And sawhim. The last man she wanted to see.
Jax Maroney. Black suit. Black heart. Black mood too, judging by the glower and permanently etched frown. Detached from the mingling crowd, he propped behind a display, watching, his frown deepening as that penetrating glare swept the room.
Interesting. This was the second function in a few days where he'd deliberately separated from the crowd. He didn't appear awkward. Then again, he didn't exactly fit into this esoteric crowd, six three of brooding, beautiful male.
She edged behind a pillar and watched him. He didn't move, didn't smile, didn't accept a drink or finger food. When the Meyers, an elderly rich couple who'd been friends of her mum, approached, he managed a sardonic smile, and held out his hand. Only to have the couple ignore it, mutter a few words that wiped the smile off his face, and walk away as fast as their arthritic knees could carry them.
The guy wanted to ruin her family's business and she should hate him, but when he resumed his air of detachment and blanked his expression as if nothing had happened, a small part of her felt sorry for him.
From memory, the Meyers' son had lost around eight hundred thousand dollars thanks to Denver Maroney, so it didn't surprise her that they snubbed his son.
This crowd always protected their own and Jax's father had done the unthinkable: used longstanding friendships to swindle, deceive, and destroy.
Why would Jax Maroney put himself through this? The guy might appear unflappable and aloof, as if he didn't give a flying fig what anyone thought of him, but being deliberately ostracised because of the sins of his father had to make an impact on him. Unless the guy was made from stone.
Considering his disdain as he glanced at his watch and scanned the crowd as if looking for someone, it was more than likely.
Her heart kicked and she gave it a little rub. As if he'd be looking for her. Considering how they parted the other night, the next time they communicated she expected to see an offer in writing from his lawyer.
Guys like him didn't give up easily. Powerful, commanding, never taking no for an answer.
If Maroney Mine had the Seaborn mine in its sight, she had no recourse.
She'd briefly considered it as an option to saveSeabornbefore waking up and smelling the coal dust. Jax Maroney had made it clear the other night: he was interested in their mine, not the oldest jewellery store in Melbourne.
He didn't care thatSeabornhad supplied tiaras to the Miss Australia pageant for the last two decades. He didn't care that they had personally written thank you notes from TV stars for their exquisite pieces. He didn't care that Aussie movie icons had worn their signature sets on the red carpet in Hollywood.
Jax Maroney cared about the bottom dollar—his—and to hell with everyone else.
She didn't know whether the stress of the last few days had caught up with her or she just wanted to vent and he happened to be handy, but she downed her second Chardonnay and marched towards him.
He glanced up, his expression showing a flicker of pleasure before he quickly masked it with the deliberate aloofness he probably practised in the mirror every morning.
"Stalking your next victim?"
His eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"
She gestured at the crowd. "Most of Melbourne's jewellers are here. Scoping out someone else to muscle in on and drive out of business?"
The corners of his mouth curved into an infuriating smirk. "I'm guessing you're not here to agree to my proposal."
"You guessed right."
Proposal… probably some fifty-page document designed to bamboozle.
She hated feeling this helpless. "Are you ochlophobic?"
He shook his head. "Why?"
"You're always hanging around the outskirts, avoiding crowds."
"More like people avoiding me," he muttered, bitterness tightening his mouth as his withering stare swept the crowd.
Maybe her earlier assumption hadn't been too far off the mark? While Mr Moneybags wore his aloofness like the finest designer suit, being shunned because of his name obviously rankled.
"You look like you don't want to be here. Maybe that scares people off?”
He shrugged. "I don't care what people think. I'm here on business."
