by Tia Wylder
“And don’t say I’ve offended you,” I added.
“So, you want me to be…open to the possibility of sleeping with you?”
“Yes,” I said. “Precisely.”
Adele took a deep breath.
“As hideous as I am,” I joked. “I think you had fun with me. Maybe even a little more than fun.”
Adele sighed. “Okay,” she said. “Fine. I’ll do it. But you have to keep your word!”
“And you have to think about keeping yours,” I replied, smirking. I couldn’t believe it – she did want me, after all.
“I will,” Adele said. She sounded all professional again. “Look, I have to go. I’ll be in touch soon – we can get together, maybe even with your shareholders because they’ll need to be briefed on this. Trust me, Jack, this is a good idea – I promise it’ll help with Trident Gold.”
“Good,” I said. “Goodbye, Adele.”
“Bye.”
When Adele hung up, I grinned like a cat. I got out of my chair and stretched until I felt my back crack in a pleasurable way. Putting my phone in my pocket, I grabbed my briefcase and called for Nick to drive me into the offices. The shareholders weren’t going to believe it…but I knew they’d be happy about it once they came around to the idea of even more cash in their pockets.
As Nick drove me downtown, I barely concentrated on the scenery. It had snowed again, and it was freezing cold outside, but all I could think about was the tropical warmth of Nassau. I hoped that the hurricane hadn’t done too much damage – I was eager to get to work as quickly as possible.
The Trident Gold offices were nearly empty. I made myself a cup of espresso in the kitchen and made my way to the conference room. My shareholders were already sitting down at the table, looking over the newest information I’d sent over.
“Good morning,” I said with a smile as I walked into the room and sat down.
Harry looked up and frowned. “You’re late.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I have good news,” I explained Adele’s offer to them, making sure to explain that she was both highly intelligent and dedicated to her cause.
To my surprise, none of them looked happy. Chris tapped his fingers on the table and narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t know, Jack, I mean, with all due respect, don’t you think this is a bad idea? Right now, we’re expanding so much that I’d like to see us just focus on that.”
I shook my head. “Definitely not,” I said. “Look – I know it sounds unorthodox. But even wealthy people care about climate change now. I bet if we sponsored a poll among potential clients, they would be willing to pay a little bit more to stay at an eco-friendly resort.”
Rob pressed his lips together. “I don’t know, Jack,” he said. “Who is this girl, anyway?”
“Her name is Adele Parker, she’s a Ph.D. student at Lager College,” I said. “And we could hype that up, too – she and I have the same alma mater.”
“It’s a nice thought, it really is,” Harry said. “But I think we should do a little investigating on her first. How do you know she’s not some undercover woman, working for Franchot?”
I laughed, thinking of Adele’s rage whenever Franchot’s name came up. “Trust me,” I said. “I don’t think that’s a likely possibility.”
“Wait,” Chris said. “Adele Parker?” He opened his laptop and began typing furiously into a search engine.
The room fell silent.
“What is it?” I asked. “What the hell is going on?”
“Um, Jack, I don’t exactly know how to break this gently,” Chris said. “But her name has come up before.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous – I just met her a few days ago, in Nassau. She was down there doing research, I actually gave her a lift back to Boston in the helicopter.”
Chris swallowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed nervously up and down.
“What is it?” I asked. I could feel my anxiety growing. “Just tell me, dammit!”
“Jack, Adele was responsible for foiling your plans in Key Largo,” Chris said slowly. He turned his laptop around and pushed it across the table towards me. “Don’t you remember? That girl who showed up with a bunch of activist friends and chained themselves to trees? They didn’t leave for two weeks, and the construction crew refused to go ahead with the project.”
The realization felt like a slap in the face. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten – how could I? This had been years ago – of course, I hadn’t recognized Adele because she’d grown from a skinny high-schooler into a gorgeous woman. But now that Chris had mentioned it, I remembered like it was yesterday.
“Goddamnit,” I muttered under my breath. “I can’t believe this!”
“Look, I understand why the idea would be tempting,” Harry cut in. “But Jack, it’s not worth it – you can’t work so closely with someone who publicly sabotaged you!”
“I had forgotten that!” I shot back hotly. “And you’re right – there’s no way I could work with her.” But deep down, a part of me was disappointed that I wouldn’t see any more of Adele Parker. If only she hadn’t been such an insolent little brat back when I was planning to build in Key Largo! Still, I was angry. I felt deceived, almost betrayed…Adele had obviously known that I’d fall right into her trap, and then what? Had she been planning to sabotage me again in Nassau?
I was so angry that I could’ve spit. Instead, I got to my feet and shoved my hands into my pockets.
“Where are you going?” Harry asked. “We haven’t even gotten to new business!”
“I have to go,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair and glaring down at the floor. “I have some things to work on.”
“But Jack, we really need to—“
“We’ll do it later,” I said sharply. “Call me if you need anything. Actually, you know what? Don’t call – email me.”
“Jack, you never check your—“
“I said email me!” I yelled, turning on my heel and stalking out of the office.
Nick was idling at the curb. I didn’t even wait for him to climb out of the driver’s seat.
“Take me home,” I growled. “Actually, no. You know what? Wait a second. You remember that girl you drove home the other day?”
“Yes, sir. She lives in Jamaica Plain.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Take me there, right now,” I said.
Nick nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said. “Right away.”
I spent the whole ride to Adele’s apartment fuming in the backseat. I couldn’t believe that I’d fallen for such an easy trick – she was probably laughing and cackling with her group of social justice warriors, talking about what a fool I was.
And she was right. I’d been foolish. I’d been blinded by lust and excitement.
This was why I hated working with women.
When Nick pulled up to Adele’s condo, I told him to wait in the car. “I should be right back down,” I said, climbing out onto the icy curb and pulling my jacket tightly around me. “So, don’t go anywhere.”
Nick nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said. “You want me to order any lunch for you?”
I sighed. After the morning I’d had, the only lunch I wanted was a glass of bourbon.
“Thank you, but no,” I said. “I’ll handle it.”
Adele’s building lacked a doorman and an elevator, but I was so angry that I welcomed the exercise. I sprinted up ten flights of stairs and pounded on the door.
When the door swung open, I saw a mousy girl with glasses and red hair. She narrowed her eyes at me. “I didn’t order anything,” she said. “Try 10-B.”
“No,” I said, wedging my foot into the door so she couldn’t close it on me. “Actually, I’m here to see Adele.”
The girl frowned. She turned her head to the side. “Adele!” She yelled. “There’s some…guy here to see you!”
“I’m Jack Nathan,” I informed her, narrowing my eyes.
“Adele just got out of the shower, give her a minute.”
The girl shut the door, and I sighed, leaning against the wall. The walls were so thin I could hear practically every sound in the neighboring apartments – sneezing, coughing, bickering. It was strange, I’d never lived in a place like this. I hadn’t exactly imagined Adele to be rich, but she was practically a pauper.
When the door opened again, Adele came into the hall. She was wearing black yoga pants that clung to her magnificent ass and a loose t-shirt with no bra underneath. Her nipples made two appetizing points in the thin fabric. Her long brown hair was wet, and hanging over one shoulder. When she saw me, she frowned.
“What is it?”
“The deal is off,” I informed her, itching to pull her into my arms and kiss her. “Sorry.”
Adele’s jaw dropped, and she looked angry. “Jack, what the hell,” she hissed, shutting the door behind her. “What happened? I told you – this is important!”
I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked. “Remember Key Largo?”
Adele looked confused for a moment. Then she closed her eyes and sighed, leaning against the wall and huffing. “Yeah,” she said tartly. “Something stupid I did when I was a kid, and desperate for attention.”
“Well, you ruined my plans to develop there,” I said. “And you know, you didn’t do much for the environment. The trees were already mostly cut down by the time you and your little friends showed up, and since my construction crew quit and I couldn’t hire another one, the land remains bulldozed to this day.”
Adele groaned. “Look, I know that,” she said hotly. She sighed again. “I told you, I was young and stupid. It won’t happen again.”
“Well, of course it won’t,” I said icily. “Because you and I are not going to be working together.”
Adele nodded. “I see,” she said in a small voice.
I frowned. This wasn’t the Adele I knew – the Adele I knew would be screaming and kicking, threatening me and calling me a liar and a bastard. Something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Nothing,” Adele said in a flat voice. “This is just not exactly a surprise.”
“What?” I blinked. Had one of my shareholders gotten to her before I had? “What do you mean?”
Adele tilted her head back and looked up at me with wide green eyes. “I got a call this morning,” she said slowly. “From an anonymous number, I couldn’t trace it, but I swear it was from Franchot.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. “What did he say?”
Adele laughed humorlessly. She shook her head, looking bitter. “Well, it wasn’t him, exactly, it must have been some grunt. But they told me that I should watch where I was going…or I was going to end up dead before I could collect my doctorate.”
I blinked. That was low, even for Louis Franchot. “What?”
“Yeah,” Adele said drily. “And I had some of my comp-sci friends try to trace the call, but no one was able to tell me where it was coming from.” She shrugged. “I mean, it doesn’t matter – he can threaten me all he wants, but I’m not going to give up.” She stood up a little straight and squared her narrow shoulders. “It just means I have to find someone new to work with.”
I stared at her. “He…threatened your life, and you’re not going to give up?”
Adele narrowed her eyes. “Of course not,” she said hotly. “Jack, I don’t know, maybe you don’t realize how important this is to me. This is make or break, this is the thing that’s going to launch my career as an environmental scientist. As soon as I take him down, I’m going to have my pick of jobs in my field. And that’s the whole point of graduate research!”
As I stared at her while she talked passionately, something strange came over me. I couldn’t believe it, but Adele was actually serious about her goals. This wasn’t some fling with social activism, she really cared about what she was doing.
“Look,” I said, leaning back against the wall and raising an eyebrow. “If you’re really serious about this…I’ll help you.”
Adele shook her head. “No, it’s okay.” She smirked at me, and for once, I had the feeling that she had the upper hand. “I’m guessing your shareholders decided against this.”
I shrugged. “They don’t know you yet,” I said. “And besides, they’ll come around to the idea. Maybe I just… won’t tell them right away.”
Now it was Adele’s turn to look surprised. “You’re kidding,” she said.
“Quite serious.”
Adele bit her lip.
“Look, why not come over to my condo,” I said. “I’ll order some lunch, and we can talk first steps.”
To my surprise, Adele nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Let me get ready.” She disappeared inside the apartment, and I heard a flurry of voices as she conversed with her roommate. When she reappeared, she was wearing boots and a coat over her clothes. “I’m ready,” Adele said.
I led her downstairs and into the back of the car. Nick turned to me. “Home, sir?”
“Yeah,” I said. “And about lunch – could you order catering for two from The Lucky Chicken?”
Nick smiled. “Yes, sir,” he said. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Seven
Adele
It felt strange to be back in Jack’s car, with his driver and everything. As we pulled away from my apartment building, I took a deep breath and leaned back against the plush leather seat.
Jack eyed me before pressing a button and raising the partition between us and his driver.
“Did Franchot say anything else?”
I shrugged. The call had left me terrified – but like I’d told Jack, there was no way I was going to give up now. I was an adult, and adults stuck to their plans.
At least, that’s what I wanted to believe.
“Not really,” I said quietly. “I mean, I think the message was pretty singular, wouldn’t you agree?”
Jack pressed his lips into a thin line. Damnit, I thought as I finally tore my eyes away from his sculpted face. It’s not fair – he’s like supernaturally handsome!
“Yeah,” Jack said finally. He sighed. “I’m sorry this is happening to you, Adele.”
Now it was my turn to shrug. I cracked a wry smile and tried to project a confidence I didn’t feel. “Yeah, well, it must be because he’s actually afraid of me,” I said.
Jack smirked. “For good reason,” he replied, and I knew he was referring to my little undergraduate stunt in Key Largo. Thinking about it now was enough to make me blush – I couldn’t believe that I’d been such a stupid little girl. But at the time, it had felt like a major victory.
“Yeah, well, what can I say,” I replied tartly. “I’m a woman on a mission.”
Jack nodded and gave me a thoughtful look. “Indeed you are.”
I glanced out the window. I’d been so absorbed in our conversation that I hadn’t paid much attention to where Nick was taking us. But I almost gasped when I saw the large white marble building looming ahead of us.
Jack saw my look and gave me an amused smile. “Don’t be too envious,” he said. “The property taxes are a real bitch.”
I rolled my eyes, although to be honest, I was stunned. I knew Jack was rich – obviously – but I hadn’t expected this level of opulence. The building looked like something from a posh European city, and I knew instinctively that Jack’s condo had to have cost upwards of a few million dollars. Considering he still lived within the city limits, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how expensive it had been.
“This way,” Jack said, climbing out of the car as Nick pulled to a stop. I followed him into the lobby – everything was white marble and brushed gold – and tried not to gawk as we waited for the elevator.
“What about lunch?”
“Nick’s taking care of it,” Jack said confidently.
I stared at him.
“What?” Jack asked. “You don�
�t like The Lucky Chicken?”
“No,” I said. “I mean, I’ve never had it – but it’s Thai, right? I love Thai food.”
Jack nodded.
“What were you smirking about?”
I shrugged awkwardly. “Nothing,” I lied. “It’s just…”
The elevator doors dinged open, and Jack guided me inside. He gave me a curious grin. “It’s just what?”
I blushed self-consciously. “It’s just, well, I can’t imagine having everyone…you know, help me out with my life.”