The Billion Dollar Contract: The Executive Collection (43 page)

“Thank you,” he said as soon as the man handed him a clicker. “That’s all. Thanks again.”

The office worker left the room, closing the door behind him. Since the walls and door were soundproof, the ringing phones and chatter of the main office were instantly blocked out. Jasmine was finally alone with Ethan, but there was no time to talk. He was messing with the controllers and making sure Jasmine was up to speed. They would have to talk later. Everything was business right now.

One second later the screen flicked to life. Jasmine placed her pen over her tablet and prepared to get carpal tunnel.

The meeting went on for a half hour straight. Although it was only the two of them and two people in Japan, Jasmine never got a break from her writing. Right away everyone jumped to the pleasantries as if it were the most exciting part, exchanging hellos, jokes about the time in Japan – midnight – and how both parties were groggy for different reasons. Jasmine did not expect Ethan to introduce her, but the next thing she knew she was giving an awkward bow over the conference table. The man and woman on the screen nodded back at her. What they thought of her was never conveyed on their faces. Even Ethan Cole could learn a thing or two about the poker face of the Japanese businessperson.

“Make sure you write down everything,” Ethan whispered to Jasmine as the man and woman discussed something to each other quickly. “This is a huge transaction. We must make sure that there are no mistakes.”

Yay! Pressure!
Jasmine fished for the cover letter and copied down those names one more time. It did not help that both the man and woman had the same last name. “Which name goes first again?” she hissed back at Ethan.

He looked at her as if she were the one who was supposed to know.

Fine. Jasmine would take one for the team and make an ass out of herself in front of overseas colleagues. “Excuse me, but which one of you is Ack-ee-hero?”

Both the man and the woman looked at her incredulously. Beside her, Ethan froze in his seat, the color drained from his face as she asked such a casual question. “I am,” the man, the middle-aged chairman in glasses said. He was not smiling. “Akihiro.”

Not even close to saying that right.
Jasmine cleared her throat. “Thank you. That must mean you’re…” She stared at the other name on the paper.
Good Lord.
“June-rai.”

“Jun is fine.” Her accent was not as thick as the man’s. “Or Junri.” She explained the correct way to pronounce it. A pen flicked back and forth in her hand, either amused or annoyed, Jasmine couldn’t tell.

“Sorry, Mr. And Mrs. Eye-soy-ah.”

For the only time during that meeting, the older gentleman’s eyes grew wide, as if he had never heard his family name pronounced that way before. The woman, on the other hand, stifled a laugh behind the back of her hand and avoided the man’s gaze when he turned to her. “It’s Isoya,” she corrected. “And we are not married. The honorable Akihiro Isoya is my uncle.”

“Oh my God!” Jasmine dropped her pen and nearly shot back in her chair. “I’m so sorry!”

Ethan drummed his fingers on the table beside her. His lips were taut, cheeks sucking into his mouth, and his breath steadying as he went through every terrible thing that could possibly happen from now on in his head.
Aren’t they the ones asking
you
for money?
She didn’t see why she should get in trouble for this. Especially since she apologized!

“Mr. Isoya,” Ethan began, his pronunciation better than Jasmine’s, but still not perfect. “I apologize for my assistant. She’s new.”

How wonderful to be thrown under the bus! “Yes, I’m very sorry.”

Both uncle and niece cleared their throats one more time. “Let’s get started.”

The next half hour was excruciating. Between trying to keep up with the conversation, and writing down everything they said, Jasmine’s arm started to fall off at the ten minute mark. She shook out her hand every few seconds, grateful for when one of the Japanese businesspeople had trouble thinking of a phrase in English. If it was the man, his niece usually jumped in. Jasmine learned to dread her speaking: she was quick, obviously aware of what she was saying, but sometimes her accent grew too thick and Jasmine couldn’t understand anything.
Have to be accurate!
She couldn’t interrupt everything to ask the woman to repeat herself. That was simply unacceptable, especially when they started throwing around money figures.

Seven hundred and fifty thousand. One million. One and a half million. Neither Ethan nor the representatives of the hospitality business could agree on an investment sum. This meeting was about asking Jackson-Cole for a large investment in a new hotel property in Okinawa. The Japanese company wanted to expand, but first they had to gain capital and the confidence of their investors. The woman presented facts and charts to show how many domestic investors had already signed on, and how much they were investing. Jasmine did not doubt that Ethan already knew whether or not he was going to invest before this meeting began. The question was how much he was willing to put into the company. He wasn’t toying with his personal funds. This was the corporation’s money, and one bad deal could cost him his position. On the other hand, if it ended up being profitable for the company, everyone would call him a genius.

“One of the many perks of investing with our company is the amenities that you will receive with us.” The woman sat up straight, her crisp brown business suit hugging the fine curves of her body – naturally, Ethan stared at her a lot.
You like that masculine look?
The woman had feminine features and posture, but her style emulated that of a young businessman’s, all the way to the hair cut close to her scalp.
Stop staring at her.
Jasmine didn’t want to feel jealous over a woman eight thousand miles away. “Not only will you have free lodging at our many hotels in Japan, but you will receive hefty discounts with many of our affiliates around the world.” Odds were Ethan knew this already, but the woman looked as if she would get in trouble if she didn’t mention this.

The door opened. The two Americans looked up to see Nadia step in, handing Ethan a small stack of papers. “Here are those papers you wanted, sir.” Discreet, Nadia remained low behind the chairs so she wouldn’t interrupt the meeting. Too late – especially when she glanced up and caught sight of the people on the screen. “Oh!” She apologized, shook her head, and kept her eyes on both people for far too long. The businesswoman on the screen smiled at the pretty arrival; her uncle glanced between them with a tsk in his throat.
Transoceanic flirting.

“One million.” Ethan said it with finality, folding his hands on the conference table as he stared down both man and woman on the screen and Nadia made her great escape. “That is all we will be comfortable separating with for this venture.”

The head bows were immediate. “Thank you, Mr. Cole.” The woman wrote something down on a piece of paper. “We look forward to hosting you the next time you’re in Japan.” Her uncle also gave his thanks, and eventually the meeting ended.

Once the screen went dark, Ethan let out a huge breath and touched his forehead to the table. Jasmine organized the papers. “I didn’t screw it up, did I?” she asked.

Ethan lifted his head. “No. They expect us to screw up. And in return we go even easier on them if they screw up. Otherwise we wouldn’t get anywhere.” He sat up, helping her put the folders back together. “Especially if we have women making eyes at each other through a damn screen,” he mumbled. Jasmine only caught it because she was waiting for it.

“So you know?” She lowered her voice, even though nobody in the office could hear.

“Know what?”

Jasmine stared him down. “About Nadia…”

“I’ve tried telling you before. Not that I should have. But I see that you know now.”

“Yes. I was pretty surprised.”

“How? Everyone in the office could tell she had a crush on you.”

Jasmine couldn’t be shocked, simply because the idea was so absurd. “Liar.”

“Okay, maybe a little.”

Huffing, Jasmine sat back in her seat and waited for Ethan to tell her what to do next.
Go type up the notes. Print them out. Make them nice and neat for him and the other members of the board.
It would be monotonous, but at least Jasmine would know what she was doing with her day. She didn’t even need Ethan to tell her to spin everything in a positive way. What was a million between partners?

“On that note,” Ethan said, lowering his voice to a murmur. “I wanted to talk to you. About Friday.”

Jasmine froze in her seat. For the duration of the meeting she had been able to forget about that conversation she wanted to have with Ethan. “What about Friday?”

“You seemed rather upset that I was leaving.”

“But what did you want from me? You come over unexpected, seduce me like you always do, make love to me, and then leave? That kind of shit screws with a girl.”

“I know. I only want you to understand that if I had stayed, things probably would’ve gotten weirder.”

“I don’t know how. Things were already weird when you got out of bed and left. Had to inhale cat fur all night to keep me company.”

“Let’s discuss this in my office.”

They gathered their things and exited the conference room, going from the peace and quiet of that soundproof room to the comparable chaos of an executive office on Monday morning. No one but Nadia paid them any mind as they went into Ethan’s office and latched the door behind them. Quiet resumed.

“I suppose you don’t want to hear the answer.” Ethan tossed his folders onto his desk. Yet he did not sit in his plush leather chair. Instead he went to the couch along the wall, tossing himself into it as if he were already worn out from a full week of work. “I needed some time alone to clear my thoughts.”

“Yeah, you seem to need to do that a lot. Jasmine leaned against the closed door, crossing her ankles. “What you don’t get is that you end up hurting people’s feelings in the process. Specifically mine.”

Ethan leaned his elbow against the top of the couch and plastered his hand over his face. “In truth, I never planned to stay the night. I didn’t even plan on having sex with you. I thought I would stay a couple of hours and then go back home.”

“So what happened? My feminine charms proved too much for you?”

He peered at her between his fingers. “I wouldn’t put it that way. But in a way I did fall for you again that night.”

“Again?”

“Haven’t you realized what’s been going on these past few months?” Ethan laughed in derision, as if he couldn’t believe that Jasmine was so obtuse. “Good grief, I’ve been falling for you harder than a block of stone.”

Yet he still won’t say that he loves me.
Jasmine wasn’t dense. She had seen the subtle and sometimes not so subtle changes that Ethan had gone through around her. He was softer, kinder, and laughed more than she anticipated. Seeing him gradually open up to her over those past three months was something else entirely.
Not just things like the garden, but what he said about his past lovers as well.
“And I feel like I’m being punished for it.” Jasmine crossed her arms. “I don’t like being jerked around like this. I’m either your girlfriend for real, or I’m that woman you hired for sex. You can’t have both. I can’t have you emotionally jerk me around one moment and then expect me to come to you when you want.” At least she wasn’t going to cry. At least she had some dignity that Monday morning. “Pick one, Ethan. Tell me where I stand in your life. I can be your friend to an extent, but if you want more of my heart, you’ll have to stop self-sabotaging everything all the time.”

“Sabotage.” Ethan lowered his hand. “That’s a good word for it.”

“So you know you’re doing it?”

He sat up on the couch and leaned against his knees. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I sabotage my relationships — if you can call them that – so I won’t be surprised in the end.”

“Well, you’re picking up women as you see them and giving them millions of dollars to entertain you for a few months. That sort of thing doesn’t start relationships off well.” Jasmine pushed herself off the door and walked halfway across the room to Ethan. “So I would really appreciate it if you didn’t break down my walls one second and make me put them back up again the next. Seduce me into your bed if you want, but don’t…”

“Sit down.” Ethan interrupted her to pat the seat next to him. “There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

At first Jasmine wasn’t going to move. She had worked herself back up to anger, the terrible emotion that only made her want to throw something on the ground. How dare he interrupt her? But then she saw that pleading look on his face, a look that he did not often share with others. Jasmine supposed that she should feel special for ever getting to see it herself.
Fine.
She sat on the other end of the couch, keeping a respectable distance between herself and Ethan. “What is it?”