Close To Her Asian Billionaire

Carla looked up. Her eyes widened and Jason heard the sharp intake of breath. But then she recovered quickly and she schooled her expression into a pleasant smile as she stood and held out a hand.

“Mr Liu.”

“Jason, please.” Jason took her hand, still smiling, and raised her hand to his lips. “If you don’t mind me calling you Carla?”

He heard an audible swallow.

“Not at all.”

This was going to be a lot of fun.

*****

“More wine, Carla?”

Carla laid a hand over the top of her glass as Jason reached for the wine bottle, vigorously shaking her head. The little she had drunk tasted foul despite being an excellent vintage and she wasn’t prepared to drink more to get rid of the taste.

“One is my limit, thanks.” She lied. “I like to be in control of what’s happening.”

“All the time?”

Jason’s eyes glinted. Carla felt a fluttering in her belly. The damn man had been charming throughout their meeting, answering her questions smoothly and pleasantly. They had even gone into some banter which Carla had enjoyed. Jason Liu was an attractive specimen.

And that was dangerous seeing as he was a potential criminal.

“Cheeky.” She deflected. She sighed. “Actually, the one and only time I’ve been drunk was at university. I was pressured into drinking too much by people I thought were my friends and ended up in hospital in a coma for three weeks. I nearly died.” She gulped as she remembered the memories she had suppressed. “While I do have a bit of alcohol on social occasions to fit in, I prefer not to drink at all.”

This, Carla hadn’t been expecting. She didn’t often divulge things from her past. Her friend Amy knew about what happened to her, as did one or two other very select people. But she didn’t blurt out things like this to complete strangers. And Jason was a complete stranger.

What had just happened that she needed to tell him this?

Jason was staring at her.

“Why didn’t you tell me before I ordered the wine?” He demanded. “I wouldn’t have tried to ply you with it.” He smirked. “I would’ve plied you with some steak instead.”

Carla laughed and eyed the red and bloody meat on Jason’s plate, now mostly eaten along with his fries and salad. Her pasta was still half-eaten, showing that she had spent too much time focusing on the man and not on the assignment. Now her stomach was growling at the mention of more food.

“If it’s well and truly dead, I’ll go for it.”

“What’s wrong with rare?”

Carla snorted.

“That is most certainly not rare. I’m amazed it hasn’t walked off the plate.”

Jason chuckled and cut another piece, which he popped into his mouth.

“I like it bloody.”

“And still mooing when you cut into it.”

“Each to their own.”

They held each other’s gaze for a second too long. Carla could see the intensity in Jason’s eyes and swallowed. Struggling to find her composure, she looked away and tapped at her notepad with her pen, her phone recording their conversation placed beside it.

“Mr Liu, we are meant to be having an interview.”

“This could be added in, if you like.” Jason picked up a fry. “With you talking about alcohol-induced comas and steak with legs.”

“With legs?” Carla couldn’t help laughing. “That’s a thought.”

The imagery of a cow sitting on Jason’s plate was too comical. Jason sat back and surveyed her as she laughed. Carla found it unsettling and stopped abruptly. Sitting like that, no tie and his shirt collar open, his jacket now on the back of his chair and his sleeves rolled up, the man looked like a model. Even the imperfections she had noticed before she didn’t notice now. He looked far too handsome for his own good.

She wished that was a crime in itself.

Jason smiled.

“Well, you’ve asked me about being a successful Asian man in a sector which is predominantly white, do my ethnic roots put more obstacles in the way and if my upbringing gave me a specific mind set.” He raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you worried this will sound like a racist article?”

Carla blinked and looked at the questions she had hurriedly set up before she arrived at the restaurant. She cursed.

“Now you’ve said it, I can see where you’re coming from.” She flashed him a grin. “But I’m good with words. I’ll be able to transform it so it doesn’t look like it at all.”

“I’m sure.” Jason said smoothly. “Journalists are so good with words.”

Carla paused. She knew from internet articles she had found on Jason that he didn’t like journalists on principle so the fact he had agreed to this meeting was a surprise in itself. And it sounded like he had been burned from words being twisted so they didn’t look remotely like what they should have.

“I’m not a tabloid journalist, Mr Liu…”

“I told you to call me Jason.”

Carla bit her lip. Calling him Jason sounded too good. Too intimate.

“I’m a freelance writer by trade and my friend works for a magazine. She’s desperate to have an interview with you and I was the only one brave enough to go for it.”

“Brave enough?”

“You do have a habit of taking journalists apart.” Carla pointed out.

That she had also got from the articles. Most of the writers had been insulted by Jason or had him walking out. If he stayed and they fluffed something up he crucified them.

Jason shrugged.

“They didn’t ask the right questions.”

“That’s our job.”

“And they weren’t as pretty as you.”

Carla stumbled for a moment. Jason was looking at her with a teasing look but his eyes were saying otherwise. The man found her attractive.

Carla had to squeeze her thighs together as her core began to throb. This was not good.

“Flatterer.” She muttered.

Jason chuckled.

“I try.” He indicated her notes. “Have you got what you need?”

“I think so.” Carla stopped the recording on her phone and gathered her things together, putting them in the tote bag Amy had lent her. She was eager to get out of there as soon as she could so she could cool down. It felt like the room had suddenly heated up several degrees. “I do need some interviews with your staff. Just so I can get an insight on what you’re like as an employer.”