Conflict of Interests

by Denean Dawson

  “Uh...well we spent some time catching up, I guess. Actually...it seemed like she was hoping something would happen between us. You should have seen the shirt she was wearing...very um, sexy. Too sexy for a business meeting, I mean.”

  Jack’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell her about Caroline?”

  “What?! Of course I did. It didn’t come up until later in the conversation, but I told her in no uncertain terms. I actually said flat out that our relationship would have to be strictly business.”

  Looking relieved, Jack said, “Good. So, she was trying to come on to you?”

  “No, no it was more subtle than that—”

  Jack interrupted before he could finish, “Do you think that’s why she came here? To get you back?”

  Jake shook his head. “I think it just worked out that way. She told me that she didn’t realize Jamyson & Jamyson was our firm until she started researching the three companies on her short list.”

  “Huh. Well, that’s reassuring. It would be a disaster if the deal fell through because you rejected her.”

  “My thoughts exactly brother. Even if I wasn’t with Caroline, it’s better not to mix your work life with your love life,” Jake said, then added, “Things might be awkward with her for a while, but it seemed like she understood. She knows as well as we do that this deal is huge for both our companies. I’m actually pretty excited about that part.”

  “Me too, brother, me too. It's going to be a huge thing to accomplish, but I think we can really do this,” Jack grinned. “Well, let’s head out of here. Danielle suggested that you and Caroline come over for dinner this weekend, are you in?” he asked as they moved toward the lobby.

  “Yeah, maybe we can do that. It’ll depend on how much work I have to do,” Jake replied. He wasn’t sure if he would have any free time in the near future because the merger would be an involved process. He couldn’t just dive into work completely, which he was tempted to do, as he had to make sure he spent time with his family. Caroline had taught him the importance of spending as much time with Jonathan as possible while he was young, before he became a teenager who would rather spend time with his friends than his father. He didn’t want to neglect his girlfriend either. Caroline worked hard taking care of Jonathan all day, and she expected Jake to make time for just the two of them in the evenings after dinner.

  “Okay, that’s cool. Just know that I’m here to help so you don’t have to take on all the work alone,” Jack said.

  Jake could tell that his brother wanted to be more involved in the management of the firm, but a part of him didn’t want that. He was used to controlling the business alone, and even though he appreciated everything his brother had been doing recently, Jake wasn’t sure he was ready to take a leadership role. He did feel that he owed his brother the truth though. “I know, I guess I’m just used to managing everything on my own,” he replied.

  “I get that, just don’t forget that I’m here,” Jack added as they walked out of the building.

  “Thank you, I won’t forget,” Jake replied with a smile.

  The brothers parted in the parking garage and Jake made his way home.

  Jake was less than excited to work through the night, but he knew he had to. He was sure that Caroline would be upset with him, especially if she found out that he hadn’t finished his work because he had been talking to Melissa for so long. He decided that he wouldn’t tell her about the meeting. Caroline had been understanding toward the whole thing, but that didn’t mean she would appreciate Jake missing out on work because he was talking to an ex.

  On his drive across the city, Jake couldn’t get the image of Melissa’s lacy bra peeking through her shirt out of his mind.

  Chapter Six, That Gut Feeling

  “Your dad should be home soon, please go wash up for dinner,” Caroline said as she switched off the TV.

  “Aw man, can’t I wait for him to come home first? I haven’t seen this episode,” Jonathan whined.

  Caroline didn’t like it when Jonathan whined, which he knew very well, so she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him sternly. She knew she didn’t have to say anything else for him to get the message. They shared a moment of silence, staring each other down in a battle of wills, before Jonathan huffed, got off the couch, and stomped to the bathroom to wash his hands.

  Caroline smiled to herself, feeling quite satisfied. She had cooked Jake's favorite meal because she could see that he was stressed. She knew it was because of the conversation they’d had earlier in the week. She was glad he had been honest with her about Melissa. It showed her that he cared about her just as much as his frequent kisses did. Of course, a part of her was a little worried, but she didn’t allow it to get to her. The merger was an excellent move for the business and that was important to her because it was important to Jake. The family firm was a major part of Jake’s life, and Caroline respected that.

  She heard the tap turn on, the water run, and then a splashing sound as Jonathan washed his hands. She was proud of the fact that Jonathan listened to her and she was happy that they had grown closer. It was not easy for children to adapt to having a new parental figure in their lives, but she and Jonathan had gotten along right away. Caroline knew that Jonathan loved her - he had told her so many times. He might be grumpy with her at the moment, but she didn’t mind because she was responsible for his development.

  She heard the keys click into the front door, and Jake walked in. Caroline could tell immediately that Jake was stressed. He walked to the kitchen, and sighed heavily, placing his laptop bag behind the couch on his way.

  “Hey, honey. How was your day?” Caroline asked as she hugged Jake.

  “Oh, extremely long and I’ve still got work to finish,” he replied.

  Normally Jake made sure he finished his work before he got home, so it was a bit strange that he had brought it home with him. It wasn’t completely alarming but did make Caroline wonder. She supposed it had to do with the merger. Business was not her area of expertise, so she left it alone. "That's not good. Well, let’s have dinner and then you can get to work,” she said, disappointed they wouldn’t get to spend time together.

  “I would, but I’m not hungry so I think I might just go straight to work and eat later,” he said before he kissed her cheek and walked to his home office.

  Caroline didn’t get the chance to protest as he closed the door behind him. She stood there silently trying to wrap her head around the situation. She felt rejected by Jake, especially as she had cooked his favorite meal and he hadn’t even noticed or said anything about it. Forcing a smile onto her face, Caroline turned and looked at Jonathan who could clearly see something was wrong. “I guess it’s just us,” she said as she sat down at the table and dished up a plate for Jonathan.

  “Thank you,” Jonathan whispered, and took his plate from Caroline. He was no longer acting grumpy with her, probably because he was just as disappointed about being ignored by Jake.

  Caroline tried to chat idly with Jonathan, but her heart just wasn’t in it and he could tell. The young boy focused on eating his food neatly and quietly. She wondered if she should go check up on Jake, but something inside of her told her to stay away. Instead, she finished her food and cleaned up all the dishes, while Jonathan watched more TV than he was usually allowed after dinner.

  The evening had certainly not gone as expected, and Jake’s behavior was baffling, but she tried not to think too much into it. She knew that he would have a lot of work to do with the merger, but she hadn’t realized he would have to bring work home with him. She wouldn’t stop him from working, that wouldn’t be fair, but she had become used to spending family time together every evening. When she had first met Jake and his son, as Jonathan’s new nanny, Caroline had noticed right away that Jonathan needed to spend more time with his father. Even before they started dating, she had made sure that Jake got into the routine of coming home at a reasonable time so they could have
dinner together every night.

  She joined Jonathan on the couch and, sensing her uneasiness, he cuddled up next to her. The boy’s presence was reassuring, but Caroline’s anxiety was rearing its ugly head. She couldn’t stop thinking about Melissa. She didn’t even know what the woman looked like; she was probably gorgeous. The idea of Jake working closely with someone he used to love made her nervous. She trusted him not to cheat, but she had no way of knowing what Melissa’s intentions were. She kept imagining the worst-case scenario: Jake would walk through the door looking guilty, he would ask her to sit down, then he would break her heart.

  Hours after she put Jonathan to bed, Caroline heard the click of Jake’s office door opening. She didn’t bother turning around to see what he was doing as she heard him open the fridge followed by the sound of a plate clanking on the counter. She heard the sound of the microwave firing up so she knew he was warming up some food for dinner.

  “What are you watching?” Jake asked, joining her on the couch.

  The TV was set to a nature documentary, but Caroline hadn’t really been watching. “Oh, nothing really. Did you get your work done?” she asked, turning to face him.

  “Yes, I did. I need to make sure that I stay on top of things,” Jake replied before he placed a forkful of food into his mouth.

  Caroline was a little disappointed that he still hadn’t said anything about what she had cooked. “That’s good,” she said, not meaning it.

  “I’m exhausted though, it’s been a very long day,” he added.

  “Hopefully tomorrow is a better day,” Caroline replied. She wasn’t sure how to talk to Jake because his energy seemed different. She wondered what was on his mind, usually he noticed when her mood was down, but that night he seemed oblivious.

  He nodded his head in agreement but didn’t say another word as he finished his dinner. Caroline could sense something bubbling under the surface. She had gotten used to Jake’s personality, and something was off about him. She hoped it was just because he was tired, but she suspected something more sinister. She wouldn’t bring up her fears about Melissa though. She had already given Jake permission to work with her, and she didn’t want to go back on her word. She hoped that he would talk to her when he was ready, and that he hadn’t gone back to his old habit of bottling up his emotions.

  “I’m going to go shower and head to bed,” Jake said after tossing his dishes in the sink.

  “Okay, I’ll join you in a bit,” Caroline replied, trying to keep her voice even.

  “There’s no rush, enjoy the documentary.” Jake leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

  Caroline let the rest of the documentary play out, still not paying attention, then she went around the house and switched off all the lights, making sure that the front door was locked too. Once she was done, she went to the bedroom she shared with Jake. He was already asleep by the time she climbed into bed, but with her mind going into overdrive about his strange behavior, she struggled to sleep. She wasn’t sure what bothered her the most: the fact that Jake had shown zero interest in her and Jonathan, or the fact that he hadn’t bothered to explain himself.

  Late into the night, Caroline could feel sleep finally overtaking her body, but just as she was about to shut her eyes, she heard a ping from Jake’s phone, which set off warning bells in her mind because, in all the time they had been together, he had never received a message so late. She tried to ignore it, but a bigger part of her told her to take a look. She wanted to trust Jake, but something didn’t feel right. Slowly, she got out of bed, making sure she didn’t move too much to wake Jake up. She hated herself for being so sneaky, it was probably nothing, but she needed to know.

  She moved to his side of the bed. Luckily, Jake had his head turned in the opposite direction. She slid his phone off the nightstand, and padded into the bathroom. She knew his password, so she hastily typed it in and opened his messages app. Her heart sank immediately when she saw the message from Melissa:

  It was great catching up with you today, and even though we’re keeping things strictly business, I am excited to spend more time with you and get this new venture started! See you tomorrow!

  It wasn’t as if the message sounded flirty, but it made Caroline feel uncomfortable. She returned to bed, her heart pounding in her chest. It didn’t seem as if Caroline had anything to worry about—the message was innocent enough—but why would Melissa feel the need to message him so late, Caroline wondered. Her last thought before she fell into a fitful sleep was, “Did I make a mistake saying he could work with Melissa?”

  Chapter Seven, Business as Usual

  When Danielle told Jack about the message she had received from Caroline, he didn’t appear surprised. He explained to her that there was something up with Jake, especially after the meeting he’d had with Melissa the previous week. This made Danielle feel uneasy. Caroline had asked to meet up for lunch, which was not something she had done before. Danielle was happy to spend time with her, they liked each other well enough, but she was sure Caroline would want to talk about Jake. She had no idea what she was supposed to tell Caroline, what kind of advice she would be expecting. Danielle was not the type of person to meddle in others’ love lives.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Danielle said.

  “Maybe she just wants to meet up with a friend,” Jack replied, not convinced by his own words.

  “Maybe. But she’s never messaged me out of the blue like this before.” Danielle felt for Caroline, but they were not exactly close. However, if she were going through the same thing as Caroline, if Jack were to become cagey and distant after reconnecting with an old lover, she would also need someone to talk to. Caroline didn’t have many friends in the city, so Danielle decided it was the least she could do to be a shoulder Caroline could lean on.

  “She could use a friend Dani, I’m glad you can be there for her.”

  “You’re right, and me too. I really don’t think Jake would cheat on her though. She probably just needs some reassurance. I’ve noticed she can get a little too in her head sometimes,” Danielle replied.

  She didn’t want to think badly about Jake, who had been nothing but kind to Danielle. It would be complicated too, if he and Caroline broke up. Jake was her boyfriend’s brother, even if he was the one who caused the relationship to end, he would still be in Danielle’s life. She wasn’t sure what Caroline would do, move back to her hometown perhaps?

  “You’re right about that. Coffee ready yet?” Jack walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and peering over her shoulder at the fragrant liquid dripping from the percolator.

  “Not quite.” Danielle leaned her weight against him and nuzzled her face into his neck. She loved the smell of him, like brisk fall air and nice soap. Jack leaned his head down and nipped at her earlobe, which made Danielle squeal and jump away from him. “Easy boy, you don’t want to get too excited before you leave for work.”

  “Too late,” he winked at her, then made a come-hither motion with his index finger.

  Danielle stood facing him for a moment, running her gaze from his feet to his face. He cut an impressive figure with long legs, broad shoulders, and piercing blue eyes. She would gladly undress him in the middle of the kitchen, but Jack couldn’t afford to be late for work with the merger going on.

  Jack watched her scan his body, a wide grin on his face. “Like what you see?”

  “I love it. I love you.” Danielle closed the distance between them and touched her lips gently to his.

  “I love you too.” Jack said against her mouth. “Now, I have to get out of here. Have a nice time with Caroline, I’ll try to talk to Jake today and see where his head’s at.” He held her at arm's length then planted a kiss on her forehead.

  “Okay. God, I hope everything turns out all right. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”

  “Me neither, but there’s only so much we can do, right?”

  “Right.”
Danielle was inwardly hoping that Caroline wouldn’t bring Jake up at all. There was a small chance she just wanted someone to hang out with because she spent most of her time taking care of Jonathan. She seemed to genuinely like being a stay-at-home caretaker, which Danielle could appreciate but would never want to do herself. Though she loved children, and believed she wanted some of her own one day, Danielle would never give up working. She had built her business from the ground up and had no intention of abandoning it.

  Danielle handed Jack a mug of coffee, kissed him goodbye, then shooed him out the door. Her own mug in hand, she started getting ready for her day. She had a meeting with a potential investor who was interested in helping her expand the bar. She had wanted to build a kitchen at the back of her building for years, but had never had the funds to go through with it. One of her bartenders was an aspiring chef, and Danielle was eager to give him the space to share his talent.

  A few weeks ago, she had been approached at the bar by a woman who owned a restaurant group. They struck up a conversation, and the woman mentioned she was looking to invest in a few local businesses and turn them into franchises. Danielle had never planned on franchising, one bar was plenty of work to maintain, but the woman had agreed to fund the expansion first, then they could see where things went from there. The details weren’t quite finalized yet, but Danielle was already imagining what it would be like to cut the ribbon at the openings of new locations of her bar.

  When Danielle stepped out of the shower, she noticed her phone blinking with a notification. Jack had texted her, “Good luck with your meeting. Can’t wait until you’re the next restaurant magnate of Madison Heights.” She smiled to herself. She loved Jack for many reasons, but one of the main ones was how supportive he was of her.

  ********

  “So, it’s settled then, construction will begin next month. You can begin the hiring process in a few weeks so we’re ready to start serving up food as soon as the kitchen is built,” Jade said.