“Now that’s settled, you two hurry up and get well again, okay?”
“We will. By the way, what’s the latest on the Richmond family case?”
Jackson got Hector up to speed with the email and its contents that he’d received that morning and told Hector his plans for the forensic image analyst.
“Sounds like a good idea,” the older man said approvingly. “What’s your gut feeling on the case?”
“I don’t like it. And I’m starting to really not like Douglas Richmond. I know you two were friends, but if this guy treated his female staff like the guy in this photo is doing, he wasn’t a very nice man at all. That said, I still don’t think the claim is genuine. My gut feeling, since you asked, is that someone who might be in contact with the family in some peripheral way is trying to cash in on their media and publicity shyness and is hoping for some kind of payout.”
“I agree,” Hector said on a sigh. “But until we know for certain, we have to tread carefully. As to what Douglas was really like—I don’t believe that anyone but Douglas knew who the real Douglas Richmond was. He was very good at making you see exactly what he wanted you to see.”
“He must have been a very clever man.”
“It was a huge part of his charm. Like the rest of his family, he had me thoroughly duped. I’ve been wondering who my best friend was, after all. Yes, I believe he was capable of having had other affairs. But his focus on his children and their achievements was such that I believe he would have wanted to have a major influence in the life of any other child of his. Like you, I smell a rat with this one. Keep up the good work.”
They ended the call and Jackson focused on the rest of his day, which included emailing a summary of the latest contact from their anonymous claimant, together with the photo of Douglas and the mystery woman, to the Richmond family. Kristin was the first to acknowledge receipt of his email and replied with one of her own.
I hear we are attending Mom’s gala together. It’s black tie. I hope you have the right attire. :)
He smiled at the not-so-subtle reminder and formulated his response.
Rest assured, I will be at your apartment building at the appropriate time and dressed in the appropriate garb.
She replied immediately.
Good to know. BTW, did this potential love child of Dad’s include a photo of themselves or even answer any of your questions from your original reply to them?
Jackson typed a negative response and saw Kristin’s reply landing in his inbox.
Figures.
It’s early days. We will get to the bottom of this.
He waited a couple of minutes for her to reply again but she’d obviously been distracted by something else, so he returned his attention to the work in front of him.
* * *
Thursday night rolled around all too quickly. He’d hoped to get a response from the forensics image analyst, but apparently there was a backlog and no inducement could push their request to the head of the line.
The tuxedo he wore was bespoke, and he knew he looked sharp tonight. He left his Eastlake floating home and walked to the pickup area to meet the vehicle that was collecting him tonight. The first time he’d ever visited Seattle with Annie, to visit her parents, he was fascinated by the homes literally built on the water at the edge of Lake Union so when he knew he was moving here, he didn’t bother looking for a home anywhere else. Sure, parking was problematic, but it was worth it for the lakeside living.
The trip to Kristin’s apartment building passed quickly, and through the glass of the lobby, he spied her the moment she exited the elevator and began to walk to the main doors.
He was glad of the opportunity to watch her walking as if she owned the world and looking as if she did, too. She reminded him of one of those glamorous silver screen stars of yesteryears as she stepped out. Her gown was gold and floor-length, and moved along with her every step as if it was a living being. Her sleeves were made of some gossamer-fine sheer fabric that was full over her arms but caught in delicate diamanté-studded cuffs at her wrists. The same shimmer of glitter hung from her ears, accentuating the long line of her neck exposed by her updo. The neckline of her dress was a deep V, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of the delicate roundness of her breasts. She’d always been a beautiful woman, but tonight, with her cheekbones highlighted by careful contouring and her eyes made up in smoky shades of gray, she was absolutely captivating.
Again she wore the striking red lipstick that she’d worn the other night to dinner, and despite his better intentions, he imagined what it would be like to kiss that luscious color off her lips. A shaft of guilt speared through him. He shouldn’t be thinking about Kristin this way. It was as if, by craving her, he was being unfaithful to Annie’s memory, and that scored a line through his heart like nothing else had done since the day she died.
Reminding himself he was here as Kristin’s escort, and nothing else, Jackson rose from the car and held the door open for her as she approached. She swept him with a look that went from the top of his head to the shine on his shoes then up again.
“You’ll do,” she said succinctly, before sliding onto the rear passenger seat of the car.
”You scrub up pretty well, yourself,” he commented in return before he closed the door and walked around to the other side and got in. With both of them in the vehicle, the driver slid up the privacy glass between the front and rear compartments, sealing them in a private cocoon.
“In fact, you look beautiful tonight,” he said.
“Maybe if everyone else agrees with you they’ll forgive me for being nervous about giving Mom’s speech,” she said with a slight tremor in her voice.
She was nervous? He was incredulous that this insanely confident-looking creature beside him could ever feel such a thing. But then he remembered how much she’d hated presenting group assignments to their class and how sometimes she’d be sick before painting on a brave face and giving yet another winning presentation.
“Have you thrown up yet?” he asked.
“Not yet, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen.” She firmed her lips into a straight line and looked across at him. “I can’t believe you still remember that about me.”
“I remember a great deal about you, Kristin,” he said with painful honesty.
She snorted in disbelief and turned her head to look out the window. “I always thought that once I was out of sight I was out of mind.”
“I often wished it could have been that easy,” he answered softly.
She was silent for a few moments, then looked across at him again. “What made you choose law?”
“I liked the idea of helping people and it turned out that I was good at it.”
“So modest of you,” she teased lightly.
He shrugged. “I was pretty darn successful in litigation in California.”
“So, why Seattle, now? And why the change in legal specialization?”
“It was time for a change.”
It was past time. The finesse of what he’d done in the litigation field had begun to tarnish for him around the time Annie had first taken ill. His partners had been supportive when he’d said he was taking a year off to care for her, but when she’d passed away so soon after her diagnosis and they’d pressured him to come back, he realized he hadn’t been enjoying his work for a long time. He’d given up his partnership and taken time off to heal from his loss. It hadn’t been easy.
To keep his mind sharp, he’d done pro bono work at community advice centers near his home and he’d found the taste of general law intriguing. So, when Hector had called him to discuss Annie’s wish that Ben be relocated to Seattle to be nearer his grandparents and offered him the opportunity to buy the practice and take on the senior partner role at Ramirez Law, the timing was perfect. It had given him the fresh start he desperately needed.
> “Why’d you want a change?” she asked.
“I guess it’s what you seek when you’re no longer satisfied with where you are. Don’t get me wrong, my litigation work was fulfilling but I’d lost my joy in it. It’s always been my goal to deliver my very best to my clients and if I’m not passionate about what I’m doing, how can I be certain I’m giving my best?”
“We always had that in common, didn’t we?”
“Doing our best? Yeah.”
She fell silent and stared out the window again, her hand clenching around the glittery evening bag she held in her lap. As they drew up in the line of cars waiting to drop off their passengers at the venue, he reached across and patted her hand.
“You’re going to be fine. You know that. You always did great.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Their vehicle drew up at the head of the line, and they joined the throng on the carpet runner leading up the stairs to the main entrance. There was a strong media presence; no doubt that would augur well for the Richmond Foundation and the work they were doing. He took Kristin’s hand and tucked it through his arm. Her hand trembled as it rested on his forearm.
“Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave,” he murmured in her ear.
She laughed. “I can’t believe you’re still quoting from a kids’ movie.”
“Hey, if it gets us through this line, let’s just do it.”
She gave a short laugh but with her free hand did as he’d suggested. They avoided most of the questions being flung toward them until they were held up just a few feet from the front door. A reporter with a press pass identifying her as being from a local newspaper’s gossip column leaned over the velvet ropes and directed a question at Kristin.
“Ms. Richmond, your family has had a tumultuous year, to say the least. Should we be prepared for more surprises in the future?”
He heard Kristin’s sharply indrawn breath and felt her stiffen. In that moment, Jackson knew he’d do whatever it took to protect her from the prying enquiry.
“Ignore her,” he muttered under his breath. “Don’t give her any bait to work with.” Then he turned to the journalist and said, “Ms. Richmond is happy to discuss the work of the Richmond Foundation with you inside once this evening’s formalities are concluded and that is all.”
“But I don’t have a ticket,” the reporter replied.
“Then I guess you’ll need to phone Ms. Richmond’s office for an appointment, won’t you?”
“And you are?” the woman persisted.
“No one you need worry about,” he responded crisply and escorted Kristin through the main doors and into the foyer of the building.
“Thank you,” Kristin said as they each accepted a glass of champagne from a circulating waiter. “Do you think they’ve had a tip-off about what’s going on?”
He pressed his lips in a firm line and considered what had happened.
“No, I don’t. The timing of the question was unfortunate. I don’t believe the question was related to our claimant because the premature release of information would eliminate their negotiating power.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He took a sip of his champagne and let it linger in his mouth a moment before swallowing and answering her question. “No, I’m not sure, but you can be certain I’ll be looking into it tomorrow. But don’t let that woman detract from tonight and what the foundation is achieving. Hector would tan my hide if I let that happen.”
His response had the desired effect and wiped the look of worry off Kristin’s face, replacing it with a small smile.
“Now that I would pay to see,” she said.
“Look, there’s Keaton and Tami. Shall we go over?” he said, distracting her once more.
She agreed and as they joined her brother and—judging by the large winking diamond on Tami’s finger—soon-to-be sister-in-law, he mentally examined the fierce and powerful urge he’d had to protect Kristin, as the journalist had spoken. His emotions had been sharp and unexpected and continued to linger uncomfortably even after the doors to the dining room were opened and they were ushered to their seats. It was only after Kristin had successfully delivered her mom’s speech that he realized why that had happened.
He still had feelings for Kristin Richmond. Feelings that brought back vivid memories of just how good they’d been together before he’d turned his back and gone on to make a new life. Feelings that, no matter how intense he knew they could be, he could not and would not act upon. The last time he and Kristin had been a couple, it had all but consumed him. Leaving her had been incredibly hard, but he’d had to do it because he didn’t want her dragged into the mess that was his life after his parent’s death. And now, his commitment to Annie’s memory and his promise to look out for Ben were his priority. There was no room in his life for her as well. His feelings had to be put aside.
Nine
Kristin toasted with Tami as the evening progressed past the formalities and into the more social part of the function. She was hugely relieved the speech had gone well and she felt a whole lot better about it now it was over. Tami worked side by side with the Richmond Foundation and another charity that was dear to her heart, Our People, Our Homes. Tonight’s fundraiser was designed to draw attention to the joint activities of the two organizations and to seek major sponsorship for affordable housing for struggling, low-income families. And the massive turnout for the event showed her mom’s influence with the financial movers and shakers of the city.
She knew her mom and Tami worked well together. Kristin was so glad her brother Keaton had found love with Tami. While their personalities seemed different, they genuinely complemented each other. Keaton could be quite intense at times and Tami was the antithesis of that. It wasn’t that she couldn’t be serious when she needed to be, but more that she had a lightness of spirit that rubbed off on everyone around her.
“Your mom would have been proud of you tonight,” Tami said with a huge grin and clinked her glass with Kristin’s. “You did a great job.”
“Thank you, and so did you. Seeing you up there, speaking so effortlessly, made me more aware than ever why we’re doing this. It definitely helps to keep the end goal in mind when you have to make a speech, doesn’t it? Helps you shed your nerves.”
“If I hadn’t seen you avoid eating your appetizer, I would never have known you were nervous,” Tami said with a small laugh.
“Well, I’m not avoiding my plate when the main course is served, you can be sure of that,” Kristin said emphatically.
She was starving now that the business side of things was behind her. The murmur of voices around them swelled as wine flowed and the servers began to bring out the main course plates. Being at a head table, they were among the first to be served, for which she was grateful. The servers were doing alternate drops of two different styles of meal for those who didn’t have specific dietary requirements. When Kristin’s plate was put in front of her, disappointment made her wrinkle her nose. It wasn’t that she didn’t like fricassee de pollo, it was that she preferred the rack of lamb in red wine jus. Just as she was about to pick up her fork, Jackson, who was seated beside her, lifted her plate and replaced it with his.
“You don’t need to do that,” she said.
“I know, but I also know that lamb is one of your favorites. You’d prefer it, right?”
“I do, thank you.”
She decided that acceptance was far better than arguing the point, especially when there were a lot of eyes on her this evening. But it surprised her that he’d remembered something as small as whether she preferred lamb over chicken. And it made her wonder, what else did he remember? She gave herself a mental shake. No, she really didn’t want to go down that path again.
The meal was delicious. Between the main course and dessert and coffee they watched a presentation by th
e executive director of Our People, Our Homes showing their achievements to date and the concept drawings for future plans. Kristin felt a huge swell of pride that their company and their foundation had a big hand in the success of the new venture. While her side of the business was finance, the presentation gave her a far better understanding of where the dollar amounts went and the good they did in the community.
By the time dessert was served, she was feeling mellow. Again, the plates were alternate drops, and she looked from the white chocolate cheesecake with mandarin drizzle on her plate to Jackson’s chocolate mousse with Irish cream liqueur dressing with interest.
“Don’t even think about it,” he warned with a low growl.
She laughed. “You remember when we used to share dessert?”
“This is not that time,” he said firmly and lifted his spoon to sample his mousse. He groaned in enjoyment.
“Don’t be mean,” she teased.
“Fine,” he said on a long-suffering sigh. “Take half, but fair’s fair, you give half of yours to me.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kristin agreed and carefully excised half of her dessert and slid it onto his plate and waited patiently while he did the same with his.
Across the table, Keaton was watching them with interest. “Anyone looking at you two would think you’d been together for ages. Quite a change, little sis, from how you treated Jackson only a short while ago.”
“Thank you for bringing that up, Keaton. I’m sure Mom brought you up to never remind a lady of her poor behavior.” Kristin glared across the table at her brother.
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