Blue Roses (Reunited Series)

by Sharon C. Cooper

  “Your sister? What did she want?”

  “Her usual. Money. I wonder what mess she’s in now. She only calls when she needs me to bail her out of something.”

  “So what did she say?”

  “We were disconnected before she could answer any of my questions. I tried calling back, but I got her voicemail.”

  “Oh. Well, I’m sure she’ll call you again. But in the meantime, what about spending the day with me?”

  Dallas eyed him suspiciously. “If you think there’s going to be a repeat of last night, you can think again. You caught me at a weak moment. That’s not going to happen a second time.”

  Tyler threw his head back and laughed. “Dallas, you don’t have weak moments. But don’t worry I’ll keep my lips to myself … for now.”

  “Forever. I’m not playing, Tyler. We’re friends and that’s it. Yes, I’ll admit there’s still a strong attraction between us, but we both know we can’t be more than friends.”

  Tyler frowned. “I know no such thing. You’re the one who’s fighting her feelings. I’m clear about what I want.” He placed a finger under her chin and moved closer as if he’d planned to kiss her. “And I want you.”

  He felt her go still under his touch and noticed that her lids lowered in anticipation of his kiss, but he needed to exercise some self-control. Until she verbally admitted her feelings for him, any intimate moves from here on out would have to be initiated by her. In the meantime, he’d pour on the charm until she begged to be kissed and loved by him.

  He saw the surprise in her eyes when he kissed her cheek then stood and moved to the door. “Be ready in an hour. I’ll even let you decide how you’d like for us to spend the day,” he said and left the room leaving a stunned Dallas staring after him.

  ****

  “Is your gun license up to date?” Tyler asked Dallas just as she bit into her bacon cheeseburger.

  She eyed him and wondered what prompted the question. They were at one of her favorite hamburger joints on Port Washington Road, and the last thing she wanted to talk about were guns. “Yes, why?”

  “Because you never know when you might need to pull Foxy Brown out of her case.” He took a swig of his drink. “When was the last time you went to the shooting range?”

  Dallas put the burger down and wiped her mouth with the napkin she lifted from her lap.

  She looked around the outdoor space where the seating was very limited with small bistro tables for two, and noticed the area had filled up quickly. She returned her attention to Tyler. Here they were, having a nice outing with great food on a beautiful afternoon, and he wanted to talk about guns and shooting.

  “Tyler, do you know something I don’t know?”

  “No. I’m asking these questions because I don’t know what we’re up against, and I want us to take all the necessary precautions to keep you safe.”

  Dallas didn’t want to think about the car accident, the calls, the note, or any of it. The thought of someone trying to harm her freaked her out, but she refused to hide under some rock and stop living a normal life.

  “Shouldn’t we wait to hear more? I don’t want to have to do things differently, especially if this is all some very bad joke.”

  “And I sure as hell don’t want to wait until someone puts you back in the damn hospital or kills you before we take this seriously,” he growled.

  Dallas flinched at his tone. He didn’t get angry often, but when he did, he didn’t mince words. She should be glad he cared enough to think of these things. It had been a long time since someone showed genuine interest in her well being.

  “I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself. Quinn or I will take you wherever you need to go. And if we can’t, I have a car and driver on standby.”

  “Tyler, I don’t need a bodyguard. We don’t even know anything for sure. I think you’re overreacting.”

  “What about the phone calls, Dallas? And have you forgotten about the note? People don’t mail threatening notes unless they’re trying to get your attention. Now they have mine, and I’m a little surprised they don’t have yours.”

  She didn’t want to argue with him. They’d been having a nice time together before this conversation and she wanted to go back to that. Her words earlier were more for her peace of mind than the truth of what she’d been feeling since meeting with the detective. “Okay, whatever you say. Now can we talk about something else?”

  He looked at her. Dallas was sure he expected a fight and not for her to give in so easily. “Fine.”

  She smiled. “Speaking of fine, I ran across this the other day.” She pulled a local magazine out of her large tote bag and placed it in front of him. “I knew I was keeping company with a fine brotha, but I had no idea I was in the presence of the finest man in Milwaukee.”

  Tyler grinned and shook his head. He briefly looked at the page she had turned to. “I didn’t think anyone I knew would see this article.”

  She lifted the magazine and read from it. “It says not only are you the finest specimen who has ever walked the streets of Milwaukee, but you are also the smartest, wealthiest, and the most charming man the writer has ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

  “I guess she doesn’t get out much,” Tyler said dryly. “So, since you want to talk about making news, let’s talk about you Ms. I-can-turn-down-an-offer-from-Wall Street-‘cause-I-got-it-like-that.”

  Dallas’s mouth fell open. “How did you hear about that? That was supposed to be kept under the radar.” Her hands went to her hips. “Let me guess – Simone. She’s the only person I mentioned it to.”

  Tyler shook his head. “Nope. Let’s just say, I have connections in very high places. It came up in conversation a few months ago. So why didn’t you take the job? You would’ve been wealthier than Oprah.”

  “I’m wealthy enough. Besides, I had no interest in relocating to New York. I have unfinished business in Chicago.” There was no need to bring up the partnership, since it would guarantee an argument.

  “Wait a minute. Are you saying you gave up an opportunity of a lifetime to continue pursuing a partnership at Weisman and Cohen?”

  Dallas dropped her head. He would never understand the importance of this partnership. How could she explain it to him without revealing too much?

  He reached out and touched her hand. “Dallas?”

  “Tyler.” She gazed at his handsome face. “The partnership is extremely important to me for several reasons. Shortly after my internship, I had an opportunity to make partner at the firm I was with. But due to some unforeseen … circumstances, it was given to someone else.”

  She looked down at their hands which were now joined. Part of her wanted to tell him the whole ugly truth, but she wasn’t ready. Besides, she didn’t think she could share the story without breaking down, and there was no way she’d cry in front of him and out in public.

  “Ty, where have you been?” A tall, immaculately dressed woman approached their table.

  Tyler squeezed Dallas’s hand, and looked over his shoulder. “Hey, what’s going on, Crystal? I got your message, but I didn’t have time to stop by.” He stood and hugged her.

  “Well, I’m available today.” Her face split into a sultry smile, and she batted her long eyelashes as she clutched his arm. “Why don’t you stop by this evening? I really need you to take a look at a few things.” The double meanings weren’t lost on Dallas. She hated it when women threw themselves at men.

  Tyler removed himself from her grip and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I can’t today, but I … oh, I’m sorry, Dallas, this is an old friend. We grew up in the same neighborhood. Crystal Halden, meet Dallas Marcel.”

  “Hello,” she extended a well manicured hand to Dallas.

  “Hi,” Dallas said, accepting the limp hand shake, another thing she couldn’t stand about some women. Didn’t they know a weak handshake meant a weak personality?

  “Crystal, I’ll have one of my guys come by later to check out the sin
k.”

  Her ruby red lips pouted as she ran her hand along Tyler’s arm. “Come on, Ty. Why can’t you come?”

  Tyler shook his head. “Can’t. I have other plans, but don’t worry, someone will be by later.”

  A look of defeat covered the woman’s attractive features. “Well, okay, make sure they call first.” She swung her large Chanel bag over her shoulder, nearly hitting Dallas with it. “I’ll talk to you later.” She leaned in, placed a lingering kiss on Tyler’s cheek, and walked away.

  Dallas thought she’d be sick. The woman’s childish behavior didn’t match her pulled together look. With every word, her hands were somewhere on Tyler’s body, and Dallas found herself annoyed by the transparency of the woman’s intentions.

  “Sorry about that. Occasionally, we help her with her maintenance issues,” Tyler said, reclaiming his seat.

  Dallas stared at him. “Well, I see you’re still Superman, willing to help every damsel in distress.” First Desiree, now Crystal.

  “What? She’s a friend who needs some help around the house.”

  “Yeah, I bet she does. Probably not the type of help you’re thinking about. She was all over you.”

  “Maybe.” He leaned forward, his voice low and controlled despite the searing flame in his eyes. “But there is only, and will only be one woman I want all over me. And she’ll barely give me the time of day.”

  Dang, I walked right into that. “Ah, anyway, maybe we should get going. You said we could do anything I wanted to do today, and there’s something I’ve wanted to do for months.”

  Thirty minutes later, they stood inside of a pool hall.

  “Dallas, I’m starting to think this wasn’t such a good idea,” Tyler said as he grabbed their cue sticks and the balls.

  “Come on, Tyler, you promised.”

  “Yeah, I promised we could do whatever you wanted, but I didn’t think you’d want to play pool, especially while you’re in a cast.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Dallas shuffled with her crutches through the smoke-filled room until she reached their assigned table.

  “The moment I see you stumble or wince in pain, we’re out of here,” Tyler said, close to her ear, his hand around her waist. “I mean it.”

  Each time he touched her, a sensual charge shot through her body. She shook off the feeling. “Yeah, whatever. You worry too much. I’ll be fine. Now break, you loser.”

  He chalked his cue stick without taking his eyes off of her. “Oh, so you want to start talking trash already? Let me go ahead and beat you real quick so we can get out of here.” He broke and several balls sunk into the pockets. “Looks like I have stripes. I’ll go ahead and clear the table so we can make our exit.” He grinned.

  An hour later, Dallas felt the effects of being on her feet for such a long stretch. Tyler had won the first couple of games, but now she was winning. Every muscle in her body screamed for her to stop. Surely she’d pay in the morning, but for now, she was enjoying his company and was determined to beat him.

  Tyler missed his third shot in a row. He rarely missed, especially so obviously. Dallas’s brows knitted together. “What are you doing?”

  He hunched his shoulders and moved to the other side of the table. “What?”

  “You know what! I can’t believe you’re trying to throw the game. I can beat you without any help, Mr. Hollister. Now stop it.”

  “Okay, Mrs. Hollister.” He smirked, reminding her of when everyone thought she was his wife during her hospital stay. “I’m giving you ten minutes to beat me, and then we’re leaving. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you slowing down. We had an agreement, remember? Any pain, we leave.”

  “No, you had an agreement. I’m alright, but if you’re ready to call it quits, fine. Let me sink these last two balls. Then we can leave.”

  ****

  The stranger played on the next table, listening to Dallas and Tyler’s conversation. His reports to his client had been the same for the last couple of weeks and the guy was starting to get antsy. He took a long drag from his cigarette and leaned over the table. The eight ball bounced off the side rail and into the left corner pocket, just as he watched his target pack up to leave.

  Chapter Nine

  Chicago, Illinois

  The only light illuminated the room from the lamp on his massive desk. For the past two hours, David Weisman had checked every file in his office, searching for the missing documents. If they fell into the wrong hands, he’d be ruined.

  “Where are they?” he yelled out loud. A heavy sigh blew through his thin lips as he sat back in his chair. His plan wasn’t going the way he had envisioned, and it didn’t help that he was getting sloppy. Leaning forward in his chair, he rested his arms on his desk and pressed his index fingers to his temples. It was crucial that he remember where he’d last seen those papers. Damn, I should’ve transferred that information to my ledger when I had the chance.

  His private line rang. “Weisman,” he answered.

  “We’re going to need more investors. Otherwise, this little project is going to blow up in our faces.”

  “I’m working on it,” he told the caller. “It’s not like I can wave a magic wand to make them appear. You over-extended us on that last payout. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “Don’t try to put all this on me. Until you tell me how you’re handling these investments, I’m going to keep doing what I do. And by the way, I’ve sent five investors your way in the past month, and you haven’t been able to close the deals. So I suggest you get it together, otherwise, we’re screwed.” The caller disconnected.

  Weisman replaced the receiver and leaned back in his chair. How would he explain the lost documents? If he didn’t find them soon, there was no telling what would happen. “I have to get my hands on those papers.”

  ****

  The last few days with Tyler had been fun and exciting, like old times, but Dallas had to get back to work. She glanced around her new workspace and released a satisfied sigh. Tyler had set her up in one of the corners of his home office, giving her more space to spread out than she had upstairs.

  The area was a little too masculine for her liking but it had been tastefully decorated. Floor to ceiling wood paneled bookshelves on each side of the fireplace housed thousands of books, making it the focal point of the room. Modern art pieces graced burnt red walls that enclosed several pieces of sturdy, dark furniture. The layout created a functional, yet relaxing space.

  Turning her attention to her computer, she pulled up one of her new client’s file. The client from hell, she lovingly thought of the older man. He had canceled the last two appointments, yet called every other day with the most ridiculous questions. The meeting they’d scheduled for today had also been canceled, but it didn’t stop Dallas from working on a plan that would better diversify his multi-million dollar portfolio. Tomorrow she was meeting with her team, two other investment managers from her firm, and she hoped they all could agree on the suggestions she’d present.

  Darn, I can’t believe I forgot about these, she thought when she pulled several sheets of loose leaf paper from between a couple of her files. She still didn’t know who owned the mysterious documents, or what they pertained to. She initially thought they were David’s since some of the papers she’d receive from Bianca were from him, but since he hadn’t inquired about them, she figured that maybe they belonged to one of the other managers. They might’ve been left at the copier and got mixed up with her papers.

  “So you plan to work all day?” Tyler asked, strolling into the room with his briefcase and looking finer than any man should be allowed to look. He sported a tailored black suit with a light gray shirt and black and gray tie. His close cut hair and well-trimmed goatee were perfect as usual. Yep, the article was correct. He definitely is the finest brother in the city.

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I’ve been goofing off enough these past few days with you. And today I had to get down to business.”r />
  Tyler placed his briefcase near his desk and unbuttoned his suit jacket as he strolled over to her worktable. “Well, that’s too bad, because you’re going to miss out on an irresistible offer.” He made a move to turn and go back the way he came but she stopped him.

  “Wait a minute. You know I’m an investor, and I don’t pass up good deals before hearing all the details.” He grinned, and she watched as he shook out of his jacket, and then removed his tie.

  God, please don’t let him take off anything else. I don’t have the will power to control myself today. She couldn’t help but notice how his shirt stretched across his wide chest and his large biceps screamed to be free of the garment. She wondered if he’d think she’d totally lost her mind if she acted on what she really wanted to do to him. Which was grab him by the lapels, pull him close, and place soft kisses down his muscular neck until he begged for mercy. She shook her head and tried to focus on what he was saying.

  “Okay, so here’s the deal.” He placed both palms down on the table and looked at her. His woodsy cologne with a hint of vanilla enticed her nostrils. “I have two front row seat tickets to see one of your favorite performers.”

  Her eyes grew big. “Who?”

  “Stevie Wonder.”

  She squealed. “Are you serious? Those tickets have been sold out for weeks. How in the world did you get front row seats?”

  He grinned. “I know people.”

  She rolled her eyes and laughed. “I’d love to go, but I don’t have anything to wear, especially anything that would go with this stupid cast on my leg.”

  “Well, since I’m taking the rest of the day off I’d be willing to suffer through a little shopping with you.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “You … shopping? You hate shopping.”

  “I know, but for you I’ll go. I’ll even spring for you to get a little pampering in. So are you interested in my offer?”

  “Are you kidding? Where do I sign?”

  ****

  “Wow, look at you,” Skylar said when Dallas walked into the house well after midnight, with Tyler following close behind her. “Girl, I love that dress! You look amazing in white. You’ll have to let me borrow it next month for the all white party I’m attending.”