Page 40 of Indecent Ventures

“Cause you’re the queen bee.”

“I’m the motherfucking queen bee. He needs to be okay with that.”

“So you just wanted to see how he’d manage talking with a twenty-two-year-old who has an unusually high-level position for her age.”

She gives me a guilty look. “If he big-timed you, I’m going to pass on him. If he can’t play well in the sandbox, it’s not worth the hassle to me. Tell me what you talked about. I want to know about his demeanor. I trust your opinion. That’s the main reason I sent him to you. I knew you wouldn’t suck his dick just because of who he is.”

“Pft. He should be so lucky for me to suck his dick.”

She smiles. “Tell me about the meeting.”

“I wouldn’t say that he big-timed me. Honestly, he was more interested in discussing the artist of the paintings in my office.”

“Your mom’s paintings?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell him it was my mother. He said it reminded him of an artist he once knew, though he seemed to carefully choose his words.”

“I nearly forgot that he’s a big patron of the arts. He supposedly has a very impressive collection. What did you say about it all?”

“I gave vague information. Mostly just where he could find her work. He asked me how I ascended to my role at such a young age. It wasn’t judgmental, just curious. He said that he likes the risks you and Carter take. He likes how hands-on you are. He asked me if it’s true or a facade as to how much you appear to care about the businesses you absorb.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That you’re fake as fuck, and he should run for the hills.”

She laughs. “What did you really say?”

“I legit said that, but he laughed. At least he has a good personality. He was charming, but not in a sleazy way. He wasn’t a snob if that’s what you’re worried about. He said he misses helping the little guy get into the arena with the big boys.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Anything else worth reporting?”

“He’s extremely attractive.”

She shrugs. “I know. That doesn’t matter though.”

“Maybe to you, but the rest of us enjoy the eye candy in this office. Keep hiring hot guys.”

She laughs. “I’ll do my best. Hotness aside, are you a yes or no on Beckett Windsor?”

“I’m a yes.”

CHAPTERNINE

JADE

I’m lying on my couch after work in a tank top and shorts with a glass of wine. I look around at my condo. I can’t believe I live in such a big, nice place. How did this become my life?

I have a huge, modern, brand-new condo. Melissa helped me decorate, so it’s beautiful and elegant.

Most of my friends are still in college with mounting student loan debt and are praying to find some entry-level job. Not me. I’m a freaking executive at one of the biggest companies in the world.

When I was little, we had very little money. When my dad came back into the picture, he insisted on giving my mom most of his income from being a photographer each month. He went on long assignments, which didn’t help our strained relationship, but he eventually began to establish himself. As he got more well-known, the amount he gave my mom went up.

My mother used some of it for essentials, and some to buy a house, but put the rest away for college for me. Thanks to my mom’s foresight, and my working for Reagan during college, I graduated debt free with a high-paying job. Now I have more money than I know what to do with.

I’m thinking about my conversation with Melissa. Maybe I really should start to travel a little bit. I never did that growing up. We were lucky to get a few days on someone’s couch at the Jersey shore each summer. That was the extent of my travel until I was in junior high, and my dad took my mom and me to Disney World. I think Mom was more excited about it than me. She practically forced me into those damn princess photos. She was in every single one smiling with glee. Other than that trip, I never traveled.

Once the Lawrence and Knight families came into my life, that completely changed. I did a lot more domestic travel, but not overseas. I only have a passport because Jackson and Darian have taken us all away to the Caribbean a few times over the years on his private jet.

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