STUCK WITH MR. BILLIONAIRE FOR CHRISTMAS novel Chapter 18

Chapter 18

CINNAMON:

m M

Dante’s jaw clenched. I could practically see the vein pulsing in his neck. “What figure did you have in mind?”

Jensen named a price.

Dante laughed. Actually laughed. “That’s extortion.”

“That’s negotiation.”

“A cow has more brain than you,” Dante muttered under his breath.

The espresso machine hissed behind the counter like it, too, was unimpressed by Jensen’s theatrics.

I kicked him under the table.

He shot me a look. I shot one back that said, “Let me handle this!

96%

55 vouchers

I leaned forward, folding my hands on the table, and smiled sweetly at Jensen. “Mr. Harbor, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

I let my features soften, the way women are taught to do when dealing with men who mistake politeness for weakness.

“Oh?” He leaned in too, eyes dropping to my neckline for a fraction too long.

Red flag number two.

“We’re not here to take advantage of anyone,” I continued, ignoring the way his gaze was on me. “We want to build something that benefits Meadowbrook. A future for the next generation.”

“Sweet speech,” Jensen murmured, his smile thinning. “But let’s not pretend anyone here is paying attention to anything except the dollar signs.”

Beside me, Dante stilled. Not tense in the obvious way, not fists or jaw, just a quiet, lethal stillness, like something sharp sliding back into its sheath.

“We’re prepared to offer fair compensation,” I said, voice still calm. “But we need to understand what the community actually wants. What would make this deal worthwhile for everyone?”

“What they want?” Jensen laughed. “They want money. Lots of it. And they want to know they’re not getting screwed by some fancy city developers.”

“Then let’s talk specifics,” Dante cut in, voice clipped. “What guarantees are you looking for?”

Jensen waved him off. “I’ll get back to you on that, Right now, I’m just trying to figure out if you’re serious or wasting my time. There’s a lot of claws reaching for what you’re after. I need to pick the ones calling the best numbers.”

“We’ve been sitting here for over thirty minutes,” I said, letting a hint of steel creep into my tone. “Waiting. It’s unethical to keep people waiting during an important meeting like this. Especially when both parties have made an effort to be here. As a compensation for that, you have to give us an assurance.”

Jensen’s smile faltered slightly. Then he laughed again, louder this time. “You’ve got some fire, Cinnamon. I like that.”

He reached across the table, fingers brushing my hand. “What assurance do

you want, beautiful?”

His touch left me disgusted. I hated this sick, familiar way of a boundary being crossed by someone who thought he had the

1/4

09:53 Sat, Feb 28

Chapter 18

right.

M M

96%

55 vouchers

Dante’s chair scraped against the floor, a warning flashing across his face, his eyes darkening as if someone had turned down the lights inside him.

Jensen glanced at him, eyebrows raised. “Something wrong, Mr. Moretti?”

“No.” Dante’s voice was displeased. “Just adjusting my seat.”

Jensen smirked, clearly enjoying the tension. “Here’s the truth,” Jensen said, spreading his arms again. “Nothing moves in Meadowbrook unless I decide it does. The council follows my lead. The town listens to me. You want progress? You go through me. Understand?”

I stared at him, my mind racing. Mrs. Hartley should’ve been the one sitting here. She ran every fundraiser, town meeting, and battered-down hope Meadowbrook had ever clung to. Why did the town choose him? He was a flirt. Greedy. My instinct told me something was off.

But the townspeople had voted. And now we were stuck with him.

“Let me be clear about something, Mr. Harbor.” His voice became lethal. “We came here prepared to meet someone reasonable. It’s unfortunate that we ended up with you.”

“Watch what you say, young man,” Mr. Harbour growled.

“Oh, believe me, I’m being kind with my words with you. If you’re operating under the assumption that we’re desperate, that we’ll kiss your ass and pay whatever inflated number you throw at us, you’re mistaken.”

I felt it in me that he was lying. There was something about Meadowbrook that Dante wanted. He was going all out for this. But it was obvious he would rather lose anything than his pride.

He leaned forward, hands flat on the table. The coffee shop seemed to quiet around us, or maybe that was just me, suddenly hyper-aware of the way he commanded the space without raising his voice.

“We have options. Other towns. Other investors interested in partnering with us. Meadowbrook is attractive, but it’s not irreplaceable.” His eyes locked onto Jensen’s, unflinching. “So let skip the theatrics and talk like adults. Or we walk, and you explain to your community why you let a multimillion-dollar opportunity slip through your fingers because you got greedy.”

My breath caught.

I’d seen Dante angry. Seen him cold. Seen him dismissive.

But this? This was different.

This was power. Real, controlled, devastating power. There was no aggression because the words alone were enough to make grown men reconsider their life choices.

Jensen’s smirk faltered. Just for a second. Then he recovered, laughing it off, but the damage was done.

And I, God help me, I felt heat curl low in my stomach.

Dante Moretti, in full command of a room, taking down a man like Jensen with nothing but his voice and his presence, was the most attractive thing I’d ever witnessed.

I pressed my thighs together under the table, hoping the flush creeping up my neck wasn’t visible.

“Focus, Cinnamon. This is not the time.”

But my body wasn’t listening.

2/4

09:53 Sat, Feb 28

M M

Chapter 18

2.96%

55 vouchers

Angrily, he rose. “I see that your boyfriend -”

“Fiancé,” I corrected smoothly, praying Dante didn’t hear the tin hitch in my voice.

“Whatever he is would make this difficult for your company.”

“No, you already started being difficult,” I defended.

“I’ll let this little show of his slide because you’re Gloria’s daughter.”

“Well, thank you,” I said carefully.

“Good.” Jensen stood, stretching. “I’ll bring your offer to the council. We’ll set up another meeting next week. Maybe dinner?” He winked at me. “Just the three of us. Somewhere nice.”

Dante stood too, jaw locked. “We’ll be in touch.”

Jensen sauntered out, whistling.

The second the door closed, Dante turned to me.

“That man is a snake.”

“I know.”

“He’s going to bleed us dry.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify