Black Hearted - An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Complete)

Black Hearted: Chapter 13

Despite the fresh flowers everywhere, the hospital smell saturated his nostrils. The smell of death. Jack's insides tossed and turned as he leaned against the cool corridor wall, staring at the string of texts on his phone. First, the markets had tanked in Tokyo and now the catering company they'd hired for the party tomorrow night had declared bankruptcy. His events manager was scrambling to find someone new with such short notice.

His phone buzzed. "Keaton. What's the status?"

"I'm trying to scope out if there is still a deal space."

Jack gripped the phone tighter. Catering was the least of his worries. He needed this deal to close. "Pull it out of the weeds. Wow them with the big picture, the money to be made."

"Cell Corp executives are shaky. After failing to secure Stinson Studios, they're concerned you won't have the manufacturing capabilities to pull this off." The reminder of his loss to his ex-wife stung Jack more than he cared to admit. He tried to pass it off as part of doing business, and a part of him was fine with the company staying in the Stinson family, but his reputation had taken a hit.

"Remind the executives I am the CEO of the largest pharmaceutical company in North America. Production is not an issue. I can have a new facility up and running in less than six months."

Keaton paused. "I'll work on Smitty. He's always been pro this deal."

He better, thought Jack. Otherwise, Smitty's wife will be very unhappy when a certain illegitimate child shows up on her doorstep. Jack had done his homework and Smitty had the most to lose, so naturally, he'd targeted him first. "Make it happen." Jack ended the call without waiting for confirmation.

"Jack?"

He lifted his gaze to find the petite blonde he'd used to steady the nerves in his stomach back in Ximena's room, studying him. "Solana. Is something wrong?"

He hadn't been able to sleep last night and despite swearing he'd never step foot in this hospital again after his uncle's death, Jack found himself ordering George to take him here bright and early. There were 67 steps from reception to the elevator and he'd counted to 122 as the damned thing took forever to get to the third floor. He hadn't expected to feel the relief at seeing Ximena awake and healthy in her hospital bed. Nor had he anticipated the calm that washed over him when Solana entered the room.

He'd learned a long time ago to master or at least mask his inner turmoil. His uncle didn't accept cry babies in the Blackhorne family and he couldn't show weakness in the boardroom. Or any room. Reputation was a delicate thing and Jack had to keep his intact for the good of the company. One wrong picture taken by the paparazzi, one wrong opinion spewed on social media and everything his uncle and his father had worked for could go down the drain.

So he'd found ways to deal. Counting helped the best. Took his mind off the problem, took him out of the room. But sometimes you had to be in the room. He put his hands in his pockets to hide any shakes and tried to always remain seated. Standing led to pacing and sitting gave the illusion of being relaxed. The best technique he exploited was hyper-focusing on one object. Turns out most people couldn't handle being stared at. Or ignored. When a situation got tough, he focused on something in the room that had beauty in it. A piece of art on the wall, the curve of a water jug, a beautiful woman.

The most beautiful woman leaned against the wall beside him. "No. Nothing's wrong. Thanks to you."

He waved a hand at Solana. "I didn't do anything."

Fingers grazed his hand, landing on his forearm. "You did everything." Heat radiated from her touch and Jack got lost in her sweetheart face. Hazel eyes rimmed with bags from lack of sleep, a petite mouth devoid of lipstick, she still radiated a light like no one he'd ever laid eyes on. The warmth of her touch sank into his blood. He shifted on the wall to face her.