Karen Booth - A Christmas Rendezvous

“How long is all of that going to take?” Mindy asked.

“A few days to a few weeks. It just depends.”

Mindy cleared her throat and Isabel sensed something bad was about to come to light. “Yeah. About that. We don’t have that kind of time. Mr. Summers’s lawyer sent a letter to the Eden’s in-house counsel today. He’s threatening a lawsuit right away if we don’t come to the negotiating table tomorrow.”

Isabel blinked several times while trying to absorb what Mindy had just said. “Mr. Summers not only wants us to start negotiating tomorrow, his lawyer isn’t even aware the store is employing outside counsel?”

“We thought a sneak attack was the best approach. They’re expecting someone else. Not Isabel Blackwell, Washington, DC, fixer.”

Isabel cringed at the words. She didn’t want to be that person anymore.

Sam sat forward and placed his hand on his sister’s knee. “I have to agree. The store is too important to the Eden family for us to be anything less than completely strategic about this. They’ll prepare for a corporate negotiation, not having any idea who they’re dealing with.”

Isabel took a deep breath, trying to ignore the way her already soured stomach grew even more uneasy. “Can I see the letter they sent?”

“Yes. Of course.” Mindy hopped up from her seat and grabbed a thin folder from Emma’s desk, handing it to Isabel.

Inside was a single page—the letter inviting Eden’s Department Store’s legal representation to the negotiating table. All looked in order until Isabel saw the name on the signature line. Then the blood drained from her face.

Jeremy Sharp. Oh my God.

Her big meeting tomorrow with the lawyer representing the man who wanted to take down Eden’s Department Store? It would be the second run-in with her one-night stand. And apparently, they were about to go from the bedroom to the war room.

Four

“I don’t want you to worry,” Jeremy said as he escorted Benjamin Summers into one of the meeting rooms at Sharp and Sharp. “We have everything well in hand.”

Mr. Summers turned to Jeremy and narrowed his eyes until they were only small slits. “Why aren’t we meeting in the main conference room? The one with the big windows. The one you can see from the waiting room.”

Jeremy pulled back a chair and offered Mr. Summers a seat. “Because this is more discreet.” In truth, Jeremy preferred it because it meant his father couldn’t interfere unless he walked right in on them. Jeremy had been in many client meetings where his dad paced back and forth outside that main conference room. It was unnerving as hell.

Mr. Summers sat in a huff. Jeremy hadn’t spent a lot of time with him, but he’d always been like this—gruff and impatient. “I’m not worried about discretion. If anything, I’d prefer not to have it. I’d like the whole world to know that I’m going after Eden’s. Victoria Eden destroyed my parents’ marriage and this is the only way I can seek retribution on behalf of my mother.”

Jeremy poured Mr. Summers a glass of water, hoping that might help to cool his temper. “I don’t think it’s a great idea to bring that up in this meeting. I know it’s difficult to curb your personal feelings about the matter, but we need to focus on the bottom line, which is a very large unpaid debt.”

Mr. Summers cleared his throat and tapped his fingers on the table. “Fine. I’ll take your advice.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“For now.”

One of the admins in the office poked his head into the conference room. “Mr. Sharp, the Eden’s representatives and legal team have arrived. Shall I show them in?”

Jeremy turned to Mr. Summers, hoping he could get him to remain calm and collected. “Are you ready, Mr. Summers?”

“More than I’ve ever been.”

Jeremy stood and straightened his jacket, then made his way to the door. The in-house counsel for Eden’s was a crew of white-haired older men, much like his dad and Mr. Summers. He knew he could handle this easily as long as everyone could set aside their egos. But when he glanced down the hall, a stunning vision came into view—a woman who was not easy to handle. Isabel.

What the hell? For an instant, Jeremy shrank back from the door, his mind whirring with thoughts, even when there was no time to think. Before he knew what was happening, Isabel, along with another woman and a very tall man, were being led into the room by Jeremy’s admin. “Mr. Sharp, this is Mindy Eden, COO of Eden’s Department Store.”

Mindy, willowy and poised with flame-red hair, offered her hand. “Mr. Sharp.”

“Special adviser to Eden’s, Sam Blackwell,” his admin continued.

Sam, towering and dressed in black, shook Jeremy’s hand. “Hello.”

“And lastly, Isabel Blackwell, special counsel for Eden’s.”

Isabel stepped forward, but her beguiling scent arrived a split second before her. It filled his nose, and that sent memories storming into his mind—their white-hot tryst in her hotel room was not anything he would forget anytime soon. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to think about what her luscious naked body looked like under her trim gray suit. He was too busy trying to tamp down his inner confusion. Had she known who he was when she seduced him? Had she seen him in the bar with Mr. Summers a mere fifteen minutes before the fire alarm sounded?

“It’s nice to meet you.” Isabel offered her hand. He’d noticed that night that her skin was unusually warm, but right now he felt as though he’d been burned.

Jeremy cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you , as well.” He gestured to the other side of the long mahogany table, more rattled than when he’d worked his very first case. He couldn’t help but feel as though they were being ambushed. He’d been led to believe that Eden’s in-house counsel would be handling this. Unless Isabel was a new addition to their team, she was a ringer. “Please have a seat.”

Isabel sat directly opposite Jeremy. The look on her face was difficult to decipher, but he reminded himself that he hardly knew her. What were her motives? What sort of person was she? Most important, what was her endgame? For a man with countless trust issues when it came to women, this was not only bringing all that to the surface in an uncomfortable way, it felt as though Isabel had opened an entirely new area of mistrust to explore. He deeply disliked the revelation.

Jeremy drew in a calming breath. Focus. He looked Isabel square in the eye. She met his gaze with steely composure. On the surface, she was quite simply stunning. Easily the sexiest woman he’d ever met. But he sensed now that beneath that flawless exterior was a woman who was at the very least, trouble. He didn’t want to regret the other night, but perhaps he should. Would he feel as though he was at less of a disadvantage right now if it hadn’t happened? “Ms. Blackwell, your client’s grandmother borrowed 250 million dollars from Mr. Summers’s father in 1982. She offered the Manhattan location of Eden’s Department Store, the building, inventory and the land it sits on as collateral. By our calculations, with standard interest adjusted for inflation and compounded monthly, that unpaid loan now sits at a balance of just over 842 million.”

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