The Marriage Merger Read Free Page B

closed her briefcase and settled it back on the floor, then thumbed through the file in a deliberate power play.
    “While I appreciate being first in line, I would have preferred knowing the details of the offer. I do hate wasting my morning on a deal not worthy of my time. I’m sure you understand, Mr. Wells.”
    “Sawyer.” He rested his chin on his fingers. “After all, I already met most of your family. Am good friends with your brother-in-law. The least we can do is be on a first-name basis.”
    “Fine.”
    “Say it.”
    She looked up. “excuse me?”
    An odd tension stretched between them, as if a pre-liminary game was being played, and she didn’t know the stakes. “My name,” he instructed softly. “Say it.”
    Julietta blinked. Warmth flooded her body and made her skin itch. Her tummy dropped, then settled. She didn’t want to and opened her mouth to gloss over the whole weird exchange, but found herself responding to his command. “Sawyer.”
    His name stumbled across her lips and she cursed herself for the move. Satisfaction and something deeper flickered over his face, but he only nodded in approval. “Thank you.”
    She cleared her throat and refocused on the file. “Now that we’re properly acquainted, I’d appreciate moving forward. It seems your reputation precedes you.”
    “In a good way, I hope,” he drawled.
    “Mostly.”
    Another short laugh. “you are quite different from any-one else in your family.”
    She ignored the throbbing wound and managed a tight smile. “In a good way I hope.”
    He frowned and leaned a bit closer. “Did that comment bother you? I only meant your focus proved an asset for Michael. your sisters weren’t meant to take over the family business. everyone is lucky to have you.”
    The wound softened to a slight bruise. Why did he seem so concerned about upsetting her? As if he held the ability to poke at her secret insecurities without the drive to expose and hurt? As if he just wanted to know .
    “of course I’m not bothered. I consider myself lucky to run La Dolce Famiglia. I don’t think I realized you had met most of my family.”
    The harsh lines of his face softened into affection. “Max and I ran in the same circles and we became close. He’s told me about Venezia, and I was lucky enough to meet Carina in Vegas last year. I attended their wedding.”
    The memory of her sister’s quick nuptials flickered past.
    She hadn’t had the time to fly in and had always regret-ted not being there. Mama was the only one in the family able to witness the exchange, but the idea of Sawyer seeing such an intimate ceremony bothered her. “Interesting,” she murmured. “And my mother?”
    All expression smoothed out to a blank canvas. “I had the pleasure of meeting your mother many years ago. I respect her greatly.”
    There was a story behind his words, but she figured he was a master at secrets. Julietta motioned to the manila folder in her lap. “It seems you have the advantage. My research began when you started taking over hotels and transforming them into profitable entities. There’s no mention of family, birthplace, or anything else. Almost as if your life before twenty-three never existed.”
    The darkness flared and swallowed up the light in his whiskey eyes. Her breath hitched at the rage and raw pain she saw, and just as quickly the emotions were gone from his face. “It didn’t,” he said. “That will have to be enough for you.”
    Julietta respected his demons. After all, she hid her own.
    Slowly, she nodded. “That’s enough for me.”
    He smiled. His teeth were dazzling white but crooked slightly in the front, which kept him from looking pretty.
    “Good. Let’s talk business. I have a proposition for you. A merger of sorts.”
    She crossed her arms in front of her chest and didn’t respond. He seemed intrigued with her control and pa-tience. Julietta wondered what type of women he was used to dealing with in his world. “I’m