Make Me Whole (Brothers From Money #3)

by Shanade White

  She’d grown accustomed to men in South America treating her that way, but was surprised to find she was treated the same way here in America. When she’d been younger, she’d understood, but she was 30 years old now, old enough to be taken seriously. Well, Donovan Terrell had seven days and then he would have no choice but to take her seriously.

  She’d hoped for a different outcome from the meeting, but she was prepared to take this to court if necessary. The suit was ready to file, all the paperwork in order, including all the signatures she needed. Her clients would be upset to hear that the meeting was as unsuccessful as it was, but she’d give Mr. Terrell a couple of days to read her report, before she gave them the bad news.

  Right now all she wanted to do was go home to her little house in Pleasant View, light a fire and put her feet up. She’d bought the house when it became clear that she’d be spending so much time in the little town. It was a nice place to live and the people were friendly, plus her parents had bought property there after they retired.

  She had been living in the city, but the drive had become such a chore that it had made sense, now she was happy that she had, even with the pollutants in the water. She had no health concerns for herself or her family, they had never drank the water. Her little house was the home she hadn’t had for a long time.

  After nearly eight years in the rain forest, she’d grown accustomed to traveling light, only keeping exactly what she needed to survive. Now she finally had a place she could call home, and she had no intention of letting Terrell Industries pollute her home. She’d made the choice to make this case personal, maybe not the best choice, all things considered, but it was done.

  Getting in her car, she decided to make a quick stop for groceries, there was a lovely little market in town, but she’d developed a taste for Brazilian food and only specialty markets carried some of the things she needed. Changing her mind about putting her feet up, she sent a text to her mother and father to join her for a Brazilian feast.

  Her spirits lighter, she started the car and pulled out of the lot. One of the reasons she’d come home was the loneliness that had started to haunt her so far from home. Making friends had never been a problem for her, but her job had required her to be constantly on the move making it difficult to make lasting connections. The absence of most modern modes of communication even more difficult.

  Now, she had a home, a place she could always return to. There was no doubt that she’d still be working to protect the environment, but now it was time to concentrate on issues closer to home. Someday she even hoped to have a family of her own, but that would have to wait until she met the perfect guy. That was also part of the reason she’d come home, meeting someone while running around the Amazon was a definite impossibility.

  As she drove her thoughts strayed to Donovan Terrell, he was a good looking man, and she’d been attracted to him immediately. But his personality had a lot to be desired. He could have shown her just a bit of courtesy earlier today, then again maybe she’d expected too much. He probably had public relations people who wrote all the information she’d been reading, pumping him up into more than he really was.

  Still, she’d been intrigued by what she’d read, it was unusual for a billionaire to show such concern for the environment. In his time as CEO, Donovan had switched the entire town to alternative forms of energy as well as other innovations, which had earned him an environmental award. Her mind just couldn’t seem to connect everything she knew about Terrell Industries with the blatant pollution of the water in Pleasant View.

  As she pulled into the parking lot of the store, she resolved to put the entire mess out of her mind for the rest of the night. There was nothing she could do about it tonight, in fact, there was nothing for her to do until Mr. Terrell called her or she filed the law suit. It might be good to have some down time, if they took this to trial, she would be busy for a long time to come.

  Chapter 2

  The next morning, Donovan called his best friend and second in command, Charles Bradshaw, into his office. He’d spent most of the previous night going over the report Ms. Mathews had shoved into his arms yesterday. If everything that was in the report was true, his whole world was about be turned upside down.

  He’d gone over the reports time and time again, not able to find anything refutable. The woman was smart he’d grant her that, she’d used the best labs, run the tests multiple times, even hired outside labs to verify the results. The results were shocking, pollution in the ground water at such high levels, he was amazed that more people weren’t sick.

  Now there were two stacks of papers on his desk, one was Ms. Mathews report and the other was the reports his team had given him only a few weeks ago. He’d spent the last few hours comparing the two and the conclusion he’d come to was that something was very wrong. So, he’d called Charles, the one person he knew he could trust.

  Charles came in through his private entrance, the only other person allowed to do so. “What’s so important that I had to drop everything and come rushing up here?” He said, making himself comfortable on one of the plush couches.

  Donovan got up from the desk, grabbing both sets of reports, then set them down on the coffee table in front of Charles. “Take a look at these and let me know what you think. I’m going to go get us some coffee.” He said, leaving the room so he wouldn’t hover over Charles while he was reading.

  When he came back 15 minutes later, Charles had a worried look on his face. Handing him the coffee, he sat down and waited for Charles to say something. As the silence stretched on, Donovan knew that Charles had come to the same conclusion he had.

  “So, is it as bad as I think it is?” He asked, no longer able to stand the tension.

  “It sure looks that way. These are some crazy levels of pollutants, almost as if someone was storing toxic waste and it’s leaking into the ground water.”

  “That is the one thing I was hoping you wouldn’t say.” Donovan said, getting up and pacing around the room.

  “I can’t think of any other logical explanation. We’re going to have to do our own testing.” Charles said, pulling out his phone.

  “Wait a second before you call anyone. If this is what we think it is, there’s something going on. Someone is up to no good and we don’t want them to know that we’re aware that something’s going on.”

  “I didn’t think of that. What do you think is going on?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but there’s no way we’ve got that kind of pollution washing down the mountain from the mines. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this on our own, no one can know.” Donovan said, worry creasing his brow.

  “So, what are you going to do?” Charles said, concern filling his voice.

  “I don’t know, but I’ve got to call Ms. Mathews and put a stop to that lawsuit, once that’s filed we’ll never figure out what’s going on.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “I think you should start combing through the financials to see if there’s anything there. Then I think we need to pay a visit to Pleasant View, a visit with the mayor might just be in order.” Donovan said, feeling a little better for having shared his problems.

  “You got it. I’ll keep you posted.” Charles said.

  Once Charles left, Donovan returned to his desk, dreading the phone call he was going to have to make to Elizabeth Mathews. He was horrified at how he’d treated her, he’d taken all his frustration out on her and it hadn’t been fair. Now he’d have to not only apologize, but tell her that she’d found something very disturbing.

  He had no intention of trusting her results alone, he’d have to find a way to get more samples without anyone knowing what he was doing. It would be tricky, but he’d use his charm to convince her to help him. One way or another, it would be in her best interest to help him, and it might be the only way he could get to the bottom of this.

  Picking up the phone, he punched in Elizabeth Mathew’s number and listened while it r
ang, then left a message when her voice mail picked up. Frustrated, he paced the office, until he knew that she wasn’t going to file that law suit, he wasn’t going to be able to relax or concentrate on anything. As he paced, he realized that in less than 24 hours his entire world had been turned upside down.

  Elizabeth was sitting on the deck wrapped up in her favorite blanket against the chill. With the sun shining strongly it was quite comfortable outside, even with the thin blanket of snow that had fallen last night. She was reading a book, something she rarely had time to do and sipping a cup of tea when her phone rang. Looking at the screen, she realized with a start that it was Donovan Terrell calling her.

  With a smile she let it go to voice mail, it served him right for the way he’d treated her. He deserved to fret for a while, if he’d just listened to her he wouldn’t be in the situation he was in. She debated how long to make him wait, wondering if he would actually call twice. Stretching, she decided to finish the chapter she was reading before calling him back.

  After finishing the chapter she reluctantly book marked the page and set the book aside. It would probably end up in the pile of books she’d started and never had time to finish, but she was always happier when she was working, leisure time had never been something she was good at. Standing up and stretching, she stood in the warm sun for a few minutes, eyes closed enjoying the warmth.

  Winter hadn’t truly set in yet, but once it did, time outside would be limited due to the cold. Cold was not something she was used to, her life the last few years had been spent in the Amazon fighting the heat and humidity. She’d adjusted to it after a while, now she’d have to adjust to the cold and snow of Colorado’s mountains, something she was actually looking forward to.

  By the time she made it into the house, her cell phone was ringing again, looking at the screen she smiled. Donovan Terrell again, he must be really worried. She debated letting it go to voice mail again, but decided not to play games.

  “Mr. Terrell, I’m surprised to be hearing from you, from our last conversation I assumed you’d blow off my report.” She said, a bit of triumph in her voice. She knew that he wouldn’t be calling unless he’d read it.

  “Ms. Mathews, first I have to apologize for my behavior yesterday morning. I really have no excuse, except bad manners.” He said, pouring on the charm.

  Elizabeth wasn’t about to fall for it, she’d gone toe to toe with many powerful men over the years and had learned to never show any weakness. “I appreciate that, but what I’m really more concerned with, is the situation in Pleasant Valley.”

  “Yes, as to that. I’d like to meet with you about the situation. I’m anxious to talk to you more about your findings and the law suit. Can you come to the city and meet with me?”

  “When would you like to meet?” She said, satisfaction washing over her.

  “The sooner the better, I’m very concerned about your findings.” He said, hoping she wouldn’t make him wait.

  “I can be in the city tomorrow. Will that work for you?”

  “Yes, I’ll rearrange my schedule. You name the time.”

  “I can be there by 11:00.” She said, already planning what she would wear.

  “That’s great. Thank you.” He said, breathing a sigh of relief.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. Mr. Terrell don’t think that I’m going to let you out of taking responsibility for this problem and I don’t take bribes.” She said, then disconnected the call.

  Donovan looked at the phone after she’d hung up, he’d never had anyone hang up on him before. Especially not a woman, but then again Elizabeth Mathews was not your regular woman. She was a force to be reckoned with, in fact, if the situation hadn’t been so dire, he might even enjoy going up against her.

  But, this wasn’t the time, he needed her help. He’d have to find a way to make her understand he too wanted to get to the bottom of this situation. The kind of pollution that was showing up in those reports was bad stuff. As it stood, it would take another big investment to remove it and he didn’t even know what the source was. Not to mention the people who were already sick.

  He’d have to find a way to help them, but he didn’t want Terrell Industries to be connected to the help. His cousin Daphne might be just the person to handle that, she lived at the ranch and was familiar with the town and its inhabitants. Ms. Mathews should be able to give him a list of names for Daphne to work with to determine what would be the biggest help. He’d call her after the meeting tomorrow.

  Now he needed to get to work, the biggest hurdle, finding the source of the pollution wouldn’t be easy. It had to be coming from somewhere above the ski area, an area that was remote and fairly inaccessible. There were miles and miles of virgin forest and rough terrain on Terrell property which abutted Forest Service land that would need to be considered.

  It seemed impossible that someone could be hauling toxic waste up the mountain, but that was the only explanation he and Charles could come up with after hours and hours of studying every kind of map they had. He didn’t even have a list of suspects, but he knew that it had to be someone in Pleasant Valley, someone who knew the land.

  As these thoughts were running through his head, Charles came in. “Well, did you get a hold of her? Is she going to meet with us?”

  “Yes, she agreed to come in tomorrow morning. She wasn’t very forgiving either. I should have behaved better, that’s not going to help us.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much, just put on the charm and she’ll fall in line.” Charles said, crossing the room and setting down the stack of maps he’d brought with him. “But, just in case we better be prepared for this meeting.”

  “Did you get all the maps?” Donovan asked, ignoring Charles's comment about turning on the charm. He’d tried that and been meet with an icy reply.

  “Yes, let’s get to work.” Charles said, unfolding the first map and tacking it to the wall.

  *****

  As Elizabeth made her way down the mountain she was looking forward to this meeting, she wasn’t usually so petty, but Donovan Terrell had made her angry. She had no idea what he would suggest or demand when she got to the meeting, but he was in for a fight if he tried to put the problem off on someone else. He didn’t seem like the type to offer a bribe, but she knew how to handle that if he did.

  She arrived at Terrell Industries a little early, just enough time to gather her thoughts, but not enough to get nervous. One thing she was sure of, she wouldn’t be waiting for her appointment with Mr. Terrell today, and she certainly wasn’t going to put up with any rudeness from his assistant. She would wait exactly ten minutes and not a minute more. The ball was in her court and she was going to enjoy this.

  When she stepped off the elevator into the plush office, the assistant was nowhere to be seen. She was a little disappointed not to be given a chance to have the rude woman faun over her, instead of ignoring her like she didn’t exist. However, once she’d taken a look around the room, her spiteful thoughts were replaced by amazement.

  Every wall and surface was covered with a map, they were all different in some way, but each was of Terrell land. She was headed towards the maps, draw to them, when Donovan Terrell stepped out of his office. He was dressed casually in jeans and a tee shirt and looked as handsome as ever.

  “Ms. Mathews, thank you for coming. I appreciate you getting here so quickly.” He said, crossing the room and shaking her hand.

  “It looks like you’ve been busy. I hope this isn’t aimed at trying to claim that the pollution is coming from somewhere else.” She said, his distinctive scent filling her nostrils.

  “Please, let’s sit. We need to talk about what you’ve found.” He said, steering her to his office.

  She was amazed to find that the once clean, clutter free office was full of books and papers stacked everywhere. Not only was the desk top covered but the trash can was over flowing with fast food wrappers and Chinese takeout containers. It was obvious that Donovan Terrell had been
putting in a lot of hours. He guided her not to his desk, but to the cozy seating area that was filled with comfortable couches and a fireplace of all things. Taking a seat, she steeled herself not to be distracted by her surroundings or the man in them.

  “I’ve studied your reports and compared them to mine, and it’s obvious that someone has something wrong. It’s imperative that we get to the bottom of this and fast.” He said, handing her a stack of papers.

  “What’s this, another press release?” She said, taking the folder from his hands.

  “No, this is the results from the water testing we do ourselves for the last five years. Not even the government has seen all of these results. I would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes and look through them. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.”

  She looked at the file and opened it to the first page, she was surprised to find that the folder included test results going back almost ten years. Additionally surprising was the fact that many of the tests showed less than favorable results, especially the oldest tests. She settled back in her seat, if he was going to open up his files to her, she was going to take advantage of the opportunity.

  “Can I get you something to drink, coffee or tea?” He asked.

  “I would love a coffee.” She said, her full attention on the water tests.

  “I’ll be right back. Take your time, I want to know what you think when you’re done.”

  After he’d given her the coffee, he retreated back to his desk and began to pour through a stack of files on his desk. As she began to make sense of what she was reading it became very clear that something was very wrong with either his results or hers. But, she’d taken the water samples herself and delivered them to the lab in person.

  Finally, she’d reached a conclusion. “Someone has been faking your water test results for the last two years. Up until then, from what I can see, your water quality had begun to improve. What I’m really alarmed about is the fact that you never had some of the toxins I found in your water. What’s going on up there?”