Entangled (The Accidental Billionaires, #2)(67)

“Do you do that often?”

“Hardly ever. You were an exception. I have enough problems. I usually let people deal with their own issues. But you did look a little bit desperate.”

I leaned back in my chair. The female was attractive. Okay, maybe she was beautiful. Honestly, I’d say she was striking, too.

Her hazel eyes were inquisitive and bright, and even though her fiery hair was pulled up and secured to the back of her head, small tendrils framed a face with gorgeous features.

She was dressed for success in an A-line black skirt, a white blouse, and a matching dark jacket. I hadn’t seen her feet, but I was willing to bet she was wearing sensible heels.

Who knew that a woman in a suit could be such a turn-on?

And the female was smoking hot. I had a feeling it didn’t much matter what she was wearing.

Maybe the part I liked about her the best was her lack of interest in me.

“I have my own difficulties, too,” I mused. “And I generally don’t butt into anybody else’s business.”

“You should try it sometime,” she suggested. “It makes you forget your own drama for a while. It’s a stress reliever. So what are you struggling with today?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want to know?”

“Not really,” she answered. “But I am sitting at your table. So shoot.”

I had to force myself not to smile. The woman was brutally honest. But she intrigued me. And that was something I hadn’t experienced for a long time. “I’m a builder, and I have a pain-in-the-ass tree hugger who is keeping me from building on a site because it’s the nesting place for some endangered birds. It could cost me millions of dollars if the site can’t be built on.”

She shook her head. “Sounds horrible,” she commented. “So you’re a builder?”

I inclined my head. “I’m Seth Sinclair. I own Sinclair Properties.”

She didn’t look the least bit impressed.

“I’ve heard of you. Didn’t you inherit billions of dollars? The story was all over the local news. You’re connected to the Boston Sinclairs, right?”

She still looked unfazed, which I found confusing. Most women’s attitudes changed immediately once they knew who I was and how much money I had.

The woman was kind of an enigma. I couldn’t even sense what she was thinking.

“They’re half-siblings and cousins,” I explained.

“So why do you want to build on a site that houses a threatened species?” she asked.

“Because I own it,” I drawled.

“I kind of think the birds were probably there first,” she replied.

“I’ll lose millions if I don’t build. I’m not just going to donate expensive coastal land.”

“I doubt you’d really miss the money,” she contemplated. “And if you’re getting that much resistance, why don’t you just give it up? There’s a lot of other places to build. But you can’t bring back extinct animals.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re starting to sound just like my sister Jade.”

“I don’t know her personally, but she seems like an amazing woman,” she answered. “She’s done some incredible work on conservation genetics. I admire your sister, actually. So I don’t mind sounding like her.”

I watched as the woman put her computer away.

“Don’t rush away on my account,” I said, unsettled that the female was going to leave as quickly as she’d arrived.

“I’ve done my good deed for the day.”

“I’m kind of enjoying the conversation.”

She shot me a puzzled look. “Why? I obviously don’t agree with you.”

I shrugged. “Maybe that’s why I like it.”

“You don’t have friends with different opinions?”

I shook my head. “Not really. I don’t actually have many real friends.”

My best friends were my brothers. I’d never had much time to socialize. My priority had always been my family, and working hard to make sure we weren’t separated.

“What a shocker,” she said sarcastically as she zipped up her computer bag. “A generous guy like you should be surrounded by friends.”

“You’re mocking me,” I said with surprise.

“Look, I don’t really know you. But it seems to me like you’re the kind of guy who places more value on money than on your environment. So it’s almost impossible for me to take you seriously.”

“It’s not that I don’t care about the birds,” I told her honestly. “I just think losing millions of dollars over it is kind of ridiculous.”

She stood up and buttoned her suit jacket. “I have to go. I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you, but it really wasn’t.”

I actually flinched from the insult. “I don’t understand why you’re so adamant about a bunch of birds,” I grumbled.

“Maybe because my name is Riley Montgomery,” she shot back as she hefted her bag onto her shoulder. “I’m a big part of your annoying problem.”

I gaped at her as she turned and walked away without another word.

I couldn’t move my eyes from the sway of that sexy, shapely ass as she disappeared.