Starr Destined (Starr Series) (29 page)

“Seems so, if he’s brought her to a public event like this.”

To my horror, Martin caught Liam's eye, and started heading over towards us with Kimberley.

“Liam, I was hoping to catch up with you, because I have a proposition you might be interested in,” he said as they reached us and the men shook hands.  “But first, I’d like you to
meet my fiancée, Kimberley Kennedy.  Kimberley, this is Liam Starr of Starr Capital Ventures.”  As he made the introductions, I knew Kimberley was sizing me up and taking in every detail of my appearance, even as she appeared to be smiling warmly. 
Bitch.

I also noticed that she had her left hand perfectly placed on Martin’s arm to proudly showcase an enormous diamond solitaire engagement ring - like that was going to impress me. 
Bitch.

So, what was Liam's protocol for bumping into an old fuck buddy, I couldn’t help wondering, as I turned to check his expression.  Pretend they’d never met, or just claim a passing acquaintance?  His face gave nothing away as he coolly shook her hand.

“I believe we’ve met before, haven’t we, Kimberley?”

“I think maybe we have, Liam,” she replied equally as coolly.  “Wasn’t it at another of these fun
ctions, quite some time ago?”

“I can't quite recollect,” Liam smiled back.

“So Liam, who is this beautiful creature you’ve brought with you this evening?”  Martin turned to look at me.  “This is a first - I don't think I've ever seen you actually bring anyone before.”

“This is my girlfriend, Seraphina Jones.  Sera, this is Martin Edwards of Edwards Financial Services, and his fiancée Kimberley.”  Liam put his arm around my waist, which didn't go unnoticed by Ki
mberley, as her smile became just a little more forced and fixed. 
Yep, he’s with me, bitch.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Martin,” I smiled, realising with a sinking heart that I would have to acknowledge
her
next if I didn't want to appear rude.

But if Liam could manage to be civil with Finbarr, then so could I with the bitch - no, rewind - with
Kimberley
.  I had to pull myself together, act like a mature, sensible adult, and remember that I was dealing with the fiancée of one of Liam's important business connections. 

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you too, Kimberley.”  I forced myself to smile back at her. 
See, that wasn’t so difficult was it?

But I couldn’t help it - I had to work really hard to stop myself from picturing her in bed with Liam.  I had little doubt she was revisiting those memories too, by the way she was furtively eyeing him while he was talking to Martin. 
Hands off.  He’s mine now.

“Girlfriend eh?  Well, good for you.  So how did you two meet?”  Martin asked Liam, as he looked over at me.

“Through work.  As well as being my girlfriend, Sera is also a Creative Designer at SCV.  So, you and Kimberley are engaged?”

“That’s right, yes.  Once the decree absolute from my divorce comes through, we’ll be setting a date for as soon as possible,” he elaborated.

The ink wasn’t even dry on Martin’s divorce yet, and she’d already got her claws into him. 
Definitely a Bitch.

“So you’re a Creative Designer - what exactly does that involve?”  Kimberley turned her attention to me, but before I could answer, Liam replied.

“It means Sera comes up with all the new images, designs, logos for every aspect of my business.  She’s incredibly talented, and I was extremely fortunate to discover her when she interned at SCV.  So I quickly snapped her up before anyone else got the opportunity to employ her,” Liam informed Kimberley, and my heart swelled with love, for the way he was proudly singing my praises.

“Really?  Well, in that case, the proposal I have for you might be right up this young lady’s street,” Martin chimed in.  “I’ve bought up a whole raft of companies recently as part of a package, some of which I’m looking to offload because they’re not of interest to me, but I think they might appeal to you.  There are three in particular that have licences to operate in The States, which I know is of particular interest to you.”

“You’ve got my attention now, Martin,” Liam nodded.  Even I knew he was always looking to expand his interests in America.

“These three companies have been neglected for years, and are really stuck in a time warp.  They’d need a complete overhaul and revamp before you’d be able to do much with them, which I haven’t the time or inclination to bother with, but after that initial investment, I think you’d see a good r
eturn on your money.  And from what you’ve just told me, it sounds as if you have just the person to help you with that kind of a project.”

Liam turned and smiled at me.

“What do you think, Seraphina?”

Kimberley looked surprised that Liam was consulting me. 
Yeah, I do actually have a brain
.

“When you say these companies are stuck in a time warp - which era are you talking about?”  I asked Martin, as Kimberley frowned and started toying with her diamond ring. 

“Sixties - which seems very dated to me.”

“Could also be seen as very retro chic.  I wouldn’t be in too much of a rush to throw everything out, not when it’s so hard to come up with anything new and original.  It might be better to work with what’s already there, just freshen things up but keep the unique features.  Sounds really interesting, actually,” I said.

“So you think I should look at Martin’s proposal seriously?  Would it be something you could work with?”  Liam checked with me.

“Obviously it would be down to you to assess the financial viability of the companies, but from a creative point of view, it sounds feasible.”

“Martin’s aware that just the operating licences alone make the companies viable from my point of view.  So how about we set up a meeting for next week, Martin?  Bandy some figures around, let Sera have a look at what you’ve got for these companies at the moment?”  Liam suggested.

“Great idea.  I’ll get my PA to contact yours to set it up, and I suggest we make it lunch as well.  Then I can get to know this girlfriend of yours better,” he winked at me, much to Kimberley’s obv
ious annoyance, although she covered it well.

“I can sit in too, if you need any clarification on the legal aspects,” she offered.  “I am a lawyer after all.”

“Not your speciality though, is it?  Company law, I mean,” Martin stated.

“What is your speciality Kimberley?”  I asked, to try and get a different take on her, and banish all thoughts of her as Liam's fuck buddy.

“I’m a human rights lawyer,” she replied archly. 

Whoa - that surprised me, and made me look at her with new respect - she was not some brainless blonde bimbo, as I'd assumed, which made me feel ashamed.  I hated it when people jumped to conclusions about me because of my looks, but that’s exactly what I'd done with Kimberley. 
Still a bitch - a bitch with brains though.

“That sounds interesting,” I smiled.

“It can be, but like most jobs, it can also be tedious, especially as there’s a lot of boring paperwork that goes with it,” she smiled back.

The men shook hands with a promise to meet up next week and then we moved on to mingle with other people.

After we’d had dinner, when I'd been sat between Liam and an Indian gentleman who told me all about his import business, I headed off to the ladies.

As I came out of the cubicle and went to the sink to wash my hands, I glanced in the mirror, then nearly groaned out load as Kimberley came up beside me.

“I have to hand it to you, you’ve played an absolute blinder to land Liam Starr,” she pronounced.

“I’m sorry?”  I gaped back at her reflection.

“Oh, don't look so surprised.  By the evil looks you were sending my way earlier, it’s obvious you’re aware Liam and I have history, because I realise now you saw us together that time at his place.  But I never got anywhere with him, and let’s face it, if you’re Liam's type, I never stood a chance, did I?  Look at you - petite, young and inexperienced, with that delicate, fragile aura.  Seeing you here in the flesh now, I get how that would be a very powerful combination for a control freak like Liam, especially as I gather you were hard up and vulnerable as well.  I had him pegged all wrong - I assumed outside the bedroom he’d want a powerful woman to match him, but of course he was going to be intrigued by someone like you, someone he could control and make his own.”

“I wasn’t playing any kind of game to land Liam,” I retorted, trying to keep my cool as I focussed on the mirror to touch up my subtle natural colour lip-gloss.

Kimberley paused from refreshing her bright red lipstick.  Our opposing choices of lip colour about summed up the difference between us really. 

“Don't get me wrong, sweetie.  I’ve decided to accept defeat gracefully, and gorgeous as Liam u
ndoubtedly is, I'm not going to waste any more of my precious time on a lost cause like him.  So if you’re what he wants, then good luck to you.”

“Right, well…”  I was at a loss to know how to react to Kimberley’s frank assessment.

“In any case, as you can see, I’ve moved on,” she informed me, as waggled her engagement ring at me, before turning her attention to expertly brush some bronzer on her cheeks.

“With Martin.”  I said disapprovingly. 

“Oh don't look at me like that.  I didn't break up his marriage, that was dead in the water long before I came along,” she stated, as she smoothed a finger over her eye shadow.

“Right, I see,” I muttered.

“I know Martin’s quite a bit older than me, but that’s what makes him perfect.  His marriage broke up because he wanted children and his wife didn't - she wasn’t prepared to compromise her career.  He’s desperate for an heir before he gets much older, and now I’ve hit my thirties, much to my surprise my biological clock has inconveniently started to tick rather loudly, which means I want to get on with having babies.  Martin is wealthy and successful and can easily support me while I take a career break to raise a family.  Plus, he’s totally mad about me - for now anyway, although I’m not naïve enough to think that’ll last forever.  But I know how important having a family is to him, and that’s what’ll keep us together.  He may not be Liam when it comes to the bedroom, but then no one was ever going to match up to him, were they?  I just hope you appreciate what you’ve got,” she lectured me.

Was this weird, or was this weird?  Yep, it was definitely weird.

“Anyway, I have no doubt that Martin will make a very good father, which I’ve decided is the most important consideration for me now.  I’ve had my fun; I've played the field, and I'm finally ready to settle down.  To be perfectly frank, I've got bored of the whole career girl thing, and I'm more than happy to let a man support me while I try out being a stay-at-home, yummy-mummy for a few years.”

“Well, I hope it all works out the way you want, Kimberley.” 

It all sounded cold and calculating to me, but she and Martin were both adults, going into this with their eyes open, and if they got what they wanted out of it, that was their choice.

“Just one bit of advice for you, sweetie.  I wouldn’t take a chance on leaving things too long before you get Liam to put a ring on your finger.  You might think you have all the time in the world, but trust me, the years fly by, and you’re left wondering where it has all gone,” she advised, as she patted her neat blonde hair into place.

“I’m not interested in getting married, even if Liam is…”  I hastily shut up, realising I shouldn’t be blabbing about this to her.

“You mean he’s asked you and you’ve turned him down?”  She whistled through her teeth, looking at me as if I was mad.  “Sera, I know you’re pretty young, but even so, that’s a dangerous game you’re playing.”

“I told you, I’m not playing games with Liam.  The whole getting married thing, being someone’s wife, just isn’t me, and I don't see why people bother with it.”

“Purely from a legal point of view, it makes far more sense to get married, if you intend to stay t
ogether that is.  Generally speaking, you have far fewer rights if you’re living together than if you're married.  There’s no legal recognition for couples who live together, and you won’t automatically be his next of kin if anything should happen to him.”

“I see.  Well, it’s very early days between us anyway - maybe one day I’ll feel differently, so thanks for the advice.”

“You know, I can see you’re a feisty little thing under that delicate fairy like exterior, and to be perfectly frank, I'm fascinated to see how things turn out between you and Liam, because I think he’s met his match and you’re probably going to lead him a merry dance.  I meant it when I wished you good luck, so feel free to contact me if you ever need any kind of help or advice.”

Kimberley passed me one of her business cards from her clutch bag, then swept out.

I shook my head at my reflection in the mirror.

“What was that all about, eh?”  I asked myself, before making my way out, where I found Liam wai
ting anxiously for me.

“What on earth took you so long?” he demanded. 

“There’s always a long queue in the ladies,” I pointed out.