"What club?"
"The old boys' club. They're like this." She intertwined his fingers. “They rarely let anyone in."
"Let alone Denver Maroney's son."
She shrugged. "Businessmen in this circle know you're nothing like your father. They would've had you vetted extensively before coming anywhere near you, let alone approve you for admittance to the mining corp."
Jax skimmed her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. "When did you get so wise?"
She wrinkled her nose. "I've been a part of this crowd for a long time. The private-school club, where they slap each other's backs and do favours for each other. It's just the way things are done."
She gestured at the crowd. "They're suspicious of newbies, so while your pedigree wouldn't have helped, they would've held you at arm's length for a while regardless."
Interesting observation, and he wondered if he'd been so wrapped up in his own prejudices he hadn't given these people the benefit of the doubt.
"Anyway, you're finally in." Ruby stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, an odd gesture devoid of their usual passion. "Watch your mine shoot to the top."
"Thanks to you," he said, angling his head to capture her lips.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the crowd is demanding some one-on-one time with Ruby."
He glared at Otto, cursing the guy's timing.
Ruby hesitated, her shuttered expression niggling Jax as much as her cheek-kiss, and he gave her a gentle nudge. "Go. We can talk later."
Much later, once he'd got his head around the startling fact he might be falling for his wife.
A week later, Jax was no closer to figuring out his convoluted feelings for or Ruby.
Not that he'd had much time to dwell on them, considering he'd been tied up in meetings for most of the time. He'd achieved so much over the last seven days, gaining authorised and endorsed entry into the global mining corp, setting in motionplans to expand Maroney Mine globally, sealing more business deals than he could've thought possible.
Ruby had made that happen.
Thanks to her family's stellar reputation, the mining elite didn't question his.
Too classy to bring up his father's impending appeal, the corporation focused on the business at hand, happy to align with Maroney Mine and his latest proposals to make profit margins skyrocket. Good business sense; something they hadn't been willing to acknowledge before his marriage.
How many times had he approached companies in this corporate sector, only to have doors metaphorically slammed in his face? Too many to count, the reason why he'd entered into this farcical marriage in the first place.
A marriage that now, thanks to his incredible wife, was fast making him re-evaluate priorities.
With his business expanding around the world and his corporate headquarters in Melbourne, it wouldn't be unreasonable to relocate. His deputy in Western Australia could step up into the CEO role with ease, leaving Jax free to expand his base in Melbourne.
And allowing him to remain married to Ruby.
That was the crux of his newfound restlessness and he knew it. Dressing it up in business terms was a crock. Time to start worrying about other stuff besides business. He hadn't had a chance to question Ruby’s subtle withdrawal from him after the auction, considering they'd barely seen each other.
But now his manic week had drawn to a close, he had every intention of reassessing the state of his marriage.
A marriage he intended to make real.
By instigating the first step in a plan to win his wife over.
Chapter 28
This time, Ruby couldn’t be happier to drive an hour to visit Sapphire alone.
Being cooped up in the car with Jax after realising she’d developed feelings for him would’ve been torture. Not that he would've come if she'd asked. He'd made himself scarce the last seven days. She'd expected his withdrawal from her the moment she'd seen the triumph in his eyes after the auction, when he'd scored his long awaited meeting with Harrod and the mining corporation.
