Yield to Love (3 page)

“
Fine. I guess I’ll just
live vicariously through your phone conversation.”

“
It’s just business,”
Marlowe sang.

“
Whatever,” Toye sang in
reply.

Marlowe giggled as she dialed the man’s
number. She should have waited for Toye to leave before she made
the call. Her cousin was so damn nosey. But she needed the comfort
of someone else in the room.

“
Put him on speakerphone,”
Toye instructed.

Marlowe rolled her
eyes.
Why do I have the feeling I’m about
to regret this?

Her heartbeat faltered when he answered.
“Roque Coleman speaking.”

“
Mr. Coleman? This is
Marlowe Jones.”

“
Ms. Jones, I’ve been
waiting to hear from you. I take it you’re calling to accept my
offer?”

Marlowe grimaced. The nerve of him! She’d
barely gotten a chance to say her name before he jumped all over
her like a hyena on a baby lion. “Um, no. I’m calling to get the
address where the property is located. I want to see this place for
myself.”

“
No problem. However, I
don’t mind telling you I’m dealing with a deadline. Do you have
time to look at the property today?”

She did. But she didn’t appreciate his pushy
attitude. She glanced at Toye who was nodding her head in
agreement. “Tomorrow would be better.”

Toye’s frown was comical.

“
That works for me,” he
said. “I’ll have a car pick you up at ten a.m.”

A car? Well, well, Mr. Bigtime. Why would he
send a car for her when she was perfectly capable of driving
herself? Was he trying to impress her or something?

She glanced at Toye who vehemently bobbed
her head up and down, mouthing the word, ‘yes’ over and over.

“
No,” Marlowe told Roque.
“I’ll provide my own transportation.”

Marlowe almost laughed as Toye muttered
under her breath. “Damn.”

“
I’m sorry, what was
that?” Roque asked.

Marlowe moved farther away from Toye so
Roque wouldn’t pick up any noise from her. “I said I hate to bother
you when I’m sure you have more important things going on.”

“
I wouldn’t consider it a
bother at all. Besides, it would give me a chance to go over the
paperwork with you on the ride over.”

“
I don’t think so. Any
legal documents would go through my attorney anyway. And also, I
don’t know you. I’m not taking a ride with a complete
stranger.”

“
All right.” His deep
chuckle warmed her insides like whiskey on a fall day. “I can
assure you, I don’t bite—unless you want me to.”

An image of him teasing her nipples with his
teeth sent a flush of warmth through her. She glanced at Toye, who
sat on the edge of her seat with her mouth agape. Then, just as
quickly, her cousin recovered, smiled, and gave her the ‘thumbs up’
sign.

Marlowe shook her head. “I’ll pass on the
biting, Mr. Coleman. But you can give me that address anytime. I’m
ready.”

“
319 Club
Lane.”

She scribbled the address on the back of an
envelope. “Thank you.”

“
Are you going alone?” he
asked. “Or do you have a man to escort you?”

Unbelievable! Did this guy realize how
obnoxious he sounded? “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

“
It’s a rough
neighborhood. I just thought I should let you know to be
careful.”

“
Trust me, Mr. Coleman.
I’m more than capable of handling myself and any other man who
comes along.”

“
Ms. Jones, somehow I’d
expect nothing less from you.”

Roque hung up the phone shaking his head.
Marlowe Jones was a handful. He felt sorry for whatever
unsuspecting guy crossed her path. He didn’t know much about her,
but from what he could tell, she was opinionated, sassy, and
quick-witted. And from the way she ordered everyone around at the
wedding, he could tell she was accustomed to people indulging her.
He’d thought about her a lot since yesterday. He kept seeing her
caramel eyes and flawless skin. With legs for days and a gorgeous
face, the woman definitely made him look twice.

She was the kind of woman who might be worth
pursuing, if he hadn’t already dealt with her type before. He could
tell from a mile away she was a spoiled, materialistic brat. He
already had his own spoiled brat to deal with. He didn’t need
another. But it was his fault; he’d made her that way.

Her ears must have been burning, because the
female he was thinking about picked that moment to intrude. She
stood in the doorway to his study with her hands stuffed into the
back pockets of her jeans.

“
Dad, Alexander is
missing. Have you seen him?”

Roque looked up at his daughter from the
glass and chrome desk he sat at. The entire house was furnished
with the same clean, linear look—except for his daughter, Jade’s
room. It looked like Wild Kingdom in there.

“
No, Jade, I haven’t seen
your pet lizard, but I know you better find that thing. The last
time you lost him, he made it as far as the garage, and I dang near
backed my Mercedes over him.”

“
Don’t remind me,” she
huffed. “It was one of the worst days of my life.”

Jade was always having a worst day of her
life. Since the day she was born twelve years ago, the kid had
inherited the drama chromosome from her mother. She was the
spitting image of the woman he’d married. Wide blue eyes that
didn’t miss a thing. Chocolate ringlets that framed her adolescent
face. And a tall, wiry frame that was deceptively skinny. Not many
people knew this girl could put away a half a pizza by herself.

“
Baby, I’m a little busy
right now. Could we talk about this later?”

She pouted. “But it’s Sunday. You’re not
supposed to be working on Sundays. Even The Bible says God gave us
the day off.”

“
Try telling that to
Crowne Industries.”

He was happy she was quoting The Bible this
week. Last week it was the Quran. The week before that, it was the
Torah. Earlier this year, she’d been assigned a group project in
her history class to find similarities between five religions. Ever
since, she’d been using what she’d learned to manipulate any
situation. His little pre-teen was not the average kid.
Unfortunately, she was also the one soft spot in his life.

Jade crossed her arms. “I thought now that
we’re rich you don’t have to work so hard.”

“
We are not
rich.”

“
Wealthy?”

He wanted her to realize that money didn’t
grow on trees and they could never take anything for granted.
“We’re fortunate.”

“
You know the word
‘fortunate’ comes from fortune,” she said. “This was what Mama
wanted. A fortune. Too bad she’s not here to enjoy it.”

Roque’s jaw clenched. He was glad Jade’s
mother, Natalyn, wasn’t here. Her mistake. Natalyn couldn’t take
the lean years when he was starting out. He’d worked his ass off in
the construction industry, climbing from a brick mason to the
business mogul he was today, and owning his own land development
company.

He and Natalyn started off as friends and
lovers, but after three years, their marriage had gone downhill
faster than a house in a mudslide. She decided she was meant for
the finer things in life. So, she left him and Jade for some old
rich dude. Even though she’d been gone over five years, neither
Roque nor Jade seemed to miss her. Honestly, Roque was glad Natalyn
had left. Their dysfunctional marriage was taking a toll on his
daughter. He sure as hell didn’t want Jade to think that was how
men and women lived.

“
You said we could go to
the aquarium today,” Jade reminded him. He held the long breath he
wanted to expel. He loved his daughter dearly, but the thought of
another day at the aquarium bored him to tears. She had a
fascination with all things reptilian. And recently, she’d added
spiders to her list of growing obsessions.

He didn’t know what possessed him to buy her
these things. It was probably his way of making up for the fact she
didn’t have a woman around. Neither of her grandmothers was a
strong substitute. His mom lived on the other coast near Seattle.
Natalyn’s mom was battling cancer, and too sick to handle Jade or
her other ten grandkids.

“
I’ll tell you what,” he
bargained. “We’ll make a deal. You pass your English test and we’ll
go to the aquarium next weekend.” This was the only way he could
parent Jade. He had to negotiate. He didn’t always know the best
way to handle her, but he was trying his best.

“
Okay,” she
agreed.

What? No argument?
Great.
Round One goes to
Dad
.

“
Now, what are we going to
have for dinner?” Jade asked.

“
I don’t know.” He leaned
back in his chair. “I was thinking—”

“
Alexander!” she
shouted.

Roque jumped up when he felt the lizard
dance across his shoulder. He saw the flash of a long green tail
whip through the air, and he cursed.

“
Shit!”

Alexander leapt onto the desk, landing smack
dab in the middle of a stack of papers.

“
Dad, you cursed,” Jade
admonished as she scooped Alexander from the desk.

“
You’re lucky that was all
I said. You scared the h—you know what out of me with that lizard.”
Roque’s heart was racing. He couldn’t believe he was acting like a
punk over a damn amphibian.

“
Poor guy,” Jade crooned
as she held Alexander in her palm and stroked his head. “I know you
only go exploring because you’re lonely. Maybe Daddy will let me
buy you a companion.”

“
Don’t even think about
it,” Roque warned.

“
Aw, why not?”

He sat down again. “You already have enough
creatures in your room to open your own zoo. And we’re not getting
another lizard. There’ll be no lizard babies up in here.”

She cracked up laughing, and despite his
attempts to be stern, Roque grinned. “Seriously, Dad? Lizard
babies. That was a good one.”

“
I’m not kidding, Jade. No
more.”

“
But you’re so good with
babies. You raised me.”

“
Yeah,” he scoffed. “And
look how you turned out. Wild, just like the animals you
keep.”

She smiled. “I wouldn’t mind having a little
brother or a little sister. Indya Pritchet’s mother just had a
baby. He is so adorable! Y’know, she doesn’t even have a husband.
She went to the sperm bank.”

“
Good for her.” He tried
to focus on his computer screen. His daughter had made the
announcement as if it were some triumphant accomplishment. Big
deal. Indya’s mother had some stranger’s seed injected into her.
He’d given Jade “the talk” when she was nine years old, and a girl
in her class had begun menstruating early. It was awkward, but it
was better she learned all the facts from him than from some
knucklehead little boys who might fill her head with a bunch of
bullshit.

“
Too bad there’s not an
egg bank for men,” she said.

He shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re
having this conversation.”

“
Then, you would be able
to have a baby, too.”

“
Sorry to burst your
bubble, honey, but most guys I know, myself included, prefer making
babies the old-fashioned way. And even if I did want to have
another child—which I don’t—there are no acceptable candidates in
the picture.”

“
Maybe if you didn’t work
so hard, you’d have a girlfriend. I think that’s why you don’t want
Alexander to have one—because you don’t have one,” she teased. “And
you know what they say. Misery loves company.”

He wagged his finger at her. “You know what
else they say? Muzzles come in size extra small.”

Jade giggled as she pranced from the room.
Roque smiled. He knew his precocious pre-teen didn’t take his
threats to silence her seriously. That girl was growing up too
fast. She was going to be a handful for some guy. He paused.

Wait a minute. Didn’t I just say the same
thing about Marlowe Jones?

Was Jade growing up to be like Marlowe? Or
worse yet, a selfish witch like Natalyn? God, he hoped not!

Maybe he
should
take her to the
aquarium. Maybe that would keep her well grounded. In another year
or two, she’d start talking about boys, and prom, and dresses. He
might actually have to take her to the mall. Ugh.

He picked up his cell phone and dialed the
number to his assistant, Brett.

“
Yes, sir,” Brett answered
with his usual efficiency.

That’s what he liked about Brett. He was
young but respectful, and he took care of business. Roque used to
have a female assistant. In fact, he’d had five assistants in the
past four years. But none of them had worked out. The temp agency
he used said the women reported he was, what was the word? Cold. He
wasn’t cold or mean. He simply preferred to keep his distance. He
supposed the agency got sick and tired of him about two years ago,
so they finally sent a guy. Brett had been with him ever since.
With a man, Roque didn’t have to worry about hormones or crying or
petty jealousies.

“
I need a car to pick Ms.
Jones up at ten a.m. tomorrow,” he instructed.

“
I’ll take care of it.
I’ll use the address we have on file for her.”

Roque hung up. He knew Marlowe said she
didn’t need a car, but he was going to make damn sure she went to
that house tomorrow. He had to do everything in his power to ensure
she signed the paperwork as soon as possible. She didn’t seem like
the kind of woman who would appreciate him taking control, but he
didn’t much care. It was time she learned he meant business.