It Must Be Love

by Nicki Night

  With her notepad, business cards and the bit of information she’d just discovered, Jewel headed to the meeting. She walked in confident, smiling and ready to impress her dad. Dorothy and Bobby Dale were already inside the room. The gentlemen they were meeting stood. When Jewel’s eyes met Sterling’s face the smile fell from her lips and her breath hitched. She recovered quickly enough, hoping no one noticed. But Sterling did, she could tell from the knowing grin and gleam in his piercing eyes.

  Chapter 8

  Sterling couldn’t believe his luck. Not only did he get to see Jewel’s beautiful face again, but now he had her contact information. The downside was the fact that he outright refused to fraternize with clients.

  The last thing he wanted to do was create an awkward environment with a major customer. He knew that if they impressed Bobby Dale Chandler the way they had with all their other clients, referrals could potentially come pouring in. This family was extremely well connected.

  By the time he and Stephan left the meeting his excitement had completely waned. There was no way he could pursue Jewel now. And if he did, he had to tread extremely carefully.

  “You’re quiet. What are you thinking about?” Stephan broke into Sterling’s thoughts on the drive back to the office.

  “Jewel.” Sterling focused on the passing scenery.

  “What about Jewel?”

  “At the reunion, I told her that I’d like to see her again.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  Sterling looked at Stephan incredulously. “She’s a client now. That would be unprofessional.”

  “What’s wrong with getting to know a client? No one said you had to sleep with her.”

  Sterling knit his brow and turned back around to look out the window. “It’s not good for business.”

  “This job will be done in sixty days and you’ll be free to date her after that.”

  “That could still be a problem—especially if we’re providing them with ongoing technical support services. We built this company on referrals and I’d hate to work with Bobby Chandler and not be able to use him as a reference. His recommendations could guarantee us more business.”

  “I see what you’re saying, but it seems like you’re really interested in Jewel.”

  “What makes you say that?” Sterling asked his brother.

  “You’ve dated a few times since your divorce, but I can’t remember most of their names. Now you’re contemplating waiting sixty days to make a move on one particular woman. She must be special.”

  “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about her. I had a crush on her in high school, remember?”

  “Maybe it’s one of those things where you want what you couldn’t have. It’s not like you’ve ever had that problem. You’ve always had options whether you took them or not. I thought you were crazy when you ended things with Natalie.” Stephan whistled. “That was one good-looking woman.”

  Sterling smiled at the memory. “She was cool, but wasn’t really kid friendly.”

  “Oh yeah. I forgot about that.” Silence took over for a moment as they listened to the purr of Stephan’s luxury sedan as they drove. “How about this,” Stephan said, swallowing the quiet. “Use this as an opportunity to find out more about her. By the time the contract period is over you’ll know whether it makes sense to pursue her or steer clear.”

  “Wow. Can you believe that?”

  “What?” Stephan glanced at Sterling and set his eyes back on the road before them. “Believe what?”

  “You actually made some sense. That wasn’t a bad idea,” Sterling teased.

  Stephan gave his brother a sideways glare. “I’m smart. I can run the family.” He mimicked the character from one of their favorite mob movies and both of them barked out hard laughs as Stephan pulled into his parking spot in front of their office.

  “Oh yeah? Well let’s see how smart you are when it comes to sealing the deal. It’s your turn to write the proposal. And this is a big one so give it your all.”

  “No worries, brother. I’ve got this!” Stephan pushed the driver’s door open and exited. He strutted into the office ahead of Sterling who laughed all the way to his desk.

  Despite Sterling’s challenge to Stephan to do the proposal on his own, he met him in the conference room and the two spent most of the afternoon developing the proposal. This was a major project. Chandler Food Corp was in need of new hardware, software to manage their inventory systems and ongoing technical support. It would take a few days to gather all the estimates and information they needed to complete this proposal.

  As they worked, Sterling’s mind drifted back to the shocked expression on Jewel’s face when she walked into the conference room that morning. He would have to keep things professional and knew it would take considerable effort.

  “Who should we assign this project to? What do you think about Alex? He’s one of our best account service managers and he has the right technical experience and personality.” Stephan rubbed his chin.

  Sterling thought about Alex, too. He would have been a great choice, but he also thought about handling this account himself. That would give him a chance to get to know Jewel. He didn’t need Alex in his hair while he tried to check her out. “Alex would be good. Let’s give it some more thought.”

  “Cool. Looks like this first draft is almost complete,” Stephan said referring to the proposal. “I’ll pick back up on this tomorrow. We should also have answers back on some of those estimates.”

  “That sounds good. I still have a ton of emails to address and a few more tasks before the day is over.”

  “Perfect.”

  Sterling stretched his neck left and then right before he closed his laptop and rose to his feet. The brothers left the conference room together and headed to their respective offices.

  Sterling found that at least another thirty emails had come in while they worked on the proposal. Opening the most recent, he read it twice before he realized he hadn’t absorbed a single word. He sat back and sighed. Jewel had stolen his focus. While the email before him offered no clarity, he clearly recalled the navy pencil dress that Jewel wore that morning. She looked professional, yet sexy. He remembered her slender fingers as she handed him a business card earlier. Retrieving it from his wallet, Sterling looked at the information and then turned the card around between his index finger and thumb and wondered what it would be like to date her.

  Sterling had to be strategic. He decided right then that he would personally oversee this project. He’d also take this opportunity to find out more about Jewel. When the time was right, he’d take things further. In the meantime, he could find out if it would all be worth it. He’d known Jewel as a teen. She was a woman now. He could confirm if this thing he had for Jewel was the result of a lingering childhood crush or something real. He had to know if he had sensed something emotional or if this was a matter of strong physical attraction.

  Sterling put in a few more hours and headed home. Inside the car, he instructed Siri to call Kylee.

  “Daddyyyy!”

  “Hey Snuggle Bug!”

  Before he could utter another word, Kylee launched into a comprehensive recap of her entire day. Her sweet, cheerful voice accompanied him the whole way home. Besides interjecting with an occasional “really” or “wow” he barely had a chance to utter a word back.

  “Mommy wants to speak to you.”

  “Okay, honey. Put her on.” Sterling propped the phone between his ear and shoulder and unlocked his front door.

  Seconds later, Raven was on the phone.

  “Hi, Sterling.”

  “Hey. What’s up?” He flicked on the kitchen light, opened the refrigerator and looked inside. The shelves were scant. He grabbed a beer, popped it open and walked to the den.

  “I got accepted into one of the PhD programs.�
��

  “Wow! Congratulations. I’m happy for you.” Sterling flopped on his couch and pointed the remote at the television illuminating the room. He muted the volume.

  “I’m happy, too. I’m thinking about taking summer classes to finish up so I can start in September instead of waiting until January.”

  “Great. I’m looking forward to having Kylee closer to home. The whole family will be excited.”

  “Yeah.” Raven paused. “Um...that’s all. Kylee’s excited about coming this summer. I uh... I told her that your mother wanted to take her on a trip but I didn’t say where.”

  “Good. Let’s keep it a surprise. Everything okay?” Sterling read into her pauses.

  “Sure. We’re fine.”

  “Kylee doing okay?”

  “Pfft! She’s great. Can’t you tell? Her recital is coming up. Will you be able to make it?”

  “I plan to. Can you email me all the details so I can put it on my calendar and book my flight?”

  “Okay.” A few beats had passed, “Okay,” she said again. “Here’s Kylee.”

  Sterling knew Raven and he knew there was something she wanted to say to him but held back. He wondered what it was but didn’t push her. When she was ready, she’d say more. Kylee was back on the phone.

  “I have to eat now, Daddy. Can I call you back before bed so you can tell me another Princess Snuggle Bug story?”

  Sterling’s smile generated from his core. He loved that she was so excited about the silly stories he made up just for her. “Sure, sweetheart. Make sure you eat all your food.”

  “I will, Daddy. Love you!”

  “Love you, too!”

  “Muah!” Her kiss was a loud smack into the receiver.

  Sterling ended the call and rested his head against the back of the sofa. Some days more than others, it broke his heart to know that his daughter resided hundreds of miles away. He’d never get used to hearing her voice without the pleasure of seeing her face unless he boarded a plane. He couldn’t blame Raven for leaving. The opportunity to earn her master’s degree for free while being able to still teach was perfect and better than any offer she received in New York. He was looking forward to her and Kylee returning to New York once her studies were done. September sounded much better than January. Maybe Kylee wouldn’t even have to go back to Chicago when she came for the summer. Sterling would even help Raven with her move.

  A low rumble rolled in his belly. Sterling got up and made a sandwich. He opened his freezer to fill his glass with ice to enjoy a cold soda and noticed his Mary Kate’s apple pie—one of his favorite’s from her family’s company. Jewel came crashing back to his mind. He sniffed out a chuckle. That woman. What was it about her? One way or another, he was going to find out.

  Chapter 9

  “Let’s toast to this promotion!” Dominique raised her glass. Harper joined her.

  “It’s not official yet.” Jewel held up her finger. “I’ve got to prove myself first.”

  “That won’t be a problem. Let’s toast.” Harper held her glass higher. “To the new VP of operations for Chandler Food Corp. Cheers!”

  “Here’s to moving up the corporate ladder,” Dominique added.

  “Wait!” Jewel held up her hand. “There’s more.”

  “Keep the good news rolling in.” Dominique put her glass down and gave her full attention to Jewel.

  “So...” Jewel took a breath. “My father has given me a major project to head up and if I do well, I get the promotion.”

  “Whatever it is, you’ll ace it, Jewel. You’re such a hard worker,” Harper said.

  “You’re such a sweetie, Harper.” Jewel grinned wide. Dominique and Harper exchanged questioning glances and looked back at Jewel. “He’s hired a tech company to overhaul our systems and the owner of the company just happens to be Sterling Bishop.”

  Dominique’s mouth fell open. Harper’s hand flew to her chest. Silence invaded their space for several beats.

  “You’re kidding.” Dominique’s deadpan voice disturbed the quiet. She looked toward the ceiling. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  “What are you going to do?” Harper asked. Concern deepened the lines between her brows.

  “There’s nothing to do besides impress my dad.”

  “With that gorgeous piece of art around? Whew.” Dominique put the back of her hand across her forehead. Harper shook her head at Dominique’s theatrics.

  “Business doesn’t mix well with pleasure, you know,” Jewel said matter-of-factly, readjusting the cloth napkin in her lap. “Especially when my dad will be breathing down my back. It’s not such a big deal anyway. We’re not compatible, remember?”

  Harper shrugged. Dominique twisted her lips and narrowed her eyes.

  “You’re still on that?” she challenged Jewel.

  “Of course.”

  Dominique leaned forward. “Didn’t you say he owned the company that’s revamping your systems?”

  “Yes.” Jewel wondered where Dominique was going with her questioning.

  “Is the company successful?” Dominique continued her interrogation with one raised eyebrow.

  “Yeah.” Jewel pursed her lips. Harper looked confused as well.

  “And you still feel that he’s not compatible?”

  “Dom. He has a kid and an ex-wife.” Jewel reared her head back as if the idea of her and Sterling getting together was absurd.

  “So what. He’s successful. There are plenty of great men out there with children and exes. What’s the big deal?” Dominique dismissed Jewel’s objections with a wave of her hand and finally sipped her wine. “Are you going to deny the fact that he’s gorgeous?”

  “I’ll admit he’s handsome.”

  Harper and Dominique looked at one another and chuckled.

  “He’s more than handsome,” Harper admitted.

  “Maybe.” Jewel shrugged. “Regardless. I can’t date him. I’m not interested anyway.” Jewel wasn’t convinced by her own words. A quick visual of him on the night of the reunion flashed before her. She remembered how her pulse responded to his gaze.

  “Not even once?” Dominique gave Jewel a narrowed sideways glance.

  “What for? It can never materialize into anything more.”

  “That’s never stopped you before and some of those men met your standards.” Dominique took a gulp of wine and lowered her chin to her chest. “About you and those standards...” She held a limp finger in Jewel’s direction.

  “I’m not giving up my standards.” Jewel closed her eyes as she shook her head. “No way.”

  “She’s always been pretty adamant about that, Dom,” Harper acknowledged.

  “It just seems superficial to me and I know you’re not like that, Jewel.” Dominique sighed.

  “You’re right. I’m not. If I happen to slip into a long-term relationship, I want to make sure it’s with the right person so common ground is a must.”

  “She’s got a point,” Harper noted.

  “And where has it gotten her?” Dominique shifted in her seat. “Just hear me out. It’s obvious that you agree that he’s good-looking, right?”

  Jewel nodded.

  “And successful...”

  “I guess.”

  “You went to the same high school so that’s one common experience, correct?”

  “Yeah, but he—”

  “No, no, no!” Dominique held up her hand. “Let me finish.”

  Jewel huffed. “Go ahead.”

  “You’ve dated a few other men who graduated from Ivy League schools and didn’t have kids or ex-wives. Can you say that you were compatible with all of them?” Dominique raised her brow.

  “That’s different.”

  “Not really. Compatibility is about more than pedigree. Dayton had the same upbringing as yo
u but he was completely commitment phobic and acted as if he was allergic to kids and you said that was a turnoff, remember?”

  “Well...”

  “Then there was William! Good-looking, Ivy League education, wealthy parents and lazy as a snail. What that tells me is that you prefer someone who has some ambition and is at least interested in having children one day. Am I right?”

  “Well, yes, but—”

  “Then prove to us that you’re not being superficial.”

  Until then, Harper’s attention volleyed between Dominique and Jewel. Now she nodded in agreement with Dominique and tilted her head as she looked at Jewel, waiting for a response.

  “It’s not about that.”

  “Prove it!” Dominique sat back and folded her arms as if she’d just checkmated Jewel’s king in a game of chess.

  “I don’t have to prove anything, but just to show you, Miss Interrogator, I will. I’m not superficial. I’m selective.”

  “Then go out with him, just once.” Dominique challenged.

  “Maybe after the project is complete and I’m sure after that I’ll be able to report to you all the ways that we’re incompatible. And then dinner will be on you! Deal?” Jewel pursed her lips and nodded.

  “Deal!” Dominique clinked glasses with Jewel, sealing the deal.

  “Too bad you have to wait sixty days,” Harper said and the girls laughed. “Now let’s toast.” Harper raised her glass in the air. Dominique and Jewel joined her. They sipped, looked at each other and laughed all over again.

  The girls had a history of fun challenges and this would be no different. Jewel wasn’t worried. Dating Sterling for just one night would be easy. Besides the obvious, he was just like all the other attractive men she dated in the past. She would enjoy gloating with the girls after she proved Dominique wrong. There was no way that they would be compatible enough to go beyond a single date.