Chapter 2 BEAUTIFUL

Good thing I wasn't into men as pretty as this one , because , my oh my , the man was delectable enough to eat.

He had inky-dark hair with a natural unkempt flair to it , his jaws prominently squared and angular , his eyes were a mischievous slate-gray that were surrounded with curled lashes. But the highlight of his face was those amazing , impossibly perfect peach-colored lips.

That's another thing he was famous for, more than his wealth and brains: his beauty. Anyone who referred to this man as 'handsome' should be tossed in the fieriest part of hell, because that wouldn't just be an understatement , it would be a sin against descriptive words and assigning them to their rightful places.He had to be called Beautiful.

Sharply attired in a navy blue suit , he stared down at me from his height and I stared right back , not at all feeling inferior that I had to tilt my head up. His slate-gray eyes sparkled as they made a slow perusal of my body , unabashed , and came back to my face.

Smirking , he said , "It's pretty chilly in here, huh?"

Predictable. I'd been waiting for that remark. Plastering a smile on my face, I ignored his question. "Mr. Black, Katie has worked really hard on this presentation. Her thumb-drive fell out of her bag at the gym this morning at my cost. I got here with it as soon as I could. Please don't dismiss her, hear her out. She's got talent. You'll only regret it later."

Although I tried to make it sound like a petition by adding the word 'please', I knew it came out as a command because Katie shook her head at me with narrowed eyes. Damn it. I needed to practice more on injecting emotion into my words.

Pretty Boy Black leaned casually against the doorjamb and crossed his legs as if he were lounging at a bar. He bit down on one side of his peach-colored lip and he glared at me.

"Was that a plea or a command?"

"It's a plea. I'm sorry if it didn't sound like a plea, I'm not very good at pleading. I'm used to getting whatever I want , whenever I want , however I want ," I answered , matching his glare with equal intensity so he would get the message that I wasn't one of those gushing , I-get-butterflies-in-my-stomach-when-I-see-you bimbos.

His lower lip got released from the grip of his teeth as he made another shameless perusal of my body before saying, "I believe it was a command. And judging by your choice of attire in my professional building , I also believe you're one of those irreverent and uncouth bra-"

"Mr. Black , please ," Katie cut in. "You have a meeting with RAEL's CEO in approximately one hour. If you will dismiss me now because of my negligence , then I completely understand."

What was she doing? Giving up? No! I shot her a castigating stare , but when she narrowed her light blue eyes , I knew that she was pissed at me for toeing with her boss.

"Amelia , thank you for trying to help. But it's okay. You have an extremely busy day, too. We'll talk later," she continued , dismissing me.

Pretty Boy Black earned a withering stare from me-which was evenly returned with a smug smile-and I turned on my heels and walked off.

A wolf whistle left his lips and traveled behind me , harassing my ears. Ha! It was my time to smother a smile in smugness. On account of my impeccable derriere , I was anticipating that reaction.

Once upon a time , I was a victim of low self-confidence. Every day I'd sadly wish I had a tall, sexy figure with curly blonde hair like those girls the boys pursued in school. But as I grew, my breasts swelled into perky perfection , and my derriere grew past the average size and more salient each year.

By my college years, I'd managed to ensnare the most popular and lusted-after guy in school, and he'd aid in the growth of my self-esteem by making me feel like the only girl in the world. Being the girlfriend of the school's most popular guy , I automatically became the most popular girl in school , and ultimately the girl with the body every girl wished for.

Then there was me being a fitness junkie , never allowing my body the chance to slant out of shape , which meant that I had conspicuous, hard-to-attain abs and toned , well , everything. The mouths around me never ceased to remind me that I had a body that was like a gift to men on earth.

It calmed me to know that I was no longer in the minority of women with low self-esteem. But it was also annoying when people stared at me as if they'd never seen a woman before. I know , I got a sweet rack , a tiny waist , perfect hips and a gift of an ass , but so do lots of other women.

The attention became irritating at times , and when I showed my annoyance , I came across as arrogant. It didn't help that I was half-Hispanic with straight, fifteen-inch hair that was as dark as night, and a pair of pussycat-gray eyes accompanied by fluffy black lashes.

No , I wasn't conceited or overconfident. I merely practice to accept who I am. When I'd stepped up next in line to be fashioned by the hands of God , He decided that He wanted me to be beautiful with a great bod to complement. Why , then , should I feel bad for being beautiful?

If I continued to feel guilty for being me, then I wouldn't be showing my Creator any appreciation for His gift , and I would never want to be listed in His Book of Judgment as an ingrate. So , I grasped my gift with gratitude , honed it, amplified it , and flaunted it when need be.

Like now , I knew, without a doubt , that Pretty Boy Black was still standing at his doorway with his eyes glued to my ass. And I also knew that being the unrestrained womanizer that he was , his wanting to get a piece of this ass would galvanize him into giving Katie another chance with her presentation.

Yep , being sexy does have its advantages.