by Jayne Blue
“I could ask you the same question. I’d say you hated it out there as much as I did.”
Careful, I thought. I must be very careful. “People have ideas about me,” I said. “Seth and I haven’t been together very long and his mother was very ... um ... protective.”
The laughter came back into Jack’s eyes and I found that I loved it there. Careful. Be very careful, indeed. “His mother could be a stone-cold bitch,” Jack said. “I can imagine what she thought of you.”
“Really? And what do you think of me?”
“Why do you care?” He took another step forward. Jack was close enough that I had to crane my neck up to maintain eye contact. He was so much taller than Seth. If I stepped into his arms, my face would only come to his chest level. And I thought about what it would feel like to step into Jack’s arms.
Something must have showed in my eyes because Jack’s expression changed. Alarm bells went off in my head and it seemed harder to breathe. What would he do if I touched him? What would I do if he touched me? I felt beads of sweat forming at the center of my back. Could I draw him in too? Would that be the smart play?
“You’re not exactly the kind of girl I pictured Seth would end up with.”
“Why not?”
“Tora,” he said. “That’s an interesting name,” he deflected. “How did you meet Seth?”
I’ve been through this gauntlet before, but right now, standing this close to Jack ... the last thing I wanted to do was talk about Seth. It was the alcohol, I told myself. I was losing focus. The smart thing to do would be to turn my back and walk out of here. “Office romance,” I answered. “I got hired as a filing clerk at the Crane Law Firm.”
“Ah,” he said. “That’s the rumor I heard.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard plenty,” I said.
“When’s the wedding?” Jack asked. My heart tripped in my chest. Something about the way he looked at me. Like he could see right through to every lie I told, could lay me open with just a glare. I needed to get the hell out of here.
“Just after the first of the month,” I said. “Three weeks.”
“Wow,” Jack said. “That’s fast. I don’t believe I’ve received my invitation.”
“Seth doesn’t want to wait,” I said. “Can I take that comment to mean you’re staying in town?”
“For a little while,” he answered. “There are some things I need to clear up with my father’s trust now that Miranda’s passed.”
It was the right question to ask. Jack tried to cover it by flashing a smile, but I saw something darken his eyes for just a brief second when he spoke of his father. I knew about the bad blood between Miranda and Jack over his father’s affairs. I didn’t think Jack had any of the information I needed, but before he left town I would have to make sure. I could figure out how later.
“Well, I’m glad,” I said. I took a step back from Jack, exploiting the opening so I could end this conversation without him turning those inquisitive, razor-sharp eyes back at me. “Seth and I would love to spend some time with you before you go. Since it looks like I’m about to become your sister, in a manner of speaking.”
That seemed to unsettle him and I knew well enough to quit while I was ahead. “It was very nice to meet you today, Jack.” I leaned forward to give him what I thought would be a quick, sisterly embrace. He responded, pulling me against his chest for just the briefest of seconds as he leaned down to kiss my cheek.
His touch seared me and I pulled away, but half a second later than I should have. I smiled awkwardly and headed for the door, not daring to look back at the penetrating eyes of Jack Manning.
***
Jack
When Tora Blake turned her back and walked out of the room I was sure of two things. One, she wasn’t in love with Seth. Two, I wanted her. What I would have to decide is which of those two things I might dare to do something about.
I was still thinking about her when R.J. made his way back to the study to find me. From a distance, Tora Blake looked the part of the trophy that I now realized Seth made her up to be. That dress: it was just the kind of thing Seth would have picked out so he could show her off. She was smoother, cooler and smarter when you saw her up close. I couldn’t stop thinking about her pale skin. She had a dusting of small freckles across her chest where it showed above the top of her dress and I wanted very much to know how far they went down.
It was one of the mysteries about her I wanted to puzzle out. Twenty minutes earlier, if Seth had asked me to stick around for the wedding, I would have found a way to blow him off. I wanted to meet with my father’s former lawyer and get the hell out of Dodge. Now, I could think of at least one reason why I might extend my stay for at least a day or two.
“You about ready to head back out there?” R.J. poked his head through the doorway. I picked up the bottle of vodka Tora left behind and set it back up on Beauchamp’s fridge.
“Yeah,” I said, still staring at the bottle. The rim bore a small pink smudge where Tora’s lipstick had brushed off. I ran a thumb across it to wipe it away.
“You okay?” R.J. knit his brows together.
“Yeah,” I said again.
“You sure, man?” R.J. persisted.
I shook my head, trying to clear it from thoughts of Tora’s scent, how she felt when she pressed against me for that brief instant when she leaned in to kiss me. I wanted to feel more of her. I reached down and adjusted my fly. It wouldn’t do well to walk back out into the funeral parlor sporting the hard on that I knew would come if I kept up this line of thought.
“Yeah,” I answered R.J. again, reaching back to flick off the lights to Beauchamp’s study. When we headed down the hallway, I was sure of one more thing.
I wasn’t done with Tora Blake.
Chapter Three
Jack
Miranda’s funeral the next day was grand theater. It was held in Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral and no less than the Bishop officiated. No one bothered to mention Miranda herself hadn’t attended mass in probably a decade. She was Catholic, but barely ... converting so she could marry my father. Seth wasn’t. I cringed when he mangled the sign of the cross. The dipshit even took Communion. It was Tora who nudged him, quietly correcting him when he didn’t know how to hold his hands. She was good, whispering softly into his ear, careful not to draw attention to his shortcomings. While her lips were still at Seth’s ear, her eyes locked with mine. She smiled, color came into her cheeks, then she sat back looking straight ahead at the altar.
I was glad to see she picked her own wardrobe today. She was demure, tiny and covered up in a navy blue suit that made her look like Jackie Kennedy and I was sure she meant to.
I got through it somehow, ducking out after the services so Seth could deal with the receiving line on his own. I couldn’t take one more person trying to console me on the loss of my mother. And I didn’t want to make small talk with Tora. Didn’t want to get lured into an awful luncheon where I could watch Seth’s hands as they kept finding her ass and her deftly twisting to move them.
Later that evening, I took R.J. up on his offer to go out and get very, very drunk.
I wanted nothing more than to leave Chicago and Lake Bliss, maybe for the last time. But I had one more appointment to keep. The next morning, I finally made my way to the law offices of Burnett and Cline. Reed Burnett was R.J.’s father and my dad’s lawyer for twenty-five years. They were best friends even longer than that. It was good to see him. I hadn’t had time for more than a quick hello at the funeral.
Reed was nearing eighty now. The last of his blond hair had turned silver white, his face was creased with deep lines, his left eye clouded with a cataract. Still, his back was strong, his grip sure when he pulled me into a deep embrace.
“It’s good to see you, Jackie,” he said. It caught me off guard; no one but my dad ever called me that.
“You too, Reed,” I said.
“Have a seat,” Reed said, perching himself on the edge of
his large wooden desk. His corner office had a glorious view of the Chicago River, still running green from St. Patrick’s Day earlier in the week. “How long are you staying in town? Aunt Margie would love to have you over for supper.”
I smiled. Aunt Margie was Reed’s wife and R.J.’s mother. She and my mother had been like sisters a million years ago. Her tuna casserole was legendary and I hadn’t had it since before my mother died. Margie was another casualty of my dad’s remarriage. Miranda couldn’t stand her and the feeling was mutual.
“I’ll try,” I said. “A lot of that depends on what you have to tell me today.”
Reed nodded. He took a deep breath and his head dipped down. Something about his posture raised an alarm in me. Reed stood and rounded the corner of his desk. He sat down hard and shuffled a stack of papers in front of him.
“Jackie,” he started. “A lot has happened. You won’t like any of it.”
I leaned back in my seat and crossed my ankle over my knee. “Did Miranda actually run the company into the ground?” Manning Software. A company my father started based on an idea I gave him when I was twelve years old. At one time, it had been worth tens of millions of dollars. He had left all of it to her. One of the last real conversations I had with my father had really been a brawl when I found out he’d done it. It was the first inkling I’d had that his mind was going. Miranda had been first in line to take advantage of it.
“Not exactly,” Reed said. “Have you had a real conversation with Seth since you got here?”
It was an odd question to ask.
“I’ve looked over Miranda’s probate filings,” Reed said. “As we expected, she left everything to Seth. In fact, she just closed a deal a few days before she died selling off the parts of your dad’s company. The warehouse and equipment. She held back the software licensing. Now you know it’s been years since your dad let me in on any of his thinking. My suspicion is that now you and Seth will share the rights to the licenses. It could be substantial. But everything else – the house, the bank accounts – all of it goes to Seth.”
“This isn’t what my dad wanted,” I said quietly. “Piece by piece, year by year she dismantled everything. And you know I don’t give a shit about the money. It’s just, I have nothing left of my life before my mom and Jenny died.”
“Jackie,” Reed said. He never flinched, never moved his steepled fingers from under his chin during my outburst. “You know I’m on your side. I’ve always been on your side. But what you have is more important than anything material. You have the work ethic your parents instilled in you. You have your own business. Your own financial security. Don’t forget that.”
I played with a phantom piece of lint on my sleeve. “I know you’re right. It’s just now that he’s gone, I’m not going to pretend anymore to keep the peace. You know what Miranda was and so do I. Reed ... you know how that company started. It started because my dad knew how to write code. And he had a kid who couldn’t read very well despite what my IQ tests said.” Manning Software made literacy aids that ended up in over half the schools in the nation all because he wouldn’t give up on his kid who had a reading disability. Me. And now, the last thing I had of my dad might be out of my reach too.
“At her core, Miranda was an insecure woman; it’s sad really,” Reed said. “In the end the only person she was really close to was Seth and I don’t think he’s going to mourn her for very long either.”
“Oh,” I said, “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. What’s Seth going to do now that Mommy’s not here to make sure people remember he’s related to her?”
Reed laughed. “You’re probably more right than you realize. You know she was trying to buy him a senatorial seat. Word is Senator Jeffries is going to retire next month. Miranda was working some connections to get the Governor to appoint Seth until his term runs out next year. She was building a war chest.”
I whistled low.
“The other rumor I heard is that neither Jeffries nor the Governor have been returning Seth’s calls since the funeral. My sources tell me Jeffries has agreed to stick around long enough for there to be a special election in November rather than an outright appointment. Everyone wants to see if Seth is electable in his own right.”
I laughed. “Gauging by some of the looks he got at the funeral, I’m guessing no. He’s got to be shitting his pants right about now.”
“To say the least,” Reed said as he got to his feet. He came around to the front of the desk and patted me on the shoulder. “Come on, Jackie, say you’ll come over for Margie’s tuna casserole and I won’t bill you for today.”
I stood up and slapped him on the back. “Yes, you will.”
***
Things might have turned out differently if I had just stayed for Margie’s tuna casserole and left town straight after. Or if the Drake didn’t put a complimentary copy of the Tribune on my bed. But I didn’t leave and I saw the small headline and two minutes later the phone call came that would fuck things up on levels I wouldn’t understand for a good long time after that.
“I’ll be damned,” I said when I picked up the paper. It wasn’t front page news. It was the head of the politics section.
Senator Jeffries to Retire, Governor Announces Special Election
I had to laugh. He was old. He was half blind, but Reed Burnett was still very much connected to reliable gossip.
I was halfway through the article when my phone rang. I laughed again. It was Seth.
“Hey,” I said after letting it ring twice.
“You still in town?” Seth said.
“I am.”
“Have you read the Trib?”
“I have.”
“I need you to stick around.”
I held the phone away from my ear and mouthed “fuck you.” Seth was talking to me like one of his lackeys. I would have said it out loud if I wasn’t curious to hear his plans.
“That old raisin wasn’t supposed to announce for another few months. I had a lock on the senatorial appointment.”
“Oh,” I said, “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“Jack.” Seth’s voice actually cracked like he was still going through puberty. “You have to help me. I’m gonna be a good senator but I’m shitty at politics.”
I actually smacked the side of my head, trying to clear my ear to make sure I heard him right. “Uh, Seth ... you get that those are the same thing, right?”
“You know what I mean. I’m announcing my candidacy later in the week. I need to line some money people up. And people to help me. You know the right people. My mother was supposed to take care of this shit.”
I’ll just bet she was. Since I’d turned eighteen and been on my own, the only times I ever heard from Seth (or Miranda before that) was when he wanted something from me. When my dad was alive, I helped them out for him – to keep the peace. But for seven years I felt no such obligation.
“Look,” Seth continued, “I know my mom was tough on you. I know it was hard for you to accept her after everything that happened with your mom. But I’m having a get together tomorrow night for some of the money people. I need you there. I need you to help me figure out what to say to them. I’ve been going through some of her things ... my mom. I found some stuff that I think maybe belonged to Emily ... to your mom. If you come, I’ll let you have them.”
Seth was lucky he was on the other end of the phone. If he had been standing in front of me, I’m pretty sure I would have grabbed him by the throat. I kept my cool. I realized I had trained myself to do that twenty years ago when my dad first brought them into the house. Keep my cool to keep the peace. It’s easier for Dad that way. But Dad wasn’t here. However, if Seth had turned spiteful like Miranda, I wouldn’t put it past him to trash whatever items he was talking about just to piss me off. Just this once, I didn’t want to take that chance.
“I’ll come to the house tomorrow night, Seth,” I said through gritted teeth. “I trust you’ll do the right thing.”
&nb
sp; I hung up the phone before he could say another word.
Chapter Four
Tora
I survived the first week of Miranda’s death like I had the months when she was alive. I wore what Seth asked. Came when he called. Told him I believed in him. He kept his temper and I started to think maybe it was Miranda that set him off. Without her in his ear, he was less agitated.
Until tonight.
He paced in front of me, his open cuffs flapping as he gestured wildly with his hands. “That old fat cocksucker,” he shouted. “My mother’s not even cold and he has the shriveled-up balls to think he can fuck me around.”
“He’s coming tonight, isn’t he?” I said. I sat on the edge of the bed in my black lace slip. Seth had changed his mind three times about the dress he wanted me in so I finally gave up until he calmed down. “He wouldn’t if he weren’t planning to endorse you right off the bat. Honey, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Tonight you’ll solidify the backers you need. You’ll win the election in November and then no one can touch you.”
Before he could find a way to knock down my logic, I went to him. I took one of his hands in mine and fastened his cufflink. His eyes softened when I looked at him and my own heart started to beat a little steadier. Maybe tonight would be easy. I moved to his other wrist. When I was done, I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed him. He accepted it but didn’t kiss me back.
“Just put the black dress on,” was all he said.
The black dress was a simple, spaghetti strap silk number. Simple except for the plunging neckline. Seth’s would-be political backers were going to get an eyeful of side boob this evening. Fine. I know he wanted to parade me around to show them what he could get. Let him. Let them all look. For the ten thousandth time, I reminded myself it would be worth it. It had to be worth it.