Just To Be With You (The Sullivans #12)

“Is there an issue with financing for your new movie?” Over the past few years he’d worked with Smith to help finance several films, and it was one of the areas where Ian and his executive staff had agreed to increase their focus in the coming year. But investing in a film that was having issues wasn’t part of his plan, and even as he asked Tatiana the question, Ian was already working out how to make this clear to her in a way that wouldn’t upset her.

“No, everything is going great on the back end with the production. That’s not what I need your help with.”

Ian should have been relieved that she hadn’t come to ask him for money. But instead of relief, his tension only grew. Because if she didn’t want his money, what could she possibly want?

Trouble, he thought again as she came to her feet, a whirl of irrepressible passion and energy.

“Each role I play is different, and I love learning about new careers, new worlds. I’m not a method actor by any means—I can’t imagine putting my real life on hold so that I can stay completely in character while filming—but it is really important to me that I fully understand the character I’m playing, inside and out.” She stopped and smiled at him, clearly reading his mind as she said, “I know you’re probably sitting there wondering why I’m telling you all this.”

He would have had to forcibly repress the urge to grin at her breathless monologue were it not for the fact that his gut was still churning with a sense of impending danger. “I am.”

“The character I’m playing next becomes a billionaire overnight when she inherits a huge company and ends up having to run a multinational corporation much like yours. I’d like to shadow you, Ian, for the next couple of weeks as research for my role.”

She wanted to shadow him?

Of all the things he thought she might want from him, he’d never have come up with this in a million years. But that didn’t mean he didn’t immediately know what his answer had to be.

No.

Of course, because she was nearly family, he’d temper his refusal with kindness. Not only would he and Tatiana be seeing each other at family events for the next sixty years, but if his sister Mia found out he’d done something to hurt Tatiana’s feelings, she’d forever crucify him for being an unhelpful jerk.

“First off,” he said, “I’m not a billionaire.”

It was a goal that had driven him for many years until he was so close to making it a reality that he could practically taste it, and every additional hour he needed to work to reach that goal was well worth it. It was one of the reasons the eAirBox deal was so important to him, not just because it would be a brilliant move for Sullivan Investments, but also because it would push him straight into billionaire territory. For Ian, the zeros on his bank statements weren’t just a barometer of success and professional victory, they also meant security. And though he’d already set up a trust funds for everyone in his family, it was important to him to know with absolute certainty that they’d all be taken care of in the future, no matter what.

“No, not yet,” she said with a nod, “but I’ve studied your holdings and I’m guessing your next big investment will get you there.”

Yet again, he was surprised. But this time, it was the intelligence in her gaze that caught him as she spoke about researching his financial holdings. Stranger, though, was the very offhand way in which she talked about his near billion-dollar net worth, as if she didn’t particularly care how rich he was.

Ian knew very few people to whom his wealth didn’t matter, and most of them shared his surname. Sure, Tatiana had done well with her acting career, but they both knew he could buy and sell her a hundred times over. Considering she was a woman who clearly liked pretty things, like the red shoes she was wearing and the gems sparkling at her ears, his wealth had to matter to her, didn’t it? Especially, the cynical part of his brain added, if she thought there was a chance he might ever spend some of it on her.

“In any case,” she continued, “from what I’ve already learned about you while doing some preliminary research, you’re the perfect CEO for me to shadow for my role. You’re focused. You’re driven. You obviously know how to pinpoint ideas that will be successful and profitable. And on top of that, you give back to the community. You won’t even notice I’m here while I’m shadowing you. I’d like to take notes for myself, of course, but I’ll sign an ironclad nondisclosure agreement, and I promise that not one word of what I hear and see in your office will ever leak. Monday morning, I’ll show up wherever you tell me to, at whatever time you tell me to be ready.”

Just that fast, visions of Tatiana doing whatever he told her to do assaulted him. Only, they weren’t in his office in those visions...they were in his bedroom, and she was naked and flushed with need, and he was touching all those soft curves she wore so beautifully.

Damn it, this was exactly the road he couldn’t let himself walk and was the perfect reminder of why he couldn’t possibly let her shadow him. Because while he was normally known for his self-control, from the first time they’d met, nothing about his reaction to Tatiana had been anywhere close to normal.

“I’ve just returned to my Seattle headquarters from London, as I’m sure you already know from your research,” he said with a lift of one brow, “and it’s a particularly busy time for the company. In addition to my usual workload, I’ve got several important events to manage and business trips coming up, as well.”