“You’re kidding me, right?”
There was nothing teasing in the look on Keaton’s face, and he simply shook his head in response to her incredulous reply.
“When did you find out?” she demanded. “What’s going on?”
“That’s what we’re all hoping to find out, soon,” he replied.
“What do you mean, we?”
“Me, Mom, Logan, Fletcher, Mathias. I expect Eleanor and Lisa also know by now.”
“Hang on, why am I not included in this family list?” she demanded.
A legal claim against the family? This had to have come via Jackson, surely. Why hadn’t he seen fit to tell her about it? Was this some kind of petty revenge against her for her behavior last Friday night? She’d apologized—reservedly, sure—but she’d had the impression they were going forward with a clean slate. A sudden rage built up inside her and threatened to boil over in a stream of incredibly unladylike language. How dare he do this to her? Cut her out of her own family business? The sooner he was replaced, the better.
“Before you get yourself all worked up and mad at the wrong people or person, tell me if you’ve checked your email since this morning,” Keaton said in an irritatingly placatory tone.
“Of course I checked my email,” she snapped. “I check hourly for important correspondence.”
“So you received the group mail from Jackson this morning?”
She thought back. Yes, she had received it, skimmed the subject header with its summons to a video conference and decided she was too busy to attend. Too busy to even let him know, to be honest. And she’d deleted the email, unread.
“I did, yes.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.
“Did you read it?”
“Of course I did,” she said defiantly. She had read the header and known she had too many other demands on her time to join the meeting.
“Then you decided an urgent call to action was beneath you when we were all involved?” Keaton pressed relentlessly.
“Keaton, you know what my days are like since Isaac left. Who has time to read the contents of every single email that comes into their inbox?”
“Ah, yes, Isaac. Seems to me that looking for his replacement should be at the top of your to-do list.”
“It’s not that easy. I have to be able to trust whoever takes his place. They have to be thoroughly vetted—not only by HR but by me—and that takes time I don’t have at the moment.”
“I know, I know, we’re all time-poor and even lower on trust when it comes to newcomers. The espionage business really did a number on all of us. Did Tami tell you more charges have been laid against her father?”
Kristin shook her head. Tami had cut herself off from her parents when she was eighteen, but when she’d needed his help, her dad, Warren Everard, had tried to use her to infiltrate his biggest business rival, Richmond Developments. He’d had spies planted throughout the Richmond team. Spies like Isaac, who’d been flushed out after a thorough internal investigation.
Keaton waved a hand, dismissing that train of thought. “That’s not what I’m here about. It’s this new claim on Dad’s estate.”
He spent the next few minutes summarizing the meeting with Jackson and what they’d agreed would happen next.
“So you didn’t really need me there anyway,” she said in an attempt to excuse herself. “Sounds as though you have it all sorted, for now anyway.”
Keaton looked at her strangely. “To be honest, I’m surprised you weren’t in there telling us all what to do. What gives between you and Jackson Jones? A man would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to have noticed the tension between the two of you last Friday at Mom’s.”
She stiffened in her chair. “Look, I’m sorry if I made the evening awkward for you all. I was in a bad mood, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on all of you.”
“To be honest, you only took it out on one person. And a stranger to boot.”
“He isn’t a stranger. At least, not to me.”
There, she’d admitted that she and Jackson had a past. By the look on Keaton’s face, she knew she wasn’t going to get out of this one lightly.
“Do I have to punch his face in?”
Kristin laughed, which was obviously what Keaton had intended all along, to lighten her mood, and she saw her brother’s face relax.
“Maybe not this week. Seriously, though, we knew each other in college. Very well,” she added in answer to his raised brow. “I thought we shared the same goals and dreams for a future together. I was wrong.”
There, she’d managed to put it in a nutshell. Hopefully, Keaton would leave it at that.
“He hurt you badly, didn’t he? Maybe I should just punch him for the hell of it.”
She should’ve known her brother wouldn’t let it go if he thought someone had hurt her. “Given his chosen profession, he’d probably sue,” she said.
“Yeah, there is that. And the fact that he’s working for us and from the way he’s responded to the new claim, he appears competent. I guess I should just bide my time.”
She gave him another smile.
“How’s Tami coping with this business with her dad?”
“As well as can be expected. Even though they haven’t spoken in months, she’s still worried for him. Frankly, after the way he treated her, both recently and in the past, he’s darn lucky she even acknowledges he’s her father. Besides, with the work she’s doing in conjunction with Mom and the Richmond Foundation, she’s too busy to give him more than a cursory thought. And we have a wedding to plan, too.”
“You’re talking about Mom and Hector’s wedding?”
“No, I’m talking about Tami’s and my wedding,” he said with a wide grin on his face.
“Oh my! That’s fantastic news. I thought you two were taking it slow. Finding your feet together.”
“We’ve found them, and we want to make it official. What can I say? I love the woman with all my heart and I want to be able to shout that out for all the world to hear.”
Kristin eyed her brother with a touch of envy. He looked so very happy. After the turmoil of the past year, he deserved happiness; they all did. Logan and Honor were going to become parents. Mom and Hector were getting married soon, and now Keaton and Tami. Seemed like everyone who meant anything to her was pairing up and moving on, without her.
“Well, congratulations. When will you make an announcement?”
“We were thinking Christmas Eve for the family, and waiting till mid-January for the formal announcement. We don’t want to steal any of Mom and Hector’s thunder at their wedding. But I wanted you to know. You’ve been looking really stressed and unhappy lately and it’s not like you. The unhappy part, anyway. Stress, well, you cope with that well enough under normal circumstances but things haven’t been normal with our family for a long time now.”
“True, and thanks for sharing your news with me. Does Tami know you were going to tell me?”
“Yeah, she’s worried about you, too.”
“That’s sweet of her, of both of you, but there’s nothing to worry about. Except maybe this potential new sibling. Do you think there’s any basis to what they’re claiming?”
“Who knows? With Dad, anything could be true. I can’t believe I’m saying that but since he died nothing seems to make a lot of sense anymore.”
She snorted. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
They fell silent for a while before Keaton rose to his feet.
“I don’t know about you,” he said, “but some of us have work to do. Nice chatting.”
She quirked a smile at him. “I’d like to remind you that I was the one working when you arrived here in my office to disrupt my train of thought.”
“Well, you better get back on the train. Time’s a-wasting.”
With that he gave her a half-cocked grin and left. She sat
for a while staring at the door he’d closed behind him. That was typical Keaton. Breeze in, deliver shocking news and breeze right on out leaving her to deal with it. Okay, so maybe that summary of facts wasn’t entirely fair. They’d knocked heads over a lot of things here at Richmond Developments but for the most part they worked together well. Far better than they ever had as children.
Keaton had always been hell-bent on being the best at everything. Always trying to win their father’s favor and prove that while his twin may have been missing since they were a day old, Keaton, the remaining son, was more than enough for the Richmond family. Logan’s return had been a shock to everyone, but to Keaton most of all. Still, they’d all found their new normal. It just felt like hers was a lonely one.
Which brought her full circle to Jackson Jones. She supposed she ought to reach out to him and get all the facts on this new threat to their family’s security. Just as she reached for her phone, it rang.
“Kristin Richmond,” she said crisply, reaching for her pen and a piece of paper to jot down notes should they be necessary.
“Kristin, it’s Jack.”
The hairs on her neck prickled in response to the deep timbre of his voice. Even though she’d just been thinking about him, it still came as a surprise to have him on the phone.
“I was about to call you. Keaton just filled me in on the new development.”
“Good, good,” he said. “I didn’t want you to be the last to hear. It’s a pity you couldn’t make the video conference.”
“Look, I’m sorry about that but I’m short-staffed and hard-pressed with budgets and end-of-year reports right now.” And why the heck was she making excuses to him like this. He worked for her—well, her family—not the other way around. “I wonder if you could give me your full version of events, just in case Keaton missed anything important.”
“Sure,” he agreed. He went through everything that had happened in chronological order, including the discussion during the video conference. “So, that’s where we are. My assistant has emailed you a scan of the letter of claim together with a transcript of the video conference.”
She nodded approvingly. He certainly was being efficient.
“Do you think the claim is authentic?” she asked.
“To be honest, if they were legitimate I would have expected them to approach me through their own legal counsel. That said, they may simply be unaware of what the process ought to be and, if they’ve only recently become party to the information they have shared with us, this could all be as much of a surprise to them as it is to us.”
“But they’re threatening to go to the media if we don’t play ball,” Kristin pointed out, not prepared to be magnanimous about this new situation. “And they’re keeping their identity secret and not giving us all the documents up-front.”
“Yes, there is that, and extortion is a crime, which I have pointed out to them in my reply.”
“It seems like a heavy-handed tactic on their part. Surely, if they believe their claim is true, they would be reasonable about this.”
“I would have thought so, which is why I suggested we tread carefully and make sure we have all the information we need before taking anything further,” he said firmly.
“So, now we wait, yes?”
“I don’t expect the claimant will delay responding to my request for more information. Now they’ve opened the door, I expect they’ll want things to move quickly.”
“Right, well, thank you. Is that everything you wanted to discuss?”
There was a slight hesitation at the end of the line before he spoke again. “Actually, there is something else we need to discuss. I have another client due shortly and I’m sure you’re pressed for time, as well. Would you be free for dinner tonight?”
“Tonight?”
She scrambled in her mind for an excuse not to go, but she had no valid reason to refuse. And, after missing today’s video conference, she owed it to him to accept. Besides which, her daytime calendar was packed with commitments, but her evenings stretched out emptily unless she stayed late in the office.
“Or tomorrow?” he pressed.
“No, no, tonight is fine. Where and when?”
He gave her details of a restaurant not too far from her apartment building and suggested seven o’clock.
“Sure, I’ll be there,” she said.
“Thanks, Kristin.”
She started to say, “You’re welcome,” but he’d already disconnected the call. She put the receiver back in its cradle and stared at the phone. So, dinner tonight. She blew out a long breath. What did they need to discuss? She blinked and redirected her focus to the papers she’d put to one side when Keaton had arrived. No doubt she’d discover what Jackson wanted to talk about soon enough. In the meantime, she had to do the work of two people in half the time.
Kristin found it difficult to settle into the rhythm of her work. Her mind kept straying to the clock, checking to make sure she’d left sufficient time for herself to get home, get changed and get to the restaurant on time. In the end, she locked away her documents and shut down her laptop earlier than she’d planned. Somehow, Jackson Jones was still doing a number on her concentration, much like he had when they were in college. It felt like she couldn’t move for thinking about him.
And she kept thinking about him. All through the drive home and all through the time she took to get ready for dinner. Even in the quick shower she’d taken to wash away the stress of her day, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. As the deliciously hot water sluiced over her body, she couldn’t help remembering what it had felt like to have his hands on her. Touching her—stroking, tweaking, probing.
She groaned with need as she stroked her body with a soapy bath sponge, lingering over the sensitive areas just that little longer. Teasing herself, but not allowing herself the respite she knew she could give with just the right amount of pressure. It was madness to do this, especially before going to meet Jackson. He left her on tenterhooks enough as it was.
She turned the faucet to a far cooler setting and let the water run over her before switching it off and drying herself rapidly. She hadn’t bothered to wash her hair and twisted the length of it into a coil on top of her head. A few wisps of hair snuck out to kiss the side of her neck, sending a light shiver through her. She was so tightly wound she felt as though she’d snap under the right provocation.
Perhaps agreeing to see Jackson for dinner tonight had not been the best idea, but she couldn’t back out now.
Kristin selected a plain black dress that settled around midthigh, skimming her curves nicely. She kept her makeup minimal but chose a vibrant red lipstick as a don’t-mess-with-me statement. A chunky gold necklace was the perfect accessory at her throat, breaking the severity of the dress. Sheer black stockings and knee-high, heeled boots completed her ensemble. The ride she’d booked was waiting downstairs. Satisfied she was dressed and ready for battle, well, dinner at least, she headed for the door.
An evening with Jackson wasn’t the worst thing on the planet, was it?
Six
Jackson felt it the moment Kristin arrived at the Caribbean-style soul food restaurant. The air seemed to shimmer just for a second, then settle in place. She’d always had that effect. That effortless way of attracting attention even though she was oblivious to it most of the time. He stood as the hostess brought Kristin over to the table.
She looked like she’d dressed to kill. He allowed himself to take in her inimitable sense of style as she walked toward the table.
“Thank you for coming,” he said when she reached him. He helped her settle in her chair and sat opposite.
“Can I get you a drink while you look at the menu?” the hostess asked. “Your waiter will be along shortly to take your orders.”
“Kristin, would you like a drink?” he asked.
“Do you think
that’s safe?” she teased with a mock-serious look on her face.
He’d always loved her ability to poke fun at herself when she’d done something silly or just plain wrong. It was good to see she hadn’t lost her humor after what he’d done to her.
“I’m sure you can be trusted,” he said with a slow smile.
“Then I’ll have one of these.” She pointed to a locally made chardonnay from the Columbia Valley on the wine list.
“We’ll share a bottle,” he said to the hostess as he passed the wine list to her.
“My, you are trusting, aren’t you?” Kristin gibed as the hostess walked away. “Aren’t you worried I’ll make another scene?”
He sighed and looked at her across the table. “Look, I understand that seeing each other again last Friday was a shock, but didn’t we agree to put that behind us and move forward?”
“You’re right,” she said succinctly. “I guess I’m just more embarrassed about my behavior than I’m prepared to admit.”
“No need. Just two old friends, remember?”
“Yeah, right.”
She picked up her menu and studied it carefully. She was obviously avoiding eye contact with him. He looked at her slender hands with their long fingers holding the menu. As feminine and delicate as they were, she still looked all business, with short, clear-polished nails.
“I’ll have the gumbo,” she said decisively after only a couple of minutes.
“You don’t want to think about that? Change your mind a hundred times?”
She gave him a wry smile at the pointed reminder of what she used to be like when they were going out. It had been a running joke that he wouldn’t order until she’d changed her mind at least three times.
“I’m quite certain, thank you. You may not have changed in the past eleven years, but I have.”
He accepted the barb with a nod of his head. “Gumbo sounds good to me, too.”
A wine waiter came over with their chardonnay and offered it to Jackson to taste.
“Perhaps Ms. Richmond should taste it as it is her choice,” he said, gesturing to the young man.
What Happens at Christmas… Page 5