Page 9 of Her Diamond Deal with the CEO

But disappointment was not the same as anger. His grandfather loved him but that didn’t mean he trusted him. To become the next CEO, he was going to have to earn back that trust. Prove he could change. Make his grandfather proud.

His mouth twisted. So last night he had partied on a yacht, broken up with the woman he’d been seeing, and then jumped into the sea and nearly drowned.

Perfect. Good job, Jack!

He tipped his face up unthinkingly and water spilled into his eyes and he jerked away, his heart suddenly racing as he remembered the moment when the sea closed over his head. Breathing out unsteadily, he pressed the palms of his hands against the tiles, steadying his heartbeat, steadying himself as all the possible consequences of his actions slammed into him like a rogue wave.

Jumping off a yacht into the sea was by far the stupidest thing he’d ever done. Given that he couldn’t swim, it was not just stupid but insanely dangerous.

He shivered. Except it hadn’t felt dangerous at the time, just necessary. Seeing that photo of his mother with his half-brother, Penn, had made the familiar numbness start. He had felt himself disappearing and he had needed something to pull him back, something to fill the gap inside his chest. And so he’d jumped into the sea.

And the stupid thing was he had actually forgotten that he couldn’t swim. Or maybe not forgotten. It was more that it seemed implausible that was still true. That he hadn’t simply learned by some kind of osmosis from all the people around him who could swim.

His stomach twisted painfully as he remembered the weight of the water, and the taste of fear in his mouth and his heartbeat filling his head—

Blanking his mind, he switched off the shower, dried himself and got dressed before making his way back to Oliver’s bedroom. If only he had some actual shoes, he thought, sliding his feet back into the flip-flops, but at least his clothes were dry now, and the bloodstain on his shirt looked less vividly red.

‘Good. You’re awake.’

The light, husky voice knocked his train of thought off course and he turned. Ondine was standing in the doorway.

He felt his pulse change lanes and accelerate.

She had changed clothes. Now she was wearing a simple cotton dress that managed to both cover and reveal the shape of her body and even though he had told himself earlier that she wasn’t his type, he had to make a conscious effort not to stare at her.

‘I took a shower. You don’t mind, do you?’

‘Of course not. I left some towels out for you. And I thought you might want something to drink.’ There was a glass of water in one hand and, judging by the steam spiralling upwards, a mug of something hot in the other.

‘I didn’t know what you like so I brought water and coffee. You should drink the water anyway,’ she added, handing out both.

He screwed up his face. ‘Didn’t I drink enough earlier?’

It was the first time either of them had referred to what happened and even though he had done so obliquely he felt the shock of it ripple through him.

‘Yes, but that was salt water, so you need to rehydrate.’ The careful neutrality of her voice matched the level expression on her face but there was a flicker of concern in her eyes. ‘Do you have a headache? Any dizziness?’

Glancing down at the glass of water, he felt his stomach lurch, the moment when the sea had started to pull him down suddenly suffocatingly vivid inside his head.

‘No, nothing. But I might start with the coffee first.’

He could no longer smell the salt on his skin but every time he breathed in, he could still taste the sea. Picking up the cup, he let the hot liquid scour his mouth and then he put the cup and the glass on the desk.

‘He’s studying medicine, isn’t he? Your brother, I mean. How far along is he?’

She stared at him, her blue gaze level and assessing.Unimpressed.‘He hasn’t started yet. He’s on a gap year, doing medical outreach work in Costa Rica.’ There was a brief silence, her obvious desire to keep her private life private vying with her curiosity. He felt a flicker of satisfaction as her curiosity won. ‘How did you know he was studying medicine?’

‘Elementary, my dear Mrs Walcott,’ he said softly, his pulse skipping a beat as her eyes narrowed a fraction. ‘The chemistry and biology textbooks, the cuddly chromosome—’ leaning forward, he picked up the purple plush toy ‘—and of course our undernourished friend.’ He gave the skeleton a gentle push. ‘Where’s he going?’

‘Stanford.’ A flush of colour seeped over her cheekbones. He could hear the pride in her voice and something pinched inside his chest. He couldn’t imagine anyone sounding that way when they talked about him. Not even his grandfather.

At least not right now.

‘Must be a smart kid.’ Picking up his coffee, he took another sip. Ouch, he thought, wincing as the hot liquid made contact with the graze on his lip.

Her eyes arrowed in on his face. ‘Do you want some antiseptic cream for that?’

He shook his head. ‘I just need to be more careful.’

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