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I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Toussaint’s pieces of jewelry were all unique but they weren’t priceless. They were damn expensive, butpricelessreferred to other things—things that couldn’t be replaced, couldn’t be found again in this or any other lifetime. They were the things you couldn’t put a price on, the things you ached for when you lost them because you knew you could never get them back and never replace them with someone that would ever have equal value.
Family was a good example.
Friendship when it was true.
Love with the right person.
Mackenzie.
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
What the fuck was I doing here? The contract had been the goal all along, but I’d been an idiot. I’d been blind, missing what was right in front of me all this time. I’d been chasing what I’d thought I wanted, but in the end, all I wanted was her.
I stood. “I’m sorry, gentlemen,” I said, interrupting Johnson, who had been talking about the latest security trends that could stop criminals in their tracks before they even considered the job. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
“What do you mean?” Johnson asked. “The security company has the best track record on—”
“No, not the security,” I said. “I mean the contract. This working relationship. I’m very sorry to have wasted your time, but unfortunately Larson Inc. isn’t interested in the contract. I’m going to have to withdraw.”
“What!?” Toussaint cried out.
“On what grounds?” Johnson demanded.
“Conflict of interest.” It was the first thing that came to mind.
Johnson looked confused. “How is that valid here at all?”
“Well…” I cleared my throat. “I’m not interested, and that’s going to cause conflict.” Yeah, I sounded like an idiot, but whatever. I didn’t give a shit what either of those men thought of me. I realized that I didn’t give a shit what anyone thought of me.
What mattered to me was Mackenzie.
“You should contact Griffin Solutions and give the contract to Mackenzie Frye,” I said. “I didn’t give her the information she needed to know to give you exactly what you were asking for, but she’s better at this than I am, and it’s the right direction to go.”
“You didn’t tell her the presentation changed?” Johnson asked with a frown.
“No,” I said. “I didn’t because I thought this was what I wanted. It turns out I was wrong. I’ve been wrong about a lot of things lately.”
“This is going to waste so much time, finding someone else,” Toussaint said, throwing his hands up in the air.
“Not if you contact her. She’ll be on it in a flash.” I knew Stein would jump at the opportunity to have Toussaint on the company’s resume.
“It will be okay,” Johnson said, trying to appease Toussaint. “He’s right. Griffin Solutions won’t let us down.”
I nodded and stood, holding out my hand to Johnson and then Toussaint.
“I’m sorry for leaving you in the lurch like this, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Work contracts came by every day. I could get another contract to replace this one. Hell, I could start a whole new company from scratch if I had to, but Mackenzie… a woman like her didn’t come along every day. I wouldn’t find someone like her in this lifetime, and letting her slip through my fingers was a mistake. How could I have thought that having the contract, having my company, having all the money in the world would possibly be enough?
I walked out of the Elecoms building, feeling lighter than air. I wasn’t at the finish line yet—I still had to try to win her back. Knowing that was what I wanted and that I would keep trying no matter what made me feel like more of a winner than ever.
I got into my car and drove to the building of Griffin Solutions. I hated this damn building. Stein was a prick, and we were rivals in the ugliest sense of the word—Stein didn’t know how to do business without getting personal. We couldn’t just be friends outside of the office.
That was fine. He wasn’t my favorite person, anyway. It had been a long time since I’d been in this building.
I asked for Mackenzie Frye at the reception desk, giving her my name. I had to see her.
“Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist asked.
