Trouble? He’d caused havoc in a lot of lives over the years, but what had he done to Lacey? “I didn’t cause that accident. You’re the one who insisted on rescuing me, to your own detriment.”
“Emotional trouble. Something happened when I was stuck there so close to you. And I’m not talking about the hard-on you stuck in my back,” she stopped to smile, “although it was the first warning sign.”
Was she going where he thought she was with this? When they talked about trust in the cemetery, she’d mentioned sensing something was happening between them. She hadn’t explained what she meant, nor had she brought it up again since, as they’d simply enjoyed being with each other. Did he really want her to go on? If she said too much, he’d have to disappoint her, because he wasn’t ready for something more. Was he?
“I hoped your squiring Celia around town would act as a buffer between us, keep me from doing something I knew would not be good for my emotional stability. And if you thought I believed the story about you and Celia, it would prevent you from crossing the line with me, which is why I didn’t want you to know my role in Celia’s plan.”
It all made a crazy kind of sense. Sort of. “Why didn’t you tell me once we, uh, got together anyhow?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she countered.
“I asked first.”
She handed him the bull. “I guess once you and Celia broke up and you and I made love, it no longer mattered.”
Made love? He’d never heard her use that expression to describe the sex they shared. Significant? Should he be concerned? Then he knew. She was being completely open and honest. No matter where things went from here, she trusted him, a huge step for her. He also realized he trusted her. Cared for her. More than he’d been willing to admit to himself until now.
“But your explanation does matter now, because it explains so much.”
She lowered her eyes. “I guess it does.” She added, “Funny. We’ve just lost the biggest opportunity either of us may ever have to send our careers soaring and rather than gear up to go after the consolation prize Bonneville held out to us, we’re talking about withholding information which is no longer important.”
He took her hands, gazed into her beautiful blues. “Granted, the information we withheld from each other may no longer matter, but why we both held back does. Truth be told, I didn’t want to be tempted by you any more than you tried to avoid me.”
She blinked, apparently surprised by his admission. “So we’re okay? You were pretty angry when you arrived.”
“I thought you’d duped me. Although this thing with Celia was no big deal, I worried it meant you could withhold other information. Worse yet, be working against me.”
“Like Jorja.”
“Yeah. I was wrong. This trust thing we’ve been striving for wasn’t quite there yet, until you explained why you’d gotten so involved in your brother’s life.”
“And now?” Her tone held a tentative note.
“As you pointed out, we both held back. From here on, trust is no longer an issue. It’s just there.”
She slipped her hands around his neck and pulled him toward her. He happily obliged, picking her up and heading toward her bedroom. He laid her gently across the mattress and began unbuttoning the silk blouse she wore under her new pant suit. God, he’d come to anticipate these times when he’d strip her of clothing to reveal her fantastic body. His cock was clearly ahead of his fingers.
She raised already darkening eyes to his. “Jake Bonneville isn’t going to defeat us, Jack. You’re still my superstar, in the bedroom and the office.”
Though his body was already primed to take hers, her words permeated the blur of sexual arousal. Superstar, she’d said. He was, God dammit! He never should’ve let Cam go after the entertainer. Their boss was a great leader and organizer, but he didn’t have Jack’s gift for selling an idea.
He jerked his head up, removed his hands from her front. Maybe there was still time to regain Bonneville’s buy-in.
“Jack? What’s the matter?”
He gave her a quick but firm kiss. “You reminded me who I am. I’d almost forgotten.”
He rose and readjusted his clothing, tucked the boys into place and hoped his dick would understand postponed coitus. “I’ve gotta find Bonneville before he leaves town. Stay here. Keep the home fires warm.”
“What are you going to do? You don’t even know where he is, do you?”
“Good point. But your brother might. I need his number.”
She followed him to the living room, reached in her purse and took out her cell. “I’m transferring it to you now. Be nice. He may have chewed you out, but it was his way of covering his embarrassment from ruining our project.”
He followed her advice, kept his tone noncommittal when Brian picked up. “I ran into him at Morgan’s Pub downtown,” Brian supplied. “But I doubt he’d go back there again. It was just close to the place where he’d given a lecture. The night I talked to him, he was catching a late flight back west. Private jet. Apparently he’s got a friend who’s a pilot. You might check the airport.”
Fortunately, a former client of Jack’s owned one of the town’s few private air services. Jack called him and pulled a few strings to get his info. Yes, Bonneville was known to occasionally fly in and out of town on a private jet piloted by a friend. The aircraft varied, because the friend borrowed them from his friends, so the former client couldn’t confirm whether Bonneville was still in town. But there was an executive jet still on the tarmac, so it was possible. All the incentive Jack needed. He ran for his car and headed to the airport.
The former client met him at the gate to let him in. Of course he couldn’t go beyond Security, but if Bonneville was on the way, he’d have to come through the unsecured area first. Jack remembered to pull out one of the high-end bottles of scotch he carried in his trunk for special customers to thank the former client.
They didn’t have long to wait. A town car pulled up and Bonneville and a sandy-haired guy emerged to walk briskly through the small lobby. “Bonneville.” Jack slid in front of the megastar.
“Yes?” Bonneville responded, pulling up. “You’re from Mackenzie’s firm, aren’t you, Dalton, right?”
“Yes, Jack Dalton. I know you’re in a hurry to get going, but I’d appreciate you giving me a minute or two.”
“Your boss doesn’t give up, does he? I haven’t changed my mind since this morning and I don’t intend to.”
“Cam sometimes gets overexcited when he’s explaining a concept to clients. I thought perhaps I could clarify any points he might have missed.”
Bonneville gave him a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding expression, but merely returned, “Not necessary. My mind’s made up. Your trip out here was pointless.” He shifted to the side and began to pass him.
“Wait! If you’re absolutely set on a high-rise, let’s talk about transferring to it some of the features of the plan we presented. My partner and I conducted quite an in-depth study of the wants and needs of baby boomers. You read the ‘Change plus Purpose’ part of our design concept, right?”
Bonneville took a deep breath, as if seeking the patience to deal with Jack’s continuing presence. “Look, I appreciate the time you and the Rogers woman put in working on this project. Like I told Mackenzie, I’ll reimburse your firm well for your efforts. I just don’t want to go that direction any more. Now, I’ve got a plane waiting for me. I don’t want to discuss this further.” He shoved past Jack, making his intent crystal clear.
Jack stood there for what seemed like hours, only a minute or two in actuality, trying to get his head around the guy’s attitude. He’d been so smooth with his arguments, but Bonneville still didn’t want to listen. Clients rarely turned him down outright. They might find their resources couldn’t support the projects he proposed, but they always loved to hear his ideas. What had happened to the superstar architect? Had he really lost his touch, as he’d considered just a few weeks ago when he’
d first been teamed with Lacey?
Noticing his former client eyeing him from across the room, Jack straightened, threw out his shoulders, and forced a smile. No need to telegraph his failure to this guy. Shaking his head, as if Bonneville was the loser and not him, he steered toward the door like he owned the place.
Once back in his car, though, everything collapsed, his ego and spirit most of all. He’d made things worse. Bonneville probably wouldn’t even consider their pitch to do a high-rise now. Damn! He really thought he could charm the guy into reconsidering.
Though he didn’t want to, he called Cam from the car. The boss needed to know even his golden boy couldn’t retrieve this one.
“You did what?” Cam screamed once Jack briefed him.
Jack repeated his report.
“Of all the stupid things to do. What gave you the idea you could do this without first consulting me?”
This wasn’t the response he was expecting. He thought Cam would be disappointed instead of angry. On the other hand, the guy probably needed something/someone to blame for his frustration. “You’ve never questioned my going directly to the client in the past.”
“We’ve never had a multimillion-dollar deal slip through our hands before. God, Jack, you’ve been so close to earning the title of principal, but this decision showed absolutely no good judgment.”
Panic seized his gut. Cam finally said the word “principal” out loud, only he’d made it sound like a near miss, a chance already come and gone. Jack fought to keep his tone even. “Bonneville was leaving town. I caught up with him on his way out to a private jet. There was no time to call you, Cam, either to get you here or get your permission. My way with clients has always stood me in good stead before. I saw no reason why it wouldn’t work this time.”
“But it didn’t, did it?” Cam was no longer screaming, but his tone had turned belligerent. “Maybe your charm has finally run its course.”
“What do you want me to do now, Cam?” Could he sound more pathetic?
“You and your partner had better start cranking out a scheme for landing his high-rise. Better yet, maybe I should turn this project over to some of the senior architects who know what they’re doing.” With that, Cam clicked off.
Had he finished off a carton of sour milk, Jack couldn’t feel more queasy. The boss’ temper was notorious, but he’d never gotten quite so personal and vindictive. Jack had really misjudged this one. That old ego mistakenly assumed it could bring anything back from the brink. Not only had he lost Bonneville’s support, he’d lost the boss’ approval. Kiss being named principal good-bye. His silver tongue was gone as well.
What would he tell Lacey? When he left her, he’d acted like the super hero who could save the world. Now he’d not only jeopardized his future, if Cam really did bring in someone else in the firm to pick up the pieces, he’d cut off her chances of showing her stuff as well.
Time to cut his losses. At the very least, give himself space to reevaluate his abilities. Lacey didn’t deserve to be linked with the loser he’d become.
Chapter Twenty
Lacey no longer had any secrets from Jack. Well, just one, her realization she was in love with him was too new to share yet. Besides, he’d run off before she even considered telling him after something she’d said convinced him he could save the project. “Come back soon, Jack. More happened today than losing our client.”
Meanwhile, she needed to warn Celia that, thanks to her, Brian now knew they’d set him up. She re-buttoned her blouse and within minutes, found herself at Celia’s apartment, not quite sure what she was going to say, but determined to forge ahead.
“I’m so sorry your project fell through,” Celia said. “Talk of Jake Bonneville as our almost-client went viral in the office this afternoon.”
Lacey collapsed into one of Celia’s easy chairs. “I imagine it provided quite a conversational morsel.”
Celia shrugged. “You know how office gossip is.”
“Did you also hear why Mr. Bonneville changed his mind about the project? Brian counseled him to go with a high-rise?”
Celia gasped. “Brian? How? Why?”
“First, you need to be aware Brian knows your fling with Jack wasn’t real and I’m the one who set it up.”
“How did he find out?” Her tone was guarded as she took the chair next to Lacey.
“I was so angry with him for the Bonneville thing, I just blurted it out.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Thinking Jack and I had set you up, he went to confront Jack to protect your honor. Jack told him you knew all about it being a made-up arrangement and you were the one who suggested it to him.”
“Brian was worried about me?”
“At least until Jack told him about your part in all this. I came to warn you before either Brian or Jack showed up at your door.”
Celia crushed a throw pillow to her chest. “We’ve made quite a mess of things, haven’t we?”
“You’re not angry with me? My brother was.”
“I went along with your plan, friend. I’m the one who pitched the idea to Jack and didn’t feel the least bit of remorse by agreeing not to tell you because I knew you already knew.” She stopped, shoved the pillow aside. “What a recitation. That sounded absolutely ludicrous. If I’d repeated it out loud before, I would have known this was a bad idea. Brian isn’t like other men. He can’t be programmed to change his mind.”
“He is unique.”
“Which is why I love him.”
Lacey took her friend’s hand. “I’m so glad you’re not angry with me.”
“You told me everything, right?”
Oh, boy. She’d been so absorbed with finishing the project the last several days, she hadn’t taken time to bring Celia up to date about her changed situation with Jack. “No,” she said in a tiny voice. “I slept with Jack.”
Celia’s eyes widened. “What? You said you wanted to keep your distance from him. You didn’t trust your feelings. That’s why we selected him as my new beau, to relieve the pressure on you.”
Lacey nodded, at a loss how to defend her actions. “You’d already decided your fake dating wasn’t working. We hooked up just prior to the second dance class, when it seemed our plan to make Brian jealous had fallen through. He came to my apartment to check on my ankle and—”
“I get the picture. Is this more than one of your usual flings? Are you in love with him?”
She wasn’t ready to talk about her feelings for Jack with even her best friend until she became a little more familiar with them herself. “I’ve grown to like him a lot, which is saying something, considering how egotistical he came across at first.”
Heavy pounding at the door interrupted whatever Celia was about to respond.
“Celia! Cee? I need to talk to you right away,” Brian called through the door.
The two women exchanged conspiratorial looks.
“Brian. Does he know you’re here?”
“Probably saw my car on the street, unless he parked out back.”
Celia rose, tugged at the hem of her blouse, and went to the door.
Brian hurtled into the room, nearly knocking over a floor lamp. Then he saw his sister. “Lacey? What are you doing here? Blaming Celia, too, for losing your client?”
Before she could reply, Celia said, “Calm down, Brian. Lacey’s had a tough day.”
Brian’s gaze moved from Lacey to Celia. “Did she tell you how she lit into me earlier? Like I deliberately set out to harm her project.”
“The project she’s worked so hard on was cancelled because of you, even though you’re no expert in real estate.”
Brian slowly released his breath. “I told her and I’ll tell you, I had no idea Bonneville would take me seriously. I certainly didn’t know he had any connection to her project. But that’s not why I’m here.” To Celia, “I came to verify something Dalton told me.”
Lacey spit out, “I heard how you no sooner left my place than you tra
cked down Jack. You just couldn’t wait to confront him.”
“Good thing I did, too, or I wouldn’t have learned about your part in this little melodrama, Celia. I would have come over here right away, but I was too angry to think straight. I can’t believe you’d stoop to playacting just to get me to marry you.”
“Now wait just a second, buster,” Celia answered in a louder tone than usual, sticking her index finger in his chest. “If you’d told me or even Lacey of your concerns about our relationship before you took such precipitate action, maybe we would have better understood your decision.”
Lacey stepped off to the side. This was between her brother and her best friend. She was done playing the middleman.
“I wanted you back,” Celia continued. “Enough to make me agree to this crazy scheme when Lacey suggested it. But we’ve both realized all we were doing was incensing you. Jack and I stopped seeing each other a couple weeks ago.”
“You actually thought you could get me to change my mind about us by seeing you with another man?” Brian asked, still processing.
Celia offered a rueful smile. “I was desperate. You think I liked turning to some crazy scheme reminiscent of ‘I Love Lucy’ to get you to reconsider?”
Brian released a heavy sigh. In a calmer tone, he said, “I’m sorry, Cee. I never meant for you to resort to such tactics.”
“Until we talked at your mother’s gravesite, I had no idea why you’d broken things off.”
“In the cemetery, it all came rushing back to me. The loss, the regret. I relaxed my guard and told you I could never go through such an experience again.”
Though she already knew this from Celia, it was Lacey’s turn to address her brother directly. “You’re afraid to lose another loved one?”
Brian sucked in his lips and stared into space. “I’ve always known the risk was there with you, Lace. I had to accept and live with it. But I couldn’t widen my circle of concern further, even with someone as wonderful as you, Celia.”
“I can’t promise I’ll never die,” Celia said in a much softer tone. “No one can. If you can’t accept that fact of life, then you’ve sentenced yourself to a very lonely existence.”
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