Seducing His Opposition / Secret Nights at Nine Oaks: Seducing His Opposition. Katherine Garbera
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had the top down on her rental Audi convertible and the Florida sunshine warmed her head and the breeze stirred her hair as they drove to Justin Stern’s office.
Having the top down did something else. It made conversation with her abuelito nearly impossible and right now she needed some quiet time to think. Though Justin Stern had flirted with her, she knew he was one sharp attorney and she’d need to have her wits about her when they talked.
“Selena?”
“Si?”
“You missed the turnoff,” her grandfather said. “I … dang it, I wasn’t paying attention.” “What’s on your mind?”
“This meeting. I want to make sure you and abuelita are treated fairly.” “You will, tata.”
She made a U-turn at the next intersection and soon they were in the parking lot of Luna Azul Company’s corporate headquarters. The building was large and modern but fit the neighborhood, and as she walked closer, Selena noticed that it wasn’t new construction but had been a remodel. She made a mental note to check on this building and to investigate if having the Stern brothers here had enhanced this area.
“You ready, abuelito?”
“For what?”
“To take on Justin.”
“Hell, yes. I’ve been doing it the best I can, but … we needed you,” her grandfather said.
They entered the air-conditioned building. The receptionist greeted them and directed them to the fifth floor executive offices.
“Hello, Mr. Gonzalez.”
“Hello, Myra. How are you today?” her grandfather asked the pretty young woman who greeted them there.
“Not bad. Hear you’ve brought a big-gun lawyer to town,” she said.
“I brought our attorney. Figured it was about time I had someone who could argue on Mr. Stern’s level.”
Myra laughed and even Selena smiled. She could tell that her grandfather had been doing okay negotiating for himself. Why had he called her?
“I’m Selena Gonzalez,” Selena said stepping forward and holding out her hand.
“Myra Temple,” the other woman said. “It’s nice to meet you. You will be meeting in the conference room at the end of the hall. Can I get either of you something
to drink?”
“I’ll have a sparkling water,” her grandfather said.
“Me, too,” Selena said and followed her grandfather down the hall to the conference room.
The walls were richly paneled and there was a portrait of Justin and two other men who had to be his brothers. There was a strong resemblance in the stubborn jawline of all the men. She recognized Nate Stern, Justin’s younger brother and a former New York Yankees baseball player.
Her abuelito sat down but she walked around the room, and checked out the view from the fifth floor and then the model for the Calle Ocho market center.
“Have you seen this, abuelito?”
He shook his head and came over to stand next to her. The Cuban American market that her grandparents owned was now replaced with a chain grocery store. She was outraged and angry.
“I can’t believe this,” Selena said.
“You can’t believe what?” Justin asked as he entered the conference room. Myra was right behind him with a tray of Perrier and glasses filled with ice cubes.
“That you think replacing the Cuban American market with a chain grocery store would be acceptable.”
“To be honest we haven’t got an agreement with them yet,” Justin said. “This is just an artist’s concept of how the Market will look.”
“Well the injunction I filed today is going to hamper your agreement with them.”
“It will indeed. That’s why I invited you here to
talk.”
She was disgusted that she had fallen for his sexy smile and self-deprecating charm at the zoning office because she saw now that he was a smooth operator. And she’d had her fill of them when she was younger. It made her angry to think that in ten years she hadn’t learned not to fall for that kind of guy.
“Then let’s get to work,” she said. “I’ve drawn up a list of concerns.”
“I look forward to seeing them,” Justin said. “And Tomas, it’s nice to see you again,” he said, shaking the older man’s hand.
“I’d prefer it if we could stop meeting,” Tomas said.
“To be fair I’d like that, too. I want to move this project forward,” Justin said.
She bet he did, he was probably losing money with each day that they waited to break ground on their new market. But she was here to make sure that he realized that he couldn’t come in and replace traditional markets with a shiny upscale shopping area with no ties to the community.
“What is your largest concern?” he asked. “This was a Publix supermarket strip mall before you first came to it, Tomas. So you have had chain grocers in the neighborhood before. We can invite another retailer if you’d prefer that.”
Selena realized that Justin didn’t necessarily understand what their objection to his building in the community truly was.
“Justin, this strip mall is part of the Cuban American community. Our family’s store isn’t just a place for people to pick up groceries, it’s where the old men come in the morning for their coffee and then sit around and discuss the business of the day. It’s a place where young mothers bring their kids to play in the back and have great Cuban food.
“This is the heart of the neighborhood. You can’t just rip it out.”
Justin knew this meeting wasn’t going to be easy. He’d figured that out the moment he met Selena. She was the kind of woman that made a man work for it. And he knew that she was looking out for the interests of her community and to be fair he needed that community to want to shop there. Even though they’d do a good crossover business from the club and he had an arrangement with some local tour companies to add the new Luna Azul Market to their tourist stops once it opened, it would be the neighborhood residents that would make or break this endeavor.
“I’m open to your suggestions. So far Tomas has only demanded that we leave the strip mall the way it is and I think that we both know that isn’t a solution.”
“We both don’t know that,” she said.
“Have you been down to the property lately?” he asked her. “The mall is old and run-down. The families that you speak of are dwindling, isn’t that right, Tomas?”
Tomas shrugged but then glanced over at Selena. “The buildings need repairs and the landlord … you, Justin, should be making them.”
“I want to make more than repairs. I’m not even sure if they meet the new hurricane wind resistance standards.”
Selena pulled out a notebook and started writing on it. “We will check into it. Have you considered forming a committee with the community leaders and your company? “
“We’ve had a few informal discussions.”
“You need to do a lot more than that. Because if you want the neighborhood support you are going to have to open a dialogue with them.”
“Okay,” Justin said. “But only if you serve on the committee.”
She blinked up and then tipped her head to the side. “I don’t think that I need to be on there.”
“I do,” Justin said. “You grew