Page 10 of The Tycoon's Diamond Demand

‘Yes, I acquired enough shares to make me the principal shareholder. It cost me a bloody fortune, but I was in a position to force your father to dance to my tune.’

‘And that was something you wanted to happen, right?’

‘Absolutely,’ he replied, his voice rising. He cleared his throat, cursing his lack of control.

Keep it tidy, Nilsen. Cool and calm.

She narrowed her eyes, folded her arms and tapped her foot. ‘How did the feud start? Did something happen between you and Håkon after I left?’

And wasn’t that the understatement of the year?

Her father had wanted to put him in his place for having the temerity to think he could marry Maja in the first place, and he had done his best to destroy him and his business. He’d threatened Jens’s and his aunt’s livelihoods because Jens had had the cheek to sleep with his daughter, because Jens hadn’t known his blue-collared place. He wasn’t going to waste the energy explaining that to Maja because, surely, she already knew how their feud had started. She had been the cause of it.

‘Your father is dead, and you’re here,’ he stated, being deliberately cryptic.

‘If I could just explain about—’

‘I don’t need explanations, Maja! There’s no excuse for what you did, for the way you did it, so save your breath.’

Maja pushed both hands into her hair and held her head. ‘Jens—’

The heat under his temper increased and he felt a bubble of frustration pop, annoyance burn. That he wanted to fight with her, to yell and shout, was a surprise. That wasn’t the way he operated any more. She made him feel raw and off balance, tumultuous and out of control.

He didn’t like it. At all.

Anger, disappointment and hurt swirled, begging for his heart to let them in. If he opened that door, they’d walk in and take over. Not happening. He needed to focus his attention on revenge. It was easier to handle, clear and sharp.

He gulped at the cool night air, letting it wash over him. He needed to get this done. He’d tell her what he expected to happen, what would happen. She needed to be very clear about what he expected from her.

‘Some time soon, I will have to confirm I initiated a hostile takeover of Hagen’s and that my takeover bid was successful. I’m going to take flak in the press. I will face accusations of pushing him too hard, that our feud led to his heart attack. That it got out of control.’

‘Did it?’

He shrugged. Håkon had enjoyed their feud, far more than Jens did. If he was ruthless, then Håkon was amoral. There wasn’t a line he wouldn’t cross, and Jens had figured that if he was keeping the old man occupied, then some poor sucker out there was saved the ignominy of dealing with Maja’s father.

‘News of our engagement will negate any bad press.’ Not that he cared what people thought about him and his actions. ‘We’ll tell everyone that, through you, Håkon and I reconciled, and that he approved of our relationship.’

‘And you think people will believe that?’ she demanded, radiating scepticism. ‘I haven’t been seen in my father’s company for more than a decade, Jens.’

‘When asked where you were or why you were never seen together, he always said you were determined to live your life out of the limelight, and that you wanted to keep your relationship private. And people will believe what I tell them to.’

Maja snorted. ‘God, you’re arrogant!’ She wasn’t wrong. ‘And trust my father to find a smooth way to explain away my absence from his life.’

‘It was a surprisingly effective strategy. Nobody, not even me, suspected you were estranged.’ She’d covered her tracks well, and Jens knew Håkon’s fierce pride wouldn’t have let anyone suspect he and Maja had had irreconcilable differences.

‘But now you’re back and you’re going to stay here, and plan our huge, glamorous wedding.’

She looked at him blankly for a few seconds. When his words settled, she shook her head so hard a thick hank of hair fell from her bun. ‘Oh, I am so not doing any of that!’ Maja sat down on the edge of a chair and then immediately sprang to her feet, vexatious energy radiating from her. ‘This is ludicrous, Jens! Marry? You? I have three words...no, damn, and way.’

He’d planned for this reaction and knew how to counter her resistance. He knew her weak spot.

‘That’s your choice. But if you do not agree to marry me, move in here and plan the wedding, I will draft a press release and send it to every entertainment editor of every newspaper, print and online, out there. In it, I will detail our relationship, how you broke up with me, and how you left Norway and your father behind. That you were estranged for years.’

He watched as the colour left her face and wondered why he felt a little seasick. It wasn’t as if she were innocent. She was the spark that had ignited the war. She had left him. She hadjiltedhim. This was payback. He was entitled to it...

He pushed back his shoulders and injected steel into his spine. He needed to find some control. ‘I will tell everyone M J Slater is Maja Hagen, and insinuate you used your contacts as Håkon’s daughter to snag the exhibition at the gallery. I will also express regret at having purchased your images, that I believe I overpaid and that, on closer examination, your work is derivative and puerile.’

He was a respected collector and had a reputation for spotting new talent and new trends. His word was respected in art circles. A dismissive comment from him could ruin careers bigger and brighter than hers.

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