“Oh, you mean back at the vineyard where you were acting like a spoiled BAP, the Black American princess threatening to have me fired because I came on to you? I didn’t lie to you. There were simply some things that I didn’t reveal.”
Diamond cursed her body for reacting to this silkily drawled truth. “I specifically spoke about discussing you with the owner.”
“Which you may have known were one and the same had you not interrupted my introduction. Assuming that I was the supervisor is on you.”
“I’d say you were being uncooperative at best and deceptive at worst.”
“Well, baby,” Jackson said, the single glass of bubbly obscuring his common sense, the intense desire for her usurping the lack of confidence left over from his early years and pride developed in his later ones, “you’re getting ready to have a cause for rank insubordination because I’ve got to be honest. Before this night is over, I’d like to get real acquainted with those soft, luscious-looking lips of yours and find out if the rest of your body is as soft as your arm. How’s that sound?”
“It sounds like a man who’d like to get slapped,” Diamond retorted, even as the image she’d fought all afternoon—the one that had them skin to skin from head to toe—flashed in her mind. “It sounds like a cocky, arrogant jerk who has obviously gotten women to drop their panties way too easily.”
“Well, there is some truth to that.”
“I think I’ve heard enough.”
She got ready to walk away, but Jackson’s words stopped her. “Ask yourself why I’m so getting on your nerves, why you’ve been snapping at me since we’ve met. And don’t feed yourself the lame excuse that it’s because of not knowing who I was at the site.”
“Well, you should know about lame.”
“Wow, spoken like a princess reprimanding the help.” He continued despite her huff. “Maybe I should have come clean and told you I owned the company, but I’m glad I didn’t. My anonymity gave me the opportunity to see firsthand how you treat my men. And like I said this afternoon, you don’t have the right to talk down to them or anyone else.”
Did this fool just check me on how I handle my business on my property? “I’ll admit that your men have always been respectful, an area in which you could learn a thing or two. Like now, telling me how to act and what to say. Just who do you think you are?”
“A man who’s not afraid of your last name, that’s who,” Jackson replied. Mr. Bravado was obviously still riding shotgun. “And one who sees what he wants and goes after it.” Diamond got ready to interrupt him, but Jackson held up his hand and continued. “You’ve got quite the reputation among the men—powerful, no nonsense, untouchable. They say you don’t come to the site much, and when you do, you keep your distance. But I detect a fire underneath that cool exterior. We’re grown folk, Diamond, and I have no need to beat around the bush. I find you attractive as hell, and I want to get to know you better…a lot better. I think you want to get to know me, too. Am I right?”
Diamond’s chin took on its familiar tilt as she tried not to let Jackson’s words affect her. The fact of the matter was she was feeling him in more ways than one and not only that but she wanted him to feel her in more ways than one. He was a handsome, intelligent man who she’d bet her paycheck was an awesome lover. But after he’d sexed her real good, then what? And what about her rule of not dating within the workplace, not to mention the one about not having any more casual relationships with noncommittal men? If there was one thing Diamond could spot, it was a man with marital allergies. Her brothers Donovan and Dexter had shown her exactly what that looked like.
As if on cue, said brothers walked into the space and up to where she and Jackson were standing. A part of her was glad to see them as they’d provided an escape of sorts. But the other part knew that her reprieve was over. She’d avoided both her father and Donovan this afternoon, but she was in for a grilling later on tonight. “Hey, bro,” she said, reaching up to give Dexter a hug. “I didn’t think you were going to make it.”
“I just got in,” Dexter responded, eyeing Jackson as he gave his sister a hug.
“How was Baltimore?”
“Cool. Rainy.” Dexter took a step back. “Why are you so dressed up? And what happened to your hair?”
“Dressing up is normally required at a black-tie event,” Diamond sarcastically answered. She fingered her hair. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it looks good.” Dexter held up his fist to Jackson for a pound. “Hey, Boss.”
“Dexter,” Jackson responded, before turning to greet Donovan, as well. “Hey, Don. This is why I had to cut our meeting short, man. If I’d known you were coming here, I would have let you know.”
“Looks like there’s a few things I might need to know,” Donovan replied, before turning to Diamond. “I didn’t know you and Diamond were hanging out.”
“Just formally met her today, man. And now I see why y’all have been keeping her under wraps!”
“Yes, just how has that happened?” Diamond asked Donovan. “How is it that you, Dex and Dad have known Jackson ‘Boss’ Wright for a while now and I’d never met him before today?”
“No need,” Donovan said with a shrug. “You’d never been a part of the construction projects before, and most of our initial meetings took place at Boss’s office.” What Donovan didn’t share was that it was also to protect his baby sis from getting hurt. He knew that Diamond wanted to get married and knew that Jackson was a Casanova. Like oil and water—those two ingredients didn’t mix well. “Don’t let the smooth talk fool you, baby sis. This is a great businessman, but he doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet…if you know what I mean.”
“Don’t worry, Donovan. Our interaction is strictly business.”
Jackson chuckled but instead of responding to Diamond’s comment, still smiling, he addressed Donovan instead. “You’re being a bit hard on a brother, don’t you think?”
“Just keeping it real,” Donovan replied, his gruff words tempered by a smile of his own.
“Should Diamond grant me the pleasure of her extended company, I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”
Donovan eyed Jackson skeptically, even as he nodded at Erin, who was motioning for him from across the lawn to join the group she now entertained. “You do that,” he said, giving the construction owner a fist pound and then leaving the group.
Dexter smiled as a gorgeous Latina sidled up to him. “Hey, Maria,” he said, giving her a light kiss on the lips. “I think I’ll freshen up my drink and then we’ll take our seats. The concert is about to begin.”
“Shall we join them?” Jackson asked Diamond.
Diamond thought about sitting next to Jackson while listening to the sultry sounds of smooth jazz, feeling the breeze from the ocean and experiencing the accidental brushes of his fingers across her flaming skin. Not a good idea. “Thanks but I think I’ll network a bit more. Oh, and Jackson, I meant what I said to my brother. The interaction between us is to be strictly business. Have I made myself clear?”
Jackson slowly nodded. “Got it.” He stood there watching and appreciating her “business” as she walked across the lawn to join her friends.
Chapter 7
Diamond shifted in her seat, hoping that she didn’t look as unnerved as she felt. For the past thirty minutes, she could have sworn that she’d felt the heat of Jackson’s gaze on the nape of her neck. She’d known the moment he sat down directly behind her not because the woman next to him had immediately introduced herself and her husband but because there was a vibe,