Yvonne Lindsay - Boardrooms & a Billionaire Heir / Jealousy & a Jewelled Proposition

“Blackstone’s has a morality clause,” Jake interjected.

“But only for employees working within the same department. And the pay is more, the opportunities to advance much greater. I also like working here.”

His gaze became speculative. “Working full-time and going to university part-time must’ve played hell with your social life.”

“No. I focused on work.”

Jake nodded. “So what made you volunteer to assist me?”

“I didn’t. I got seconded.”

Ahh. Jake placed the menu on his plate. Despite her denials, she was pissed. Enough for a little payback? He did the math in his head. No. The leak had been going on since Christmas, which meant something had happened just before Howard’s plane went down.

The waiter arrived to take their orders then, but after the man left, the silence continued.

Determined not to let the unnerving intensity of Jake’s study affect her, Holly reached for the bread basket—at exactly the same time Jake did.

Her mouth dropped from the shock of their skin-on-skin contact, her eyes widening. To recover from that surprising little zing, she yanked her hand back.

And there it was again. Why couldn’t she shake the feeling that one day, somehow, if he had his way, they’d be more than boss and assistant?

“Can I ask you something?” she said suddenly.

He eased back in his chair and picked up the water goblet. “You can. But I might not answer.”

“How long will you be here?” How long before I can get my job back, when I can resume a normal life…and I can stop my stomach flipping every time you study me like I’m a particularly interesting puzzle that needs to be unravelled?

His smile turned mockingly sensual. “In a hurry to get back to Human Resources?”

“No. I’m waiting on my transfer papers to PR.”

He paused for a second, his gaze holding her defiant one. In the next, a grudging smile teased his lips.

Holly nearly groaned aloud. Oh, man. The warmth of that one simple smile scorched her like she’d been caught in the pathway of a comet. The heated aftermath spread from her fingertips to the bottom of her black Jimmy Choos, heat of a purely female nature. His smile, combined with the warmth in his voice, was deliberately calculated to disarm her. There wasn’t a woman he couldn’t charm if he put his mind to it. She’d already witnessed it with Jessica.

Bad, bad move. You don’t even like the guy .

Jake watched her fiddle with the stud in her ear again. “You’ve got something to say,” he said casually.

She stilled. “Mr Vance…”

“Jake. It’s Jake.”

“Jake.” She paused, which only heightened the way his name sounded on her lips. Lips that were painted a luscious shade of berry, so very close to that little kissy-mole.

“Kimberley’s brief said you’re looking to invest in Blackstone’s.

But I thought AdVance Corp was all about…” She paused, searching for the right word.

“Conquer and divide?” Jake smiled thinly, toying with the stem of his glass. “Don’t believe everything you read. I like to see what I’m getting before I invest, to decide if it’s worthy of my time and money.” At least, that part had started out true. But after last night, when he’d dissected the deeper implications for the tenth time, he’d realised one thing. He was a Blackstone. Just because he hadn’t had the privilege of the name for the last thirty-two years didn’t mean he should let a successful corporate entity crumble to the ground. He wasn’t seventeen any more, running away from the shame of his past. The story wasn’t going away and it was within his power to save this company.

Now he said, “I’m looking to expand my options. Blackstone’s is an important part of Australian corporate history but has been floundering since January. It’s a perfect choice.”

“So you have no intention of breaking us up?”

Us . Not “Blackstone’s” or “the company”. Us . As if she was part of a family. His gut clenched. “Hadn’t even entered my mind.”

The doubt written so clearly on her face got his back up. “Afraid of losing your job, Holly?”

“It’s more than just a job to me.” She focused on straightening the already perfect cutlery. For one second, Jake thought about defending himself with the truth, but just as quickly reined himself in.

“You don’t like me. Why?”

Her head snapped up, showing him a glimpse of something simmering just below the surface. Yet her reply was one in

studied control. “I didn’t think being liked would matter to a man like you.”

“‘A man like me’?” he said tightly. It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t. Damn. Why did her approval suddenly matter at all? “Let me guess. You think I’m just buying another failing company to carve it up and sell it off at a profit, ruining lives and families in the process.”

“Are you?”

“That’s not what I do.”

“No?”

Her scepticism ratcheted his annoyance up a notch. “I’ve saved more jobs than I’ve destroyed.”

He shouldn’t care. Hell, he didn’t. But despite that, irritation flared and he suddenly leaned forward, making her jump. “I’ve publicly refuted every crooked claim, every accusation. But rebuttals don’t sell papers—bad press does.”

He tightened his jaw, refusing the fury access before pulling back with a disgusted snort. “Go on, name a story.”

“I don’t…”

“Do it, Holly. Name your damn price if that’s what it’ll take.”

She inched back in her chair as far as she could go before saying quietly, “The East Timor construction company.”

“The press said I bought it out and sacked the workers, leaving thousands of families without income. They glossed over the fact it was actually a front for a terrorist group. I dissolved the company and built a school in the local village instead.”

They both paused as the waiter brought their food. But as the man left, Jake said curtly, “Next.”

“I…”

“You want to know. I’m telling you.” He forced his expression into neutrality, revealing nothing. “Next.”

She swallowed and suddenly his eyes were drawn to her throat, to the heartbeat that was undoubtedly thumping wildly in her chest. “Paul Bradley.”

“My chief financial officer.” He picked up his fork, spearing the gnocchi with curt precision. “I demoted him to my Hanoi office because he vocally opposed one of my takeover bids.”

Holly’s fear suddenly gave way to anger, giving her the strength to face his stare with one of her own. “‘Cross me and you’ll pay’?”

“Yes. I demand loyalty in my staff. I won’t stand any bad-mouthing, especially when he was wrong. I had to make an example of him.”

“Was Mia Souris an example too?”

As a dark scowl creased his forehead, she blithely charged on. “She was your secretary and made a mint with her story. Why haven’t you made her pay, too?”

“What makes you think she hasn’t?”

At her sudden silence, he said softly, “The last I heard she was working as a waitress in a London club, trying to escape the notoriety of her kiss-and-tell article.”

He placed his fork on the plate and drew the napkin slowly, almost sensuously, across his mouth. “You are a surprising woman, Holly McLeod.”

“Why?” She studied her chicken penne, wondering how she’d manage to keep it down when her belly was churning so much.

“Are you pushing my buttons to get reassigned?”

Astonished, she jolted straight in her chair. “If you’re unhappy about my performance, Mr Vance—”

“It’s Jake, for Pete’s sakes!” His voice then became less harsh. “Say it.”