Seducing His Opposition / Secret Nights at Nine Oaks: Seducing His Opposition

“Good girl,” he said.

“Girl?”

“I didn’t mean that in a condescending way.”

“How did you mean it?” she asked.

He had no idea if he’d offended her or not. “Just teasingly. Maybe I should stick to business. I’m much better at knowing what not to say.”

She laughed again and he realized how much he liked the sound of that. He thought it prudent to get off the phone with her before he said something else that could put the entire outdoor plaza project at risk.

“I’ll see you then. How does two o’clock sound?” he said.

“We’ll be there,” she agreed and hung up.

Two

As Selena and her grandfather left for their meeting, her other relatives were arriving to start cooking the dinner. Since she hadn’t been home in almost ten years, the entire Gonzalez clan was getting together for a big feast.

To some people coming home might mean revisiting the place they had grown up, for her coming home meant a barbeque in the backyard of her grandparents’ house and enough relatives to maybe require an occupancy permit.

Being a Gonzalez was overwhelming. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed the quiet of her life in Manhattan until this moment. This was part of what she’d run from. In Miami everyone knew her, in Manhattan she was just another person on the street.

She had the top down on her rental Audi convertible and the Florida sunshine warmed her head and the breeze stirred her hair as they drove to Justin Stern’s office.

Having the top down did something else. It made conversation with her abuelito nearly impossible and right now she needed some quiet time to think. Though Justin Stern had flirted with her, she knew he was one sharp attorney and she’d need to have her wits about her when they talked.

“Selena?”

“Si?”

“You missed the turnoff,” her grandfather said. “I … dang it, I wasn’t paying attention.” “What’s on your mind?”

“This meeting. I want to make sure you and abuelita are treated fairly.” “You will, tata.”

She made a U-turn at the next intersection and soon they were in the parking lot of Luna Azul Company’s corporate headquarters. The building was large and modern but fit the neighborhood, and as she walked closer, Selena noticed that it wasn’t new construction but had been a remodel. She made a mental note to check on this building and to investigate if having the Stern brothers here had enhanced this area.

“You ready, abuelito?”

“For what?”

“To take on Justin.”

“Hell, yes. I’ve been doing it the best I can, but … we needed you,” her grandfather said.

They entered the air-conditioned building. The receptionist greeted them and directed them to the fifth floor executive offices.

“Hello, Mr. Gonzalez.”

“Hello, Myra. How are you today?” her grandfather asked the pretty young woman who greeted them there.

“Not bad. Hear you’ve brought a big-gun lawyer to town,” she said.

“I brought our attorney. Figured it was about time I had someone who could argue on Mr. Stern’s level.”

Myra laughed and even Selena smiled. She could tell that her grandfather had been doing okay negotiating for himself. Why had he called her?

“I’m Selena Gonzalez,” Selena said stepping forward and holding out her hand.

“Myra Temple,” the other woman said. “It’s nice to meet you. You will be meeting in the conference room at the end of the hall. Can I get either of you something

to drink?”

“I’ll have a sparkling water,” her grandfather said.

“Me, too,” Selena said and followed her grandfather down the hall to the conference room.

The walls were richly paneled and there was a portrait of Justin and two other men who had to be his brothers. There was a strong resemblance in the stubborn jawline of all the men. She recognized Nate Stern, Justin’s younger brother and a former New York Yankees baseball player.

Her abuelito sat down but she walked around the room, and checked out the view from the fifth floor and then the model for the Calle Ocho market center.

“Have you seen this, abuelito?”

He shook his head and came over to stand next to her. The Cuban American market that her grandparents owned was now replaced with a chain grocery store. She was outraged and angry.

“I can’t believe this,” Selena said.

“You can’t believe what?” Justin asked as he entered the conference room. Myra was right behind him with a tray of Perrier and glasses filled with ice cubes.

“That you think replacing the Cuban American market with a chain grocery store would be acceptable.”

“To be honest we haven’t got an agreement with them yet,” Justin said. “This is just an artist’s concept of how the Market will look.”

“Well the injunction I filed today is going to hamper your agreement with them.”

“It will indeed. That’s why I invited you here to

talk.”

She was disgusted that she had fallen for his sexy smile and self-deprecating charm at the zoning office because she saw now that he was a smooth operator. And she’d had her fill of them when she was younger. It made her angry to think that in ten years she hadn’t learned not to fall for that kind of guy.

“Then let’s get to work,” she said. “I’ve drawn up a list of concerns.”

“I look forward to seeing them,” Justin said. “And Tomas, it’s nice to see you again,” he said, shaking the older man’s hand.

“I’d prefer it if we could stop meeting,” Tomas said.

“To be fair I’d like that, too. I want to move this project forward,” Justin said.