stayed away for so long because of Raul and everything that had happened between them. But now that she was back she was going to have to face her past and really move on from it. Not run away as she’d done before. And she liked the thought of focusing on Justin Stern. He was just the man she needed to forget the past and start to live again here.
Justin signed a few papers that were waiting for his signature and then sent his administrative assistant out for lunch. An injunction. Selena Gonzalez with her sexy body and big eyes had filed an injunction against the company to keep them from beginning with their construction work until they proved that they were using local vendors. Now their plans for a ground-breaking in conjunction with the tenth anniversary gala was going to be slowed down if not halted. “Got a minute?”
Justin glanced up to see his older brother Cameron standing in the doorway. Cam was dressed in business casual, as was his way. He was the one who ran the club and made sure the business there was on track. Unlike Justin, who always wore a suit and spent the majority of his time at his office here in the downtown high-rise complex.
“Sure. What’s up?”
“How’d things go at the zoning office?” Cam asked, coming inside and sitting down in one of the leather armchairs in front of his desk.
“Not so good. The Gonzalez family filed an injunction against the building. I’m going to spend the afternoon working on the paperwork we need to file in response. I’m hoping to speak with their lawyer later and see if we can negotiate some kind of deal.”
“Damn. I wanted to have the ground-breaking at the tenth anniversary celebration. I was also hoping we could maybe sign up some new, high-profile tenants, but this could put a damper on things.”
“I will do what I can to make it happen. Don’t get your hopes up, the neighbors and existing tenants in that market don’t like us.”
“Use your charm to convince them otherwise,” Cam said.
“I’m not charming.”
“Hell, I know that. You should send Myra.” “My assistant?”
“Yes, she’s friendly and everyone likes her.”
She was nice, but she didn’t have the right kind of experience to talk to the current occupants of the strip mall and make them understand what was needed.
“I’ll head over there after I talk to Selena.”
“Who is Selena?”
“Tomas Gonzalez’s lawyer.”
“Sounds like all the opening you need to get them on our team.”
“Stop trying to manipulate me into doing what you want,” he warned his brother.
“Why? I’m good at it.”
Justin threw a mock punch at Cam who pretended to take the hit.
“Go. I have real work to do,” Justin said. “I will.”
Cam left and Justin leaned back in his chair. He had plenty of business to keep him occupied but instead he was thinking of Selena Gonzalez—the lawyer and the woman.
His intercom buzzed. “There’s a Ms. Gonzalez on line one.”
Speak of the devil. He clicked over to the correct line. “This is Justin,” he said. “Hello, there.”
“Hi. I must be remembering our conversation wrong,” he said.
“I know I said I’d let you call but I’ve never been one of those women who waits for a man.” Her voice was just as lovely over the phone as it had been in person. He closed his eyes and let the sound of it wash over him. She was distracting. And he needed to keep her from shaking him from his target.
“I’m glad to hear that. I thought you might be difficult given that you filed an injunction against me.”
“That wasn’t personal, Justin,” she said. And he liked the way his name sounded on her lips.
“Yes, it was, Selena. What can I do for you?”
“I didn’t realize we had mutual interests,” she said. “When we met, I mean.”
“I know what you meant … by mutual interests do you mean we both want to ensure that the Latin market is a vibrant part of the community?
“I want to make sure that some big-deal club owner doesn’t take the community heritage and bastardize it for his own good.”
“I guess you’re not coming in here with any preconceived notions,” he said wryly.
“No, I’m not, I know exactly what kind of man I’m up against. My abuelito said you are a silver-tongued devil and I should watch myself around you.”
“Selena, you have nothing to fear from me,” he said. “I’m a very fair businessman. In fact, I think your abuelito will be very happy with my latest offer.”
“Send it to me and I will let you know.”
“Come down to my office so we can talk in person. I prefer that to emails and faxes.”
He leaned back in his chair. He knew how to negotiate, and having Selena here on his own turf was the way for him to get what he wanted. No one could turn him down once he started talking. To be honest, he’d never had a deal go south once he got the other party in the same room with him.
“Okay, when?”
“Today if you have time.”
“Can you hold on?”
“Sure,” he said. The line went silent and he turned to look out his plate-glass windows. The skyline of downtown Miami was gorgeous and he appreciated how lucky he was to live in paradise.
“Okay, we can do it today.”
“We?”
“My abuelito and I.”
“Great. I look forward to seeing Tomas again.” “And what about me?” she asked. “I’ve thought of little else but seeing you again.” She laughed. “I’m tempted to believe you, but I know you are a businessman and business must always come
first.”
She was right. He wanted her to be different but the truth of the matter was that he was almost thirty-five and set in his ways. There was little doubt that someday he might want to settle down but it wasn’t today.
And it wouldn’t be with Selena.
“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