Page 27 of Tuxedos and Tinsel

“Looks like your relationship with Ms. Brooks is going to work in our favor,” his father said as soon as Ian entered. “Your brother tells me you’ve been seeing her a few weeks.”

“Yes.”

“Good, good. Keep wooing her. Do whatever it takes to get this deal closed.”

Ian shook his head. “I can’t do that, Dad. I won’t hurt her like that.”

His father sat up in his chair. “What do you mean, you can’t do it?” he gritted out. “You’re going to let some woman you just met come between you and your obligation to this company? We’ve offered her almost twice what that shop is worth, so I don’t understand her problem.”

“Dad,” Chris jumped in, “you know that’s not fair.”

Ian braced his hands on the desk. “Dad, you know as well as I do how hard it would be to start over if she has to move.”

“This is about business. We can’t afford to disappoint our investors. They’ve put up a lot of money and expect results.”

“So has Maya,” he countered. “Even with the amount we offered, she may not be able to recover her losses. Put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel if someone asked you to uproot your life?”

His father sighed heavily. “Ian, I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t see any way out for Ms. Brooks.” He stood and walked to the door. “I’m sorry, son.”

When the door closed behind his father, Ian slammed his hand on the table, spun around and let out a frustrated groan. “Why didn’t you tell me, Chris?”

“I tried to tell you earlier, but you wouldn’t listen. And before you jump down my throat, I only found out this morning when Sam dropped the file off in my office. I take it she’s pretty mad.”

“And hurt. She thinks I orchestrated the whole relationship to get her shop.” He paced the room. “I love her, Chris. I can’t make her lose her shop. It’ll destroy her.” He stopped, braced his hands on the table again and bowed his head. “I feel like this is a repeat of last time.”

“This is nothing like last time, Ian. Laura tried to steal blueprints for her brother’s company so they could win a bid. The only blueprint stolen this time was the one to your heart.” He chuckled. “I guess I was right about that love bug biting you in the butt, huh?”

Ian angled his head and smiled faintly. “Guess so. But it doesn’t matter now. If I close this deal I’ll lose her for sure. If I help her keep it, I can kiss my career goodbye. Dad will have me stuck drawing closets for the rest of my life.”

Chis placed a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “You’re one of the smartest people I know. If anybody can come up with a solution, it’s you. I’ll see you later.”

He nodded. “Tell Shellie hello.” Alone, Ian sank into the closest chair and buried his head in his hands. Money notwithstanding, relocating meant that Maya couldn’t take orders and would likely lose most of her clientele, and like she’d said, it could potentially destroy her business. He couldn’t see any way out of this mess and didn’t know what he was going to do. The only thing he knew for sure was that he couldn’t...wouldn’tlet the woman he loved lose her livelihood.

Chapter 9

Maya dropped down on the sofa in her condo and swiped at the tears that hadn’t stopped since she left the office complex. “There’s no way I can survive a move, not in this economy. All my clients...”

Rhonda sat next to her and offered a box of tissues. “Are you going to be okay?”

She snatched out two tissues. “I’m about to lose my business and the man I foolishly fell in love with set me up. I’m justgreat.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t look good on you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, leaning her head back against the couch. “It’s not your fault that I keep finding losers.” She let out a frustrated groan. “I can’t believe he set me up like that. Everything, from the first night until now, was nothing more than an elaborate plan to get me to sell my building.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think Ian knew it was your building. He seemed genuinely surprised.”

“Yeah, right.”

“No, seriously, Maya. His face registered the same shock as yours when he walked into that conference room. And he cares about you.”

Maya glared at Rhonda. “Just whose side are you on? You’re supposed to bemybest friend.”

Rhonda sighed. “You know I’m on your side, but the man is worried about you. He even wanted to make sure you got home okay.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s all an act.”

“You don’t believe that any more than I do. I saw the way he looked at you. And he told me he loves you.”