Chapter 5

Astrid forced a smile and looked at Eric.

"I know you've got backbone, Ms. Jenner. Everyone here today is a big-name investor in Jervain. If you go around and toast each of these gentlemen, we can talk about that proposal of yours," he said.

Astrid faltered. Then, she gritted her teeth, took the glass, and started going from man to man. She downed one glass after another. Her stomach churned, waves of nausea rolled through her, and her vision began to blur.

When she lifted the ninth glass and looked toward the man half-hidden in the shadows, she hesitated.

"What are you spacing out for? Do you still want the deal or not?" Eric leaned closer, his alcohol-soaked breath hitting her in the face.

Astrid felt sick to her core and tensed. Just as she was about to turn away, someone lightly nudged her arm. It wasn't a rough movement, but her hand jerked. The full glass of red wine tipped and poured straight down the front of Eric's shirt.

"Astrid Jenner! Are you out of your mind?" Eric roared.

Astrid shot a vicious glare at the culprit, only to see him sitting there lazily, as if he had nothing to do with any of this. He clearly didn't consider her embarrassment his problem at all.

"Sorry, Mr. Wood. He bumped into me," she said.

"As if! You clearly don't want to work with me. Get out! This deal is off!"

Astrid hadn't been counting on Eric to be much help, anyway. She turned to look at the man in the shadows. "Who are you? Do we have a problem I don't know about?"

Her blunt question made silence descend on the private room. That was Sidney Ziegler! Was she suicidal?

Every gaze in the room shifted toward the quiet man in the corner. He wore a perfectly tailored black suit and had his long legs casually crossed. An unlit cigarette dangled from his fingers, and the sharp lines of his profile cut clean and cold.

At Astrid's question, he slowly lifted his eyes. He swept a gaze across the room and drawled, "Sidney Ziegler."

Something flickered in Astrid's chest. The name rang a bell. In a flash of realization, she remembered that he was the Ziegler family's second son, the one who'd been found after being lost.

He was famous in their circle for being a notorious playboy. He switched women as often as he changed his shirts, and there was a ruthless edge to the way he did things that no one could quite read.

Her anger didn't cool in the slightest. She turned to Eric and muttered, "See that? He admitted it himself. He's the one who bumped me. If you want someone to pay for your ruined suit, he's your guy."

Would anyone have the nerve to make Sidney pay for anything?

Eric hurriedly snatched up a tissue to wipe his face. "No, no! That's not necessary. How could I possibly blame you, Mr. Ziegler?"

He turned to glare at Astrid. "Well? Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Ziegler! Be careful this time—don't you dare spill anything on him!"

Astrid let out a short, humorless laugh, ignoring his scolding. She turned to Sidney and held out her hand. "Hi. I'm Astrid Jenner, head of Jenner Group."

Sidney looked up lazily, his gaze making a slow circuit across her face, open in its appraisal and more than a little provocative. "Oh? Are you a manager… or an escort?"

"You're too funny, Mr. Ziegler!" Eric rushed over to smooth things over. "Ms. Jenner is the CEO of Jenner Group. She's here to talk to me about an investment."

As he spoke, he kept shooting Astrid frantic looks, signaling her to back down and play nice.

Astrid refused to take the hint, so Eric had no choice but to pick up a glass of wine himself and offer it to Siegler with both hands. "Let me toast you, Mr. Ziegler. Please don't take the earlier mishap to heart."

Sidney didn't even bother to look at him. He continued to idly toy with the cigarette.

Eric felt a little embarrassed at being ignored outright. He turned and took it out on Astrid. "Are you blind? Can't you see you've ruined Mr. Ziegler's mood? Get over here and apologize to him right now!"

Astrid knew perfectly well that Sidney's status carried far more weight than Eric's. She picked up the proposal from the table and held it out to Sidney with both hands. "Mr. Ziegler, this is Jenner Group's AI smart platform project. The technology and the market outlook both hold up under scrutiny. I'd like you to take a look."

Sidney remained slouched in his seat, utterly unhurried.

"Ms. Jenner, you must be out of your mind. Do you have any idea who Mr. Ziegler is? You think an unwanted woman like yourself gets to sit down and talk business with him?" Eric sneered.

"Exactly. Know your place! Stop embarrassing yourself here," one of the other men chimed in.

Astrid didn't so much as bat an eye as she looked at Eric and the others. Her tone was laced with an almost childlike confusion. "But you were all able to discuss the project with me just fine. Why wouldn't Mr. Ziegler? Unless… you're saying Mr. Ziegler's vision and ability aren't on your level?"

What an idiot!

Eric cursed her inwardly, regretting having her there at all.

"Mr. Wood, what do you think?" Astrid pressed.

"Mr. Ziegler, that's not what I meant! How could we possibly compare to you?" he stammered.

Astrid slid the proposal a little closer to Sidney. "See? Mr. Wood just admitted he's not in your league. Are you sure you don't want to take a look?"

Sidney gave the cover of the document a glance and said coolly, "I don't do business with nobodies."

"Is that so?" Astrid raised a brow, a thin thread of sarcasm slipping into her voice. "Funny. I heard the Ziegler family's business is all decided by the eldest son, Terence Ziegler. Seems the rumors out there are true, after all."

Sidney's eyes instantly turned to ice. He suddenly lifted his hand and clamped it around her wrist, his grip so tight that it felt like he might crush bone.

She was thrown off balance and fell straight into his arms. His presence closed in around her, strong and overwhelming. Hints of tobacco and cedar invaded her senses. It was dangerous and intoxicating.

"Trying to bait me won't work," Sidney murmured. He leaned down, his gaze lingering on the red of her earlobes with a heat that bordered on suggestive. "The only bribe I accept is beauty itself."

As he spoke, he tilted her chin up with his fingers, slowly forcing her face up to his, his eyes full of mocking amusement.

"You're good at jokes, Mr. Ziegler," Astrid said coolly.

"If you know I'm joking, then get out." Sidney's tone went cold in a heartbeat. He let go of her wrist and shoved her away.

Astrid straightened her clothes, then bent to pick up the proposal that had fallen to the floor. She didn't slink out of the room in humiliation as Eric had expected. Instead, she pulled out one of her business cards, her smile bright as she walked back over to Sidney.

She looked at him for a couple of seconds, then slipped the card neatly into the front pocket of his shirt. "Mr. Ziegler, real partnerships are about mutual gain. Jenner Group's project has serious potential."

She leaned down, bringing her lips close to his ear, and lowered her voice. "I'll be waiting for you to come to me."

With that, Astrid turned on her heel and walked out of the private room without so much as a backward glance. She kept her spine straight and her head held high, ignoring the looks on everyone's faces.

Sidney lifted his hand and pulled out the card with his fingertips from the front pocket. It still carried the faint scent of gardenia from Astrid's skin.

His eyes sharpened with interest as he stared at the closed door of the private room. He absently ran his thumb along the card's edge, lost in thought.