Page 46 of At Your Service
Next to her family, Nina’s business was everything to her. So, if he could make it that she had access to the best technology and equipment while continuing to build on the platform she’d created, she’d definitely think twice before turning down the opportunity. She was too good a businessperson to not at least give it sincere consideration. For Major, the decision was about making it easier for them to be together as a real couple. And because he didn’t know if she’d readily accept that, this business plan was his best option.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” he said to Ruben. “Bringing Nina into Brand Integrated takes care of the problem of our businesses overlapping each other. She can just oversee the accessory hub division, combining that with her app, and we’ll still be able to offer fashion houses the same benefits. In fact, bringing At Your Service under the Brand Integrated umbrella will benefit her, too, because she’ll get immediate recognition instead of having to build her name.”
“What are you doing?”
Major spun around at the sound of her voice. She was standing in the doorway, looking every bit as good as she had when she’d walked out of his penthouse an hour before him this morning.
“Hey,” he said to her and then, “Ruben, I’ll call you back. Send the papers over now.”
He disconnected the call, slipping the phone into his pocket just as Nina stepped all the way into the office.
“If the papers you’re referring to involve At Your Service coming under the Brand Integrated umbrella, you won’t need them because I’m not selling my company to you,” she said, her voice even, cool and very angry.
“Just hear me out,” Major started after he circled around her to close the door to his office.
But Nina was already shaking her head. “I know what I heard, Major. And I’m telling you now it’s not going to happen.”
“It can be a great thing,” he said.
She whirled around and he was right there just inches away from her.
“For who? And how long have you been thinking about this?” Her heart was thumping in her chest, her fingers clenching and releasing at her sides.
“Not long—but just let me explain. There’s so much more I want to say.” He ran a hand across the back of his neck and sighed heavily. “This isn’t how I wanted to start off. Let’s take a seat.”
“No,” she said, yanking her arm away when he reached for her hand. “I don’t want to sit.”
She’d rather be standing when he tried to stab her in her back. Just as her mother had done to her husband and children. The comparison came quick, slicing through her with white-hot pain.
“How could you even suggest something like this?” Because, dammit, she’d started trusting him. She’d started to feel things for him even when she knew she shouldn’t. But she wasn’t going to fall apart in front of him. She wasn’t going to let the ridiculous fantasy she’d begun to weave in her head make her look like a fool in front of him. Not the way her father had cried over her mother’s leaving.
Instead she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin before asking, “What gave you the impression that I’d ever want to come under the umbrella of your business to gain recognition?”
“Nina, that’s not what I said. You only heard part of the conversation. What I’m proposing is much bigger. It means so much more than just you gaining recognition for your little app.”
“My ‘little app’?” She backed away because on top of the pain freely flowing now, fury bubbled in her stomach and her entire body began to shake. “Is that how you see my company? Haven’t you seen the bump in sales RGF has gotten since we linked my ‘little app’ to your website?”
Sales in three of their key casual clothing lines had jumped forty-three percent since the partnership began. RJ had even sent her an email this morning requesting they get together to discuss how they could make the arrangement permanent. She’d spent the bulk of the afternoon preparing a report on drafting terms for a formal permanent agreement. On top of that, RJ had asked her to be prepared to share her thoughts about the trade show with him. She’d outlined her complete idea for the African-inspired accessory line for RGF and how they could link its launch to At Your Service.
But Major wanted to take her company and make it part of his. He wanted to take every ounce of trust and genuine rapport they’d built in these past weeks and treat it as if it were nothing, as if they were nothing.
“I didn’t mean to say it that way. I know your app is doing well. That’s part of the reason I thought of this. Could you just calm down for a second and let me explain everything?” He’d dropped his arms to his sides, giving up on trying to touch her.
That was a good thing because she wasn’t sure how well that was going to go if he tried again.
“How dare you?” she began, trying like hell to keep her anger under control. She needed to move or she was certain she would explode. She’d trusted him. Dammit, she’d promised herself to never trust anyone, not on this level. People broke your heart, always.
“Was this your plan all along? Was the whole trial period and fake engagement all a part of some diabolical takeover of the company I’ve worked so hard to build because it was similar to your own?” The words stung her throat, hurt and some other emotion swirling to form a sour mix deep in her chest.
“Nina,” he said, his tone stronger than he’d ever used on her before. So strong it stopped her in her tracks where she now stood close to the window. “I’m in love with you.”
Her hands began to shake. A sign of weakness. She was breaking, just like her mother’s departure had broken her father. Jacoby’s drinking and smoking had increased in the months after Lynn left. Twelve-year-old Nina recalled the extra packs of cigarettes she saw in his bedroom trash can and the bottles of vodka that appeared throughout the house.
“Don’t.” She whispered the word as if it were her last breath. “Don’t say that to me.”
“I need to say it.” He took a step toward her and she shook her head to warn him away. He stopped, sighed and then started again. “I don’t want you to go. Last night we were talking about the fake breakup and you had a plan for how it would go, but I was hastily thinking of a plan to make you stay.”
“You can’t make me do anything, Major.”
