Tida nodded. His grandfather pointed him to a chair in front of the desk and Rob sat. Noting the shaking in his grandfather’s arm and the effort it took for him to raise it, Rob wondered how much time Grandfather had left.
“I wanted to suggest you not move forward with the sale to Professional Massage.”
“Not that again,” John Black said, squirming in his chair. “You’re a broken record, son. I’m doing this for you. You could do more with your life.”
Rob breathed in through his nose for three seconds and released the breath. “Let’s take me out of the equation, sir.”
His grandfather raised his eyebrows.
“I have information that indicates Professional Massage is not capable of completing the sale.”
He heard a sharply indrawn breath, but it didn’t come from him and Grandfather was unlikely to have the kind of lung capacity to manage it. Rob turned. Tida looked at him with wide eyes. Maybe she had stubbed her toe or something.
“If you can’t be quiet, leave!” John Black commanded. Tida dropped her gaze and scuttled from the room.
Winter stepped in quietly with a coffee tray when the door opened.
“You aren’t supposed to drink that, sir,” Rob admonished.
“It’s decaf,” he snarled. “I’m not a fool, boy.” He took a deep wheezing breath.
“Of course.” Rob felt no repentance and was glad to hear his nagging had paid off. Or more likely, Winter had refused to purchase the loaded stuff until his grandfather had resigned himself. Winter always knew Grandfather’s medical condition and arranged the household accordingly despite his employer’s demands.
John Black took a sip of the milky coffee his manservant had prepared for him. “What’s this about Professional Massage now? What have you been up to, or is it that Jack fellow who has been up to mischief?”
“Entirely by accident, I met a woman who is a manager at Professional Massage.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tida enter the room with an open pill case.
“Who is that?”
“Melanie Vanderpool.”
“Vanderpool?” the old man wheezed. “Any relation to Brisa?”
Rob nodded, reminding himself to ask Dr. Lane if his grandfather was going into congestive heart failure. He had been warned that it was a possibility. At least his lips weren’t blue, he was getting enough oxygen.
“So this Vanderpool girl says Professional Massage can’t afford us?”
Tida set the pill case down with a clunk by her employer’s hand then left again. Grandfather took a pill and swallowed it.
“That’s right. She said they’d been having quality problems and sale reductions. She also complained about the cost limits on new development.”
“Does she think they are going downhill?”
“No,” Rob said reluctantly, feeling the conversation sway in his direction. But he wouldn’t lie. “However, it could be six to twelve months before they recover, according to her.”
John Black rubbed his chin. “I don’t like the idea of the LeatherWorks name getting mixed up with a company that’s got quality problems.”
Rob held his breath. Was this the break he’d been waiting for?
“What troubles me is they’ve always had a reputation for a good product. What is going on? Their management hasn’t changed. They are a fine, stable, local company. We were a good match.” He coughed several times then took a sip of coffee.
At the rasping coughs, Rob took careful inventory of his grandfather. They had spoken long enough. “You should rest.”
John Black shook his head. “Not until I call Dick Porter over at Professional Massage. We had a cash deal. If he can’t make his commitment, I’ll delay the conversation for six months.”
Rob tried to keep a straight face. Success!
John Black raised a finger that shook only slightly. “Don’t think you are excused from getting on with your life, Rob. No decent woman would marry a man who runs a sex toy company. Look what happened to your mother.”
“It could have happened to anyone,” Rob mumbled.
John Black’s lips tightened. After a moment, he tried to compose himself. Rob had never seen this kind of weakness in him before and hoped the old man wasn’t about to cry for the first time in his life. “Maybe I never made it clear to you what that man said to her, Robert. Maybe I held my counsel because, God knows, that man was your father. But be assured he thought he was too good for you.”
“He might have come back if he hadn’t died.”
John Black shook his head. “Don’t kid yourself, son. He was engaged to another woman, a country club princess.”
Rob choked back his denial. Grandfather never lied. He had merely allowed Rob to keep his illusions. He tried to be grateful for that. “You never told me.”
Grandfather moved his hands from his lap to the table, as if showing all his cards. “I didn’t want to hurt you more than you already were.”
Rob looked at his own hands, strong and unblemished, unlike the gnarled arthritic ones of his grandfather. How strong he was, even now. “Still, it’s the twenty-first century. Times are different.”
The old man fixed Rob with his still strong stare. “You are thirty-four. A decent man and you are alone, Robert. Why? I’d like to see my great-grandson before I die.”
Rob smiled to hide his frustration. “It happens. I work a lot of hours.”
John Black rolled his eyes and said with disgust, “You haven’t met a decent girl. And why would you? Pornographers and creative people. Where are you going to find a nice girl in that lot and if you met one by accident, well, they’d leave soon enough after interacting with your colleagues.” He coughed and sank a little in his chair.
Rob stood quickly and went to find Tida. He wasn’t convinced Grandfather was right about his chances for love, but he was more than willing to give Grandfather a great-grandson before he died. A welcome image of Melanie flashed into his mind. She’d have beautiful children. He wondered if Grandfather would like her.
Chapter Thirteen
“You must have heard something of interest by now, Tida,” Al insisted, forking a spear of asparagus into his mouth. She had been so silent during her first week at John Black’s mansion that he was beginning to worry about her loyalties. In an attempt to loosen her tongue, he had taken her to a pricey seafood restaurant on Westlake and had even made sure they had a water view, but the way she was pouting he might as well have brought her to McDonald’s.
Under the muted glow of Tiffany-style chandeliers, Tida’s glance at him was sullen. He hoped the other diners around their table only noticed the beauty with him and not her behavior. “Oh c’mon, baby. I’m only trying to help you.”
“Really?” Her tone was scathing, though she sipped from a crystal wineglass poured from an eighty-dollar bottle of chardonnay. She didn’t fit in. That polyester black minidress she wore couldn’t have cost more than fifty dollars and her black pumps were worn down at the heels, he’d noticed.
“Don’t get snippy with me. If you want a shot at a lucrative modeling contract, you need to show your value to the organization.” Al shoved another asparagus spear into his mouth and chewed ferociously. The women at the other tables were dressed in tailored dinner suits and reeked of refinement. Why wasn’t he living that life with them?
“How much money will I get?”
“A lot. I’ll take care of you, baby, you know that.” He smiled at her.
Tida tightened her fist around the knife she had been using to cut her salmon. “You have asparagus in your teeth,” she remarked casually.
Al closed his mouth, furious with her. “What do you know?”
Tida dropped her fork and tossed her napkin on the table. “I know I have good job, for good money. I know your company will not be able to buy LeatherWorks because you do not have the money.”
“What?” Al growled.
“Melanie Vanderpool said so to young Mr. Black. This deal will not happen. You li
e to me!” She stood.
“Melanie spoke to Rob Black?” Al said, incredulous.
“What do I know? I am just dumb immigrant, you think, right?” Tida pushed back her luscious black mane and put her hands on her hips. “I know what is smart and what is smart is not you. I stay with John Black and not talk to you any more. When he dies, I get better job, one where my patient does not behave like you. Winter say he help me.”
“Winter?”
“Yes. He work there too. You are fool, Al Plowman, and I do not care to be your baby anymore.” Tida turned on her heel and walked away, swinging her hips under her cheap black dress. Al was grateful she hadn’t thrown anything at him, the way Anita had when he dumped her earlier in the year. He cringed with the memory. Women. He was through with Tida Toruksa, but on Monday morning another woman would pay for it. Melanie Vanderpool. That bitch had just ruined his sex life and she was going to get shafted in return.
* * * * *
“It’s nice to spend an evening with you that doesn’t start with you on a date with another man,” Rob said affectionately, draping his arm around Melanie.
“It is nice, isn’t it?” Melanie agreed, matching her stride to his. Walking around Greenlake had always been her favorite way to spend summer evenings. It seemed as if Seattle’s entire population ventured out in the early evening sun, spending those last weeks before Labor Day doing what the Lord intended—picnicking, roller-blading, biking, pushing kids in strollers, holding hands. In the last half hour she had seen more pasty white legs in shorts than had any right to exist, but after all, this was Seattle, where you didn’t tan, but rusted.
She glanced down to her left. Rob, of course, had perfect legs, solid, muscular, lightly olive-toned so he didn’t need a tan. She loved having a sexy, athletic man close by. The sun streaks were back in his hair, as the dark dye had washed out during the week since the costume ball, but he had been dark-haired long enough to settle the issue of whether her soul mate had dark hair, though there was the niggling question of what her soul mate had to do with her job, as predicted by Madame Lois. After Brisa’s reading, with all that nonsense about sacrificial lambs and self-sufficiency in her latest reading, she was ready to give up on the tarot anyway. Who needed it when you had a strong shoulder to lean on?
She could hear that sarcastic little voice chanting “back-slider!” somewhere in her head, but she pushed it away. Rob wasn’t taking over any important function in her life—at least not one that wasn’t filled already. For instance, the lover position was available.
Melanie put her arm around Rob’s waist. “Want a job?” she quipped.
“Huh?” Rob responded, absently. He tugged her off the path and into the grass leading down an incline to the lake. “Look over there!”
Melanie followed the path of his pointing finger with her eyes. “What?”
“Some kids are sailing model boats. Let’s go see!”
Melanie allowed Rob to pull her along, not sure why this was such a thrill to a grown man. He let her go and crouched down by the edge of the water with a happy grin.
“I used to love making these things,” he said, pulling off his sunglasses. “My mother would bring me here when I was a kid.” They watched a plywood boat bob along in the green-blue water at the edge of the lake. A little kid a few years younger than Ethan sat cross-legged at the edge of the water, watching intently. A yard away an older child placed a Popsicle raft with a blue-striped sail into the water.
“You’ve never mentioned your mother before.”
Rob shrugged. “She’s been gone a long time. We always lived with Grandfather anyway.”
Melanie sat down in the grass a few inches from where Rob was hunkered down. “How old were you when she died?”
“Eleven. But she drifted in and out of rehab a lot. I went to school and then went to LeatherWorks and did my homework there. I always hung around with the guys in the factory until dinnertime. They were my family.”
“That’s too bad.”
Rob turned from the boats, squinting against the sun. “No, it isn’t. They were really good to me. I promised myself one day, when I was in charge, they could count on me.”
“That’s why you don’t want to sell.” Melanie nodded and plucked at the grass around her knees. She pulled out a bright stalk and held it to her nose, breathing in its green, earthy scent.
“You’ve got it. No one could care more about those guys than me. People work at LeatherWorks a long time. They become family.”
Melanie rubbed the stalk between her fingers, releasing more of its scent. “So why does your grandfather want to sell?”
“He blames his business for my mother’s crappy life. He thinks she wouldn’t have done drugs if my father hadn’t left her and he thinks my father left her because of the family business.”
“Really.” She frowned and dropped the grass, scooting a little closer to Rob.
“Yeah. And he thinks I can’t find a nice girl because of my job either.” He laughed. “I don’t know exactly why it’s started troubling him now.”
“That’s silly. I’m sure nice girls work there. Like Brisa.”
Rob put his aviator shades back on. They hid his dark eyes, making him seem a little mysterious all of a sudden. “You really think so? My guess is that your cousin was Honey Luscious.”
Melanie thrust out her chin. “So what? She made a mistake.” Brisa couldn’t expect her to keep this secret from Rob. He was involved whether they liked it or not, but it didn’t mean she felt comfortable talking about it.
“I agree, but Grandfather wouldn’t think so.”
“A past or not, Brisa is a good person. People can change. Or mature. If you don’t believe that, your view of humanity is so narrow.”
“Grandfather has a virgin/whore complex. Women are either all good or all bad. He’s old-fashioned,” Rob said evenly. His voice lightened as he said, “Anyway, I’m capable of meeting a nice girl. I met you!”
Melanie shook her head, hoping Rob didn’t subscribe to any part of his grandfather’s notions. “I just hope what you think is more important than what he thinks. If he’s that old-fashioned, he’ll probably think I’m a harlot because I’m divorced.”
Rob leaned back and tilted his head toward her. “Actually, he was divorced once. He eloped with some girl when he was nineteen, but she turned out to be underage and the marriage was annulled. A couple of years later he married my grandmother and the rest is history.”
“So I’m safe from condemnation.” She felt this was a mixed blessing.
“You bet.” He moved next to her and put his arm back around her. Melanie closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder and enjoyed the sensation of the sun against her face.
A child broke into a loud cry. Melanie looked up to see the younger of the two model sailors dash into the water. She saw his little model boat had drifted about four feet into the lake and struggled to her feet.
Rob was faster. “No you don’t!” Rob exclaimed and dashed into the water after the child. He threw his arms around him and swept him out of the water.
“That’s a very bad idea, kiddo. Where are your parents?” Melanie looked around, but didn’t see any adults other than a woman sitting on a park bench who she thought belonged to the older boy. At least she didn’t seem concerned with the present drama.
“I want my boat!” the child wailed.
“Give him to me,” Melanie gestured, putting a hand in her pocket to pull out her handkerchief. Rob nodded and set him down. Melanie knelt and rubbed at the greenish algae on the boy’s shins. His green neon flip-flops were probably ruined. Where were the child’s parents?
She glanced over to the water. The sun lit the lake brightly and Rob appeared to be wading though starlight as he went valiantly after the child’s boat. He grabbed the fragile craft in one hand and waved it over his head. As he splashed back though thigh-high water, Melanie laughed and thought, my hero!
She shook her head as he ca
me up toward them. “You need a shower, big guy.”
Rob looked down at the algae scum lightly sheening his legs under the droplets of water streaming down. “You’re right.”
He winked at her. “Maybe you can wield the washcloth.”
Melanie couldn’t hide her grin. Finally! Another condom would not go wasted.
Rob knelt down and handed the boat to the child. “What’s your name?”
The boy wrinkled his nose. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”
Rob nodded. “Good point. But it’s also important to stay out of the water, okay?”
The boy’s lips trembled. “But my boat was gonna get losted!”
“You could have gotten yourself losted, kiddo. Stay out of the water until you learn to swim, okay?”
A teenage girl in an orange sundress rushed toward them. “Oh my gosh! Jacob!”
The boy didn’t look too thrilled at the intrusion, but he allowed the girl to give him a hug. “I told you we’d play boats later!”
Jacob stuck out his chin. “I was bored.”
“He could have drowned,” Melanie said. “You need to keep a better eye on him.”
Rob put an arm around her in response to the girl’s hostile look. “We don’t want to tell you how to do your job, young lady, but Jacob could have gotten himself into serious trouble down here.”
“His brother threw up. I was trying to get him clean when Jacob ran away,” the girl said, her diamond nose ring flashing in the sunlight.
“Maybe it’s time for you to pack up for the evening,” Rob suggested calmly.
“I can’t,” the girl said. “Their mother isn’t picking us up until eight.”
Melanie frowned as Rob’s leg brushed hers. His skin felt clammy. He needed to get home and get cleaned up. And she needed to go with him.
Rob pulled his cell phone out of his shorts’ pocket. “What’s her number?” At the girl’s recitation, he dialed the number and handed it to her. Luckily, the mother of the hapless twosome was home and said she’d be there shortly.
“I’m glad the boy’s mother was able to come and get them,” Melanie said as they walked away from the curb where they saw the misfortunate trio off, followed by the mother’s many thanks. A cloud passed over the sun, changing the shadows of the large evergreens surrounding them. She watched a chain of cars turn right out of the parking lot.
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