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“Miss? Are you still there?”
“Yes,” I said impatiently. “Can I speak to Jackson now?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rhodes isn’t available. Please try calling back later.”
“The fuck he’s not,” I growled. “I know you’re lying!”
Click.
I stared at the grubby receiver in my hand. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I wailed out loud, my voice echoing off the hotel room walls. “Are you fucking serious right now?”
I flopped down on the bed and buried my face in my hands. Now what the hell was I going to do, turn around and go back to Alfred and tell Mom that I’d failed?
Just thinking about it was enough to make me sick. I knew I couldn’t do that – I couldn’t admit my shortcomings to her. I had to try harder. I was her only daughter, her only hope. If I didn’t fight for her, no one would.
Gritting my teeth, I grabbed my bag and hailed a cab into Manhattan. Jackson may have been able to hide behind his posh secretary once, but he wasn’t going to get away with it.
Not when I had my mother to take care of.
I have to admit that when the cab dropped me off in front of an elegant glass skyscraper, I was a little shocked. Sure, I knew that Jackson had made a bundle of money working at First Perfect. But I’d never imagined that his building would be one of the wealthiest in New York. I didn’t even know how much it would cost to rent a floor, but I guessed it was probably more than I’d ever had in my entire life put together.
Inside, the lobby was stark, almost Spartan. It was the cleanest lobby I’d ever seen, with pure white sunlight filtering through the elegant glass walls. A gorgeous blonde was perched behind a chrome desk, her nose glued to her computer screen. She didn’t look up as I walked closer, and I felt my heart sink. This isn’t going to work, I realized. She’s just going to tell me to leave, and I won’t be any closer to Jackson than I was on the phone.
“Yes?” The blonde looked up when I coughed. “May I help you?”
I smiled as charmingly as I could. “Hello there,” I said warmly. “I’m Belle Harrington – Jackson Rhodes’ stepsister. I’d really like to speak with him,” I added, pausing and flashing my brightest grin. “We have some family issues right now, and well…it’s very important.”
The blonde pursed her lips. Her wide blue eyes stared at me dully, and I wondered whether or not she was the same bitch I’d spoken to on the phone. So far, she gave no hint of having anything even resembling a personality.
Finally, she smiled slightly. “I’m sorry, miss, you’ll have to make an appointment. Mr. Rhodes is very busy,” she added in a patronizing tone.
I groaned and threw my hands in the air. “I know you don’t believe me,” I said sharply. “But I really need to speak with him! It’s important.”
“I can’t do that,” the blonde said. She looked nervous. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“No!” My reply came out much louder than I’d intended and the word bounced off the walls around me. “No, I’m not going to leave until I can talk to Jackson!”
I was barely aware of the sound of elevator doors pinging open behind me.
“Ma’am, please,” the blonde said. “Mr. Rhodes isn’t available right now. Please leave, or I’ll be forced to call security to escort you out of the building.”
A deep masculine chuckling from behind made me whirl around.
Jackson was standing there, looking sexier than ever in a dark blue suit. His cheekbones were so sharp they looked carved from ice, and his grey eyes flashed over my body. His expression turned to one of disdain when he saw that it was me.
“Jackson!” I cried loudly. “I need to speak to you.” Angrily, I turned back towards the blonde at the desk. “See, he knows me,” I insisted loudly. “He’s my stepbrother!”
Jackson licked his lips. He walked closer and crossed his arms over his muscular chest. A wave of spicy cologne washed over me and I shuddered. It smelled so good, so strong – so powerful, like Jackson himself.
“Belle, what are you doing here?”
This was it. This was my big moment to scream at him, to shame him, to blame him for not wanting to take care of my mother, his late father’s widow. But when I turned to face him, I found that I was suddenly unable to speak. It was like someone had reached into my chest and yanked out the words I was going to say.
Jackson raised his eyebrow at me, smirking. “Belle, I asked you a question,” he said, in a deep, sonorous voice that sent shivers down my spine. “What are you doing here?”
I swallowed. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears and I knew that I was losing precious seconds of time. If I didn’t say anything soon, I’d have lost my chance forever.
“I need to talk to you,” I said softly.
