Affair with the Rebel Heiress by Emily McKay

with, is there going to be a Biedermann’s in nearly every mall in America? Are there going to be any of them left?”
    The question hung in the air between them. Since they seemed to be waiting for her to say something else, she continued.
    “If FMJ gobbles us up, that may solve the immediate problem of our declining stock prices, but that’s only part of the problem.” She turned to Jonathon. “Our stock price wouldn’t be going down if we had strong retail performance. I want to know how you plan to improve that.”
    She expected Jonathon to answer. After all, he was FMJ’s financial genius. However, it was Ford who spoke.
    “You’re right. For too long, you’ve been relying on people shopping at your stores because they’re already at the mall. However—”
    Ford broke off as his cell phone buzzed to life. Reaching into his pocket, he grimaced as he pulled out the phone. “Sorry.”
    He turned off the volume on the phone, but left it sitting on the conference table by his elbow. “It’s not enough…”
    Even though he continued talking, her attention wandered for a second. She’d seen the name displayed on the phone when it rang. Patrice . What were the names of his sisters? Chelsea, Beatrice and…something else. Certainly not Patrice, though.
    Not that it mattered in the least. He probably had the numbers of dozens of women stored in his phone. Hundreds maybe. It wasn’t her business.
    She forced her attention back to his words.
    “We don’t want shoppers to stop in at Biedermann’s because they’re at the mall. We want to attract them to the mall because there’s a Biedermann’s there. We need Biedermann’s to provide them with services and products that they can’t get anywhere else.”
    “We have strong brand recognition,” she protested. “We offer more styles of engagement rings than any other store.”
    “But engagement rings are a one-time purchase. You need something that will bring customers back again and again.”
    The phone by his elbow began to vibrate silently. Again she glanced down. This time the name display read Suz.
    “You can answer it if you need to,” she said.
    He frowned as the phone stopped vibrating and the call rolled over to voice mail. “I don’t.”
    “Are you sure? Second call in just a few minutes.”
    Jonathon was scowling, clearly annoyed. He quirked an eyebrow in silent condemnation when the phone started vibrating again a few seconds later. Rosa this time.
    Was that the third sister’s name? She couldn’t remember.
    “Just answer it,” Jonathon snapped.
    Frowning, Ford stood as he grabbed the phone. “Hey, miha. What’s up?” With a slight nod, he excused himself from the room.
    For a long time, Kitty and Jonathon sat in silence, the tension taut between them. She suspected he didn’t like her any more than she liked him. With his frosty demeanor and calculating gaze, every time she glanced at him she half expected to see little dollar signs where his pupils were.
    However, after a few minutes of drumming her nails against the armchair, her patience wore out. Or perhaps her curiosity got the better of her.
    “Does he always get so many personal calls at work?”
    Jonathon scowled, but she couldn’t tell if he was annoyed by the interruption or by her questions. “It’s after hours. But his family can be quite demanding.”
    “Those were all family members?” Maybe she’d misremembered the names. Or perhaps misread them?
    Jonathon’s scowl deepened. Ah, so he hadn’t meant to reveal that.
    “I know he has three sisters, but—”
    “If you’re curious about his family, you should really talk to Ford about it.”
    And let him know she was scoping out his potential as a father? Not likely.
    She met Jonathon’s gaze and smiled slowly. “The problem, Mr. Bagdon, is that whenever Ford and I are alone, we end up doing one of two things. Neither of them is conducive to talking about his family.”
    Mr. Cold-As-Ice Jonathon didn’t