Page 29 of Hate On
John nodded and as she started toward the glitz and glamour that was Montrose Jewelers’ flagship store, John slid back in her car.
She’d hoped he’d be out front waiting for her so they could keep this quick, but he wasn’t.
She’d have to go in there and face him.
On enemy territory.
And her heart leaped at the thought of seeing him again.
How could he do this to her?
She’d known beautiful men before.
She’d dated plenty of them.
She had a few of them as lovers.
But none of them had ever made her feel like her heart was going to flip over, just at the thought of seeing him again.
Pasting a smile on her face, she kept on walking.
She’d just have to keep on looking, she decided. There had to be other men out there who could make her heart act like it did around Roman.
The two of them…together?
She laughed and if the sound was a little sad, nobody was around to hear it but herself.
11
Roman
“The bid is being courieredto Templeton as we speak,” Michael Montrose said.
Roman stood in the second-floor office as he talked to his father. The office overlooked the sales floor of the elegant flagship store of his family’s chain of jewelry stores. It was a beautiful store, sparkling jewels tucked behind sparkling glass, set against a backdrop of ivory. He’d practically grown up in this place. Well, when he hadn’t been in school.
He’d known more than most about carats and cut and clarity by the time he was in his teens, more than most men would care to know when they forked out the customary two months’ salary to buy the engagement ring of a lifetime for the loves of their lives.
“Are you certain it won’t raise red flags, making a bid before we have a chance to really start our time with the prototype?” he asked. He doubted Templeton would be surprised that the Montrose family was willing to go to any lengths to secure a prize bid, but he also knew Edgar was somewhat old-fashioned. He might be reticent to award the bid if he suspected anything out of the ordinary.
“I called Edgar ahead of time, talked for a bit. Tried to wheedle the mines in a separate deal, then capitulated, told him we’d be making our bid today—I merely told him that we were serious about wanting those mines, the prototype was just a bonus.” Michael chuckled, but there was nothing warm or inviting about the sound. “He, of course, bought the whole thing.”
“Very well.” Checking the time, he said, “I should go. She’ll be here soon to make the trade-off.”
“Don’t invest too much more time with it. We already know what it’s worth. Maybe the tech team can improve on it, but what we really want are the mines,” Michael said before ending the call.
Roman put the phone back in the cradle on the desk and resumed his study of the sales floor.
He wouldn’t admit to himself that he was looking for Julianna.
But every so often, his eyes strayed to the door.
He was on the verge of one of the biggest deals his family would ever make. Even though the prototype hadn’t been everything it had been hyped up to be, the mines themselves were beyond valuable and would increase the worth of the Montrose company exponentially.
And was he thinking about the deal?
No. He was wondering how Julianna’s day had gone.
Had they been as disappointed as he had been about the prototype or had they gone into it with a more reserved outlook? If he was honest, the Castles had more invested in science than the Montrose family did. Maybe they were more aware of what was happening in the tech areas of the gem industry. Hell, there was littlemaybe. He had no doubt Julianna and her facile brain leaped at any new insight.