Unmerited Favor: The Compassion and Peril of Mercy ( Un missable Series Book 2)

by Jerry Summers

  “Perfect, I’ll just wait to hear back from you. I’ve got to go. I’m late for a meeting with Bradley Jenkins regarding demographics for your expansion. I’ll call you later about the details, OK?”

  “OK, talk to you then.” Jessica hangs up and pages the receptionist. “When Nate comes through the front door, send him to my office immediately.”

  “Yes, Ms. Silva,” the receptionist responds, and just then, Nate strolls through the front door. The receptionist immediately relays Jessica’s message to him.

  He pauses at the front desk for a moment with his eyebrows raised. “Well, good morning to you, too, missy. How nice to see you this morning.”

  She laughs. “A good morning probably would have been a better way to start your workday, eh?”

  “You know it. Did she say why I needed to rush to her office right away?”

  “No, she didn’t, and I don’t know of any critical fires burning right now.”

  “Thanks, darling. Jess can wait until I grab a cup of coffee first.”

  Nate walks into Jessica’s office with his coffee in hand. “I understand you’re looking for me this morning?”

  “Thank God you’re here. I need to clear my calendar for twelve business days starting Monday.”

  “OK. Can I ask why?”

  “I want to accompany Sean to Brazil when he takes Ricardo’s body back to Hugo. We’ll be attending his memorial that Friday, and after that we have one week to get everything prepared for the grand opening the following Friday. Then everyone will come back to San Francisco while you and Phillip enjoy the villa all by yourselves for the next week.”

  “And for that Phillip and I love you and Bonnie. Your week can be cleared with no problem. I anticipated you might head to Brazil early, but I didn’t anticipate it would be with Mr. Green. Do tell.” He slides into the chair across from her desk.

  “OK, you were right to have me call him and demand we have dinner together last night. We had a wonderful time, then I took him back to his office to get his car, and he invited me to his place for the rest of the evening.”

  He interrupts, nodding. “Hence the fire and ice roses, I presume. So how was he?”

  “It’s nothing like that! We sat up until midnight talking with each other about past relationship difficulties, and hopes and dreams for the future, and then I went home.”

  “Did you at least kiss him good night?”

  “Yes, I did!” She sniffs the roses. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

  “And?”

  She narrows her eyes at him, and he grins at her. “He is a fabulous kisser, as well as a perfect gentleman.”

  “Sweetie, be careful. Still waters run deep, you know.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping for. Now, let’s get back to work and clear my calendar, please.” She sits up straighter and reaches for a folder.

  “Girl, I already told you, it’s done. Are you and Sean going to be at the villa alone for an entire week before anyone else arrives?”

  “Of course not!” She smiles devilishly. “It’s only going to be for five days.”

  “Oh, you naughty girl, you. So what are your plans for that time?”

  “Now, that is truly none of your business, Nate.”

  “Say no more. I hope those five days are everything you anticipate, and more.”

  “Whatever do you mean?” she asks innocently. “I have a lot of work to get done for the grand opening the following week.”

  “Of course you do, dear,” Nate says, rolling his eyes. “I’ll make sure your calendar is clear.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. By the way, Philip said to thank you as well.”

  She smiles. “Anytime.”

  Nate saunters out of the office humming “Buttons” by the Pussycat Dolls, and Jessica, still smiling, motions for him to close the door behind him.

  About thirty minutes later, Jessica’s intercom crackles to life. “OK, darling, your schedule has been cleared and is open for your arranging expertise when you get to Brazil. There are a couple of exceptions, though; you have a few phone calls to take in Brazil before anyone else gets there. Otherwise, check your e-mail for the week following Brazil’s schedule.”

  She thanks him, briefly reviews the schedules, and shoots back an e-mail confirming the phone conferences and then dials Sean’s office.

  To her slight disappointment, Evelyn takes a message for Sean about Jessica’s ability to go to Brazil with him.

  “Sean will be thrilled to get this message. I am so glad you two have come to your senses. I think you will enjoy each other’s company, and who knows where this might lead? Just be kind to each other.”

  “Thank you, Evelyn. I think he is a special kind of guy.”

  “He feels the same way about you,” Evelyn remarks, sounding mildly distracted.

  “He feels like I’m a special guy?” she asks, holding back giggles with a mighty effort.

  “No! No, that’s not what I meant. He thinks you’re special, too—” Evelyn cuts off as Jessica bursts out laughing and then joins her, chuckling. “You got me. Mr. Green is coming into the office now. Would you like to hold for him, or shall I just give him your message?”

  Jessica reins in her humor. “Just give him my message; I have a call waiting. Thanks again, Evelyn,” she says and hangs up the phone.

  “Was that Jessica?”

  “Yes, but she had a call she had to take, so she asked me to deliver a message for her.”

  “Well?”

  “She said she was able to clear her calendar and will be joining you on your way to Brazil on Monday.”

  Without thinking, Sean makes a fist and pumps it up and down. “YES!” Then he makes eye contact with Evelyn and clears his throat. “Um, would you please scan these and e-mail them to Jessica,” he says, thrusting a stack of spreadsheets toward her. “The market demographics are looking terrific for Beauty Boutique Clothing’s expansion. It should be good news for her.”

  Evelyn’s eyebrows shoot up. “You know, that is the first time I’ve heard you get the name right.”

  “Well, they’re our client now. Of course I’ll get the name right.” He turns away to walk into his office, only to hear her mutter, “Yeah, I’m sure that’s the real reason.” He shoots her a glare over his shoulder and closes his office door.

  Jessica’s next phone call is to Bonnie.

  “Hey, Bonnie. I just wanted to let you know I’ll be heading to Brazil a week early.”

  “Oh, why?”

  “Well, Sean asked me to go with him to return Ricardo to Hugo…”

  Bonnie, a bit skeptical, asks, “And why can’t he do that by himself?”

  “I don’t know. He just asked me to go with him, and I thought it was a good idea.”

  “OK, out with it! The real reason is…?”

  “If you must know, after our date, I feel a connection with him, and I’d like to explore that further somewhere exotic,” she says firmly and almost giggles when she hears Bonnie gasp over the line.

  “Well! Finally, someone has penetrated your walls. When are you going to let him penetrate the rest?”

  Jessica gives that a moment of serious thought and then replies, “Must you be so crass?”

  “Yes, I must!” she announces grandly. “Anyway, you need to seduce that man and find out if this thing you two are doing could actually lead somewhere, and I like your style. The villa is the absolute perfect place to have a sexy, romantic fling.”

  Jessica interrupts, “Wait! Stop right there! I don’t need to know every place you and Mark had sex in the villa.”

  Bonnie considers. “Let’s just say…I don’t believe any space has been left untouched.”

  “Ugh, Bonnie! Too much! Enough already,” Jess says, giggling.
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br />   “OK, OK! So tell me what you’re feeling about Sean, emotionally, intellectually, and physically.”

  “Oh boy, I like him. He is gracious, humble, and very considerate. Intellectually, our conversations are challenging, frustrating, and significant. Physically, I think Wendy was accurate. He’s one fine hunk of prime meat that I would love to make sizzle. He is hot.”

  “Good, I’m glad you finally noticed. Now whatcha gonna do about it?”

  “I intend to rock his world in Brazil before everyone shows up!”

  “You go, girl. That’s what I want to hear,” Bonnie says, almost applauding.

  Jess clears her throat. “But we also have a lot of work to get done for the expansion and grand opening. Lidia has done a fantastic job supervising the factory production in Brazil, and Carmen Zamora has gotten our name and brand thrown around in the right circles, which should help the opening to be extremely successful. Our pricing is in line, our showroom is fully stocked, and the displays are set. I’ll need to spend some time making sure the salespeople are trained the way I want them to be, so that their behavior will be appropriate for our brand and image. I’m excited because everything is on or ahead of schedule. Sean sent over some additional demographics of customer purchasing behavior, and his ads target those behaviors perfectly. Bonnie, you and Mark were so right to send me to him. He really does know what he’s doing, and he’s very good at it.”

  “Yes, with regard to his job, he is very good. What I want to know is, is he equally impressive in bed? And don’t think I didn’t notice your attempt to change topics.”

  Jessica chuckles. “Can’t blame me for trying! Since I haven’t slept with him, Bonnie, I’ll have to get back to you on that, now won’t I?”

  “I suppose so, but you better hurry up before some other vixen slips in and steals the hunk.”

  “Not going to happen. I’ll be all over him soon enough.”

  “That’s good news, cupcake! You two have fun next week and call me when you have time. I’ll let you know when everyone is headed your way. Has Sean mentioned that Charlotte Evans wants to meet with Wendy, Sean, and me?”

  Jessica pauses. “No, he hasn’t. What do you suppose that’s all about?”

  Bonnie sighs. “Well, she probably wants to see how Wendy and I are going to interact on the board, and she’s probably a little nervous because she and I had a rough start. I heard when I was still working for Mark, that she called me the home-wrecking slut on the top floor. I confronted her about it, but she denied it. I didn’t believe her, so I told her to get her facts straight; I was the home-wrecking slut on the top dog, and she better never forget it, or I would make life extremely miserable for her at Global Metal Refining. She scoffed and walked away. About a year later, Mark told me she had actually called me the home-wrecking slut, but since I had handled it so well, I should leave it alone because she was valuable to the overall organization. Now that he’s gone, I’m going to yank that bitch’s panties into a knot just to watch her squirm a bit before I let her off the hook. Unfortunately, Mark was right. She really is valuable to the organization, and she has my vote, but I’m not going to let her know that until I have a little fun with her first.”

  Jessica shakes her head. “I can’t say I blame you. It’s one thing to talk trash about someone and another to lie about it. I just wish I could be a fly on the wall for that meeting.”

  CHAPTER 7

  INFORMED DECISION

  Early Monday morning, Sean drives to Jessica’s home to pick her up and head to the airport. Jessica answers her door sluggishly to find him chipper and ready to go.

  “Good morning, beautiful. How are we on this wonderful morning?”

  “Meh. Tired and grumpy, and I need to stop and get some coffee on our way to the airport. I didn’t realize until this morning I was out of coffee beans. Are you always a happy morning person? It’s nauseating.”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m generally in a good mood when I wake up. It’s not always at this hour, but it’s a choice I make to have a positive attitude every day.”

  She sizes him up. “If we continue dating, this could be a problem for us.”

  He looks puzzled. “Why is that? There is nothing more splendid than the sunrise.”

  She gives him a small smile and fakes a gag. “Well, the way I look at it, if God had intended me to see the sunrise, he would have scheduled it later in the day!”

  “Perhaps you’re right; I’ll get you some coffee immediately.”

  “Oh, thank you. You’re a prince,” she mutters, shoving one bag and then the other out her door.

  “Charmed, I’m sure, my lady.”

  She grunts. “Whatever. Let’s get going.”

  Sean grins, grabs her bags, loads them into the trunk of his BMW, and opens the door for her. She plops down in the passenger seat, thinking, God, I hate mornings. I hope he lets me sleep on the plane.

  About fifteen minutes later, they swing into a local coffee shop parking lot, and Jessica says, “Dark chocolate mocha with two extra shots. Please.”

  “As you wish.”

  He returns a few minutes later with a large cup of nectar of the gods and hands it to her. Nothing is said during the thirty-minute drive to the airport, except an occasional appreciative grunt from Jessica. She is finishing her coffee when they arrive at the jet and the pilot loads the bags into the plane and hands Sean all the necessary paper work for customs when they arrive. The flight attendant welcomes them and tells them there is a fresh pot of french press coffee steeping on the table. Jessica smiles, still not fully functioning, even after four shots of espresso.

  “Would you like some breakfast? We have fresh Danish, or yogurt with fresh fruit and granola,” the flight attendant informs them. Jessica chooses the fruit, granola, and yogurt, but Sean insists on the Danish.

  He pours them both a large mug of coffee as the flight attendant returns with their breakfast.

  “We’ll be pushing off from the gate soon, but you should have time to finish your breakfast first,” the flight attendant says, handing them both cloth napkins.

  “Thank you, Rachel,” he says, and she nods and heads back to the attendant station.

  Jessica looks up from her yogurt. “Thank you for your patience with me this morning. Sorry I was grumpy.”

  He smiles genially. “I don’t think you were too bad. Maybe a little tired.”

  She laughs and rolls her eyes, knowing she wasn’t as pleasant as she could have been.

  As the jet pushes away from the gate, she says over her coffee, “I believe I’m human now.”

  “Good to know,” he says with a wry smile. “May I say, for someone who hates early mornings as much as you seem to, you sure look incredible.”

  A flush creeps across her face. “You are kind and charming.” She sips her coffee. “That’ll get you everywhere.”

  “I was counting on it.”

  She raises her eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Hmmm. You’re off to a good start.”

  He smiles and blushes a bit. “We still have a lot to discuss for the grand opening next week.”

  “I know, but can we focus on Hugo for the moment? How is he really doing?”

  Sean runs his hand over his face. “As good as can be expected, given the circumstances. How is dying from botulism even possible these days?”

  She shakes her head and admits, “I was appalled to hear any restaurant owner could be so careless, especially one with the type of accolades Jack Taylor had earned. I was dismayed to hear he hanged himself before the news conference he called. Just how selfish could you be to kill yourself in the first place? Especially as such a blatant attack on the media…”

  “I’ve never understood suicide. I think there are always better options available, no matter how bad things seem at th
e time. This whole situation is a tragedy. Maybe we should discuss more pleasant topics?”

  Jessica nods.

  “All right, then.” He briefs her on all the market data Bradley Jenkins has assembled, which very positively suggests that within the first year of operation, the international division should generate revenues in excess of $2 million while simultaneously reducing production costs by almost 37 percent for garments sold in the United States.

  Jessica looks pleased. “And the overall profit margin?”

  “It should increase somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty-five percent,” Sean replies.

  “How conservative are those figures?” she asks, slightly wary.

  “They are fairly conservative, but these assumptions are based on the fashion industry remaining fairly stable over the next year. Is that a reasonable assumption at this point?”

  She nods. “At least, I’m not aware of any major shake-up looming on the horizon.”

  “Good. How are you feeling about Lidia and quality control? Will the factory in Brazil be able to ship directly to their retail outlets and strategic alliances in Latin America anytime soon?”

  “Everything is great,” Jess replies, surprising him. “We’ll be shipping directly about two weeks after the grand opening. Lidia is doing a fantastic job, and the factory’s quality is above expectations, even mine.”

  “That’s good to hear

  . Now I believe Bradley’s estimates are very conservative.”

  Jessica begins to yawn, and attempts to stifle it. “I’m sorry. I’m really not a morning person, and I didn’t sleep well, because I usually don’t when I have travel plans.”

  Sean chuckles. “It’s fine, I understand. Why don’t you take a nap?”

  “I don’t want to take your sleeping quarters, in case you want to take a nap yourself.”

  “Get some rest. I have plenty of projects to keep me busy.”

  “Fine, but only under one condition: If you get tired, you have to promise me you’ll come and take a nap. I will feel horrible if I find out you went to sleep in the chair out here.”

  “OK, I promise. But I don’t anticipate I’ll need a nap.”