Jarred sighed inwardly. He hated the idea. He didn’t want to do what his father did day in and day out. It was boring, grueling work with very little return if you took the money out of it. His father spent half of his life in this office and he didn’t care to do the same. “I can pick?” Jarred asked finally.
He nodded. “Anything you want to get involved in Jarred will be better than what you are doing currently.”
“Fine,” Jarred said, seeing no other way. There would be something he could get involved in with very little impact on his current life. “What’s the other condition?"
The elder Maloney looked at his son with a gleam in his eye. “You have to settle down.”
Jarred swallowed. “What exactly does that mean?”
“Find a girl, a decent girl,” his father responded. “Someone that you wouldn’t mind marrying one day and having a brood of kids. If you can find one that is willing to stick with you. I mean, you had a gem in Susan and you let her slip through your fingers.”
Jarred knew he shouldn’t want to impress his father, but right now, he could punch the smirk off of his face and not feel one ounce of remorse for doing so. He wanted to show the old man, he wanted to prove to himself that he could be so much more than the man that his father made him out to be. He wasn’t this loser, but a man who wanted to live more, see more, experience more than just these four walls and a shitload of work that went with it. More importantly, he didn’t want to become this man before him. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to be pushed into another relationship. “I already found someone.”
His father’s eyes widened. “What? When did this happen?”
“A few months ago. We’ve been keeping it under wraps.” Jarred said quickly. Hey, it could have happened. He just couldn’t remember any of the women he’d met over the last week to say definitively that he hadn’t met the woman of his future. “She’s great, exactly what you are talking about.”
“Well,” his father replied, apparently buying the story, “then I have to meet this paragon of virtue. Bring her over to the house next week for dinner. We will celebrate your relationship.”
Jarred’s jaw clamped shut. Great. If he attempted to get himself out of this, his father would know immediately that he was lying. “Yeah sure, we will be there.”
The elder Maloney eyed him for a moment. “Good,” he finally said. “Can’t wait to meet this woman.”
Jarred wanted to say he couldn’t either but put on a tight smile. Now he had to find the woman that would agree to this mess. Should be fun times.
4
Kinsley gathered her purse and walked to the lift, thinking that a greasy basket of fish and chips would be perfect for lunch today. She was tired. She’d tossed and turned last night, worrying about what the hell she was going to do. No matter how she calculated the money left in her checking and savings account, there was no way she could afford the flat or to even consider taking out a loan. The bank would laugh her straight out the door. She was going to have to give up the place.
The lift arrived and Kinsley stepped in, pressing the button for the first floor. Moving was her only choice. What else could she do?
“Wait. Hold the doors.”
Kinsley looked up to see Jarred Maloney striding toward her, her finger holding the open button so he could enter as well. “Thanks,” he said as the lift doors closed. “How do you work for that bloody bastard anyway?”
“Excuse me?” she asked, eyes wide. He looked over and she was momentarily stunned. She’d only met him a handful of times, but all of London knew who he was. He was flippin’ Jarred Maloney, sole heir to Maloney Motors and total playboy. He had the looks to back the claims up, with his dark hair and startling green eyes. The gossip mags called him knicker melting. They weren’t kidding. This kind of close proximity had her heart pounding ever so slightly. He had a killer body to go with the killer face. And she knew it because his abs were flashed more than once all over the rags. Gossip magazines were her only vice. She refused to feel guilty about devouring them. It was usually the closest she’d ever come to meeting someone like Jarred.
But as mouthwatering as he was, he was miles away from Kinsley’s idea of the perfect bloke. She preferred, well, someone a bit more toned down. Pretty was nice, but pretty would eventually want to upgrade to a supermodel. Steady and dependable worked better.
“That bastard, my father,” he grumbled, leaning against the wall of the lift as they descended. “He must pay well.”
Kinsley smelled the faint whiff of whiskey and frowned, wondering who in the world drank before lunch. Why had he visited his father this morning? No doubt to ask for more money. Rumor was Jarred Maloney lived off of his father’s money and he wasn’t afraid to tell anyone that fact. Kinsley couldn’t even imagine doing such a thing. She worked hard to be where she was at, even if the world was now against her. Her eyes welled up and she turned away. Oh no, she wasn’t going to cry in front of this twat. No matter how hot he was in his current sullen mood. “I’m sorry Mr. Maloney, I don’t know what you mean.”
He laughed then, the sound sending a shiver down her spine. “Well, well loyal and pretty. My father is quite lucky to have you on his team.”
“I just do my job,” she swallowed, wondering what was taking the lift so long to get to the bottom floor.
“What’s your name?”
She looked over at him, seeing interest in his eyes with an adorable grin on his face. Oh shit. No wonder he was touted as a sex symbol in the media pages. That grin could melt panties the world round. Kinsley tried to ignore the fact that her stomach was doing funny flips and gave him her best frown in return. “It’s Kinsley Wells. We’ve met before. More than once.”
“Kinsley,” he murmured, making her name sound sexy. “Do you like to have fun Kinsley?”
Heat suffused her face. She wanted to ignore him, pretend that he wasn’t even standing next to her, the whiskey no longer as overpowering as the spicy scent of his aftershave. It smelled faintly of oranges. She loved oranges. “I-I have fun Mr. Maloney.”
“Jarred,” he said, his grin widening. “You’re perfect, Kinsley.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant but thankfully didn’t have to find out, the lift doors opening and startling them both. Kinsley gave him a quick smile and hurried out, her pulse racing. For a brief moment, she had forgotten about her money troubles and basked in Jarred Maloney’s attention. Like an idiot. No doubt he would forget her name as soon as he walked out of the lift, but that was fine with her. He’d called her perfect. What had that meant?
Her phone chimed and she fished it out of her purse as she walked outdoors, shivering as the wind cut through her thin coat. “Hello?”
“Kinsley are you on lunch yet?”
“I am,” Kinsley said, glad that Rachel had called her. “Care to grab a bite?”
“I can’t,” Rachel sighed into the phone. “I have so much to do during my break unfortunately.” Rachel worked downtown at an arts gallery and absolutely loved her job. It was one of the reasons she had met Jamison. “I was just wondering if you decided on moving into that flat or not.”