the company to new heights. Kent is on board. Hopefully, they’ll be married soon. You’re turning thirty-one this year. I couldn’t be happier with all that you’ve done.”
“I’m running my own business here.”
“I’m not taking away from your plans. Not one bit.” Grace leaned in and took her hand. “I’m expanding on what you have.”
Belinda tried to avoid her hypnotic stare. Instead, she looked down at her hand still captured by Grace. Her grandmother’s rings and bracelets shimmered as the light caught the diamonds and bounced off the gold. The older woman wasn’t exactly touchy-feely. So to have her hands imprisoned in her grandmother’s firm grasp made her want to clutch on to something else and hang on for dear life.
“Come work for Meadows. I’ll give you the money to fix this place into what you want and hire a full staff. You don’t have to be here.”
Money, the one thing that she desperately needed, landing in her lap. Hers for the taking. If only her stomach didn’t constrict at the idea. Her heart instantly ached at the steep price to her dream. Although the proposal came with a win-win solution—money and the riding program—she didn’t like it because of the sacrifice to her independence.
“I see you’re ready to say no.” Grace patted her hand. “Don’t jump into the deep end to show that you can.”
“I have something here. It’s important to me. At a young age, you had something that was important. We’ve all benefited from it. But Meadows Media isn’t for me.” Belinda stood and hoped that her legs would stop shaking. “And there is nothing more to discuss, Grandma.” This wasn’t business. It was personal. “I’ve got to return to the office. I’m expecting someone.”
Even the unsuitable Jesse Santiago would be a welcomed diversion.
“You’ve got moxie, kid.” Grace chuckled. She braced herself with her walking stick and pushed up from the chair. “I’ll mark my calendar. Same time, same place, next month—I’ll make the offer again. By then, reality might have a way of nipping at your heels.” The gravelly voice laid down the somber forecast.
Belinda nodded. A faint whiff of victory danced a fleeting pattern with her ego because Grace’s prediction had that edge of inevitability. But she’d take the victory lap and enjoy it. “I’ll drive you to your car.”
Grace nodded. Signs of sentimentality vanished with her stiff march to the front door. She pulled it open before Belinda could reach for the doorknob.
“Oh, hello. Who might you be?” Her grandmother effectively blocked Belinda’s view.
“Jesse Santiago, ma’am.” The man’s deep, crisp voice hooked Belinda’s attention.
“Grace Meadows, here.” Handshakes were exchanged.
Belinda tried to see around her grandmother’s formidable stature.
“Santiago? You must be Ed’s son.” Grace turned her head slightly toward Belinda and finished, “Devilishly handsome, this one.”
Good grief, her grandmother’s abrupt switch to playfulness embarrassed her. However, if she felt the need to comment, then maybe the subject on hand was worth a look-see. Belinda couldn’t deal with any trigger to tap her emotions out of sleep mode and distract her from the Dreamweaver facility. This man had better have the skill set to impress the heck out of her.
In the meantime, she really wished Grace would move out of the doorway.
“Now, be sure to say hello to your father. I’ve sent a fruit basket to the house.”
“Thank you. I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”
So Grace knew about Ed’s health issues and his son taking on the job. Now she wondered if that was why Grace seized on the timing to put in an appearance to pressure her to work at Meadows Media. It was too much to figure out, right now. Time for the big reveal at her front door. All she could see were his faded jeans and scuffed construction boots.
“Make sure you do a good job for my granddaughter, young man.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Belinda heaved a sigh of relief when Grace finally walked out through the doorway. Under the direct light of the morning sun, Jesse Santiago moved center stage into the frame. Wow. Now, that was tall, as, with her five-nine height, she still had to look up. Thick black hair framed the top of his head in a trimmed style that enhanced the attractive contours of his squared jaw and high cheekbones.
His hands were pushed down in the front pockets. Head tilted to the side. While his eyes remained hidden behind dark shades, her attention was transferred to the slender, prominent line of his nose. Her continued admiration landed on his mouth, the one feature that she’d lingered on in the photo, and it looked better in real life. Now she could verify that he had wide, full lips that were pure sexy. His pose didn’t shift under her perusal. In fact, he looked casual, but in control.
“Your assistant sent me over here.”
Belinda stepped out of her house and closed the door. “I’ve got to take my grandmother to her car. Mind meeting me back at the office? We can chat there.” She shook his hand and continued on her path to the golf cart where Grace waited.
He was handsome as all get-out, had a firm handshake and smelled like heaven. Having this man around would be tempting. If she didn’t stay on point, she’d do silly things like give him a second or third look. Because, that fast, she already connected to whatever wildly charged energy he exuded.
Crazy. It was not happening, even if the electricity shot in one direction, from her to him.
“Child, no need to kill me on the way to my car.”
“Sorry.” Belinda didn’t realize that she pressed on the accelerator, jostling her grandmother in the process.
“Trust me. He’s not going anywhere. He’ll be there after you drop me off. I don’t think he took his eyes off you once.”
Belinda deliberately brushed off the remark. The strange ping of excitement blipped on her romantic radar. “Good seeing you, Grandma.”
“Hmm. As I said, I’ll be back.”
Belinda waited until her grandmother drove away before she made a U-turn back to the office and pushed down on the accelerator. One thought muscled past her body’s silly reactions to this stranger. How would she stay focused, with Jesse Santiago sabotaging her steely determination with such übersexy maleness?
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