Page 52 of The Contract Marriage

“Really? How…interesting. I thought a man that busy wouldn’t have had the time.”

I laugh softly. “His butler-ish person prepped it for me. He makes his own bagels, and they’re amazing.”

Simon smiles. “I’m glad.”

“Same. Not that I mind supporting the small bakery, but homemade is just so good. If you want, I’ll bring one for you tomorrow.” He likes bagels as much as I do.

“It’s all right, but thanks.” The skin around his eyes tightens. “Nice ring. Ruby?”

“No. A red diamond. It’s my engagement ring from Liam.” I grin, admiring the stone for the thousandth time. I never understood Mom’s desire to collect diamonds until now. If every rock was as precious as this… “It even has a name. The Rubedo. Incredible, isn’t it? I never thought I’d own a stone with a name. Did you know—Gavin Lloyd, Ted Lasker and Barron Sterling wanted it.” I still can’t believe I’m the proud owner of the stone coveted by three of the richest men in the world.

Simon shakes his head slowly. “No, I didn’t. The photos from Brielle’s wedding only showed the heirloom pieces on you.”

“Those were from Mom. I took them all with me when I moved out.” Deena and Brielle raised holy hell, but John Highsmith informed Hugh that I am the only person entitled to access them for my own use, not him or his new wife and child.

“I see. Well, anyway, we have some proposals.” Simon hands me a stack of documents. We’re trying to do everything digitally, but sometimes it’s easier for me to deal with complex information on paper.

“It hasn’t even been a week,” I say, surprised to be getting four proposals already.

“It’ll be a steady stream of business for them. Another diversification of cash flow.”

“I guess so.” I blink at the Kingswood Stones & Designs proposal on the bottom. Liam’s company seems too lux to bother with something as unglamorous as urns.

“I put that one last because I’m not sure how serious they are about it. They might’ve sent an offer out of respect for your marriage to their boss.”

“Hmm… I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. Liam doesn’t know I’m the one behind Luminary & Co. or EverAfter,” I say. EverAfter is a holding company I created to hide my ownership of the condo and Luminary & Co. from Hugh and company should they ever decide to check into my finances. Or Tyler, since he needed to believe I wasn’t flush enough with cash to wipe out his gambling debts. “KSD is probably sincere. I can’t imagine Liam sending a proposal when he wasn’t serious about fulfilling the business agreement.”

Simon’s eyes darken. “Are you leaning toward giving him the business?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re smiling.”

Am I? I immediately flatten my mouth. “Maybe. I won’t make a decision until I have a chance to review all the proposals. But I think the quality of deliverables from his company will be top-notch. It’s one of very few places that can produce red diamonds consistently well. A company that meticulous should make a good partner.”

He smirks. “Our customers don’t exactly demand refunds.”

“Really. Are you suggesting we sell products of subpar quality?”

“No, that…that isn’t what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” I stare at him. “Just because someone’s dead doesn’t mean they’re done and should be ignored and forgotten. They deserve as much dignity and care in death as they did when they were alive.”

“I’m sorry. I misspoke. I… I’m probably too worried about the cost.”

“Uh-huh. Well, the cost is what it is. We charge what we charge, and clients decide if our quality is worth it.” I let out a sigh. My rebuke was sharp, but I’m not sorry I delivered it. Simon has probably never experienced the deaths of loved ones the way I did and can’t relate to the pain at a deep level.

Still… He’s my right-hand man. He should always carry himself with proper decorum and empathy. Luminary & Co. is more about helping people find closure than just making money.

As I stare at the Kingswood Stones & Designs logo on the proposal, something else occurs to me. “Did you deliver my health report to Liam?”

“What?”

“He said he didn’t get it.” I frown. Liam was understanding—thankfully—but he could’ve easily refused to have sex without protection until he knew for sure.

“I sent it. Maybe it got lost in spam.” Simon hesitates. “Maybe shouldn’t have put anything about STDs in the email…?”

“Yeah, a spam filter might’ve flagged that.” I heave a sigh, wave Simon out of the office and get to work on the day’s agenda. We need a new manufacturing facility for the urns with diamond inlays. Some of ours are made in China, but the diamond line needs something that says premium. Italy or Portugal? Japan? I make a mental note to look into the pros and cons of each.