by Rita Hogan
The contact was excruciatingly sweet, even sweeter than their first kiss onboard The Absolution. Unlike the first heated kiss, there was nothing standing between this one except mutual love. Her lips felt too wonderful. Landon took, then gave, before taking once again. Olivia met his passion measure for measure.
Reaching for her hand, he slipped it inside his jacket, pressing it against his heart so that she could feel the rapid beating inside his chest. “Do you know what you do to me, Brooke?”
She nodded; her heart was beating at the same erratic pace.
Unable to resist he lowered his mouth to the side of her neck, inhaling the sweet fragrance of her perfume. When he exhaled, Olivia arched her body as his warm breath fluttered across her skin. The closeness gave him free reign. Desperate to taste the soft flesh, Landon laid a trail of kisses from the base all the way back to her mouth. The moan that escaped her lips broke through the foggy haze of his desire.
Landon peered at her half-closed eyes and parted lips. Instead of taking more, he kissed her forehead. When she opened her eyes fully, he turned her around so that her back was to him. He pulled her to his chest and simply held her as they sat and faced the mountain range, fighting to catch their breath.
For the moment, it was enough to simply take pleasure in the revelation of their love for one another.
“I wish this moment would last forever,” Brooke said quietly.
“It will.” It has to, Landon told himself. Hesitantly he added, “I need time, sweetheart. There are things I must work out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The following morning Brooke was the first one out of her room. She hadn’t been able to sleep the previous night. With a cup of coffee in hand, she stood by the big window in the living room and watched the twinkling lights of Punta Arenas below her. It was five in the morning; soon Landon and Tomas would be up, preparing for their day. She had been thinking about the previous afternoon on the plateau outside of the Hotel Salto Chico. Brooke’s heart felt amazingly full. Barely able to contain the joy she felt, she was sure it would stop beating any moment. He did love her. What a gift, she thought.
What had kept her up all night were his words about needing time and the things he needed to work out. She was worried about the way he saw himself, as a fractured person. Brooke had thought all along if he knew how much she loved him, it would help alter the tragic way he viewed himself.
After they left the plateau, Landon had taken her to San Telmo, a restaurant in Punta Arenas. Named after the neighborhood of San Telmo in Buenos Aires, the restaurant mimicked its namesake by specializing in beef, live music, and tango dancing. The warm rust and beige colors of the restaurant and the red tablecloths lent themselves to the sultry music and the art of the tango.
When they had finished with their dinner, Landon reached for her hand. “I haven’t stopped thinking about dancing with you since our last night on The Absolution.”
Brooke arched her eyebrows in question, and Landon explained, “We danced that night.” Holding her hand, he stood. “Come.”
He led her into another room where an acoustic guitar player strummed the languid tunes of tango music. The area was softly lit. Unable to resist the allure of the music, several other couples were dancing. Landon and Brooke may not have known how to tango, but they knew how to hold each other close. Instinctively their bodies swayed to the slow rhythm of the song. Dancing cheek to cheek, soon there was no one else but the two of them on the polished floor.
A few moments later, Landon shifted so he could gaze into her eyes. “We also kissed that night.” The words where a whisper, his lips close to hers.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I needed to know how you felt about me.” Sweetly, he touched her lips with his. The hand at her waist tightened ever so slightly, drawing her even closer to him. “When we watched the tango dancers that night at the museum, all I could think about was how desperate I was to hold you the way they held each other.”
“Do you feel desperate now?” she asked, her turn to sample the feel of his lips on hers. It was a subtle kiss, a fleeting contact.
Landon swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the effort. He nodded, his gaze never once breaking free of hers.
“Me too,” she whispered, kissing him again.
Hours later, when they arrived at the hotel, Tomas was already in his room.
Keeping his distance and in a tight voice, Landon said, “Good night, Brooke. I love you.” Without another word, or another touch, he immediately turned toward his room. When she heard the lock of his door turning, she worried that perhaps she had wanted too much. They had spent the whole night in each other’s arms dancing, exchanging quiet words and soft sweet kisses. His declaration about needing time followed her into her own room and into her dreams.
In the early hour of morning, she couldn’t shake the feelings of concern that began to shroud her thoughts of love.
“Good morning, Brooke.”
Surprised, she quickly turned from the window and toward the sound of Landon’s voice.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Landon was wearing light grey suit pants and a sage green, button-down dress shirt. He was freshly shaven, his hair damp from his shower. She was afraid to approach him, even though she was impatient to be near him.
“It’s all right. I was lost in thought and didn’t hear you. Would you like some coffee? It’s fresh.”
“Coffee sounds good. What would you like for breakfast? I’ll call down to room service. Tomas always has the same thing. I guess he hasn’t stirred?”
“No, I haven’t seen him. An omelet and fruit sounds good.”
After placing the order, he sat at the kitchen table. Brooke placed his cup in front of him on the glossy cherry wood and began to move to the other side to take a seat. Landon reached for her hand. “Will you sit by me, please?”
She obliged him.
“I’m sorry for being so abrupt last night when we returned to the hotel.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I understand.”
“Do you?” he asked with a little more force than he intended. Softening his words, he asked again, “Do you, Brooke?”
She thought she did, but now she wasn’t quite sure. Uncertain of what to say, she simply held his gaze.
“If I hadn’t gone straight to my room, I would have had my hands all over you.”
Understanding dawned across her face. “What if that is what I wanted?”
Landon reached for her and kissed her with the desperation they had both felt the previous night. Realizing what he was doing, he quickly pulled away.
“You can’t say things like that to me, Brooke. I need time and no more dancing. I shouldn’t have taken you to San Telmo.”
“Someday soon we’ll dance again, Landon.”
He hoped she was right.
* * *
“Good morning, Javier,” Landon greeted the general manager as he and Tomas strolled into the office unannounced.
“Mr. Gray, what a surprise! Did my assistant forget to mark your visit on my calendar? Please have a seat,” he invited pointing to the two chairs across from his desk.
“This was an impromptu visit. Tomas and I were reviewing some of the financials. We both came up with similar concerns and decided to make our way to the Lake House to look into the matter.”
“What concerns you, if I may ask?”
He is good, Landon thought to himself—not a drop of sweat. He was either excellent under pressure, convinced that they would find nothing, or innocent. The president of NLG Property Group hoped for the latter.
“The expenses you reported last quarter are unreasonably high.”
“Gas prices have increased.” It was a simple reply. The tall attractive general manager was completely confident in his response.
“Fuel has gone up, and Tomas and I are here to validate the explanation.”
“I wouldn’t ex
pect anything less of you, Mr. Gray.”
“Thank you, Javier,” Landon responded before turning to his vice president. “Tomas, please dispatch the auditors.” Returning his attention back to his general manager, he asked, “So, how are Celia and the children?”
Landon and Javier made small talk, while the auditors confiscated the computers and hard files. The more they spoke, the more his doubts grew. Outwardly, the man appeared as if he was a person with nothing to hide. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this than his general manager’s ability to remain cool under pressure.
When the last of the computers and paper files were placed in the conference room, Landon and Tomas joined the auditors, who were busy downloading everything off the hard drives.
“He didn’t blink an eye,” Tomas commented as he set up his laptop at the end of the long conference table.
“Very calm,” Landon agreed. He was also busy logging onto the company’s network. “I’m starting to have hope that we’re wrong.”
“It would be good if we are, but if there is something to be found, the auditors will find it.”
By five-thirty that evening the team hadn’t uncovered anything that indicated Javier Cesar was embezzling from the company. Up to this point, everything was clean.
The lead auditor, Edward, was giving Landon and Tomas an update on where they stood with the audit.
“We have more to research. I’m impressed with the record-keeping; everything is squeaky clean.” Edward leaned back in his chair while rubbing his eyes.
“Too clean?” asked Landon.
“Possibly. There are some things we would like to recheck this evening. I thought we would press on through the night. Tomorrow we’ll tackle the areas we haven’t yet touched.”
Landon nodded. “I’ll call down to the kitchen and order dinner for everyone.”
When Landon exited the conference room, Javier was closing the door to his office to leave.
“Is there anything I can get for you, Mr. Gray, before I head home?”
“No, thank you. I was about to order dinner for everyone. Enjoy your evening, Javier, and say hello to Celia and the children for me.”
“I will, sir. Have a good evening.”
Before calling to the kitchen, he used the administrative assistant’s phone to dial up to the suite. His pulse began to race when he heard Olivia’s voice on the other end answer with a bright hello.
“Hi, sweetheart. How was the tour?”
“Landon,” she sounded a bit breathless. “It was amazing. I would have enjoyed it more if you had been there.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to join you. On my end, things are either going well or not so well, depending on how you choose to look at it. I’m calling to tell you that I won’t be able to take you to dinner this evening.”
“Oh, I understand.” There was a slight sound of disappointment in her voice. Landon chastised himself when he realized how pleased he was by the sound. She would miss him.
“Would you like to join us in the conference from for dinner? I’m ordering from the kitchen.”
Her voice visibly brightened. “I would love that. Do you mind if I bring my computer with me? I can do some work on the cache of pictures I’ve been accumulating since I’ve been in South America.”
“Of course! Nothing would make my day better.”
“Great! I’ll be down soon and . . .” she paused, “I love you.”
His chest tightened at the sound of her words, filling him with longing. “Hurry, please, and I love you too.” Olivia, he thought to himself.
A short while later when he heard the door to the main offices opening, Landon walked out of the conference room, hoping it was her.
She must have changed out of her outdoor clothes. Her legs were clad in clay-colored chinos, topped by a black and white print, button-down blouse. “Hi. You look beautiful.” He smiled at her slight blush of pleasure while he reached for her computer bag. He didn’t give her a chance to respond before adding, “Here let me help you with that. Are you sure you want to spend the evening holed up in a stuffy conference room?”
“If you’re here, then yes I would.”
Landon held her gaze for a moment before lowering his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he said, “I’ve wanted to do that all day.”
She gave him a brief kiss in return. “Me too.”
“Come on in and I’ll introduce you to the team.”
* * *
When the food was brought into the conference room an hour later, everyone stood to stretch their legs. One of the auditors pulled Landon aside and began speaking to him quietly. Brooke wondered if he was updating him on something he discovered.
She smiled inwardly when she remembered how Landon had introduced her to everyone as his girlfriend. It had surprised her to hear him speak the words. Thinking back she didn’t know why it felt surreal to be so intimately connected to him in such a public way; after all, wasn’t becoming a couple the natural progression of things when love was declared? She may not have understood the reasons for her surprise, but she certainly knew it felt wonderful.
The auditor finished what he was saying, then turned toward the food table to make himself a plate. Landon walked toward Brooke. He sat in his chair, next to hers. “Do you want something to eat?”
“I do. I was waiting for everyone else to get theirs first. I couldn’t help overhearing some of the conversation. What is your gut telling you?”
In a hushed voice, he answered. “Sadly, I think something is amiss; proving it appears to be a challenge. At the same time, I want to believe that everything is in order.”
A lock of his brown hair fell on his forehead. Unable to resist, Brooke brushed it away, her fingers lingering on his smooth skin. He smiled at her. She reciprocated with a grin of her own. “I guess it’s official: we’re going steady.”
He laughed at her comment before suddenly becoming serious. “It sounds silly, but I wish I had a letterman jacket or a class ring to give you.”
Brooke knew he never graduated from high school, but obtained his GED via the mail after he left Oregon. What a challenging time for him! Unable to fulfill all the normal senior classman activities were minor compared to what he had to live with; however, it was sad to know he thought about the things he missed out on that last year of high school.
“Shh,” she said, quietly rubbing her thumb along his slightly parted lips. “Your love is the only thing I want; nothing else matters.” Changing the subject, before she embarrassed him in front of his colleagues, she asked, “How far back are you looking into the Lake House’s accounts?”
“The past three years. Why do you ask?”
“When did Javier start with the company?”
“Five years ago.”
“I don’t have specifics for why I feel this way; it’s as if something like this happened in my past, but I think you should look at the entire full year before he started with the company and compare the expenses to the following two complete years. See what changed.”
“No one’s thought of that yet. We’ve been charting all the vendor expenses and booked night stays in order to analyze the data and see if the costs make sense. Some of the auditors have been tasked with calling the vendors to ensure they are legitimate and not dummy corporations. They’ve been asking for statements dating back three years to compare our transactions with theirs. Others are looking into personal expense reports to make sure receipts match. Tomorrow they were planning to tackle payroll.”
“If someone can run the reports for me, I can help with the analysis . . . if you don’t mind,” she offered hesitantly.
“Are you sure?”
“It would help me to feel more useful. In the last hour, listening to all of you talk, I’m more convinced that accounting was what I did before I became a photographer.” Brooke couldn’t help notice the change in Landon’s expression, wondering what caused it.
“If you’re sure, I
won’t turn down the extra help.”
“I’m sure.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
While they ate dinner, Landon informed the lead auditor about Brooke’s idea, explaining that she had a good knowledge base of accounting practices. Edward thought it was worth looking into further. By nine-thirty everyone, including Tomas, began packing up their laptops, calling it a day.
Brooke was so engrossed in the numbers that she didn’t notice until Landon touched her arm, causing her to look up from her computer. The lead auditor was approaching to shake hands goodbye.
“Goodnight, Mr. Gray. Thank you for the hospitality. Ms. Johnson, it was nice meeting you, and I’m looking forward to knowing how things turn out with your numbers. I guess I’ll be seeing you in the morning?”
Brooke looked at Landon, not wanting to overstep. When he winked at her, she told the lead that she would definitely be here in the morning.
When everyone was gone, Landon asked Brooke if she was ready to pack it up too.
“Do you mind if I take these reports with me to the suite? I only have about six more months’ worth of numbers to crunch.” She didn’t want to tell him that she was on to something until she had a chance to finish inputting the data and running some more analysis. Brooke wanted to be absolutely sure.
“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked with a grin.
“I really, really like this. Apparently, I have a fascination with numbers.”
“Let’s go upstairs.”
Tomas was watching a soccer game when they entered the suite.
“Who’s playing?” Landon asked as he tossed his laptop bag onto a chair and removed the tie he had already loosened hours ago.
“Manchester United and Chelsea.”
“Good game?”
“Have a seat and see for yourself,” Tomas invited.
“I think I will, after I change.” Landon looked over at Brooke who was already opening her laptop. “Are you sure you want to keep working on the numbers?”
