Deadly Valentine

by Jenna Harte

"Nice to meet you," Tess said as Derek extended his hand. She really wasn't in the mood for pleasantries, but there was no sense in being rude to the young man.

  "Let me see Derek out and then we can talk." Jack left Tess to brood, as he escorted Derek to the door.

  "Are you heading down to Jefferson U tonight?" she overheard Jack ask.

  "Yes."

  "And you'll take care of that project?"

  "I'll take care of it. I promise," Derek said. He gave Jack a salute and left.

  "Now, where were we?" Jack moved toward her, but the murderous look on her face must have put him off as he stopped short and stared at her. His blue-green eyes studied her face as if he were looking for clues as to what was wrong.

  "Why didn't you tell me he'd be here?" she said.

  "Who?" The assessing stare disappeared and Tess could see he knew exactly who she was talking about.

  "You know who. Brad."

  "Brad works for me, you know that." He moved towards the corner of the office where a small kitchenette housed a refrigerator from which he took a glass bottle. "Want something to drink?"

  "He works for Tate, George and Chancellor."

  "Not anymore," he said twisting the cap off the bottle. "He works for me. Runs things when I'm not around, which is much of the time."

  It was Tess' turn to look surprised. "He's a liar and cheat and you have him running things?"

  "He's a damn good business man."

  "Are you sure about that?" she asked remembering how she thought he was a pretty good guy when she nearly married him.

  "Yes." She waited for him to elaborate but he didn't.

  "That sounds naive."

  He shrugged and leaned against his desk. "At the time, I didn't really care what he did to be honest. My focus was on trying to help my mother."

  Tess felt the pull at her heart strings at the devastation he must have felt at not being able to save his mother. But she couldn't let him manipulate her.

  "Turns out that he didn't run things into the ground and instead made me a lot more money. So yes, I do trust him. With business."

  "So business is more important than personal?"

  "Isn't that your motto," he tossed back at her.

  Touché, she thought.

  "And sometimes people deserve a second chance. I know that I wouldn't be where I am today if some people didn't give me an opportunity to prove myself."

  "Why didn't you tell me he'd be here?" she repeated, determined to have him understand how his deception had not only caught her off guard, but hurt her as well. It was three years ago all over again.

  He didn't respond at first. Instead, he stared at her as he took a long swallow of his soda. He didn't look like he had a care in the world, which only infuriated her more. She wouldn't let him dismiss her feelings so casually.

  "Dammit Jack, you should have told me."

  "Why?"

  "Why? So I'd be prepared to see him."

  "That's water under the bridge. You said so yourself."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  He must have realized she wasn't going to let it go. "Because you wouldn't have come."

  "You don’t know that-"

  "I do know that. The one thing that has changed about you Tess is that you're not the go-getter you used to be. You prefer to stay in this nice, safe tucked away box you've built for yourself."

  "That's not true."

  "Now who's lying? You wouldn't have come because now you live your life to avoid exactly this kind of situation. I bet you hated coming over the bridge. I bet it brought up all sorts of bad memories. I half expected you to cancel on me because of it."

  She wasn't sure what she hated more; that he was right or that he knew so much about the inner workings of her psyche.

  "You even avoid Daniel who is about as safe and vanilla as you can get. This way, you got to face your demon head on."

  "I'm here aren't I? I did my job. I'm not timid right now." Her heart did a little shuffle like a boxer might do. If he wanted a confrontation, she'd give him one. "And let me tell you something else, Jack, I don't need you to you set up little scenes to help me see I’ve succeeded despite what he did to me.”

  “Don’t I?”

  “No!” Tess wanted to throttle him. She set her brief case down in case she had the urge to throw it at him. “I don’t know if it’s the testosterone or a flaw in men in general, but I resent the idea that you think I need saving or that you have the right to manipulate me and my life.”

  “I don’t want to run your life. And, it's not like I didn’t need you to come here. This was a legitimate meeting. I only failed to tell you Brad would be there.”

  “That’s a big deal.”

  "Tess, I’m sorry you're upset, but don't you think you're blowing this up a little more than it needs to be? Did he say something to you?"

  "Don't!" She jabbed her finger toward him. "Don't ever belittle or dismiss my feelings."

  Jack held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not dismissing your feelings. I just don't understand why you're as upset as you are."

  "The last time I saw Brad, his parents were promising that I wouldn't work in this town … a promise they kept." She shook her head at the humiliation. "Like how dare I call off the wedding simply because he was having an affair."

  "I know that. You told me all about it that night. But-"

  Oh! He would bring that night up. How she'd run to him because he was the only real friend she'd had. "You know what he did, but you still hired him. I guess we know who you're most loyal too."

  His eyes narrowed. "Are you angrier that I didn't tell you he'd be here today or that I hired him run my company after what he did to you?"

  "Both!" She blurted. But it wasn't anger. Devastation was more like it.

  "Even though you ran away from your life here? Promised you'd never be back. Told me not to call you? You left and never took one look back?"

  That wasn't quite right. She'd thought about Jack a lot initially, especially since he hadn't listened to her and tried to call. But eventually the calls stopped and she moved on. She'd never intended to see any of them again. So she had no right react the way she was. Even so, it still bothered her.

  Jack leaned forward, his eyes piercing hers. "At least Brad sticks."

  She took the knock because she supposed he was right.

  "While we're on the subject of Brad," he continued, "Let me tell you this. I'm glad he cheated on you. I'm glad it turned out he was gay. It was bad enough to be in love with my friend's fiancé, imagine if you'd married him?"

  "In love?" Tess laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "Is that why you kicked me out –" she stopped herself. She didn't want to go there. Not now, not ever.

  "I didn't kick you out and yes, that's why I turned –"

  "Stop." She said holding up a hand. "This is not the time or place to discuss that."

  "Then when Tess? Because it needs to be discussed."

  All of a sudden she felt tired, emotionally drained. All she wanted to do was to curl up on her sofa with a good mystery and glass of wine. "As I said, all that is water under the bridge. We don't need to hash it out again."

  For a moment she thought he was going to lunge at her and give her good shake. But he took a breath and rolled his shoulders. "Maybe we should just move on to the other business you wanted to discuss."

  "Why don't we reschedule. It's not urgent and I'm not in the mood right now."

  "Not in the mood for business?" Contempt laced his voice. "That's a surprise. It seems that business is all you're ever in the mood for."

  He stood, moved around his desk to grab his coat from the back of the chair. Slipping it on, he stepped towards her. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me." With one last biting glare, he stalked out.

  Chapter Twenty

  Tess felt justified being angry at Jack, but she wondered if maybe she'd taken things too far. Rescheduling the meeting because she was mad at him for personal rea
sons was immature and unprofessional. She needed to find him to deal with business. Only business. The afternoon highlighted exactly why she and Jack needed to avoid any personal entanglements.

  She made her way to Mrs. Standish's desk. The woman glowered at her and then returned to her typing. Tess figured she wouldn't be invited to the company Christmas party. Even if Jack wanted to invite her, Mrs. Standish would probably lose the invitation in the trash.

  "Is Mr. Valentine still in the building?"

  "I'm not at liberty to disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Valentine."

  Did people really talk like that? Tess wondered. "Has he left for the day?"

  Mrs. Standish kept typing.

  "He's expecting me to meet him."

  "If he was expecting you, he'd have told you where he was."

  "Hey Tess." She turned to see Brad approaching her. Automatically she braced herself for whatever criticism or self-important comment he was planning to make. "Got a minute?"

  "I was just leaving," she said heading to the elevator.

  "I'll ride down with you."

  Unable to come up with a reason to stop him that didn't seem adolescent, Tess agreed.

  "Good presentation today," he said when the doors closed.

  Tess waited for the 'but'.

  "I guess Jack told you that anything you need, people, resources, whatever, let us know."

  Tess cast him a suspicious look.

  "Is there a problem?" he asked.

  "Last time I saw you, you and your family were running me out of town."

  His expression turned pained and Tess wondered if this was the Brad she'd known before. Even when he wasn't being a jerk during the good times of their relationship, he wasn't one to share feelings or apologize for his actions.

  "It was mostly my parents."

  Tess raised a brow.

  "Okay," he said holding his hands up in surrender. "I was a jerk."

  "That's one way to put it."

  "Listen. I could hear you with Jack and you can't hassle him about not telling you I was here."

  "Eavesdropping?"

  "It's my office. Well, it's his office when he's here, but since he's rarely here it's my office. Anyway, Jack gave me a break by hiring me. You weren't the only person my parents had blacklisted from every firm in the city."

  "You?" Tess found that hard to believe. While his parents didn't think much more of him than her parents thought of her, they at least pretended by insuring he had the best opportunities for everything to maintain the family image.

  "I don't know why you're surprised. They didn't like me when I was a top law lawyer about to marry another brilliant lawyer. Being gay turned their indifference to disdain. If it weren't for Jack, who knows where I'd be? He was so pissed at me about what happened to you. Personally, I think he was in love with you. I think he still may be, but he gave me a chance anyway."

  Tess pushed away the warm fuzzy feelings that were sprouting towards Jack and his actions to help Brad.

  "And I need to thank you too," Brad continued.

  "Me?"

  "If our parents had their way, we'd be married and you'd be putting up a front while I played both sides of the field. But you wouldn't have it. You suffered a great deal from my family and probably from your family too by walking away. But you ended up freeing us both."

  Tess didn't buy it. For one thing, free isn't what she felt when she walked away. She felt humiliated and beat down. The last three years were spent trying to put herself back together.

  He nodded. "I saw what you did and I decided to live by my own convictions as well. No pretending anymore. And Jack gave me the chance I needed when my parents disowned me. But I don't know if I'd be able to do it if I hadn't watched you do it first or if you'd taken the job."

  "What job?"

  "This job. My job. You were Jack's first choice. You could have stayed up here. Rubbed it in my parents' faces. Mine too."

  "He didn't call me about a job."

  "He did, but apparently you didn't return his calls."

  Tess had difficulty processing what Brad was saying. Jack wanted to hire her to run things when his mother became ill?

  Brad's body shook as if he had a chill. "Way too much feely feely. But it had to be said."

  Ah, there was the Brad she knew. She had to concede, it was a lot of touchy feely for him. He never said he was sorry, at least not in those words. But she knew that's what he meant. And he was expressing gratitude, which Tess would have never believed if she hadn't heard it from him directly.

  "I'm impressed," she said.

  He grinned, pleased that she would appreciate his effort. "If you tell anyone I did this, I'll deny it."

  "Your secret is safe," she said.

  The elevator reached the garage level. Brad walked with her to her car.

  "What is the deal with Jack and you anyway?" he asked as she unlocked the car.

  "I'm his lawyer." It was the truth and if her willpower held out it would be the only relationship they would have at least while he was a murder suspect.

  "It seems like more," Brad said.

  "I have to go."

  "I guess you're right. You and Jack…." His tone was doubtful making Tess wonder what he thought was wrong with her.

  "What about Jack and me?"

  "Well, I can see Jack falling for you, but I'm not sure he's your type."

  "How do you know my type?"

  "He believes in all the true love and romance stuff. But you and I know that's all a gimmick to sell flowers and jewelry."

  Tess felt a stab of pain in her heart. What he said was true. She'd long ago given up on the idea of love. She'd spent the last three years making sure she wouldn't succumb to the temptation of love. But to hear Brad say it was painful. Like she'd given up a portion of herself by denying the human need to be loved.

  "Our parents sure did a job on us, didn't they?" he asked.

  "Yes, they did."

  As Tess drove towards Key Bridge that would take her over the river to Rosslyn, Virginia where Jack lived, she pushed Brad's comments from her mind. She couldn't afford to entertain thoughts of love and ever after. She'd designed her life just the way she wanted it. She didn't need the angst and risk that came with allowing oneself to be vulnerable to another.

  ~~~~

  Jack's smug expression when he opened that door and found her standing there told her that he wasn't surprised she showed up. But just because she showed up, didn't mean that all was forgiven.

  "I'm here on business. I wanted to let you know what I found out regarding the information on Asa's computer."

  "Of course," he said, his features looking amused even when he was going for serious. He held the door open for her. "I hope you don't mind if I eat dinner while you're here. I'd offer to share, but you might construe it as something personal."

  She hadn't known he could be snarky. "Would you rather I came back another time."

  "It's up to you."

  She realized he was putting her through another one of those tests in which she had to make the next move.

  "I don't mind watching you eat."

  She followed him to the kitchen. She took a moment to check out the view of Georgetown from the living area window. Tess left home and gave up her trust without a second thought, but when she saw views like Jack's she sometimes wished she was a more successful lawyer.

  In the kitchen, Jack pulled items from his stainless steel refrigerator and set them on the marble countertops.

  "I forgot that you like to cook," she said taking a seat on the bar stool on the other side of the counter from where he worked.

  "I haven't mastered chocolate yet," he said. Opening the wine cooler, he pulled out a bottle. "How about a glass of wine?"

  "Are you trying to get me drunk?" She meant it as the cliché joke it was, but realized the minute the words were out of her mouth that it sounded like she was challenging the business versus personal boundary she'd established between them
.

  "No worries, Tess. When I get you into bed, you'll have all your wits about you."

  She hoped she succeeded at keeping her face impassive despite the rush of heat in her cheeks. "Half a glass. I have to drive back to Jefferson Tavern tonight."

  After he poured the glass and handed it to her, he put a skillet on the stove. "Do you like fish?"

  "You're going to feed me after all?"

  "As long as you don't see it as making a pass at you. This is a business meeting, after all." His face showed amusement, but the undertone of irritation couldn’t be missed.

  "Fish is fine." She pulled files from her briefcase.

  Jack's eyes narrowed in disapproval. “Do you ever really relax?”

  "Sure," Tess said. "But this is a business meeting."

  "I mean really relax. You know hang out in an old pair of jeans?"

  Tess took inventory of her dark skirt and jacket and felt self-conscious. “I was working today. To help you stay in charge of your company I might add.”

  “I know.” He took a sip of his wine.

  "And I just spent two days in my pajamas."

  "But you were sick then. I mean other times. Almost every time I see you, you look like a lawyer.”

  “Most times I see you, you needed a lawyer.”

  Jack laughed. “True. Do you own a pair of jeans?”

  “Yes, I own a pair of jeans,” she snapped.

  “Do you ever wear them?” His eyes had that amused look again.

  “No I don’t.” Tess felt the heat of annoyance. “Now, can we get to work?”

  “Why not.”

  “Why not what?”

  “Why don’t you wear jeans? Let your hair down?”

  “I don’t look good in jeans.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  Tess could feel his eyes on her as they took a thorough inventory of her body. Worse yet, the sizzle in her blood told her that her body liked it. “I don’t have the build that is accentuated by jeans.”

  “Are you one of those women who always worry about their weight and what they eat?”

  Geez! That was as bad as asking age or political affiliation. “I try to pay attention to what I eat.”

  “Like the ice cream the other night.”

  Okay, so now he knew she worried about her weight, but had no will power. “What's all this about?”