The Billionaire's Revenge (The Blank Check #6) - Jeannette Winter Page 0,26
have thought pink or purple.”
“I like those as well, but you said favorite. When I was a little girl we had gone and lived with my grandparents for a while. My grandmother was ill and Mom had to help take care of her. I remember playing outside in this field of yellow flowers. I had picked one and brought it home to my grandmother. She would tell me all kinds of stories and somewhere in the story she always made sure to put a buttercup flower in it.” Those were happy times for her. She didn’t even understand back then that her grandmother was sick. All she saw was big grassy fields and more places to explore than she ever imagined. “I used to ask all the time when we could go back. My mother never said it, but eventually I figured it out. My grandmother wasn’t there anymore.” Gianna hadn’t thought about that in a long time. “Sorry, that was more information than you asked for.”
“Actually, I found it interesting. And it beats the heck out of my answer.”
“I bet you look good in purple.”
“You mean like that big stuffed dinosaur that kids watch?”
She laughed. “I’m not talking about a costume. I mean instead of the blue dress shirt, try a purple one. With your dark hair and eyes, I bet you’d look great.”
“I guess I should be grateful you didn’t suggest pink,” he said.
“Oh you so easily could pull that off too.”
She bit her lip as Jordan sighed. “Maybe we should talk about music instead.”
“Well you’ll have me on that one. I really don’t listen to music. Well not unless I’m out with my friend Mary-Lou. Do you remember her? She was in the wed…” Gianna caught herself. She almost made a reference to the wedding. “She is a bartender and they usually have a band at night. They used to have karaoke but they had to stop. Customers were complaining that it was costing them too much in alcohol to drown out the horrible sound.”
“You can’t be that bad,” Jordan said.
She said, “Not me. A guy Dave used to come in all the time. He thought he was fantastic. People tried telling him he…well he sucked. He said they were just jealous. Trust me, no one was envious of that.”
“This is all valuable information,” he said.
“How?”
“I know not to ask you out to a karaoke bar next time,” Jordan said.
Next time? She was beginning to think this actually was a date. That was going to make things a lot more complicated. She needed to set him straight immediately.
“Jordan, I am enjoying myself but we can’t keep doing this,” she said.
“Because you don’t like to enjoy yourself?” he asked.
“Of course I do. It’s just that…well…you spoke about Today & Tomorrow being a candidate to work with Lawson Steel. It’d be unethical for us to…” Don’t use the word date. She chose, “socialize too frequently.”
Jordan burst out laughing. “Socialize? Is that what this is called now?”
“Don’t laugh at me. I’m trying to be serious,” she said firmly.
“I know and it’s adorable. But Gianna, we are two grown adults who I believe can ‘socialize’ and do business. Which by the way was one of the forbidden topics tonight,” he reminded her.
“I know. I can’t believe I’m the one who broke the rule.”
“How about no rules,” he suggested.
“That might be easy for you, but for me, it keeps me on track so I don’t make any foolish mistakes again.” I live by them since Marvin.
“I see I have my work cut out for me,” he said.
“In what way?” she asked.
“I’m going to have to work extra hard to ensure you have fun without breaking any of your rules. Should I have you list them out to me?” he asked.
“God, that makes me sound…boring. And I’m not. I just have a lot to lose and I can’t risk it. Don’t you have rules at Lawson Steel?”
“We do. But unless it’s against the law, I take them as a suggestion only.”
“Then I suggest we keep this…socializing, platonic.”
Jordan smiled down at her. “I can’t promise to abide by your suggestion,” he said. “Because I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”
As he raised his hand to her chin, a chill ran through her with anticipation. She knew he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to even though it was breaking the rules. As his lips connected with hers, she closed her eyes and soaked in all the tenderness there was.