CHAPTER 188: CHAPTER 188 THE MATCHMAKER’S PLAN

Serena’s POV

I put down my phone, finally ending the call with Ethan, and turned my attention to the jewelry season preparations. Maya had already laid out two comprehensive proposals on my desk, both looking equally promising at first glance.

"Ryan actually let you out of the house for jewelry season? Shocking!" Maya plopped down in the chair across from me, eyeing my slightly rounder figure with a grin. "Look at you, all glowing and stuff. Pregnancy agrees with you."

I flipped through the first proposal, unable to suppress a small laugh. "What was I supposed to do? Sit at home knitting baby booties while you handle our biggest season alone? Not happening."

"You haven’t taken a real break in forever," I added, glancing up at her. "That’s not fair to you."

Maya made an exaggerated gagging sound. "Fair? Please. I don’t have a hot billionaire husband or a tiny human using my bladder as a trampoline. My life consists of work, takeout, and binge-watching crime documentaries. Working is literally all I have."

She spread her hands dramatically. "Single lady problems. One income, one mouth to feed... one bed to sprawl across. It’s my sad, sad destiny."

By the end, she was laughing at her own theatrics. I selected one of the proposals and slid it across the desk.

"Your life sounds positively tragic," I said dryly. "Maybe I should introduce you to someone? Put all that sprawling bed space to good use?"

Maya’s eyebrows shot up. "You? Miss ’I-Was-Married-To-The-Most-Emotionally-Unavailable-Man-In-America’ is now a matchmaker? Besides Ryan, what eligible men do you even know?"

"Ethan Quinn," I replied confidently. "You met him during our last collaboration."

The brief flicker of interest in Maya’s eyes died instantly. "Oh please. I’m not into younger guys. He probably still gets carded at bars."

I tapped my fingers on the desk, suddenly serious. "I’m not joking around. Yes, he’s a few years younger, but he’s incredibly mature. The man runs LUXE Jewelry single-handedly, for heaven’s sake."

"And," I added, leaning forward with a conspiratorial smile, "you’re always talking about your ’face requirements.’ Ethan definitely exceeds those standards, doesn’t he?"

Maya bit her lip, clearly wavering. I could practically see her remembering Ethan’s chiseled jawline and piercing eyes.

"It wouldn’t work anyway," she said finally, waving dismissively. "He’s in London, I’m in New York. Long-distance relationships are doomed from the start. Besides, we barely know each other. There’s no chance for anything to develop."

She stood up, clutching the proposal to her chest, ready to escape my matchmaking efforts.

"Hold on," I called before she could make her getaway. "I’m not finished yet."

Maya stopped at the door, turning back with suspicious eyes. "What now?"

"LUXE has proposed a joint venture for the jewelry season," I said innocently. "Since I obviously can’t travel to London in my condition, someone needs to go coordinate in person..."

I let the sentence hang in the air. Maya’s eyes widened as she caught on.

"You sneaky little matchmaker!" she gasped. "You had this planned the whole time!"

"Well?" I grinned, rubbing my growing baby bump. "Didn’t you just say there was no chance for anything to develop? Here’s your chance. Are you going or not?"

A slow smile spread across Maya’s face. "Hell yes, I’m going! My passport’s been gathering dust anyway."

"Perfect. I’ll send you Ethan’s contact info. You two can... coordinate directly." I couldn’t help the suggestive tone that crept into my voice.

"You’re terrible," Maya laughed, but she was already checking her reflection in her compact mirror. "But I appreciate the effort. At least one of us remembers I’m more than just your workaholic business partner."

"That’s me," I sighed dramatically, patting my belly. "Just thinking of everyone’s happiness while growing an entire human. I’m practically a saint."

Maya snorted with laughter as she headed out, but not before I caught her fixing her hair. Maybe this matchmaking business wasn’t so difficult after all.

Sophie’s POV

I stared at my phone after hanging up, feeling absolutely sick of Lucian’s constant demands. The man had no concept of boundaries. Who calls someone at this hour, expecting them to jump like a trained poodle?

"Who was that?" Ivy asked, poking her head into my bedroom with her usual nosy expression.

"Kane Blackwood," I muttered, throwing my phone onto the bed. "He wants me to contact Lucian again about targeting Ryan."

Ivy shrank back a little. She was completely dependent on me now that she’d been exposed as a fraud in the design world, and we both knew it. The thought gave me a bitter sense of satisfaction. At least someone was worse off than me.

"And you’re going to do it?" she asked quietly.

I shot her a withering look. "Do I have a choice? Kane just threatened to tell Ryan everything I’ve been doing behind his back." My voice turned mocking as I imitated him. "’How would Ryan feel knowing his precious first love has been plotting against him all this time?’"

I’d been fired from Blackwood Industries, my reputation was in tatters, and now Kane was squeezing me for every last drop of usefulness. Life couldn’t get much worse.

"Maybe we should just leave the country," Ivy suggested timidly. "Start over somewhere else?"

"With what money?" I snapped, then took a deep breath. Getting angry at Ivy wouldn’t solve anything. "No... I have a better idea."

I went to my closet and pulled out an exclusive designer dress, tossing it to my sister. "Put this on. We’re going to Celestial Gems."

Ivy caught the dress with wide eyes. "Lucian West’s company? Why?"

"Because if Kane wants me to keep working with Lucian, I need leverage. And what better leverage than getting close to Lucian West?" I said, rummaging through my own clothes. "You’ll bring your design portfolio. The jewelry season is coming up, and Celestial Gems is expanding into the domestic market. They’ll need designers."

Ivy looked skeptical but excited as she held the dress against her body. "You really think they’ll hire me? After everything that happened with Serena?"

"That bitch ruined your career," I said bitterly, the words tasting like poison on my tongue. "But Lucian West doesn’t know the full story. He just knows you were once a celebrated designer before Serena Quinn destroyed your reputation."

An hour later, we walked into the gleaming lobby of Celestial Gems, both of us dressed to impress. I’d coached Ivy carefully on what to say and how to act. She wasn’t as naturally manipulative as me, but she was learning.

"I’m sorry, Mr. West is unavailable," his assistant informed us with practiced politeness after keeping us waiting for twenty minutes. "Perhaps you’d like to schedule an appointment for another time?"

My perfect smile didn’t falter, but inside I was seething. Another door slammed in my face. I handed over Ivy’s portfolio with graceful persistence.

"That’s perfectly understandable. Mr. West must be incredibly busy. Would you mind passing these designs to him? My sister was once the toast of the design world in London before Serena Quinn sabotaged her career."

I couldn’t keep the hatred from my voice when mentioning Serena. That woman had everything I wanted—money, status, Ryan—and she’d thrown it all away like it meant nothing.

The assistant took the portfolio with mild interest, flipping through a few pages. "I see. And you believe Celestial Gems would be interested because...?"

"The jewelry season is approaching, and I heard Celestial Gems is expanding domestically. Surely they need talented designers?" I gave him my most charming smile. "My sister’s work speaks for itself."

He nodded noncommittally. "I’ll make sure Mr. West sees these. That’s all I can promise."

As soon as the office door closed behind us, Ivy’s composed façade crumbled.

"That’s it? We got all dressed up just to be dismissed by an assistant?" she whined. "He probably threw my portfolio in the trash the minute we left!"

"Shut up!" I hissed, gripping her arm painfully. "This is Celestial Gems. Watch what you say until we’re out of here!"