7. Chapter Seven
Maya slumped onto the barstool at Octane, a bar bordering on Bear Ridge County, on the outskirts of Stoney Ridge.
“Why are we meeting here?” Maya asked looking around the bar, taking in the large heavy-set men in leather jackets with their insignia on the back of their jackets.
“I’m meeting with Bear Ridges bar owner about a proposition to open a women’s shelter in their county.”
“And Kane let you come alone?”
“Nope. He’s hiding out over there in a booth, thinking I can’t see him.”
“Yep, that’s sounds like Kane. Overprotective.” Maya said as she laid her head on the bar and groaned. ”Sarah, I”m at my wit”s end,” Maya confessed. ”Jackson”s just... he”s impossible! I know there”s something there, but he won’t make a move.”
“Alex didn’t work out?” Sarah asked.
“Alex spilled the beans as soon as Jackson threatened to set Olivia up on a date with someone else.” Maya grumbled. “These boys look all alpha but they are just big awkward softies inside.”
”Well then, we tried, but really? Girl, just make a move already,” Sarah quipped, her lips curving into a knowing smile as she spun a cocktail napkin between her fingers. ”Okay, hear me out,” Sarah said, her voice dropping to the secretive whisper reserved for plotting or gossip. ”The bachelor auction is tonight.”
”Yep. I’ve got my pre-interview done with Alex and Jackson,” Maya replied. ”I”ve got my camera ready and notepad primed. But what does that have to do with Jackson”s stubborn…”
”Buy him,” Sarah interjected, her eyes gleaming.
”Buy Jackson? At the auction?” Maya sputtered, nearly choking on her drink. She imagined the scene: the auctioneer calling out bids, Jackson”s eyebrow arching in challenge, the gavel slamming down. It was absurd, it was outrageous, it was... brilliant?
”Exactly!” Sarah”s grin spread, infectious. ”It”s a win-win. You get your interview when he has to spend time with you, and maybe, just maybe, he will make his move. Worst case, is that you get twenty-four hours to mess with him if it doesn’t work out.”
”Sarah, I—I don”t know,” Maya said, the words tumbling out in a rush. ”It”s clever, but it feels... wrong. Coercive, almost. I mean, using the auction to manipulate the situation? What would that say about my integrity as a reporter?”
”Maya, come on.” Sarah reached across the table to grab her hand. ”You”re not compromising your ethics; you”re just nudging fate along. Besides, Jackson owes you that interview, doesn”t he?”
”Owes me or not, it”s still playing games with real emotions. I can”t use someone”s feelings as clickbait for the Stoney Ridge Herald,” Maya said, conflicted. ”I”ve got to do this the right way, even if it means waiting for Jackson to finally apologise for ten years ago.”
Sarah sighed, shaking her head with an affectionate smile. ”Fine, if you won”t play the game, then we”ll find another way to make Jackson see sense and make it up to you.”
Unseen from the two women, Kane leaned against the wall, a half-empty pint glass in hand. He”d overheard everything, and the gears in his mind were already turning, crafting a plan for the auction bid.
”Maya buy Jackson, huh?” Kane murmured under his breath, a chuckle escaping him. His lips curled into a playful smirk. ”Now this is going to be fun.”
He took a slow sip of his beer. Oh, he wouldn”t interfere with Maya”s scruples—no, that wasn”t his style. But as leader of the brothers and a man never shy of a little chaos, he could certainly arrange a twist of fate that no one would see coming.