"We aim to please," he said, green eyes crinkled at the edges with incipient laughter.
"And I know that's true," she said with an impish grin. "Okay, today I'm making Cranberry-Orange Scones. There are a variety of types that I could make, but I happen to think these are the best." She began measuring flour. "What's your grandmother like?"
He pulled out a barstool and sat at the island across from her. "She's different. Speaks her mind, tells you straight out what she thinks. She never seems like she could be seventy years old. She does normal grandmother stuff like knitting, but she is also a terror on the internet. Her fun comes at participating in a number of forums online where she posts her comments regularly. Gloria has no patience with fools. I think she loved my grandfather deeply and misses him to this day. He died about ten years ago."
"She sounds fascinating. Her name is Gloria?"
"Yes. She prefers that I call her by her name. And she's all I've got now for family." He sighed. "I'm envious of you, you know. Seeing all of you in Sully Point made me wish I'd come from a larger family."
"I don't know, sometimes siblings can be a pain. Did I tell you about that phone call I had from Holly, trying to get information about us?"
"Yes, and I think you were right to deny any involvement. We don't need to deal with people supposing things incorrectly. They wouldn't understand our arrangement anyway."
Holly cut the dough into triangles. She felt it was the perfect shape for scones. It felt homey being in the kitchen with Jason like this. In some areas of his apartment she felt the decorator had gone too modern and that it wasn't warm enough. But modern suited the kitchen.
"We can bring these to Gloria once they're done," he said. "I know she's going to want to meet the woman who made the scones."
"Are you sure? Will she find it odd?"
"No, I don't think so."
Holly shrugged. "Sure, why not? I've got the whole day free. I've blocked off most of my weekends for the next couple of months, in case we need to go to Sully Point."
"Now that's an idea," he said musingly. "I think I'd like to take Gloria to Sully Point sometime."
"She'd be welcome to stay at my family's house. It's big enough to be an inn."
"I'll mention it to her. I'd like for her to see the place I'll be working on."
When the scones were done Holly mixed a drizzly icing made with confectioner's sugar and orange juice. She only glazed the tops of half the scones.
"Why half?"
"Some people don't think scones should have icing. Since I don't know what your grandmother prefers..."
"I see. Let me give her a call and find out when we can go there."
Holly decided to change clothes if she were going to meet his only living family member, instead of wearing beat-up looking jeans. She had a pair of summery green pants and a blouse splashed with colors of yellow, orange, red, and green on a white background. She slipped on her tan sandals and belt, and was ready to go.
Jason came into the bedroom as she finished brushing out her hair from the ponytail she'd been wearing. "Nice," he commented on her clothing. "Gloria says we can come on out now if we want or after lunch, either way. And since you've changed I'd better change too. She tends to believe that people dress far too sloppily today."
"I agree."
She watched as Jason dressed in dark tan slacks and a brown shirt the exact color of his hair. He always looked handsome, but there were more times than not when he looked downright sexy. Something about the way he held his body, the look in his eyes, the curve of his lips as he began to smile that knowing smile...she realized she had been taking him in with her eyes for more than a minute and felt herself blush.
He laughed. "Whatever could be on your mind?"
"World peace, socio-economic causes of poverty, what do you think?"
He walked to where she stood, reached out with both hands to run them through her hair and pull her head to his so that he could kiss her thoroughly. It was like lighting a match. Her body pressed against his and she moaned. "I want you," she murmured against his lips.
His hands ran down her back and he said, "I'm either ripping that shirt off of you or--"
She quickly pulled it up and over her head and tossed it toward the chair in the corner. Her white lace bra was revealed and he stared at her hungrily as she began undoing her belt. His hands kept touching her in between his own efforts to get undressed.
He kicked off shoes and pants and her hands unbuttoned his shirt rapidly. "Why do we ever bother dressing at all?" she asked.
"Stand still a minute," he said in a rough, deep voice. He stared at her, green eyes darkened with lust. "You are so damned beautiful." He reached for her and then propelled them onto the bed. He kissed her hard. She felt as though she was ready to explode inside.
"Now," she whispered.
"Now," he agreed.
* * * *
They had a lunch of sandwiches at the deli near Jason's building, and then headed out to Gloria's place. She lived in an old building with character, a pre-war with high ceilings and spacious rooms. When they first walked in, Holly gawked at it. Clearly Gloria had exquisite taste and what appeared to be an unlimited budget.
"Gloria, this is Holly Grainger, owner of the personnel agency I told you about. Holly this is my grandmother, Gloria Earlington."
"It's nice to meet you," Holly said, shaking Gloria's hand.
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Hard to say yet, I would bet."
"Gloria, these are the scones Holly made." He handed her the box of scones.
"Why don't we have tea," Gloria said. She turned and, using a cane, made her way into the next room. "Holly, you come into the kitchen, and help me with the tray."
Holly followed her into an immaculate kitchen. "Get that silver one off the shelf there, that's it," Gloria said. "What kind of scones are these?"
"Cranberry-orange."
"I've got some tea with hints of orange. We'll have that. Grab that bowl of cut up lemons out of the refrigerator." Within a very few minutes everything was on a tray that Holly carried back out to what she assumed was a drawing room or parlor. Antiques filled the room, but it wasn't cluttered with too much furniture. It felt like a room that was used and lived in.
After settling on the chairs and sofa, everyone had their tea. "Delicious scones," Gloria declared. "You, girl, can cook. Why don't you do this for a living?"
"I used to. Now I have the personnel agency."
"Hmph. How's business in this job market?"
"Actually, very good. There are still jobs out there, but employers can be much pickier about who they choose. They rely on people like me to screen for them. Finding a good match is important so that time and money aren't lost training the wrong person in a job."
Gloria sat back in her chair and sipped her tea. She was a tall woman with a slight limp. Her eyes were a clear blue behind steel-rimmed glasses. Her hair was shining silver. Holly could see a fierce intelligence in her eyes.
"I heard you found him an assistant. Smart move, that, choosing a mature woman for the job."
"Thank you."
"Time will tell, of course, whether you were right, but I think you were. So, what's this project you two are working on together? Jason dropped hints about it after last weekend."
Holly and Jason told her of the project in Sully Point, trading off giving different pieces of information.
"Why use Jason? He's not been doing that style of architecture."
"Because he's the best. No matter what or where it is, we believe he can pull it off better than anyone else," Holly replied. "We see it as a showcase."
"Sully Point...I don't think I've ever been there."
"I'd like to take you down for a weekend soon, Gloria," Jason said. "I think you'd like the place. And before I forget--" He lifted the bag he'd carried in and gave it to her. "I bought this for you while I was there last weekend."
Gloria looked into the bag at the yarn and smiled. "No
w this is a handsome gift. Someone in that town is doing their own dye work on the yarn. Nicely done. This almost matches your eyes. I think I see a sweater in your future."
"Jason says that you spend time on the internet," Holly said. "What interests you the most?"
Gloria set her tea cup down on the round table beside her chair. "I have a blog of my political musings that has a small, but rabid, following. The internet is a wild place where you can have erudite conversations one minute and be reading the latest Chuck Norris joke the next. There are times when I find it infuriating, but generally I think it's a good thing, a helpful thing."
"I'll have to get the address of your blog from Jason. I'd love to check it out."
Gloria pulled open a drawer in the round table and brought out a tablet computer. "What's your email address?"
Holly bemusedly told her.
"I'll send you the link. You can sign up for my newsletter, if you find it interesting. Now tell me, who is handling the financial end of this project of yours?"
"Rob Tremaine," Jason replied. "Holly is the point person for the family on everything but money. Rob handles that."
Gloria looked surprised. "Rob Tremaine? That's a name I'm familiar with." She faced Holly as she said, "My late husband had dealings with Rob Tremaine. Respected him. He's connected to your family how?"
Holly explained how her best friend Julia Tremaine had married her brother Cody and brought her father Rob into their circle. She also told Gloria of her other sister's marriage to Sam Carter, the famous novelist. "So, you see, we have several sources of money supporting this endeavor."
"Married to Sam Carter you say? So Anna Grainger is your sister? She's a damn fine artist. I was at her last showing at Stanley's gallery. But tell me this, with your project in Sully Point, just what are you aiming to accomplish? Are you trying to create some kind of utopian community? Is that what the project is really about? Because I can tell you right now, if that's your goal, it will fail. There's no such thing possible when you deal with human beings."
"But can't we at least try for it? For a better world in general?" Holly asked her.
"Certainly striving to be better is what we hope everyone does. Although, not many actually work very hard at it. Even those with the best intentions can end up causing terrible things to happen they'd never expect."
Holly sipped her tea, and then set it down. "I like to approach life with hope, with a belief that we can work together and create something worthwhile."
Gloria shook her head. "You may find it hard to keep that optimistic outlook as you get older."
"I hope not. If we don't look for the brighter side, we just end up stumbling in the dark."
Gloria raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly. She turned to her grandson and began asking him questions about the meeting he'd had last night.
Holly watched the way the two of them interacted. He was respectful of her, but not intimidated, and that was an achievement, she thought, as Gloria was clearly an indomitable woman. It was clear that they loved each other and were part of each other's lives. His visits to her weren't just dutiful tokens. She tried to picture Gloria in Sully Point, but found it difficult. The woman seemed to be the quintessential city-dweller.
They took their leave of her not long after that, with Jason promising to come for their weekly lunch the following day. When they were in the cab she said, "I liked her, a lot. She's got something--a presence that fills the room."
Jason smiled. "She is special, isn't she? I don't think I appreciated her fully until I'd left her home and was on my own. I look forward to every visit with her."
"We should get her down to Sully Point. It would be fascinating to see what she makes of the town--and what it makes of her."
He laughed. "I agree."
The cab took them to the Helix. They said good-bye in the taxi. Holly thought it showed how businesslike they were about their arrangement. A simple kiss and she was out the door and on her way into her building, while Jason headed to his gym.
She had to confess that she needed some 'me' time. Or, she thought with a laugh, time that wasn't about sex. The week had flown by with phenomenal nights spent in each other's arms. But she needed to take a long bubble bath, give herself a pedicure, watch something mindless on TV and simply relax without a man--that man--to distract her.
* * * *
Jason took a shower after a heavy duty workout, feeling energized and toned. His evening was spent working on final drawings for the project he was focused on before shifting his attentions to Sully Point. Thoughts of Holly intruded periodically, but he continued working. By eleven that night he was satisfied with the job he'd done.
He thought about the day he'd spent with Holly, from the scone-making to the visit with his grandmother. Spending time with Holly in either activity had been comfortable and relaxed. He liked how she had gotten along with Gloria. His grandmother had taken him aside, when Holly left the room after lunch, to give her opinion.
"She's marvelous! Don't you let this one get away."
"Gloria, it's not like that with us."
"Ha. I see what I see, maybe more than you do. There's something between you two."
He had grinned and she had poked him with a long fingernail. "Young man, that's not what I was referring to, but I guess it's a start."
Now that he thought about it, it did seem a bit strange that he'd never taken any other woman to meet Gloria. But it didn't mean what she thought. He and Holly were just very good friends with benefits.
Chapter 5
Marla Stone had arrived at work early for three days. She spent the time reviewing old files to get a sense of how Jason's business functioned and what he was responsible for in the building of such magnificent structures. She was deep in the paperwork for the Golden Dome building complex when a discrepancy had her frowning. That was odd, she thought. Throughout the plans it had been clear what materials would be used. She'd noted it, since they were part of the new building materials that Jason's plans were known for using. Yet, this paper quoted a completely different substance at a much lower cost. Would Jason have changed his mind just to save the client money?
She set the page aside and continued to review the file, but her gaze kept being drawn back to the oddity. Something about it did not make sense to her, particularly as she'd read on in the paperwork. If she understood what she was reading, that change in materials was a serious potential problem to the very stability of the structure. Surely Jason wouldn't have approved such a change to his original plans.
But how well do I know the man? She wondered if her first impression of him could have been that off the mark. Would he have cut corners like that?
Jason was out in meetings all morning, and Marla spent time preoccupied thinking, until lunch when she met with Lana at the coffee shop. After ordering salad, Marla stared at her iced tea.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Lana asked.
"Nothing."
"Right. Now tell me the truth."
"It's just--I found something. Something that makes me wonder, about Jason."
Lana frowned. "In what way?"
"It makes me wonder what kind of person he is when it comes to ethics."
Lana's eyebrows rose. "What? I've picked up nothing along those lines, in fact I'd have said the opposite."
Marla sighed. "I know! It doesn't fit with what you've told me about him and with what I have sensed of him. But I found it right there, in black and white on a piece of paper in the file."
"Marla, unless you tell me more, I'm not going to understand."
"I don't know if I should tell you. Although..."
"Yes?"
"I'm still in the trial period of my employment through Holly, right?"
Lana nodded.
"So if I had concerns about my employer, I could tell Holly, and it wouldn't be out of line."
"Yes, that's right. But are you sure?"
"No, I'm not sure, but nothing makes sense of it any other way.
And if he is capable of this, I'm not sure I want to be working for him."
Lana sat back, looking stunned. "Wow, Marla. I think you'd better talk to Holly today then."
* * * *
Holly felt numb. She'd listened to Marla's explanation after the woman had gotten off work. When she'd expressed doubt, Marla had produced a copy of the incriminating paperwork and gone into detail explaining the dangers of the materials substitution. Now Marla had gone home and Holly was sitting in a cab on her way to Jason's office. She'd called ahead and arranged to meet him there.
How could she have been so wrong about him? Sure, she made mistakes about people, but not this big. This involved the safety of everyone who lived in that building. And now her family planned to trust their plans to him--she needed to find out the answers to how and why this had happened.
She rode the elevator up to his offices and entered into a quiet foyer. It looked like everyone had gone home for the day. Jason saw her and smiled, waving at her to come on back to his office space.
"Holly, it's good to see you. Now what is it about Marla that couldn't wait? She's a perfect find for me."
Holly set her briefcase down and opened it up. She wasn't smiling and Jason's smile faded as he saw her seriousness.
"Marla came to see me today. She found something--unbelievable--in your files. She didn't know what to do about it, so she brought it to me because she's still in her trial work phase. Jason--"
She stopped and Jason frowned. "Holly, what is it? I can't imagine what has you looking as though the world is ending. And why would Marla bring you something from my files?"
Holly sighed. "Let me explain how this happened." She recounted to him why Marla had been going through the Golden Dome files. He nodded in understanding. Then she handed the piece of paper to him. "Here's what she found that makes no sense--unless you are so unethical as to cut costs in this manner to skim money off the top."
Jason's face looked carved out of granite. He thrust his hand out to take the paper from her, standing stiffly in front of her. She watched his fact carefully as he began to read. He looked confused and shocked and a gusty breath of relief blew through her body. Somehow, he hadn't known.
Love Captures the Heart (Sully Point, Book 3) Page 7
