Gritting my teeth, I grabbed my bag and hailed a cab into Manhattan. Jackson may have been able to hide behind his posh secretary once, but he wasn’t going to get away with it.
Not when I had my mother to take care of.
I have to admit that when the cab dropped me off in front of an elegant glass skyscraper, I was a little shocked. Sure, I knew that Jackson had made a bundle of money working at First Perfect. But I’d never imagined that his building would be one of the wealthiest in New York. I didn’t even know how much it would cost to rent a floor, but I guessed it was probably more than I’d ever had in my entire life put together.
Inside, the lobby was stark, almost Spartan. It was the cleanest lobby I’d ever seen, with pure white sunlight filtering through the elegant glass walls. A gorgeous blonde was perched behind a chrome desk, her nose glued to her computer screen. She didn’t look up as I walked closer, and I felt my heart sink. This isn’t going to work, I realized. She’s just going to tell me to leave, and I won’t be any closer to Jackson than I was on the phone.
“Yes?” The blonde looked up when I coughed. “May I help you?”
I smiled as charmingly as I could. “Hello there,” I said warmly. “I’m Belle Harrington – Jackson Rhodes’ stepsister. I’d really like to speak with him,” I added, pausing and flashing my brightest grin. “We have some family issues right now, and well…it’s very important.”
The blonde pursed her lips. Her wide blue eyes stared at me dully, and I wondered whether or not she was the same bitch I’d spoken to on the phone. So far, she gave no hint of having anything even resembling a personality.
Finally, she smiled slightly. “I’m sorry, miss, you’ll have to make an appointment. Mr. Rhodes is very busy,” she added in a patronizing tone.
I groaned and threw my hands in the air. “I know you don’t believe me,” I said sharply. “But I really need to speak with him! It’s important.”
“I can’t do that,” the blonde said. She looked nervous. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“No!” My reply came out much louder than I’d intended and the word bounced off the walls around me. “No, I’m not going to leave until I can talk to Jackson!”
I was barely aware of the sound of elevator doors pinging open behind me.
“Ma’am, please,” the blonde said. “Mr. Rhodes isn’t available right now. Please leave, or I’ll be forced to call security to escort you out of the building.”
A deep masculine chuckling from behind made me whirl around.
Jackson was standing there, looking sexier than ever in a dark blue suit. His cheekbones were so sharp they looked carved from ice, and his grey eyes flashed over my body. His expression turned to one of disdain when h
e saw that it was me.
“Jackson!” I cried loudly. “I need to speak to you.” Angrily, I turned back towards the blonde at the desk. “See, he knows me,” I insisted loudly. “He’s my stepbrother!”
Jackson licked his lips. He walked closer and crossed his arms over his muscular chest. A wave of spicy cologne washed over me and I shuddered. It smelled so good, so strong – so powerful, like Jackson himself.
“Belle, what are you doing here?”
This was it. This was my big moment to scream at him, to shame him, to blame him for not wanting to take care of my mother, his late father’s widow. But when I turned to face him, I found that I was suddenly unable to speak. It was like someone had reached into my chest and yanked out the words I was going to say.
Jackson raised his eyebrow at me, smirking. “Belle, I asked you a question,” he said, in a deep, sonorous voice that sent shivers down my spine. “What are you doing here?”
I swallowed. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears and I knew that I was losing precious seconds of time. If I didn’t say anything soon, I’d have lost my chance forever.
“I need to talk to you,” I said softly.
Jackson smirked. “About what?”
That’s when my anger came back. I couldn’t believe this asshole was standing in front of me, smirking, just like nothing was wrong.
“You know why,” I hissed. “My mother is going to be homeless unless you help her out.”
Jackson shrugged. “I didn’t ask my father to leave me everything,” he said callously. “It just worked out that way.” Jackson licked his lower lip and raised his eyebrows. “You ever think that maybe, just maybe, your mom was a shitty wife?”
My fist swung through the air and connected with Jackson’s cheek before I could think twice.
Jackson took the punch without wincing. He stood there, staring at me, then lifted a hand to his cheek and gently rubbed the area where my fist had landed.
“You’re a little idiot,” Jackson said. He shook his head and grinned, then lowered his gaze down my body and stared right at my chest. “You don’t know anything, Belle.”