Bethany seemed to freeze as he introduced her to Chef Henri. Her body tensed and the blood drained from her face like she’d seen a ghost.
He glanced at her quizzically, but she averted her gaze.
“Wonderful to meet you, Bethany,” Henri said in his Swiss accent.
“Likewise,” she said softly.
Kirk frowned, concerned about her sudden change in demeanor. It was similar to the sudden change she had exhibited when he had so callously brought up money. Sometimes he felt guilt about his good fortune while others still languished in poverty the way his family had, but it was nothing compared to the regret that was pummeling him now. Bethany was going through a financial crisis, and all he had done was remind her of what she didn’t have. She had been too polite to tell him what an ass he had been.
Determined to make it up to her, Kirk motioned for her to sit at the island at the center of the kitchen. “Please have a seat, Bethany.”
She sat down and Kirk to a seat beside her.
“Tell Henri what you’d like for dinner,” he instructed her. “He really can make whatever you want.”
“I can give you something simple to eat in the meantime, so you are not starving,” Henri offered. “There is the meat and cheese platter that Mr. Sterling’s cousin adores so much. Would that be to your liking, Ms. Walker?”
“Yes. If it’s no trouble,” she said.
“No trouble. No trouble,” Henri said with an insistent wave of his hand. “A beautiful woman must be waited on, don’t you think, Mr. Sterling?”
Bethany smiled and then flushed, a rosy pink coming back to her cheeks.
“Of course.” Kirk returned her smile.
Within moments Henri set out a meat and cheese platter, and then set out the iced tea that Kirk’s cousin couldn’t get enough of.
Kirk took a huge gulp of iced tea. “Why are all of my cousin’s favorites here all of a sudden?”
“Don’t you remember?” Henri asked as he washed his hands at the sink. “Your cousin will be coming here later this week to sample the meals I will be preparing for his wedding. I have all of his favorites here.”
The wedding. Damn, he’d forgotten all about that. He’d been swamped with work lately, especially with Sterling Investment Bank’s push into Latin America. Previously, when SIB had been the Livingston Bank there had been branches throughout North America and Europe, but now it was time to expand and truly make the bank into an international company.
On top of all that his mother had sent a message earlier today, insisting they strategize over what to do about Lloyd Livingston’s release from prison. No doubt his mother would probably use it as a stalling tactic to avoid discussing his future at SIB, but he wasn’t going to let her off the hook. He was going to get her to see things his way because, in the end, he always knew how to negotiate for what he wanted.
Regardless, it had left him little time to think about his cousin’s upcoming wedding. “It slipped my mind.”
“How could you forget your own cousin’s wedding?” Henri scolded as he wiped his hands. “And do you even know who you are taking? Why not take the beautiful Ms. Walker here?”
Kirk grimaced. “We don’t have that sort of relationship, Henri. Ms. Walker is our guest.”
“Oh. A pity.” Henri sighed dramatically. “Imagine having such loveliness on your arm, but does the boss ever do anything but work? How is he to settle down if he doesn’t even try to court such a sweet and beautiful woman? Why, Ms. Walker would outshine the bride, don’t you think?” The chef patted Bethany’s cheek good-naturedly and then began to busy himself around the kitchen. “Honeyed chicken. That can be finished quickly. That way you will not have to wait so long for dinner.”
Bethany laughed softly at Henri’s antics as she reached for a slice of cheese from the platter.
Kirk hated admitting it, but Henri probably had a point. Lately, he hadn’t taken the time to get to know women. Sure, he dated, but that usually meant a handful of dinners and sex before his relationships fizzled out. That’s why talking to Bethany at lunch had made such a big impact on him. He had felt like they were genuinely trying to get to know each other. It hadn’t been about scratching an itch or distracting himself from boredom. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to see of her. But as long as he was helping her they couldn’t be anything more than friends, though part of him wanted to see if they could be more.
Maybe that was his problem. Bethany was totally off limits, so that strengthened his desire. God, how shallow were his relationships with women that her unavailability might be influencing his reaction to her?
Henri’s grumbling pulled him out of the haze of his thoughts, and another idea struck him. Even if romantically pursuing her was off the table, he still wanted to keep helping her. And he knew the perfect way to do it.
“Bethany, I want to commission you to make me a suit for my cousin’s wedding,” he said.
Her mouth fell open. “Boy, you don’t give a girl time to get prepared, do you? Just firing off those ideas.”
“It’s how I’ve succeeded all these years in business,” he said.
“Is that so?” She paused. “When exactly is the wedding anyway?”
“In a little over three weeks.” He held up his hands when she balked. “There must be a charge for short- notice work, which I’m ready to pay.”
“I mean, a suit would probably take about eighty hours of work,” she said. “Three weeks isn’t much time, but it is doable. I just don’t know if this is such a good idea.”
“Why? It’s your line of work, isn’t it?”
“It’s just, you’re helping me so much already,” she explained. “I’ve taken advantage of your kindness enough as it is.”
“This isn’t a kindness,” he said sternly. “You provide a service. A service I want and am now requesting. Unless… this is your way of saying you aren’t up to it.”
“Of course I’m up to it.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
“Never try to talk a potential client out of hiring you.” He gave her a hard stare for emphasis. “Call it the first rule of business. I’ll teach you some of what I know, if you’re willing to learn.”
“I’m more than willing to learn. I’d give anything to know how to make it in business the way you did.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, visibly tensing up again. “Okay. I’m going to need you to be available to collaborate.” When he nodded in agreement, she seemed to relax a bit. “If this suit is going to be the best it can be, then we’re going to have to work together on it. I know you’re a very busy man, and I don’t want to cut into your time—”
“I’ll be certain to make myself available to you,” he said. “So, are we in agreement?”
Bethany nodded. “Yes. Typically the client pays half upfront and the next half on delivery. Since this is short-notice, the cost is going to be a bit higher than what I usually charge.”
“Name your price.”
He watched as she clasped her hand together tightly, obviously anxious. It was clear that, though Bethany had a lot of talent and vision, she was still uncomfortable about the financial side of things. Hopefully, taking him on as a client would help boost her confidence.
Taking a deep breath, she finally said, “Six thousand dollars.”
“Agreed.” He held out his hand to give her a firm handshake.
She looked him right in the eye as their hands met. “I’ll write up your order and send you a copy.”
Kirk nodded. “I’m available tomorrow evening.”
“Great. We can go over ideas and take measurements then,” she said.
“While Henri makes dinner, I can take you on a tour of the house,” he offered.
“I’d like that.” She smiled, her eyes lighting up.
He decided to stick to the main house rather than tire her out by giving her a tour of the entire estate. So, he led her around, showing her the dining room, the game room, the home theater, home gym, and the wine cellar. She was especially excited about the wine cellar, rattling off some seriously impressive information about the Italian wine he had in stock.
“What’s that room?” she asked, pointing at a pair of closed double doors as he wound down the tour to head back into the kitchen.
“That’s my home office and study.” His home office held a lot of private and confidential information that he guarded fiercely. It wasn’t that he distrusted Bethany, but he hadn’t survived a decade in business by letting Sterling Investment Bank’s secrets get out.
“Oh,” was all she said before following him back to the kitchen.
“Dinner is ready,” Henri announced. “I shall have the staff serve it in the dining room.”
“I’ve imposed enough already,” Bethany said, a distinct breathlessness in her tone. “I don’t want the staff to go through all that trouble. I’d be more than happy to eat in the guesthouse.”
“But—”
“You heard her, Henri,” Kirk said. “Our guest would like to eat in comfort and privacy.” He gave Bethany a knowing smile. “Formal dinners here can be a dull affair, so I don’t blame you for wanting out.”
She let out an audible sigh of relief at that.
Henri shook his head and tutted, but he did as instructed and packed a lunch basket for Bethany, filling it with enough food and drink to feed a whole family.
“Stock the guesthouse refrigerator tomorrow for Bethany,” Kirk ordered, taking the basket from Henri.
“Of course. It would be my pleasure.” Henri smiled and gave Bethany a little bow. “An honor to meet you, Ms. Walker. You may come to me and request a meal at any time.”
“Thank you so much,” she said.
With the basket in hand, Kirk hustled her out of the kitchen before Henri charmed her into forgetting about him. Kirk was damn lucky the Swiss chef was twice her age, or he’d have a real fight on his hands for Bethany’s attention.
Soon they were outside, walking past the swimming pool to get to the nearby guesthouse.
He unlocked the front door, opened it, and flicked on the light as he stepped inside. “Welcome to your new home.”
Kirk walked deeper into the house to set the basket down on the coffee table.
“It’s lovely,” she said as she glanced around the living room.
The guesthouse wasn’t nearly as big as the main mansion, but there was ample space for her to work. Plus, the guesthouse had everything she could possible need. In addition to the living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, there was a washing machine and dryer in the laundry room at the back, a flat screen TV in the living room, a phone, and Wi-Fi.
After a quick tour of the guesthouse, he handed her the house keys. “Six thousand dollars probably isn’t enough to land you a loan or a long-term lease at a new place, but we will come up with a solution. Between me and all the wealthy people I know, we’ll get you permanent accommodations. Maybe even a shot at a real loan. That said, you really are welcome to say as long as you like.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She clutched the house keys like they were more precious than gold. “Thank you doesn’t sound like enough.”
“It’s more than enough,” he said. “Besides, you really are doing me a favor by making a suit for me. You’ve got my number, so you can contact me anytime if there’s an emergency. Don’t hesitate to request food, and the staff will be here to attend to your needs.”
“I feel like I’m imposing.”
“You’re not,” he insisted. He understood her pride. It was the exact kind of pride his parents had instilled in him and his brother. But now that he was a success and had the chance to help someone, he was going to pay it forward.
Suddenly his phone rang, and he yanked it out of his pocket. “Damn, it’s my mother. If she’s calling at this hour, it’s got to be some kind of problem. Probably something to do with Lloyd Livingston.”
She gasped loudly. “Lloyd Livingston?”
He put the phone to his ear. “Yeah, do you remember him? That lying crook who stole all that money and destroyed people’s lives all those years ago? You must have been a kid when it happened. He’s out of jail now, but if you ask me ten years wasn’t enough. Cheats like that should die in jail.”
All the warmth in her blue eyes vanished, and they turned glacial. Her features hardened and she said something, but whatever it was got lost as his mother’s voice blared through the phone.
Kirk held up his hand. “I’m sorry, Bethany, but I have to take this. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Leaving her mid-conversation was the last thing he wanted to do, but if his mother wanted to talk about Livingston or keep her promise about listening to his ideas he had to take the call. Still, something nagged at him.
As he turned around and headed out the front door, he couldn’t help but wonder what it was that had turned Bethany’s demeanor so icy.
