*
Jason had doneit.
Naomi was in awe.She’d known in the back of her mind that he was capable of convincing his relatives of his abilities both inside the kitchen, and with the connections he’d been able to make over the years.
But seeing him?
She wanted to rip his clothes off.Then and there.But she’d wait until they were back at an apartment.
And yet her heart pounded as she watched the family deliver their decision, the official changing of the guard that made his brother the official heir in waiting, on the stationery for the Greenblatt’s Knishes and him…set to do what he wanted to.
The best of all worlds, at least at that point.
But once that decision was delivered, she watched as he turned in her direction and winked.
Which made her heart pound.
She watched, breathing with every single step he took toward her, as he cut through the assembled group of people trying to wish him well.
But she recognized the expression, the particular brand of intensity on his face.He only had eyes for her.
And that made her heart pound.“You did it,” she said as he arrived at her side, throwing his arms around her.“I’m so, so excited for you.”
“For us,” he said, breathing into her.
He leaned in and kissed her, his lips welcome and excited.
An unfamiliar voice interrupted, “You gonna keep him in line?”
She blinked as he broke the kiss, turning toward the sound of the voice.Which just happened to belong to Sy Greenblatt, the family patriarch.She could recognize him anywhere, the bald head with fluffy beard and moustache, the round glasses.
Jason grasped her hand as they broke apart.
“Sir,” Jason said, without preamble, taking control of the conversation.“This is Naomi Nachman, of NN Events.She’s an ace event planner, and my ace in the hole.”
“I see,” the Greenblatt patriarch said.
But she recognized the expression on the Greenblatt family patriarch’s face: a combination of disdain and disrespect.To him, she was an accessory, and as she described to Jason earlier, a fancy sex toy.
“And I repeat my question, Miss Nachman.You’re going to keep him in line?”
And there it was.
How could she answer?What could she say?
Yes is the answer they were looking for.Yes.He needed a keeper.An assistant, like ages of these Greenblatt men who had personal assistants who organized their lives.
That’s how they saw her.
No.He’s his own man.Which would be unacceptable, considering the expectation in that question.And the fact that the family patriarch was asking her, someone he saw as no better than Jason’s personal assistant.
How?
How could she answer the way she wanted and not screw up Jason’s future?
How could she answer as diplomatically as the situation required?
That was when she knew there was no right answer; no in-between answer.
