Page 19 of Bound To Be Mine

Our food arrived. I cut into my eggs, watching the yolk spill across the muffin. Perfect. I took a bite, considering my options.

Briggs dug into his eggs and hashbrowns.

“What’s your role in all this?” I asked.

“I make sure everyone’s protected. Handle the legal side of the partnership.”

“So I’d be working with you.”

“Among others. But yes, you’d be working with me.” He shrugged. “I also own a quarter of the company, so I’m involved in non-legal stuff too.”

I took another bite of my toast, chewing slowly. “Here’s the thing, Briggs. I don’t work with people I don’t trust. And right now, I don’t trust you.”

He didn’t flinch. “What would it take?”

“Proof that you actually respect what I do. And an understanding that if you ever speak to me the way you did yesterday again, I walk. No negotiation, no second chances. I walk.”

“Fair.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He met my gaze. “I made a mistake. I own it. It won’t happen again.”

I wanted to believe him. God help me, I actually wanted to believe him. He had honest eyes. Or maybe it was just that I wanted this deal as much as he did.

“I have conditions,” I said.

“Name them.”

“You need to come to Vegas tomorrow,” I said and popped another bite in my mouth.

He frowned. “What?”

“The Nelson wedding. You’re going to come, observe what I actually do, and then you’ll understand why I’m an equal partner in this deal.”

“That’s not necessary,” he said quickly. “I get it.”

“You don’t know what I do,” I interrupted. “Not really. You read it on paper, heard Adrian’s pitch, but you still don’t get it. And I’m not signing anything with someone who thinks I’m dead weight being carried by the Blackwell name.”

His jaw tightened. “I don’t think that.”

“You did yesterday.”

“Yesterday I was confused.”

“Yesterday you were an asshole. We’ve established that.” I set down my fork and leaned forward. “Here’s the deal, Briggs. You come to Vegas. You see what I actually do. You watch me work. And then, when you can honestly tell me you understand my value in this partnership, we’ll talk about signing papers.”

“I have a full schedule tomorrow.”

“So do I. I’m running a three-hundred-person wedding with a budget that would make your head spin. Clear your schedule.”

He stared at me. I could practically see him running through his options. He could refuse and lose the deal entirely. Or he could agree and spend a day in Vegas at a wedding for two people he’d never met.

“Fine,” he said finally. “I’ll be there.”

“Really?” I hadn’t actually expected him to agree so easily.

“You’re not going to sign otherwise, are you?”