After Evelyn left, he looked at the folder again. The Harrington Media logo was emblazoned on the front in blue-and-white letters. Seb had always had a curious streak, something that was both a blessing and a curse, and this time he was poised to give in to temptation. What kind of deal was Harrington offering—not that it mattered. His fingers touched the edge of the folder.
He recoiled and threw the folder in the trash. No matter what Jade tried to do, she wouldn’t convince him to sell. She might as well go back to Atlanta.To Miles.
He whirled in his seat and faced the typewriter. He was making an assumption about her and Miles when he shouldn’t be thinking about anything but his job.The Timesand his writing were his focus and solace, not Jade Smith.Definitely not her.His fingers hit the keys with gusto. After today’s meeting, he doubted he would ever see her again.
Chapter 6
Disappointed didn’t begin to describe Jade’s feelings when she left Sebastian’s office, and not only because she hadn’t sealed the deal. She walked out of the building into the hot, sultry air and went straight to her rental car. Now what was she supposed to do? He was an immovable object, and she had no idea how to push him forward. Ugh, her neck and back were sweating, whether from the heat, nervousness, stress from Logan, or Sebastian’s rejection, she didn’t know. Probably all of it. For sure she had to get rid of this jacket. She whipped it off, thankful she wore a short-sleeved blouse underneath, then opened the car door and tossed it on the passenger seat, along with her briefcase. There, that was better—
Brrrrring!
She sank against the car. Couldn’t she get just one break? She got inside, closed the door, and started the engine. Cool air flowed from the vents.Much better.She opened her briefcase without a problem and grabbed her phone, expecting Logan’s name to pop up on the screen. Instead, it was an unknown number with an Atlanta area code. She quickly answered before it went to voice-mail. “Hello?”
“Good morning, Jade!” Miles’s bright voice sounded in her ear. “Were you able to talk to Mr. Hudson yet?”
Oh no. Should she lie and tell him no? That would put him off for a bit. She didn’t like lying to her boss, though, and invariably lies were always exposed in the end. Better to rip off the Band-Aid now. “Uh, yes. I just finished speaking with him.”
“Wonderful. What did he say?”
She gulped. “He, um, isn’t interested in selling.”
Silence.
Jade squirmed in her seat, waiting for him to respond. When he didn’t, she wondered if he heard her. She was about to tell him again when he finally spoke, his tone no longer upbeat.
“Try again.”
“I don’t think I can convince him—”
“Do whatever it takes, Jade. I’m not going to let some country bumpkin get in the way of my deal.”
She flinched. Sebastian was smart, driven, and extremely capable. The newspaper business was going through tumultuous times, and he was committed to keeping his paper alive. She found that admirable. Besides, there were plenty of so-called bumpkins who were also smart, driven, and capable. It wasn’t the slur Miles thought it was.
“You’re an attractive woman, Jade.” His aggravated tenor switched to a near murmur. “Use that to your advantage.”
Blech. His oily compliment gave her the creeps. She wanted to tell him to go stuff his shirt, but ticking off her already ticked off boss was the last thing she should do.
His suggestion wouldn’t work anyway.
Sebastian had already accused her of trying to use their past to get to him, and she truthfully denied it. If she tried, he’d see rightthrough her. He made it clear that he wasn’t interested in her, not even enough to listen.
There was also another problem. She couldn’t deny there was still something inside her that was drawn to him after all these years. Attraction for sure, although any woman in her right mind would be attracted to him. How had he managed to get even sexier at forty? If he wasn’t taken, she was sure he had plenty of female interest.
Still, there was an undeniable flash, a spark inside her, especially when their eyes met. A little tickle appeared in her tummy just thinking about it. If she had to act on that, either by pretending, or worse, by unleashing her real feelings, she would be making a huge mistake.
There were so many reasons she and Sebastian would never work out, but the number one was crystal clear—he was over her. His tone, body language, and the overall sense she got from him was that he had moved on. Good, because she was over him, despite the tickle and the nerves and the weird spark thing. Stress, her brother, and the fact that she absolutely stunk at negotiations explained all that.
“You can do this,” Miles said, a sudden smile in his voice. The man could alternate moods with whiplash speed. “I believe in you. Give it another shot, okay?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. It wasn’t like she could go back to Atlanta anyway—she had made a commitment to see Logan tomorrow, although she half expected him not to show up. Maybe there was a sliver of hope that Sebastian would be open to talking to her again. She just had to figure out another angle that didn’t require flirting, or as Charlotte Rae would say,bedroom eyes. “Okay,” she agreed, without a shred of confidence.
“Great! I’ll be in touch.”
Jade threw her phone inside the open briefcase and leaned back on the headrest, trying to decide on her next move. She could go back to the inn and regroup. Or...
She glanced to her left. The Clementine Diner was a block down fromThe Timesoffice, and despite the large breakfast she had this morning, she was craving something to eat—preferably fried. She could have a snack while she figured out a new way to approach Sebastian, and then return to his office and meet with him this afternoon. This time the element of surprise was crucial, because if she tried to call and set up an appointment, he would absolutely refuse to see her. Zero doubts there.
With renewed focus, she closed the briefcase and took it with her as she exited the car and locked it. While she walked to the diner, she thought about the woman who barged into his office. Sebastian hadn’t bothered to introduce her, not that she expected him to. She was cute—petite, slim, with long brown hair and dark amber eyes. Quite striking. Was she his girlfriend? Or something more? She bounded into the office like she owned it, or owned Sebastian at least.
