Chapter 5
A fter Kalista left his office, Seb sat back in his chair wondering if he’d made the right decision hiring her.
He surprised himself when he changed his mind.
Her application answers were a joke, and he initially thought she was treating the interview in kind when he saw the fluffy pink pom-pom pen she’d used to write on the form.
But there was something in her eyes—a defiant steeliness that he’d almost missed at first. Maybe she would work out after all.
Viv certainly thought she was worth helping.
And if Kalista couldn’t handle the job, he could let her go, although he hated firing people.
He’d only done it twice since owning The Times , but both had been necessary.
He’d give her a week or three to learn and do the route, then reevaluate.
He’d have to remind Tyler to keep his mind on the job and not on his trainee’s looks, though. He already seemed a bit sweet on her.
That settled, he gulped another swig of coffee and shifted his focus to Jade.
He set the cup down and absently ran his hand through his hair, patting down the stray ends, then stopped when he realized he was primping.
Ridiculous. “Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, shoving Kalista’s paperwork under one of the stacks on his desk, then walking out of his office to the reception area.
When he saw Jade, he stilled.
She was sitting with one leg crossed over the other, her gaze focused on the screen of her PDA, a small stylus in hand.
He’d never owned one of those either and didn’t intend to.
He’d lived forty years without all these electronic gadgets everyone was entranced with, and he was doing just fine without them, although he did have a simple cell phone.
That came in handy when he was working as a reporter.
Seb’s eyes traveled to her profile. Her hair hung in waves, partially obscuring her face. Back in the day, he thought her pixie cut was cute. But the style she wore now was sophisticated. Elegant. Sexy.
As if she heard his thoughts, she looked up, their eyes locking like they were in a schlocky romance novel. His mind whirred with memories of their short, and for him intense, relationship.
“Mr. Hudson?” she said, coming to her feet.
Her formality came as a jab, and any idea that she might still harbor feelings for him sailed out the door. No problem. He could be professional. He could forget about the past and pretend they weren’t an item. Because apparently they hadn’t been. Only in his mind. “Ms. Smith.”
“I apologize for not contacting you sooner to arrange a meeting. I should have been more considerate of your schedule.” Her gaze flicked away for a split second, the only glimpse that she wasn’t completely in control. “If you have some time, I’d like to discuss something with you.”
“And what would that be?”
His question seemed to catch her off guard. “I, uh, would prefer if we talk in private.”
Now his curiosity was fully piqued. He glanced at her hands.
She had them loosely clasped and, more importantly, they weren’t shaking.
Cool as the proverbial cucumber—that was Jade Smith.
Although he knew she ran much hotter underneath the surface.
He also saw that her fingers were bare. No wedding ring, or any other rings. Interesting.
“C’mon back,” he said, motioning for her to follow him. He’d give her a chance to explain why she was here. At this point he was dying to know.
* * *
Jade followed Sebastian down a dim corridor to his office.
The words Editor in Chief were etched on the glass door, and there was an empty space for a photo next to it.
She tried to pay more attention to her surroundings than to the man in front of her, but it was difficult.
Keeping her cool in the reception area had been hard enough, because being around Sebastian Hudson was bringing emotions to the surface that she thought she’d buried long ago.
While waiting on him, she realized she’d made a huge mistake by not contacting him prior to coming to The Times office, something she would be sure to tell Miles.
Then when Sebastian entered the room and she heard his deep, rich voice, took in his casual yet somehow appealing appearance, she had to double down on her business voice as she apologized.
She could tell by his irritated expression he didn’t like the formality.
He never did, and it seemed weird to call a man she had kissed more than once—and so passionately the last time they were together—by his surname.
If she didn’t cling to professionalism, her toes would continue curling in her pumps at the sight and sound of him, and that wouldn’t do.
He opened the door and gestured for her to walk inside.
She nodded her thanks and entered the office, pausing a few feet from the door.
The room seemed to be frozen in time, and Clementine Times mementos took up almost every inch of wall and shelf space in a room filled with furnishings from the fifties.
Her gaze landed on the large, scuffed desk piled high with paperwork.
She almost laughed. His penchant for clutter hadn’t changed.
“Have a seat,” he said, pointing to another old chair in front of the desk.
She set her briefcase on the floor and sat down while he moved to his own seat.
Against her will, her heart skipped a beat as she took in his thick sandy-brown hair threaded with gray and touching the collar of his plaid shirt, his shaggy bangs hovering over his eyes.
He’d never been one to embrace the corporate look, and he’d probably thrown away his one and only tie when he moved to Clementine. She pressed her toes into her pumps.
Then she noticed he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. That didn’t necessarily mean anything—he could still be married and prefer not to wear one for some reason.
“All right, Ms. Smith. I’m listening.”
The emphasis on Ms. was a pail of cold water, and she quit admiring his looks and got down to business. As he stared her down, her doubts about her capabilities set in once again. “Uh, thank you for seeing me.”
“You already said that.”
“Oh. Right.” She grabbed her briefcase and clicked the latch, only for it to stick.
Seriously? She pushed on it again, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Stupid thing,” she mumbled. Then it instantly opened, making her almost drop it.
With fumbling fingers, she pulled out the folder with the sales information Miles had given her and handed it to him.
He didn’t take it. “What’s that?”
“I’m a representative from Harrington Media,” she said, repeating the speech she’d written down and practiced for the past two days.
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “In Atlanta?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been there all this time? Since you left Arkansas?”
She shook her head. “I worked for another company prior to PU—I mean Harrington.” Wow, Harrington hadn’t been PU for years. Where did that come from?
His brow raised and his mouth formed a slight smile. “PU?”
“Preston Ustace... Never mind.” She held the folder out to him. “I’m here to discuss the possibility of you discussing a possible deal...” Uh-oh, that wasn’t part of the script. She grimaced, her words disappearing. What was she supposed to say again? “I, um— just take this, will you?”
He put it on his desk without a second glance. “Is this about selling my paper?”
Jade nodded.
Sebastian leaned forward. “The answer is no.”
“But you didn’t even look at the folder. Or listen to my pitch.” If only she could remember the pitch.
He scowled and sat back. “Your company has been hounding me to talk to them.”
“Hounding is a little harsh,” she said. “They’re just eager to save The Times .”
His expression turned stony. “ The Times is just fine.”
“Not according to your financials.”
“What do you know about them? Have you been spying on me?”
“Of course not. All the information Miles has gathered about the paper is public knowledge.”
“Is he your boss? Or your... Never mind, it doesn’t matter. The answer is no. It will always be no.”
She tried to regroup, although it was difficult, considering Sebastian’s irritated expression was beyond unnerving. “If you’ll look at the information I provided—”
Suddenly the faint ring of a cell phone came from inside the briefcase that held her small pocketbook. She ignored it. “If you’ll look at the folder, you’ll see our offer is generous.”
“I don’t have to.” He crossed his arms, exposing his very nice, well-defined forearms. “Better yet, I don’t want to.”
“You’re being unreasonable, Sebastian—”
“So now I’m Sebastian. What happened to Mr. Hudson?”
The phone kept ringing.
“Do you need to get that?” he asked.
“No.” She set the case on the floor again.
How could he just shut her down like this, without giving her a chance?
At least the phone had stopped. Sometimes she hated cell phones.
They were convenient, except when they weren’t.
Maybe she should start at the beginning again.
“Mr. Hudson,” she said, clasping her near-trembling hands. “I’m a representative of—”
Brrrrring!
Her teeth clenched. Why, oh why didn’t she think about turning off her cell before the meeting?
“Just get the phone, Jade.”
Not bothering to hide her scowl, she dug into her briefcase and pulled out the cell. Logan again. If she didn’t answer now, he’d just keep calling until she did. Flipping open the phone, she turned away from Sebastian. “I’m in the middle of a meeting—”
“I’m sorry, Jade, but it’s an emergency. I’m serious this time.”
He did sound serious. And different than during his call back in Atlanta. “I have to take this,” she said to Sebastian.
He nodded, and she didn’t miss the flash of concern in his eyes.
Quickly she went into the hallway. When she was safely out of earshot, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I need to get out of Little Rock ASAP.”
“Why?”