Chapter 27
After dealing with a shortage of sushi, Jax went in search of Ruby.
However, as he entered the annexe, Harrod Meyer, CEO of the Global Mining Corp, waylaid him.
The guy he'd been trying to schedule a meeting with for months. The guy who'd been instrumental in stalling his efforts at every turn.
"Good job." Harrod held out his hand and Jax knew he'd continue to play nice despite the urge to tell the CEO where he could stick his long overdue handshake.
Jax had been fruitlessly trying to get a meeting with Harrod ever since he'd arrived in Melbourne—before, if he counted the number of failed videoconferences he'd tried to set up.
Harrod and his cronies had blocked him at every turn, had ignored him at the Seaborn launch and the races, and had barely managed a civil congratulations at his wedding reception.
So having the big guy seek him out vindicated he must be doing something right.
"Thanks, but Ruby did all the hard work.”
Harrod smiled, his fondness for Ruby evident in the warmth lighting his eyes. That glimpse of real emotion went some way to soothing Jax's resentment. He didn't care what this guy thought of him but the judgemental old buffoon having genuine admiration for Ruby mattered.
"She sure did. Though from what I'm hearing, you had a major hand in helping her?"
"I did what any husband would do. Support her."
Harrod nodded, his expression pensive. "Must say, you've surprised a lot of us."
Why, because he was nothing like his dad? Because he was successful and powerful in his own right? Because the guilt-by-association brush they'd tarred him with had been washed clean by virtue of his marriage to one of their own?
Maroney Mine needed what Harrod had to offer, but Jax couldn't respect his narrow-minded wavering over Jax's social standing now that he'd done well by marrying a Seaborn rather than Harrod taking his credentials at face value.
He didn't want to ask what Harrod meant by saying Jax surprised him, wasn't interested in anything this guy had to say unless it involved a meeting with Maroney Mine, but alienating Harrod wouldn't help anyone, least of all his entrepreneurial wife.
"How so?"
Harrod hesitated, tugging at his cuffs, before squaring his shoulders as if coming to a decision. "Many of us here have watched Ruby grow up. Our kids went to school together. We look out for each other."
Didn’t Jax know it. Their close-knit, high society clique wouldn't let anyone in, let alone the son of a criminal.
"Throw in the fact your father screwed over many of our friends, and we had our doubts about you. Serious doubts." Harrod frowned and Jax braced for a moral lesson.
"However, the way you've rallied around our Ruby… well, let's just say we're willing to re-evaluate our opinions."
Bully for you. Jax gritted his teeth, hating how he had to take this condescension from a pompous jackass for the sake of his business.
“Why don't we schedule a meeting for you to present your plans to the mining corporation? Say Monday?"
Jax mentally fist-pumped the air. About time. A legit chance to wow the corporation with his soundproof strategies for taking his mine all the way to the top.
Maroney Mine, going global.
"Sounds good. Who do I contact to co-ordinate?"
He wanted details here and now, not wanting to give Harrod a chance to back out. He didn't trust a guy who'd abruptly turn around like this—though in reality there'd been nothing abrupt about his gradual acceptance—not in the business world.
He relied on facts and figures. Something he'd prove to Harrod and his cronies come Monday.
Harrod fished inside his top pocket and pulled a business card out of his wallet. "Here. Call my PA and she'll set up a meeting."
"Thanks, shall do." Jax held out his hand and this time, unlike at his wedding reception, Harrod shook it without hesitating.
When the CEO moved away, Jax stared at the card, flipping it over between his fingertips.
He'd done it. Found an in.
The irony? The only reason he'd married Ruby, to use the long-standing class attached to the Seaborn name and gain business entry into the inner sanctum, had worked. But his motivation for helping her out with this auction had been way beyond business.
He'd done it because he cared about her, because he hated to see her self-doubt. He had nothing but admiration for the way she tackled a difficult situation—a designer taking on the financial management of a flailing company—and he wanted her to succeed.
He knew what it was like, being doubted by everyone, and that had happened with Ruby. No one gave her credit beyond the jewellery she created. Now they would, and he'd been glad to be a part of that.
Gaining entry into Harrod's inner circle? A bonus.
He entered Harrod’s number into his phone before slipping the card into his wallet. No way would he let Harrod back out of this now.
As he slid his wallet back into his jacket pocket, he caught sight of Ruby heading his way, and something shifted in his chest, proving he'd moved past simply caring for her.
He met her halfway, catching her as she flung herself into his arms. He spun her around and around, only registering the applause of people surrounding them when he released her.
"Go, you two, I'll handle this lot." Otto placed a hand in their backs and gave them a shove.
Jax nodded and Ruby shot Otto a grateful smile as she waved to the crowd with one hand and slipped her other into his. They made it outside the doorway before he kissed her, trying to convey one tenth of what he felt for this amazing woman.
When their hunger for each other eased, she smiled against his mouth.
"We did good."
He pulled away, holding her within the circle of his arms. "You're the talented genius they wanted a piece of."
Her radiant smile made him want to kiss her again and never stop. "And you're the one who made it happen."
"We make a good team."
The instant the words left his mouth, he wondered if she'd read more into them, and how he felt about that.
Still stoked over his acceptance into Harrod's old boys' club and the chance to make his dreams come true for Maroney Mine, he didn't want to make any rash promises, especially if he couldn't keep them.
He needed to sort through his mishmash feelings first, needed to acknowledge what he felt in order to process it before telling Ruby.
"We sure do." She cupped his cheek, her eyes glowing with tenderness, and right then he knew this marriage had somehow evolved into more than a business deal.
"Harrod invited me to schedule a meeting on Monday," he blurted, needing to establish some emotional distance before he blabbed every uncertainty ricocheting through his brain.
Some of her warmth faded as she lowered her hand. "That's great. Congratulations."
"Yeah, looks like we've both had a win tonight."
"Go us."
She did a cute happy dance, running on the spot while sweeping her arms in a circle, but he had feeling she may not be too happy.
"Welcome to the club." She slugged him on the arm, something off about her false chipper.
"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 motion plans 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.