Priceless

“You make all the beautiful jewelry?” She beams at me in approval. Still it feels fake.

“That’s me. Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, of course.” She reaches into her purse, pulling out a paper. “You’ve been served.” The smile drops from her face. “Have a good day.” She turns, strolling off.

I stand there in shock for a moment before ripping open the envelope. My mouth falls open when I see who it’s from. It hasn’t even been five hours since I saw him last and he’s suing me already! I knew today wasn’t the last time I was going to hear from Major Bennington.

I am going to show that man just how much sweetness I really have inside me. He’s going to be sorry he ever walked into my shop when my brother Gavin gets wind of this. I actually chuckle a little to myself because he has no idea what’s coming his way. I’m going to enjoy this more than I should. One arrogant jerk vs another.

Chapter 7

Major

Maple London is beautiful. Magazine, television, runway model beautiful. I bet she stops traffic when she leaves her house. Her brother, Gavin London, hovers protectively over her left shoulder, refusing to sit down. I suppose this is his way of exerting dominance, or, at least, attempting to establish some control in my boardroom.

“What do you think of the view?” I ask, waving my hand toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Wall Street.

“Awful. This whole place is awful. It looks like a robot army assembled this soulless place.” She draws her sweater close around her chest and shivers.

Gavin rests a hand on her shoulder and squeezes it. Irritation spikes. My attorney, Rebecca Song, sends me a sharp glare, ordering me to keep silent. I shove my tongue into the side of my cheek so I don’t say anything imprudent.

“The sooner you agree to the terms, the sooner you can leave,” my shark of a lawyer says, honey dripping off of every mean word.

“There’s no basis for this lawsuit and you know it. The minute we get into the courtroom, the judge is going to throw it out,” Gavin growls.

“Judges have been increasingly reluctant to allow bans of any kind in the city. The last time someone refused service, the restaurant had to pay a five-figure fine. Plus, the bad publicity eventually drove the restaurant to close its doors. I don’t want that and neither does Mr. Bennington so let’s come to some agreement.”

“That case involved a gay couple. What’s Mr. Bennington’s protected status?”

“It’s really none of your business.”

“You’ll have to tell us at some point. The court documents don’t allow for secrets.”

While the two lawyers argue, I get up from my seat and approach Maple. She watches warily but doesn’t immediately run off, which I take as a good sign. Rebecca says some legal jargon that has Gavin incensed. Their voices get louder and their sentences more convoluted. I hate the law. I pull out a seat next to Maple.

“I only served you papers because I figured it was the only way you would meet with me,” I admit.

“You weren’t wrong,” she says snippily. Her nose turns up a tiny bit at the end. It’s adorable and I want to kiss it desperately.

“I rarely am. It’s the one thing my sister hates about me so whenever she asks me to do her a favor, I always say yes. In this case, she wanted a particular piece of jewelry from our mother’s latest obsession. My sister, Julia, couldn’t come because she broke her ankle trying to skateboard last week.”

“This is the third story you’ve told to try to get a piece of jewelry from me.” The air is still frosty although I don’t know if it’s her or the two lawyers going at it. “First you were married and then it was for your mother.”

“I believe I’ve always maintained it was for my mother.”

Her nose goes up even higher. “Trudy could tell you were a fake a mile away. Look at you now.”

I peer down at my three-piece dark blue suit and the navy on white striped tie tucked into my vest. “I’m wearing a suit,” I acknowledge. “Your brother is wearing one, too.”

“You weren’t the other day.”

“That’s true. I was wearing some godawful thing that my sister thought would appeal to you.”

“Trudy was right to turn you away. You just wanted something you couldn’t get by being yourself.” Her sincerity is a turn-on even if her assumptions about me are totally off-base. She believes in something and that’s damn sexy. Plus, she knows what she wants, which is also arousing. When she wants you, she wants you wholly and completely. I just need to become the object of her desire.

Figuring out how will take time, but as with anything I want, I’m willing to put in the labor. That’s how I built this investment firm from a small seed gifted by my grandfather into the empire it is today.