“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 hadbeen 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.”
