Desired by Him (Chosen by Him Series, Book 2): Read Online Free Page A

course , my good side chided, you don’t want to ruin Summer’s reputation, either, Chase. That was true. I didn’t want to think about hurting Summer. Although I was used to cutthroat competition and less-than-honest business strategy, showing that side of me to Summer didn’t seem appropriate. She was too innocent. This feeling, too, was a foreign one to me. I was used to looking out for myself, to doing anything and everything possible to win.
    I shook myself out of my thoughts, putting to rest my nervousness and nodding to the students as they made their way into the auditorium. Everyone had settled down a little, in both their suggestive actions and wardrobes, now that they had gotten through the first few classes and knew how I would react.
    I pulled the tablet from my bag and quickly flipped through my notes and emails, doing anything I could to distract myself from thinking about her. It didn’t help.  It was two days ago and she was still all I could think about. The start of class couldn’t begin soon enough. I knew my mood would change as I unloaded the newest news to the class; although they would probably enjoy the news, it had only disappointed me.
    Without warning, I felt the air sucked from my lungs, leaving me breathless as I saw her at the top of the stairs, just inside of the doorway. A sleek blue dress hugged her curves and the boots she had on absolutely drove me wild, accentuating her toned legs. She made her way to the front of the room and we exchanged brief smiles and glances. Stop it , I told myself. You’re acting like a goddam schoolboy who has his first crush.
    God, though... I wanted her so badly.
    “Alright, let’s get started,” I yelled out to the class, immediately commanding silence throughout the room. Time for the good and bad news. “As I mentioned in previous classes, there will still be opportunities for each of you to get recognized, especially as the semester goes on and selected interns fail to perform. Since last class I’ve further narrowed the field and we are now down to nine. I’ll spare them the embarrassment here in class.”
    I had never had an intern fail the class, more or less fail at a simple interview. The news had dampened my morning significantly. I considered myself to be a very good judge of character—hell, you had to be, in my position—but I had completely misjudged the intern’s potential.
    The students looked around, trying to find the fired intern, but it was pointless. I knew he had withdrawn a day earlier.  My eyes locked on Summer’s as she sat down in the front row and I smiled, my mood already lifting a little.
    “I will say that I’ve heard from the mentors that many of the interns show a great deal of promise. I know I’ve been very impressed with the mine.”

Summer
    I squirmed a little in my seat at his words. Alyssa nudged my elbow, giving me a smile. I reminded myself that no one knew about Chase and me.
    Chase moved across the classroom, his movements again reminding me of some sort of cat, a predator. He had perfect posture. The way he moved his hands as he spoke made me press my legs tightly up together. I tried to focus on his face.
    “I hope that with each passing class you will all grow in your ability to negotiate, to sidle your way into your client’s life before captivating their attention. From what I’ve seen so far with my own intern, Summer, and from those of you who have visited me during office hours, you have the potential to unlock your greatest negotiation skills—to get your client to agree to something without—” he paused, his green eyes searching for a moment to find mine before looking away, “ begging for it.”
    My face must have turned twenty different shades of red. I had begged him, last night. More times than I could count. I looked around, wondering if anyone had noticed how he had looked at me when he had said that. But no one paid me any mind. They were all raptly paying attention to