BREAKING RULES FOR MR. BILLIONAIRE

pte

ry'

les. They were

er date

work with b

ver mix busines

my own interior design business, they were my bible. And now, as I sat in the back seat of a sleek b

electronic address blinking on the GPS. Penthouse. 77th floor. Har

an

d apparently allergic to interviews, relationships, and smiling. Forbes claimed he'd turned a tech

invited to redes

said no

artner gives the "we're drowning" speech across a lukewarm cup of coffee, you don

atrium. It all gleamed as though cleaned by OCD-afflicted angels. Polished marble, chrome e

pinched smile. "Mr. Hart is e

ally

he mirrored walls dark curls pinned up, white blouse tucked into black pants, and my lu

haking

it. Floor-to-ceiling windows, exposed steel beams, austere modern lines. Cold.

here

ll, broad-shouldered, and sleek in a charcoal suit.

," he said,

as exactly two

said, my voice

eled jaw, stormy gray eyes, black hair slightly tousled like he didn't care or like someone

the de

on. More lik

e meeting," I said, trying not to

hands in pockets, sizing me u

olio," he said. "You h

w. "That's one way

do whim

ing a look around the fr

led. B

to me. "Not a playground. No bright col

arms. "Then

ar more 'approachable' to the media. Apparent

think putting a rug over your frozen

. "Are you always

bored," I sai

other. The silen

he was going to kill me

"I don't think thi

nce. "Neit

e elevator, warmth seeping into my cheeks. It

ay, h

Bla

ut didn't t

s and steel," I said to him. "That's no

hit the elevator

street, I had a pounding

my shoes kicked off and my face in a pint of salted caramel i

old hi

sulted his sou

me

help it. H

eded that

e a project. Like I was being measured and rejec

find something else. Maybe Mrs. Cavanaug

ill thinks chevron

d on the desk.

red a

I ans

ry B

ause. Then a

nged m

eart

an

to design

hought you said this w

board thinks otherwise. They'v

t a com

ven re

who was halted mid-step,

l take the job. But on

was a

m to my a

e hun

, staring a

pened?" Nora a

st signed on for the most dang