“Aren’t you going to have anything?” he asked when she sat with nothing to drink. “Or is this just for me?”
Monica kept her cool as she watched him drink. “I’m not thirsty.”
He looked around the room, taking in the modern décor that appealed to the wealthy masses but still perfectly reflected Monica’s sophistication.My stamp is on every glass, every pillow in this place.Even more so than the Château.
“You said you wanted to personally thank me for my help finding your daughter. I take it that little Abigail is doing just fine. I’ve seen you on the news, after all.”
Monica was quiet. She knew he’d keep talking.
“But if you only cared about that, you would have kept it to a phone call. I know you have no desire to see me, let alone so… clandestinely. Nobody knows we’re meeting, do they?”
“I’d prefer we kept this to ourselves, yes.”
“So, then. What’s happened? If it’s something to do with the Beaumonts, I’m not sure I can offer more help. I want Jean-Pierre to keep believing I had nothing to do with this. He thinks you and I haven’t spoken since you married Henry Warren. Howisold Hen, anyway? Still have that giant stick up his ass?”
Monica ignored that. Which was easy, since she had the folder with the Onyx Blue investor information beneath the table. She left it prominently open for Jackson to peruse.
“This is your company, isn’t it?”
Jackson took another sip of his daiquiri before leaning forward to grab the paper. “You know I love a good onyx, Monica.”
“Don’t toy with me. I want to know why you’re pumping millions into my business.”
He cocked his head as he read through the report. “My, was it really this much? I guess I knew a good thing when I saw it. Especially when some of your first earnings reports went public right before the pandemic.”
“And things dived after that. Yet here came Onyx Blue to the rescue. Keeping us afloat and helping me not only open the Salon a few years ago but expand next door.”
A chuckle unnerved her, but she wouldn’t let it show. “Indeed. How fortuitous for you.”
“Why, Jackson? Why are you investing so much money into me? It’s making theIRS nervous.” This time, she was the one who didn’t let him answer. “Does it have to do with them? Are you laundering money through me?”
“Laundering… mon… oh, dear. No, no, Monica. Actually, I had no idea you were having tax troubles. Guess that comes with the territory of what you do. All of thatnaughtyskinship your girls show the gentlemen who frequent that place. Why, the stories I’ve heard from Jean-Pierre… especially about a woman named, oh…” It was no accident that he picked the name he did. “Judith?”
Judith can take care of her own reputation.“Don’t tell me you’ve become a silent investor because you justwantedto.”
“What if I did?”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe what you want. I know a good thing when I see it. The ROI in the checks you’ve cut Onyx Blue, whether you realize it or not… let’s just say I’m looking forward to how things go with your expansion here. I think you’re the one who gives the Monroes a run for their money. Tell me, is Damon still harassing you?”
“Damon’s never ‘harassed’ me.”
“Quite, I’m sure.” That smarmy smile did not set Monica at ease. If anything, it was coming closer, wasn’t it? “Tell you what, Monica. I’m willing to make a deal with you. For old time’s sake.”
She already hated it.
“Sell me the Château, and all your troubles will be behind you.”
Yes. I hate it.Yet it caught her off guard enough that her eyes widened, giving away how she felt. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious. Because I’ve invested so much, I see your statements quite clearly, and I like what I see. I could become quite the happy man if I owned the Château. Even as a silent owner. Hire whichever girl you recommend to manage it for me. I’d barely talk to her. Unless she’s beenbadat it, of course.”
He’s going after Judith again.Surely, he must have known that Judith was all but in charge of whatever Monica wasn’t overseeing for herself. “That’s not happening.”
“Why not? Think about it, Monica. The Château is your baby, but it’s also a shackle around your wrists that keeps you from yourrealbaby. That sweet little blonde-haired girl who makes you a mother.”
“Don’t talk about my daughter.”
