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Probably not, but he wasn’t about to argue with her. “Perhaps we will.”
“I look forward to seeing you again.” With a flashing smile, she strode away, his gaze falling to her gently swaying hips, the subtle shift of her backside as she headed toward the elevator on the opposite side of the room.
“What did she want?” His assistant’s snide voice broke through his lusty thoughts, and he glared at her, astounded at her impertinence.
“None of your damn business,” he growled before he went into his office, slamming the door behind him.
He’d call HR and have her terminated by the end of the day. And then immediately go in search of a male assistant.
Women. They would be the death of him.
Stasia fled the building as fast as she could, her nerves shattered from her encounter with Gavin Westmore.
He’d disapproved from the moment he set eyes on her. The disdainful expression on his too-handsome face, and the glasses he wore, couldn’t hide the lethal coldness glittering in his green eyes. And the sneer in his voice, the finality of his immediate rejection…all of it hurt.
And made her angry.
Determination filling her, she hurried down the sidewalk, not bothering to flag down a taxi. She needed to let off some steam, ponder what her next move needed to be.
Pompous ass wouldn’t get her a quick meeting with the Worths. Oh, she’d met them before, but under totally different circumstances. Various fashion industry get-togethers throughout the years, where a person said a quick hi over cocktails and appetizers. She’d confronted Rhett Worth a few weeks ago at the Worth perfume launch, but his sweet girlfriend had sent her packing.
Lawyers loved money. They lived for it. She’d been perfectly willing to supply that asshole whatever outrageous fees he might’ve charged her and he still turned her down.
It made no sense. Her reaction to him made no sense either. She’d never been turned by a pretty face before. Her three brothers were all darkly handsome men. Working in the fashion industry, everyone was beautiful. So why such an immediate attraction to a man who looked at her as if she were a disgusting bug he’d just squashed under his shoe?
She stopped in front of a store window, stared at the display of lovely jewelry laid out. It was simply designed. Delicate hammered gold shapes dangling from thin chains, whimsical curlicues and basic circles, the kind of jewelry she’d loved to design for Renaldi Accessories. She’d finally been ready to make the next step, to become a full-fledged designer for the family company, when her father died.
And now she couldn’t work for them, couldn’t be a part of the company she so passionately threw herself into from the time she was thirteen, a silly little teenaged girl working at her family’s company. Her father had indulged her completely, loving how she flourished.
He’d taken it all away from her with a few rudely chosen words in his will. No longer with them so she couldn’t yell at him, curse him. Tell him what a cruel, terrible man he was, for taking away her birthright.
But it was a birthright that hadn’t belonged to her in the first place. She wasn’t a Renaldi. She was a Worth. Ostracized by both families, she didn’t belong anywhere.
Fighting the tears that threatened to spill, she blinked hard, turned away from the window to stare at the busy street before her. Crowds of impatient New Yorkers pushed past her, jostling her as they walked by and she fought through the crowd, stopping on the edge of the dirty sidewalk so she could wave down a cab. She hated New York, much preferred the peacefulness of Italy, specifically the Renaldi family compound where she had spent much of her childhood.
She’d been sheltered, the youngest of her mother’s children and the only girl. Protected by her bossy big brothers, coddled by the man who raised her, instilled with the belief she could do anything, be whatever she wanted to be.
And now she stood alone, feeling isolated, while her true family was in Italy. Her brothers wanted to help, were doing their best, but they were stuck. Besides, they had their own lives to live. All three of them were busy running Renaldi Accessories. Matteo was married and had a child, Vincenzo was newly married as well and Rafe was consumed with his work. They had limited time to help their baby sister, and their father had ensured they would lose everything if they defied his wishes.
Her mother was holed up in the very place Claudia loved the most, refusing telephone calls, refusing to speak to anyone, even Stasia. That was the most frustrating part of it all, how selfish her mother was behaving.
What about her? What was she going to do with her life? No one would talk to her, though the industry was all abuzz talking about her. Waiting to see what move she might make next, they all expected her to go after the Worths and demand her rightful piece of the Worth family fortune.
No one realized she could care less about the money. She was looking for more information about the long-deceased Michael Worth, information about these three men who were her half-brothers. She was looking for a connection to something, to someone. Anyone.
She was looking for a family to cling to. And so far, she had nothing.
No one.
Chapter Three
The cocktail party was large, making it easier for Stasia to slip inside unnoticed. The restaurant was one of those typical chic Manhattan hotspots, with the latest in trendy food and expensive cocktails. Where everyone wanted to be spotted and the paparazzi lingered outside, hoping to get a shot of a famous celebrity.
She wasn’t a celebrity, but her story was well known enough to have hit all the major magazines, including a two-page spread in People. Not that the paparazzi necessarily cared about her. Thankfully, it was cold outside, easy for her to wrap a black cashmere scarf over her hair and keep her head averted as she walked by the front of the building toward the entrance.
The few photographers hanging around didn’t look at her twice.
A pretty hipster-type woman who looked barely legal and like she played in her mama’s make-up drawer
