Ensnared (The Accidental Billionaires #1)(3)
“Ah, yes,” he said in a condescending tone. “The wildlife conservationist and primitive survivalist who suddenly became a Sinclair, right? I had my people check you out before I accepted your appointment. You have an interesting history.”
“I’ve always been a Sinclair,” I said through gritted teeth.
Jerk! Why in the world did he need my life story just to tell me he doesn’t want to sell some property? It has to have been the most boring report he’s ever read.
Maybe I hadn’t always been part of the high-profile Sinclairs, but my siblings and I had faced a lot of challenges, and we’d always gotten through it. I was pretty proud of that.
“Just not one of the wealthy ones until recently,” he pointed out. “The Sinclairs on the East Coast have been a powerful family for generations. How did you say you became part of that family?”
“I didn’t,” I snapped. It was none of Eli Stone’s business how I was related to the Sinclair dynasty. And my father’s bigamist behavior wasn’t something I wanted to talk about, especially not with him.
The West Coast and East Coast Sinclairs shared the same father. That’s all anybody really knew. My brothers here in California had made it a point not to turn the tragic story into a tabloid scandal. My twin sister, Brooke, had been on the East Coast recovering from her own trauma, and none of us wanted her to find out from the gossip papers that she was going to inherit a fortune. She needed time to heal from losing her friends and coworkers in a bank robbery where she’d nearly lost her own life as well. Brooke didn’t even know about the money yet. My siblings and I had all agreed to give her time to deal with the tragedy before throwing anything else on her.
Honestly, I was surprised that Eli had been able to dig up any information about me or my family. My half brother Evan had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure nobody got to the truth until Brooke was emotionally healed and back on the West Coast again.
Evan had obviously been successful, since Eli Stone apparently hadn’t been able to get access to all the details.
“I might be willing to bargain on other properties, but not that one,” he said thoughtfully.
I folded my arms in front of me. “Since that’s the only one I’m interested in, then I guess we’re done here.”
Maybe I was disappointed that I couldn’t secure the wildlife corridor, but I had the sudden need to get out from under the intensity of his gaze. I was pissed off about him digging into my personal life, but I was squirming from his blatant stare. I quickly came to the conclusion that my need to escape was currently more important than my outrage.
Before I could get up, he said casually, “You’re really quite beautiful, Jade.”
That stunned me into silence, and I gaped at him as my palms began to sweat. “I don’t understand.”
His expression had changed mercurially, and so fast it was almost scary.
He smiled, a calculated grin that I was pretty sure he always used to his advantage. I was certain almost any woman would drop her panties the moment she saw his attractive smile.
Fortunately, I’m not almost any woman.
“It’s quite simple, actually. I find you attractive,” he answered.
Nobody had ever said that to me during my twenty-six years on the planet. My twin, Brooke, was the pretty one. I was the other twin, the one who went out in the wilderness and practiced making traps, finding drinkable water, and kept adding to my survival skills.
It was something I usually did alone.
Especially after getting dumped by my one and only boyfriend in college.
I wasn’t the kind of woman that a guy did a double take on when I walked down the street, and I was sort of okay with that. I liked being me, even if I wasn’t the kind of woman who attracted much attention with my physical appearance.
Not that I went out of my way to get noticed. I was quiet and shy by nature unless I was with friends or family. Most of the time, I preferred the company of animals instead of humans.
Yeah, I had the hope that there was a soulmate out there somewhere for me, somebody who would see me underneath my timid, tomboy exterior. But I wasn’t holding my breath until I met him.
“Can we get back to the subject of the property?” I asked, trying not to let his appreciative looks intimidate me. “If that was a firm no answer, then I won’t waste any more of your time.”
He moved forward and linked his fingers together on the desk, his intent gray eyes never straying from my face. “I make you nervous,” he observed.
“Maybe I’m not used to meeting billionaires,” I said.
He shook his dark head. “It’s not that. I don’t think you’re impressed by my money. I found it intriguing that you inherited your own fortune but the only thing you’ve purchased was a home. In Citrus Beach. A sound investment, since the area is growing fast.”
Okay. I had to admit that it was a little creepy that he knew so much about me.
“It wasn’t an investment,” I argued. “It was a home. My home. And I hope Citrus Beach never gets too big. I like it the way it is.”
I found it unnerving that he seemed to know every move that I’d made since coming into money, and that he’d had the audacity to have me investigated. Who does that just to meet with somebody about a property proposal?
My outrage was starting to take over my desire to get up and run out of Eli Stone’s office.