“I—wait.” Barker turned. “How do you know I wasn’t home all weekend?”
Eli grinned. “I didn’t, but thanks for the confirmation.”
Barker made a gruff sound. “Dumbass,” he muttered.
Eli chuckled over his juice. “So? What gives, man?”
“It’s confirmed. They want me for the programming board.”
“And you accepted.”
“No. And I won’t. They’re up to something.”
“They?”
“Harold and Cole.”
“What are you thinking?”
“That they’re being strong-armed. I need to find out by who. I have a feeling the reason has to do with all that property being bought at five times its worth.”
“Well, aside from the initial sales, there’s been nothing,” Eli shared. “No bids for construction or renovation. Zip.”
“I need to get in there—inside that building,” Barker spoke as if to himself.
“No, B, save that for Sophie and her people.” Eli referred to Chief of Detectives Sophia Hail Rodriguez, who was married to one of Eli and Barker’s best friends, Santigo Rodriguez.
“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid,” Barker said with a smirk. “I’d appreciate you not saying anything to Sophie. I don’t need much attention on this yet.”
“And why do you think there’s anything going on? Could be there’s nothing that warrants the next WPXI exposé, you know?” Eli shook his head, reading the look Barker sent his way and knowing his words would do nothing to sway the man’s hunches. If Barker Grant thought something was up, chances were strong that there was.
“Did you stop by to toss ideas at me about your next move?” Eli asked.
“Actually, I came to talk about our next trip.”
The topic shift threw Eli for a moment. Mouth open, glass poised for sipping, he gaped at Barker.
“What’s up?” Barker gestured with his glass. “Think we could interest the group in another trip before Christmas?”
“What the hell for?”
Barker shrugged and sipped more of his coffee.
“Jeez, Bar, she really got to you, didn’t she?” Eli raised a hand when Barker stepped up to argue. “And don’t tell me this isn’t about you making things clear to Ray regarding how you feel about her. Guess you didn’t get around to discussing that this weekend.”
“Please don’t give me a hard time about this, and whatever you do, don’t say anything to Line and Tig.”
“You’re joking, right?” Eli let out more laughter for good measure. “Do you think they didn’t see all the same things I did? It’s been obvious for close to a year that you’ve got a thing for her.” Eli settled back on the edge of his desk to fix Barker with a concerned glare.
“Must be pretty intense if you’re still trying to keep quiet about it—needing to leave town again to tell her. Where are we headed, by the way?”
Barker didn’t appear eager to share. “Switzerland.”
“Switz—”
“Klosters,” Barker added before Eli could finish his incredulous reaction.
Eli whistled. “One of your family’s places. So...you want to leave snow for more snow.”
“Technically, we haven’t had a real snow yet,” Barker argued. “But yes, I want more snow—keeps people closer to home.”
“I get it.” Enlightenment dawned in Eli’s eyes. “Smart.”
Barker headed back to the cart for more coffee.
“So what’s really goin’ on here, man?” Eli let his concern filter in more intensely. “Why so driven with this? I mean, Ray’s a peach, but I get the feeling something else is up with you.”
Barker stopped his movements at the cart. “Would you think I’m an idiot if I told you I think she’s it?”
A slow grin curved Eli’s mouth. “Since I already think you’re an idiot, the answer would be no. I get how you feel.” He seemed to sober. “I get it because the same thing happened to me when I met Clarissa. She...she came out of nowhere—hit me like nothing I could describe. No, B, I won’t think you’re an idiot, but why all the theatrics? Just stay home and tell her how you feel. Clearly, you can hold a conversation with the woman. You’ve been chatting platonically for almost a year, you know?”
“I know that.” Barker set aside his mug, deciding against more coffee. “I just think her head’s someplace else.”
Eli waited, able to tell that the details were difficult for his friend to share.
“She’s not taking my calls,” Barker eventually confided. “I called her the night after I left her place—I didn’t think much of it when she didn’t get back to me at first. I figured she was preparing for the work week and all. But—” he knocked a fist against the cart “—it’s been almost a week now and...”
“Maybe she’s trying to tell you friendship’s all she has time for.”
“I don’t think that’s it.” Barker walked around the office, his gaze fixed on the downtown view beyond. “I think she’s counting on me not calling so she can give me a way out.”
“So you’d rather her be more direct about telling you to stay out of her life?”
“Funny. She doesn’t want that. I know she doesn’t.”
A new realization took hold of Eli’s expression then. “You’re really in love with her, aren’t you?”
“I barely know her.”
“You’ve known her almost a year.”
“I just don’t want her to go anywhere.”
“Except Switzerland.”
Barker winced, looking to Elias. “I’m gonna need your help with that.”
“Need me to talk Miss Moni into letting you have the place, huh?” Eli laughed, referring to Barker’s mother, Monika Grant. “No problem, I’m her favorite, anyway.”
“I thought that was Rook.”
Eli took no offense at the sly reminder. “Well, seeing as he’s on his honeymoon...”
Barker grinned. “Don’t worry. I don’t need you to talk to her.”
“Ah, jeez.” Eli cringed. “Please tell me I don’t need to talk your Uncle Dale into it.”
“Forget it, no one could talk that man into anything unless it was to ask if he could be an even bigger jackass than he already is.” Barker sighed. “I actually need you to talk to Ray—encourage her to come along. Tell her you’re celebrating the anniversary of your first date with Clarissa or something.”
“That’s pretty weak, B. Why can’t you just—”
“She’s not taking my calls, remember? Besides...she already knows I’ve got money. Seeing a place like the one in Klosters, she’d probably be even more against getting involved with me. Money and the fact that I’ve got a ton of it won’t do me any favors in winning her over.”
“And yet the Klosters is where you want her.”
“The Klosters is where I want her,” Barker confirmed.
“I won’t bother reminding you, you’ve already done that—won her over. Ray’s a pretty straight shooter, B. I don’t think she’d have invited you to her place, and definitely not for the entire weekend, if that hadn’t happened already.”
“I still want to play it this way, all right? Just act like the place is part of some deal you found.”
Eli inclined his head, considering.
“With the weather changing, you guys won’t be quite so busy.” Barker referred to Joss Construction, which Eli ran in partnership with their longtime friends Linus Brooks and Santigo Rodriguez.
“Guess I could do that. Might work well with what I’m planning anyway.”
“Which is?”
“Not yet.” Eli’s gaze took on something distant yet hopeful. Soon, he was fixing Barker with a challenging look. “The question now is, will you do what you need to once you get there?”
* * *
Ray looked at the mug of tea she’d been nursing since shortly after her arrival at the office of Philadelphia DA and Ray’s newest friend, Paula Starker.
“That’s easier said than done,” Ray mused.
“Hmph, don’t I know it?” Paula returned. “But it has to be done, especially in situations like this. It’s not just about you and Clarissa. You guys have employees for the club and potential students for the hoped-for studio to consider.”
Ray left the cozy living area where she and Paula had talked for the last twenty minutes. “I don’t want this to be ugly, Paula.”
“Do you think it could be?”
“No.” Ray waved off the possibility. “Clari isn’t unreasonable. She loves the girls and really does want what’s best for them. She just thinks the way she’s going about it is the only way to honor Miss Jaz’s wishes.”
“Just remember, you’ve known Clarissa for a very long time. I’d say that puts you in a position to know better than anyone how to get her to see what’s best for everyone involved.”
Ray turned from observing the small, dazzling Christmas tree in Paula’s office. “You sound just like Barker,” she said.
Paula’s brows lifted, the comparison stirring her intrigue. “Did he tell you that in the Bahamas?”
Reading the underlying question, Ray turned back to the tree. “Stop, Paula.”
“What? I know what good...friends you are.”
“Don’t even try it.” Ray downed the last of her ginger tea that accompanied lightly iced cake squares and fruit. “I already talked to Clari. I know you’re all curious about Barker seeing me home.”
“I swear we thought nothing of it.” Paula’s lips twitched before she giggled into her mug.
Ray shook her head. “It’s a good thing you’re on the right side of the law. You can’t lie worth a damn.” Inwardly, Ray mused over how funny life worked out sometimes. While studying the elegance of the stately office, she would have never believed she of all people would be friends with anyone in a position of authority, let alone a bona fide district attorney.
Paula Starker, however, was no ordinary DA. She’d grown up similar to Rayelle—underprivileged, but determined to make it. Their choices had been vastly different, but Ray supposed in the end, they’d both triumphed over their ghosts. They’d achieved success in their own ways, but triumph was triumph.
“I’m sorry.” Paula was recovering from her giggle fit. “We all think it’s pretty great—you and Barker. We just don’t get why you’re beating around the bush this way.”
“Mmm...says the woman not sure if she’s coming or going when Linus Brooks is the topic of discussion.”
Paula smiled in spite of herself. “A side effect of having history. You and Barker don’t have that kind of trouble. You’ve got a clean slate.”
“You know who his family is, don’t you?”
“I know who he is,” Paula countered. “He’s all you should be concerned about.”
“All right.” Ray studied the downtown view and warmed at the sight of the holiday season claiming the decor of the buildings and lampposts lining the streets.
“Let’s talk about who he is,” she said. “Respected, award-winning, intelligent—one of the last remaining very eligible bachelors, considering you, Sophie, Viva and Clari have taken the others off the market, and he’s supposed to pick me?”
“Supposed? I’d say he’s already made his choice. I’d say you have, too.” Paula let the observation rest for a while and then clapped.
“I’d also say you could use a good party. You should come to my annual holiday mixer. I host it at my place out in Chestnut Hill. You can even spend the night—I’ve got plenty of room.”
“Who else is coming?”
“Barker is on the guest list.”
Ray winced. “I haven’t been taking his calls.”
“Do you want him to stop calling?”
“No.” There was no hesitation in Ray’s response. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up. It only makes it harder—”
“If he proves he only wanted to enjoy you in bed for a while and that’s it?”
Ray flinched as if the words were a blow. “Can’t get the possibility out of my head.”
“You know—” Paula stood then “—the only way to know for sure is to put yourself out there and see.”
“That part I know.” Ray gave a self-conscious smile. “Just not so sure I want to know the rest. The illusion is a lot nicer to take.”
Paula shrugged. “So enjoy it then.”
“Right...” Ray gave a little laugh. “That’s just the kind of woman I don’t want him to think I am.”
“What kind of woman? One who knows what she wants and goes after it?”
“Come on Paula, you know that’s not always the best course of action for women who come from pasts that are against them.”
“And if I’d let my past keep me powerless to go after what I wanted, I’d have nothing.”
“But that’s about things, not—” Ray stopped then, understanding her friend’s point.
“Yeah.” Paula nodded and smiled. “I let my past dictate how I should handle things with Linus, too. I wouldn’t want you to go through that kind of torment, Ray. I don’t think I’d have my worst enemy go through that kind of torment.”
One of the phones began to ring on Paula’s desk. She raised a finger and headed over to the long, mahogany-brown furnishing. “Let me take this, and we’ll pick things up after.”
With Paula gone, Ray fixed on the view. Tucking into her chair, she wrapped herself in thought and considered her friend’s words.
Chapter 6
A smile livened Ray’s face as she made her way up the walkway. After several days of playing catch-up with her schedule, she finally had time for a visit to Endeavor House. She wasn’t expected for any volunteer duties that day, but there’d be nothing out of the ordinary about her just deciding to stop by. She often did that whenever her days at Jazzy B’s were light.
Good fortune seemed to be on her side that day as she headed up the uneven concrete walkway and found Suzanne Jessup on her way down. She took the smile the young woman gave upon spotting her as a good sign.
“Your friends tell me you’re a working girl these days,” Ray called as she exchanged a hug with the young woman.
“It really is a good job, Ray. Busy, but good,” Suzanne said.
“Leona and the others say you’ve been sleeping a lot on your downtime.”
Suzanne gave a lopsided smile. “It only seems like it because I work close to third shift hours instead of the kind that keep me up with everybody else.”
“To hear your friends talk, it’s like a combo of second and third shift.”
“Only seems like that, Ray...” Suzanne sang the words, but they held no trace of agitation. “I have to leave early because the buses don’t run that far, but it’s only an extra block walk. Security brings the waitresses home when they work third shifts. It’ll be better once they get the place off the ground.”
“They.”
Suzanne shrugged. “‘The Club’ for now. No official name yet—we’re still in the opening stage.”
Ray studied a windblown pebble on the walkway. “What kind of club is it?”
Suzanne fixed her mentor with a measuring look. “I know what you’re getting at, and it’s not like that. It’s more like a lounge, you know? People come there to drink, unwind, just chill.”
“People.”
“Men, Ray, all right? Men, women, everyone in between.” Suzanne huffed. “It really is a nice place. It’ll be even better once they get th
e remodeling done.”
“But they’re paying you like everything’s fully operational?”
“Mmm-hmm, they’re doing a lot of business.” Suzanne’s nod was an eager one. “I may be able to get Leo, Bet and Jani jobs when they really get underway. Let’s see how much they complain about sleep when they’re banking seven-hundred-dollar checks every week.”
“Every week?” Ray’s tone revealed her suspicions all too clearly.
Suzanne shook her head, followed up by a characteristically youthful roll of her eyes.
“Okay, look.” Ray huffed then, squeezing her hands to stifle irritation. “I only want to know you’re okay, that you’re not being pressured into anything that’ll make you uncomfortable. I guess alcohol’s being served at this club.”
“Here we go.” Again, Suzanne performed her dramatic eye roll. “Ray, please don’t mess this up.”
Ray gave a dramatic shrug in return. “How can I do that when I don’t even know the name of the place? Unless...you want to give me the address?”
Suzanne’s expression screamed no. Instead, she leaned down to put a kiss to Ray’s forehead. Suzanne Jessup towered over her leggy mentor by nearly a foot. “I love you for caring, Ray. It’s a nice feeling when you’ve never had it.”
Heart thoroughly melted then, Ray forced away her suspicions, as well as the cautionary voice telling her to worry. An after-hours dive with no “official” name and willing to hire underage workers to serve alcohol bore closer inspection by those with more authority.
“Get me a name and landline number as soon as you have one—”
Suzanne began to squeal her approval.
“Keep your phone on—Suze? Keep your phone on so I or someone here at the house can check on you when you’re there.” Ray took the girl’s arm and squeezed. “I’m gonna need you to take those calls and get back to us in a specified time frame. Understood?”
Suzanne was already nodding fiercely and smiling her agreement. “I promise, Ray. I promise.” She tugged Ray into another hug and forehead kiss, and then looked toward the street.
“It’s the bus.” She broke into a light jog. “I need to get some stuff before tonight! Thanks, Ray!”
Seductive Moments Page 6
