Free Heart Matters by tani shane Page B

“Take all the time you
want. Just remember you have only a couple of months to bail
yourself out.”
    Her startled eyes dilated. “You know about
the loans I have to repay?”
    “Naturally my dear.”
    She hated the way he said ‘my dear’ and
fumed silently. Condescending pig! “All right then, how long do I
have?”
    “My offer stands open. It’s all up to
you.”
    She rose to her feet smiling brightly.
“Fine. You’ll hear from me soon, possibly in the form of my wedding
invitation. Good day.” She didn’t fail to notice the fleeting look
of surprise that reflected in his eyes and smiled with satisfaction
as she left the building.
    So Mr. Conceit was vulnerable to jibes after
all. Well, he deserved it. If he had meant to intimidate her by his
arrogant suggestions then he was sadly unsuccessful. She was almost
cent percent sure the marriage issue was courtesy Jeff. She didn’t
really see Steven as anything but a hard-core businessman. He was
interested in her inheritance only for his own security. It had to
be Jeff who had allowed him to think she was marrying for
convenience and hence the sarcasm.
    An irritated frown marred Jessica’s
beautiful face. Damn, them! Why was she always running into men who
were just as patronizing and arrogant as her brother? Whatever
happened to the soft-spoken kindly middle-aged men of the
yesteryears? Why couldn’t Steven Hart have been someone like that
instead of the disturbingly virile man that he was?
    A guilty, hot flush of color swamped her
cheeks. She wasn’t sure where that thought had popped up from. She
certainly hadn’t meant to think of him in that way! She bit her
lower lip forcing herself to think about her immediate dilemma.
    She had now come to understand that while
‘The Residency’s’ board of directors would object strongly if she
were to mortgage her shares to pay off her debts, they wouldn’t
mind if she pledged it as a security to someone as influential as
Steven Hart.
    She could have used some time to think
matters over but she had no choice. Her creditors were almost
baying for her blood. She had several orders pending. Even if she
managed to revive ‘Jess-C’ on her own, Steven Hart was right,
chances were she could run into trouble again. There was hope in
the form of ‘Hart Inc.’ Maybe she should trust her instincts and
trust Steven Hart after all. But for a deal with him it was clear
she had to get married earlier than she had intended and gain
access to her inheritance.
    The engagement ring glittered charmingly on
her finger as she clutched at the steering wheel of her car. She
glanced at it thoroughly perturbed. The ring stood for the mutual
love and trust between Adam and her. It reflected the commitment
they had made to each other; it also reflected their hopes for
their lives as husband and wife. She would have liked to marry Adam
only for their love but instead she was about to use him for her
own selfish needs. Initially when Adam had proposed to her, she had
not intended to use her inheritance to save her company. It was
only later when all her avenues were closed that the idea had
cropped in her mind.
    The thought was ugly enough to make her
shudder and she hastily turned on the radio loud to divert her
disturbed mind.

    ***

    Jessica walked into her boutique, her mind
still preoccupied with uneasy thoughts. When she had started three
years ago, ‘Jess-C’ was simply a garment boutique, nothing more.
She had worked hard to create it into the exclusive brand name that
it now was.
    She had needed help of course. She was new
to L.A. and although she was fairly popular because of the
magnanimous nature of her pending inheritance, she was personally
not known in the city. That’s where Niki, her cousin had helped
her. Niki belonged to the crème de la crème of the L.A. elite
society. She was a must guest at most of the parties happening in
and around Beverly Hills where she lived and when she began
sporting Jessica’s exclusive