Page 12 of Midnight Secrets

“Yeah, why?”

Ash passed the tablet to Xavier. “Phone him and tell him we need a site designed ASAP including a brand image.”

Jordan peered over Xavier’s shoulder. “You make everything yourself?”

“Yeah, I spent my time sketching images and then started to create them. It took me years of practice and study to learn to meld all the metals with the stones to set them in position.”

“That’s why you used to buy all those crystals,” Ash said and my heartrate picked up. Why did he have to be the one person who noticed those small details that meant the world to me?

“These are good,” Xavier said in a surprised tone.

This was why I didn’t want people to know what I did. They tended to judge me based on who they thought I was because they didn’t take the time to know me.

“What stones have you ordered?” Ash asked, ignoring the last comment.

“Diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. They were to be the central pieces of my new collections, to be accompanied by other less valuable stones. I’ve been planning the designs for them for the past six months.” Suddenly I felt weary with the constant worry about this situation.

“Who’s the supplier?” Ash asked.

“Billingham’s. The jewellery store who suggested a more expensive collection put me in touch with them.” The more questions he asked, the dumber I felt because I was starting to see that by trying to be independent, I’d been foolish.

Xavier groaned and sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. “He saw you coming a mile away. The guy who runs that place is a shark in dolphin fins. I would never advise anyone to buy from him, he was caught a few years ago with blood diamonds.”

I spun in my chair in horror because I would never get involved with those sorts of stones.

“It’s okay,” Ash said in that tone that soothed me. “You won’t have to go to the meeting alone, neither will you be buying any of his stones.”

“I have a meeting tomorrow morning with Dad,” Xavier said.

Jordan glanced up from his phone. “You’ll need to push back the meeting as I promised Lucas I would help him vet some new recruits in the morning.”

“Fine.” Ash looked at me with his jaw tight. “I’ll go. Money and investment are my role in this trio, anyway.”

“Ash does know more about diamonds than I do,” Xavier admitted. “And when it comes to a spreadsheet and finances, he’s the shark disguised as a dolphin.”

This was not going as I planned. Xavier was supposed to come here tonight and offer me some brotherly advice and then I would go to my meeting tomorrow and be the businesswoman I envisaged in my head.

“Honestly, I don’t want to be any trouble. I’ll get Francis to cancel the meeting and look for another supplier.”

“Don’t be silly,” Xavier said. “Ash deals with bullies like this all the time. I wish I could be there now to see their faces when he wanders in.”

Ash rolled his eyes at Xavier as the timer on the oven sounded and I pushed myself to my feet. How did I end up, after five years of avoiding him, being left with Ash tomorrow morning?

“I’m meeting Lucas at nine,” Jordan said from behind me. “I doubt Cat will be awake before noon, so that allows you and Lucy time to leave without anyone asking too many questions since she wants to keep her business private.”

I placed the muffins on the cooling tray before my hands gripped the side of the counter in dismay. I had prided myself in how well I’d been doing with starting up my own business. A shadow loomed beside me and I looked up to find deep blue eyes watching me.

“We all need help occasionally, even the three of us.” Ash stared down at me. “No business is an island. If you can use the Bartholomew name to open doors, then take advantage of Zee. People know him in this world and wouldn’t double cross anyone associated with him.”

My eyes dropped to the chocolate muffins cooling on the counter. “I feel stupid now.”

“Why? Because you started your own business from nothing? Because you spent time to train in a profession that you obviously are good at? Or because some asshole tried to take advantage of you? That’s on him, by the way, not you.”

He grabbed a muffin and winked at me before going back to join the others at the table.

“You’ll burn your mouth on that,” I chided him.

He shoved a piece is his mouth with a grin. “Worth it.”

---