Chapter 12: The Drive
Ten minutes later, they were in his private car.
A black Mercedes that smelled like leather and expensive cologne. Pulling away from Blackwell Enterprises and heading uptown.
Martina sat beside him. Her tablet on her lap. Her posture perfect. Her expression carefully neutral.
“Where are we going?” she asked again.
“You’ll see.”
“Mr. Blackwell, this is highly irregular. I have work—”
“Do you like your job, Ms. Hayes?”
The question came out harder than he intended.
She turned to look at him. For the first time since Saturday night, her professional mask slipped.
He saw confusion. Frustration.
And something else.
Something that looked almost like hurt.
“That’s a complicated question,” she said finally.
“Try me.”
“I love my job,” she said carefully.
“I love the work. I love the challenge. I love knowing that I’m good at what I do.”
She paused.
“But—”
“But?”
She looked away, watching Manhattan slide past the tinted windows.
“But sometimes I wonder if there’s a difference between being valued and being seen.”
The words hung in the air between them. Heavy with five years of unspoken truth.
The car pulled up in front of a building Jordan knew well.
Madison Avenue between 68th and 69th. One of the most expensive blocks in Manhattan.
He got out and held the door for Martina, watching her eyes widen as she recognized where they were.
“Why are we at Cartier?” she asked.
“Because Marcus Ashford isn’t the only man who knows how to show a woman she’s valued.”
Jordan took her hand.
Actually took her hand. Feeling the shock of skin on skin. Warm and electric. Absolutely inappropriate for a boss touching his secretary.
He led her toward the entrance.
“Mr. Blackwell. Jordan. What are you doing?”
“Something I should have done five years ago.”
He pushed open the door to one of the most exclusive jewelry stores in the world.
“I’m seeing you, Martina. Finally. Properly.”
“And if Marcus Ashford thinks he can win you with roses and pretty words, he’s about to learn something about me.”
“What’s that?” she breathed.
Jordan looked at her. Really looked at her the way he should have been looking at her for five years.
He smiled the way he smiled when he was about to close an impossible deal.
“I never lose.”
