Page 13 of Rules in Love
In a much less sexy way than I had pictured in many of my dreams, my fate lay in Finn Austen’s giant and capable-looking hands.
Finn
After waiting an appropriate amount of time to be mildly discreet, I fled the conference room, chased my aunt down, and caught her as she climbed into her town car.
“Jocelyn! What the fu—” She gave me the ‘Don’t you swear at me, child’ look I instantly recognized and adhered to. “What the heck, Jocelyn?”
“I’m sensing some tension, my darling. Do you have a problem with my request? You’re not going to cry, are you? Because I can easily choose Miss Grant’s design like you wanted. Iwouldhave to explain my sudden change of mind, though.”
“As Irecommended, I think you mean,” I whispered, looking over my shoulder guiltily.
Long before my family and I left Australia, my Aunt Jocelyn had tasked me with designing the very upstate home she was now using as a weapon. I was excited by the opportunity and honored she would entrust it to me.
My initial concept was near completion when we arrived in NYC, and though I loved and was proud of what I had done, after seeing Scarlett’s talent, I knew I wasn’t the one who should bring Jocelyn’s dream to life. I begged her to let my co-worker make a pitch, and her initial hesitation passed the minute she saw Scarlett’s talent with her own eyes. Once I had her hooked, two further demands—no, requests—were cautiously made to my aunt, someone unaccustomed to demands or pushback.
One, Scarlett would never find out I was involved in arranging her pitch opportunity. It was between me, my aunt, and the senior partners. Watching her interoffice interactions and how she carried herself, I knew Scarlett was unlikely to appreciate my interfering in her work. She was strong and independent, and I respected that. I respected her.
Two, the best design was to be chosen—with no favoritism. Yes, Jocelyn was my beloved aunt, but she had to go with her gut. If that meant Scarlett’s concept bettered mine, then so be it.
Seemed my deal with the devil was biting me in the ass.
“I told you Scarlett deserved this more than me. How does forcing us two to work together accomplish anything? Her design is already perfect.”
“I agree, and yet I remain unmoved.” Her hand reached for the door to close it, but I grabbed it and ripped it from her hand.
“If it’s perfect, why do we have to design something different?”
“Because, apart from being old, rich, and your aunt, I am a woman. One who has twice sat in a room with you both and witnessed whatever the hell is going on. Finn, I don’t think I have ever seen more heart eyes or felt such dizzying chemistry. Nor have I seen two bigger idiots who have no idea how to act around each other.”
“What? You’ve lost it, old lady. Scarlett and me? Please. The woman’s my complete opposite, and it’s possible she hates my guts. You saw her in there. She could barely stand to look at me. Plus, she’s disorganized, easily distracted, and disturbingly messy. Did you see her bomb site of a desk? Oh, oh, and she drinks way too much coffee, eats too many doughnuts, and—”
“And you’re completely crazy about her.”
I huffed out a sigh and scratched the back of my neck. “And I’m completely crazy about her.” My ears began to burn with blush. “That’s why I can’t—”
“Nope, I’m sorry, Finnley. But I refuse to let you waste this. You will work with her, and you will make magic together—hopefully in more places than just that boardroom.” Before I could protest, her fingers grabbed and squashed my cheeks together like I was still a fat eight-year-old. “Do as I say. You can thank me later.”
Scarlett didn’t acknowledge my return. She was staring out the window and jiggling her feet like she did whenever Herman was around. I hope to God I didn’t make her feel uncomfortable like that prick.
“Are you ready for this, Scarlett? It’s a big job and—
“Why would you presume I’m not ready? God, does no one besides your aunt think I deserve or can do this?”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. Your concept is amazing. You absolutely deserve it. I think we both do. No, what I meant was the working-together part. You don’t seem thrilled.”
“Neither did you.” Absentmindedly shuffling her belongings on the desk, she looked at me through her curls. “You really think my work is amazing?”
“Yes, I do. You know it is, and that’s why you’ve been asked to do this. I know it may be uncomfortable for you to work with me. We haven’t spent time together since I’ve been here, and things have been a little awkward between us. I’m also very aware of how working for my aunt looks. But there is a history behind that, and I hope to be able to explain that at some point. Just know I want to prove myself to everyone as much as you do. Let’s do this. Let’s show them what we can do and smash this out of the park, as the locals say.”
It was hard to summarize the expression on her face. Relieved but stressed. Anxious but happy. Perhaps remorseful. She exhaled loudly, then bit her lip. “You’re right. We can do this. I’m sorry, I just… Something Herman said got in my head. I may have made some harsh assumptions about you and—”
“What kind of presumptions?”
“What?” She turned her head to the right like she didn’t hear and nervously played with her hair.
“You said you made presumptions about me. What kind of presumptions?”
“Did I? I don’t remember that.”
