Bas chuckled. “In fact, Marcus and Kylie’s daughter, Tiffany, who is fifteen, are the reason Chance and Kylie are together.”
Jocelyn wiped her mouth with a napkin before asking. “How is that?
“By playing cupid.”
For the next twenty minutes Bas told Jocelyn how Marcus and Tiffany had felt that neither of their strict parents had a life and had decided to do something about it by orchestrating a plan to shift their parents’ attention off them and onto each other.
Instead of using the napkin to wipe at her mouth, Jocelyn began dabbing at her eyes while laughing. She’d found the teens’ escapades totally hilarious. “Well, evidently their plan worked.”
Bas chuckled. “Yes, it did. Quite successfully.” He took advantage of the break in conversation to question why he was here, sharing dinner with Jocelyn, instead of back at the office going through files. Although he wanted to think that this entire afternoon had been a total waste of good time, he couldn’t. He had to admit that he enjoyed the time he had spent with Jocelyn, although it had started out pretty damn rocky.
He’d gotten a kick out of playing pinball with her even when she was slaughtering him in points, and dinner had been rather nice, as well. He felt comfortable talking to her, sharing tidbits about his family. The last woman he’d taken out had been Cassandra and they’d gone to an exclusive restaurant. She had spent the entire evening criticizing the outfits other women were wearing. To hear her talk, she was the only fashion plate in the place.
“You mentioned that Cameron Cody was interested in one of your cousins.”
Bas studied the dark liquid in his glass and grinned. After dinner they had ordered scrumptious cheesecake and a glass of delicious dessert wine to go along with it. “Yes, and I have a feeling he still is. I met Cameron a few years ago when he tried to take over the Steele Corporation.”
Jocelyn lifted a brow, not sure she had heard him correctly. “Cody tried forcing a takeover of your company?”
“Yes, and he would have been successful if my brothers and three cousins and I hadn’t stuck together, which proved what a unified force we were. The Steele Corporation was formed over twenty-five years ago by my father and my Uncle Harold. It was always understood that I and my three brothers, as well as Uncle Harold’s three daughters—Vanessa, Taylor and Cheyenne—would one day inherit the company. All of us are working there except for Taylor and Cheyenne. They decided to pursue careers outside of the corporation, although they sit on the board. Uncle Harold passed away ten years ago and my father retired five years after that, leaving Chance as CEO.”
He took another sip of his wine before continuing. “As soon as word got out about my father’s retirement, several corporate marauders tried to force a takeover. Cameron’s company was just one of them.”
Jocelyn took a sip of her own wine. “But when you mentioned him earlier I got the impression the two of you are friends.”
Bas smiled and Jocelyn noticed each time he did so his dimples appeared and the cleft in his chin seemed even more profound. “We are. My brothers and I couldn’t help but admire Cameron’s accomplishments and give him the respect he’s due. He earned everything he has, and he’s built his empire by working hard. Anything he got he deserved. He is a hard man but fair. Once he saw that his attempt to take us over was futile, he pulled out and set his sights on another Steele—my cousin Vanessa. She heads our PR department. My brothers and I got over what Cameron tried to do and eventually became friends with him. However, Vanessa never could and as much as Cameron tried, he couldn’t break through the barriers she had erected.”
A half hour later, Jocelyn was returning Bas to the job site so he could get his car. It was almost ten o’clock. “You aren’t thinking about going over to the office, are you?” she asked when she brought her truck to a stop next to his parked car.
He shook his head and chuckled. “No, not tonight. I think I’ll go home and come up with a game plan to beat you at pinball the next go-round.”
She returned his chuckle. “Come up with any game plan you want. The outcome will still be the same.”