Big Daddy Sinatra 3: The Best of My Love (The Sinatras of Jericho County) by Mallory Monroe Read Free Book Online Page B

fifty.
    “So
this Jenay got her little certificate in hotel management, married the junkyard
dog, and saved his struggling B & B for him?   That’s her story?”
      “Pretty much,” Steve said, looking over his
notes.   “She married some loser when she
was like twenty years old or something like that.   Her first marriage.   He died like six years ago after a shootout
with police.”
    Matt
couldn’t believe it. “A shootout?”
    “I
know, but it’s the truth.   Sinatra’s
ex-wife had some involvement too in all of that craziness and is now serving
twenty years in prison for her part.   She
thought she was going to get off with a slap on the wrist, but she was badly mistaken.   So Jenay and Sinatra took over custody of her
ex-husband’s two teenage daughters, adopted them and raised them.”
    “How
did that turn out?”
    “Good.   Both are in college now.   The youngest is at Harvard.”
    Matt
nodded his head.   “Impressive.”
    “Indeed.   And the oldest is a party girl, and I mean a
party hardy girl, who could only get into Berkskill.”
    Matt
smiled.   “What the hell is Berkskill?”
    “One
of those colleges that caters to the wealthy and well-connected.   Her grades weren’t going to get her anywhere
else.   But she’ll be graduating soon, so
even her story turned out well.”
    But
Matt was not thinking about her story as an end within itself.   He was thinking about what kind of leverage
he was going to need if this Jenay Sinatra didn’t go along with his plans.   Because he was going to have his way.   Everything was on the table as far as he was
concerned.
    He
took a sip of his wine and was about to shove another forkful of pasta into his
mouth when his property manager motioned toward the entrance.   Jenay Sinatra had arrived.
    Matt’s
fork lingered mid-way to his mouth when he laid eyes on Jenay.   “Wow,” he said.   “I’m surprised.   This Big Daddy Sinatra has got some taste.”
    “She’s
nice looking, that’s for sure,” Steve agreed.   “When I went over to Jericho Inn to request this meeting, I was
impressed too.   But don’t get too
enamored.   Word around town is that Big
Daddy is very protective of his little lady.   It’s the only thing they give him credit for.”
    But
Matt was not enamored with her, or even looking at her that way.   She was just another pretty face to him on a
nice, slender frame.   He was looking at
her weakness.   Because it had been his experience
that good looking girls always had a weakness, and that weakness was usually
good looking boys.   He smiled.   If this meeting didn’t go his way, and the
odds were that it wouldn’t, her looks alone could give him yet another weapon.
    “Mrs.
Sinatra, so good to see you again,” Steve said with a grand smile as Jenay
approached their table.   He and his boss
both stood up, and Steve extended his hand.
    “Good
to see you again as well,” she responded, shaking his hand.
    “And
this gentleman right here is the man I told you about.   My boss, Matt Dellum.”
    “Mr.
Dellum,” Jenay said as she and Matt shook hands.   “Nice to meet you.”
    Matt
put on his best charming smile.   He was
not bad looking either, and he knew how to woo the ladies.   “Nice meeting you too, Mrs. Sinatra,” he
said.   Then he decided to disarm her so
that he could test her.   “May I call you
Jenay?”
    Jenay
hesitated.   This guy was her competition,
not some friendly acquaintance.   “At our
very first meeting?” she asked.   “You may
not.”
    She
could tell he didn’t like her response, as his blue eyes took on a colder hue,
but she didn’t care.   It had been her
experience that whenever she allowed a businessman to disrespect her as a
businesswoman, they took too many liberties with her that she would later have
to beat back.   She just as soon not even
go there to begin with.   Especially since
he was, she once again reminded herself, her direct competition in the