A Billionaire's Mistake

71|Darkness

Sienna

Today could mark one of the biggest days of my career. If I close this deal, not only would it bring my company an obscene amount of money, but our international dealings would also skyrocket. If La Beaute signs with us, and if I can win over Camille by showing her this warehouse location, I'm going to do my absolute best to ensure I sell my little ass off.

Shoving my hands into my pink puffer coat, I lock the SUV I took and leave it behind in the gravel parking lot. Camille isn't expected to get here for another hour, but Rachel suggested we meet here ahead of time to scout the place out. I'm not a real estate agent, but I'll do whatever the hell I need to in order to get Camille to sign this deal by the end of day. With Christmas right around the corner, it's the perfect gift. The only one I need.

Just then, my phone goes off. I fish it out and catch Lincoln's name flashing on the screen, a picture of us in Venice saved as my contact. His arms are wrapped around me on a tiny cobblestone side street outside of a bakery, his lips pressed to my cheek. My heart swells to twice the size as I swipe to answer. "Hey, how'd the meeting with Jett go?"

Lincoln sighs. "I have a lot to tell you."

"Uh-oh. That sounds like a bad sigh."

"Maybe? I don't know. I'm still trying to process. Regardless, it's not something that can be discussed over the phone. I'll tell you over dinner tonight. I'm on my way home from New Jersey now."

"Okay," I concede. If I wanted to, I could fish the details from him, but I've got a lot on my mind. This pitch has to go perfectly, and in order for that to happen, I can't be distracted. That sigh of his tells me whatever information he's holding onto would be distracting. I have a lot to tell him too, mainly about Jett's proposal, but I'm assuming that is the news he has to share with me. Jett probably told him about it during their meeting earlier today. Again, topics for later. Not now.

"When's the big pitch?"

"In an hour," I reply. "Rachel told me to meet her at this place, but she isn't here yet. I'll probably head in and scope out the building. It looks..."

"What?" Lincoln prods.

The pictures Rachel forwarded me didn't make this place seem so...sketchy. The brick is faded on the large, rectangular warehouse with vines growing between the cracks of the foundation. It has potential given the size and location, but it's going to need major renovations. I'm not sure Camille will be up for it.

"Sienna?"

I snap out of my thoughts, releasing a cloud of breath around me due to the cold. "Sorry, it's just not what I was expecting. The pictures were better than what it looks like in person."

"Well, if that's the case, wait for Rachel to get there. Don't go inside unless she's with you."

My boots crunch over the gravel until they finally hit the pavement, heading up the long pathway to the entrance. "It's fine. I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be for this pitch, you know? I need to win her over. I want to know the ins and outs of this place so I can sell it to her. I can sell anything if I put my mind to it. Even...this."

Lincoln chuckles. "If anyone can, it's you. I'll pick up a bottle of wine on the way home so we can celebrate you closing this deal."

"As always, I appreciate your confidence in me. Thank you."

"And as always, it's not something you have to thank me for. I'll always be your number one fan. Call me when you're done, alright? Love you."

The dip of my stomach like I'm on a plane hitting a pocket of air has a smile forming on my lips. Love you is such a simple sentiment, but it's one I've never said before to anyone aside from Travis when we first started dating. Those words often brought flashbacks of nothing but pain and misery, but Lincoln took them and remastered them into something that could give me butterflies instead.