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And for some reason that made Romi feel like crying. “It’s nothing, really.”
“No, I know it’s something.” For just a moment, her dad wasn’t a drunk bent on destroying his liver.
He was the man who had loved her mother so much, he’d married her against his own family’s wishes. He was the guy who raised Romi from the time she was three, refusing the easy road of allowing other family members to take on her care.
“It’s an old story.” And she’d fallen for it.
“Tell me.”
“I fell for a man.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
Romi ignored that, incapable of coming up with a response that wouldn’t hurt one of them. “He told me he didn’t do commitment.”
“And you found out he’s married?” her dad asked, looking as angry as emotions dulled by overimbibing would allow.
“No, but I did find out he’s willing to get married. For the right price.”
“The cad!”
She couldn’t help smiling at how her father’s word echoed her own thoughts just a few minutes before. “Exactly.”
“You’re better off without him.”
“Of course.” If only she could convince her heart as easily as her head.
* * *
Maxwell Black was bored. Attending these functions rarely provided anything but a few mind-numbing hours interspersed with brief moments of useful networking.
Oh, he believed in the cause. Tonight’s gala was dedicated to raising funds for and awareness of the plight of hunger among school-age children.
Considering the focus of the evening, he might have an opportunity to indulge in one of his favorite pastimes. Watching Romi Grayson.
Touching her was more satisfying, but she’d turned down his offer of a liaison in no uncertain terms.
In a rare show of restraint, he hadn’t continued the pursuit.
There was something different…almost special…about the old-money San Francisco heiress, a vulnerability he was unwilling to exploit.
A first for him—he’d stayed away from her as much out of self-preservation as anything else.
He felt protective toward her in ways he did not understand, ways that could be manipulated if she knew about them. So, she would never find out.
Even so, plans and intentions changed and he was coming to the conclusion that he and Romi might have a future after all. So long as Maxwell dictated the terms.
The soft scent of jasmine and vanilla he always associated with the heiress activist reached him before she did.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Maxwell Black, master tycoon.”
Squelching the urge to turn quickly, he slowly faced her.
Black, silky chin-length hair framed Romi’s pixie-like features, her bow-shaped lips set in an uncustomary flat line. Her makeup was dramatic tonight, bringing out the gentian blue of her eyes. Eyes that snapped with accusation he did not understand.
Or perhaps he did.
“Good evening, Romi. You look lovely tonight.”
The elegant peacock-blue evening gown accented her modest curves, highlighting Romi’s particular brand of delicate femininity. Fragility at odds with her gung-ho approach to life. Romi didn’t consider any cause too great, or any opponent too intimidating to take on.
Borderline petite at five foot five, with a personality that more than made up for her smaller stature, Maxwell had found Ramona Grayson intriguing from their first meeting.
“Thank you.” She frowned at him, but offered grudgingly, “You’re very handsome yourself tonight. Not a designer I recognize. A tuxedo from one of the tailors on Savile Row?”
He smiled, impressed by her powers of observation. Having his clothing made to fit could be considered a luxury by some, but for Maxwell it was more than that. Tailored designer brands impressed, but having a bespoke suit, patterned and constructed entirely to his specifications, made another kind of impression, one in line with Maxwell’s reputation for utter control in and out of the boardroom.
“My suit-maker is local, but he apprenticed with a Savile Row tailor.”
“Of course. I notice you don’t give his name.”
“Why? Are you looking for a new tailor for your father?” Not that Maxwell thought his would take on Grayson.
The tailor was both expensive and extremely discerning about his clientele. An alcoholic on the verge of taking his company down to the bottom of a whiskey bottle had no chance.
Romi’s barely there grimace was quickly masked. “No.”
“The waiting list for his services is a year out.” Maxwell found himself offering the truth as an excuse, an unaccustomed effort to spare her feelings.
“No doubt you subverted it somehow.”
Maxwell smiled. “Not a chance. The man’s a martinet about his schedule and his client standards.”
“Still, I’m surprised,” Romi said, her intent to bait him obvious.
Something was definitely bothering her. “Are you?”
“You’re a very opportunistic man.” The edge to her voice was sharper than a chef’s cleaver.
He couldn’t deny it, didn’t want to. His ability to identify and take advantage of opportunities was something that had helped Maxwell to build his business and his fortune to what they were today. A multimillionaire personally, his company, Black Information Technologies, or BIT, was valued at ten times his personal assets.
Not bad for a thirty-two-year-old bastard having no acknowledged ties to wealth, like Romi had been born with.
However, it was clear something about that character trait had upset Romi. Recently, if he wasn’t mistaken. Since there was no way she could know about the plans he’d been considering for her father’s company, it had to be something else.
Mentally going back through the events of the past week that others were aware of, Maxwell thought he might know. “You’ve spoken to Madison Archer.”
“I talk to Maddie every day, several times a day.” The increased annoyance in Romi’s voice left no doubt he was on the right track.
Though he still was not sure why Romi would be upset with Maxwell for being offered the marriage-based business contract by Jeremy Archer.
“I can hardly be held accountable for her father’s actions.” Though he wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of the auspicious conditions Archer had provided, even if not for the opportunities the president of AIH had intended.
Romi crossed her arms, leaning back in a classic pose of annoyance. “Only your willingness to participate in them.”
He took a moment to appreciate the way her stance pressed her small breasts together to create a shadow of tempting cleavage. Everything about her body turned him on. Thin, with modest curves, she was nevertheless one-hundred-percent enticing woman.
“I went to a meeting where Jeremy Archer offered a very lucrative contract and your so-called sister-by-choice held her own very well.” Though he wasn’t prepared to tell Romi how Madison had kept her father in line.
Maxwell had plans for that information. Because he was an opportunistic bastard. Literally and figuratively.
Unless he’d misread Madison Archer, she had not shared her actions with her best friend.
Which created leverage for Maxwell with Romi. She would do anything to prevent her SBC from being harmed in any way. Even by Madison’s own precipitous actions.
“You were willing to break your own rules for a price,” Romi sneered.
Ah. Now he understood. Maxwell was actually a little surprised that Madison had shared his offer with Romi. The Archer heiress had never seriously considered it and he hadn’t expected her to. That didn’t mean he would deny himself the opportunity to give Viktor Beck a few seconds of doubt.
They’d been friends and competitors since early childhood.
Still, Romi was upset Maxwell had made the counteroffer. That might bode well for his own plans where she was concerned.
“And that price wasn’t love.” He laced the last word with his own brand of disgust.
The overly emotional and incredibly naive heiress thought that sentiment the only motivation worthy of note. Even after the loss of that love had nearly destroyed her own father and what remained of their family.
“More like thirty pieces of silver.” Her blue gaze snapped with fire he wanted in his bed.
The small taste he’d had of her had only whetted an appetite Maxwell had come to accept would not be satisfied by anything but unfettered access to this woman alone.
“Your inference would imply I betrayed someone. I didn’t.” He and Romi had gone their separate ways nearly a year ago.
“Your own integrity maybe.”
“What is dishonest about a business deal where the terms are laid bare for everyone involved?”
“So, your ‘no commitment’ rule was only for me?” Romi’s voice betrayed pained disappointment.
He didn’t like hearing that from her. Even less than he’d liked the sound of “no thank you” spoken with a catch of desperation in her voice. “I didn’t offer Madison the kind of commitment you believe you need.”
“You offered to marry her.”
“I offered a business arrangement without conjugal rights or the promise of fidelity.”
“That’s horrible.” Romi was getting genuinely upset, her voice rising in agitation.
Soon, those around them would notice.
He took her by her elbow and began leading her toward the balcony doors. He was hoping the evening drop in temperature would mean it was deserted.
“Where are we going?” she asked, though she didn’t try to pull away.
“Someplace more private than here.”
Memory slashed across his brain…a similar question, an almost identical answer, but for a very different purpose.
He’d wanted to kiss her.
She’d been seething with an emotion very different from anger that time. She’d wanted the kiss, too.
Her response had nearly caused him to lose control of his own body for the first time since his initial foray into sex.
The balcony was as deserted as he’d hoped it would be, with only one other couple tucked away in the corner shadows at the opposite end. The low-level lighting and thirty feet separating the two couples insured a certain level of privacy so long as he and Romi did not raise their voices.
She shivered in the cool air and he moved them into the corner, where strategically placed potted greenery acted as both a privacy screen and wind barrier.
Anyone looking closely would see them, but only from certain angles. The other couple was not at that angle.
Even without the wind, the evening air was still chilly.
He removed his jacket and tucked it around Romi like a cape. “Better?” he asked.
Nodding, Romi bit her lip in a gesture of vulnerability that nearly derailed his intention to talk.
“You didn’t need to give me your coat.” She pulled it closer, a clearly unconscious action in direct opposition to the words she spoke. “We won’t be out here long. I’m not even sure why I came with you in the first place.”
“Because you are angry I considered Jeremy Archer’s business proposal and we need to talk about that.”
“I don’t know why.”
He merely waited in silence.
Romi huffed out a sigh. “Maddie deserves better than a business marriage.” She glared up at Maxwell with a mix of emotions he couldn’t quite read. “You do, too.”
“I do not find Madison particularly attractive. Foregoing conjugal rights would not have been a great sacrifice.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“I find beauty in a different package.” The red-headed Archer heiress was undeniably pleasing to the eye, but she did nothing for Maxwell personally.
He liked willowy figures, usually going for taller women because of his own six-foot-five-inch height. Though despite the foot difference in their height, Romi fit with him surprisingly well. He preferred dark hair and found her black tresses particularly appealing. Sharp elfin features were also unexpectedly attractive.
Before Romi, he’d never been drawn to blue eyes, but hers were so striking, so expressive, he found them intensely alluring. He liked knowing everything his sexual partners were feeling and thinking. Romi’s eyes revealed what her charming verbal honesty did not.
And unlike her SBC, who rarely blushed at all, Romi’s frequently pink cheeks—at least in his presence—that had nothing to do with her makeup were equally expressive.
“I just don’t understand how you were willing to marry her.” With a sound of frustration, Romi put her hand over her mouth, a sure sign she wished she hadn’t said that out loud.
