by Casey Hagen
Lathan paced behind his desk. “Let me ask you something…do you know someone who can take over a CFO position? Someone I can trust implicitly?”
Everett slid off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I do; she’s one of my people. Her name is Emilia. She’d be an asset if she’s willing to leave Harden Financial and take a chance on you. She’s the best I’ve got.”
Lathan flattened his palms on his desk and leaned on them. “I don’t want to leave you shorthanded.”
Everett shook his head and slid his glasses back on. “Don’t worry about it. She belongs in a company like yours. Right now, she’s just a numbers wizard for me and my clients. She’s capable of a hell of a lot more. I wouldn’t recommend her if I didn’t think she had what it takes to do the job.”
“I’ll need her soon.”
“I’ll call her right now.” Everett pulled out his cell and scrolled through his contacts. Before he hit send, he glanced back up at Lathan. “You know, you didn’t authorize the sale, so it’s fraudulent, which means it can likely be undone. Just a word of caution: we don’t know if Conroy involved your corporate attorney. Not without seeing the paperwork. You may want to consider hiring an outside attorney to look into it.”
“You’re right. I’m willing to bet the company that you have the name of someone I can trust.”
Everett laughed. “Never bet the company, but, yes, I do; he’s also on my payroll. I’ll call him, too.”
Lathan came around the desk and held out his hand to Everett. “I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know how I missed this, but I’m going to make it right.”
Everett took the offered hand. “You know, I sense that you feel a bit like you’re chasing your tail running the family business. A piece of advice…you care about the details, and I would guess you care about people. That’s your strength. You don’t have to be a carbon copy of your brother to run this company successfully. You just need to delegate what you hate to others, and focus on your strengths. Build a team of people you can trust, and you’ll thrive at the head of this company, as much as, and possibly more so, than Liam.”
“I’m not competing with him.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Think about it. I’m going to make those calls.”
Everett was right. Lathan knew it the minute the words came out of his mouth, but acknowledging it made him feel stupid and childish. Which meant he needed to change that shit. Competing with a ghost was ridiculous. At this point, he wasn’t even sure why he was doing it. Sure, his parents were never going to accept him as an equal, but he was going to meet their criteria, and he was going to head this company, not just to the best of his ability, but successfully. It’s the least he owed his brother. After all, if it weren’t for him keeping Liam’s secret, his brother might still be here.
Jack had never ridden in a limo before, but she was beginning to think she could get used to it. Annette had arrived, and they got into the luxurious vehicle loaded with snacks, drinks, and two sisters, glaring at each other.
“Good morning, ladies!” Corrine chirped as if Eddie and Francine weren’t shooting daggers with their eyes.
A lifetime of manners must have kicked in, prompting Francine, at least, into ending the glaring contest and plastering a bright, albeit fake, smile on her face. “Good morning, Corrine.” Francine nodded. She then locked eyes with Jack. “Jack.”
Well, that was chilly. Good thing Jack didn’t judge her self-worth by the measuring stick of others. “Good morning, Francine.”
Jack turned her attention to Eddie. “How are you today, Eddie?”
“Ridiculous name,” Francine muttered.
Eddie hitched a thumb toward Francine. “I was fine until this lump decided to go with us.”
Annette shook her head. “Eddie, please behave.”
“Someone capable of handling you had to come along,” Francine said with her chin hitched into the air.
“I behave just fine, thank you very much!” Eddie crossed her arms and huffed.
“You run roughshod over everyone, and they let you get away with it because they’re terrified those loose lips of yours will spill that stockpile of secrets you store, like a squirrel does nuts.”
Eddie sneered. “And you think you’re exempt from these loose lips?”
“I have no secrets,” Francine said with her nose in the air.
“Really? I seem to remember just last year, seeing you behind the gardenias with—”
Francine slammed a perfectly manicured, veined hand over Eddie’s big mouth and held it there.
Until Eddie licked it.
“Careful, Francine. I have no husband, no kids, nothing to do with my time but watch people. That includes you.”
“Noted,” Francine ground out.
Jack and Corrine glanced at each other and burst out laughing. Annette hid a smile behind her hand.
“Well, now that that unpleasantness is over, what do you think, Jack? Ready to be pampered?” Eddie asked.
Jack grinned and patted Eddie’s knee. “I think we’re all your bitches and whatever you say goes.”
“I knew I loved you the minute I laid eyes on you,” Eddie said with a wink and a smile.
The small talk flowed as they snacked on fresh fruit and croissants washed down with mimosas. Jack had never liked champagne, but the mimosas grew on her. Annette and Corrine chattered on about the baby. Eddie shouted out name suggestions, despite the fact that Corrine had already revealed the two choices for names. Francine glared but kept her mouth shut.
Jack let out a bit of a giggle and set her glass down. She absolutely did not giggle. Or she can’t remember ever having giggled. Not even after getting wasted on tequila with her brother and his friends.
“These are dangerous. Here, Corrine, take this away from me and don’t let me have another,” Jack said.
Corrine laughed and stowed the glass. “I’ve got you covered, Jack. Here, have some fruit.”
Jack giggled again.
“On second thought, have another croissant. Maybe it will soak up the alcohol.”
“If I have another croissant, I’ll need another drink.”
“Orange juice it is.”
By the time they pulled into Eden, Annette’s spa of choice, the buzz had started to clear.
Stepping through the double doors, Jack leaned over and whispered into Corrine’s ear, “Is this going to hurt?”
“Don’t be silly. It’s going to be fun,” Corrine said.
A half hour later, they all sat in their individual chairs with their feet soaking in bubbling warm water. Light filtered through lace curtains, setting the cream-colored room aglow. Staff members in sage scrubs with Eden embroidered across the pocket attended to their every need with soft voices and friendly smiles.
More mimosas made their way into the room. She took one and resolved to sip slowly.
She could fall asleep right there. Her own fault. Sneaking out of her room had been stupid. She should have sent Lathan on his way.
Instead, she’d found a leather couch, the only kind of couch he owned, and she tossed and turned on the thing for the rest of the night. The minute she heard movement upstairs, she peeked into her room to see he had left.
He had every opportunity to give her hell for it over coffee, but he didn’t. She appreciated that. Since agreeing to marry him, her life had propelled to a hundred-mile-per-hour joyride. Sure it was exciting, but the risks made her heart trip in her chest.
“So, Jack, tell me, what kind of dress would you prefer for the wedding?” Annette asked as she flipped through a copy of Vogue.
She stifled a moan when her attendant, Raj, lifted her foot and began massaging the arch. “I don’t know, I hadn’t really thought about it. What will Lathan be wearing?”
“I guess that depends on your dress, but probably a black tux. Tails seem like a bit much for Lathan. Liam, he could have pulled off tails,” Annette said as she continued to flip through the magazine.
>
“Why do you do that?” Jack asked. Okay, she should have kept her mouth shut, but those damn mimosas, the soothing foot soak, and Raj’s magic hands conspired to give her loose lips.
You could practically hear a pin drop in the room as all eyes locked on her.
“Do what?” Annette asked.
She’d gone and done it now, but now that the words had slipped out, Jack didn’t want to let it go. “Why do you constantly compare Lathan and Liam? What’s worse is you make little comments that always imply that you find Lathan lacking.”
The magazine fell to Annette’s lap. “I don’t do that!”
“Hell, yes, you do!” Eddie said. “That poor Lathan has been practically tearing his hair out trying to live up to Liam’s ghost. He even let you rope him into that stupid marriage clause.”
“That was for his own good,” Annette protested.
“That was so you guys could determine the course of his life because you didn’t approve of the course he was on. Jack, here, is the only one who had the nerve to call you on it.”
Annette turned to Jack, a look of sheer horror in her eyes. “Is that what he thinks? That he’s not good enough?”
Annette looked like someone kicked her puppy, and Jack wished she had kept her mouth shut. This wasn’t her business.
Or was it?
She was marrying the man, after all. Plus, she had at least a year she would spend with Annette and Bradford, so maybe they should clear the air. Or not. Her family talked about everything. It was hard for her to maintain a decent mad at her pain-in-the-ass brother because of those talks, but then, she didn’t harbor a bunch of resentments either.
“He hasn’t flat out said it, but by the look he gets sometimes, that would be my guess,” Jack said.
“I don’t want him to think that,” Annette said, wiping away tears.
Jack patted Annette’s shoulder. She had already opened her mouth, and she was going to be part of this family, so she might as well go for broke. “Listen, losing Liam must have been devastating, but Lathan is still here; he’s lost his brother and, from the looks of the pictures, his best friend.”
“I didn’t realize I was doing it,” Annette whispered. She sniffled into a handkerchief she had pulled from her purse. “For two years now, I’ve been hurting my baby boy, and I didn’t even know it.”
Francine patted Annette’s shoulder. “It’s okay, dear. You’ll make it up to him. I know you will. He’s a good boy… he’ll understand, and he’ll forgive.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, honey,” Eddie patted Annette’s hand. “No more tears now. This is supposed to be a happy day.”
Francine waved a dismissive hand in the air. “So, where were we?” Francine asked.
“Wedding dresses,” Corrine said.
“That’s right, wedding dresses. I would presume nothing with a train,” Francine said.
Jack laughed. “No train.”
“Strapless?” Annette asked.
Annette’s sniffles were subsiding, much to Jack’s relief. “Ummm, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why on earth not? You have a gorgeous figure,” Corrine said.
“I thought maybe I would need to hide this.” She slid off her sweater since she had a tank top underneath and revealed the dagger running from her shoulder to her elbow. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. She had just been attacked on a tow and disabled the guy with a heel to the top of his foot, an elbow to his sternum, and a sharp knee to his balls. She was pissed off and feeling like a total badass. Her brother’s best friend had just opened a tattoo shop. He now had an eight-month wait time, but then he’d had all the time in the world, so she took advantage, and before she could change her mind, she went for it.
“Whoa,” Eddie said.
“Well…” Annette offered.
“I love it!” Corrine said.
“Isn’t it a bit too much for a woman in a strapless dress?” Jack said.
All eyes turned to Francine who seemed to contemplate her answer for a moment. “I think it’s just right for a woman named Jack,” she said.
Jack looked for little hints, but there was nothing mean or underhanded in the way Francine said it. For the first time since the Lathan and Liam talk, her lips spread into a genuine smile. “Strapless it is.”
They rolled back into Lathan’s driveway shortly after seven that evening. Everett had their car all packed and ready to go. They said their goodbyes, leaving her alone with Lathan.
Alone and incredibly relaxed.
Yeah, and a little buzzed.
Just buzzed enough to forget about her oath to not fall in love and throw caution to the wind.
“What’s the look, Jack?” Lathan asked.
She leaned in and smiled. “I’m not giving you a look.”
“Oh, you most certainly are. You’re giving me the kind of look that might just get you tossed over my shoulder and hauled off caveman style to my bedroom.”
“You talk a good game, handsome, but you don’t have the balls to haul me off anywhere.”
“Oh, really…” Before she could turn and saunter away like she had intended, he tucked his shoulder into her middle and hoisted her over his shoulder.
“Hey, put me down!”
Lathan swatted one curved cheek and braced himself when she reared up.
“You did not just spank me.”
“That’s for being selfish in the bedroom last night,” he said, marching into the house.
“I was not selfish! You got to lie back, and I did everything.”
Kicking open the door to his room, he marched in and tossed her on the bed. “You restricted me and then you snuck out on me.”
The caveman routine was hot, but there was no way in hell she was going let him know that. “Oh, poor Lathan didn’t get to call the shots lasts night, and now he wants payback. I don’t think so.”
“Jack,” he said, pointing his finger at her. “Don’t you dare move off that bed.”
She leaned back on her hands. “Or what, tough guy?”
“Or I’ll spank you for real. The way your father should have.”
“Hey, I was a good kid.”
“And now you’re a selfish adult.”
That stung. He couldn’t know that he just poked at a sore spot with her. She had given up her choices just to uphold her end of the family business. She worried day and night about how to provide the best for her father. She was marrying a man she didn’t know and didn’t love, just to make sure her father had everything he deserved, and Lathan had the nerve to call her selfish.
“What did you just say?” she said, giving him a chance to clarify.
“You’re selfish.”
“I’m out of here,” she said as she levered herself off the bed.
“Did I lie?”
She stopped with her hand on the door handle but didn’t turn around.
“Be honest, Jack. You were selfish. You called all the shots, and you held back.” He took measured steps in her direction.
“So what? You got what you wanted,” she tossed back to him.
He hooked a finger around the hair hanging over her shoulder and pulled it around to expose her slim neck. Such a delicate neck for someone with such a hard job. Would she be willing to give up her business to move to Brentwood? Would she expect him to settle in Tallulah Cove permanently?
They had a lot to figure out, but at the moment, the only thing they needed to deal with was why Jack felt the need to shut him out before they even got a chance to get to know each other. “I expected to get to know my future wife better.”
She sighed and turned to face him. “So, what do you want from me now?”
“I want you to spend the night in my bed.”
“Just sleeping?”
He gave her a grin, hoping to lighten the mood. “Just sleeping. I’m playing hard to get; you have to prove to me you deserve all of this,” he said as he swept his arm from his head
to his waist.
The shoulders that had been locked tight just moments before relaxed as Jack smiled. “Fine, I’ll sleep with you. Just let me get something to sleep in.”
“Oh, no. I want what you deprived me of last night. I want naked.”
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “No poking at me in the middle of the night.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Then you don’t mind shaking on it?” She held her hand out and waited for him.
Since she only stipulated the middle of the night, he had no problems agreeing to her terms. “I will not poke at you in the middle of the night.” When he released her hand, he laughed.
“Oh, no….no, no, no. You don’t get to poke at me any other time either.”
“Too late. We already shook on it.”
“A gentleman would let me amend our agreement.”
“Yeah, well, you might as well know now: I’m no gentleman,” he said with a wink as he pulled his shirt over his head. Next went his pants. He paused with his thumbs hooked in his boxer briefs. He looked her up and down and nodded. “Jack, you’re overdressed.”
She raised her chin in the air and pulled off her top. With a flick of her fingers to the center clasp, the white lace bra fell away from her skin, and all of a sudden, Lathan forgot what the hell he was doing.
“What’s the matter, Lathan?”
He cleared his throat and met her eyes. “Nothing. All good here.”
“Really? Did you forget how to take off your underwear?”
“Nope, I’ve got it.” He dragged them down over his legs and pulled them off his ankles. When he looked up, she had her pants down, and there was a scrap of lace that barely covered her. Already at half-mast, there was nothing he could do but stand up straight and pretend that he wasn’t pointing at her with another part of his anatomy.
She looked down at him and laughed. Not what a guy wanted to hear. As she sauntered to the bed, she shocked the shit out of him by sliding the lace thong over her curves and tossing it to the floor before crawling up onto the bed, putting everything on display.
She flicked a glance over her shoulder and slid under his bedspread, turning away from him. “Good night, Lathan.”
