“Dad, I love him. I loved him when you and Mom took advantage of my fears and immaturity and convinced me to leave him. And I love him now. The difference is I’m not confused anymore. And I’m not scared.”
“Well, you ought to be.” Her father’s laugh was bitter. “That boy is a loose cannon. Maybe the information I spread to Midler and the others isn’t true at present, but it won’t be long before it is. A boy with his background, his breeding? How could he make it in this business?”
She sighed and counted to ten in her head. Slowly.
“He was making it fine before you interfered.” Shaking her head, she sank onto the edge of the bed. “This argument is pointless. I want to be with Sean. So if you keep trying to destroy him, you’ll be destroying me in the process. And worse yet, you’ll be ending any relationship you and I have. Is that clear?”
Her father was silent for a long moment. “You would chose him over your family?”
She considered that and realized what she had said was more than just an empty threat. “I would if I had to. And you’re forcing my hand. I’m asking you to stop before it’s too late for everyone.”
“Come home,” he ordered.
“No. Not yet. Not until I’ve fixed the damage we’ve both done. You this week and me all those years ago.” He started to speak again, but she cut him off. “I’ve got to go Dad. I’ll talk to you about this when I get back to the city.”
Before he could demand more of her time, Leah hung up. She sighed as she stared at the phone with disappointment, then reached around to unplug it. She didn’t want to talk to her father again tonight. She’d use her cell phone to make her remaining calls. If he tried her there, caller i.d. would make him easy to avoid.
Straightening her robe, she took a seat at the dining table and opened her long-ignored laptop. It was time to do some work, but not on any article. No, tonight she was going to work on helping Sean. On proving to him that she could be a partner in his life as well as in his bed.
***
“It’s just two more, right?” Sean rubbed his temples as he tried to avoid looking into his partner’s bleary, worried eyes. It was very bad when Will looked anxious.
“Yes, but losing three investors in a week’s period is going to be hard to explain.” Will slammed a portfolio onto the desk with both hands. “Damn it, I can’t even explain it to myself when I look at our financials. I have no idea why someone would decide we’re too big a risk all of a sudden.”
Sean gripped a fist. He was right on the brink of an explosion. One that wasn’t going to be pretty if he didn’t get a grip.
“The answer seems pretty damned clear to me. Someone is out to sabotage us. They’re giving out false leads about our solvency and the investors are dropping like flies. If we don’t bring in some heavy hitters willing to make a public deal… we’re pretty well fucked, aren’t we?”
Will was silent, which was the worst sign Sean had yet that his business, his dream was going down the toilet.
He sank into his chair with a caustic laugh. “This is just perfect. I lose my business just when I get Leah back. Am I doomed to only have one dream or the other?”
Will’s shoulders stiffened at the comment and his face twisted before he could turn away to hide the reaction.
“What?” Sean gripped the armrest of his chair and straightened up. “What is that look? I know that look. I don’t like that look. What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s not important,” Will said with a wave of his hand as he took a place in front of his computer across the room. “We’ve got to concentrate on this investor thing right now. The other stuff can wait.”
Sean’s heart took a sudden plummet. If this wasn’t about business, it was about Leah. But what could it be? She’d all but said she loved him. She’d admitted she shouldn’t have run when the going got tough and pretty much forgiven him for his part in the past. What could Will know that he didn’t?
“Look, just give me all the bad news at once and I’ll sort out what’s important and what isn’t.”
Will glanced up slowly and Sean could see the battle going on in his friend’s mind. Part of him seemed to want to tell him whatever he knew. The other part was fighting to protect Sean from something. Something Sean was beginning to dread more and more as second after second ticked by on the clock.
“A private jet is going to be landing tomorrow at 6am. Bright and early,” Will said slowly. “I got the flight schedule via email just a few minutes ago.”
“So what?” Sean asked. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“This charter isn’t coming from Miami or from Jamaica. It’s a direct flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.”
“Philadelphia?” Sean repeated blankly, though he knew damned well what Will was going to say next. Only one person would send a jet straight from Philly on such short notice.
“Yeah. I accessed the information on the jet and it’s owned by Prescott Publishing Group. Roger Prescott, CEO. Leah’s father.”
“I know who Roger Prescott is.” Sean’s heart sank even deeper. “Who’s on board?”
“Only one passenger is registered on the incoming route. A Vincent Carliono. He lists his profession as bodyguard for Roger Prescott… and family.”
“Prescott is sending a jet and a bodyguard down to my island?” Sean repeated as his shock was replaced by fierce anger. “Where the hell does he get off?”
Will tapped his finger on his desk. “Uh, it may not be Prescott entirely behind this. You see, about forty-five minutes ago, Leah made a long distance phone call from the telephone in her room. It was to her parents’ house in Philadelphia. Prescott’s flight plan was put in about twenty minutes later, right after Leah hung up.”
Sean actually felt the blood drain from his face drop by painful drop. His world spun before his eyes. “Leah called her father? Leah arranged for this?”
Will shrugged. “I just don’t know. Look, maybe the two things aren’t connected at all.”
Sean cocked his head with a look of incredulity. Right. Her father just happened to send a plane down to ‘save’ his little girl a few moments after she called him? Sean was a lot of things. Stupid wasn’t one of them.
He’d blown her off when he left her room. Obviously that had pissed her off and Leah had gone back to the way she handled it when things didn’t go her way. She called on Daddy and she ran.
The bodyguard was a nice touch, too. Unexpected. And unnecessary. If Leah thought he’d use some kind of brute force to keep her on the island… well, she didn’t know him at all.
Anger burned inside of him. No, not anger. Disappointment. Here he thought they’d come so far in the five short days they’d been reunited. He’d felt closer to her during their time together than he had when they dated so long ago. They’d connected on some deeper level.
But now it turned out all of that had been in his head. Just like before, Leah was on the edge of running. And just like before, she’d used her rich father to bail her out instead of dealing with her problems on her own.
This time Sean was ready. She was going to have to look him in the face and make her choice. And when she did? Well, he’d let her go if that’s what she wanted so desperately.
His whole body burned with pain at the thought. Pain he shoved aside in an attempt to protect himself. He sat down and quickly dialed to the front desk.
“Hi, this is Mr. Dalton. I want to make some arrangements for Miss Prescott in Villa Number 2.”
“Certainly, sir. What do you need the staff to do?”
He looked up to find Will staring at him with a sad expression on his face. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he mouthed silently.
Sean shut his eyes for a moment, thinking of Leah. Of her laugh, of her tears of joy when they’d made love an hour before, just of her in general. He shrugged and mouthed back, “I have no choice.”
“Sir?” came the voice on the line.
“Yes, I’m s
orry, I’m here.” He spun his chair around so he didn’t have to look at Will’s disapproving face. “First, I want to make sure she’s given an early wake up call…”
Chapter Fifteen
Leah tapped her pen on the edge of table at an erratic pace as she looked over the sheet of paper in her hand. She glanced at her watch. It was still too early to call the East Coast. It was too early for her to even be up. Not that she’d slept. She’d spent most of the night compiling data, and just when she’d decided she would get a few winks, the front desk had called her room to tell her a special breakfast awaited her in the hotel restaurant.
She’d been sure she’d find Sean waiting for her to share kisses and coffee before he headed back to work, but he hadn’t materialized. Her breakfast for one had been quiet.
Even lonely.
The waiter appeared at her left shoulder. “May I refresh your cup of coffee, ma’am?”
“No, thank you, I’ve had enough.” She stifled a yawn. “I’ll probably go back to my room and nap for a few hours. That will help me more than caffeine.”
The young man frowned. “Actually, Miss Prescott, a car is waiting for you. You’re to be taken to the tarmac on the other side of the island, as per Mr. Dalton’s orders.”
“The one we flew into?” she asked as she folded her napkin and pushed her chair back.
“Yes. Anita is waiting for you outside now.”
“Thanks.” Leah tossed a few dollars on the table as tip and headed for the door.
Calm and collected Anita waited for her by the SUV door, a lot like she’d looked just six days before when Leah had arrived on the island. Little had she known then what a week’s vacation would turn into. It almost seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Good morning, Miss Prescott,” Anita said with a friendly smile as she held the door open for Leah.
“It is morning, isn’t it?” Leah laughed as she climbed into the car. When Anita started to pull away, Leah asked, “So where am I going today that I’m being whisked away to the airport?”
Anita shrugged as she took a glance at Leah in the rearview mirror. “I don’t know, Miss Prescott. I’m afraid I’ve only been asked to drive you down, I’ve not been made privy to the details of Mr. Dalton’s plans.”
Leah nodded as she leaned her head on the window. She needed sleep, but the idea of being whisked away somewhere with Sean was very tempting. She’d been sure this business deal would keep him entrenched for the day, at least. But perhaps he was right. Maybe he hadn’t needed her help after all. Maybe her father hadn’t done the kind of damage he’d hoped to do.
Leah could only pray that was true. Either way, she planned on telling Sean everything on their way to his latest getaway. About her father’s nasty interference in Escapades and her work to make it right. She checked her bag and smiled when she saw the slim file she’d prepared. After she made a few phone calls to her contacts, she was sure Sean could easily find more backers than he’d lost.
Her smile widened to a grin at the idea that she could actually help him. That she could be a part of his life in every way. It was all she’d ever wanted. Strangely, her father had been a huge part in that, despite his attempts to destroy everything they’d built.
Anita pulled the SUV to a smooth stop on the tarmac. When she opened the back door, she gave Leah a smile. “Have a lovely time, Miss Prescott, wherever you’re going. And if I don’t have a chance to see you before you depart the island, I hope your stay here was a wonderful one and that you’ll return soon.”
Leah gave the other woman her most dazzling smile. “I did have a surprising and wonderful time. I have no doubt I’ll be back soon and many times in the future.”
“Wonderful,” the other woman said as she motioned across the tarmac to where a jet was parked. “Good day.”
Leah’s heart fluttered as she made her way across the hot asphalt to the plane. Two men stood beside it. One was most definitely Sean. She would have recognized him even if he’d been miles away.
The other man was bigger, bulkier and stood beside the air craft with folded arms. She shivered. That just couldn’t be their pilot for the day. Flying was difficult enough for her. She required her pilots to have a neck, at least.
When she got close enough to be in earshot, she called out, “And where are you taking me, Sean Dalton, you sly thing, you?”
Sean turned, but instead of his eyes lighting up at the sight of her, his face went cold. He made no motion to cross toward her or take her in his arms. In fact, if anything his body language told her stay back.
Leah wrinkled her brow. Was business so bad? If it was, she’d have to convince him not to take her anywhere. The island was vitally important to Sean and she didn’t want him to sacrifice it for her. She just wanted to be allowed to be a part of the most important thing in his life.
“Good morning, Leah,” he said coolly. “I’m sure you know this man.”
He motioned toward the other man with just the slightest jerk of his head. Leah followed the motion and found herself looking at the person she’d thought was their pilot. But he wasn’t.
“Vinnie?” she asked in utter confusion when she saw her father’s bodyguard. “What are you doing here?” Confusion gave way to terror. “Did something happen to my Dad?”
The bodyguard didn’t move, but his gaze flitted toward Sean slightly. The two men held stares for a moment. It was only then that she noticed her father’s huge bodyguard had a rapidly blackening eye.
Shit.
“Nothing, Miss Prescott,” Vinnie answered in an accent that was so heavily Philly she almost couldn’t understand a word. “Your Mom and Dad are okay, don’t worry.”
“Then what are you doing here…” She trailed off as she looked at the logo on the jet Vinnie stood guard beside. Instead of the Escapades logo, or even the seal of the charter company she’d flown in on, the jet said Prescott Publishing. Her voice dropped as a horrible sense of premonition filled her. This was bad, whatever it was. “What are you doing here with my father’s jet?”
Vinnie didn’t say anything, but Sean certainly did.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he said softly, but the endearment was anything but gentle. It sounded like a curse. “You don’t have to pretend. I know you called for the jet. The bodyguard was a bit excessive, but I’m sure dear old Dad had something to do with it. I mean, tell me this guy wasn’t your idea.”
Leah spun on him, her mouth gaping open in shock. In his eyes was only pure betrayal, not the man who’d made love to her just hours before. Certainly not the man who still cared for her. He’d carefully buried that under business-like coldness.
She looked from Vinnie, then back to Sean. “You don’t honestly believe I set this up, do you?”
“What else am I to believe?” he asked in a tone that dripped acid. “You made a call from the phone in your room back home to your Dad last night after I left to take care of my business issues. Within moments of hanging up, Roger summoned his private jet to ‘save’ you. Along with Neckless Vinnie, here.” He placed a finger on his chin. “Hmm, you running to your father when things don’t go your way… why does that seem so familiar?”
She reeled back as if he’d slapped her and it felt like he really had. He could have hardly said anything that would have hurt her more, especially after their conversation in bed the night before.
“You bastard.” She prayed her voice didn’t reflect how much he’d hurt her. At the moment, she didn’t trust him with that much power over her. “After everything we talked about last night, everything that’s happened since I arrived here a few days ago, I can’t believe you’d jump to that conclusion.”
“Well, believe it.”
Sean snapped his fingers over his shoulder and two busboys appeared from the little tower in the distance. As they moved closer, Leah realized they were carrying luggage.
Her luggage.
“Here you go, Leah.” Sean motioned for her bags to be placed in the open hatch of
the jet. “I made it even easier for you to run this time.”
She shook her head as the pain inside her roared out of control. “You know, up until this moment, I didn’t want to run away. But you’re sure as hell doing a good job of encouraging me.”
He shrugged as if he couldn’t care less, but Leah saw the powerful blast of pain that darkened his eyes to steel. Then the emotion was gone.
“Look, you have to choose. If you really want to stay here, really want to be with me, no bags, no jet, no bodyguard will keep you from me.” His eyes narrowed. “And if you want to run home to your Mommy and Daddy, nothing I say or do will change that either. But this time, I want you to look me in the eye and tell me which one it’s going to be. No ‘Dear John’ letters or avoided phone calls. Just choose. Home to your parents, or stay with me?”
“How about neither.” She folded her arms and stared at Sean evenly.
He flinched the tiniest bit, but kept his face steely. “Not an option.”
“No, let me explain. Neither one is my choice. You see, the real problem we faced and still face wasn’t a problem of control. It wasn’t a problem of me running away.”
She stared at him, looking into the eyes of the man she’d loved for so long, the man who still didn’t understand what she needed. Well, this time she was going to tell him before she walked away. It was their last chance.
“Then what was it?” he asked incredulously.
“It was that you wouldn’t let me fight for our love. You never gave us a chance to fight on the same side in any battle.”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “What are you talking about?”
“Before you got your MBA, you never let me proofread your papers. I was in my last year of a degree in journalism, I’d won the Riverton Medal for Fiction the year before.” She laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “And yet you kept your work away from me because you didn’t want my help.”
“Leah, this isn’t about some stupid thesis from years ago,” he began.
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