Free Heart Matters by tani shane Page A

tentatively.
    His brows rose in instant surprise. “Shari
Stanford?”
    Jessica immediately realized her mistake.
The evening she had first met him he was with Niki and Shari was
Niki’s half-sister! Shari Stanford was also the owner of ‘La Belle
Shari’ and Steven obviously knew Shari personally. Rats! He would
probably throw her out right now.
    But he went on calmly. “How did you arrive
at such a conclusion?” He leaned forward with an interested look on
his face.
    Jessica swore at herself under her breath
but there was no turning back now. She had to be fair to herself
and not think that she was offending someone. “‘La Belle Shari’ has
been a competitor since the day I founded my company as a serious
contender in the fashion business. At first I was a small timer so
they didn’t bother with me but as I became popular, they resorted
to cheap tricks to slander me.”
    “Such as?”
    “Well, once they had my designs for a
particular fashion show stolen and they presented them as theirs.
Since at the time they were a bigger name, I was literally booed
off stage when my designs were presented. You see they had made
very minor alterations in my designs and presented them before
mine. So when my turn came, my designs looked like cheap imitations
of theirs.” She glanced at him for a reaction and found the same
intense frown as before. “Look, the point is that I have some
genuine basis for my suspicions but they don’t lead anywhere.”
    “Which is to say your company still has a
reason to feel threatened,” he summed up, rubbing the cleft on his
chin absently. “I think, Jessica, if we be quite blunt about it,
you’re asking me to take a bigger risk than I intend to. My name
alone doesn’t guarantee a safe bet.”
    “So what do you want me to do about it?” she
asked, her heart slowly beginning to sink.
    “I need you to place some collateral on the
table for me so that in case of a loss I don’t stand to lose
everything.”
    She stared at him bewildered. “You mean like
an asset that will be transferred to you?”
    His mouth quirked faintly, betraying a trace
of amusement. “Yes, an asset, simply put a pledge.”
    “But..I..don’t have anything to offer,” she
breathed, her temper slowly rising, “If I had some asset I
wouldn’t be here, would I?”
    For a moment, he declined to speak, simply
watching her steadily as if to assess if she was speaking the
truth. Then he spoke curtly. “What about ‘The Cantrell
Residency’?”
    The question took her by surprise. “How do
you know about that?”
    He gave her a bored look. “Come now,
Jessica. Do you take me for a fool? I make it my business to know
everything about anyone who gains my interest.” His blue eyes
turned innocent. “And I must say; you have gained my interest
rather strongly.”
    Annoyance rose within her but she refused to
let him unnerve her. “Well, then you must also know that I can have
rights over them only once I get married…”
    “And I hear you’re getting married
soon.”
    “Yes but I wasn’t planning right...”
    “So what’s stopping you? You can draw papers
and pledge your ‘Residency’ shares to me so that once you’re
married the collateral is already in place.”
    She stared at him in disbelief. “But why
would I come to you if I have my inheritance? I can easily revive
my company by myself when I get it.”
    He smiled arrogantly. “Don’t forget the bad
wolves, Jessica. You need a larger one to keep them at bay. Besides
you can’t possibly believe Jeff will allow you to casually dawdle
away your inheritance do you?”
    Indignant dark gray eyes held his narrowed
ones in silent battle. Steven Hart was proving to be a tougher
challenge than she had bargained for. But she wasn’t about to be
intimidated by him. “It’s quite clear I can’t give you what you’re
asking for right away. But I am willing to consider it. Can you
give me some time to think about it?”
    “Sure,” he drawled,