The Virgin and the Billionaires: The Complete Series (2 page)

Dana’s palms moistened the steering wheel as she impatiently
made her way through the traffic. She had done some research of Alexander Price
and William Levy on the internet. She knew they were both impossibly handsome
and worried that she would be distracted and somehow embarrass herself.
Stay professional
, she thought. She
worried about the impression she would make on these fabulously successful men,
wondering if she would ever be anything more than an insignificant speck on
their saturated radar.

After a surprisingly smooth ride Downtown, Dana found the
address and parked her car in the garage of a 30-story building. She pulled her
equipment from her trunk and walked toward two glass doors. Inside, she looked
at the building directory and saw that the Price-Levy offices were on the top
floor. The elevator arrived. She pressed ‘33’ and shot up to the top floor,
nearly frightened by the elevator’s speed and as nervous as she’d ever been.

The doors opened directly into the beautifully lit wood paneled
lobby of the office, where a calmness and stillness greeted her. She found
herself looking into the face of a beautiful blonde woman whose sleek black dress
concealed the long, lean figure of a supermodel.

“Good morning!” She chirped. “Welcome to Price-Levy
Investments. You must be Dana?”

Dana was impressed that the receptionist knew her name.
“Yes, from SoCal Style. Has anybody else arrived yet?” She was really hoping
that Amy and Emily had already been in. It was already five minutes before they
were scheduled to start and she hadn’t heard a word from them.

“No, but the gentlemen are running over in an early meeting.
It’s not a problem. My name is Jessica, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jessica.” Dana felt an immediate
sense of relief. She picked up a magazine and began to flip through it. After a
few minutes of silence, Jessica initiated some small talk.

“So how long have you been working for SoCal Style?”

Dana looked up from her magazine. “Just a couple of weeks.
They just hired me. I actually have only been in LA for about two weeks.”

Jessica looked surprised. “Wow. So how do you like it so
far?”

“The weather is beautiful and I found a nice apartment in
Burbank. I really don’t know anything about the city, though. I’d like to get
out to some cool bars and figure out what’s fun to do after work, but I just
have no idea where to start.”

Jessica nodded sympathetically. “It’s easy to feel that way
here. I’ve been in LA for two years and I still feel that way sometimes. It
really helps to have someone who can show you around.”

Dana looked down at the floor awkwardly.

“I live pretty close to you. I’m in Studio City. If you’d
like, we can go out sometime and I could introduce you to a few people. My
sister lived here when I first moved. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to
do anything in LA. Let me help you out!”

“That would be great,” Dana said, taken aback by Jessica’s
forward kindness. “Thank you. I’ve basically been living on takeout and
watching a lot of TV. It’s getting pretty old.” She felt relieved –
finally, somebody who could possibly be a friend.

By the time the interns showed up, Dana and Jessica had
exchanged phone numbers and had been chit-chatting for a half an hour. Jessica
had given Dana several suggestions for good places to eat, drink, and hang out
around West LA.

Dana didn’t want to berate the interns about being late
since the partners themselves still hadn’t emerged from their meeting.
Nevertheless, Amy and Emily practically tripped over each other, apologizing
profusely as they entered the lobby with their arms full of equipment and
clothing racks.

“We’re so sorry. The traffic was just a nightmare, and then
we got lost, and I told Emily to go the other way but –”

The loud unlatching of a door cut Amy off. Out from the door
emerged two tall and jaw-droppingly gorgeous men. The first man to walk out was
classically handsome. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a neatly manicured
crown of wispy, blonde hair. His light brown eyes and calm demeanor gave the
impression of a calm seriousness.

The blonde man was the first to approach Dana and extend his
hand. “William Levy, at your service.”

Dana smiled at this line. “Dana Jacobs, SoCal Style. Thank
you for having us and posing for our magazine.”

William smiled at Dana, who found his smile quite charming.
“It’s our pleasure. We’re looking forward to the publicity it will bring us.
We’re both pretty big fans of nice menswear, too.”

Dana was about to respond to William but was interrupted by
the advance of the second man, who had just finished introducing himself to Amy
and Emily, who were blushing and giggling with each other.

The second man was equally tall and athletic, with more
striking features. His skin was perfectly tan without a single freckle, mark,
or blemish. His black hair was cut short against his square face, which ended
with a perfectly square jaw. His fiercely blue eyes were in sharp contrast with
the rest of his features and made his eyes pop out. They immediately grabbed
Dana’s full attention. He moved in toward her with an unmistakable swagger that
made him seem rakish. He grabbed her hand as if to kiss it.

“Alexander Price. And you are?”

The touch of Alexander’s hand sent a bolt of electricity
through Dana’s body. “Dana Jacobs, SoCal Style. Pleasure to meet you.” Dana was
so taken aback by Mr. Price’s striking features that barely managed to get the
words out of her mouth.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Alexander gave Dana a coy smile,
the kind she was not used to seeing. Ever. He lingered a moment before
releasing her hand and motioned toward the back rooms of the office. “Follow
me.”

Dana obeyed his order and followed him into the main
offices. Amy, Emily, and William were close behind.

“Mr. Price, may we please have a look around? I’d like to
figure out the best places to shoot. We’re hoping to get a view of what your
‘everyday’ is like at Price-Levy. A room with lots of natural light would be
best,” Dana said.

“Certainly. I was thinking that the boardroom would probably
be ideal. It’s where William and I spend most of our time. As for light, the
south wall is all windows. Anyone with binoculars could look in and see
anything that was going on.” He paused. “Have you ever discovered that someone
was watching you?” Dana could have sworn that Mr. Price was looking her up and
down at that moment.

“Um, no,” she said and blushed.

The group walked back to the boardroom. It was the perfect
place to start the shoot. The gorgeous Art Deco table was the perfect backdrop
for the gentlemen centerpieces. Dana asked Emily and Amy to begin setting up
the equipment as she surveyed the room for the best angle.

The two interns giggled as they set up the equipment. They
had both noticed Mr. Price following Dana around the room with his eyes.

Dana had picked out her shots. The men changed into their
first outfits and the shoot began. Dana captured several dozen photos of them
performing several ‘working’ poses at the boardroom table, including a few that
had a sense of humor.

For one of the shots, Dana handed Mr. Price a notepad and
pen to use as a prop. He took his time taking them from her, his hands lightly
grazing hers as he pulled away.

The final shot was of the two men against the boardroom’s
window wall. Dana wanted the skyscrapers and rolling hills prominently in the
background of this shot. She directed the men to the corner of the room where
the view was best.

“You’ve really got me backed into a corner here, Dana.” Mr.
Price smiled. “Don’t get any crazy ideas, now.”

Dana blushed and laughed abruptly. She snapped another few
dozen photos before calling the shoot.

“Thanks, guys.” Amy and Emily had almost finished putting
everything away. This is going to look great. I’ll send you our final picks and
be in touch with you throughout the editing process. We want to make sure you
think the spread looks just as great as we think it does.”

“I’m sure your
spread
will look beautiful, Dana,” Mr. Price nearly whispered as he escorted the three
women out of the office. “I’ll see you soon.”

Dana had her back turned to Mr. Price as she walked out. The
shock and shiver she felt when Mr. Price brushed a lock of her hair away from
her shoulder made her weak at the knees. Did that really just happen?

“Bye,” Mr. Price said.

***

Once they’d gotten out of the crowded elevator and back into
the parking garage, Amy and Emily burst out laughing.

“Those guys were SO HOT,” Amy said.

“I know! I’ve never seen more beautiful men in my life.”
Emily gushed. “Mr. Price was SO into you, Dana! Couldn’t you tell?”

“Yeah right,” Dana said. “No offense to myself or anything,
but I don’t think Mr. Price and I are even in the same league.”

“Then why couldn’t he take his eyes off of you?” Amy
chirped.

“Yeah, he was flirting with you like crazy! How could you
not notice?” Emily chimed in.

“It’s not like I didn’t notice it. I just have a hard time
believing it.”

“Well, you shouldn’t. Guys like what they like, and
that
guy
clearly
liked
you
.”

Dana blushed and shook her head. “I’ll see you guys
tomorrow. Thanks for your help today.”

“You’re not going to tell Graciela that we were late, are
you?” Emily asked.

Feeling generous, Dana replied that she’d “let it slide this
one time.”

***

Dana made sure to email the shoot photographs to the photo
editor before she changed into her pajamas and relaxed in front of her TV. The
routine felt a little less hopeless tonight, knowing that she was soon going to
go out with Jessica.

When Access Hollywood had a particularly uninteresting
story, Dana began thinking about the day. She was pleased with the photos and
the ease of the shoot. She was glad that everyone at the hedge fund office was
relatively nice and easy to work with. Alexander Price, though – he acted
pretty strange. Dana couldn’t quite figure him out. Was he being serious when
it seemed like he was flirting with her? Were Amy and Emily right? Nobody had
ever acted like that to Dana before. Why would a gorgeous, incredibly rich man
be the first? It just didn’t seem to make sense.

Dana reasoned that she shouldn’t worry too much more about
Mr. Price’s behavior because she would probably never see him in person again.

It wouldn’t be long before she realized just how wrong she
was.

***

At work the next morning, Dana received the first edits from
her editor. She was mostly pleased with how they came out. After drafting a
page of revision notes and sending it back, Dana was visited by Graciela’s
looming presence.

“How did it go yesterday?” she asked.

“Oh, it was great. I just got the edits back from Sandy in
editing and they look promising.”

“How were the gentlemen?”

“They were really polite. A little forward, but kind. They
did a great job modeling, too.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Graciela smiled, tilted her head, and
walked away.

Dana’s phone suddenly began vibrating. She had never
received a call at work before. She looked at the screen. It couldn’t be
Jessica; it was a blocked number. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted
the call.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Dana.” It was a man’s voice, and it sounded familiar. “This
is Alexander Price.”

Dana nearly dropped her phone. She hadn’t given Alexander
her cell phone number. Amy and Emily noticed her stifle a shriek and listened
in to the remainder of her conversation.

“Uh, hi,” Dana replied, nonplussed. “How did you get my
number?”

“That’s not important. You left something here. Come and
pick it up later.”

Dana briefly contemplated sending one of the eavesdropping
interns over to pick up this ‘something’, but somehow she knew that it was
something she had to do herself.

“Sure. I should be done here at 6:30.”

“Perfect. See you.”

“Bye.” Dana hung up. A look of disbelief fell over her face.

Amy and Emily laughed. “Who was THAT?” They said in unison.
They didn’t seem to understand how ridiculously surreal this was.

“Nobody,” Dana replied.

“Yeah, right! Well, you sure look flustered for just getting
a call from ‘nobody.’”

“Back to work, girls.” Dana’s soft cheeks continued to flush
as she made an effort to return to her own work.

***

Work ended and Dana made her way out to her car. What could
she have left at the office yesterday? She didn’t realize she was missing
anything. But couldn’t Jessica have called to tell her she’d left it behind? It
seemed strange for Mr. Price to call her directly.

Dana pulled into the parking garage of the office tower,
parked, and made her way toward the elevator. It shot up to the top floor and
let her out into an empty and dimmed lobby. Everyone else had clearly gone home
for the evening. She heard rustling coming from the back rooms. The door was
ajar.

“I’m in my office,” Mr. Price yelled.

Dana walked back toward his voice, the sound of fingers
tapping on computer keys lingering as she moved.

Mr. Price took a second to look up. He shut the lid of his
laptop as soon as he saw Dana standing in his doorway. His gaze lingered for
what felt like an hour, and Dana was beginning to feel uneasy.

“You came,” he said, sounding pleased.

“Um, yes. What did I leave behind, Mr. Price?”

Mr. Price arose from his chair and walked slowly around the
perimeter of his large oak desk. “Please, call me ‘Alexander.’” He paused.
“Would you be upset if I told you that I lied?”