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“Impressive indeed.” Sasha nodded. “But I believe you’re capable of even more. I can help you double or triple what you made tonight. More importantly, I’ll work tirelessly to help raise your visibility internationally and smooth over some of the issues you’ve had in the past with bad press.”
“And exactly how do you plan to do that, Ms. Charles?” He’d reverted to formal address since they were talking business. Yet, there was unmistakable flirtatiousness in his tone.
“I can’t give all my trade secrets away for free, now can I?” She smiled. “But I would begin by honing your online presence. Currently, your social media real estate is either absent or lacking the brilliance and creativity worthy of a true creative genius.”
“I’m a creative genius, am I?”
“I don’t think anyone at the gallery this evening would dispute that.”
Jordan stepped closer, his heat enveloping her. “Including you?”
Sasha swallowed hard, her knees quivering slightly as she inhaled his delicious scent. “Me, especially.”
“Sounds tempting.” Jordan’s heated gaze left Sasha unsure whether he was referring to her or her proposal. Surprisingly, the former was more tempting than the latter. “But I confess myself nostalgic for simpler times. When one needn’t manage their brand or monitor their online presence. Life is too short to be consumed by the opinion of the faceless masses. Or even those much closer to home, for that matter.”
“Times change, and this is the reality of doing business now,” she stated firmly. “I know it seems like a hassle to manage your brand. But handled properly, it’s the key to achieving everything you want.”
“You presume to know what that is?” Jordan cocked a brow.
He was testing her.
“Yes.” Sasha raised her chin. “Money and notoriety are important to you. That’s obvious from the eye-catching cars and the occasional ‘wild child’ antics. But there’s so much more to Jordan Jace than you let on.”
Jordan folded his arms. “Such as?”
Sasha smiled, her confidence rising. “You use recycled and found materials in your work, and though you drive very pricey cars, they’re all eco-friendly. So obviously caring for the environment is a huge issue for you.”
“That one was easy.” Jordan narrowed his gaze. “You’ll have to do better than that to convince me.”
“All right.” Sasha nodded. If Jordan Jace needed convincing, she could handle that. “Your work with underprivileged kids is as important to you as bringing beauty into the world through your art.” When he didn’t reply, she indicated the table where Marcus’s sculpture stood. “This is the legacy you want to leave, isn’t it? A man who left the world, and the people in it, in a much better state than he found them.”
Jordan rubbed his chin and cleared his throat. She’d touched a nerve and it made him uncomfortable.
Good.
He had to be willing to get uncomfortable if they were going to work together. Evidently, she’d have to accept operating outside of her comfort zone, too.
“Well, Miss Charles, why don’t you let me think about your request and get back to you?” Jordan headed for the door.
Panic spread through Sasha’s chest. She’d pushed him too hard. Now she needed to play the card she’d been holding on to.
“You never did get an answer to your question.” She remained rooted in her spot, though her pulse raced.
Jordan turned back to her. “About?”
“Which member of Prescott George invited me here tonight?”
“No, I didn’t, did I?” He folded his arms, one brow raised. She’d gotten his attention. “Who do I have to thank for the lovely sales pitch?”
Sasha inhaled deeply. Tried to keep her limbs from trembling. “Jonathan Jace.”
“My father invited you here? Why? He doesn’t give one whit whether or not the gallery is successful.”
“I doubt that’s true.” She stepped closer, shrinking the gap between them. “But your mother obviously does. She’s the person who hired me.”
“Exactly when did you plan to tell me all this?” Jordan scowled.
“When it became relevant.” Sasha maintained his gaze and shrugged. “It just did.”
“So this entire performance tonight was an elaborate ruse at my expense?”
“No, it was a test.” She stepped even closer, forcing her gaze to meet his. “For both of us. I needed to know that you were someone I could work with. That your art and what you stand for are things I believe in. Without that foundation, there’s no way I can sell your brand to the world.”
“And what’s the verdict?” He folded his arms and stared down his nose at her.
“I was already a fan of the art. But now I’m infinitely impressed with the artist.” Sasha smiled, invoking his earlier statement.
Jordan shook his head and seemed to chuckle, in spite of himself. “Okay, Sasha.” He put emphasis on the use of her given name again. “I’ll make you a deal.”
She folded her arms and tipped her chin upward. “Let’s hear it.”
“I’ll listen to your proposal for expanding my brand...over dinner. My treat.”
Sasha inhaled deeply. Tried not to let him see her blink or how her knees were trembling. She gripped her clutch tightly with both hands and exhaled slowly. “A working dinner?”
“If it makes you feel better to call it that.”
“What would you call it?” The brooch on her silk clutch dug into her skin.
“A date, of course.” Jordan chuckled in response to her opened mouth and widened eyes. His nostrils flared and a sexy-as-sin smirk curved one side of his sensuous mouth. “Careful, love. Now I can see you a bit more clearly.”
“What do you mean?” Heat crawled up her spine and the space between them seemed to evaporate.
“You’re Miss Prim and Proper. The one who can’t bear the thought of breaking the rules.” He walked around her, studying her as if she were a museum piece. He leaned in closer. His warm breath tickled her skin. His tone was teasing. “I doubt you’ve ever knowingly broken a single rule.”
Heat filled her cheeks and a knot tightened in her belly. Yes, he was definitely testing her.
If Jordan Jace thought she’d be run off by a little teasing and a lot of flirtation, he had no idea whom he was dealing with. Unlike Jordan, Sasha hadn’t come from money. But she knew how to play the game, and she wasn’t easily intimidated. And dealing with a difficult client? That was just her average Tuesday.
Sasha lengthened her spine, her eyes meeting his. “Just tell me when and where.”
Chapter 4
Jordan pushed in Sasha’s chair, then settled in the seat across from her. The woman was even more mesmerizing than he remembered. A remarkable feat, since he hadn’t been able to get her face and memorable curves out of his head for the past three days.
Sasha Charles had been all he could think of. He’d even taken out his charcoal pencils and sketched the face and form that had kept him awake late at night. Tossing and turning with the desire to have her in his bed.
Tonight, he’d pulled out all the stops to impress her.
Secured reservations at the hottest French restaurant in town, despite their customary thirty-day waiting list. He’d insisted on picking her up in his Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo. And he’d placed their orders in perfect French.
Still, Sasha seemed unaffected. As if it were a run-of-the-mill Friday night.
She pulled out two black folders with gold lettering on them and handed him one. “You asked to see my plan for growing your brand? Well, here it is.”
“You want to do this right now?” Jordan opened the folder emblazoned with the name of the marketing agency Sasha worked for.
“I appreciate the lovely gesture, of course. I’ve been wanting to try this place since they opened six months ago.” Sasha glanced around the elegant restaurant. “However, I thought it best to establish the tone at the outset. Whatever you might call it, for me, this is very much a business dinner.”
“Point taken.” Jordan nodded sagely. “And maybe you’re right. Best to get all of the business out of the way so we can move on to more...fun aspects of the evening.”
Sasha’s eyes widened and she blinked several times. “Jordan, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea about tonight. I want to work with you, of course. But not if that means you expect me to—”
“Oh God, no.” Jordan held his hands up. “I know that I made this dinner a requirement for me to consider working with you, but I’d never...” He couldn’t even say the words. “That isn’t even remotely my style. I assure you. However, I am quite taken with you, Sasha. I’d like to get to know you better. I don’t see anything wrong with that, do you?”
Sasha sank her teeth into her luscious lower lip, the wheels turning in her lovely head. She didn’t respond to his question. Instead, she took a sip of the mineral water she’d ordered instead of wine.
Finally, she raised her eyes to his. “In that case, I should tell you that you don’t need to try so hard to impress me.”
Jordan leaned forward. “And why is that?”
“I’m already impressed. You’re a brilliant artist, Jordan. I know that your pieces will be in museums all over the world within five or ten years. Kids will be studying them in art classes in twenty.”
Sasha paused as the server put their appetizers on the table. A warm puff pastry filled with Camembert cheese and served with a side of fruit chutney. She asked for her water glass to be refilled, repeating her insistence that she wouldn’t be drinking.
That affirmed two things. One: Sasha felt it imperative that she remain stone-cold sober. Two: she didn’t trust what she might do if she wasn’t.
All the better.
That way there’d be no question of impropriety when they tumbled into his bed.
“Thank you for your vote of confidence.” Jordan put a piece of the warm, flaky pastry oozing with cheese on each of their plates and handed her one. “But I know bloody well you didn’t come to that conclusion from speaking to my parents.”
Her gaze dropped to her plate for a moment. When it returned to his there was an unmistakable pity that made his cheeks burn.
“Your mother wouldn’t have invested in my services if she didn’t think your work worthy.” Sasha skillfully avoided mention of Jonathan Jace’s feelings about his art.
Add kindness and compassion to the woman’s growing list of virtues.
“And as to my conclusions about you...well, I always make a point of arriving at those on my own. And what sealed it for me wasn’t Jordan Jace, the artist. It was Jordan Jace, the man.”
Jordan paused, a forkful of cheesy deliciousness inches from his lips, and cocked an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”
“I mean I’m impressed with your commitment to the environment and to helping disadvantaged young artists.” She shrugged, breaking and spearing a piece of the pastry with her fork. “I’ve always been a sucker for a man with a cause.” She nearly said the words under her breath.
Jordan chuckled. “Ahh...you were that girl. The one who wears her heart on her sleeve and has a ‘Save The’ sticker for every cause known to man.”
“Am I that transparent?” Sasha laughed, then took a bite of the pastry. Her murmur of appreciation went straight below his belt.
Jordan groaned internally, painfully aware of the need to adjust his trousers.
“I admit I’m a proud, card-carrying member of several organizations. Organizations and causes I care deeply about. The environment and funding arts education in public schools happen to be two of the causes I hold dear.” She smiled. “So this isn’t just a routine client job for me. It’s important that I help you succeed.”
There was something about the warmth of her words and the sincerity with which she uttered them that tugged at a string in his chest. The unexpected feeling temporarily rendered him speechless.
“All right, Sasha Charles. You win. I’d be a fool to turn down an offer like that.” Jordan smiled. “So where exactly do we begin?”
“Two areas.” Sasha opened the folder. “First, we make your social media accounts more dynamic and engaging. More reflective of you and your art.”
“Sounds good.” He nodded. “I’m sure Lydia will be glad to have that off her plate. Call my office during the week and she’ll give you the log-in information for all of the accounts.”
“My team will generate the posts, but I’ll run everything past you. Get your approval first. Especially in the beginning while we’re learning each other.”
“Learning each other,” he repeated her words, fondly. If that would require more evenings spent in the company of this gorgeous, compassionate woman, Jordan was all in. “I like the sound of that even better. Only I’m at quite the disadvantage. Aside from what you do for a living, I know very little about you.”
“There’s not much to tell.” Sasha shrugged. “I’m an average girl from an average, working-class family. I grew up in a neighborhood where nothing was given, and everything was earned. I’ve been driven by that motto my entire life.” She took another bite of the pastry. “End of story.”
“That’s a good start.” Jordan couldn’t help the admiration that rose in his chest as he surveyed the woman. “But somehow I feel you’re being extremely modest. That there’s a lot more than you’re letting on.”
“Can’t give up all of my secrets right away.” Sasha pulled another piece of the pastry off, creating a long, gooey string of cheese.
Jordan was enthralled with watching her place a morsel in her mouth and chew. He gulped water from his glass and set it on the table again. “So, what does an average girl from an average, working-class family like to do for fun?”
Her brown eyes danced with amusement. “When I’m not working or volunteering for a youth mentoring organization run by a friend, I’m usually hanging out with friends or visiting my family. Though, there haven’t been many girls’ nights out since my best friend, Miranda, married Vaughn Ellicott—a friend of yours, I believe.”
Jordan’s jaw tightened as he recalled his most recent encounter with Vaughn when he’d suspected him of being a vandal and thief.
“He’s the treasurer of our local Prescott George chapter.” There was no need to say more than that.
“You don’t like him.” Sasha tilted her head as she assessed him. It wasn’t a question. “I wasn’t sure I did either, at first. But when I realized he really, truly loved Miranda...well, then I gave him a fair chance. The better I know him, the more I like him.”
“Perhaps I don’t know him well enough yet.” Jordan smiled politely, eager to move on from discussing Vaughn Ellicott. “My fault entirely, I’m sure. I’m not the most social member of the club.”
“Being a member of Prescott George is quite an investment. And your membership there offers you the opportunity to make incredible connections locally and abroad. So as your brand strategist, I’d recommend that you become a more social member.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he grumbled as the server brought their meals and set them on the table. After they’d both had a chance to dig in to their meals, he returned his attention to her. “So, it’s a Friday night. You aren’t working or volunteering and your best friend is spending time with her new husband. What would be your ideal way to spend the evening?”
“I’m a jeans and flip-flops kind of girl at heart.” She looked up from her coq au vin for a moment. “So while I do like to dress up on occasion, I’m just as content to sit on my sofa and watch TV while drinking a light beer and eating takeout from a really good chicken shack. The kind you find in only the sketchiest of neighborhoods.”
Jordan couldn’t help the genuine laughter her statement evoked. “You’re simply full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“I could say the same of you.” She smiled. “You’re not just the rebellious wild child everyone thinks you are. You’re a brilliant artist, well versed in your craft. You have a huge heart and a soft spot for kids who want to be artists, too. Kids who remind you of yourself.”
When he didn’t respond, she continued. “You pretend to be this perennial bad boy. And perhaps at some point you were. But that isn’t the person I see.”
Jordan shifted in his seat beneath her warm brown eyes. There was something about those eyes. They had the uncanny ability to peer beyond the surface. To bore a hole in the hardened exterior he was willing to show the world. To dig into the soft, vulnerable center he worked so hard to conceal.
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