The Miami Millionaire (2 page)

Looking up at him with utter bemusement Victoria couldn’t believe she was just inches away from his body as he held her close, not losing eye contact with her for a moment.  Jake squeezed Victoria’s hand gently, he wasn’t letting go of her just yet, totally enjoying every second of the feeling of her next to him. 

Jake’s public relations team had told him about the local Gloucestershire fete which had approached them for contributions to their prize list.   It had given them the idea to use the fete as a new angle for launching their latest technological tracking gadgets - they suggested he drop in by parachute from an airplane to catch everyone’s attentions, then the airplane would double back and fly with an advertising banner from Gloucester to London, coinciding with the local and national news channels covering his entrance and their latest gadgets.  Jake loved the idea.  He loved his marketing and PR team - they were young and funky and liked to push the boundaries, very much like himself.  They knew Jake would be up for just about anything to get exposure for his business since he was a total adrenaline junkie who liked to ride motorbikes and fast cars to their limit.  Besides he had done numerous parachute jumps for charity in the past - there was very little Jake wouldn’t do to raise money or awareness for either charity or his business.  However, Jake had questioned his PR team’s choice of venue for his latest publicity stunt.  They usually chose rock concerts or stadiums with thousands of people in the audience.  He wasn’t sure if a local country fete with a crowd of little old men and women was really what they were after.  That wasn’t exactly their target customer base, but his PR team had promised him it would be more than that.  Then again, if it wasn’t, that would only make it even more news worthy – anything that shocked would get more media coverage, and pretty much anything that Jake did in the U.S.A. got news coverage anyway!

But this was a surprising start and certainly an unexpected bonus!  A bit of unpredicted cross-wind had blown Jake off course and instead of landing on the other side of the fete by the black promo-lorry as planned, he had nearly ended up on the rooves of a load of cars.  Thankfully he had managed to navigate himself out of danger’s way at the last few seconds to land on a piece of open ground, even if he had only narrowly missed landing on someone.  And what a someone that was! 

Once Jake had managed to shake free from the uncomfortable restraints of his parachute and dusted himself off he looked up to see an absolute vision standing in front of him.  He saw concern etched on her perfectly proportioned face and her dark red hair was blowing into her eyes and seemed to be fighting with her hands as she tried to hold it back whilst she looked down at him to see if he was hurt.  He had hit harder than normal and he was sure he was going to have a few bruises to show for it, so he asked the beautiful woman for a hand to help him up.  As Jake took Victoria’s hand it felt soft and warm inside his, and once he was up on his feet he was in no hurry to let it go. 

Jake stood in front of Victoria realising she couldn’t quite see him as she squinted and shielded her eyes against the bright sunlight, so he purposely took a step closer blocking out the sun.  She wasn’t that much shorter than him, maybe a few inches or so, and Jake found himself looking down into her soft brown eyes.  As he introduced himself he admired the woman standing in front of him with her seductive clear glossy rounded lips.  He wasn’t paying much attention to what she was saying, he was more interested in how desirable her mouth looked and he guessed it would kiss just as beautifully too.  Then his eyes quickly travelled down her curvaceous body, he could see her full rounded breasts hiding non-too-convincingly beneath her colourful linen top and her white jeans showed off her slim waist and rounded hips with long slender legs to perfection.  Quickly he pulled his mind back to what she was saying, and no, he had no intentions of letting her hand go because if he did then he might not get another chance with this rodeo-show of a media circus which was about to commence!

“Now you have me at a bit of an advantage.”  Jake’s eyes twinkled in the sunlight looking like they matched the clear blue sky.

“I can’t see how that’s possible.”  Victoria said as she squeezed their intertwined fingers indicating that he had her very much at a disadvantage with his arm around her holding her close the way he was.

“Is there any chance you might tell me your name?”  He asked knowing that any second now at least thirty people were about to descend on them and it would be good to know something about her before he got whisked away in a whirlwind of reporters.

“Victoria.”

“Victoria?”  He looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question.  “Just Victoria or is there another part to that name?”

Victoria laughed despite finding the good-looking American quite annoying considering he hadn’t yet let her go.  Amazingly gorgeous, but really quite annoying!  “Pembrose.  My name is Victoria Pembrose.” 

Victoria wondered why on earth he was still holding her hand - her fingers were still intertwined with his as his arm rested around her waist.  She knew she should have been shaking him off, but there was something quite nice and comfortable about it.  For all the very prim and properness of his smartly-cut suit there was a strength and almost roughness to his hand that didn’t quite match his look, like someone who worked with their hands.  She liked the contrast.  It was almost as if by holding his hand he had let her into a little secret that everyone else didn’t know - a little something about Jake the private man that nobody else could see.

“Smile for the cameras.”  Jake said as his cheeky grin changed to one of total professionalism and serious smiles.

‘Cameras?  What cameras?’
Victoria thought having totally forgotten about everything else apart from the closeness of this stranger and the feeling of his hand holding hers.  But then she became very much aware of a crowd of people running towards them with cameras clicking and mini tape recorders held in their outstretched hands. 

Victoria tried to take an involuntary step away from Jake wondering what on earth was going on, but Jake wasn’t giving way and she stayed firmly in place. Then it occurred to her!  Jake Cumberland!  The Jake Cumberland of Creative Technology Holdings!  The Chairman and founder of one of the biggest American new technology companies who was now launching several new products over here in the United Kingdom. Of course she had known he was coming to the fete today, but as the donations and arrangements had been made by his public relations team at the last minute she hadn’t had time to research much information on the Chairman himself.  Victoria had managed to find some articles on his products and the success of his company, but she hadn’t actually seen a photograph of Jake Cumberland himself and this wasn’t what she had been expecting at all.  Victoria had expected a much older man in his fifties or sixties to pull up in a big black limo, not this thirty something fit Adonis-like man to come crashing down from the sky!

As the crowd of reporters closed in Jake turned Victoria away from the encroaching crowd and casually steered her in the direction of a large black promotional lorry parked at the far side of the fete which seemed to have arrived whilst she was in the beer tent.  Still with his professional smile in place for the clicking cameras, he kept his voice low so only she could hear him. “And what do you do Victoria Pembrose?  When you are not enjoying a country fete that is?”

“I’m in marketing.  In-fact I am one of the organisers for this fete, and on that note I would like to personally thank you for your very generous donations to our raffle and tombola.  You have been a great help in raising a sizeable amount of money today.  It’s all going to a wonderful cause.”  She continued to walk with Jake towards the lorry, still hand in hand.

“No problem, anything for a good cause.” 

Again came that squeeze of his hand.  Victoria flashed him a look and once again she was mesmerised by his crystal clear blue eyes - they were so unusual and contrasted with his almost jet black hair.

“So you’re a local?  Do you live near here?”  Jake asked as they finally reached his destination, the promo lorry.

“No, I’m from London.  I’m just here for the day.”

Jake raised that eyebrow again, they were a long way away from London.  He didn’t need to ask her the question, his expression did it for him.

“I grew up near here and a friend of mine is on the committee.  The charity we are raising money for today is very close to her heart, and as no one else had any marketing knowledge and I work in marketing, she asked me for a favour and I said I would give them a hand.”

Jake looked around at the large field full of gazebos and marquees bursting at the seams with hundreds of people all happily buying local handmade produce and sipping drinks.  He realised his PR team had been right about the age group of the people here, there was a good mix but the beer tent was certainly fuller than the cream-tea tent and there was definitely more thirties and forties than any other age bracket.  He was impressed, this was a well put together event and the amount of sponsorship Victoria had secured was impressive.  “So you put all this together in your spare time and you’re not getting anything out of it?”

“Well a team of people and I put it together, but otherwise yes.  But I am getting something out of it – I am getting free drinks and great company all day knowing that we have raised a lot of money for a good cause.  That’s good enough for me.”  She smiled feeling good that she had impressed such a successful businessman.

“And after here, where are you off to?”  Jake held up his free hand in a silent signal for the waiting photographers and journalists who were getting impatient to stay back for a moment longer, and two large men in black suits walked out from what seemed like nowhere to stand a few feet in front of Jake making sure no one encroached forward before Jake was ready.

“Home.”

“London?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“Maybe I can give you a lift?  I’m staying in London for a few days.  Actually would you like to join me for dinner tonight?” Jake said looking down into Victoria’s soft brown eyes as if she were the only person there and there weren’t a crowd of people waiting for his attention.

For a moment Victoria was taken aback, and not just by the way Jake made her feel, as if she was the only person in the world and the only one that mattered at that very moment in time.  Was she hearing Jake Cumberland right, had he just asked her out on a date? She smiled and held up her free hand realising that Jake still hadn’t let go of her other one and wiggled her ring fingers letting the solitaire diamond flash in the sunlight.  “Thank you for the invitation but I’m afraid my fiancé wouldn’t be too happy about that.”

“Oh!  Am I about to get set upon by a jealous fiancé?” Jake laughed gently, it was a sound more like a chuckle and it penetrated right through Victoria.

“Hardly.  He knows he can trust me.”  Victoria said seriously putting her hand on her hip looking Jake squarely in his eyes.  Then she wished she hadn’t done that, she wished she hadn’t seen Jake’s blue eyes sparkle playfully at her and she quickly looked away towards the group of reporters trying to ignore the feeling in her stomach.  Then Victoria wished she hadn’t looked at the reporters either as she realised they were gleefully snapping their cameras at her and Jake standing close together. 

She turned back to Jake.

“So where is he?”  Jake said scanning the surrounding area ignoring the growing sound of impatience from the waiting journalists.  He knew they would get what they wanted in a few minutes, he always made sure they did, but first he wanted a minute or two more for himself.

“Not here.”  Victoria shrugged.

“Not here?  Is he mad?  If you were mine I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.”  Jake said as he finally let Victoria’s hand go, only to pull her in again close to his side as he put his arm around her shoulder and held her there. 

“Yes well my fiancé knows that I am not an object, so he doesn’t feel the need to constantly be by my side.”   She retorted and saw a glimmer of laughter in Jake’s eyes.

“That wasn’t what I meant.”  He muttered between smiles as he squeezed her shoulder gently.

Victoria subtly tried to step away but Jake’s hand on her shoulder held her firmly in place, and for some reason, she had no idea why, it felt warm and comfortable.  Victoria knew she should step away and tell Jake to take his hand off her, but the photographers had already started snapping away with their cameras from a distance and the journalists had now started to shout questions at Jake, so she decided not to cause a scene and stayed where she was.   “What are you doing?”  She whispered through a smile for the cameras as she looked up at Jake who had once again turned on his professional persona and obviously had no intention of either answering her or letting her go. 

Jake motioned to the two burly suited men to allow the journalists through, and the media circus commenced.

“Jake! Jake, over here.  Smile!” called several voices all at once.

“Mr Cumberland, what exactly are you doing here today?  We know you are launching some new products but why are you here and not in London or at the NIC in Birmingham?”