Page 7 of Hate to Crave You
Julianna
Present Day
Julianna Castle was justas at home in her luxurious five-star hotel boardroom as she was in one of the labs owned by her family’s jewelry dynasty. The practice of referring to all the stores they owned, the mining operations, the labs where stones were cut and polished as simply abusiness,well it seemed… lackluster, and if there was one thing Julianna disliked, it was things that lacked luster.
It had to be a family trait. Her parents were the same way. It wasn’t because they were flashy. Not at all. Everything about her parents screamed understated elegance, from her mother’s stylish chignons with the faint streaks of silver, the strand of pearls that was her signature piece, the gold-rimmed glasses she’d worn for as long as Julianna could remember, to her father’s silvery hair, stately habit of only wearing three-piece suits, and his deep, well-measured voice.
But as lavish and elegant as the boardroom Julianna was now sitting in appeared, as well-appointed as it looked, she’d rather be in one of her company labs, or better yet, out at one of the mines, no matter how hot and tiresome it could get out there. She wasn’t cut out to work behind the counter of one of the jewelry stores, and she definitely wasn’t cut out for the boardroom. But explaining that to her father was pointless. He’d sent her to college, making sure she had the business smarts and the training necessary to follow in the family tradition, never understanding that if she had her way, she’d spend her days in the labs, handling the unpolished, rough-cut stones.
Still, while she might not be as happy to be in the boardroom, she was perfectly comfortable there and smiled at the uniformed attendant who’d been assigned to handle the room during the upcoming meeting. He’d already poured coffee for her father and two of the company’s legal team. She nodded at him when he offered to fill hers, letting her eyes stray across the room to the second party.
The Montrose family.
Her family’s most formidable corporate rivals in the industry—their only real rivals, as it were.
She’d met the senior Montrose, but his sons, no.
This particular son was a handsome son of a bitch, she had to give him that. Dark hair carefully styled, except for a few roguish strands that fell across his forehead. They framed a face that somehow seemed sensual and cruel at the same time. His narrow yet cupid’s bow shaped lips, and his parted mouth, well they were almost too beautiful for his face. Too soft, somehow, she decided. He flicked a glance in their direction and she caught sight of his eyes. It was enough to make her breath catch, but she modulated the reaction.
He had amazing eyes. Like a gemstone of the palest blue, those eyes glowed against skin that was tanned a warm gold, either from time in a tanning bed or time under the sun.
She hoped it was the latter.
Somehow, she suspected it was. There was an arrogance about him and she suspected a sense of vanity, too. But she doubted that vanity ran so deep that he’d lounge under artificial lights just to maintain that warm golden glow.
His gaze left her father and moved to her, but this was no lingering glance.
He held her eyes boldly and she didn’t look away.
After a moment, a faint smile curled his lips and he looked back at his father.
“Julianna, have you read over the material?”
She glanced over at her father, frowning. “Of course, I have. It’s a gamble, you realize that. We don’t even know what this new technology is.”
The older Castle grinned at her. His eyes, dark as her own, gleamed with interest. “Now, we don’t. I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me with that.”
“Am I supposed to sneak out of here and break into Templeton’s inner sanctum to figure it out?” she asked lightly.
Her father laughed. “I doubt you’ll need to take that route, darling. Just be your normal charming self. Convince them we need more data than what they’ve supplied…read between the lines. It’s what you’re good at.”
* * *
Julianna was aboutready to get up and pour herself some more coffee when the door to the boardroom opened a third time. She’d arrived first, along with her father and their legal team. Not long after they’d taken their seats, the doors had opened to admit the group from Montrose Jewelers.
Now, as the team from Templeton entered, she ordered her body to relax in the seat. It was just as good she hadn’t gotten any more coffee. If she had, she might have ended up needing to use the facilities halfway through the meeting. Or at least, fighting the urge to use the facilities. Not that she’d ever give in to the need to pee in the middle of a business meeting. How gauche.
But it was a pain the ass to be listening to the pros and cons of a deal, trying to weigh those pros and cons, while she was clenching her thighs together and pondering the quickest way to get to the toilet.
“We’re sorry to keep you waiting,” Edgar Templeton said.
Head of the Templeton’s expansive jewelry operation, he was a robust man in his mid-fifties, although he could easily pass for early forties. He was a tall man, nearly half as broad across the shoulders as he was tall.
Julianna had heard rumors he liked to join his miners, just to see how a day’s operations were going.
His team was on the cutting edge as far as technology went in the gemstone and precious metals industry went.
“I’m not going to beat around the bush,” Edgar said, gesturing for the man at his right.
