When It Feels So Right

by Celeste O. Norfleet

  “One more thing,” Ben began. “I don’t know how relevant it is at this point, but while in college Joanna Butler did a few freelance articles for a tabloid magazine.”

  “There you have it, she’s a plant,” Daniel said immediately. “This is exactly what I was afraid of. We hit the news with our new energy program one day and she hits it with her exposé on us the next. We’ll be ruined.”

  “No, she’s not a tabloid plant,” Andre said.

  “This is already too far out of hand. Have you tried offering her money?”

  “She wouldn’t take it.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Trust me, I know.”

  “Then what else can we do? This distracting plan of yours just isn’t working fast enough.”

  “It’s working,” Andre affirmed.

  “It had better work,” Daniel warned.

  “I need to know what happened. I want to see those court transcripts,” Andre insisted.

  “Impossible at the moment, all the records have been sealed. Whatever happened, it must be something pretty serious or pretty embarrassing, because nobody’s talking. I’m working a contact to perhaps get a look, but it’s gonna take time and money. The sensitivity of the parties involved is being protected more than usual,” Ben said.

  “Okay, you do what you need to do,” Daniel said. “Nothing illegal and keep the family name out of it.”

  “Understood,” Ben said readily. “I e-mailed everything to your BlackBerry. You should have it by now.”

  “You what?” Andre asked as his heart slammed hard against his chest. Ben had done the usual, e-mailed everything to his BlackBerry. It was standard procedure for him to do that. But what was sent to his BlackBerry would also be sent to his home computer.

  “I e-mailed everything to your BlackBerry,” Ben repeated.

  Andre felt ill. “I have to go,” he said quickly.

  “Andre, before you go,” Daniel said. “Your cell was off last night. I left you a message this morning. Your cousin needs you in Los Angeles as soon as possible. In the meantime, do what you do best, take her down now.”

  It was the call to arms that he oftentimes relished. Like his great-grandfather, he had a talent for manipulation. But this time the vile words only echoed in his ears. His father was demanding the impossible. Love had changed that. Love had changed him. “I’ll call you later.” He disconnected quickly and looked around, feeling the cold morning air chill his lungs. His heart was beating fast and his breathing was labored. Unfortunately neither had anything to do with his run. Andre turned and ran back to the house. Thoughts raced through his mind as fast as he ran.

  Was she, as his father suggested, in search of another big pay day? He didn’t believe it. She’d mentioned that she’d worked for a politician. She didn’t lie exactly, but she didn’t tell the truth, at least not all of it. Entering the house, he headed straight to his office. He looked down at the monitor seeing the message Ben had sent. He clicked the attachments and a new screen popped up. Everything was there, including scanned documents. He saved the file.

  He sat back and wondered what happened. Did she have an affair then try to blackmail a senator? If it were true then she’d played him. But still he knew that he couldn’t do this, not to the woman he loved. At that moment he noticed the message light blinking on his machine. He pushed the button.

  “Andre, your cell phone is off. Call me as soon as you can. Ben got some new information on Joanna Butler. Looks like you were right not to trust her. She’s going to be a bigger problem than we anticipated. Whatever you’re doing to get rid of her do it faster. Also, I just got off the phone with your cousin. He needs you in Los Angeles again. So bribe her, charm her, screw her, whatever it takes, whatever your plan—just get her away from here. Your grandfather doesn’t need this distraction and neither do we. I don’t need to tell you how important this new venture is.”

  Andre pressed the erase button. His father’s message, in its usual bluntness, was crystal clear. He was right, he knew he needed to finish this now. But not in the way he expected. He left the office to go to Jo. As soon as he got to the front stairs he saw her coming down, her coat over her arm. “We need to talk,” he said.

  “You’re back early. When’d you get in?” she asked, the coolness in her tone evident.

  Andre watched as she walked down the remaining steps. “A few minutes ago. I see you’re dressed. You’re leaving?”

  “Do you know when Jacob is coming back?” she asked.

  “No,” he said watching her closely, trying to figure out if she knew what he was doing and had been playing him from the beginning. She walked over and glanced out the front window. “Jo, I will protect my family,” he said.

  She turned back to face him. “Are we back to that again?”

  “We never left it,” he said solemnly.

  “Obviously,” she said, matching his coldness. “So I gather the plan was to make me fall for you, then what? I’d be so in love that I’d just walk away from the job? And all this between us was just a game to keep me distracted and away from my job and Jacob until you got something on me?” He didn’t respond. She smiled and shook her head. “Thanks, I guess I should feel honored. I had the undivided attention of Andre Buchanan for four whole days. I’m sure very few women can say that.” He still didn’t respond. “What is it that’s so crucial that you’d go to these lengths to hide it? There’s no family secret that important. Was it that your great-grandfather was a bootlegger, he smuggled guns, what?” She moved to the window and looked out.

  “You wrote for a tabloid magazine?”

  “Yes, ten years ago,” she said without turning around.

  “Do you still freelance for them?”

  “No,” she said flatly.

  “Why don’t you tell me about your last client,” he asked.

  “What do you want to know?” she asked turning back to him.

  “I want to know what happened, what you did.”

  “I’m a ghost writer, I wrote.”

  “What exactly did you write?” he asked coolly.

  “Articles, press releases, blog notes, things like that.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Look,” she said, pointedly turning to him, “if you want to ask me something I suggest you man up and do it.”

  “Tell me about the lawsuit,” he said, moving to stand in front of her.

  “No,” she said blankly, looking up at him.

  He was surprised to hear her definitive answer. “No, that’s it? No reason, no added remarks, just no?”

  “You want more, fine. No comment,” she said smartly.

  “I need to know, Jo. Tell me about the senator,” he said. “Did you sleep with him to further your career?”

  She looked at him, surprised by the question. “I don’t know how you found out about that since the proceedings are sealed and a gag order was issued, but I suggest whoever gave you the initial information can fill you in with the rest. So go back and ask them.”

  “What am I supposed to believe?” he asked, reaching out to take her hand.

  “Believe whatever you want,” she said, stepping away before he could touch her.

  “I guess that’s my answer. Does my grandfather know about you and what happened with the senator?”

  “Are you unfamiliar with the term gag order?”

  “So he doesn’t,” Andre said. She didn’t reply. A car horn blew outside. It drew both their attention for a few seconds. “Tell me, Jo, is this job that important that you would jeopardize us?”

  She looked at him fiercely. “There is no us,” she said coldly. He actually looked hurt by her biting words. “How far were you going to take this? When were you going to tell me that you were just using me?” She spoke haltingly as her voice broke with emotion.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked.

  She looked at him in astonishment. Apparently he intended to play this until the end. “I’m talki
ng about your father on the answering machine and I’m talking about my life on the screen. I’m talking about your plan to manipulate me. Well, congratulations, it worked.” She spun around quickly and headed to the door.

  He hurried after her, stopping her as she opened the door. He grabbed her waist and drew her close to his body. “Jo, that’s not how it is now. I love you. All that other stuff doesn’t matter.”

  “It does to me.” The car horn beeped again, this time more insistently. She stepped away from him and opened the door.

  “Where are you going?” he asked quickly.

  “Back to work. I have a job to finish.”

  “And if my grandfather doesn’t want you?”

  “He will,” she tossed over her shoulder as she opened the front door and got into the cab. It drove off.

  Chapter 16

  The cab drove off just as Andre’s XF Jaguar pulled up. If their timing was for appearance’s sake, it was nearly perfect. Neither spoke as they walked up the front steps, Jo first, Andre following. When they got to the top step Andre broke the silence. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “I answered you. You just didn’t like the answer.”

  “Is that all you’re going to say?”

  She turned quickly to face him. He was closer than she anticipated. Her breath caught and her heart rate soared as she glared into his eyes. “Can’t you just trust me?”

  “How can I?”

  “So much for your love, I guess,” she said.

  “And that’s just it, I do still love you,” he said.

  “Oh please, don’t insult me,” she said. “I know it was all part of some plan to manipulate me. You won. You got what you wanted—for me to leave the house. I can finish your grandfather’s job someplace else.”

  “I don’t get it, I don’t get you. After everything’s that’s happened, why is it still so important to do this? How will it benefit you in the end? Is someone paying you to do this to us?”

  “It’s important because I gave my word and for some people that’s enough. You know what? You’re too used to liars, backstabbing and deceit. Now you see it everywhere, but strangely enough there are some honest hard-working people out here who just want to do the right thing. That’s the difference between you and me, when I give my word I keep it. I mean it. When I said that I love you, I meant it.”

  “I did too.”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but decided on a better response. Apparently he wasn’t going to let it go, so she was going to show him what he lost. Without a second thought she reached up and kissed him passionately. He grabbed her instantly, holding her tight against his body. Want and desire was back as their mouths devoured each other and their tongues moved in synchronized perfection. They got lost in the kiss. When it ended she looked away breathless. “That’s what love feels like.”

  To their surprise Jacob opened the door smiling happily. “Well now, it’s good to see you two haven’t killed each other.”

  Jo’s jaw dropped open. Seeing Jacob standing there smiling officially made the situation a complete embarrassment. He didn’t react or mention what he had to have witnessed, but the gleam of knowing was certainly in his eyes. “Not yet, but almost,” Jo said, then smiling tightly she tried to project some semblance of professionalism. “Jacob, it’s good to see you.”

  “Don’t just stand out there like strangers, come in, come in,” Jacob said, opening the door wider for them to enter. “I wondered what happened to you two, glad to see everything’s okay.”

  “Hello, Grandfather, welcome back. How was Anchorage?”

  Jacob shook Andre’s hand then hugged him. “We’ll talk about that in a few minutes.”

  “When did you get in?” Jo asked, hoping it wasn’t the night before.

  “Last night,” Jacob said.

  Jo looked at Andre. His cocky half smile said it all. Whatever Jacob suspected of them was right there on Andre’s face. There was no doubt Jacob knew that they spent the night together. “Jacob, we need to talk,” she said.

  “We will, later this afternoon. Right now I need to speak with my grandson here.”

  Jo nodded and half smiled. “Sure, of course, I’ll be upstairs working.” She started past him.

  “Jo, were you able to get much done on the bio?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I did,” Jo said, turning back to face him. “I reviewed all the previous notes and made some of my own. I think it’s a great start and a spellbinding story. But we’ll discuss all that when we talk later.”

  “Excellent.”

  Both men watched as Jo went upstairs. When she got to the top and turned in the direction of her room, Jacob turned to Andre. “Come, let’s get some air.”

  Andre followed his grandfather outside onto the deck. He knew the look in his eye. He’d seen it a hundred times. At barely five foot nine and one hundred and sixty pounds, his grandfather might appear to be a frail old man to most, but Andre knew better. Jacob Buchanan didn’t still actually run the company, but he did run the family. They might not agree with his process or his methods, but there was never any denying the outcome. Jacob always came out on top. This family knew too well the power he still wielded.

  Jacob walked outside to the cast-iron railing and looked out at the view. It was spectacular. The mountains crested against the sky and a soft halo of clouds sat on top. A mass of green stretched out as far as the eye could see. He stood a moment just looking out, admiring the life he made. “I sometimes forget just how invigorating this view can be. It makes you feel alive, like you could conquer the universe.”

  Andre stood, leaning his back on the rail. He turned and looked out at the beauty. “Yes, it is awesome, but I know you didn’t bring me out here to admire the view.”

  “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? What you’re up to?” Jacob asked plainly.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Andre said.

  “Like hell you don’t. I have high blood pressure, a touch of arthritis in my joints, a wicked backache when it rains, but with all that, I’m no doddering old fool. I know when something’s going on in my house. Don’t play games with me. Remember, I taught you the games. Now one more time, you want to tell me what’s going on here?”

  Of course Andre knew exactly what his grandfather was talking about. He had to have seen the kiss on the front porch. “Granddad, what you saw earlier was incidental. It’s between Jo and me. I’m not discussing my personal life with you.”

  “If it encroaches on my plans you will.”

  Andre knew there was no getting around this conversation. “I know you like her and you want her around to help you with this bio, but she needs to leave now. We can’t afford to have her here, she can’t be trusted.” He said the words, and each one seemed to pierce his heart as he spoke.

  “And you know this how?” Jacob asked.

  “There are things you don’t know about her, potentially damaging things that could affect this company and this family.”

  “Such as?” Jacob offered.

  “Such as, she worked with a tabloid magazine.”

  “I know, they bought a few of her articles years ago.”

  “She’s currently in litigation with a U.S. senator for ethics violations, fraud and blackmail. If any one of these accusations is true, it makes her more dangerous to us than any of the others put together. I don’t know the particulars, but whatever they are we don’t need her spotlight on us right now.”

  “Did she tell you all this?”

  “No. I had Ben check her out.”

  “Why not just ask her?”

  “I did. She refused to answer my questions.”

  “Maybe you asked her the wrong questions.”

  “Granddad, I get that you like her. She’s a very attractive, intelligent and desirable woman. Any man would be crazy not to want her in his life, but you can’t trust her.”

  “Of course I can,” Jacob said, “and you’re right, I do like her, alwa
ys have. I think you like her too.”

  “Whether I like her or not isn’t the point. This has nothing to do with me anymore. It’s about the family.”

  “Actually, now I think it does have to do with you.” Jacob chuckled, sensing something very different about Andre. “Oh, it started out with you protecting my interests, but somewhere in the past few days things changed for you, didn’t they?” Andre went silent. “No need to answer. I can see it as plain as day. You’re in love with her.”

  “Yes, I love her. But I can control how I feel. Don’t mistake that kiss you saw earlier. I can and will separate business from pleasure.”

  Jacob’s smile broadened as he shook his head. “No you can’t, at least not this time. She got to you. It’s in your eyes and all over your face. You’re in love with her. And by the look on her face I’d say there was more than an excellent chance that she’s in love with you too.”

  Andre didn’t answer right away. He didn’t want any of what his grandfather was saying to be true. But he knew that it was.

  “There’s nothing wrong with finding that one special woman and giving your life to her. I found mine years ago. I wouldn’t trade my life with your grandmother for anything in the world.”

  “Granddad, whatever my feelings are is beside the point. I have an obligation to this family. I turned my back on that once before for love and I have no intention of doing it again.”

  “Andre, son, you have an obligation to yourself. Jo is not that other woman.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does when it feels so right.”

  “Granddad, this is business, not personal.”

  “Wrong, it’s always personal when it comes to my family.”

  “Granddad…” Andre began, but stopped when Jacob held his hand up.

  “Trust me. She has her reasons for being here, for doing what she’s doing. So leave it alone for now.”

  “You don’t know her history.”