Adam held copies of the plans for the southeast expansion that he planned to read over. "I'd like to, yes. It's at two this afternoon, right?"
Although his brother's head was bent as he read the paperwork he nodded. "Yes, at two."
Adam walked back to his office that overlooked the Titan's stadium and stood at the window, peering down at the view.
"Adam, you have a phone call," Tristan's secretary poked her head in the doorway.
"It's about time you get back to work, Ford," Malloy's voice brought Adam upright. The familiar sound bringing back his time in Afghanistan. Malloy was one of the injured men he'd rescued that fate-filled day. He'd emailed back and forth with Malloy about the dog, but through all the counseling and starting back at work, he'd totally forgotten about it.
"I totally forgot about the dog," Adam said, feeling guilty. "I had to come to Nashville unexpectedly that weekend."
Malloy's familiar chuckle made him want to smile. "It's good. Don't worry. Tesha is already in love with the pup and says she plans to keep it."
Tesha? "Tesha? How did you--"
Malloy interrupted. "I brought Kylie, as she named it, to drop her off a few weeks back and you weren't home. I met Tesha, she said she'd keep the dog until you return." The Boston terrier he'd seen the day he stopped by. It must have been Malloy's gift. "I thought you were giving me a purebred German Shepard."
"I was, but my parents don't breed them anymore, they started breeding the Boston's." Malloy cleared his throat. "Anyway. That's not what I called about. I'm calling about some business. I'm going to be in town. I grabbed an opportunity to fly back to Tennessee. Needed an excuse to see Tesha again."
Adam tried to remain civil. "See Tesha about what?"
"Oh, of course, you may not have seen her since you're in Nashville. We went out to dinner and have been keeping in touch. She's a beauty. I'm very interested."
Fuck. Adam ground his teeth. "What kind of business are you proposing?"
While Malloy talked about the possibility of Ford Industries marketing for a new transporting shipment company, Adam wanted to stop him and demand to know what transpired between him and Tesha. He had no right, but that didn't stop him from being jealous.
Finally after arranging for Malloy to meet with Tristan and him the following week, he hung up.
His cell phone lay on his desk as he contemplated calling Tesha. It would make sense that she moved on. It was a bit over a month since he'd left. She'd kept in touch with Malloy. What did that mean?
Why did he feel so annoyed? He'd told her to move on, had not kept in touch with her. Hell, he was too mixed up inside for it to make any sense. He pushed the phone away just as Tristan knocked. "They're here. The Vandericks. Father and daughter."
He picked up his iPad and walked with Tristan to the conference room. If the Vandericks agreed to their deal on marketing their publishing company, it would be a multi-million dollar deal.
In the conference room they sat around a large table. Tristan and Adam sat on one side, the Vandericks across from them and two other managers.
Alana Vanderick was a striking blonde who had a reputation for being ruthless when it came to business. Halfway through the meeting, he was not impressed by her, but instead found her condescending and snobby. Her father attempted to get her to back down a couple of times without success. Finally, they came to an agreement after three hours of negotiating.
Alana smiled at Adam, reminding him of a piranha. "How about dinner to celebrate? My treat."
He started to say no, but Tristan cleared his throat and gave him a pointed look.
"It would be my pleasure."
Dinner went well, at least better than Adam expected. Alana loosened up and kept the conversation away from business. She flirted continuously, but it was easy for Adam to keep her at arm’s length. As soon as this dinner was over, he planned to drive straight to Lovely and talk to Tesha. Figure things out between them once and for all.
Over dessert, Alana insisted they share, she finally broached the subject why she'd asked him to dinner.
"I want to go to bed with you. You're not dating anyone are you?" A woman used to getting her way, her lips curved up at his surprised expression. "I'm staying close to here tonight, just up the street at Union Station. Top floor."
Adam wondered how to extract himself from the situation without hurting the company. Before he probably wouldn't have turned her down. He gave it all when it came to getting a contract, including his body if it was called for. But in this instance, he couldn't do it. Not only did he have no desire to sleep with anyone other than Tesha, but also he didn't care for Alana in the least.
"I do have someone in my life, currently. I am not free to take you up on your very tempting offer." He took her hand and kissed her knuckles to hopefully keep her from angering.
"Your loss." Alana replied extracting her hand and held it up to get the waiter's attention. "Two martinis please."
It looked like he wouldn't make it to Lovely this night.
Chapter Eighteen
"Now, that's a hunk," Cassie giggled and pointed at the television. "I make it a point to watch every single Zac Efron movie."
Tesha walked back from the kitchen with refilled wine glasses. "He's a good looking man, but I prefer Chris Evans."
"Oooh yes, girl." They chatted while watching the entertainment channel and flipping through magazines.
The evening news came on and both looked up with shocked expressions as a merger between Ford Enterprises and Vanderick Incorporated was announced. The newscaster turned to his partner. "To seal the deal, the brother of CEO Tristan Ford, Adam Ford and Alana Vanderick were seen dining at Etch, the swanky downtown restaurant." They flashed a picture of Adam kissing a woman's hand.
Tesha sat forward, her mouth forming an 'O.'
"That was Adam wasn't it?" Cassie blurted and began coughing, choking on her wine.
Tesha's chest hurt when she tried to take a deep breath. "Yes, it was Adam. Seems he's doing well." She fought to swallow, her mouth suddenly parched. "I guess he's moving on, starting over in Nashville."
"I'm sorry, Tesh. I know it hurt to see that."
"Yes, it did."
The next day, Tesha's head felt heavy. She'd drank too much wine after seeing the news report of Adam and the blonde. Seemed blondes were his type.
Cassie was gone, she'd left early enough to be at her shop by ten in the morning. It was another hour before Tesha trudged to the kitchen. She took two aspirins with iced tea and slumped into a dining room chair.
The unmistakable rattle of Mr. Shanty's truck came closer until it neared her house. Minutes later Mr. Shanty and Jerry Pike entered, both looked past her with badly concealed interest toward the kitchen. Tesha took pity on them. "I have leftover biscuits from yesterday. How about some coffee while I warm them up and we wait for Mrs. Miller?"
While the men ate, Mr. Shanty explained that Mrs. Miller was meeting them there. They had plans for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration. Neither of the men seemed to know what the plans were, so she gave up asking questions. Finally Mrs. Miller, Carol, and Debbie arrived. They helped themselves to biscuits and before long all were settled around the table.
Mrs. Miller wiped her mouth. "I am going to need all of your help for this Fourth of July town celebration. We're going to have a heroes theme and include a special renaming of the library." Her wide smile made everyone return the gesture although they had no idea what she planned.
An hour later, the people filed out, each with an assignment for the special patriotic celebration. Tesha laughed when Mr. Shanty patted her on the arm. "Thank you for the biscuits. I think you should add that to your list. Provide biscuits for the volunteers."
Tesha laughed. "I'll do it."
They planned to honor Adam by naming the new library after him. Tesha wondered what his reaction would be. Mrs. Miller said she'd asked him to return for the celebration and he'd promised to.
Her c
ell phone buzzed. It was Jensen Ford.
Chapter Nineteen
"You need to get whatever is eating you taken care of and come back when your head is in Ford Enterprises. I need time off and you are not ready to take over yet." Tristan loomed over Adam's desk. It was easy to see how Tristan got things done. Not once had he raised his voice, but Adam got the message loud and clear.
"I can do this, Tristan." Adam glared at his brother.
"No, you can't. Admit it."
"Fine," he relented. "I do have to clear some things up, but I promise you I'll be back and more than ready to do this right." He stood and looked his brother in the eye. "You've been great, Tristan. I'm sorry to have left you with all of this on your shoulders."
His brother nodded. "I had to fire, Dad. He tried to help for the first year, but we argued more than worked."
Adam laughed. "He called me and complained, said we should form a coup against you."
"It's been a long time since I've seen you laugh." Tristan hugged Adam. "Welcome to the land of the living brother."
"Adam, your brother Jenson is on the phone." The secretary's face was flushed. "He sounds so nice."
"He's not," Tristan told her on the way out. "He's a pain in the butt." She shrugged, smiling broadly. "I keep hoping he comes here one day."
Adam picked up the phone to Jenson talking to someone else. "Hello?"
"Hey, bro." Jenson screamed into the phone. "Where are you?"
"At the office." Adam sighed. "Are you drinking?"
"What?" Jenson hollered again. "I can't hear a damn thing. They are hammering and moving furniture in. I had to come open the house. You're not here."
"What the hell are you talking about, Jenson?" Adam stalked to grab his jacket and was already walking to the elevators.
"I can't hear you. I'm at your house. You know, for the movie."
Two hours later, Adam parked across the street from his house. It was the closest he could get. He walked around a moving van and barely missed getting hit with a golf cart with two men hollering into cell phones.
Several people carried chairs and tables into the house while a woman stood on the front porch with a clipboard barking out orders. On the lawn beside the house, a trailer was set up, under its awning several people lazed in lawn chairs drinking cocktails. He stopped short when looking to the other side of his house. There were several bulldozers clearing the vegetation. He ran around the house to go in though the back door. In the backyard another surprise awaited. The dog pen was gone and replaced by what looked to be a miniature restaurant.
A cook waved at him. "Burgers won't be ready until six."
He ignored the man and rushed inside. It took a few minutes to adjust his eyes to the dimmer interior. There were people everywhere. Pictures were being hung, carpets rolled out. Jensen sat on a barstool, on his phone with a beer in front of him. He turned to Adam. "Let me call you back, my brother is finally here." He put the phone down and jumped to his feet.
"Amazing, isn't it?" He held his arms open like a magician finishing a great trick. "You won't recognize it when they're done."
Adam threw a punch first, but Jensen was quick and dodged it. He wasn't fast enough to avoid the tackle though. They tumbled across the floor, while people mostly stepped over them. His brother let out a loud "Oomph" when he punched him in the gut and then got lucky and punched Adam on the side of the face.
The lady with the clipboard came and hit Adam on top of the head with it. "You're in the fucking way. Go play outside."
Both brothers held on to the other's shirt as they stumbled outside.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jensen frowned. "You having a flashback or something." He spoke slowly. "Adam, I am your brother Jensen, not Al Qaeda."
"I know who the fuck you are. What are they doing to my house?"
"Making a movie. Remember?" Jensen lunged away from Adam's grasp. "You're crazy." His eyes widened. "Not PTSD crazy. Just crazy, crazy."
Adam shook his head and let out a breath. "They are tearing up the field next to the house, my trees are gone and what the hell is that damn thing doing there?" He pointed to the trailer.
"It's for some of the crew. They will sleep in there." Jensen frowned. "I'm staying in your room, so you'll have to sleep somewhere else."
If he killed his brother, his parents would be angry. Although Jensen was self-absorbed and rarely listened to others, for some reason they loved him. Adam grabbed Jensen by the shoulders. "First of all, I never agreed to this. I realize it's probably too late to tell you and all of them to get the hell off my property. But I swear Jensen when this is done. I'm going to kill you."
In pure Jensen fashion, his brother grinned at him, it was obvious he did not take the threat seriously. "Guess what? They are paying you half a mil, just for this. And you have a walk-on part."
A slight man with tall hair, tight fuchsia pants and horn-rimmed glasses approached. He lifted a hand and held it up as if holding a tray. Adam watched him look between them. "This must be your brother." He stated the obvious while his gaze worked its way down Adam's body. "Yum."
"Adam, this is Stephan Flair, he's the set stylist."
"Of course, he is," Adam mumbled attempting to shake the man's limp hand.
"Jensen a word with you." The golf cart duo approached. Both men held up their cell phones. One was young, perhaps late thirties. His blond hair styled within an inch of its life in a perfect backswept style. The other older man had a receding hairline and orange-tinged skin from obvious artificial tanning. "Jensen," the blonde one called out. "Is that the stunt double you told us about?"
Jensen gave Adam a triumphant look. "Yep, that's my bro. He's a war hero. Adam can fall from tall buildings and land on his feet in a single bound." He looked at Adam and whispered, "You won't have to do that."
The men gave Adam a once over. At the same time the stylist reached up and lifted a chunk of his hair. "I'll have to lighten it."
"Jensen." Adam growled and pushed the style man away and glowered at the men in the golf cart. They scooted off, both with cell phones back on their ears.
"I'd do you, angry man." the stylist blew him a kiss and sashayed away.
"I would say you can stay next door, but my costar and two others are already booked there." Jensen told him while looking around as if deciding where to go.
"At Tesha's?" Adam looked toward the white Victorian. "When did everyone get here?"
"Two days ago," Jensen replied already making his way back inside. "Burgers should be ready in a few. Come on."
Adam walked behind his brother at a loss for what to do. He planned to ensure they did not destroy any of the work he'd done on the house. No matter how much they paid, it would be up to him to repair any damage. He didn't have the time to do more repair work. He'd promised Tristan to work full time at Ford Enterprises.
Jensen was ecstatic over the hamburgers. He grabbed two and began to eat while piling fries on his plate. Adam knew his brother spent the time he didn't work in the gym. It was a good thing since his eating habits were horrible.
"Breakfast is really good here, too," Jensen told him between bites. "Tesha and a woman from town, Cassie I think, took the job."
Great.
Chapter Twenty
Tesha rushed past Cassie to the ovens. The biscuits were almost done in one and in the other a breakfast casserole was perfectly browned. She hit the 'warm' button. Cassie put carafes of juice on the counter and began placing juice glasses in three perfect rows of five.
She smiled broadly at Tesha. "It's exciting all these famous people here." Cassie began setting up coffee cups with saucers. "I can't believe Adam's brother is Jensen Ford."
"I was shocked the first time I saw him too," Tesha told her and pulled the biscuits from the oven. "He seems nice, too."
"I can't wait to meet him." Cassie pretended to swoon and then gave a soft squeak when the actor and two men entered through the French doors. "Good morning," her friend's voi
ce shook and Tesha fought not to giggle.
"Please help yourselves to juice and coffee. I'll have food on the table in a minute." Tesha was already placing biscuits into a covered basket, while Cassie cut the casserole and placed serving sizes onto small square plates.
Jensen looked past Cassie to Tesha and gave her a signature flirty smile. "Seen my brother?"
Her stomach flipped just from the mention of Adam. "No, is he here?"
"He was here last night. Something's wrong with him, he was in a mood." Jensen grabbed two biscuits and passed on the casserole. He wagged his eyebrows at Cassie. "Got any dessert?"
Cassie attempted to talk and croaked instead. "There's fruit."
Jensen wrinkled his nose. "Nah, too healthy."
"Cassie owns a cupcake shop in town, we'll bring them over to the dining area later this afternoon."
He seemed appeased. "Awesome."
A flushed Cassie stood frozen until Tesha nudged her. "I think we should refill the juice carafe." Several more people joined the men including two women. One was Jensen's costar, another famous actor, Vanessa Morgan.
While the people ate, Tesha refilled cups and collected plates keeping an eye on the door. If Adam was there, he seemed to be staying away. She went to the French doors and looked outside. She wondered how it would look on the big screen. Right now it looked like a carnival had ascended between the houses.
It turned out perfect for her, giving her three guests for four weeks and a chance to try out her breakfast recipes.
Vanessa Morgan came to stand next to her while sipping on tea. In the two days she'd been there, Tesha had not seen her eat anything more than a bite here and there. She nibbled on fruit or drank some sort of shakes, but other than that sipped on water mostly. She held a teacup up to her lips and followed Tesha's line of vision. "They'll put everything back once we leave, you'll never know we were here."
"I don't think they can replant the trees they are removing." Tesha couldn't help the disappointment in her voice. "I know it's not my property, but I hate to see beautiful healthy trees chopped down."
Even Heroes Cry, Fords of Nashville, Book 1 Page 13
