CHAPTER 17
877 Words
VINCENT
The moment I watched Alina step out of that elevator, I knew something was wrong. That look of mischief which was always in her eyes was gone.
Jonah bowed slightly at her before opening the back door for her and she carefully slipped in.
“I didn’t know you had a driver.” She pointed out as Jonah got into the driver’s seat.
“Sometimes, driving isn’t very convenient, so I need someone else on the wheel.”
She glanced at Jonah again then nodded absently. “And now isn’t very convenient?”
“I was in a meeting while on my way here,” I explained, “so yes, it wasn’t very convenient.”
Her head jerked to me with surprise. “It is almost eleven pm Vincent, and you were still in a meeting while coming here. Do you ever rest?”
“Do you?” I returned the question. “You also run a business Alina, do you ever catch a break?”
Gently flipping her hair to the side, she crossed her legs. “Touche.”
“Music?” Jonah asked, probably noticing just how tense she was.
“Thank you very much,” Alina responded with a smile.
Within seconds, music filled the car.
“What’s going on?” I demanded. If she is going to dinner with me, making me give up meetings, she had better give me her undivided attention, not half of it.
Alina slowly arched her brow. “What makes you think something is wrong?”
“Your eyes,”
It narrowed, simultaneously with her stretching lips. “What about my eyes?”
“It lacks the usual mischef.”
That made her laugh throatily. “Are you calling me mischievous Mr. Sterling?”
“Don’t change the topic Ms. Voss.”
Slowly, her smile disappeared and she sighed. “I was forced to make difficult business decisions before coming down to meet you.”
Business can be a pain in the ass sometimes, so it is totally relatable. “Would asking you to share be considered overstepping?”
Her eyes sparkled, the mischievous look I was familiar with returning. “Depending on how much you want me to share.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I reached in and silenced it, earning me a glance from Jonag through the rear-view mirror.
“How about we start with what you are willing to share Ms. Voss?”
She rolled her eyes. “Please stop calling me Ms. Voss, it makes me feel as if I am in a business meeting.”
“Only if you promise not to call me Mr. Sterling. I feel like my grandfather when you did.”
Her eyes widened before she threw her head backwards and let out an unguarded laugh.
“This sounds better.”
Still laughing, she shook her head. “What sounds better?”
You are actually laughing and not pretending to laugh. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on with your business?”
Slowly letting the smile off her face, she exhaled heavily. “One of our major investors pulled out, and the timing is the worst possible one.”
“So you need investors?”
She nodded. “More than I need air right now.”
I beg to differ.
“I can help.”
Jonah glanced at me in the rear-view mirror again, probably wondering what the f**k I was doing.
Interested in what I have to say, Alina uncrossed her leg and turned to me. “You want to be an investor for Alina Bags or you want to help us pull in investors?”
“I can do both.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That would be too much power in one person.”
Impressive. Some people would have jumped at the offer without thinking it over. “Pitch to me Alina, and I might be your biggest investor.”
She stared at me for a while, her lashes fluttering slowly before she shook her head. “I’ll pass on the offer.”
Caught off guard by her response, my forehead creased. “And why will you do that?”
“I don’t want you as my investor.”
My head tilted.
Jonah cleared his throat, no doubt fighting a chuckle at my brutal rejection. “You don’t want me as your investor?”
She nodded, reconfirming the rejection.
Clearing my throat, I fixed my cufflinks and looked away. “Do you have a good reason for that?”
“Hmm.” She hummed teasingly.
Is she playing tricks with me or what?
I moved my eyes back to her and lifted a brow. “Well?”
“I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
Dumbfounded, I blinked slowly at her. “What?”
Chuckling, she suddenly leaned forward and instinctively, I leaned back, not in the habit of having people in my face.
“Don’t play coy with me Vincent Sterling. You know I like you, and I have every intention of pursuing you, and I can’t have my man being my investor, hence the reason I am rejecting your proposal to be my investor.”
I have never been stunned by someone’s boldness in my life before.
- Writer
