Sparring Partners

by Leigh Morgan

  "He wants to see you and Reed. This morning. Now."

  Jordon rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in bed. Reed was still sleeping next to him and he wanted to keep it that way. She'd joked her way through Irma's funeral. She and Finn both, trying to keep it together, but the last week had been hard on her. She didn't need any more shit from William. Neither did he.

  Jordon got up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door as silently as he could. Reed needed her sleep.

  "Jay, just tell me what this is all about. In English, not that code that comes out of your mouth after too much caffeine. From the beginning please." Jordon pinched the bridge of his nose trying to stave off a headache, something he hadn't needed to do since he moved to Potters Woods. "And just for the record, you might not want to pitch Reed's idea as a commune. It's a residential campus and day-programming facility. Not a cult."

  "Noted."

  "Now, Giles...spit it out or I'm hanging up."

  "The translator who did the first story on the Takahara deal screwed up the translation and now it's all over the net."

  "What exactly got screwed up? And more importantly, why is any of this my problem?"

  "You're the one who insisted the project carry your wife's name."

  "It was her idea. Potters Woods is the prototype. Why is that an issue?"

  "Instead of translating this merger as the Reed Mohr Project it got translated as the Read More Project. Takahara is not amused. Neither is William. He wants you and Reed here to do a press conference laughing it off, clarifying the project name, and giving the reason you retired from B.H."

  "I didn't retire and much as agree to be fired. Does William want that in the press?"

  There was a long pause on Giles's end of the line. The bathroom door opened slowly and Reed stood in the doorway, bathed in early morning light, her rainbow peace frog t-shirt touching her knees. She was barefoot, probably because she kept losing the frog slippers he bought for her, but that was fine with him.

  Then, she smiled her naughty smile, pulled off her shirt, and walked slowly back into the bedroom.

  "It's up to you of course. I just thought this might be a chance to see Reed's dream implemented on a large scale. A little positive press would go a long to making that happen. Especially with Takahara making rumblings about pulling the plug on the Asia plan."

  "Tell William we'll be there, but not before nine. Reed and I have something important to do first. Oh and Jay-

  "Yeah?"

  "Stop calling me buddy."

  Jay Giles's laughter trailed off as Jordon closed the phone.

  ...

  "Who was that on the phone?"

  "We can talk about that after we talk about that smile you flashed right before flashing your lovely backside."

  Reed rolled on top of him and started playing with his hair. He could cut it, now that he didn't need to show what a Maverick he was in the geek financial world, but if his wife kept running her hands through it, maybe he'd keep it long.

  She lowered her head, taking his earlobe between her teeth. "Can I tell you a secret?"

  "As long as it's as naughty as your smile."

  "As a girl I had fantasies about the Braun man."

  "Those old commercials, where all you saw was some guy with a towel wrapped around his waist from behind and a glimpse of his jaw in the mirror?"

  "One and the same." She moved down his torso nibbling at him as she went until she sucked his nipple into her mouth.

  He inhaled sharply as her teeth grazed him. "And what did you want to do with the Braun man?" Jordon asked, wondering how he could possibly be jealous of a nameless torso from an ancient television commercial.

  "Besides yanking off his towel?" Reed said, sliding the sheets down to his ankles, "I didn't get very far. Why don't you fill in the gaps from one of your fantasies?"

  Jordon rolled her under him, cradling her in his arms as he kissed her thoroughly. The way he wanted to kiss her every morning for the rest of his life.

  His elf wasn't content with kisses. She grabbed him with one small hand and led the tip of him to her wet entrance to heaven. Breaking the kiss, he held himself up. She tried to impale herself on him, but he wouldn't give her more than the tip.

  Smiling down, into her disgruntled blue elf's eyes, he said, "My every fantasy begins and ends right here, with you." He sank into her in one swift thrust of his hips.

  Braun man, eat your heart out.

  "I love you, Reed."

  "I love you too."

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  BEGIN

  This is now. Now is. Don't postpone

  till then. Spend the spark of iron

  on stone. Sit at the head of the table.

  Dip your spoon in the bowl. Seat yourself

  next to your joy and have your awakened soul

  pour wine...

  Rumi,~13th Century

  Lights flashed, hurting Reed's eyes. She'd seen press conferences on T.V., but she'd never been the subject of one, until now. There wasn't much to like in this nether world of strobe and light and noise, so convoluted she could hardly make sense of it. It was disconcerting, especially after the normalcy of making love to Jordon before breakfast.

  William bent down to whisper in her ear, "Don't let them see you sweat, Reed. Take a deep breath. It gets easier. Just be yourself, and you'll be fine."

  Reed nodded as William squeezed her hand, offering her comfort and some of his strength. Ever since Jesse turned things upside down at the cottage, William had been unusually open, kind even.

  Jordon gave up his high profile public life of plenty to help her run Potters Woods. He was no longer running B.H., Jay Giles was doing the grunt work, and taking over some of William's work as well. Now, Jay's handsome mug was plastered all over the glossy financial magazines. That could have been Jordon. Should have been Jordon. It was his for the taking.

  And he'd given it all up.

  Reed knew she wasn't wholly responsible for that, but a good deal of it lay at her feet. She hadn't felt good enough to fit into this magical world of his, and rather than leave her, he chose to leave that world behind. He didn't seem to mind. He seemed, if anything, more at peace. But somehow, peace didn't suit him as much as raw activity did.

  Jordon needed a new vision to channel his whirlwind energy. His genius needed an outlet equal to it. One that allowed his generosity and inherent goodness to come out to play was an added bonus. One William said would snag Jordon's interest, and give him back his purpose, only this time with more meaning. William told Reed his plan to name Jordon as the head of a new charitable foundation he was announcing this morning.

  Jordon knew nothing about it. He thought he was there to proclaim his retirement from B.H. was his idea, and that all was right with the world's most profitable privately held investment company. He thought he was there to soothe the stock holders.

  Reed wasn't sure why she needed to be beside him to soothe anybody, but William said he wanted her there to give a face to Jordon's reason for leaving. She agreed to appear, as long as she didn't need to speak, and, as long as William gave a public plug for Potters Woods. After all, if she and Finn were going to expand, which Finn wanted to do, a plug from William would generate more than enough interest to fund another alternative healthcare complex. She wanted to call the new one Elf Glen. Finn was holding out for Nymph's Way, which sounded far too naughty for a wellness center, in Reed's opinion.

  William stepped to the microphone, held up one hand and beamed his wholesome Orville Redenbacher smile at the reporters. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. We're here today to celebrate the retirement of my nephew, Jordon Bennett. He's served B.H. well for close to twenty years, and now it's time for him to move on to a more vital, and hopefully more fulfilling, venture."

  Reed felt Jordon stiffen beside her as his public smile grew. Standing next to Jay Giles who was almost as tall, but totally relaxed, Jordon looked like a caged animal, ready to str
ike or leap away into the jungle depending on what happened over the next few seconds. His stance widened, and his knees flexed slightly. For all his financial genius, Jordon was at heart, a warrior.

  So was she at her core. They were a good match, physically, spiritually, intellectually, and they were damn good in bed. She was happy with her deal. Hopefully he was too.

  "What's got you smiling like Finn's cats on catnip?" Jordon whispered, barely moving his lips. "It can't be William's wit."

  "I was thinking of you and me skinny-dipping in the pond later."

  "Done. Now quit grinning like Lady Godiva, or William's press conference will be all about you being carried off-stage by his love-struck nephew."

  As it turned out, suddenly all of the cameras were focused on her. Reed stopped smiling and started sweating.

  "I'd like for all of you to meet Jordon's wife, Reed Mohr. Reed and her aunt, Finn Mohr, are the inspiration behind B.H.'s newest joint project with Takahara Enterprises, where we will be developing a model for elder care campuses based on their pro-type, Potters Woods, here in Wisconsin."

  The brief applause made Reed blush. She could see Finn out of the corner of her eye giving her a thumbs up sign. William was definitely a man of his word, that was one heck of a plug. They'd probably have a waiting list to get in by the end of the day.

  "Jordon has started a new chapter in his life with Reed, one I hope to be involved in for years, if not decades, to come. It will ensure that the profits Jordon has created over his years at B.H. are used to help the planet. With that goal in mind, I've created the Reed Mohr Foundation."

  What? This wasn't the plan William called her about this morning.

  Now she wasn't just sweating, Reed could feel streams of perspiration running down the insides of her arms. Why was William doing this? And why was he doing it so publically?

  Oh God...oh Goddess...oh God...I'm wearing tennis shoes...don't let them pan down...please don't let them pan down.

  "The foundation will support worthy causes revolving around meaningful healthcare for the aged with dignity. I've named Reed as the director of the foundation. Jordon, Finn Mohr and I will sit on the board. The purposes of the foundation will expand as Reed, Jordon and Finn Mohr expand their vision for it. I am funding the Reed Mohr Foundation, initially, with forty-billion dollars, not from B.H., but from my personal funds."

  William slapped Jordon on the back, propelling him forward, before turning back to the cameras.

  "With Jordon's financial wizardry, and Reed's generosity of spirit, the Reed Mohr Foundation will make the planet better, one community at a time."

  Reed didn't know what to say. How was she going to accomplish all that? Jordon needed a purpose in his life, not her. She already had one. Potters Woods was more than enough purpose for one ex-lawyer. Making the world a better place? How in the hell was she supposed to do that?

  "We'll take your questions now." William said, with such calm confidence that Reed wanted to smack him. Usually, only Jordon, and sometimes Shay, affected her that way. Usually, she liked people, men in particular, even the manipulative ones.

  William took manipulation to a whole new level.

  And yet-

  And yet as the idea sunk into her skin, making its way to her heart and her brain, it made a certain amount of sense, at least for Jordon. He needed something big, something meaningful, something over-the-top important to do. He belonged on glossy magazine covers. He excelled at making things work.

  She excelled at...Reed wasn't quite sure what she excelled at, but whatever it was, it didn't include public speaking.

  William pointed at a young woman in the crowd, and she fired the first question. "Jordon, what made you trade in leadership of B.H. Corp. for charity work?"

  Jordon opened his mouth, but William cut him off. "I'll answer that."

  Jordon shut his mouth and turned toward William. Nothing in his expression gave away his impatience, or the flash of anger that was now gone. Even Reed might have missed it if she weren't so attuned to him.

  "Jordon's goal was always to run B.H. when I retire. He was slated for the position which Jay Giles now holds, and it would have been his."

  "So what changed his mind?"

  This time Jordon wouldn't be shut down. He shouted out. "My wife."

  All eyes spun to him. "So, Ms. Mohr is the catalyst for the move from money-maker to philanthropy?" One reporter asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

  Jordon leaned down and kissed her before she could even form homicidal thoughts. He pulled her to him and winked at the cameras, a pirate's devilish grin splitting his face.

  "She's the catalyst for more than that, Bill, thanks for asking." Jordon toned down the grin and let his death grip on her ease before he continued. "But in all seriousness, it was time for a change. I knew that the moment I met Reed, it just took me awhile to admit it."

  Jordon looked over at William, and the look he gave him in no way gave away the fact that this was as big a surprise to Jordon as it was to Reed. Her husband was more than a good businessman, he was a good actor. Either that, or he really meant what he said. Reed would have to ask him later.

  "The Reed Mohr Foundation is probably the best idea my uncle has had since I went to work for him. We haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but in this we're united. Working with my wife and my family as a member of the board on something as worthy as this is the second best thing that's ever happened to me."

  Reed smiled past the tears in her eyes. He wasn't that good an actor, Jordon meant what he said. Every wave of energy flowing from him spread peace, acceptance, and purpose through her. Jordon Bennett had finally found his place when he'd given up looking.

  "What's the best, Jordon." Someone shouted out.

  Jordon kissed her again, quickly before smiling warmly for the cameras.

  "The day I took up elf hunting."

  ...

  And that was how she became the head of a forty-billion-dollar foundation bearing her name. That was how, after thirty-eight years on the planet, her life really began. One son, one husband, one hodge-podge family, one summer, and one way to change the world, Reed finally found her purpose.

  After two, over-the-top Bennett men, dumped it in her lap. God and Goddess really did work in mysteriously convoluted ways.

  The newest of which was growing beneath her heart, and if she counted correctly, would pop out in about seven and a half months. She couldn't keep that secret for long, just long enough for Jordon to get over this last life changing event before she shocked him with another.

  No wonder he declared elf hunting a sport.

  Reed hugged her husband as they rode back to Potters Woods with Finn and Henry. The rest of the family followed in Jesse's new hybrid SUV.

  "What's got you so pleased with yourself?" Jordon asked, tweaking her nose.

  She grinned up at him. "It just occurred to me that since elf hunting is a sport, and I've been bagged and tagged, I am now officially a trophy wife. How cool is that?"

  "Does this mean I have to buy you a diamond tiara?"

  "Make it recycled silver and you've got a deal."

  "Best deal I ever made."

  "Does this mean I can call you Elf-Lord?"

  "Try it and I'll put you over my knee."

  "Promise?"

  Jordon got serious. "I love you, Reed. I'll love you forever. You're stuck with me now, you know that, right?"

  "I love you too, with my whole heart." Reed felt giddy, like pure oxygen was running through her veins. "Tell you what, when we get home, let's go to our room and I'll put on those elf wings you had made for me, sprinkle fairy dust all over your naked body, and we can play Elf-Lord until we fall into an exhausted heap."

  "You drive a hard bargain."

  "I learned from the best."

  About the author:

  A native mid-westerner from South Eastern Wisconsin, Morganne MacDonald (writing as Leigh Morgan) a member of RWA and WisRWA since 2005, has been writing
since pre-school (with crayons) and is still in training (although she now uses a netbook).

  Morganne is currently working on a series of stand alone contemporary novels, The Dojo Chronicles, with a tie to the martial arts. Adventure, romance, and themes such as 'what constitutes a family', and 'living by a personal code' all wrapped up in a tail-kicking package that will make you laugh, cry, and feel good about the world and your place in it.

  A graduate of The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, her studies included: History, Philosophy, and Comparative Mythology. Morganne graduated from Marquette University Law School in 1991.

  Morganne has practiced nearly all areas of law, and now focuses on Child Advocacy and Elder Law with a primary focus on family mediation, putting children's needs first.

  Morganne is a fourth degree black belt in Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate. She has continuously trained over a twenty year period, actively training with Master Daniel Schroeder in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. She also holds a third degree black belt in Matayoshi Okinawan Kobudo; weapons training. Morganne has taught self-defense for women and practical defense sequences for writers.

  Morganne is an avid motorcycle enthusiast. (There's nothing like a TRIUMPH!) Most summers (when she's not out riding) you can most likely find her in Highland Gear walking her Scottish Deerhounds at local Scottish Games and Festivals.

  For more information please visit www.bardintraining.com.

  Table of Contents

  SPARRING PARTNERS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT