Dear Gabby

by Mary Suzanne

  Dear Gabby

  Chapter One

  Gabrielle Fallon swiped the edge of the long envelope and unfolded the white sheet of paper. She quickly skimmed the contents and a shock raced through her. Surely, someone was playing a joke on her.

  Someone by the name of Cole Powers had brought a lawsuit against the Chicago Gazette and Gabrielle. In his complaint, he alleged the person writing the Dear Gabby column acted recklessly in giving advice to his sister Samantha Powers. The advice, in his opinion, caused his sister’s disappearance.

  Gabby felt her future slowly slipping away. It had taken hard work to get where she was today. She loved everything about her job and had always wanted to write a lovelorn column. Growing up she couldn’t wait for the paper to arrive and always managed to latch onto that section to read. As the years passed, her dream never faded and after graduating college, her career became a reality.

  Six months flew by for her after she’d found work at the small newspaper in Chicago. She had managed to find a faithful following and some readers wrote more than once seeking her help. The increase in the mail flow hardly gave her enough time to answer all of them.

  Joe Brandon, the owner of the newspaper took a chance in hiring her to his staff. His small edition barely competed with the larger newspaper chains in the city, but somehow he managed to keep everything in the black.

  Gabby's wandering thoughts returned to the present. She still clutched the intimidating letter tightly in her hand. The name Samantha Powers pounded through her head, but she couldn't put the writer’s identity to any letter she had received recently.

  She glanced across the small office at Emma her coworker. "Have you got a minute? I’d like your opinion on something."

  "What is it?"

  Gabby handed the letter across to her. While she gave Emma time to look it over, she walked over to the file cabinet. The only thing left was to try to find a copy of the letter she’d answered to Samantha Powers. After sorting through the pile, she found what she wanted and carried it over to her desk.

  "Do you remember corresponding with Samantha Powers?" Emma glanced up as Gabby reclaimed her seat.

  "I'm going to find out,” she murmured, shaking the letter out of the envelope and glancing through it. “Now it's all coming back to me.”

  "So, what's it all about? For heaven's sake, don't keep me in suspense any longer."

  "Samantha Powers had second thoughts about marrying her fiancé. I suggested she take some time and get away to sort out her personal life. Apparently, she did and also canceled her wedding plans."

  "Advising his sister shouldn’t be grounds for a lawsuit.” Emma shook her head. “This brother must be an idiot.”

  "Maybe he feels he’s right in what he’s doing,” she sighed heavily. "I may as well take this to Joe's office and talk it over with him. The newspaper’s involved, too."

  "I'm not sure he's in. I remember him saying something about taking a client to lunch and you know how long his luncheon dates last." She shrugged her shoulders. "Especially if it's one of our attractive advertisers. He has a penchant of showing those ladies a good time, if you know what I mean.”

  "You're incorrigible, Em,” she said lightly, hiding a smile.

  "Oh, there he goes,” Emma said, tilting her head toward the hallway. “If you hurry, you'll catch him before he becomes embroiled in work."

  "Thanks.” Gabby picked up the folder and carried it with her. When she reached his door, she tapped lightly. It wasn’t long before she heard his gruff voice telling her to enter.

  Joe glanced up as she walked in. "You look serious. What’s going on?”

  "We have a problem, Joe.” She placed the letter on his desk.

  "What kind of problem?" He picked it up and read through it.

  "Someone's suing the paper and I'm the cause,” she said quickly, drawing his attention away from the letter for a second. “I gave advice to a woman named Samantha Powers and it didn’t meet her brother's approval."

  "Samantha Powers?" he asked, glancing again at the letter, his eyes narrowing slightly. "She’s Cole Powers’ sister."

  "According to the legal notice from the lawyer. Do you know Cole Powers?"

  "He owns the largest newspaper in Chicago. Why should he bring a lawsuit over his sister? This puzzles me."

  “Apparently, she took my advice and called off her wedding. She must have left town soon after because the lawsuit claims I'm the reason she's missing."

  "Whew! If it were anyone else, I wouldn't let it trouble me. From the few times I talked to Powers, I’ve noticed his attitude can be ruthless and he doesn't let anything, or anyone stand in his way. My reporter instinct tells me there’s more to this than we know."

  "I'm sorry, Joe. If it will help, I could print a public apology and explain that I'm giving up my column."

  "You will not!" He stood and walked over to the window. "We'll face this together no matter what the outcome.”

  She felt her eyes becoming moist, noticing the stubborn look on his face. She quickly blinked back the hot tears. Gratitude flowed through her over how he intended standing up for her. She didn't know too many people in the Chicago area and had come to think of Emma, Joe and Marty Jenkins, the reporter on the paper, as her family. "Thanks for your support, Joe," she managed to say, barely able to push the words out with the lump clogging her throat.

  "Just get back to your desk and finish the column before press time. We'll figure out something later about this so-called lawsuit."

  "Thanks again, Joe.” Gabby walked out into the hallway, feeling not so alone now.

  She made her way to the restroom. When she glanced in the mirror, she saw how her cheeks looked flushed and her brown eyes held a worried look. Reaching up, she brushed her hand across her dark hair, and managed to put the tumbling curls back into order. Marty expected her to have dinner with him that evening, but she wasn’t in the mood to socialize. She intended dropping by his office and canceling their date.

  When she entered her office, Emma wasn't around. She sat at her desk deciding to finish the column for the evening edition. She became so engrossed with work; she had shut the outside world out.

  When the door to her office opened, she didn’t pay any attention. What did catch her attention was the door slamming. She jumped and raised her head trying to find the cause of the interruption.

  She couldn't believe her eyes. A man glared across at her, with impatience stamped across his face. He wore a black shield over his left eye. His chiseled profile looked like some long ago movie star. Right at the moment, though, Gabby couldn't come up with the star’s name. Dark, straight hair dipped low over his forehead and reached the collar of his white shirt. Again, the thought that he looked like a brawny pirate came to mind and she smiled.

  "What do you find so amusing, Ms Fallon?" he asked sarcastically. Even though his words held a stinging ring, she still felt a shiver of awareness listening to the deep velvety sound. The rich huskiness of his sexy tone made her shudder inside with a tingly sensation. She continued to stare at him, until she noticed how he cocked his eyebrow at her over her silence.

  "I'm sorry,” she stopped in mid-sentence because she didn't know his name, but a thought quickly struck her. He certainly knew hers. She couldn't understand how unless he read her column. Who is this man, looking so hot, standing staring at her as if he'd like to kill her?

  Chapter Two

  "The name's Cole Powers, Ms Fallon.” Again, his tone sounded sharp. "You gave my sister advice causing her to run away. We haven't heard from her in weeks."

  "You're Cole Powers?" Standing quickly, she accidentally knocked the sheets of paper off her desk. She watched how they all fluttered toward the floor as if in slow motion. Instead of picking them up,
she let them lie in a jumbled mess.

  “Yes, I’m Cole Powers.”

  "I just received the letter from your lawyer this morning, but I didn’t expect you to stop by.” She leaned down and started gathering the sheets. From the corner of her eye, she could see the frown lining his face over her keeping him waiting while she finished the menial task.

  “I had my attorney send the letter, but I decided to visit you in person.”

  "Why did you find it necessary to stop by?" She tried sounding as if his presence wasn’t disturbing her. She knew she was rambling, but she couldn't stop her nervous chatter. The man may intimidate her by just a look, but at the same time, he intrigued her. She couldn’t get over how his sensuous looks caused such turmoil in her.

  "For starters, Ms Fallon, you can tell me where you advised my sister to go.”

  He reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair away from his smooth forehead as if it bothered him. The action almost brought another nervous smile to her face, but she decided not to irritate him any further. A friendlier approach was what she needed. If they were on a first name basis, maybe he would be a little less hostile.

  "We don’t have to be so formal. My first name is Gabby.” She smiled again at him. While she waited for his reply, her gaze traveled over his dark suit. It fit his muscular frame to perfection. She definitely liked what she saw. An incredulous expression lined his features when he caught her giving him the once over.

  "I’m not here to strike up a friendship with you,” he stated in a cool tone. “I want to discuss how the advice in your column caused my sister to run away. Let's get back to our discussion on where you sent her.”

  She took a deep breath and swallowed. Gabby didn’t miss the muscle working speedily along his jaw line. The feeling that he might attack her at any second filled her thoughts.

  "I have no idea where your sister’s at.” There, she'd said it, she thought silently, and he could make what he wanted out of her answer.

  "You’ll tell me one way or another!” His voice rose. “We can settle it in a courtroom, or it can be settled now. Which is it to be, Ms Fallon?”

  A heavy silence developed as uncomfortable thoughts kept drifting through her head. She stared at his dark features, his warning ringing sharply in her ears. That was the last thing she wanted for the newspaper and Joe. A day in court was out of the question.

  Something about his demand for answers continued to confuse Gabby. She had to find out why he was so persistent. "Why is it so important for you to find her? She's probably just taking some time away from everything to think.” The scowl covering his face proved her answer hadn’t pleased him.

  "You know nothing about her.”

  He folded his arms across his chest. It looked as if he wasn’t ready to admit defeat. His fighting stance proved he wouldn’t give up until he found an answer.

  "I know she was a woman needing help and wanted someone to listen to her problems. Surely, you must have noticed how unhappy she was before she left." Again, she decided to try a little psychology on him. "You never did answer my question on why it’s so urgent for you to find her."

  His face held an uncertain expression. There was an inner battle waging through him and it showed clearly across his face, but it looked as if he was losing it.

  They stood silently staring at each other. In those few seconds, she noticed the eye that wasn’t covered was almost black in color. So dark, it looked almost like a stone she had once seen in a ring. There wasn't any warmth in it, without evidence of emotion.

  "If you have to know,” he finally answered, but stopped, trying to word what he was going to say.

  He was about to tell her why his sister ran away and all she could think of was how sensual he sounded. That should have been the last thing on her mind. Slowly shaking her head, she needed to get her thoughts back to their conversation.

  "Samantha is pregnant and needs to be around people who love her. You must see how important it is for me to find her." The accusing sound had vanished from his voice. A gentle tone took its place when mentioning his sister.

  It must have taken a lot for this man to swallow his pride and reveal the secret to her. She felt almost guilty now in giving his sister advice when she had needed it.

  "I'm sorry, but I didn't know,” she admitted with a sigh. “All she asked of me in her letter was guidance and support."

  "And you gladly gave it to her without any thought to the result, Ms Fallon. His head jerked back in anger. She didn’t know when it happened, but she noticed how his gaze narrowed after a time. He continued to watch her and she could feel her discomfort increasing.

  "No one ever calls me Ms Fallon. My name’s Gabby.”

  "Well, Gabby, tonight you're going to have dinner with me and we're going to decide how to find my sister."

  For some reason, his anger had vanished and she couldn’t understand the sudden change in him.

  "I'm late for a business appointment, so bring your correspondence with you and we'll go from there. Give me your address and your phone number in case there’s a change in plans."

  Without thinking, she rattled off her address and number. After he had written it down, she wondered why she hadn't given him more of an argument about having dinner with him. Maybe deep down, she wanted to find out what made him tick. Well, she would certainly find that out tonight.

  An excitement quickly built in her, but she didn't know if it was a nervous reaction, or just the thought of being alone with the dark, exciting stranger for an entire evening. She felt a surge of vulnerability swiftly passing through her knowing he could affect her so strongly.

  "I'll stop by your place at seven," he said, glancing at her for several seconds, before turning to leave and striding out into the hall.

  Wow! She murmured softly, after the door closed behind him. Now, what have I gotten myself into? Accepting a dinner date with a man I don’t know and who obviously hates me,

  She heard the door opening and glanced around to see Emma walking in carrying an armload of files.

  "Were you talking to someone just now?" She glanced over the bulky pile she carried. Her gaze drifted around the empty office.

  "I’m talking to myself," Gabby felt foolish at someone catching her.

  "By the way, I just saw the most gorgeous hunk leaving your office,” Emma continued, her head bobbing in the direction Cole had taken. "He passed me in the hall and the handsome devil nearly took my breath away.”

  Gabby could see Emma's response was the same as hers once she had laid eyes on Cole Powers. She figured he must have women falling all over him if they both had this reaction after seeing him. Shaking her head to clear it, she glanced at her coworker, who stood patiently waiting for an answer.

  "I'm sorry, Emma, I guess I was thinking of something else.”

  "I can guess what it was." The other woman smiled. "You were thinking about the man that just brushed past me in such a hurry."

  "The man you passed in the hall is Cole Powers. He certainly is something, isn't he?"

  "Yes, he certainly is,” Emma agreed with her, her eyes glowing with pleasure. “You can tell me I'm too nosy, but I'm dying to find out if he stopped by to discuss the lawsuit."

  "That was part of the reason he barged into my office without warning. The rest of the conversation pertained to what his thoughts were on my advising his sister. They were all negative, of course. He then went on to tell me that we were having dinner together to go over every detail in Samantha's letter."

  "And you went along with him without an argument?" Her brows rose as she gazed across at Gabby.

  "Yes, he had me so rattled I gave him my address and phone number without thinking." Something about his strong presence still had her stomach tied up in knots. As before, she had no explanation for the reaction filling her remembering his dark, sexy looks.

  "Did he tell you why he needed to find her?" Emma warmed to the subject, placing her folders on the desk as she sat. She leane
d forward in her chair, eyes alert, and ready to become a captive audience.

  "He said Samantha's pregnant. I feel guilty that I helped her and gave her the courage to run away." She sighed deeply.

  "It wasn't your fault. How were you to know she's pregnant?"

  "I know, but it still bothers me . . .” She picked up the folder and placed Samantha's letter inside. She put the folder by her purse so she didn't walk out of the office without it that evening. Not having the information when he showed up for dinner would be a disaster.

  "I was considering canceling my date with Marty when I found out about the lawsuit today, but now I don’t have a choice."

  "I saw Marty heading for his office a few minutes ago. You'd better get over there before he leaves on another assignment."

  “If you don’t mind, would you answer my phone? I shouldn't be long.”

  Emma nodded watching Gabby walk out the door.

  Gabby made her way through the hallway and stopped in front of Marty's office. Words drifted through her thoughts over how she could explain to Marty about canceling their date.

  Marty always gave her the impression he felt more interested in her than she was in him. He kept pursuing her, but she thought of him only as a friend and enjoyed going out with him socially. She eventually raised her hand and tapped lightly on his door.

  "Come in.” Marty’s voice filtered out to her.

  She walked into the small, cramped room Marty called his office. She couldn’t see a spare inch of free space on his desk making her wonder how he got any work done.

  "Hi, Marty.”

  "Oh, hi, Gabby.” His blue eyes lit up when he saw her. He reached up and smoothed his curly blond hair back as he stood. "What's up with you this morning?"

  "I'm going to have to cancel on you tonight.” She didn’t miss his frown.

  "Has something happened?"

  "Well, yes." Gabby spent the next few minutes telling Marty what had taken place that day and ending by explaining her unusual dinner invitation. "It's not that I want to go, but I feel I have to resolve the matter for the sake of the newspaper." She felt a guilty sensation rise in her again. In truth, she did want to go out with Cole Powers, but she couldn’t tell Marty. Just the thought of having dinner with the powerful man had her insides whirling. She felt worried about the strange new emotions building in her.