Tempting Aquisitions (2 page)

“I’m not dead, K.” Mayson waved a hand in surrender. “But fine, your point’s noted. What I want to know is how you haven’t run into him. I thought you knew every business leader in New York who bought, sold, or advertised in media.”

Now that she was questioned about it, Keira realized her path hadn’t ever crossed with Nathan Cooper’s. “No, actually, I haven’t met him. It is a bit odd, now that you mention it.”

Mayson’s gaze resettled firmly on their small quartet. “Why is he interested in buying a media company if he’s not involved in the industry?”

“He’s a corporate raider. That’s what they do. He doesn’t need to have a reason. Besides, his father
is
the owner of MediaCorp,” Keira said. “It’s in his blood.”

“Nathan’s illegitimate blood,” Sally said.

Keira wasn’t sure why the description chafed, but a raw feeling settled at the base of her neck. “West Harrison is still his father, blood or not.”

Sally waved a hand, but her broad smile dimmed. “I didn’t mean it that way, dear. Rumor has it, Nathan had a chance at one of the MediaCorp divisions years and years ago and he basically tossed it in his father’s face. Wasn’t going to play second fiddle to his older brother.”

“Who is no doubt the legitimate heir,” Camryn said.

“But of course.” Sally’s tone dropped as her gaze drifted toward the broader ballroom. “It’s all very Machiavellian the way West Harrison has run his empire. Even his children haven’t been spared.”

“I don’t know.” Keira shrugged before she could stop herself. “It feels sort of sad. And very, very cold.”

“Oh, don’t shed a tear for me, Ms. McBride.”

Keira whirled in the direction of a husky, deep voice, the butterflies in her stomach taking wing. Nathan stood a few feet away, clad head-to-toe in a custom-fitted tuxedo. Heat swept through her body even as she felt goose bumps stirring on her flesh. His tuxedo covered a very impressive set of shoulders and a wide chest before tapering down to a trim waist. Long legs had him standing about six foot two, by Keira’s estimation, and all that height was topped off by a shock of black hair that curled deliciously at the nape of his neck. He might be dressed in a three-thousand-dollar tuxedo, but she couldn’t stop her assessment. He even looked like a pirate.

It was all in the eyes, she realized. They were a vivid shade of blue, full to the brim with the clear intention of plundering and looting his way through her company. She fought the rush of heat that flooded her chest when it finally sunk in that his gaze was leveled straight on her. Funny how the feeling that he was primed to plunder and loot only grew stronger.

And far more personal.

As the heat creeping up her neck registered, she pulled herself together. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you it’s rude to eavesdrop, Mr. Cooper?”

He stuck out a hand, a wry smile on his lips as he bared even white teeth. “Clearly not, seeing as how my father lacked the appropriate motivation—or time—to ensure I learned the basics.”

Sally let out a heavy gasp. “Mr. Cooper. My apologies for my insensitive comment.”

Nathan amped up his thousand-watt smile. “Please don’t think anything of it. He is a bastard and he’s my father, so you were absolutely accurate.”

“Yes, well, that’s your business and none of mine so the apology stands.”

“Accepted.” On a nod, he held out his hand. “Nathan Cooper. You’re Sally Hughes, yes?”

“Why yes.”

Introductions were made all around before Keira felt the full weight of Nathan Cooper’s sky-blue gaze again focused solely on her. “So you’re hosting the event this evening?”

“Guilty as charged.”

“Outstanding. It’s important the business community sees what a vibrant, forward-thinking organization McBride Media is. Add on your status as a darling of the media and this is the perfect opportunity for us to mix and mingle.”

A dark, creeping suspicion edged the butterflies completely out of her stomach as she stood there staring up at Nathan Cooper. His broad shoulders blocked the rest of the ballroom from view, and it felt like the weight of his stare bore down on her with no one to save her. “And why would I want to do that?”

“You don’t want the media to think our impending business deal is going poorly, do you?”

She heard her sisters’ whispered murmurs but refused to turn to them and take her gaze off of Nathan. Like wary prey, she was unwilling to break eye contact. “There is no impending business deal.”

“I believe the
Financial Journal
reported on it just this morning. He might have missed out on solid parenting skills, but there are some things my father manages to get right.”

“How lovely for him.” Keira knew her voice sounded as brittle as dry toast, but heaven help her if she could keep quiet. “Look, whatever little act you’ve got going this evening is all yours. As far as I’m concerned, McBride Media is under a hostile takeover attempt. That’s the feedback I’ve given my board of directors. I see absolutely no reason to pretend otherwise.”

Nathan leaned in and she took a step back, the pale liquid sloshing dangerously close to the edge of her champagne flute. The husky tone of his voice rolled over her nerve endings, the flute shaking in her hands as she let out an involuntary shiver. “I prefer my takeovers to be anything but hostile.”

With the battle lines drawn, Keira planted her four-inch heels in a firmer stance and held her ground. Chin high, she looked Nathan Cooper straight in the eye. “I guess you’re going to have to live with disappointment. I refuse to be taken over.”

Chapter Two

Nathan didn’t miss the salivating looks from the various media outlets assembled around the room. The annual advertising dinner might not be evening-news material, but the business press followed the industry diligently. And a media company blazing a comeback trail led by three sisters who were as smart as they were beautiful made for good press. That same media company under attack made it even better.

He’d never attended the Publishers Association Dinner before and that, Nathan knew, was drawing speculative looks as well. As his business interests had always run to non-media entities—a clear departure from his father’s chosen profession—his interest in McBride Media was big news.

He took a sip of the wine served for dinner, a surprisingly good vintage, and placed his full attention on Keira McBride. She owned the room like a pro, fulfilling her hostess duties with a mix of humor, fun quips, and a strong sense of how quickly attention could wane if she didn’t keep the event moving at a good clip.

She was magnificent.

It really was the only apt description. The black gown she wore was a stunning number, simple in design, yet form-fitted enough to ensure anyone who looked at her knew she was all woman. Her dark hair was pulled up into an elegant twist and the long column of her throat enticed him as he imagined pressing kisses along its length.

His gaze followed her as she retook her seat at the table next to him, the speaker she’d just introduced now making his presentation. Tamping down on the heat flooding his system, he leaned toward her, grateful the tightly packed tables put her in easy distance of his seat. “You’re quite the hostess. You’ve got the room in your palm.”

Keira made a show of settling her napkin on her lap, but he didn’t miss the slight trembling of her fingers. “It’s a crowd I’ve known for years. They make it easy.”

“That doesn’t mean it is easy.” When she didn’t reply, he leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. “If you don’t smile, the press vultures in the room are going to make this far harder when the dinner’s over.”

Her eyes widened even as her lush mouth firmed into a prim straight line. “You’re one to talk. You were quite chummy with those so-called vultures this morning.”

“I use the press to my own ends, nothing more.”

“Clearly that end is the ruin of my company.”

Nathan shrugged, more because he knew the action would bait her further than from any sense of entitlement. “It’s a highly lucrative investment. I can offer your board significant expansion and a growth plan for the next decade. I’ve already indicated the same to your major shareholders.”

She folded her arms, but the action did nothing to cool his interest, as the motion accentuated her breasts. “
I
have a multi-year growth plan and am well into the execution of it.”

The scent of honeysuckle drifted from her, no doubt a reaction to the rising heat of her body. A broad smile cracked his face at the knowledge he was getting to her. Leaning in even farther, his voice nothing but a light murmur against her ear, he whispered, “I bet mine’s better.”

…

Keira didn’t know when she’d ever been so frustrated, with a situation or with herself. She kept her hands firmly clenched in her lap as she fought a more urgent problem—the heat flowing through her body in long, languorous waves.

How dare he say those things to her! And how dare her traitorous body react like this.

Damn, but the man had a lethal charm that ought to be illegal. And he was also canny enough to know they were in a setting where she wouldn’t fully react to his taunting comments for fear of embarrassing herself.
Especially
because it would mean making a scene between two tables full of people. How had he managed to get the seat right next to hers? The thought only added to the irony of the moment. Here she was, her body tingling in anticipation of something she had no business wanting while she pasted on a smile for the assembled looky-loos who were convinced her business was in trouble.

Unfortunately, they were right. It was.

If she’d had any doubts about that earlier, they’d evaporated in full. Nathan Cooper was very, very dangerous. And his sights were set on her.

No
, she amended to herself,
they’re set on McBride Media
. She was just collateral damage.

“I think you’d be surprised, Mr. Cooper. I know my company better than anyone. It’s my legacy, and I’ll be damned if I give it up without a fight.”

The grin she’d dubbed “cocky” only that morning flashed as heat coalesced in his blue eyes, turning them a dark shade of indigo in the muted light of the ballroom. “There’s nothing like a good fight, Ms. McBride. And getting your opponent right where you want them? Well, there’s nothing more satisfying than that.”

Keira didn’t even attempt a response as she rose to walk to the stage and close out the evening’s event. And if her legs wobbled slightly as she walked to the podium, well, that was no one’s business but hers.

Fifteen minutes later, she was forced to admit a disheartening truth. While dinner had dragged on interminably, she wished it had lasted a whole lot longer. During the meal, she could hide behind the guise of acting as the evening’s hostess. Now, at the post-event cocktail and dessert hour, she was the head of McBride Media. The press circled around like sharks scenting blood.

“Come on, Keira. Surely you can give me something. I was more than generous with my coverage of your new site launch last spring.”

She glanced over the rim of her wineglass at the eager face of Ted Simmons, business reporter for one of the country’s leading news magazines. She’d known him for years and while his thought pieces on the modern era of business were exceptional, his poker face was nonexistent.

“Ted, you know as well as I do you got that exclusive because you’ve got the best audience of the business elite out there. And you loved every minute of it, so don’t try to play it off now like it was such a favor. Besides,” she added, unable to repress a teasing note, “I introduced you to Maria. That entitles me to favorable consideration for the rest of my life.”

Ted ran a hand through his thinning hair, his sigh audible over the noise of the crowd in the bar. “Don’t pull that card on me, Keira. Something’s brewing between you and Maverick Capital. That article this morning wasn’t a random guess.”

“No, it wasn’t.” That dark, husky voice that belonged only in fantasies floated over her as Nathan interrupted her conversation with Ted. “Not random or a guess,” he added, as if his statement required further clarification.

“Would you care to comment further on that, Mr. Cooper?”

Any loyalty Ted felt for her had clearly evaporated in the face of the business story of the year. Keira knew it, and she also knew she shouldn’t fault him for it. But was it so much to ask that she be able to conduct this battle in private?

It was her family’s company. A product of her grandfather’s hard work and clear vision. Her father had fallen down on that, unable to understand that even family legacies required hard work and daily effort, which was why they were in this position. He’d taken the company public, all too happy to take the money and run, and turned control over to a board of directors.

She and her sisters had known better. They’d had Sally’s help, which had been considerable, buying them the time they needed to turn things around.

Piece by careful piece, she, Mayson, and Camryn had rebuilt McBride Media, convincing the industry’s best and brightest to come work for them. They invested in the best journalists, purchased original photography instead of stock, and ensured both the words and the photos were shown to optimum advantage on their magazine pages or to anyone with a computer, a mobile phone, or a tablet.

Magazines that were once the laughingstock of the industry had new editorial teams, new sales teams, and technology platforms that were the envy of the ad business, with company after company scrambling to get into the pages of McBride magazines or on their websites. And turn it around they did. McBride Media was a vibrant business, returned to its once-former glory.

She’d be damned if she gave it up without a fight.

“Actually, Ted, I’d prefer not to comment any further. Ms. McBride and I are in high-level discussions and they’re not meant to be public.”

A casual shrug lifted Ted’s shoulders. “In my experience, private conversations have a way of leaking out. A few sound bites would be more than welcome.”

Nathan clinked the ice in his cocktail glass, his eyes hard and unyielding. “Then I’m afraid I need to disappoint. I have far too much respect for what Ms. McBride and her sisters have rebuilt to divulge our discussions.”

“We’re not having any discussions,” she grit out between clenched teeth and a fake smile.

Before Ted could respond to that, Nathan laid his glass on the edge of the bar and settled his hand at her waist. Keira felt the warmth of his long fingers immediately where they lay firmly against her hip, the touch a hot brand through the thin silk of her dress. “On that note, we need to be going. If you’ll excuse us.”

Keira allowed herself to be led away, a mixture of shock and relief filling her at his deft handling of the situation. Despite her frustrated rebuttal to Ted, she wasn’t interested in having a public conversation about a very private matter.

Rather than use the situation to bait her further, adding to the fire he’d started with the
Financial Journal
article, he’d simply walked away from the situation. Which made absolutely no sense.

She stared up at the firm set of his jaw as he navigated them through the ballroom.

What was his game? She was still trying to figure it out—as well as why she was in his limo—a few minutes later.

“I thought we’d go somewhere else to discuss things. That ballroom had far too many reporters for my comfort.”

“On the contrary. I’d have thought you’d be right at home, spinning your story for the press. Just like you did for this morning’s edition.”

“This morning was different. That was the opening salvo. The rest of this battle is between us, darling.”

She clicked her tongue at the back of her teeth, unwilling to be baited. “You call all your opponents darling? I imagine that raises quite a few eyebrows.”

“Most of my opponents don’t deserve it.”

“I do because I’m a woman?”

Nathan leaned forward, his predatory gaze unwavering on hers. “A very beautiful woman.”

She would not be baited. Or flattered. Or enticed by those sin-with-me eyes. “It’s immaterial.”

“Actually, it’s not.”

“Excuse me?”

“This is a business transaction and the press is going to love pitting us against each other. The fact that you’re a beautiful woman has an impact. The press loves a good story, but when the players are as attractive as you three, well, it gives you an advantage.”

Keira shook her head, trying to follow his train of thought. “You’re suggesting I have a leg up because of how I look. That my shareholders will make a major business decision because of a photograph or two?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“If that’s the case, what about you? Movie-star good looks can’t hurt your march on the company like Sherman through the South. I saw the way the female half of the ballroom fawned over you.”

“So you were watching out for me? Or more to the point, watching those watching out for me?”

Keira snapped her mouth closed, unwilling to engage in any further discussion. No matter what she said—or how she framed her thoughts—he seemed to have a response waiting up his sleeve.

She knew people made decisions for far poorer reasons than what they read in the press, but from Sally’s reports earlier, Nathan had won more than a few investors over to his side already. Between his own stock purchase and his advance negotiations with several major investors—two large pension funds and a mutual fund that they knew of—he’d already laid some serious groundwork. All he needed was to garner enough shareholder support his way and she, Camryn, and Mayson could kiss McBride Media good-bye.

“Where are you taking me?”

“There’s a quiet bar in your neighborhood. We’ll go there.”

“You know where I live?”

“The McBride penthouse isn’t exactly a secret. It’s been in your family for years, hasn’t it? And it’s been profiled in several architecture magazines.”

Why did it feel like he had a leg up? Like he’d been studying her, while she’d been thrown into the deep end and was trying to catch up. She’d spent half her day combing the Internet for anything she could find on Nathan Cooper and it didn’t feel as if she’d made a dent, yet he knew where she lived.

Nathan climbed from the car first, then held out his hand to help her. As his fingers closed over hers, the heat of his touch assailed her once more. Which was about as convenient as a heart attack, she admonished as she pulled her hand from his grasp before heading for the bar.

This was a business meeting, nothing more.

The Commons was dark and sparsely populated for a Tuesday night, which suited her fine, Keira thought. She took a seat at one of the small conversation tables at the far side of the room near a roaring fire. She’d already been on display enough this evening. If she had to spend some time with Nathan Cooper, the anonymity of their meeting was far preferable to the crowded publishers’ dinner.

While a private meeting was preferable, it hardly made sense, and Nathan’s suggestion of a post-event drink didn’t answer the question of what he could possibly be up to. She and her sisters had spent time preparing with Sally and the rest of the legal team, and here Nathan was inviting her out for drinks one-on-one.

Which brought her to her next question. Why was she here? She was a grown woman. She could have extricated herself from the evening, had been more than adept at doing just that in the past. Which brought her back to the original question.

Why?

“A dark Cabernet, as requested.” Nathan set a glass down before her, the deep bowl of the wineglass reflecting in the muted light of the bar’s fireplace. The fire made for a nice, rosy glow, distilling the slight chill of the early fall evening, but Keira found she didn’t need its warmth.