by Gemma Hart
Tossing my hair back over my shoulders, I squared myself and we marched towards the building.
Getting my pieces bought by Losel would mean absolute success. It would mean that I had made it.
Every sacrifice, pain, and hardship would be completely paid off with interest.
You can do this, Daniels, I told myself firmly.
The doormen in formal tailored gray suits nodded at us as we approached. I could already hear the clinking of glasses and soft jazz music playing from inside.
It was time to meet my future.
Chapter Eight
Jonah
I tried not to yawn as I took a sip of my whiskey. Was this my second glass? Or my third? I knew I shouldn’t be drinking so much so early in the day but when the day was this fucking monotonous, it was hard not to.
I looked around the sleek floor, filled with people chatting and laughing and mingling. I watched the latest batch of prominent home goods designers mingling with their potential future buyers. Most of them were dressed in ridiculous high end fashion. I knew they were hoping to look like some kind of walking piece of art but they looked more like they had tumbled out of a dumpster, wearing whatever stuck.
And a lot of them had developed that nasty habit of having a cocky attitude. Some of them had had their pieces written up in the New York Times or had been interviewed by Architectural Digest. Some of them had had celebrities buy their pieces. And some of them were just very self-aggrandizing. Either way, it meant a lot of them had insufferable attitudes.
And unfortunately, being the only billionaire in the room meant a lot of those insufferable people were looking directly at me, eyeing for a way in. They all wanted to come speak to me but were all too nervous to do so.
Looking over some of their faces, I could tell they were also confused why I was here as well.
Normally, I didn’t come to such events. I had people who could come on my behalf.
But DXC Global was getting ready to expand their fashion and home ware sectors and that started by buying some of the more profitable companies. We had recently acquired Losel Goods, one of the largest competitors in the market, but I wanted to pick up some smaller boutique companies and expand our luxury lines.
I wasn’t here to meet the designers; I was here to meet the buyers. I wanted to see them in action and to compare which companies seemed the most daring while still profitable. Who knew how to invest in creativity while still keeping investors in mind?
This wasn’t too difficult to do. Most of the buyers were more than willing to be friendly with the President and CEO of DXC Global and owner of Losel Goods. Probably only a few had a vague idea why I was there and those people probably were quite happy. If DXC Global bought their company, it would only mean they would have greater resources and a larger opportunity to grow.
I was in the middle of talking with three of the top buyers when I noticed something from the corner of my eye. A flutter of pink.
Taking a sip of my drink, I turned towards the flutter and nearly choked on my whiskey.
Clara.
Fucking Christ. It was really her.
Clara.
As if time had stopped, I stared at the one woman I had dreamed of every night for the last year stand only a few feet from me. Wearing a simple but well fitted outfit of a dusty pink skirt that hugged her curvy hips and a white blouse that made her skin look like ivory, she stood apart from all the more avant garde designers.
A shorter, older woman stood next to her in a loose outfit of all black. She adjusted her glasses as she entered the room, clearly judging the level of buyers present.
But it didn’t matter. My eyes were only focused on the one woman who made my skin tighten and my chest pound.
Clara.
She looked clean, simple, and smart.
I swallowed tightly. But I already knew that, didn’t I? I knew just how purely sweet and smart that woman was, down to the marrow.
I had spent the last year remembering and dissecting every aspect of Clara Daniels. I spent entire nights recreating her in my mind.
Looking at her now, she seemed some how fuller and more real than ever. My entire body tightened just looking at her.
Her golden honey hair fell loosely down her back in soft waves. I remembered exactly how light and soft her hair had felt against my chest. Her skin caught the dull gleam of the afternoon light and I remembered just how smooth her arms had felt under my hands.
I couldn’t take my eyes away from her full, pink lips and I remembered just how sweet they had tasted against my own. And those hazel eyes, large and luminous….I remembered how they had looked at me like I was a man worth more than my money or my whoring. They had looked at me like they could see a man who had a heart worth loving.
And I had relished those looks even though I knew they weren’t true. They had been based on a false premise.
She didn’t know the real Jonah Lowell. Had she known the truth….Well, I thought with a grimace, she did know the truth. Now. She knew what I was capable of. I had an unnatural knack of leaving a trail of broken hearts as wide as the Mississippi and normally, I had the remorse of a serial killer.
But not with her. Not with Clara.
I had missed that fucking woman every day for the past year even though I knew deep down that I had done the right thing, the decent thing. It was too much to hold that woman’s fragile and deserving heart in my two dirty hands. I would ruin her. I would break her.
It was better she never saw me again.
I snorted softly to myself. Who was I fooling?
Sure, I had thought that but had I acted like that? Immediately upon returning to New York, I had sought out every major furniture buyer, sending them the photos I had of Clara’s pieces.
It was true that talent like Clara’s deserved to be recognized but really, I worked hard for her furniture because I wanted to maintain any connection I had with her for as long as possible. Discussing and dealing with her business made me feel as if I was somehow still with her.
But after a few weeks, I realized that without at least some measure of a reputation, she would get nowhere fast. She needed to prove herself in a place bigger than Irvington, Vermont. She needed to show people that she had what it took to distinguish herself amongst the best of the best and remain at the top.
So I had managed to send out a copy of Clara’s catalogue to a design agency that I knew would take care of her best. It was a little difficult to keep tabs on the proceedings since I had chosen to do everything anonymously. I had a strong feeling Clara wouldn’t appreciate any gestures from the likes of me.
I hadn’t heard if Clara had accepted Carlisle & Ellis’s offer of representation or if she was even working in New York at all. But now, seeing her here at such an exclusive event with the older, clearly more knowledgeable woman, I knew she had to have accepted Brenda’s offer. And that woman with the glasses had to be Brenda Carlisle, herself.
I grinned to myself. Clearly, Clara was kicking ass.
A few buyers politely introduced themselves to Clara and Brenda but as soon as they recognized who Clara was, they quickly began flocking. The girl clearly had fans. And ardent ones too.
I watched as Brenda fended them off expertly, making sure that the most exclusive buyers got to talk to Clara first.
I saw the other designers pout and glare as the attention was pulled away from them.
But it was no competition. Clara was incredibly gifted and talented. But not only that, she had an air of guileless goodness in her that made her easy to talk to.
That is, if they could get behind the stalwart defense of Brenda, I thought with a grin.
I watched as Clara smiled at one of the buyers. I could tell from the way she tucked her hair behind her ear that she was a little nervous.
You need to stay away, Lowell, I reminded myself. Be a decent man for once in your life. Stay away.
But I found myself already moving towards her.
Su
rrounded by a small group of admirers, she couldn’t see me approaching from the side. With each step, I took in her appearance, memorizing each curve, each line.
I knew I had no right to talk to her again, no right to even look at her. I had fucked things up so royally between us there was no way to fix that again.
And yet, heaven and hell would have to crumble before me to stop me from walking towards Clara Daniels. She had me like a moth to a flame and I was ready to burn.
As I neared, I could hear her soft laugh. It ran a bolt of electricity straight down my spine. Fuck, I had ached for her. The only woman who had looked at me with clear eyes. Not as the billionaire playboy, not as the unwanted stepson, not as the broken fucker who couldn’t recognize love if it bit him in the ass.
She had been the only one to see me as Jonah.
And god, I had fucking missed her.
“Miss Daniels, I’m a huge fan,” I said smoothly, standing off to her right, sidestepping Brenda’s watchful guard of her client.
I saw Clara’s shoulders freeze at my voice. Had she been able to recognize me? Slowly she turned around and I saw that her beautiful face was frozen in an expression of someone who was about to meet the devil.
Well, I thought dryly, she’s not too far off.
Chapter Nine
Clara
“Miss Daniels, I’m a huge fan.”
I froze. My entire body turned into a block of ice as that deep, confident voice hit me.
It couldn’t possibly be.
There was no way.
And yet it was unmistakable. As hard as I had been trying for the last year to forget about this man, his touch, his voice always filled my dreams late at night. I woke up to the echoes of that deep, rich voice.
And I was positive that I had just heard that voice spoken to me in the present world. Right now. In real life.
Oh my god.
Slowly, I turned around.
And if there was a way to see your nightmare and your forbidden desire all in one body, that was what Jonah Lowell looked like.
Dressed in a light gray suit with a casually unbuttoned white shirt, he looked urbane and sophisticated. The light suit only highlighted the darkness of his skin and thick hair.
Looking up, I had forgotten just how tall the man really was. My head barely brushed his shoulders. Standing behind some of the middle aged buyers that had been chatting me up, he looked as tall and broad as a Greek god.
And just as imposing.
What was he even doing here?
God, the sheer power and danger that radiated off this man was incredible. You could see the way it affected every single person in the room. There was no way anyone could doubt the stories of his sexual escapades. The man just needed to look at a woman before she crumbled before him.
At that thought, I straightened myself up. Hell no was I going to let myself be that kind of woman again.
I had learned my lesson once. And it had been excruciating.
I wasn’t going to waste that pain and be stupid again.
Some of the buyers deferentially made way for Jonah once they had seen who it was.
I noticed Brenda immediately stand straighter, recognizing who this man was.
“Mr. Lowell!” she said in a surprised but welcoming voice. Clearly, she had her eyes set on the best buyer. But I was starting to reconsider just how successful I wanted to be in New York.
If it meant working with the man who had broken my heart and publicly humiliated me, I was more than glad to spend the rest of my as a second rate designer.
“Your work is quite remarkable,” Jonah said, his dark eyes gleaming with a knowing look. He seemed to be looking me over carefully, studying me.
Probably to try and see if he could take another crack at me for shits and giggles, I thought darkly even though my skin was heating up under his gaze.
“Thank you,” I said frostily in a clipped voice.
Brenda stepped up next to me, extending her hand. “Mr. Lowell,” she said with a dazzling smile, “I didn’t expect you’d be coming to this event yourself. Normally I’m always chatting the ear off David Hurwich.”
Jonah looked over at Brenda. Even though his gaze wasn’t directed at me, I felt my breath hitch at the power of it. God, how did the man just exude so much confidence? His natural movements spoke as if he owned whatever building he was in.
That brought me up short. He was Jonah Lowell, the billionaire. He probably did own most of the buildings he found himself in.
“I thought I’d give Dave the day off today,” Jonah said, giving Brenda a charming smile. “So I’m afraid the designers will have to just make do with me.”
Brenda laughed. “I’m sure they won’t mind,” she said, giving him a professional smile that said, I’m here to do some serious business with you. I’m ready when you are.
But that was the last, absolute last, thing I wanted her to do. I wanted no part of any kind of business that was remotely related to Jonah Lowell.
And just what was the man doing here anyway? Didn’t DXC Global mostly do real estate? What was he doing here in a home goods event?
I noticed in a panic that the other buyers who had initially approached us were beginning to drop away, clearly intimidated by the likes of Jonah Lowell. Without other people to buffer myself with, I would have no choice than to speak with the man who had humiliated and devastated me.
How many months had I spent working my ass off to forget this man? And now I felt all of that work begin to crumble in seconds as I faced off with Jonah.
“Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves to the other buyers?” I murmured quietly to Brenda. I avoided Jonah’s gaze. “Didn’t you want me to meet Henry Turner from Pitter Home Goods?”
Brenda gave me a discreet jab with her elbow and looked at me with furrowed brows. I didn’t have to look to know that an amused smile was twitching against Jonah’s lips, damn him.
“Henry can wait,” she said through a smile, clearly not wanting to offend Jonah. “After all, the person I most wanted you to meet was the buyer from the ever illustrious Losel Goods. But look how lucky we are! We got their CEO instead!”
Brenda grinned at Jonah and gave a sparkling laugh that I knew she had perfected for exactly this kind of business scenario. Brenda was a pro. There was a reason why her small roster of clients were so successful.
I slowly turned towards Jonah in absolute horror. This couldn’t be happening.
“You’re…the CEO of Losel?” I asked breathlessly.
Jonah seemed to be enjoying my shock. He raised a brow at me. “Should I be offended you look so shocked?” he asked, his voice clearly teasing. “I assure you, Miss Daniels, I’m quite the competent businessman.”
Brenda laughed again but I felt the oxygen leaving my lungs in one great swoosh.
“But, but,” I stuttered like a moron. “But you run DXC. You don’t work in furniture.”
I know I sounded like an idiot but I was too shocked to do more than state short facts.
Brenda squeezed my hand, clearly worried I was coming off too rude. “Hon, Mr. Lowell here owns Losel, among many other companies. DXC Global is a vast empire.”
“I appreciate your vouching for my credentials, Ms. Carlisle,” Jonah said dryly. “I wouldn’t want Miss Daniels to think I was wasting her time.”
“Oh no!” Brenda cried out. “Definitely not! She’s been looking forward to speaking with Losel Goods for weeks now. Haven’t you?”
She looked at me expectantly.
I felt my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth. Yes, I had been excited to meet the representative of Losel Goods. After all, I had assumed a contract with them would mean I had reached the ultimate level of success.
But now, knowing that Jonah owned Losel Goods, I wanted to swallow every nice thing I had ever said about the company. Now it felt as if every compliment I paid to the company was tantamount to paying the compliment to Jonah Lowell.
And I definitely didn’t
feel like complimenting the man on anything, regardless of what it did to my future.
“I’ve been excited for this event,” I said evasively. “It’s a good opportunity to meet all the buyers in one place.”
I saw Jonah’s lips twitch in amusement as I placed emphasis on the word ‘all,’ meaning, I was not solely interested in just him.
I felt a rush of heat spill down my spine as he leveled his dark gaze on me. I remembered that look. God, I remembered it well. It was the look he gave me before he pulled my panties down and buried his mouth or his cock into me. It was the look that made my toes curl and my back arch.
Fuck.
I was furious at Jonah Lowell. I would gladly tie him to the tracks of the L train and watch as he was squished into a red glob as the train passed over him.
And yet…my body remembered his gaze, his touch, his cock. And dammit all, my body still responded the same way.
I watched as amusement and something darker flicked across Jonah’s eyes.
Without removing his gaze from me, he asked Brenda, “Are you attending the Devons Design Awards dinner?”
Brenda’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden question. Devons Design Awards was the yearly dinner ceremony where a few select furniture and architect designers were recognized and awarded a prize for their contribution to the design community.
It was a highly exclusive event with celebrities present to support their favorite designers and paparazzi to cover the red carpet. Only the absolute elite were invited to the dinner.
Of course someone like Jonah Lowell would be invited.
But Brenda and I were much too small time to even think about attending such an event.
“Well, no,” Brenda said slowly, clearly not wanting to say aloud that we hadn’t even been invited. “We have several meetings lined up for Clara this week and I wasn’t sure we’d have time to attend the dinner.”
It was a lame excuse. Designers would kill to be at the Devons dinner. But Brenda had her pride and she wasn’t about to let on that she or I were too unknown for the event.
Jonah pursed his lips then turned a charming smile onto Brenda. “I completely understand,” he said, his low voice deep and commanding. “With a designer as talented like Miss Daniels, I’m sure she is keeping you busy with all the interested buyers coming after her.” He gave me a sidelong look that shot straight down to a traitorous wetness between my legs. “But if you can try to make some time for her, I have a plus one for the dinner and would very much enjoy escorting Miss Daniels to the event.”