Catering to the Billionaire — Daphne Loveling

Lissa Bradford owns an up and coming catering business, and she's just about to have a promising interview for an event that could make her career. But when she arrives at the company's headquarters, she finds herself face to face with the CEO of the company �" and he seems none too pleased at having to conduct the interview in place of his assistant!



Gregory Thorne has a reputation as a tough, single-minded businessman who never mixes business and pleasure. But Lissa Bradford's dangerous curves threaten to derail him, and he finds himself tempted to break his one unbendable rule!



Catering to the Billionaire is a completely stand-alone romantic erotica story. It is also part one the new series, The Billionaire's Appetites, from author Daphne Loveling!



Excerpt:



“Ms. Bradford,” Thorne sighed, refusing to meet her gaze. Cutting his eyes back to the computer screen, he pressed a button, and then returned to meet her gaze. “I'm a very busy man, and this meeting has come at a very inconvenient time. Perhaps you could just leave your menus and any other materials for when Ms. Randall gets back. I'll see that she gets them.” His tone was dismissive, the meeting clearly already over in his mind.



Lissa, however, had reached her limit. The stress of preparing for this interview, combined with the disappointment of having it all come to nothing and the unbelievable arrogance of this man, had pushed her beyond what she could tolerate.



“Mr. Thorne,” Lissa began, her tone icy. “I, too, am a very busy woman. Perhaps not as important as you, but arguably much busier, because my livelihood depends more immediately on my success. You see, Mr. Thorne, I am trying to build a successful catering business. With all of my own capital. Everything I own is invested in Select Catering. This contract, if I were to get it, represents a considerable amount of money and exposure for me. If it went well, that would allow me to hire more employees and eventually be able to operate on a larger scale.”



The man behind the desk looked up and frowned at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lissa cut him off before he could speak. “I don't imagine that you have ever been in the situation of having to struggle against being dismissed as unimportant, Mr. Thorne,” she continued, her eyes not wavering from his. “Having your time devalued and your honest work made light of because of your gender, I imagine, is something you don't encounter very frequently. What I find truly ironic, here, is that you are interviewing me to cater an event that celebrates women in business. Clearly, this is just something you're doing to get more attention to your already successful company. It seems to have escaped you that I am one of the women in business you are supposed to be celebrating. Celebrating -- not condescending to, as though I'm some sort of second-class citizen only worthy of being talked to by your female underling.”



Gregory Thorne had now completely stopped looking at his computer screen and was gaping at Lissa in amazement. She struggled to keep her voice even as she stood up and gathered her things. “I think we're done here. I'll let myself out. I would thank you for your time, Mr. Thorne, but since you haven't given me any of it, I don't think that's necessary.”



Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and walked out of Gregory Thorne's office, closing the door behind her. When she got to the reception area, the helpful blonde looked up at her. “Ms. Randall told me to tell you she would be in touch by the end of the week,” she smiled.



“Thank you,” Lissa replied ruefully. “But I think I already know what the answer is.”