Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(26)

“So the public Eli Stone is different from the private one?”

“Very different,” I agreed.

Most of the crazy shit I did wasn’t really something I wanted to do. The extreme events were something I felt driven to do.

“So are you going to tell me that you’re actually a pretty normal guy?”

“Define normal?” I requested.

“Do you mow your own lawn?”

“No,” I answered flatly.

“Do you cook for yourself?”

“No.”

“Do you ever do laundry?”

“Nope.” Christ! In a couple of minutes, I was going to start to feel pretty useless if she didn’t stop asking questions.

“Do you ever go out to the movies?”

“I have a home theater.”

“Then I guess you aren’t all that normal,” she observed.

I hated the disappointment I heard in her tone.

“I don’t do all those things because I don’t have the time,” I grumbled. “It wouldn’t make financial sense for me to mow my lawn. I have a pretty big yard. Everything is all about managing my time.”

She sat up and put her beautiful lips around the straw of her drink before she sucked up a large portion of her beverage.

I hated myself for the thoughts that entered my mind as I conjured up images of what I’d love to have those gorgeous lips of hers wrapped around right at the moment.

“I get that,” she said when she finally let go of her straw. “It’s not like any of my own family does their own laundry, either. Not anymore. But it’s just hard to get used to. I still do everything myself.”

“That’s because you still aren’t managing your own wealth,” I told her. “Once you take over your own decisions, things get complicated, and there won’t be enough hours in the day once your career as a scientist kicks in, too. There’s a limit to what we can do ourselves.”

“I suppose if I had been able to get a position I wanted right away, and if I managed my own wealth, I wouldn’t have time for much of anything,” she considered.

I frowned. “Why can’t you get a position you want?”

“Not available,” she said sadly. “There aren’t exactly a lot of opportunities, because my focus is pretty narrow. And there’s less and less money available for nonprofit positions. It’s not like I didn’t put in résumés just about everywhere, but there aren’t many places that do genetic conservation.”

“What about the San Diego Zoo?” I asked.

“I wish,” she said longingly. “Getting into their genetic conservation studies would be my dream job. There’s so much happening with cryogenics and genetic research. It’s the future of conservation. Having the capability to do in vitro to broaden gene pools, and to bring back a decimated population, is pretty exciting.”

The animation and excitement on her face as she talked about her dreams were genuine. I could see the science geek coming out, and I’d never seen anything more beautiful than watching her as her mind went to places most people’s didn’t.

“You could do a grant for your own research,” I suggested.

“I can’t do that,” she answered. “I want my work to mean something, and I want somebody to think it’s important enough to study and research. If I offer grants, I can’t pick what they choose to do with it. Not specifically. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about giving grant money for research, and it’s something I plan to do. But I don’t want to insist that somebody chooses my work to research because it’s my money.”

My admiration for Jade shot up a couple of notches. I got what she was saying, but it took a lot of morals and ethics not to write her own ticket to success with an established research facility now that she had the money to do it.

“You’ve only been out of your fellowship for a few months. It will take time, but it will happen.”

She smiled at me. “Don’t think I’ve stopped trying. Since I have the time, I don’t let a single possibility pass me by without applying. It will happen. It wasn’t like I didn’t know I’d have to work my way up, since it’s a tough field.”

I nodded as I stared at her determined expression. I’d always known that Jade Sinclair was an extraordinary woman. But seeing her like this, with her guard down, I was getting an even deeper insight into the person she was.

Problem was, I was beginning to like her way too much.

Control, Stone. I need to keep my emotions in check and remember that my objective is to get this woman into my bed and fuck her until my obsession with her wears off.

I did not need to get involved.

I did not need to like her.

I did not need to empathize with her.

And I sure as hell didn’t need to wonder how I could make every dream Jade ever had come true.

I shrugged, a nonchalant gesture I wasn’t really feeling. “You’ll get there, Jade. Keep applying, and maybe try to get your wealth management under control until your opportunity comes up. Then you won’t have so much to deal with all at once.”

“I want to take everything over myself,” she said longingly. “I’m just too afraid I’ll make a mistake. I’m a scientist, Eli, not a business or money person.”