Tempting the Artist

by Sharon C. Cooper

  “Attorney Rouse, well Attorney Gary Rouse, told me that you and he would be overseeing my case. He said you’re one of the best lawyers here.”

  “Did he now?” Luke said tightly, the simmering anger in his gut was turning into a slow boil. “Unfortunately, Mr. Jones you have me at a disadvantage. I just received your information and only had a minute to bring myself up to speed, and so that you know, I won’t be overseeing your case.”

  “But Attorney—”

  “I’m only filling in with this meeting since it was too late for our firm to cancel.”

  Jones didn’t seem too pleased at the turn of events, but Luke didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, the lawsuit was a joke and Gary was dumber than Luke thought if he believed this would go anywhere.

  Luke asked Leroy a series of questions about his construction business. Like how long he’d been in business. How many jobs had he lost to the Jenkins family? Why did he decide to go after the Jenkins family now?”

  “I think they have some of these businesses in their pockets or something. There’s no way they could keep beating me out of these jobs. They’re underbidding and squeezing me out at every turn.” Leroy’s southern twang shined through.

  Luke leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers. “Mr. Jones, what made you think you had enough of a case to go after Jenkins & Sons?”

  “I’d been thinking about it for a while. A friend of mine knows Attorney Rouse. He told him about my situation and Attorney Rouse called me.”

  Now this got Luke’s attention. “So the lawsuit was Attorney Rouse’s idea?”

  Leroy hesitated. “Well, I guess, but I’d been thinking about it anyway. He said I definitely had a case.” Leroy grinned, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll finally be able to get back some of my money those thievin’ Jenkins stole from me.”

  Luke stared at the older man who appeared to be mixed-race. He clearly had been running his hands through his brownish hair, the short strands sticking up and going in different directions. And his eyes. Luke had never met anyone with eyes that were such an unusual shade of blue with specks of gray. He also noticed Leroy couldn’t hold his gaze for more than a few seconds before diverting his eyes.

  Closing the file, Luke asked, “Did Attorney Rouse mention to you that the assault charges brought up against you a couple of years ago when you attacked one of the Jenkins’ would—”

  “Now wait a minute.” Leroy’s smug grin quickly dropped from his face. “I didn’t attack her. It … it was a misunderstanding.”

  “Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Luke spat out, unable to hold the words back. It took every bit of control he had not to say more. Before Leroy could respond, Luke stood. “All right, we’d better get going. I don’t think it’ll take long. This is just a preliminary meeting. I’m sure Attorney Rouse will be in touch with you regarding next steps. In the meantime, let’s meet with the Jenkins’ and let them know what you want.”

  Moments later, Luke and Leroy sat on one side of the conference table waiting for the Jenkins’ to arrive. Luke remembered that Christina and Peyton had argued about her attending the meeting, and now he hoped Christina didn’t show.

  The conference room door swung open, and Luke stood as Ben Sr. walked in first. Steven Jenkins and Peyton followed. Ben Sr. and Steven greeted him with a friendly handshake, keeping the situation professional and not making it known that they knew Luke. Peyton was a different story. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips thinned with a cynical twist. She clearly wasn’t pleased to see him. She took the seat on her grandfather’s left, directly across from Luke.

  Once everyone was seated, Luke started the meeting. “I’m glad you all were able to meet with us. Before we start, I want to inform you that I am not one of the lawyers on this case. Mr. Jones’ lawyer had an emergency, and it was too late to contact all of you to postpone the meeting.”

  Christina’s grandfather and uncle’s expression remained friendly, and the tension lines on Peyton’s forehead disappeared. Luke pulled a settlement-negotiating document from the file that Gary or someone on his team drew up with information about what Leroy was requesting.

  “I’m not sure if you have received a copy of this,” Luke said, sliding the document across the table to Ben, “but just in case you haven’t.”

  Ben glanced at the information as he twirled an ink pen between his fingers. “We did get this information. Thanks for checking.” He set the pen down. “Attorney Hayden, since this isn’t your case, we’d prefer postponing until Attorney Rouse is—”

  The door burst open, and Christina walked in.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late, but …” She froze.

  Damn. Luke stood.

  “How could you?” she snarled through gritted teeth, her eyes blazing. “I can’t—”

  “Christina.” Her grandfather’s warning tone caused her to clamp her mouth shut. Instead of saying more, she pulled the door open, slamming it against the wall, and stormed out of the room.

  Peyton stood to go after her.

  “Let me.” Luke had Leroy follow him out of the conference room and Luke left him with Robin. Right now, he didn’t care what the hell happened to Leroy or his lawsuit. All he wanted to do was get to Christina.

  He caught up with her just as she passed his office and reached for her arm, but she snatched it away. “Christina, give me a chance to explain. Let’s talk in my office.” His words sounded calm, but fear gripped him like a noose around his neck. I can’t lose her.

  She stepped out of his reach but walked into the office.

  The moment the door closed, she whirled on him. “I can’t believe you acted as if you didn’t know Leroy! Then you lied to me. You pretended not to know about the meeting. And not only are you in the meeting, but you’re representing that asshole! How could you?”

  “If you’ll let me explain, you’ll understand th—”

  “No! I’ll tell you what I understand. My family welcomed you, loved on you and pretty much adopted you, and this is how you thank them?”

  “Christina—”

  “My family would never betray you the way you’re doing them. You have no idea how we have worked our asses off to build an empire that could withstand the test of time and be a legacy. Then some jerk comes along trying to sue for God knows what and you’re helping him destroy us!”

  “CJ, you’re acting as if I’m attacking you and your family personally. This is a business situation that yo—”

  “No!” She pointed at him, her eyes held so much anger, Luke knew she wouldn’t be able to hear anything he had to say. “You made it personal when you went after my family!”

  “Christina.” He reached for her again but stopped when she backed away.

  “I’m done. We’re done!” She stormed out of the office.

  Rubbing his hands down his face, he growled behind his palms. This day just keeps getting worse.

  There was no sense in going after her. There was nothing he could say that she would hear, but there was something he could do. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as a plan that could get him disbarred slowly came together in his mind.

  He set Leroy’s file on his desk and pulled out his cell phone.

  “What’s up, man? Didn’t I just see you?” Michael asked by way of greeting.

  Luke fingered the file in front of him. “I need your help with something … and I need it like yesterday.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Christina paced the length of Peyton’s office like a caged animal. She so wanted to believe Luke didn’t know about the meeting. But I know what I saw. How could he go after her family?

  CJ, if you give me a chance to explain.

  His words volleyed around in her head. She had been too angry and shocked to hear anything he had to say. She couldn’t even remember how she arrived back at work.

  The door to the office swung open, and Peyton stopped midstride upon seeing Christina, but recovered quickly.

  �
�You put on quite the little show this morning.” Peyton set her large purse that doubled as a laptop bag into the chair next to her desk. Shrugging out of her short black suit jacket, she draped it over the back of the same chair before she sat behind her desk. “I’m not even sure what to say to you.”

  “I’m sorry,” Christina said. “I should have listened to you about Luke and I should have stayed at work instead of barging into the meeting. I thought I could trust him, PJ. I can’t believe he would represent Leroy, especially knowing how our family feels about the guy.”

  Peyton’s brows drew together, and she leaned forward in her seat. “What are you talking about? Luke isn’t the lawyer on the case. Didn’t he tell you that when he went after you?”

  Dread washed over Christina like a tsunami crashing onto the shore, wiping everything out in its wake. She wasn’t sure whether to be happy at finding out that Luke wasn’t representing Leroy or whether to cry. Oh my God. What have I done?

  Christina dropped down in the chair. “What do you mean?” she croaked, almost afraid to receive the answer to her question.

  “If you had stuck around or given Luke a chance to explain, you would have known his boss asked him to fill in for another lawyer, Gary somebody, at the last minute. From what I understand, Luke had just arrived back in town. He didn’t even know what the case was about, or who the parties were until minutes before he walked into that meeting room.”

  A sick feeling swirled inside Christina’s gut. How could she have thought the worst of him? She claimed to love him. How could she not listen to him when he tried to explain?

  “I just …” Christina couldn’t get her words together. “When I saw him sitting at the table, I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked. You guys must have been surprised to see him too.”

  “You have no idea. My first reaction was similar to yours, but Grampa gave me that look. You know the one. The one that says sit down and be quiet.”

  “Yeah, I know the look. I’ve received it plenty of times,” Christina said absently, still playing the scene around in her mind. She groaned and put her head in her hands. “That’s why Grampa hushed me. He was trying to tell me that things weren’t as they seemed.”

  “I’m glad I kept my mouth closed,” Peyton said. “Those first few minutes were awkward, but when Luke explained why he was there. I calmed down. I actually felt bad for him. After you had left, I got the impression Luke had been blindsided by the meeting. When he came back into the conference room after dealing with you, the tension bouncing off of him was fierce.”

  Christina thought of Gary. If that guy was up to no good, God help him when Luke got his hands on him. Then again, that scared Christina even more. Luke was probably already angry with having to fill in for Gary, and she hadn’t helped matters by overreacting and verbally attacking him.

  “What am I going to do? He probably hates me,” Christina said behind her hands.

  She recalled every mean thing she had said to him, and she would never forget the hurt in his eyes. “He’s never going to forgive me.”

  Peyton stood and walked over to the single window in her office and opened the blinds.

  “CJ, I know I’ve given you a hard time about Luke,” she said, her back to Christina. “But I was wrong. I’ve been wrong about so many things lately. I’m not sure where to start with my apologies.” She finally turned.

  Christina stood next to the desk, toying with the pencil holder that was made to look like an electrical box. Their grandfather had given the custom piece to Peyton after she finished her electrician apprenticeship.

  “You don’t have to apologize,” Christina said. “I have said some things to you that I’m not proud of either.”

  “You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

  “Well … the things I said behind your back might not have been true.” Her lips quirked trying to hide a smile.

  Peyton frowned, but Christina didn’t miss the humor in her eyes. “Oh. I’m sure I don’t want to know what you said behind my back.” She turned fully to Christina. “I really am sorry about everything. I hate when we fight. As for Luke, he seemed pretty upset this morning. Actually, I don’t know if upset is the right word. I think he was more pissed than anything, and I don’t think it had anything to do with you. At least not at first. Even sitting in the meeting, he seemed on edge.”

  Peyton filled Christina in on the brief meeting and the tension in the room. Luke had informed them that Gary was the lawyer for the case and would contact them soon.

  Christina didn’t know how or what she would say to make things right with Luke. But she had to try. She couldn’t lose him again.

  *

  Two days later, Christina knocked on her grandfather’s partially opened office door.

  “Can I come in?”

  The elder Jenkins looked up from the book he was reading, his glasses perched on the tip of his nose. She wondered how he could stand to wear those glasses like that when it looked so uncomfortable.

  “Of course, sweetheart. Come on in.” He set the book to the side, placing his glasses on top.

  Christina walked farther into the office. The only light in the room was that of the floor lamp next to her grandfather’s favorite chair, which he occupied. Shaking out of her lightweight jacket, she laid it on the sofa along with her bag, before taking a seat.

  Now that she had her grandfather’s attention, words failed her.

  “How’s the painting going?” Her grandfather asked, filling the silence.

  Thankful for the momentary distraction, Christina was reminded of what Luke had found out while in New York. She couldn’t believe Valerie would betray her and for what? To sell more paintings? Christina still wasn’t buying the woman’s reasons, and it didn’t matter. They were no longer working together.

  “The paintings are going well,” she finally answered. “I’m slowing things down a little since I won’t be doing a show in a while.”

  “And what about Luke?”

  Christina hesitated. “I think I really blew it this time, Grampa.” She kicked off her tennis shoes and tucked her feet underneath her butt. “I don’t know if he’ll ever forgive me for jumping to conclusions and for not giving him a chance to explain.”

  “You’re young. I can’t begin to tell you about all the misunderstandings your grandmother, and I had early in our relationship. You girls took those fiery tempers after Katherine. She used to give me hell.” He laughed.

  Christina smiled. Her grandmother had shared plenty of stories and insisted that the majority of their disagreements were CJ’s grandfather’s fault. Katherine Jenkins still didn’t play, but what Christina loved most about them is that no matter how mad they might get at each other, they never went to bed angry. That’s what she wanted. That’s what she wanted with Luke.

  “I don’t know what to do about Luke.”

  Sadness swelled in her heart. If she weren’t such a chicken, she would have called him that same day and apologized to him. Even if he didn’t want anything else to do with her, she at least owed him that much. Until recently, her temper rarely reared its wicked head. It usually took a lot to get her angry and within days, she had spat hateful words at both Peyton and Luke, two people she loved dearly.

  “I can’t believe how I behaved, especially since I know Luke. He has more integrity in his pinky finger than most people have in their whole body. Grampa I didn’t give him a chance to explain. All I could think about was that he was going up against our family.”

  “I don’t know what it is with you girls. You get these great guys and then you find a way to push them away. I’m starting to see a pattern. First Toni, then Jada and now you.”

  Christina couldn’t speak for her cousins, but she didn’t intentionally push Luke away. She guessed it didn’t matter though. Intentionally or unintentionally, she had still screwed up the best thing that had ever happened to her.

  “I blame myself for some of this,” her grandfather said. />
  “Why? You didn’t do anything.”

  “I’m the one who instilled in all of you, from an early age, the importance of putting family first, but I think I need to add more to that speech now.”

  Christina’s shoulders sagged knowing one of her grandfather’s speeches could take hours, but then again, she was desperate. He had never steered her wrong, and she hoped he could say something that would help her situation.

  “Once you commit your life to a man, a good man, then he should be your top priority. Hopefully you’ll never have to choose your mate over your family or vice versa, but if ever you are in that position, you should side with your mate.”

  “What if he’s wrong? I’m not saying that’s the case here, but I’m sure when I do get married, my husband is not going to always be right.”

  “Probably not, but you’ll work together to get the right answer. Christina, don’t risk losing Luke out of some loyalty to the family. Besides, I think Luke might have showed some loyalty to the Jenkins family.”

  Christina tilted her head. “How so?”

  “I talked with your uncle Ben earlier regarding this mess with Leroy and Ben received some interesting information. Well good news for us, but not for Leroy.”

  “What news?”

  “Though your uncle never thought Leroy had a case, someone sent Ben some anonymous information that could have put Leroy away for years if Ben had a chance to use it. But he didn’t have a chance. Leroy was picked up on bribery charges this afternoon.”

  “What? How?”

  “From what I understand, the Department of Investigation and the District Attorney’s office has been investigating scheming contractors who have been bribing city inspectors. According to Ben, some of the inspectors have been rushing through projects and signing off on permits without the work being properly done.” Her grandfather leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. “Yesterday, they received photos of Leroy offering a bribe and a signed statement from a city inspector confirming this.”