complicated negotiation and she couldn’t help but
     be impressed.  She might not agree with the man’s morals, but she couldn’t deny that
     he was a brilliant businessman. 
    Why was he attracted to someone like her?  She was a nobody.  Oh, she could look at
     a room and create whatever sort of environment a client wanted, but that was pointless
     compared to what he could do.  Angelo could potentially save lives!  She wasn’t even
     near his league in intelligence and business knowledge.  All she understood were colors,
     history and how to gently talk to people to understand what they were looking for
     in a house. 
    She sat down with a thud, her legs giving out on her.  She wasn’t even aware that
     she was sitting on a stack of tiles. 
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, slipping his cell phone back into his pocket. 
    “What do you see in me?” she asked, forgetting for the moment that she was going to
     reject his suggestion that they become lovers. 
    “What do you mean?” Angelo asked, moving closer to her.  Something in her eyes worried
     him.  When he’d first walked into the room, there had been a sparkle in her eyes,
     a glow to her whole being that had lured him closer to her warmth. 
    Now she looked like someone who had just lost something significant.  And he didn’t
     like it. 
    Jade considered her words carefully.  “What is it about me that is in any way enticing?”
     she asked.  “Why aren’t you interested in someone