Read Online Mine To Take (Nine Circles) by Jackie Ashenden - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jackie Ashenden
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uncomfortable silence fell.
“Angel, we have another meeting…” Zac’s voice was smooth, gently reminding. Moving the conversation on.
Gabriel gave the other man a smile, one that didn’t have anything to do with amusement. “The information about Tremain doesn’t leave the group. This is mine. Understand?”
Zac’s long mouth curved, amber gaze steady, not in the least bit perturbed by the underlying tone of threat in Gabriel’s voice. “First rule of fucked-up billionaires club is you don’t talk about fucked-up billionaires club. You don’t need to remind me.”
Gabriel gave a hoarse laugh, gripping his hard hat in one hand. “And you can never be too paranoid, Zac.”
“Amen to that,” Eva muttered. “Now get out of the car, Gabe. I’ve got shit to do.”
* * *
“Oh, God, Vi, you’re not meditating again, are you?”
The woman sitting cross-legged on Honor’s battered red velvet couch opened one eye. “I was trying to. Guess I’m not anymore.”
Honor walked into the lounge area of her expensive Upper West Side apartment and sat down in one of the armchairs opposite the couch, kicking off her red leather Jimmy Choos and dumping her purse beside them.
Violet Fitzgerald, rebellious heiress, Honor’s best friend since school, and currently crashing on her couch since arriving back from Paris a week ago, watched her with assessing blue-green eyes. The way she was sitting, along with her blond dreadlocks and dripping silver jewelry, made her look like an idealistic hippie backpacker in the process of touring around India, “finding herself.”
“What?” Honor resisted the urge to rub her eyes, tiredness creeping into her bones. She hadn’t realized until now how much the stress of having to deal with Guy and the whole debt problem had affected her. And it wasn’t over yet. She still had this week with Gabriel Woolf to contemplate. A whole damn week. She had no idea how she was going to fit that into her schedule but she was going to have to somehow.
“You look tired,” Violet said, settling into the red cushions. “Tough day at the office?”
They really were nothing alike. Violet was all arty and free-spirited, rejecting her old-money New York family and their expectations at the first opportunity. Jetting off to Europe without giving a crap about her responsibilities. Not that Honor could blame her. The Fitzgeralds were a family who placed great stock in doing what was right and proper. They still believed in marriage as the perfect career move for their only daughter, for God’s sake. No wonder Violet had always chafed against the restrictions they put on her.
Unlike Honor, of course. Who’d stuck by her own family. Who took her responsibilities seriously and was still, after all these years, trying to fix what had been broken by her father when he’d taken his own life.
“I am tired,” Honor said. “And yes, tough day at the office.”
Violet smoothed the silk of the wraparound Indian-print skirt she wore, silver bracelets clicking together as she did so. “You work too hard, hon, that’s your problem. You did at school and you’re still doing it.”
“When you own your own business, you have to work hard.”
But Violet wasn’t fooled. “It’s all this stuff with Guy, isn’t it?”
Honor sighed and crossed her stocking-clad feet at the ankles. “Yes. I finally got a backer for Tremain Hotels but…” She stopped. This should be a good feeling, shouldn’t it? So why did she suddenly feel so unsure?
“But what?”
It had been a long time since she’d confided in another person. Keeping up a calm and in-control front was vital to the success of her business, and she’d found keeping her worries and insecurities to herself was a good way of achieving that. Plus, before Guy had come along, her mother had tended to go to pieces at the drop of a hat, so Honor had had to stay strong for her sake.
But keeping up that front was exhausting, and despite
“Angel, we have another meeting…” Zac’s voice was smooth, gently reminding. Moving the conversation on.
Gabriel gave the other man a smile, one that didn’t have anything to do with amusement. “The information about Tremain doesn’t leave the group. This is mine. Understand?”
Zac’s long mouth curved, amber gaze steady, not in the least bit perturbed by the underlying tone of threat in Gabriel’s voice. “First rule of fucked-up billionaires club is you don’t talk about fucked-up billionaires club. You don’t need to remind me.”
Gabriel gave a hoarse laugh, gripping his hard hat in one hand. “And you can never be too paranoid, Zac.”
“Amen to that,” Eva muttered. “Now get out of the car, Gabe. I’ve got shit to do.”
* * *
“Oh, God, Vi, you’re not meditating again, are you?”
The woman sitting cross-legged on Honor’s battered red velvet couch opened one eye. “I was trying to. Guess I’m not anymore.”
Honor walked into the lounge area of her expensive Upper West Side apartment and sat down in one of the armchairs opposite the couch, kicking off her red leather Jimmy Choos and dumping her purse beside them.
Violet Fitzgerald, rebellious heiress, Honor’s best friend since school, and currently crashing on her couch since arriving back from Paris a week ago, watched her with assessing blue-green eyes. The way she was sitting, along with her blond dreadlocks and dripping silver jewelry, made her look like an idealistic hippie backpacker in the process of touring around India, “finding herself.”
“What?” Honor resisted the urge to rub her eyes, tiredness creeping into her bones. She hadn’t realized until now how much the stress of having to deal with Guy and the whole debt problem had affected her. And it wasn’t over yet. She still had this week with Gabriel Woolf to contemplate. A whole damn week. She had no idea how she was going to fit that into her schedule but she was going to have to somehow.
“You look tired,” Violet said, settling into the red cushions. “Tough day at the office?”
They really were nothing alike. Violet was all arty and free-spirited, rejecting her old-money New York family and their expectations at the first opportunity. Jetting off to Europe without giving a crap about her responsibilities. Not that Honor could blame her. The Fitzgeralds were a family who placed great stock in doing what was right and proper. They still believed in marriage as the perfect career move for their only daughter, for God’s sake. No wonder Violet had always chafed against the restrictions they put on her.
Unlike Honor, of course. Who’d stuck by her own family. Who took her responsibilities seriously and was still, after all these years, trying to fix what had been broken by her father when he’d taken his own life.
“I am tired,” Honor said. “And yes, tough day at the office.”
Violet smoothed the silk of the wraparound Indian-print skirt she wore, silver bracelets clicking together as she did so. “You work too hard, hon, that’s your problem. You did at school and you’re still doing it.”
“When you own your own business, you have to work hard.”
But Violet wasn’t fooled. “It’s all this stuff with Guy, isn’t it?”
Honor sighed and crossed her stocking-clad feet at the ankles. “Yes. I finally got a backer for Tremain Hotels but…” She stopped. This should be a good feeling, shouldn’t it? So why did she suddenly feel so unsure?
“But what?”
It had been a long time since she’d confided in another person. Keeping up a calm and in-control front was vital to the success of her business, and she’d found keeping her worries and insecurities to herself was a good way of achieving that. Plus, before Guy had come along, her mother had tended to go to pieces at the drop of a hat, so Honor had had to stay strong for her sake.
But keeping up that front was exhausting, and despite
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