“Not craziness, Daniel, love,” Jacob added.
“I need to go to her.”
“Actually…” Jacob began just as Bane knocked on the open door. Jo stood beside him looking directly at Andre. She had heard everything.
“Jacob, your guest has arrived,” Bane said.
“Excellent. Come in, welcome to Titan,” Jacob said.
Jo walked in cautiously as the three Titan men all stared at her. The smell of power, money and influence was all around her. Having heard the bulk of conversation she immediately felt defensive. “Hello,” she said awkwardly, then turned her attention to Jacob, the only Titan smiling, obviously delighted to see her.
“What are you doing here?” Andre asked.
“I’m delivering the manuscript.”
“So this is the woman who would topple us,” Daniel hissed.
“Dad, this is Joanna Butler,” Andre said, introducing the two.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he asked her.
“Do you?” Jo asked him simply enough. Daniel frowned and seemed about to reply when she cut him off. She walked to him and handed him the manuscript. He took it grudgingly. “I think you should read this and reserve judgment before trashing it. It’s not exactly what you might think.” She turned to Jacob. “I had a change of heart, I hope you don’t mind. The bio reads slightly differently than what we talked about. It’s Olivia’s original idea. It’s what she intended all along.”
“And it’s brilliant,” Jacob said, “I read it last night, couldn’t put it down. Thank you, thank you, you’ve brought my Olivia back to me with this.” Jo smiled brightly. It’s exactly what she wanted to hear. “Daniel, why don’t we go to your office, I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Dad…” he began.
“Trust me, the truth will be good you, for all of us.” The two men left, leaving Jo and Andre alone in his office.
Jo walked over to the large windows and looked out. “Is there any place in this state that doesn’t have an incredible view?”
He followed and stood beside her. “I was coming to see you.”
She turned quickly. “I know, I heard. I guess I heard everything, more than I should have. I have something for you.” She reached into her purse and grabbed a small flash drive. “It’s the finished manuscript.”
He took the drive from her. “I thought you only delivered your finished work to the client, no one else.”
“I thought I’d amend my rule and make an exception this one time. Read it, it’s not half bad. Oh, and I found this in one of the ledgers Jacob had me read.” She gave him a large envelope. He opened and looked inside pulling out old documents.
“What’s all this?”
“There are things in the book that might appear wrong, criminal even. These documents prove that Louis legally acquired everything he had. Of course we don’t know the complete story, but I like to believe that he was a lot like you. Manipulative when necessary, but very honest in the end.” He began flipping through the documents. “I’m not an attorney, but it looks to me like Louis and his partner both signed most of these documents.”
“Yeah, so?” he asked.
She stood closer beside him. “This is the original partnership contract between Louis Buchanan and Alden van Rotmensen. In most partnership wills of this era it would be clearly outlined that whatever each of the partners attained throughout the active partnership would be equally divided or whatever percentage they deemed. It would also state that in the case that one partner died all owned profits would defer to the surviving partner. But this document isn’t exactly written like that. You need your attorneys to check it, but as far as I can see the wording is completely wrong.”
“What do you mean, wrong?”
“In essence this document details that, whatever either partner received during the life of the partnership in total would be divided equally and in the event of death all would go to the surviving partner. The contract was for the life of the partnership, which was five years. So even though Alden died within the first years of arriving in Alaska, the partnership legally lasted for the next four.”
“So you’re saying that due to a legal error, everything Louis got was completely legal?”
“It looks that way to me. It may not have been what originally was intended, but when the van Rotmensen family died in New York leaving all their wealth to Alden and he was already dead it was the partnership that was the key. Everything legally reverted to Louis.”
“The partnership contract was still in full effect.”
She nodded, pulling out another document and handing it to him. “Louis couldn’t legally dissolve the partnership for another four years. So the van Rotmensens left everything to a dead man with a live partner. It still comes out the same way. With no van Rotmensen family members to contest, Alden’s estate reverted to his partner, Louis.”
Andre was amazed. He never knew the whole story. It was common knowledge and the shame within the Buchanan family that Louis swindled and stole from the van Rotmensens, but now it looked as if he never did. “I’ll make sure our attorneys take a look at these. But if what you say is correct, then the past doesn’t matter. I guess the Buchanan wealth isn’t entirely built on theft and corruption after all.”
“Well, I don’t know about all that. Louis was certainly no saint. The man was outrageous,” she said smiling.
“It sounds like he was an arrogant, self-centered jerk and you kind of liked him,” he teased, smiling.
“Yeah, how about that,” she smiled with him.
“Jo…” he began but his phone rang and there was a knock on his door. He ignored both. “Jo…” The intercom buzzed again. He hurried to his desk and pressed the button on the phone. “Yes,” he said impatiently. “Mr. Buchanan, your father needs to see you in his office immediately.” He didn’t reply. He turned to look at her.
“It’s all right, I’ve got to go anyway. There’s a helicopter ride with my name on it.” She pointed to the flash drive still in his hand. “Read it. Let me know what you think. I’ll see you around,” she said, then hurried to leave before her heart wouldn’t let her.
Chapter 19
It was time to go. Jo stood out on the deck looking out at the panoramic view one last time. The sky was dark and moody with a billion stars shining bright. It was late, near midnight. Her new travel plans had been confirmed. She was leaving in the morning, but it seemed sleep wasn’t coming again tonight and staring out the window just wasn’t enough. She got up, dressed and headed downstairs to the deck.
The stillness of the wooded area was almost hypnotic. Shadows played against shadows, turning innocent things into illusive images. Huge soaring birds, ferocious dinosaurs in profile, flying witches, and even a dancing clown. The images distorted and changed as the light winds blew and the leaves adjusted. The channel’s dark water glistened in the moonlight, reflecting the stars above, resulting in a spectacular show. There was no way she’d ever forget her time here.
She thought about her future. She had no idea what would happen next. After her conversation with Pamela and hearing that the judge completely dismissed the senator’s case, she could go back to writing biographies full time. But the thrill was gone. After the Buchanan family, she couldn’t see herself writing about anyone else. It was time for her to find her own life now. What she needed was a sign to point her in a new direction.
The door opened behind her. She turned to see Andre step out on the deck. “You startled me,” she said.
“Not my intention.” He walked over and stood in front of her. “I thought you’d already gone to bed. Can’t sleep?”
“No.”
“Ghosts?” he asked.
“No, not this time. I’m looking for a sign.”
“What kind of sign?”
“That’s just it, I don’t know.”
They stood eye to eye, motionless. Neither spoke, just stared. Then Andre reached up and gently touched her face.
His puzzled expression surprised her. “How do I stop loving you?” he asked her.
She felt tears welling up, but refused to set them free. She stepped away, trying desperately to resist temptation, then turned back to the trees and scenery. “Did you read the manuscript?” she asked, instead of answering his hopeless question.
“I didn’t leak the senator’s information to the media,” he said, standing beside her at the rail. His eyes never left her face.
“I know you didn’t,” she said. “Pamela called. They found out who broke the gag order.”
“Who was it?”
“Senator Lewis’s assistant, Eric. He and the senator’s husband had been having an affair for years. When the senator’s husband tried to break it off because he found someone else, Eric went public.”
“How did you…”
“…get in the middle of all this?” she asked. He nodded. “Senator Lewis and I became good friends as I worked on her biography. She knew her husband was having an affair, she just didn’t know with whom. I found out and told her. It wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She confronted her husband and he lied to her. I became the perfect candidate.”
“So you knew about her husband and his lover.”
She nodded. “I walked in on them a few days before I was fired. He told the senator that I’d propositioned him and intended to blackmail him if he didn’t comply. Eric backed him up in the lie. When I told the truth about what I saw…”
“…she turned on you, fired you and filed suit to keep it quiet.”
“Exactly, and everyone believed him. And why not? After all, he’s the quintessential, all-American man. He’s from a wealthy and powerful family. People choose money and power. But ultimately it was my fault for letting my guard down. I knew better. I got attached and then got hurt. That’s just the way it is.”
“Not always. My grandfather is having the manuscript published. I suggested he put your name on it along with my grandmother’s. He loved the idea.”
“I’m honored,” she said, “but I’m a ghost writer, that’s not really necessary.”
“Yes, it is. I read the manuscript,” he said.
She turned to him. “What did you think?”
“It’s a love story between Jacob and Olivia.”
“It always was. It’s what Olivia first intended.”
“I see your bags are by the front door. You’re leaving?”
“Yes, first thing tomorrow morning,” she looked away again. “It’s time for me to go. I finished what I was hired to do. It’s time to move on.”
“Do you have your next job lined up?”
“I did, but it fell through. It’s okay. I think I need to take a break for a while anyway. I might check out Montana.”
“Why Montana?” he asked
“I don’t know, why not?” she said.
“I hear Alaska’s nice this time of year,” he said, turning toward her.
“Is that right?” she asked, resisting the pull to face him again. He nodded. “I hear it’s cold,” she said.
“It depends on where you go.”
“Where do you suggest?” she asked.
“Juneau, Anchorage, wherever you like,” he said.
“Andre…” she began.
“You can’t just love me and leave me,” he told her, taking her hand and holding it close to his heart. “Stop running away Joanna, you’ve been doing it all your life. It’s time to stop. It’s time to stay here with me.”
“I can’t. I have to go.” She pulled away and hurried to the patio door.
“I’ll follow you,” he said simply. She stopped mid-step. “Montana, New Jersey, Florida, Calcutta, Kalamazoo, wherever you go, I’ll follow,” he continued as he went to her. He stood behind her and whispered in her ear. “It’s time to stop. Don’t be afraid, I’m here, I’ll always be here.”
Jo wrapped her arms around her body, holding herself tight. Tears tipped the corners of her eyes then crawled down her cheeks. “How do I stop running? I don’t know how. Losing control, losing myself, I don’t want to be like my foster mother. I can’t live like that. I love you, I do, but it doesn’t matter in the end.”
He turned her around to face him. “Sweetheart, love always matters, especially our love. You won’t be like your foster mother. There’s no way you could lose yourself. You’re stronger than that. You always were.”
“What about your dad? He’s not exactly my biggest fan.”
Andre started laughing. “He is now. He’s thrilled about the manuscript. After you left he called the publisher and pressured them to get started. They’ll be contacting you in a few days. I’m going to spin the book into a campaign push. He wants me to draw up a whole press junket around our past—truth and honesty. Can you imagine that as a political campaign slogan?”
She laughed. “The man is good.”
“He’s a Buchanan. What about you?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I lost your trust, I know that.”
“No, you didn’t. You helped me find it again.”
“Stay with me, Jo. Be my family, my future, my wife.”
“Oh my God,” she whispered, weeping instantly. “Oh my God.”
“Is that a yes?” he asked, half smiling.
“Oh my God, look at it,” she whispered, pointing behind him.
Andre turned around to see the northern lights streaking across the sky. They were dazzling—veiled ribbons of glistening radiance. They shimmered and glowed, dancing across the sky in a multitude of translucent colors—greens, blues, purples and reds, each ribbon more spectacular than the next.
The aurora borealis blazed across the sky for about ten minutes. Both were completely silent and awed by the celestial spectacle. In one seemingly last burst of magnificence, the colors transformed, twisted, whirled and then flared across the sky before fading.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and gazing into her eyes. “I think that was your sign. This is where you belong, here with me. From now on we run away together.”
“Yes,” she said nodding, smiling happily. “Yes.”
“Welcome to the family. You’re a Buchanan now.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3930-6
WHEN IT FEELS SO RIGHT
Copyright © 2009 by Celeste O. Norfleet
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