Page 68 of Titus
“Absolutely, but Christian did say it would take a couple of years,” the first man said.
“What if I could arrange a meeting with the CEO of a company that could get you there in less than a year?” I smiled, knowing the Stone family would explode the wealth of these people virtually overnight, and Dorian and Everett loved devouring small upstarts, especially when the children who took over the company had no fucking idea what they were doing.
“That depends,” the man said, eyes darting back to Christian, then to me. “Who is this CEO?”
“Being in the yachting industry, I’m sure you’re all aware of Aurelian Stone & Air?”
Their eyes widened, but I concealed my smile.
“Everett Stone?” one asked.
“Indeed,” I answered. “And his son, Dorian, oversees their European division—”
“Aurelian Iberia,” another answered.
“Exactly, you all seem to know the power in your industry,” I said. “Perhaps a meeting with Mr. Everett Stone might be worth considering before signing papers with a company that has no experience in the yachting industry?”
“Sorry, Christian,” one of the guys looked at him. “But we would be fools not to consider this.”
I smacked Christian too hard on the back. “Well, I’ll leave you all to your drinks and have a meeting arranged with Mr. Stone at my headquarters for Monday at two in the afternoon.”
“Holy shit,” one of them said as I turned to leave.
“You’re a fucking piece of shit,” Jameston said.
“I’m a man of my word,” I corrected him. “I promised I would give you a reason to hate me, and it seems I succeeded.”
“Well, I’m a man of my word, and I trust you won’t like what I have to say about your little project, Catalina Veléz.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I can assure you that woman is not my project.”
“Word travels quickly,” Jameston said smoothly. “Especially when you’re making headlines these days and desperate for a planner.”
I looked at him quietly. Dangerously.
“What is being said about her and me?”
His smile widened. “Careful, Hawk. Men who chase women like her usually end up disappointed.”
Wrong answer. I stepped closer slowly. “You seem confused about something.”
Jameston held my gaze.
I briefly lowered mine to the glass in his hand before looking back at him.
“You’re drinking and planning acquisitions in my hotel lounge.” I stepped closer. “And discussing a woman whose name should never leave your mouth again while you’re in my presence.”
“Not to worry about that. She’s my tenant and therefore already quite untouchable to you there.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “As I said, this will be the last discussion about that woman.”
“Rejection sucks, doesn’t it?” he said as I walked away from him.
For the first time, I was actually grateful Cat had rejected my ass. Jameston thought she’d shot me down, and that was exactly what I needed him to believe. It kept both her and her business out of his crosshairs.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Then rerun the projections because I’m not approving another,” I said, stepping out of my building into the warm, fresh air and loosening my tie. The late-afternoon sunlight bounced off the glass buildings lining the Newport coast.
