"Do you always use flirtation as a means to gain power over women?"

"Only those I find unusually attractive."

"Mr. Demovic, this isn't going to work if you continue to behave like this. Now why don’t you tell me why you're here and then we can decide if we want to continue our professional relationship together or not."

Jason's expression became serious again.

"I'm here because my board of directors insists that I see a therapist. They say I'm giving too much of their money away to charity. Of course the idea is nonsense. There is no issue here--I'm just continuing a tradition of philanthropy begun by father. Therefore, I would like to propose a deal with you."

"A deal?"

"Yes. A deal. I propose that we save your time and my money. You sign off on twenty-four hours of therapy and I'll make sure that you're more than adequately compensated. I'll even consider putting you on retainer a nd having Demovic Inc refer employees to you who might need counseling. Say at a cost of one hundred thousand dollars per annum?" He spoke matter of factly, as though it were already agreed.

Melissa had to hide her amazement yet again, but the truth was that one hundred thousand dollars a year would be an instant fix to all of her and her sister's immediate problems. She was slowly realizing that the smoldering guy in front of her was not just a successful man but one of quite considerable means-- definitely not just a pretty face and a smoking hot body.

She felt her mouth go dry as she considered her response. Another first from a client.

Jason Demovic waited for her approval and his gaze felt like a hot midday sun beating down on her. She was used to all kinds of pressure as a responsible adult and as a psychotherapist, but business world financial negotiations were outside of her comfort zone. One hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money and would enable her to do a lot of good, but for sure the ethics committee wouldn't see it that way.

"I'm sorry Mr. Demovic, but I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. How about you explain to me why the board thinks you need to see a therapist? I think that might be a good starting point for our session today."

"I don't have time for this." He said shortly. "I run a multi-billion dollar company so every minute of the day counts and I absolutely have no need for any kind of psychotherapy."

"If you don't have time for any of this then why the silly game? Why even come here to see me? And for goodness sake, why try to flirt with me?"

Jason watched her, considered her. She had refused his offer, which he didn’t like, and she had rebutted his attempts at flirtation. On the other hand, she was tilting her head ever so slightly to the left as she waited for him to speak and watching him with rapt attention through her nerdy glasses. All of this he liked very much indeed.

He liked it enough that his cock began to stiffen under the thick fabric of his hand cut, tailor made business suit.

He had taken in every detail of her office in a moment. Her credentials with Harvard and Stanford he had known about already but her appreciation of Fernanda Salazar had been unexpected. His attraction to her had been unexpected as well. She wasn't his usual type but there was something about her he knew he really wanted. He had chosen her because he knew she was a young, inexperienced therapist in trouble both professionally and financially. He had counted on her being a push over and easy to manipulate, but that seemed to be backfiring.

Her resistance to him was annoying, but somehow it only made him want to fuck her even more than he had wanted to when he first laid eyes on her.

That buttoned up little outfit.

That miss prim hair bun and the serious glasses hiding the sensuous, beautiful girl underneath.

You want to play hardball little lady? You don’t know who you're dealing with.

He smiled.

"I'm here because of the board Dr. Price." He paused. "But I'm flirting with you because I like you."

"I'm flattered Mr. Demovic but unfortunately that complicates our relationship."

"We don’t have a relationship Dr. Price--not yet--and don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because I like you that I'm going to let that get in the way of my goals. I'm here to achieve an outcome and one way or the other it's going to happen, with or without your compliance. But trust me, your compliance will make things go a lot smoother, a lot quicker and will work very, very much to our mutual satisfaction."

Mutual satisfaction. The words echoed in Melissa's mind.

"Am I right in thinking you are trying to intimidate me Mr. Demovic?" "An offer of one hundred thousand dollars per year is hardly a threat.

However, I should warn you that I will only make the offer once. If you refuse it then there's no going back. If it's a question of the amount then there is room for negotiation. I'd be willing to go to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per annum if that will change your mind, but that's my final offer."

One hundred and fifty thousand dollars… It was more money than Melissa had ever considered in her whole life.

She took another deep breath but then shook her head slowly.

"It's not a question of the amount Mr. Demovic, it's a question of ethics. I can't accept that money in exchange for lying about your therapy."

"Ethics, Dr. Price?"

His inflection made her uncomfortable, as though he knew more about her than he was letting on.

"I don't see a conflict." He continued. "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm an adult and I can decide if I need therapy myself or not. My decision is that I don't. You are a highly qualified psychotherapist starting out in your career and this retainer would be very significant for you and for any dependents you may have.

Besides, if you come to work for us then you never know if I might have need of your services myself at some time in the future. It would save me having to find someone new."