All of his life, Paul Robinson had been a man on a mission. He had been a man obsessed, a man obsessed with the acquisition of power. Money and fame were nice, but he thrilled at control, he loved being a mover and a shaker. He loved seeing the look of admiration or envy or even fear in the eyes of the people that surrounded him. He came by his power honestly; he never cheated or swindled a soul. He believed in making a good, square deal where everyone profited and thus, often the deals came to him. He was already a millionaire by the age of 25 and worth several times more than that by the age of 35. Whatever he wanted, he got.
Sadly, during all the moving and shaking, his relationships fell apart. Two failed marriages and estrangement from his children. He had never cheated on the women he had married because deception was not a part of his makeup, not ever. That had not been true for the wives he had neglected. Despite both of them living an opulent lifestyle many women would envy, when temptation came knocking at the door, Maria and Sandra had answered the knock and let it in.
The divorces were both painful and time-consuming. He had never expected to be divorced, so Maria had not signed a pre-nup. She got almost half of his assets and Paul plunged himself back into work. Only a chance meeting with a colleague's wife and her sister had allowed marriage # 2 to happen. This time, Paul was a lot smarter. Sandra got a few million, but by then, Paul's fortunes had almost been restored to their pre-Maria levels.
He returned to work with vigor and thrust himself out there as the face of the company. Paul dated some truly beautiful women and enjoyed their company. Instead of forming lasting romances, he enjoyed dalliances. He made friends with the women he dated, but no more. It would be a foolish gesture, an exercise in futility, to believe he could succeed at marriage a third time. He had millions of dollars in the bank and would be able to enjoy women for as long as he cared to do so.
The women he "dallied" with didn't complain. Neither of his wives would ever have complained about his prowess in the bedroom. Paul had gotten off to an early start and he had been adventurous before he met Maria, a wild night here and there had occurred. Now that he was single and free to pursue hedonistic pursuits, if a younger -- and more flexible -- lover -- suggested something kicky, he was up for it. Most men are lucky if they experience even one threesome in a lifetime. By the end of the first year after his divorce from Sandra, he was averaging one a month. At 40, he was living a wilder life than he had lived when he was in his early 20's.
As he started to enjoy his life more, he lost a bit of his focus. For the first time ever in his life, Paul dropped the ball. When he did, there was someone there to pick it up and go for a winning goal. While he retained 45% of the company, someone else managed to purchase 46% with the remaining 9% still in the hands of shareholders. Try as he might, Paul could not wrest another 2% out of anyone. For the first time in his life, he was not in control of his own company. In a matter of weeks, there would be a new CEO. Paul decided to take it in stride. He still had enough control that if shareholders voted with him, he could influence decisions and he would most certainly hold a high office. Maybe it was time for him to cut back a little. He hadn't enjoyed a vacation in years and he thought about taking up tennis or perhaps golf. Of course, as it was mid-December, golf and tennis would have to wait. He was a little bit too old to take up snowboarding and he knew that he'd break his fool neck if he tried to ski.
Perhaps he could visit his brother or his sister and spoil his nieces and nephews rotten. His siblings always complained when he did that, insisting that it created problems for them when having to live up to their rich, successful older brother. Paul had never understood them because he figured one of the perks of having money was being able to spoil those around you. While he kept an eye on the money he took in, he was never stingy. Neither Sandra nor Maria had wanted for a thing. When he took vacations, he made sure that he got enough down time to return refreshed and ready to tackle work again with recharged batteries.
He looked down the list in his office and saw that his secretary had made notes of who was entitled to bonuses and suggestions for gift giving. His nieces and nephews were getting older and soon, they wouldn't want toys for Christmas. What would he give them then? Furthermore, what was he going to have himself? He was going home to an empty house and he really didn't feel much like celebrating Christmas. With the takeover of his prized company, what was there for him to celebrate?
Paul looked forward to the Christmas season; he had so enjoyed it as a kid. His parents were always generous. As he got older, he enjoyed spending his own money on gifts for family and friends. He had so loved the holidays and he got into giving. It was the one time of year that Paul didn't worry about how much he spent. His staff always got nice-sized bonuses and he would treat himself to one special something he had wanted all year. Maria loved lingerie; he gave her a gift certificate that would stock her drawers for a year. Sandra had loved shoes, he let her go to Louis Vutton and she practically bought out the store. This year, there wasn't much point. He thought about going somewhere tropical to alleviate the loneliness he was feeling this season. He couldn't do that until after the holidays, the new owner was stopping by to consult with him and make the transition easier. He knew almost nothing of this woman aside from her name and occupation. She was Colette DuMaurier and she ran a large cosmetics firm that was based out of Europe. His secretary told him there were rumors that Colette was a wild-child, a jet setter who seemed to have a flair for business. Evidently, or she never would have been able to afford to buy up so much stock.
He didn't get much sleep the night before Colette was scheduled to arrive. What do you say to a woman who has just ridden in and taken away your life's work? What can a person say when their very reason for getting up in the morning has been usurped? Paul was going to be professional, that was it. There was no way he planned to make things any easier for Colette DuMaurier than he had to.
When he met Colette, all his rationale went out the window. His reasons for being alive in the past no longer seemed to matter. Paul could not believe what a fool he had been all of these years.
Colette breezed in with the click of stiletto heels on marble floors, wisps of a light fragrance dusting the room and endless streams of blonde hair everywhere. Everything she wore was couturier excellence, form-fitting and looked like a million bucks on her. In fact, Paul would not have been surprised if someone told him that was the cost of her outfit. It was black and sensational on her and she had the body for it. Curvy and tall, in heels she could look the 6'3" tall Paul directly in the eye. She did, he knew in an instant that this woman did not back down from a challenge. She couldn't have been much more than 30, so there must have been a very facile mind under the beautiful exterior for her to have become so successful. Without saying a word, she led Paul into the new office that had been prepared for her. It matched the size of Paul's without exceeding it. His ego needed to retain some measure of equality.
"I like it," she said as she looked over the rich wood furniture, tasteful decorations and astounding view of the city. "If I am going to be spending a lot of time here, I wish to be comfortable. Doesn't that make sense to you?"
She had a voice as melodic as an opera singer. Paul found himself unable to think straight in her presence. Was her overwhelming physicality one of the reasons for her success? "I use my office as a work space," he told her with candor. "I suppose my furnishings are nice enough, I don't really pay attention. I've left decisions like that up to my former wives and to my secretary."
"Wives?" She spun around on expensive high heels and looked at him with an appraising eye. "Do you mean to say that there are two women foolish enough to let a rich and handsome man like you get away?"
"I'm afraid there were," Paul smiled, warming to her already. "It really isn't their fault; I became obsessed with my work. I needed to be more of a husband and ..."
"They must have known what they were getting into," Colette answered, sitting behind her desk and putting her feet up. Her skirt rode up to reveal model-long legs encased in expensive hosiery. "They are responsible for their own actions and if they cheated, even more so. I cannot abide cheaters; it is why I remain single. My last three boyfriends have all had roving eyes," she confessed.
Now Paul had something to counter with. "On YOU? They must have been blind."
Colette laughed melodically. "No, they were French men. Sometimes the stereotypes you hear turn out to be true. I am dating only American men now, maybe an occasional dalliance with a
girl
here and there," she teased. "Are there any cute and single secretaries available?"
Paul allowed himself to laugh and reasoned that she likely could have had anyone she chose, male or female. With the blink of a beautiful aquamarine eye, his thoughts changed entirely. No longer was he going to oppose Colette DuMaurier and her plans for his company. He was going to wholeheartedly assist her and take things to even greater heights. He was besotted with her, ridiculous as that seemed. He was old enough to be her -- older brother.
"I am sorry to arrive so close to the Holidays and to upset your plans," Colette told him as she sat behind her desk. It was hard to ignore the animal magnetism projected by the sexy, olive-skinned blonde. "If you had plans, we can reschedule everything until after the New Year. I know my timing is awful but my Board of Directors insisted the sooner, the better."
"I really didn't have any plans," Paul insisted. "As I told you, I'm divorced and I thought about dropping in on my siblings and their families, but that would probably be better left until after Christmas. So if we have to work late, don't worry, I'm up for it."
"I'M not," Colette humphed. "We are going to get things in the holiday spirit as soon as possible. Do you usually do a Christmas party? What about bonuses?"
Paul nodded. "I always have a catered party for everyone and we also throw a smaller party for our employee's children. Bonuses are handed out as well, usually a tidy sum in cash."
"You had a good year this year," Colette grinned, crossing legs that just didn't seem to stop. "I think what we can do is top ourselves. To the bonuses, we should add something. Is there a large department or grocery store near here?"
