Sparring Partners

by Leigh Morgan

  Jesse looked down into Lily's kind eyes, seeing a combination of comfort and fierceness there that tugged at his heart. He wanted to keep this grandmother. He didn't have any others, and he liked this one a lot. The closest thing he had to a grandmother before Lily was Irma, and Irma was dying. The pang in his heart at the thought of losing Irma made him want to keep Lily even more.

  He pulled her to him in a quick, uncomfortable hug. He really wasn't used to displays of physical affection, although it was getting easier with Reed and Finn. As quickly as he pulled Lily to him, he held her away, his overly large hands on her narrow, but strong shoulders. She looked shocked and pleased with him at the same time, making him blush at his impulsiveness. Feeling the heat in his cheeks, Jesse dropped his hands to his sides, but didn't look away.

  Lily raised one hand to cup his cheek and he allowed it. "You look incredibly handsome this evening, although you could use a hair-cut." She cocked her head at him and smiled slowly as she took her hand away.

  "I hope you're not taking a leaf from my son's book. He keeps his hair long just to prove he's not like everyone else. What he doesn't understand, is that he's not like most investors who are as driven as he is. At his core, Jordon's thoughtful and kind. Generous without thought, although he'd never admit it, especially to himself. In fact the only person Jordon isn't generous with is himself."

  "Why are you telling me this?"

  "Because I see the same look in your eyes that I saw in Jordon's after his daughter Emily died. She wasn't really his, but that didn't matter to Jordon, he was all heart as a child." The nostalgic look on Lily's face made Jesse want to hug her again. He settled for pulling out a chair for her instead. He wanted to hear about the man who married his mother and was now conspicuously absent. He liked Jordon and wanted to keep liking him, in spite of his absence.

  Jesse pushed Lily's chair in for her and took a seat opposite. He didn't say anything, he just waited patiently for Lily to continue.

  "Jordon loved Emily's mother, and when she told Jordon he was Emily's father, he immediately married her. Emily's death, and what Jordon saw as her mother's betrayal, when she knowingly lied to him about being Emily's father, left Jordon with a void he's been afraid to fill ever since."

  The sadness in Lily's eyes cut at Jesse. He grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray and handed it to her. She sipped gracefully and continued.

  "He left Jackson right after Emily's funeral. He moved near William and focused all of his energy on having more, being more, and making more money than anyone else. And, he succeeded. So much so, this meeting with Takahara is just a formality. He's got William's spot if he wants it."

  "What do you want him to do?"

  "I want my son to be happy."

  Jesse shrugged. "Working seems to make him happy."

  "Creating wealth is something Jordon's good at because that's all he's focused on since he left home. He takes pride in doing it well. It doesn't, however, make him happy. It's made him lonely, arrogant, and profoundly unhappy."

  "So what does make him happy?"

  "You do. All of you. Reed, you, the connections he's made with the people at Potters Woods. All of it, all of you have changed Jordon for the better. You've opened him up to the person he was before he decided to define his life by how may zeros he put in B.H.'s portfolio."

  Jesse didn't quite know what to make of that. "If we're so important to him, why isn't he here?"

  Lily shook her head, her voice heavy with concern, as she reached for his hand across the table.

  "I wish I knew, Jesse. I do know that whatever is keeping him away must be vitally important."

  Jesse's glanced from his mother's painted on smile back to Lily's small, but real one. "I hope whatever it is, it's worth it."

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  "Finn told me you were at the hospital, what are you doing here?" Henry made a show of looking at his watch. "Aren't you supposed to be at your wedding reception?" It wasn't really a question. When Henry used that particular tone, Jordon knew what he meant was, Hey dumb-ass you're not where you're supposed to be, get the lead out.

  Jordon raked a hand through his hair. Seeing a loose rubber band on the floor where he'd dumped the files he'd been working on for the Takahara presentation he was supposed to pitch tomorrow, Jordon grabbed it and pulled his hair into a haphazard tail. The rubber band was too tight, pulling at the tender hair at his temples painfully. He ignored the pain, focusing instead on the colored rendering of a conceptual facility that he had his architect prepare. It was very similar to what Reed envisioned as her master plan for Potters Woods.

  "Why are you here, tossing paperwork all over Charlie's floor?"

  "His desk is too small."

  "You're not supposed to be here."

  "You said that already."

  "Yet here you are, in Charlie's study, shuffling shit?"

  Jordon set the rendering aside and looked up at the only man he'd called friend for two decades. "Have you got something you want to say, Henry? Spit it out. Otherwise, you've got two options."

  "Options?"

  Jordon couldn't help smiling. He and Henry never needed many words. He loved Henry, and he couldn't remember when he'd ever said it. That conversation, however, was going to have to wait. He had more than enough to chew through on his plate for one night, and not enough time to waste, so he answered Henry's unasked question.

  "Help me Henry, or get the hell out of my way."

  Henry's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched, then he collapsed with the grace of a ballet dancer next to Jordon on the floor.

  "Someday you're going to have to show me how you do that."

  Henry ignored the veiled compliment. "What do you need?"

  The alarm on Jordon's watch sounded. "I need to put all of this in a comprehensible order, and sell it to Giles in the next hour."

  "You're giving your pitch to Jay Giles?" Henry asked incredulously, shaking his head in disbelief. "You can't go to the cottage anymore. That place makes you nuts."

  "Maybe. Maybe I'm about to do the craziest thing I've ever done. Maybe I'm about to make the best move I've made since marrying Reed. Either way, I've got to give the best pitch of my life. Giles needs to make this happen. This is probably the most important deal I've ever packaged."

  "Do you think Giles is up to it?"

  "He's up to it. No question. The question is whether or not he'll sell it to Takahara."

  There was a knock on the open study door drawing Jordon's attention. "Did I hear my name?"

  "Come in Jay." Jordon said, using Giles' first name for the very first time. "We've got a lot to talk about and not much time."

  "If this is some kind of twisted trick to get me to bow out of this deal, it's never going to happen."

  "It's no trick, and I'm the one bowing out."

  Giles stepped into the room. "Okay. You've got my attention."

  He looked at Jordon and Henry, smiling, but still overtly cautious. Jordon saw at that moment why Jay Giles was as successful as he was. The man had a certain charm, when he wasn't going for the jugular.

  "But I'm not sitting on the floor." He flashed a grin. "I like the view too much from up here."

  ...

  "I've gotta hand it to you Bennett. This plan of yours is innovative. The delivery of services is efficient, and, well balanced. It's so simple, and yet it meets every need." Giles shook his head, his eyes going from enthusiastic to shrewd.

  "My pitch is good. Damn good. But this is better. It meets all of Takahara's criteria, and then some. How did you ever come up with it?"

  "I had help."

  "What kind of help?"

  "The elf kind."

  Giles's smile said he appreciated Jordon holding his cards close to his chest. "Fine, don't tell me. It really doesn't matter. This is going to make all of us a fortune."

  "It's not just about the bottom line, Jay. This plan works. I've seen it. I've lived it. This plan helps people. With Takahara
's capital, and B.H.'s know-how, we can help tens of thousands of people live healthy and more dignified lives as they age."

  "You sound like a true believer. You should give this pitch."

  "I've got something more important to do."

  "What's more important than helping tens of thousands of people?" Giles asked.

  "Helping one."

  Giles laughed, but Jordon could see that he didn't have a clue what he was talking about, and Jordon didn't have the time or the desire to explain it any further, he had to get back to Irma.

  "I don't get you, Bennett, in fact I think you're nuts-"

  "Me too." Henry jumped in.

  "-But I'll take your idea. I'll sell it to Takahara. It'll be a done deal before I'm through with my presentation." There was no charm now in Giles, only serious tension, when he continued.

  "You do realize, that if I'm the one to make this happen, I'll be the acting CEO when William retires." And just in case Jordon really was nuts, and didn't get the implication, Giles spelled it out for him. "I'll get your job."

  "Good luck, Jay. Make it happen."

  Jay Giles nodded, took all the paperwork, and headed toward the door. When he reached it he turned. "I hope the person you're saving is Reed. The piranhas at your reception are circling, just waiting for the scent of blood. She was doing well at brunch when I snuck out to meet you, even better than she did last night, but you know how cruel our set can be."

  An invisible spear fishing javelin pierced Jordon's gut drawing blood. Blood Jordon refused to let spill. That sharp pain was followed by a soothing sense of pride just as sharp, but with a cauterizing effect.

  "My wife can swim with the sharks in any water. She doesn't need me to save her. She's the one who does the saving in the family."

  Here's hoping she's still willing to save my sorry ass.

  "I'll bet you twenty bucks by the time you get back that she's knocked out every sharp tooth that tried to bite her."

  Giles smiled as warmly as he ever had toward Jordon, and why not, Jordon thought, he'd just been handed the keys to the B.H. kingdom.

  "I'd never bet against your wife, Bennett. I like her too much. William does too, in case he hasn't said anything."

  Jordon acknowledged Jay's peace offering with a slight incline of his head. Giles nodded back and was gone. Jordon stared after him, at the empty doorway, wondering why he didn't feel anything except relief while he watched his life's dream slip away.

  "Do you still need me?" Henry asked, pulling Jordon out of past plans and patterns to focus on a very real 'now' that required his immediate attention.

  "Yeah, I do. Finn too, if she's willing. Ask her to bring her camera, it may be the only thing that keeps us from getting arrested."

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  The stench of antiseptic burned Jordon's nostrils as he stepped through the automatic doors of the Burlington Hospital.

  Hospitals suck.

  The faded white and pea green walls began to close in on him as a cart of industrialized mush food passed by.

  Hospitals suck.

  The bright glare of fluorescent light bouncing off the polished linoleum floor and shiny stainless steel equipment hurt Jordon's eyes. He narrowed his eyes against it, but the instant headache pierced his temples.

  Hospitals suck.

  Were they all like this, or only the ones he'd had the displeasure of visiting? And were they all such dreary, sterile environments? Why was the air so heavy? So full of desperation?

  Because people die here. Cold and alone, with the cacophony of 'business as usual' all around them.

  This would not happen to Irma. Not when he could help it. She'd given him the power and he was going to make it so. Unfortunately, some people didn't have a choice in the matter.

  For Irma, there was a choice, and Jordon was going to make it.

  The constant noise, the beeping and buzzing of miscellaneous monitors, the squeak of the nurses shoes as they scurried about in their scrubs, some over-worked and stressed to the point of curtness, some crooning empathetically, soothingly, to family and friends of their patients, roared through Jordon screaming: This is no place for a woman of her strength, her passion for life, her depth of dignity, to die. Get Irma out of here.

  Jordon gritted his teeth, steeled his jaw and headed straight for Irma's room, his gait long and fast. Finn and Henry flanked him, easily matching his steps. There they were, three tall, determined, bad-asses bent on breaking Irma out so she could die in her own bed at Potters Woods.

  One of the crooning nurses in bunny scrubs quickly ran to catch him. Jordon recognized her. She was nice. She combed Irma's hair and read to her. He ignored her though and kept walking. He was a man on a mission, and he wouldn't be deterred by a cute set of scrubs and an angelic disposition.

  "Mr. Bennett"

  Jordon kept moving.

  "Mr. Bennett." She said again, louder and more insistent. This angel had lungs.

  Jordon didn't slow, but he could tell by the squeaks that she was closing in on him.

  "Mr. Bennett. Sir, stop. It's important." Now people were staring. Jordon ignored them too. He didn't have to turn to know she was almost on top of him.

  "She's awake, Mr. Bennett."

  Jordon stopped dead in his tracks, turning quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid having nurse bunny scrubs slam into him. Jordon managed to peel her away from him before she bounced off his body and fell at his feet. When she began to apologize, Jordon shook her.

  "What did you say?"

  He felt Finn's hand on his shoulder. "Put her down, Jordon."

  Jordon looked down. Sure enough, he was holding the woman a good six inches off the ground.

  Jordon set her down.

  "Stop shaking her and she might answer." Henry added.

  Jordon dropped his hands to his sides and spoke to Henry without looking at him. Instead, his eyes honed in on the nurse's name tag like a laser.

  "I'm not making any promises until I hear what nurse Peacock has to say. Make it fast, I don't want to have to shake you again."

  Jordon knew he was scaring her. He didn't care. Sometimes intimidation worked, and he wasn't above using all the tools in his tool box. His estimation of nurse Peacock grew when anger, not fear, flashed in her eyes as she took a step closer to him and stuck a finger in his chest. She suddenly reminded him of his elf, even though she didn't look anything like Reed. He wasn't going to shake this nurse again.

  "Mrs. MacDonald is awake. She's been asking for you. I've tried calling your cell for the past hour, but all I ever got was voice mail." She accused.

  The ire went out of Jordon. Just hearing that Irma was awake, and that he'd have a chance to say good-bye, flooded him with gratitude. How could he be angry, when he was so damned grateful.

  "I was in a meeting."

  "I hope it was important."

  Jordon smiled at her snippiness. She couldn't have been more than twenty-five, but she had a lot of what his grands would call 'grit'. Just like his wife. Just like Irma.

  "It was. Not as important as this, but important."

  Something in his tone must have gotten to her, because her attitude changed to one less accusatory. "You can go in and see her, but she's very weak. Don't push her too hard."

  "I'm not here to see her. I'm here to take her home."

  Jordon turned and walked into Irma's room. There was nothing else to say.

  ...

  Sunlight streamed through Irma's window, warming her face. Was it the sunlight that woke her, or was it a voice in her head that begged her to return, if only to say good-bye. She was weak, she could barely move her arms, and lifting her head seemed to take the same effort as climbing Mount Fuji had taken, when she'd scaled it in the forties. She made the journey then huffing and puffing, muscles screaming, will pushing her on. She'd make this journey now.

  She was younger then, and stubborn in her need to prove a point to herself.

  Now, she was old and tired
, and just as driven to complete what she started, though this time not for herself. She would climb this mountain for Jordon. His soul needed this more than hers, and if coming back to the world, however briefly, could give that to him, she'd do it.

  She didn't expect to find her true place with her third and in some respects best family at ninety-eight and yet, God provided her with that love and acceptance in the form of Potters Woods. The least she could do is return the favor. Of course, none of them knew how old she really was. If they did, she'd never have been able to go fishing, or have Jordon talk to her as freely as he did. He'd have treated her like an old lady, not like a friend.

  Jordon walked through her door looking raw. His hair tied back in a messy knot, his shirt inside out, or was that the style? She couldn't keep up. But it was his eyes, filled with relief, love, and determination that told her she'd done the right thing by fighting her way back. She just hoped she could make it out of this place before her soul, which she fought to contain even now, broke free.

  "You gave that poor girl more grief than she deserved. You should be ashamed of yourself." She said, with as much strength as she could muster.

  "And you took your sweet time waking up. Jesse was worried."

  "Was he now? And what about you Jordon, were you worried?"

  He came toward her and kissed the top of her head, his lying eyes smiling even as they held a whisper of tears. "Not me. Not for a second. I know you're too full of pride to leave with me having caught more fish than you. At least not before giving me hell about it."

  "Don't swear."

  "Yes ma'am."

  Irma smiled. It was the first time since she met Jordon that he did exactly what she asked without sass, politely even. He must have been more worried than his eyes let on. Irma wanted to ease that, to let him know that it was all going to work out, but she didn't know how just yet. She fervently hoped she'd figure it out soon. She didn't have much time to get it right.

  "What do you say we unplug all this shi...stuff and take you home?"