Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“Mackenzie,” Dimitri said with a glint in his eye, his heavy accent dancing with each syllable.
He was impressed by the helicopter, even if he wasn’t willing to admit it. Money talked. And seeing him now, I was that much happier about our grand entrance.
He turned his gaze to Halle, and I didn’t like the way he appraised her. Like a beautiful piece he wanted to add to his collection. She was breathtaking, but she wasn’t a possession. And we were here on business.
“Dimitri,” I said, my jaw clenched tight. I wished I’d realized he was the art dealer we were coming to meet.
“And you must be Halle.” Dimitri shook her hand. “A pleasure to finally meet you.” He brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss. Dimitri was smooth, I’d give him that.
Halle dipped her head. “I’m looking forward to seeing your collection.”
“And I am looking forward to showing it to someone who will appreciate it as much as I do.”
I rolled my eyes behind them. Was this how we were going to spend our entire visit? Him fawning over her? And her… What? Enjoying it?
Fuck me.
We followed him into the climate-controlled warehouse that was more like an industrial art gallery. I’d never been inside, but I’d heard of it. On and on, Dimitri droned about different pieces and their merits, and Halle seemed completely enthralled.
“I have a few more pieces I think will be to your liking,” Dimitri said, but I’d had enough. We’d been wandering around for over an hour, and if I had to listen to him much longer, I was going to punch him in the face. “They aren’t here, but I’d be happy to give you a private tour this weekend.”
His thinly veiled intent was clear, and I was fucking done. I must have let out a noise of annoyance, based on the way Halle’s cheeks flushed with color. But she didn’t otherwise acknowledge Dimitri’s invitation.
While that was a relief, I still couldn’t believe he was asking her out in front of me. Well, not me. In front of her boss. But it was the only choice left to him since I wouldn’t leave her side.
“I think we’ve seen enough,” I said in a curt tone, eager to put an end to this. We’d seen enough art to fill every suite in my hotel.
Halle’s gaze snapped to mine, a warning in her eyes. I ignored it.
Dimitri was oblivious to Halle’s ire. He was too busy smirking at me over his shoulder. The fucking nerve.
Halle glanced at her watch. “I was having so much fun, I didn’t realize how late it had gotten. But we need to wrap this up so I can get back to pick up my son on time.”
“No rush.” Dimitri placed his hand on Halle’s lower back, and I fucking saw red. “I’m happy to resume our discussion at a later date.”
Not if I have anything to say about it.
Dimitri’s phone rang, and he glared at the screen, clearly annoyed by the interruption. “Excuse me.”
Once he was out of earshot, Halle spun on me. “What is your problem?” she hissed. “Why are you being so rude?”
I pulled her aside so we were hidden from the view of Dimitri’s office by a large sculpture.
“What’s my problem?” Her back was to the sculpture, our mouths inches apart. “For someone who’s so intent on being professional, you’re awfully flirtatious with Dimitri.”
She scoffed, turning her head to the side. “Jealous much?”
“Yes,” I blurted.
Maybe she’d been teasing, but I was serious.
She turned back to me, wide brown eyes meeting mine as her lips parted in shock. “Oh.”
Yeah. Oh.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Maybe I should just handle the negotiations from here forward.”
“Jasper.” She glared at me, fire and anger blazing in her eyes. “Don’t fuck this up. You have no idea how difficult it was to set up this meeting. I’m not going to blow all my hard work because you feel some ridiculous need to act like a caveman.”
“I’m not—” I took a breath and smoothed down my tie. That wasn’t what I was doing, was it?
Fuck.
She was right. I was being jealous and territorial, and I hated feeling so irrational.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. You clearly put a lot of effort into this, and I would never want to undermine your hard work.”
I could see how my jealousy had clouded my view of the situation.
Dimitri’s flirting was annoying but not completely inappropriate.
But my behavior had been, and I couldn’t believe how quickly the situation had spiraled out of control.
I had no right to be jealous, no claim over her.
And the fact that I’d acted like I somehow did was deeply problematic.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Do you know which pieces you want?” I asked, eager to get this over with.
She’d done such a good job of fawning over everything we’d seen that I had no idea which ones she was truly interested in.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There’d been one item she’d definitely lingered on.
It had been smaller, more of an artist’s sketch than a finished piece.
But something about it had spoken to Halle.
She took a breath and then held up her tablet. She indicated to the pieces in an online catalogue. I had no idea how much this was going to cost—the prices weren’t listed. But I had a feeling it was going to be expensive.
It didn’t matter. Halle had incredible taste, and I could already envision the pieces in both the presidential suite and the Golden Key Penthouse. Both suites were reserved for the most prestigious and wealthiest guests, and when it came to their experience, money was no object.
Fortunately, the next time we needed to trade the pieces out, we could move the art to another property or sell it.
At this level, art was an investment. Not that I viewed it as such, at least not when it came to the pieces I personally owned.
In my opinion, art was meant to be enjoyed, not traded like a commodity.
Halle and I had discussed the topic at length when I’d taken her to some of the museums in London. I loved seeing her gush over art, confidently sharing her knowledge of the pieces and artists on display.
“What about this one?” I asked, pointing to the one she’d lingered at on her phone.
She shook her head. “It’s not right for either space.”
“But you liked it.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t complement the other works.”
I furrowed my brow, prepared to press her on it, but then Dimitri called out.
Halle darted out from behind the sculpture, flashing him a megawatt smile. “We’ve made our decisions.”
I joined them, my fists clenched, body wound tight.
It didn’t matter if she was interested in him; I was her boss.
And I could act like the goddamn head of the company that I was.
Even so, I figured it might be best if I just kept my mouth shut and let Halle do the talking.
I didn’t want her to think I was trying to sabotage the sale.
“Excellent.” Dimitri rubbed his hands together, gleaming with smug pride at the date he anticipated with Halle while counting up the money he was about to make on this sale.
Bastard.
I adjusted my headset. “Have you heard anything more from Sloan?”
Halle had been quiet on the flight back to the office, and I felt like the silence was slowly suffocating me. Typically, flying cleared my head, forcing me to focus solely on the task at hand. But after our meeting with Dimitri, I found myself more distracted than ever by the woman next to me.
If I hated the idea of another man asking Halle on a date, I could only imagine my reaction to her being in a relationship with someone else. The mere thought of it had me feeling as if I were suffocating. I loosened my tie, but it did nothing.
So far, keeping our relationship focused on business had been a lot more difficult than I’d anticipated. I figured it best to focus our conversation on appropriate topics.
“She’s home resting. The doctor said everything looks good.”
“That’s a relief.” I hesitated a moment then said, “You know my sister pretty well. Do you think she’s okay?”
Halle wasn’t a doctor, but she’d been pregnant. And she spent a lot of time with Sloan. If anyone knew what was really going on with my sister—besides Jackson—it might be Halle.
“I hope so. She’s definitely been better about taking breaks since France.”
“But…?” I prompted.
“Pregnancy is unpredictable, and everyone has a different experience.”
“Did you have any of those symptoms when you were pregnant with Kai?”
“No, but I had my fair share of fun. Lightning crotch. Swollen ankles. It was super awesome.”
I recoiled. “What the hell is lightning crotch?”
“A nerve pain that comes out of nowhere and shoots into your groin. It hurts, and it comes on with absolutely no warning. It was often so bad it would take my breath away.”
Wow. Shit. “That sounds painful.”
“It is. But it’s still not as bad as being in labor.”
Whatever expression I made must have shown my fear. “Maybe you should focus on flying,” Halle said with a laugh.
The fact that Sloan might go into labor early had me on high alert. LA traffic was awful. And while I knew Jackson would do everything in his power to get her to the hospital safely, I reassured myself that if it came down to it, I could always fly her to the hospital in the helicopter.
Halle and I were quiet for a moment, enjoying the view of the city from high above.
I’d taken a longer route than was necessary, just so I could spend more time alone with her.
Maybe it was selfish, but after how things had gone down earlier, I wanted to smooth things over.
Besides, she would still get back in time to pick up Kai.
“So…how do you like your new role?” she asked.
That was a loaded question. I wasn’t even sure how I felt about it yet, so I settled for something diplomatic. “It’s different, challenging at times.”
“Oh, come on,” Halle prodded. “I know you better than that. Tell me the truth. I promise not to tell anyone.”
I sighed. “Today, getting out of the office, getting to focus on guest experience and design details, that’s what I enjoy.”
“And you don’t get to do that as much now that you’re CEO.”
I shook my head.