A Christmas Rendezvous

by Karen Booth

  Isabel fought the grumble in her throat. She also tamped back her natural urge to launch into her side of the argument. There was no point in that right now. Isabel had seen the letters. She’d known that this was coming. Victoria Eden and Bradley Summers had absolutely had an affair. And by all accounts, it had been a doozy. Her heart sank at the thought of the call she had to make, to break this news to Mindy and Sam, then let them break it to Sophie and Emma. It would take the wind out of their sails, for sure, but Isabel would not let this be the end of the story. It would not be the final chapter of Eden’s Department Store. Somehow, they would pull this off. She would. “I’ll talk to my clients and see what we can do.”

  “You’ll get back to me?”

  “I don’t see that I have a choice.”

  Seven

  Since the moment the promissory note had been authenticated, Isabel had been doing nothing but playing cat and mouse with Jeremy. His client was refusing to budge. Mr. Summers wouldn’t give an inch. Jeremy was holding fast. She knew from experience that she’d never be able to exercise any influence over him unless they could meet in person, but he was insisting on phone calls, much to her dismay. He was avoiding her, and it was starting to feel personal.

  By Friday, things were becoming dire. Sam and Mindy had spent the entire week moving assets, trying to sell properties, but they were finding the task more difficult the closer they got to the holidays. It would be nearly impossible to liquidate anything between Christmas and New Year’s. There were simply too many people who weren’t working. With Christmas six days away, time was running out.

  As if life couldn’t possibly get more complicated, Isabel had to vacate the Bacharach by noon that day. She’d originally planned to stay with Sam and Mindy, but they’d both been working so hard that they’d managed to come down with a dreadful cold. Isabel’s back-up plan was to fly to DC and stay with a friend for the weekend. This close to Christmas, there wasn’t a spare hotel room anywhere in the city.

  Before she left for the airport, Isabel was set to meet with Sophie and Emma at Eden’s and if all went okay, Sam or Mindy would call in. Isabel arrived at Eden’s first thing that morning. Eight o’clock to be exact, right when the offices were first open. A burly but friendly security officer named Duane met her at one of the main entrances.

  “Sophie and Emma are already here,” he said, walking her through the cosmetics department and back to the executive elevators.

  “Thank you. Have they been here long?”

  “Most of the night.”

  Isabel had been afraid of that. Coming up with a cool billion to get Benjamin Summers to go away was no small job and they were all going to extraordinary measures to attempt the impossible.

  The store was eerily quiet, with only a handful of lights on. It would open early at 9:00 a.m. for holiday shopping hours, but there was still a sense that she was taking part in a death march. Just like the entire Eden family, she desperately didn’t want the store to slip into Mr. Summers’s hands. There were no guarantees that he’d continue to run the store at all. Isabel could imagine him taking a wrecking ball to the whole thing out of spite. What would happen to the employees? Or the history contained in this beautiful old building? And what would happen to the Eden sisters if they lost their birthright, this very permanent fixture of this city, emblazoned with their name?

  Duane pressed the elevator button for her. “Do you know your way upstairs? Lizzie, the receptionist, should be here soon, but not yet. She just texted me to say her train was delayed.”

  “Eden’s really is like a family, isn’t it?” Isabel asked. Where else did the receptionist check in with the security guard when she was running late?

  “Yes, ma’am. Lizzie is like a little sister to me. She tells me everything.” His eyebrows bounced and he smiled. “Even about her new beau.”

  “Ooh. Anyone I know?” Lizzie was a total sweetheart and Isabel had grown to adore her.

  “I shouldn’t say anything.” Duane’s face said that he was dying to tell someone.

  Isabel reached out and touched his arm. “Look. I’m very good at keeping secrets. You can tell me. I won’t say a peep.”

  “It’s James, one of the salespeople in menswear,” he blurted. “He’s a Brit like Emma’s husband, Daniel.”

  As if there hadn’t been enough excitement about the Eden family, Emma and Daniel had decided to get married at city hall last week. With a baby on the way, Daniel was eager to start the process of becoming an American citizen, apparently much to his mother’s disappointment.

  “I’ll have to find a reason to sneak down to menswear later and see if I can get an eyeful of James.”

  Duane laughed and the elevator dinged. “Have a good meeting.”

  “Thank you.” A minute later, Isabel arrived on the executive floor.

  Sophie was waiting right outside the elevator bank, pacing. She lunged for Isabel the instant the door opened. “Thank God you’re here. We have an emergency and it’s bad.”

  Isabel could hardly keep up anymore. She’d dealt with plenty of panicked clients, but this was turning into an hourly thing with the Eden family. Fortunately, she had a great deal of experience in this arena. “Whatever it is, it’s okay. Did something happen with one of the deals Sam and Mindy were working on? Or something you and your husband were setting up?”

  Emma strode out of her office. Her baby bump was now visible. Small, but apparent. “I read the article, Sophie. I really don’t think it’s that bad. I mean, it’s not great, but I’ve seen worse things.”

  Isabel was starting to put this all together. “Something in the tabloids, I take it?”

  Sophie waved her ahead. “Come on. My office. I’ll show you.”

  Isabel was starting to bristle at Sophie’s cloak-and-dagger approach as she found herself marching with Sophie and Emma down the hall to Sophie’s office. Inside, a stack of newspapers sat on her desk. Even upside down, Isabel saw the headline: Eden’s Matriarch’s Secret Affair Exposed. Of course, those words—secret affair—leaped off the page. Isabel wasn’t much for prurient accounts, but anyone would have to be intrigued. “How did this happen?” Isabel took the liberty of taking a copy and began scanning the story.

  “We have no idea. I guess the reporter called Mindy last night but she was so hopped up on cold medicine that she barely remembers the conversation.”

  Isabel had to hand it to Mindy. For someone on cold medicine, the quote she’d given the newspaper was remarkably smart and diplomatic. She’d said precisely what Isabel would have coached her to say. Mr. Summers, however, was a different case. Clearly Jeremy had not had a say in the formulation of his comment. No lawyer would have allowed their client to say such a thing.

  “It’s so horrible. The things he said about our grandmother.” Sophie plopped down on the couch. “And right before Christmas, no less. I wouldn’t be surprised if people start boycotting the store. We need to hire a PR person and start fighting this. We need to put our own version of this story out there. We can’t let Gram’s memory be tarnished like this.”

  Isabel very pointedly shook her head at Emma, who was the only one paying attention to her. Sophie was dead wrong. “Actually, ladies, this is amazing news. I believe we finally have a leg up in this negotiation.”

  * * *

  Jeremy had reached a new low—he arrived at the office having had no more than ten minutes of sleep. Granted, it was Friday morning and it had been an incredibly long week, which usually left him stumbling into the weekend. With his grueling job, he already didn’t sleep well. but that had gotten progressively worse since his night with Isabel. She was this beautiful dangling string in his life, unfinished business, both personally and professionally. Situations like that had always bothered him.

  When Kelsey left him, it was yet another situation where he was left with far more questions than answers. She too
k off with no warning, leaving only a note that he’d made her deeply unhappy. He never had the chance to ask how or why—she went right to the press and smeared him, telling them their marriage was over. It wasn’t until later that Jeremy learned she’d been unfaithful, but he couldn’t prove it, and the court of public opinion was squarely against him. He’d been painted as heartless, and since it was clear to Jeremy that the situation would not get better if he spoke up, he put his head down and gave in to her demands. Just to get her out of his life. He simply hadn’t had the fight.

  If Jeremy had learned anything over the past five days, it was that the Eden family would go down swinging. Isabel had been incredible to work with, and they’d talked every day, but she was doing nothing but push, even from her disadvantaged position. He loved the fight in her. He loved it a little too much. Every conversation with her was a turn-on, precisely why he’d made excuses all week and kept their back-and-forth on the phone.

  Of course, last night before he left the office, Isabel had called him on it. “I’m beginning to think you’re avoiding me, Sharp.” She referred to him by his last name when she really wanted to put on the pressure. It was playful and toying and sexy. On some level, she had to know what it was doing to him. “Why don’t we meet for a drink? Or I’ll come out to Brooklyn. I still haven’t met your cat. Does she have a name yet?”

  “I’m calling her Cat.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Jeremy had not appreciated the inference. “No. I am a kind soul who took in an animal. But she’s not staying and I don’t want to get attached. Hence, I put only enough time into giving her a name as absolutely necessary. Her next owner can give her a real name.”

  “Any sign of the kittens?”

  “Soon, I guess.”

  “You guess?” Isabel then went on to read him a laundry list of the things he should be looking for in Cat’s behavior. He had noticed nothing she mentioned.

  Jeremy’s only response had been to change the subject. “My client refuses to budge, so unless you have a check for me to collect, I guess I don’t see the point in a face-to-face meeting.”

  “I think that what you’re really saying is that it’s harder to negotiate with me when you and I are in the same room.”

  She was not wrong. In fact, that had been his number one fear—Isabel would get him to do something he shouldn’t if they had to meet in person. Sure, he wanted to see her. He’d be an idiot to not want that. But was it a good idea? No. “Goodbye, Ms. Blackwell. Have a good night.”

  Jeremy had called Mr. Summers immediately after, but got nowhere. “There is no wiggle room,” Mr. Summers said. “From where I sit, we have them right where we want them. They will pay or they’ll hand over the store. They’re lying and stalling.”

  “Every day they continue to delay is another day you have to pay me. We could expedite the process and get it all wrapped up if you were willing to concede to a payment plan. You’ll still get your money, just on a different timeline.”

  “No. Absolutely not. And please don’t ask me again.”

  Jeremy had a duty to give Mr. Summers whatever he wanted, no matter how punitive he was being about the whole thing. “Very well then. Have a good night.”

  Now back at work, he couldn’t get his head screwed on right. Maybe Isabel was right. Maybe they did need to meet. He couldn’t concede with anything, but he could at least see her. Let her beat him up with her words. It would likely be the only fun to be had with this case.

  “Knock, knock.” Jeremy’s father appeared at his office door. “Good morning.”

  Simply hearing his father’s voice these days made him cringe, and this reaction was starting to get to him. He didn’t enjoy having this negative relationship. In fact, he hated it. His only real hope was to keep plugging ahead so that he could convince his dad to retire or at least taper down to far fewer hours in the office. Once they could lessen the day-to-day professional grind that was ever-present between them, Jeremy hoped they could return to being what they should be—father and son. “Hey. Good morning.”

  His dad took a seat on the leather sofa just inside the door of Jeremy’s office. “I need to steal you for a few minutes. I spoke with Benjamin Summers on my way in.”

  Jeremy didn’t need to hear another word to know that this was likely bad. “Why did he call you? I always make myself available to him. Always.”

  “He didn’t. I called him.”

  Jeremy instantly found his hands balling up into fists. His neck went tight. His jaw, too. “He’s my client. Why would you do that?”

  “I’m seeing no movement on this case, Jeremy. I had to know that he was happy.”

  “Then ask me directly. I would’ve gotten you up to speed without you making me look bad to a client.” Jeremy leaned forward in his chair and planted his elbow on his desk, closing his eyes and attempting to knead away the tension in his forehead with his hand. But the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Finally, he pushed back from his desk and stood, marching over to his dad with determination. He wanted him to know that this was serious. He would not let this stand. “In fact, I’d say that what you did was wholly unprofessional. You don’t just make me look bad, you make the entire firm look bad. And there’s absolutely no reason for it other than the fact that you don’t trust me to do what I need to do.”

  “I trusted you with the Patterson case. We all know how that ended.”

  “I was in the middle of getting a divorce and my soon-to-be ex-wife, who I thought loved me, was dragging my name through the tabloids. If I wasn’t on top of my game at the time, I think it’s understandable.”

  “You can’t allow your personal life to get in the way of your job.”

  “And I might have let that happen one time, but it’s not the case right now. Summers isn’t budging on anything, and Eden’s simply doesn’t have the capital to pay him off in a single lump-sum cash payment, as he’s demanding.”

  “Sometimes, it’s a lawyer’s job to convince a client that it’s in their best interest to move the goalposts.”

  “I understand that. And I have tried. It’s only been a few weeks. The trouble is that what I really think he wants is revenge. And I don’t think that’s possible.”

  His dad drew a deep breath through his nose, looking right at Jeremy, although in many ways it felt as though he was looking through him. Jeremy never felt that his dad truly saw him. “I just want you to get this done. Get together with Ms. Blackwell and remind her in person that she has no choice but to acquiesce to Summers’s demands. I’m not buying that they don’t have the cash. The Edens’ war chest has to run deep.”

  Jeremy nodded. “I’ll get it done. But it’s not because you decided to interfere. I have it under control. I wish you knew that.”

  His dad stood, which was a great relief to Jeremy. Hopefully this meant he was leaving. “I don’t care what it takes. Lock yourselves up in a room until there’s only one person left standing.”

  Jeremy fought back a grin, which at least helped the tightness in his neck go away. How he would love a negotiation with Isabel that involved them locked away. The tougher she proved herself to be, the more he wanted to show her that he could match her intensity. In every way. “I’ll suggest it.”

  “And another thing, you need to be careful with this Blackwell woman. I looked into her history and she’s worked with some very high-level but shady clients. There’s no telling what she’ll pull to make Summers go away. We should be ready to torpedo her in the press if necessary.”

  Jeremy took a step forward. “Dad. No.” Even he was surprised at his protective response. He might not know Isabel very well, but he didn’t want his dad to go after her. Not like that. As someone who’d been taken down by the tabloids, Jeremy knew firsthand exactly how brutal it was. He didn’t want that for anyone. Jeremy wasn’t going to fault Isabel fo
r the things she’d had to do professionally. He knew very well how lawyers could get pushed into a corner by a client and have no real choice but to work their way out. It was how you got ahead. It was how you made a name for yourself. “We’re not doing that. It’s unseemly and unnecessary.”

  “You’re too soft, Jeremy. Always have been. You let Kelsey walk all over you. You’re letting Summers do it to you, too.”

  I loved Kelsey. And I’m trying to make my client happy. “I’ll get it done without torpedoing anyone. I will get both sides to meet somewhere in the middle.”

  His dad pursed his lips, a sign that he remained unconvinced. “It’d better be a lot closer to what Summers wants than the middle.”

  “It will be.”

  His dad turned to leave. No handshake. No pat on the shoulder. Just one lawyer leaving another lawyer’s office. But he stopped when he reached the doorway. “Have you and your mother talked about the tree-trimming party?”

  Christmas. Jeremy was so knee-deep in this case, his mother was the only thing reminding him that the holiday was just around the corner. “We did. A few days ago. Although there’s not much to talk about, is there? We’ve been doing this every year on December 23 for as long as I can remember.”

  “And it’s my job as your father to make sure you’re going to be there. You’re the only child and your mom looks forward to that night all year long.”

  “I will not disappoint her.”

  Jeremy’s dad had hardly been gone a minute before Jeremy’s phone rang. His heart sped up when he saw the caller ID. It was Isabel. “Hey there. Calling to give me a hard time about the cat again?”

  “Have you seen the papers?” Isabel’s voice could sometimes be cutting, but her tone was particularly icy.

  “I haven’t. I never read them.”

  “I suggest you do it right now. You can look online. Do a search for Eden’s Department Store. I’m sure it’ll come right up.”

  Jeremy took a seat at his desk. “Can I call you back when I’m done?”