“So I’m a source?” I smile. “No one’s dared to call me that before. Not to my face, anyway.”
The waiter interrupts us, serving our food.
“Oh, is this Dungeness crab?” Ava laughs throatily.
“Yes, it is.”
“San Francisco is famous for it.”
“I know; that’s why I ordered it. Thought you’d want to try it.”
With a wink, she digs in.
“Anyway, back to you being a source. You are the company. And you’re not half as bad as I feared you’d be. So. . .”
I’m used to curiosity from women, though of another type. Within five seconds of meeting a woman, I can tell what she wants from me: either to get a leg up in society, or my credit card.
Watching Ava watch me, I detect honest curiosity on her face. I smile, putting my fork down. She makes sense, but I’d be lying if I said the campaign is the only reason I’m considering giving in to her request. Something in her round eyes beckons me to open up to her. And that is dangerous. Openness leads to vulnerability.
“What do you want to know?” I ask.
“How did you start out?”
I lean back in my chair, studying her. “My parents had a ranch when I was a kid. They’d been struggling financially forever. Raising nine kids is no piece of cake. All of us were working hard at the ranch, even the small ones. At fourteen, I realized we’d never get out of poverty if we continued that way. It was the only life my parents knew; I don’t blame them for anything. They are wonderful people and they both worked their fingers to the bone, but it wasn’t enough.”
“You didn’t go to college.”
“No. I had to work. At sixteen, I left the ranch to try my luck in other jobs. At some point, I got involved in commerce. Nothing expensive at first, but later I moved to precious stones. At twenty-one, I’d made some good money, but it wasn’t enough for what I wanted.”
“And that was?”
“To set up my own high-end jewelry company. I sat down with my parents and asked them to sell the only thing they owned—the ranch—and give me the money. Within five days, they put it up for sale. Everyone was behind me.”
“I like your family already.” Her eyes are glassy all of a sudden, but then she blinks, lifting the corner of her lips in a smile. The moment of vulnerability is enough to wake something in me: a need to protect her and keep her from feeling vulnerable again.
“They trusted me completely. I’ll never be able to repay them.”
“You’re doing that already. You take good care of them now.”
“I try to. After selling the ranch, they moved in with my father’s brother and his family. They had a neighboring ranch. It was a tough time, but within six months, I made enough profits to help them. Anyway, Logan helped me build this company. He’s as much of a founder as I am. He doesn’t get nearly enough credit. The press always presents me as the sole creator.”
“That’s true. I suppose it makes for a better story. One man who succeeded against all odds and all that.”
“Yeah. Anyway, as the company grew and the profits came in, I set up my parents so they never had to worry about money again. My siblings all went to college—Logan included. I brought in my other brothers and sisters to help. The company is vast, and most of them
found their place in it.”
“So out of all of you, who works in the company?”
“Pippa and Logan, obviously. I’m the oldest, then come Logan and Pippa. You’ve met Alice. She decided to do something else. The first set of twins is next, Christopher and Max. Max is in London, and Christopher in Hong Kong, building our presence in those markets. The next set of twins—Blake and Daniel—are undecided yet, and the family baby, Summer, is a painter.”
“Wow. Your family sounds fantastic. Blake and Daniel are the party brothers, correct?”
I grimace—shouldn’t have mentioned that to her. People always pick on Blake and Daniel. A few women I’ve dated even went far enough to suggest I should completely cut them off. But they are family, and family comes first. Always.
“Yeah. Blake and Daniel will come around,” I say evasively, with no desire to hear another person talk about how I should crack a whip and put some sense into them.
“Well, everyone is different. As long as they don’t hurt anyone, I don’t see why they shouldn’t do whatever they like.”