“Good. You might want to take notes at the party because you’re on the hook for mine.”
“Is it that serious between you and Rochelle?”
“Don’t tell anybody, but I stopped by a jewelry shop on the way home the other day. Man, I almost had an asthma attack at the prices. I felt like I was buying a piece of Africa when I looked at some of those solitaires.”
“That’s the price you pay for eternal happiness,” Trey sarcastically replied.
“Anyway, you got anything going on tomorrow night because the Hawks are playing at home.”
“Who are they playing?”
“Seattle.”
“What are the odds on Atlanta winning?” Trey asked.
“Pretty good. Devon’s betting they’ll be up by twenty points before the second quarter.”
He rubbed a hand across his head and sighed. It was going to be a good game. It had to be. Seattle had a superstar defense and for the first time in a decade, Atlanta had some key players, but Trey couldn’t go because he’d already made dinner reservations. Not that he wasn’t tempted, but the thought of sitting across from Sasha and watching her lips as she bit into a juicy steak did more for him then watching his home team.
“I can’t go.”
“What—better offer?”
“Something like that. It’s dinner.”
“Gotta be a women. You can’t fool me, Trey. I’ve known you for too long. What is she? A model, attorney, real estate agent? Don’t tell me she’s a singer because that’s just a cover for her real job as a stripper.”
“It’s a business dinner.”
“Yeah, right,” Jared sarcastically replied.
Jo came through the door and sat on the corner of Trey’s desk. “What’d she say?”
“What did who say?”
“Sasha Clayton.” Jo’s head bobbed up and down. “I was cleaning out the kennel so I missed her when she picked up Darwin. I know she said something about me.”
“No,” Trey replied curtly. “Come on, Trey. Don’t hate on a player. It’s all over the office that the two of you were in the examination room too long just to be discussing the dog’s health.”
“Who’s Sasha?” Jared yelled out over the speakerphone.
Trey refocused his attention on the phone. “A client.”
“What’s she say about me?” Jo asked again.
“I’m serious. She didn’t say anything about you.”
Jo narrowed his eyes at Trey. “Is that a lipstick stain I see on your coat?”
He followed the direction of the intern’s stare and sure enough, the twin half circles of bronze marked his shoulder. “Looks like it.”
“What happened?”
“We talked,” Trey said, losing patience. “She’s a liberal, soft-hearted, wildlife researcher, who happens to have inherited money, pets and a responsibility to help run our foundation. I also happen to think that she’d be perfect to help design a new primate habitat at the zoo.”
“That’s all well and good, but how did the lipstick get on your collar? She tripped?”
Trey reached over and pulled the collar of his white coat down. Sure enough, he saw to half-moon crescents of Sasha’s shade of burnt auburn lipstick. “She hugged me.”
“She hugged you?” Jo exclaimed.
His intern made it sound like he’d had sex with the woman in the examination room table. Trey’s eyes slid away. Damn sure he’d thought about it often enough.
“She was relieved to hear that Darwin was going to be fine,” Trey explained.
Jo blew air out of his nose and leaned back against the wall. “Yeah, right.”
“And I asked her out to dinner. Strictly to talk about a zoo project and—” finally, Trey put his hands behind his head, gave up the facade of disinterest and let his real feelings come out “—and to see if the sparks can catch fire.”
“I knew there had to be a woman involved,” Jared chimed in. “Trey, you’ve got one shot to score. Don’t slip up or you’ll be trapped in the friendship zone.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m going all out. The plan is to borrow Regan’s corvette and take her out to dinner. Leather seats, sports car, a nice dinner and a few glasses of wine.”
“Playa, playa. I’ll just have to give the Hawks tickets to someone else,” Jared said.
“Did I hear something about giving away Hawks tickets?”
Trey and Jo both turned to Emilio, who stared back, muscular, tanned and anxious in the florescent light from the hallway. “The girl I’m dating is a big Hawks fan.”
Jared’s sigh came through clearly over the speakerphone. “I’ll have someone deliver your half of the tickets this afternoon.”
“All right”
Trey looked at Emilio. “I’ll drop the tickets off at your office later.”
Emilio’s eyes bugged out. “Serious?” He took another step into Trey’s office. He looked around—it was now a full house. All he needed now was the rest of the staff to come in to have an impromptu meeting on his personal life.
“Courtside seats. I’m sure your date will be overjoyed.”
“Courtside? Ahh, man.” Jo hit himself on the head. Trey saw disappointment on his face.
“What about me?” Jo asked after taking a seat in the leather office chair.
“Emilio asked first.”
“I was going to ask,” Jo shot back.
“Too late for this game.” Trey paused and looked back and forth between the veterinarian and the intern. “Unless you two want to go together?”
“Nah.”
Trey decided that he would give Jo the tickets to the next game, but he’d wait until there wasn’t such a large audience. He was known for his generosity, only because he had so much to give. His financial situation wasn’t a secret and he enjoyed giving nice gifts to his staff.
“Next game, Jo.”
His normal beach-boy smile returned. “How about tickets to the Lakers and Hawks?”
“What?” Trey howled. Without a doubt, the game would be one of the best of the season. Anytime there was an East coast versus West coast match, the atmosphere intensified the rivalry on the court and in the stands.
“You took my future wife.” Jo tried to look injured, but to Trey he just looked constipated. “The least you can do is hand over a few tickets.”
“All right. But this stays between us.”
“Cool.”
“Great, now we’re all going to be here until midnight if we don’t get back to work,” Trey said. “Start with getting the urinary samples from the Manx that came into emergency last night.”
Jo stood up quickly and backed away from Trey’s desk. “You know I don’t like working with cats, especially big cats. Not to mention I’m more of a canine man. I never have problems with them because they recognize that I’m the boss.”
Trey shook his head and began to gather together some of the paperwork on his desk. “Said by a man who ran from a dog with a broken leg.”
“The dog in question was a hundred-pound German shepherd with a cast on his leg.”
Trey laughed just remembering the episode, and then turned back to his computer. “I’ll be waiting for those results.”
Chapter 8
It took fifteen minutes of rambling through the bedroom dressers, her suitcases and the closet before Sasha gave up and went in search of Jackson. With Darwin trotting beside her, she knocked on the door to his quarters and, receiving no answer, continued farther into the back of the house. From there she followed the tapping sound into a small workroom. Jackson sat bent over a wooden table with a small hammer.
She stood in the doorway and stared in awe. Model boats with double masts, yachts with double decks, rafts and canoes sat on shelves, which lined the workroom walls. When Sasha realized that the hammering had stopped, Darwin had already crossed the room and sat next to Jackson.
He turned on the stool so that he faced her, hands holding a small piece of wood that she guessed was a boat’s
rudder. “Good morning, Sasha.”
“Jackson, this is incredible.”
“Thank you. As your godfather would say, ‘A gentleman requires something to do with his hands.’ Please come in.”
She stepped into the room and went over to the nearest wall. Her eyes locked on the sails to a smaller craft that sat at eye level.
“This must have taken you years to complete.”
“That one only took a few months. This one will take me about a year, but it’ll be worth it considering that this will be my retirement boat.”
“You’re quitting?” Sasha’s heart gave out at the thought as her mind couldn’t fathom handling her uncle’s estate and living in the huge house alone.
Jackson stood, took off his working smock, and hung it up. Sasha had to hand it to the man. Not a wrinkle in sight. Sasha wasn’t proud to admit that she could count on one hand the number of times she’d picked up an iron.
“No, dear girl. I plan on acquiring the actual boat some day in the near future.”
“Not too near, okay?”
“Of course. What can I do for you this morning?”
Sasha’s body went limp with relief and, feeling something wet on her ankles, she bent down and gave Darwin a pat on his head. It was remarkable what a little TLC and a change of diet could accomplish. Shaking her head, she returned her attention to Jackson. “I know this is going to sound strange, but my some of my clothes are missing. I’ve checked my suitcases, the hampers and the laundry room. I just can’t find them.”
He nodded as though she’d spoken about something as mundane as the weather. For a moment, Sasha wondered if he would have done the same thing if she’d said aliens were landing in the backyard. “I was wondering when you’d notice.”
“Well, I’m dangerously low on underwear and I thought I’d do laundry. Has the housekeeper taken them to the drycleaners?”
The butler smiled as he politely gestured for her to precede him into the hallway. “Not exactly. The housekeeper did take your clothing at my request.”
Sasha’s brow furrowed at the oddness of his response. After aiming a quizzical glance in his direction, she followed Jackson into the study. “Will I be getting them back anytime soon?” she asked jokingly.
“No. I’ve had the bulk of your clothes donated to a local shelter.”
Her mouth fell open. “What? You…what?”
“They were delivered to the women’s shelter yesterday afternoon.”
“Excuse me.”
“It’s time that you realized that this isn’t temporary, Sasha, dear. You are the heir to Camden’s fortune and you will be a representative for his foundation. It’s past the time for you to accept your inheritance.”
She didn’t say anything for several seconds as her mother’s voice echoed in her head. Think before you speak, butterfly. On one level, she understood what Jackson was doing. She didn’t like him for it, but she understood. Still, her parents didn’t call her stubborn for nothing. “I want my clothes back,” she said at last.
“You can’t have them back.”
She crossed her arms and glared as he smiled back at her. “You had no right to give them away. They were perfectly decent clothes.”
“Only for tramping around in some third world country or digging in the garden.” He picked up a letter-size envelope from the desk. “This contains the resumes of highly recommended wardrobe consultants in New York, Atlanta, Paris, Los Angeles and London. As soon as you let me know which of them is agreeable, I will make an arrangement on your behalf. You’ll also find a cheque register, ATM and American Express Platinum cards. If you need others, the bankers would be more than happy to oblige.”
Sasha shook her head. Bankers. Not just one but a whole team had paid her a visit yesterday. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d stepped into a bank and done something other than exchange currency. “This is crazy. Women like me just don’t wake up one morning and turn into jet-setting money spenders. I was happy without all this, Jackson. I was happy with my beat-up khakis, worn-out jeans, T-shirts and wool sweaters.”
He smiled and lightly patted her shoulder. “Then you, dear girl, will be positively ecstatic with your new clothing, as well.”
“Are you not listening to me?”
“I hear you perfectly. My eyesight has weakened with age and I do have a tendency to feel the cold more than I used to in my younger years, but my hearing has not diminished according to my physician.”
“You could have just mentioned that I might want to pick up some clothes.”
“I have. In fact, not only have I mentioned it to you for the last week, I also took the liberty of placing catalogs on your bedside table.”
Her shoulders slumped and she looked down. Arguing with him would only give her a headache. Sasha looked down at her shoes and another thought popped into her head.
“Please tell me that you didn’t give away my shoes?”
“No.”
Sasha moved and sank into the chair with relief. Her hiking boots were the closest things she could come to a lucky charm. They’d helped her climb trees to escape hyena, run from a swarm of angry bees, swim across swollen African rivers and kept her toes from frostbite on more than one occasion. She could replace the clothing, but her feet, all of her blisters, calluses and achy toes, knew every centimeter of those boots.
“No, I’m afraid those were beyond salvageable. I put them in the trash.”
She bolted out of the chair. “When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Has the garbage been picked up?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Lord,” she whispered. Without a backward glance, Sasha sprinted out of the study and headed toward the garage.
Twenty minutes later, she returned to the study and held up her prize boots. It had only taken Sasha a minute to open the garbage bin and locate them, but instead of marching back into the house and blowing up at Jackson, she calmly located the bathroom off the kitchen, washed her hands and splashed water on her face.
Jackson gave her a strange look. “You actually removed those out of the trash bin?”
She smiled. “They were right on top.”
His gaze zoomed in on the boots she held in her hand. Sasha barely squelched the urge to place them behind her back. “I’m keeping the boots.”
“I see.”
“And I can pick out my own clothes.”
“Of course, you are a woman. Nevertheless, a second opinion never hurts. Especially if one has a dinner invitation from a certain veterinarian.”
Trey. She hadn’t forgotten about the event and forgotten that she’d told Jackson. Somehow between meetings and feedings, she’d pushed it to the furthest reaches of her mind. “That’s tomorrow night. Do I have enough time?”
“I’ll schedule an afternoon appointment and have lunch catered.”
The next evening after a couple of wardrobe changes and a half hour of viewing herself in the closet’s floor-length mirror, Sasha hung up the cashmere trousers and blouse she’d planned to wear and slipped on a V-neck, knit dress. As bad as she hated to admit it, the luxury of being able to shop without looking at price tags or worrying about going over her budget had felt extremely good. With the attentive presence of the wardrobe consultant Jackson hired, Sasha had ended up with a trunk full of clothing, shoes and accessories. While looking into the mirror, she slid her hand down the side and smiled. “Not too bad, Sasha, girl.”
She turned and walked into the bathroom. As she began to pull out makeup brushes, compacts and lipsticks from her newly purchased cosmetics bag, she thought about her upcoming dinner with Trey Blackfox.
There was something about his deep voice and the calm way that he spoke that lingered in her waking thoughts and appealed to her soul. Somehow, Trey had managed to put her at ease every time they met. He was funny, down to earth and passionate about his work. She yearned to know more about him. Until now, she’d only felt that way about her work. T
he only difference was, she wanted to get close to Trey instead of studying him from afar.
At six o’clock, she got behind the wheel of her godfather’s silver BMW sedan and drove toward downtown Atlanta. Luckily, traffic had begun to die down so she made her way to Peachtree Street and pulled the car into the drive. The valet nodded appreciatively at both Sasha and the car. The look from a man barely over the legal drinking age boosted her confidence enough to bring a smile to her heart-shaped lips. Stepping through the doors, Sasha swallowed a bout of nervousness. Steady, she told herself. Just dinner with a new friend, not a date. This will just be a walk in the park. When I see him, she thought, I’ll probably wonder why I spent the past two hours getting ready.
As soon as she passed through the entrance, Sasha was brought to a stop. She’d dined in restaurants around the world, but the entrance room’s grand rotunda and ascending marble staircase was something out of a classic movie.
“Good evening, Ms. Clayton,” an unknown voice said. Sasha shook her head and turned her attention to the suit-clad host.
“How did you know my name?”
He smiled. “Dr. Blackfox gave a very good description of you.”
Sasha couldn’t help but return his smile. “Did he?”
“In essence,” he replied and then winked an eye. “You’re much prettier, though. Now if you would allow me to escort you to your date?”
Sasha was glad to have someone to follow as she walked into the main room. The restaurant was elegantly designed with lush fabrics, soft leathers, wooden murals and marble columns. Italian chandeliers hung from the dining room’s gilt-accented ceiling. Although she’d been pulled into the atmosphere, Sasha immediately spotted Trey sitting at the bar sipping a drink.
Damn, she silently cursed. Sasha felt a bit awkward as heads turned in her direction until Trey stood and walked her way. The relaxed confidence he seemed to exude was more seductively powerful than any mythical aphrodisiac she’d come across in her travels.
As she walked toward him, Sasha couldn’t seem to focus on anything else and although soft music played in the background, all she could hear was the beating of her heart.
He stopped and the appreciative smile on his face caused a swarm of butterflies to erupt in her stomach. Before she could voice an appropriate greeting, he took her hand and brought it to his lips in a playful display of affection and immediately she felt the tug of sexual attraction. It made her toes curl in the tight space of the one-size-too-small shoes on her feet. She took a deep breath and the sensation of his lips touching the back side of her hand made her head spin. Although the gesture was done in jest, it left her feeling like Cinderella.
A Love to Remember Page 9