"But...but...you said-"
Jaeger stood up and placed his hands on his desk, leaning down so their eyes were level. "I'm not making a million-plus offer on gems I know next to nothing about. I do that in the field when I have nothing to rely on but my gut. But I'm not prepared to do that now when I don't need to take the risk." Jaeger stood up and pushed his hand through his hair. "I'll make you a solid offer after I've done some research-"
"What type of research?" Piper asked, obviously frustrated.
"We use various databases, including those set up by Interpol and the FBI, to check whether any similar gems are reported stolen. I want my siblings to look at the stones."
"How long will it take?"
Jaeger shrugged. "As long as it takes."
"I can always take them to Moreau's."
Ballantyne and Company's biggest competition.
"That's your prerogative, but you won't," Jaeger said, watching her eyes, watching frustration chase fear through all the green. "You won't because you want me to buy these stones. For some reason you want me to have them. Why?"
Piper tried to dismiss his statement, but he saw the flash of agreement in her eyes. Why did he think there was so much more happening here than her wanting to sell the stones? He felt like she had a story and he was part of it.
"You have two weeks to make me a solid offer," Piper told him, picking up her bag and pulling it over her shoulder. "After that, I start shopping around."
Jaeger nodded. "I need your contact information. If you'll give me a little time, I'll enter the details of the stones into our database and print you a receipt, stating that they are in our custody."
"I'll give you my card. Just send the receipt. I know you won't steal them or swap them."
Her instinctive trust in him made him feel warm.
"All I need is for you to keep my name, and the fact that I have these jewels, confidential. Can you do that?"
Why was she so concerned about privacy and confidentiality? Could these sapphires be stolen? God, he hoped not. If they were, he'd have to report her, and he did not want to see Piper arrested and jailed for handling stolen property.
The only thing she should handle was him.
Jaeger gave himself a mental punch to the head. It was time to act like an adult, a partner in Ballantyne and Company, like the hard-ass gem hunter he was reputed to be.
"You did hear me say I'll be running these stones through the Interpol and FBI databases, didn't you?"
Piper's only response was a searing look. Shaking her head, she pulled a business card out of her bag and handed it over.
Jaeger looked down at the card and flicked the edge with his finger. "You're an art appraiser?"
Piper shook her head. "You really did take my words to heart, didn't you?"
Jaeger frowned. What did that odd comment mean? From the moment she'd walked into his office, he'd seen half-formed statements on her lips, in her eyes. She'd start to speak, but then she'd bite the words back, acting as if there was something she needed to say but wouldn't. What was going on behind those pretty eyes?
Mind your own business, Ballantyne. She's a client, nothing more.
But there was definitely something odd about the very gorgeous Ms. Mills, Jaeger decided as he watched her walk across his office and yank open the door. She turned back to look at him and lifted her index finger to point at him. "I'm trusting you to look after my stones. Trusting you, after everything that's happened, is a very big deal for me, Ballantyne."
Before he could reply, she walked out of his office. Jaeger stared at his half-open door, feeling like she was leaving him with just a few pieces of a puzzle.
He'd find the missing pieces, he thought, sitting back down behind his desk. He'd start by running her name through as many databases as he had access to and see what popped up.
Because, he was damn sure, something would.
* * *
Why hadn't she called Jaeger on his BS?
The question played on repeat in her head, like nails on a chalkboard, since she'd hurried out of Jaeger's office eight hours before. Why hadn't she mentioned their past to get it out in the open? Why did she go along with his I've-never-met-you-before attitude?
Piper turned the corner onto her street, her tote over one shoulder and her arms around two brown sacks of baby food and diapers. And chocolate... After a day like today, she needed chocolate. Baby food, diapers and chocolate... God, her life was so exciting.
Not.
Well, it had been! Back when she was with that six-foot-something slab of sexiness... No, that wasn't what she meant to think! Dammit! So why didn't you say anything about the time you spent together in Milan, Mills? What was with that nonsense?
Piper shifted her sacks and tried to blow a curl out of her eye. Pride...pride was a factor. She'd wanted him to mention Milan, to be the one to go there, to say how nice it was to see her again. She'd wanted him to ask if he could take her to dinner...to bed. She'd never thought, not once, not even after he'd shut her out completely, that she'd be so utterly forgettable.
And, man, it killed her-in a dagger-to-the-heart way-that he didn't remember her. Spending the night with him was a highlight of her life. Conversely, she was, for him, a forgettable experience in what was obviously a long line of sexual encounters.
And Jaeger forgetting her, forgetting about Milan, made all her feelings around her father and his neglect bubble to the surface. She was an adult, and she should have been over feeling hurt by Mick's actions, but she couldn't help remembering the times she'd opened the door to him and watched him struggle to remember her name. Her mother and whatever she gave Mick were important to him, not Piper. When her mom died, her father stopped visiting the house in Brooklyn altogether, and the only time he'd spoken to Piper after the funeral was to demand she give him the sapphires.
She'd lived with rejection all her life. Jaeger not remembering her was just another version of the same thing.
That being said, Jaeger's actions still didn't make sense. Why the pretense? They'd agreed to keep it businesslike when they met again, so why not take her calls right after Milan? Why did he go to such lengths to ignore her and then pretend not to remember her?
What game was he playing?
Maybe she should've avoided Jaeger altogether and gone directly to Moreau's. Why hadn't she?
Jaeger paid better, according to Mr. Hendricks, than all the other gem dealers. She'd also, in Milan, promised Jaeger she'd bring the stones to him. Thanks to her father being a thief, it was important that she kept her promises. Piper strongly believed in keeping her word, in doing the right thing.
So, was not telling Jaeger about Ty the right thing to do?
The thought slammed into her, holding all the power of a rogue wave. Of course it was. Meeting Jaeger again changed nothing! She knew, everyone knew, that Jaeger wasn't daddy material. He'd openly admitted a wife and kids weren't part of his plans.
There was nothing worse than knowing who your parent was and knowing he didn't care enough to be a part of your life. Piper wouldn't put her son in the same position she'd been in.
Approaching her house, she pushed the wrought iron gate open with her hip and noticed her lemon verbena and geraniums needed water and the pots needed repainting. Yeah, that probably wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
"Piper!"
Standing on the top step, Piper whirled around quickly. She wobbled, her bags tipped and she struggled to find her balance.
"Dammit, Ballantyne!"
Jaeger walked up to her, his hands in the air. "Why so jumpy? I just called your name."
He didn't need to know she'd been thinking about him and felt like she'd conjured him out of thin air. "It's been a long day. Why are you here?"
Her skin prickled as Jaeger slowly approached her, his long legs eating up the space between them. As he came closer, she caught a hint of masculine cologne, warm skin. God, she remembered the smell and texture and taste of him-spicy, warm...
He interrupted that train of thought by taking her groceries from her and looking into the bags. "Wine, baby food, diapers, a popular men's magazine, tampons, chocolate and hummus. That's quite a mixed bag."
Piper blushed, then frowned. "Stop examining my shopping. It's rude."
"Are you going to invite me inside?" Jaeger demanded, and Piper knew it wasn't a suggestion but an order.
Piper shifted from foot to foot as she thought about what to say. Ceri, her nanny and good friend, was upstairs with Ty, and Piper really, really didn't want Jaeger and Ty meeting. She didn't know what game Jaeger was playing by pretending not to remember her, but until she'd figured out the rules, she wasn't going to introduce a new player into the arena. Especially when that new player was her innocent son.