When It Feels So Right

by Celeste O. Norfleet

  As PR director, he would more than likely be an excellent source of information. Unfortunately, he didn’t exactly trust her. But she was used to that and had always changed minds. She found that people easily talked about themselves and their families given the right persuasion.

  She knew she needed to open up and give more of herself before she could expect him to trust her. She was sure Jacob trusted her. Andre was a whole other story. “How do I resist you?” she asked the screen.

  You can only be expected to be cool and nonchalant for so long and Jo had just about reached her limit. She played his game, but he was so much better at it. Pretending that the kiss she and Andre shared was meaningless? The man’s mouth should be labeled a lethal weapon. Jo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Enough,” she said and then went to work.

  Andre stood leaning back against the table for a while. He didn’t know what made him do what he did. All he knew was that he wanted her and a simple kiss wasn’t going to do it. He wasn’t fooling himself any more than he knew she wasn’t fooling herself. They both knew that their attraction had taken on a life of its own. The desire and passion that surged between them wasn’t just going to be ignored as she so naively put it. It was too strong and she was too tempting and according to everything he felt, she also was too willing.

  But something held her back. He focused on a small segment of their conversation pertaining to how she worked now, as opposed to before. Her body language was very telling. She was nervous and defensive. He gathered that something major had happened for her to change her procedure. If he was going to do his job and protect his family, he needed to know what that something was. Maybe that something, if used to his advantage, was his in to getting her out.

  He retired to his grandfather’s office, sat at the desk and began an extensive search on Joanna Butler and her business. He scanned the usual sites, examining both business and personal information. There wasn’t a lot of either and what was there was negligible. There was nothing particularly unusual about what she did or how she did it. She had an impressive list of clients with enough notable recommendations and testimonials to impress him, but that’s not what he needed to see. He kept searching.

  An hour later he gave up. Frustrated, but not discouraged, he drafted a quick e-mail to his associate, Ben Rhames, requesting more detailed information. Ben was a professional at finding what couldn’t be found and with enough money he’d dig all the way back to Jo’s roots. He found an image of her and dropped a copy of it into the e-mail then pressed Send.

  It wouldn’t be long until he had a full dossier on Joanna Butler with particular interest in her personal life first and then her business life. He closed out the file he began amassing on her and turned to work-related items. He read a few not-so-urgent e-mails, composed a few press releases and then found that his focus was waning. “Enough,” he said, closing window after window until only one image appeared.

  A wry smile tipped his lips as he stared at the photo left on the monitor. Jo smiled back at him. Her original image appeared from the copy he sent out to his associate. He stared at it until the eerie ghostlike fluidness of his aurora borealis screen saver spiraled listlessly. He watched with lackadaisical interest and amusement.

  She had held her own against him. That in itself was admirable. He wasn’t the easiest person to maneuver around. He was admittedly intimidating, shrewd and manipulative. He specialized in evading issues and controlling perceptions to his advantage. Reflecting, he reached up and touched his lips. It had been hours, but the feel of her was still there.

  The kiss was an impulse, but it was something he had wanted to do since seeing her at the airport. His intention was to shake her up knock her off balance. But it seemed she had had the same effect on him. He turned his attention back to his work. He spent the next hour engrossed in business matters. He buried himself, but all attempts to erase Jo from his thoughts failed. She was always there in the background.

  The women he had dealt with yielded to him in all things. He’d gotten used to being in control. So the idea of a woman challenging him gave him pause. He liked it—or maybe he was just tired. He decided to take care of this situation tomorrow. He went upstairs to his bedroom but noticed the light still on in the guest room. Weighing his options, he knocked.

  Jo cracked the door open and gazed out at the man standing there. Andre stood with his head lowered. She didn’t say anything, just waited for him to say what he came to say. He looked up, letting his eyes slowly drift up her body. He didn’t smile.

  “I saw that your light was still on,” he began. She nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you were anything other than who you are. I guess I’m so used to putting out fires and avoiding scandals that I see a threat everywhere, even when it’s not there.” She opened the door slightly wider as he continued. “You’re obviously not who or what I expected. I won’t lie to you and tell you that I agree or approve of this whole thing, I don’t. My job is to protect my family.”

  “I’m not here to hurt your family,” she said, peering out from the partially open door.

  “My grandfather has been through a lot. My grandmother’s death devastated him, more than most know or could even imagine.”

  Jo nodded. “Believe me, I would never hurt Jacob.” He nodded and turned. “Andre, wait,” she said, reaching out and touching his arm. He stopped and turned back to face her. “Look, I know I can be a bit closed off at times, well, most of the time. My friends tell me that I don’t play well with others.” She smiled. He did too, then looked away a bit troubled. “What?” she asked curiously.

  “Nothing, I was just thinking about what you might have been like growing up. In kindergarten for instance, if you didn’t play well with others that would make you pretty lonely.”

  “I manage,” she said, knowing that he was getting too close again. “I prefer solitude.”

  “Preferable introvert in a solitary profession?”

  “As I said, I manage well enough. Being in foster care afforded me the skill to stand being alone. I didn’t have anyone in my life except myself, so that’s who I relied on,” she said. “But don’t pity me.”

  “Hardly, I admire you.”

  “Don’t assume you know me by how I appear psychologically.”

  “Your nature is to hide your feelings and push people away. I’d say you’re very good at it. Do you ever just let go and enjoy the moment? Damn the consequences?”

  “No. Never. I guess that’s why I work as I do, I don’t have to get close to anyone. I just do my job and move on.”

  “And that works?” he asked.

  She nodded. “For me it does. It has to.”

  He nodded his acceptance. “Since apparently I’m unable to stop this—fiasco…” he said, reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out a flash drive, “I want a copy of everything written, in progress. Agreed?”

  She looked at the offered drive in his hand. “No. No one sees my work in progress, not even Jacob. It’s part of the original agreement. If you want to review a copy after it’s complete, you’ll have to discuss it with him.”

  “That’s unacceptable.”

  “It’s nonnegotiable,” she said defiantly.

  She stood up to him again. He smiled and nodded curtly, knowing that he would get around that point easily enough. “In that case, good night,” he said, and then turned and walked to the bedroom directly across from hers.

  Chapter 7

  The discussion, heated at times, raged for more than an hour. Jacob was firm and unmoved by the arguments Andre presented. But that didn’t mean Andre was going to stop trying. Hammering his point for the last fifteen minutes, Andre refused to give up. “Granddad, leaving this in my hands is out of the question. I have work to do, an office to get to. The grand jury suspended the subpoena after the spill, but they’re still investigating. I can’t just drop everything and baby-sit your latest project. You don’t need a biographer, you don’t need a
biography.”

  “Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. This family needs to remember where it came from. That means going back and writing everything down once and for all.”

  “But to what purpose?” Andre stressed.

  “Posterity, son, posterity. Future generations of Buchanans need to know their past—the good, the bad and the ugly. Your children and your children’s children need to know it. That’s why I am doing this,” Jacob insisted. “I won’t be around forever and when I’m gone, so is our true history. This way it will live on through the written word.”

  “Granddad, we know our history. Dad, Uncle James, Aunt Ruth and Uncle Arthur, my siblings and cousins, we all know. You’ve told us,” Andre insisted.

  “Things change as oral history is passed down. I need the truth to be told. I was there; I remember everything.”

  “But a memoir, you don’t even know what she intends to write. She told me last night that no one sees the work in progress, in this case, not even the client.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “You don’t know what she’s writing about you, you don’t have any control over what goes into it and you don’t see it until it’s complete.” Jacob nodded. “What if it gets out to the public?”

  “We have nothing to be ashamed about.”

  “Perhaps you’re forgetting our early history. The Buchanans didn’t exactly begin squeaky clean, did they?”

  “As with most modern-day families with means, no we didn’t. And there’s nothing wrong with accepting that. The past is the past.”

  “Granddad, not everyone thinks that way. What if buried ghosts come back to haunt us? It’s not unheard of.”

  “Then we’ll deal with it, if or when it happens. We have nothing to be ashamed or afraid of.”

  “It’s not about shame or fear, it’s about privacy, our privacy. Our family’s past isn’t open for others to scrutinize.”

  “She is lovely, isn’t she?”

  “What?” Andre asked, taken off guard by the sudden change of topic.

  “Jo, she’s a beautiful woman. She’s got backbone and spunk. I like that. A woman with a brain in her head who can take care of herself, I like that about her. She’s smart, enthusiastic and very attractive,” Jacob said. “If I were a few decades or so younger…” Andre looked at his grandfather suspiciously. The words were familiar. The dread in his expression was unmistakable. “You’re thinking of the interior designer, aren’t you?” Jacob said.

  “It is oddly similar. A woman comes to do a job for you and weeks later our attorneys need to step in. It’s the exact same scenario.”

  “Not at all, this is totally different. Jo has no ulterior motives whatsoever.”

  “I guess we’ll have to see about that.” Andre was about to state another case when his cell phone rang. He sighed heavily, pulled it out and answered. After a brief conversation, he closed it and put it away. “That was Bane. The chopper picked him up at the airport. It’s about five minutes out, we should get outside,” he said to his grandfather.

  Jacob nodded and grabbed his hat and coat. Andre grabbed his briefcase and followed. They went outside to the pad and waited. “Granddad…”

  “No, enough, don’t granddad me, make it work. Take her to Juneau and show her our world. I’m still the patriarch of this family and sole majority holder in Titan. I may be retired, but you work for me, remember? That said, this is a direct order from the chairman and CEO emeritus. Take the time you need until I get back. Just make sure to treat her well. That means do as she requests, give her what she wants, no questions asked. I want Jo comfortable and happy when I get back. That means none of your sly tricks or PR foolishness. Jo is here as my guest, remember that. I want this project to happen,” Jacob said decisively.

  The firmness of his speech left nothing to misinterpretation. Jacob was obviously not giving in on this point, that meant Andre couldn’t insist she leave. So if this project were to fall through, it needed to be her decision with no obvious interference from him. Andre frowned. That wasn’t likely to happen. Jo was too thrilled to get this bio together. A frontal assault was out of the question. This might be trickier than he anticipated.

  “Ah don’t look so miserable, my boy. I’m leaving a very lovely woman in your capable hands. Most men would be delighted to have such a task as keeping her happy. But I know you’ll do me right and be a true Buchanan. You may find she’s rather nice to have around, so don’t hurt her.”

  “I have no intention of hurting her,” Andre said.

  “You know exactly what I mean, none of your psychological tricks.”

  “Of course not,” Andre said smiling. The wind kicked up as the helicopter approached. Both men looked up as it landed smoothly on the pad. Jacob held his hat down as Bane and the co-pilot hopped out and hurried over. The co-pilot tipped his hat as he picked up Jacob’s small bag and hurried back to the chopper.

  Andre handed Bane his grandfather’s briefcase and Bane gave him a thick dossier and several overnight packages and envelopes. They spoke for a brief moment then Bane helped Jacob to the backseat of the copter. With Jacob buckled and secured, the helicopter slowly took off leaving Andre to be a true Buchanan—as his grandfather requested.

  When the helicopter was nearly out of sight Andre walked back to the house considering how he might get around his grandfather’s explicit orders. But as he saw it, he had no choice but to play nice, at least for now. Once inside he went directly to his grandfather’s office. He flipped through the stack Bane gave him, seeing nothing of major interest or immediate concern.

  He sat heavily, disturbed by the words echoing in his head; a true Buchanan. A true Buchanan was exactly what he was trying to avoid. A true Buchanan meant his great-grandfather, Louis Buchanan, with the name taken in 1883 after he ran away from the south where he was born. Louis Buchanan was also the same man who came to this land and lied, stole, cheated, connived and pillaged to get what they now call a legitimate business.

  Andre looked down at the envelope his grandfather left for him to give to Jo. He opened it and looked inside. There was a copy of his birth certificate, marriage license and various other documents. There were notes and diagrams and even a few personal letters. Nothing that would appear too scandalous, so he decided to do as his grandfather requested and hand them over.

  He sat back thinking about Jo again. A slow lustful smile tipped the corner of his lips. He remembered their kiss well. It damn near kept him up all night. Knowing that she was just across the hall from his bedroom was tempting, but he knew he had time to work on her.

  Jacob had asked him to take care of her before he left. Help her with the job and show her Juneau. He smiled, remembering the conversation with his father the day before. Perhaps he would take his advice and step it up a notch. He needed to make it her decision to leave, anything less and his grandfather would never forgive him. He needed to do more than seduce her, he needed to charm her. He needed to open her heart so that she’d fall for him. And he needed it done quickly.

  He glanced up at the ceiling above his head. A creak in the floorboard told him that she was up. He smiled again thinking that the next few days would certainly be interesting. He was definitely going to enjoy his time with her. He’d pour on the charm, seduce her and wrap this up before his grandfather returned.

  He began forming a complete solution to his dilemma. What if they had an affair and she got emotionally attached to him? He knew women, they always claimed they don’t want commitment, but eventually the sound of wedding bells would deafen them. Jo was probably like every other woman, emotional and easily susceptible to seduction. It just might work. The emotional onset just might rattle her enough to make her leave of her own accord.

  He smiled, noting his problem almost solved. She didn’t quite trust him so he had to change that quickly. But he was PR director for Titan, how hard could it be to do PR for himself?

  He grabbed his cell and began making arrangements for the next
few days. If this was going to work, he needed to prepare. Impressing her might not be as easy as with most women and this was too important to leave anything to chance. Fifteen minutes later he hung up his call to a delivery company, satisfied with his preparations. Just as he placed the cell on the desk it rang. There was a minor crisis at his office. He turned on the computer and went to work. Thankfully work completely consumed him for the next hour.

  “Good morning.”

  Andre looked up to see Jo standing in the office doorway. She wore a soft bright red V-necked sweater and slacks with her hair pulled back and resting on her shoulders. She looked sexy, although he doubted that was her intention. He smiled admiringly as his body reacted. His grandfather was right about one thing. She was definitely beautiful. “Good morning. I didn’t expect you up this early.”

  “I’m an early bird. I’ve already worked for a few hours this morning,” she smiled and looked around the office curiously. “Is Jacob still around?”

  “No. He left just after dawn. He’s probably already in Anchorage by now,” Andre said. Her disappointment was obvious. “He left you in my very capable hands, his words.”

  “So, where is everybody else? Where’s Bane?”

  “Bane left with my grandfather. Housekeeping will be here later this morning and the cook has the day off.”

  “I see, so we’re here alone?” she asked.

  “Is that a problem for you?”

  “No, of course not,” she said still standing in the doorway. “I have plenty to keep me busy today.”

  “Would you like to come in, have a seat?”