by Tia Wylder
I smiled. “Oh,” I said. “That’s nice.”
Jack extricated himself. “Barnes is a genius,” he said. “Aren’t you?”
Barnes smiled modestly. “That’s what you keep saying, at least.”
I waited awkwardly for their bro-fest to end.
“So, Adele doesn’t have a lot of time,” Jack said. I blinked at him – had he really sensed my irritation? “We should get down to business.”
Barnes nodded. The frat-boy persona vanished, and I was left with a very professional-looking lawyer. He cleared his throat and sat down in a leather executive chair. “So, Jack, I looked into Franchot. His record is all over the place – it’s a total mess.”
I sighed. “Well, shouldn’t that make it easier to fuck him?”
Barnes grinned. “Jack, I like this one,” he said. “She’s feisty.”
For a moment, I thought I saw Jack blushing.
“She is,” Jack agreed. He cleared his throat. “What did you find?”
I sat down next to Barnes and peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a plethora of documents about Franchot. Pictures and legal documents with words blacked out and even a few press releases.
“Franchot tried to build a resort in the Pyrenees a few years back,” Barnes began. He took out a pair of rimless glasses and put them on. “Look, see?” He passed me a few pieces of paper. “These are the permits.”
I glanced down. My French wasn’t very good – I hadn’t taken it since high school – but I recognized a few words.
“I see,” I said. “What happened?”
“Well, the project halted a few months after construction began,” Barnes continued. “Looks like Franchot was planning a big development – like a luxury resort, with a shopping mall and lots of restaurants. A hotel and little bungalows.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s…um, a lot.”
Barnes nodded. “It is,” he said. He passed me another piece of paper – this was a photocopy of a press release from a French newspaper. “And there was an accident. Twenty men were killed when they were working on the main lodge building.”
“You’re kidding me,” I said slowly. “That’s terrible!”
Barnes nodded. He pointed down at the headline in French. “Says here it was one of the worst construction-related incidents to have ever taken place. A bunch of families tried to sue Franchot afterward.”
I frowned. “And what happened?”
Barnes made a face. “It doesn’t look like they got their money,” he said. “Franchot declared bankruptcy two weeks after the accident, and then he vanished off the radar for a few years. In fact, this project in Nassau is his next project.”
I covered my mouth to hide my gasp of horror. “But…but that’s horrible! What if the same thing happens?”
“He probably used shoddy labor,” Jack interjected. “Franchot is known for cheaping out.”
I pressed my lips together into a thin line. “We have to find out if he was responsible for the accident,” I said. “If we can pin those twenty deaths on him, we’ll be able to put him out of business forever!”
Jack nodded. “That’s a good strategy,” he said. “Adele, I think we should get back to Nassau as soon as possible. I can have Rico fly us down tomorrow.”
I blinked. “Why?”
Jack sighed in exasperation. “Because I have a feeling that Franchot is already down there, building. Remember the call he gave you? I don’t think he’d have done that unless he was already planning his next monstrosity.”
“Jesus,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t believe he would move that fast.”
Barnes raised an eyebrow at me. “Adele, men like Franchot, are dangerous. They wait for no one – and they spare no expense when it comes to furthering their own agenda.”
“Yeah,” I muttered under my breath. “Unless that expense is hiring skilled labor.”
Barnes chuckled. “Right,” he said. “I’m going to have a team of private investigators looks into the Pyrenees accident – maybe fly a few guys out there and see if they can’t talk with the victims’ families. As soon as we have evidence to stop Franchot, we should go to bat.”
I nodded. I was impressed with Barnes – like Jack, he was movie-star handsome with a big brain behind his sexy face. I couldn’t believe that men like Barnes and Jack actually existed in real life.
“So, Adele, Nassau?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “I’ll book our rooms at the Hotel St. Charles.”
A part of me was stung that he said rooms instead of a room. Did he want me, or what?
Or was he just being respectful?
“That sounds good,” I said. “I’ll be ready tomorrow.”
Jack grinned. “Excellent,” he said. “I have some things to discuss with Barnes – you want me to get Nick to give you a ride back to campus?”
I flushed. “No, thanks,” I said. “I can just take the subway.”
But after I left the Trident Gold offices, I didn’t go back to school. I went home instead and packed for Nassau. This time, I didn’t need Lisa’s help – I tossed my bikini in my suitcase without even thinking about it.
In the morning, Jack sent Nick to pick me up. I was surprised to see that Jack wasn’t in the backseat.
“Mr. Jack is at the airstrip, miss,” Nick said in a polite tone as he shut the door behind me. “He wanted me to give you this.” Nick passed me a brown paper bag.
I grinned as the smell of fried eggs and cheese wafted up at me. Ripping open the bag, I saw that Nick had ordered me an egg sandwich on an English muffin – my favorite. How does he know that? I thought as I stared down at the delicious-looking confection in my hands.
“Miss?”
“Yeah?” I glanced up at Nick, hoping that I wasn’t drooling over the sandwich.
“Does this suit you?”
I grinned. “Oh, yeah,” I said. “Thank you, Nick.”
Nick shut the door to the backseat behind me, and soon, we were on our way to meet Jack. I devoured my breakfast in about thirty seconds – it was heavenly, and I wondered where Jack had gotten it – and then stared out the window. It had snowed again overnight, but I knew from forecasts that the weather in Nassau would be perfect. Tropical and sunny and hot – the perfect weather for such an exotic locale.
At the airstrip, Nick took my bags, and I met Jack by the plane. He grinned when he saw me.
“I can’t wait to get out of the cold,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself and shivering. “Sometimes I wonder why the hell I moved to Boston in the first place.”
Jack laughed as we boarded the small plane. “Because it’s fabulous,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah,” I replied. “Half the time.”
Jack cocked his head to the side and gave me an odd look. “I don’t mind the winter,” he said, settling down into a large leather seat and buckling his seatbelt.
“Really?” I sat down next to him. “I hate the winter. I hate climate change, too, but I wish I could be warm for the rest of my life.”
Jack laughed. “That doesn’t sound too bad,” he agreed. “But I like it. I like the seasons. And I like the city. New York is too snobby and touristy. The Bay Area is full of tech brats that make me feel like an old man. And Miami is amazing, but there’s no way I could live there year-round.”
I frowned. Somehow, Jack’s statement was surprising. I’d expected him to be more cavalier about the whole thing – wasn’t every city perfect when you happened to be a billionaire?
Jack laughed. “Don’t look so surprised.” He leaned back in his seat and yawned.
I shrugged. “I just wasn’t expecting it,” I said. I yawned. “I grew up in the Midwest, and all I can say is that I’d never move back there.”
“Why not?”
“Too conservative,” I said, making a face. “My whole family doesn’t believe in climate change…and they’re farmers! It’s like, they’re purposefully ignorant or something.”
Jack gave me a sym
pathetic smile. “Maybe they’re just set in their ways,” he said, shaking his head. “I practically never saw my family growing up. My nanny was closer to me than my mother.”
“Your nanny?” I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows. Every time Jack told me something new about himself, I couldn’t believe it – his wealth was astonishing.
Jack nodded. “Yeah. Her name was Janet. I called her Jan-Jan…for some reason I couldn’t pronounce ‘t’ as a kid.”
I smiled, thinking of an adorable baby Jack. “That sounds cute,” I admitted.
“Yeah,” Jack said. He closed his eyes, and a dreamy expression came over his face. “She was sweet. She always cooked my favorite foods when she knew I was upset – scrambled eggs with ketchup.”
“Ew!”
Jack laughed. “Hey, no teasing,” he said. “I was four years old, I wasn’t exactly a gourmand yet.”
“I can’t even remember eating when I was a kid,” I said. “All I remember is playing outside.”
“So, you’ve always loved the environment, huh?”
The plane began taxiing towards the runway, and I gripped the arms. “Yeah,” I said. “I guess I have. I used to bring things inside – you know, leaves and sticks and stuff. It drove my mom crazy, but she put up with it for long enough. That ended when I brought home a frog, though. She flipped out.”
Jack burst out laughing. “That’s too much,” he said. “You were a real tomboy, huh?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What? Is that a bad thing?”
Jack gave me a devilish grin that set my heart racing. “Not at all,” he said. “It’s very sexy.”
I flushed hotly.
“I didn’t spend much time outside,” Jack said. He glanced out the window and pulled down the shade. “I was too busy trying to learn how to code on my computer. My parents gave it to me for my fifth birthday – or, they had Janet give it to me. They weren’t there.”
I blinked. “Your parents…missed your fifth birthday? Was there some kind of emergency?”
“Does a charity gala count as an emergency?” Jack asked drily. “No. Their logic was, well, he’s only a kid – he won’t remember it, anyway.”
“That’s horrible,” I said slowly. I couldn’t imagine how it must have felt to have parents like that, and suddenly I felt so much pity for Jack.
Jack shrugged. “I got used to it. They weren’t around the next year, either,” he added.
“That’s so sad,” I said softly. I reached out and touched Jack’s hand.
Jack shrugged. “I guess,” he said. “That’s why I love building resorts, you know?”
I frowned. “I…I don’t see the link.”
Jack laughed. “It’s because families go there,” he said. “On vacation. Don’t you love seeing families have fun?”
I bit my lip and stared at Jack for a long moment. It hadn’t ever occurred to me that there was a sentimental reason behind his love of resorts – I’d merely assumed that he’d only done it for the money. But looking at Jack now, I could tell that he truly meant what he was saying. There was a sparkle in his eyes that I’d never seen before, and for a moment, he looked younger – almost innocent.
“Yeah,” I said after a long pause. “I do that.”
Chapter Eight
Jack
When Adele and I got to the Hotel St. Charles, I checked us in. I’d booked two rooms. As much as I’d only wanted to book one, I had a feeling Adele would go nuclear. So, instead, I’d gotten myself the penthouse suite and her a smaller room on the floor below. Maybe she’ll like the penthouse so much she won’t even go to her room, I thought with a smirk as I handed her the keys.
“What are you doing?” Adele frowned. “Don’t you want to get to work?” She rummaged in her bag and came up with a pair of sunglasses and a bottle of sunscreen. “I thought we could maybe take a walk through the woods and find Franchot’s development.” She gave me a sneaky smile. “I even brought a camera.”
“Smart girl,” I said. I checked my watch. “I have a meeting with my shareholders, so why don’t you relax today?” I glanced outside. “It’s beautiful – you should go to the beach.”
Adele smiled. “I could bring my laptop and get some work done,” she said. “That dissertation isn’t going to write itself.”
I grinned. I’d never met a woman like Adele – she was as much of a workaholic as me!
“You should really take the time to relax,” I told her. “Trust me – Franchot isn’t going anywhere.”
Adele gave me a rueful smile. “Except prison,” she muttered under her breath as she walked past me toward the bank of elevators. I couldn’t help turning around and staring at her ass. Even though she was only wearing a pair of faded jeans, she looked fantastic.
I went upstairs and took a quick shower, then called Chris and put him on speakerphone.
“What? You’re not coming into the office today?” Chris called. “We have good news, Jack!”
“Nah, I’m in Nassau,” I said. “I decided to come down and start planning.”
Chris laughed. “Well, then you’re going to be very happy when I tell you that your idea – bungalows and all – was approved by the board. We’ve got eighty million to play with, and that’s just the preliminary cash!”
I flopped down on the bed and grinned. “That’s excellent news!”
“Yes, I rather thought you’d be pleased,” Chris replied. “So, how is Nassau?”
I looked out the window and pictured it: my own luxury development, right on the water, big and beautiful enough to put the Hotel St. Charles – and Franchot – out of business before they could say ‘boo.’
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “And I have a great feeling about this. Thanks for going to bat for me.”
“Not a problem,” Chris replied. “When you get back, we should all sit down and have some face time – there are a lot of specifics we’ll want to go over. Nassau has a lot of restrictions when it comes to building.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, not even thinking about Chris’s words. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up, feeling ridiculously excited. In the old days, I would’ve gone down to the hotel bar and tried to find the first available girl. But oddly, right now, that wasn’t appealing. All I wanted to do was find Adele and tell her about my big victory.
Adele wasn’t in her room. Frowning, I stood there, feeling like an idiot. Then I looked outside at the beach and remembered my suggestion. I grinned as I went back to my room, changed into my trunks, and walked out to the beach.
Adele was sitting in a lounge chair, under a giant umbrella. She didn’t have her laptop, but there was a book resting in her lap.
“Hey,” I said as I flopped down in the sand next to her. “What’s going on?”
Adele looked surprised to see me. Her freckles had already started to deepen despite the large umbrella overhead, and she looked amazing in a modest bikini. Her body was shining in the sun from the sunscreen, and her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. She looked more like a beach bunny than a serious Ph.D. student, but I wasn’t complaining. The bikini made her tits look excellent, and suddenly all I could think about was ripping her top off and sucking on her hard nipples until she screamed with pleasure.
“I’m reading,” Adele said. She pointed to the book. It was a non-fiction book about an environmental activist, and I rolled my eyes.
“You need to take a vacation,” I informed her. “Like, right now.”
“I’m sitting on a beach, aren’t I?” Adele gave me a wry smile. “I’m not sure what else I could do.”
I laughed. “I have good news,” I said, leaning in close.
Adele grinned. “You already found something on Franchot? I knew I shouldn’t have come to the beach!” She started to get up and put her book away.
“No,” I said, reclining back in the sand and grinning. “My development was approved. Can you believe it?”
Adele stared a
t me. “Are you serious right now?”
I narrowed my eyes and frowned. “Well, yeah,” I said. “My shareholders just called me and told me the news.”
“I can’t believe you,” Adele said hotly. She flopped back into her chair and glared at me.
“What? What the hell did I do,” I asked sharply. “Why are you so pissed?”
“Because, Jack,” Adele snapped. “We are here to defeat Franchot, not build some stupid development! How can you focus on Franchot when you’re going to be distracted by your own work?!” Her face was red, and her lips were pressed together into a thin, angry line. “I can’t believe you're so selfish!”