words. Leah hadn’t been surprised. Nor had she been concerned. To Leah’s way of thinking it had made perfect sense since she couldn’t imagine Jocelyn running the male-dominated company alone. And as for Leah’s share of the company, she had no problem with Jocelyn buying her out. She had other plans for her inheritance.
“Now that introductions have been made, can we all take a seat and get down to business?” Jason Kilgore said, halting any further conversation between Jocelyn and Bas. “I’m sure Mr. Steele would like to check into Sadie’s Bed and Breakfast in time to take advantage of whatever she’s fixed for lunch today. You know what a wonderful cook Sadie is, Jocelyn.”
If Jocelyn did know she wasn’t saying, Bas noted as he took his seat next to her in front of Jason Kilgore’s desk. Her mouth was set in a tight line and he could tell she wasn’t happy with his presence. Furious would probably be a better word.
He continued to study her, her cute perky nose and beautifully shaped mouth. He’d always been a sucker for a woman with sensuously curved lips. They were kissable lips, the kind that could easily mold to his.
“I was explaining to Jocelyn before you arrived just what your function will be for the next couple of months, Mr. Steele.” Jason Kilgore yanked Bas out of his reverie.
“And I was telling Jason that I thought Dad got you involved prematurely,” Jocelyn quickly interjected.
“Do you?” Bas asked, noting just how dark her irises were.
“Yes. Dad taught me everything I know growing up and then he sent me to college to get a degree as a structural engineer. It was always meant for me to run the company.”
“And you think I’m standing in the way of you doing that?”
“For a short while, yes, and as I said, it’s all for nothing. When it comes to construction work, I can handle things.”
A dimple appeared in the corner of Bas’s mouth. For some reason he couldn’t imagine her on a construction site, wearing a hard hat and jeans and wielding a hammer and saw while standing anywhere near a steel beam.
“And you find all this amusing, Bas?”
In a way he did, but he’d cut out his tongue before admitting it to her. There was no need to get her any more riled up than she already was. “No, Jocelyn, I don’t.”
“Good, then I hope you’ll hear me out. I think it will save us a lot of time if you do.”
Bas nodded. “All right. I’m interested in whatever you have to say.”
“So, Bas, I hope you can see why you being here, keeping an eye on things, won’t work.”
Bas’s lips curved into a smile. Although she had spent the last twenty minutes stating her case, trying to explain why his services weren’t needed, he didn’t see any such thing.
He glanced over at Jason Kilgore. The man had stopped fighting sleep—or boredom, whichever the case—and was leaning back in his chair and dozing quietly. Unlike Kilgore, Bas had given Jocelyn his full attention. It was hard to do otherwise.
First she had paced in front of him a few times, as if she’d needed to collect her thoughts. He, on the other hand, had needed to rein in his. The sunlight filtering through Kilgore’s window had hit her at an angle that made her dark skin look creamier, her hair shinier and her lips even more tempting.
The woman had legs that seemed endless and the skirt she was wearing was perfect to show them off. Each time she paced the room, her hem would swish around those legs, making him appreciate his twenty-twenty vision. He loved what that skirt was doing for her small waist and curvy hips. And he couldn’t help but notice the gracefulness of her walk. Her strides were a perfect display of good posture in motion and the fluid precision of a body that was faultlessly aligned.
“Bas, are you listening to what I’m saying?”
He heard the frustration in her voice and with a sigh he leaned back in his chair. “Yes, but it changes nothing. Your father asked me to return a favor. I owe Jim big-time and I believe in paying back any debts.”
He knew his words weren’t what she wanted to hear and her expression didn’t hide that fact. “Mr. Steele, you are being difficult.”
He lifted a brow. Since she hadn’t gotten her way, it seemed he was Mr. Steele instead of Bas. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Jocelyn, but your father evidently felt the need for me to be here, otherwise he would not have added that stipulation in his will.”
“And what about your ownership in the company?”
“What about it?”
“I’d like to buy you out.”
That didn’t surprise him. “I’ll let you know my decision at the end of three months.”
“Three months? But you only have to be here for six weeks.”
He flicked a smile. “Your father’s will indicated six weeks as the minimum period of time. If I recall, there was no maximum time given.”
Anger shone in her features. “Surely you’re not going to hang around here for three months?”
“Hey, keep it up, Jocelyn and I’ll think you don’t want me hanging around at all.”
“I don’t.”
He shrugged. At least she was honest. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“I see that our talk today didn’t accomplish anything,” she said.
Oh, he wouldn’t go so far as to say that. Just watching her prance around Kilgore’s office had accomplished a lot.
“What about your own company?”
She almost snapped the words at him, reclaiming his attention. Not that she’d ever fully lost it. “What about the Steele Corporation?” he countered.
“Shouldn’t that be your main concern?”
He wished. “I left the company in good hands. My three brothers and my cousin know what they’re doing,” he said, thinking about Chance, Morgan and Donovan, as well as his cousin Vanessa, who handled public relations for the company. His other two cousins, Taylor and Cheyenne, pursued careers outside of the family business, although they served on Steele Corporation’s board of directors.
“Besides,” he decided to add, “it’s time for me to take a vacation anyway.” There was no need to elaborate on the fact that it was a forced one.
“By the time this is over, Mr. Steele, you’re going to wish you had gone to Disney World instead.”
“Possibly, but I’ll take my chances. And what about your sister?” he decided to ask her. From her expression he knew immediately he’d hit a nerve.
She frowned. “What about her?”
“Are you buying her out?”
“Yes. She’s never liked this town and I’m surprised she’s
