Francine leaned forward in her chair with her hands laced together on her desk and glared at her sister. “What’s up? What’s up?” she echoed. “Why don’t you tell me what’s up?”
“Obviously, by the look of things,” Farrah said, gesturing toward the file lying open on the desk, “you’re up to speed.”
“Not for everything,” Francine snapped. “How could you do this? Keeping me in the dark, allowing everybody else to do the same?” She gestured to her sister, then herself, and said, “We’re a team...you, me and Felicia. How could you allow this to happen?”
The sisters just stared at each other, and after several moments of tense silence, Farrah pushed out a slow breath, and Francine relaxed back into her chair.
“Look, Cine, I’m sorry but Meeks is scared to death something bad is going to happen to you. Add that to the possibility of a baby—”
“Baby! What baby?” Francine asked, holding up her hands as though she was being arrested.
“Your baby,” Farrah said, frowning and tilting her head to the side. “I couldn’t help but go along with Meeks.”
“I’m not having a baby...well, not yet, I don’t think.” She sighed and looked at her sister. “Just tell me what you’re talking about.”
“Meeks said that there was a good chance that you could be pregnant,” Farrah answered. “And he already didn’t want you in any danger or getting overtired, especially after that last incident.”
“And you didn’t think to ask me?” Francine asked, shaking her head. “Farrah, you know how he can be.”
Farrah folded her arms across her chest. “Yes, and I also know how you can be.”
Francine sat up straighter in her chair and mirrored her sister’s actions. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You put everything and everyone before yourself, and I wasn’t willing to take any chances with my niece or nephew,” Farrah explained with a touch of anger in her voice.
“Okay, first of all, I’m pretty sure I’m not pregnant.”
Farrah dropped her arms. “Just pretty sure? Did you take a test, see a doctor?”
“No, but I got my period.” Francine frowned and diverted her eyes away from her sister.
“Look, that’s all beside the point—”
Farrah rolled her eyes, raised both hands and sat back in her chair. Her frustration was clear.
“You all had no right keeping me out of this. This was my case, and the only reason I agreed to step aside was because Meeks convinced me that we both needed to step aside, take time together to figure things out, focus on us as a couple...together. So he said he turned the entire case over to Jasmine. Our team reports to her and she reports to him...to him. He lied to me!”
“No, he didn’t,” Farrah defended. “You two did need time together, and we’ve made sure you did—”
“Yeah, by keeping me in the dark, yet keeping Meeks up to speed and involved,” she complained. “You’re my sister. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am, damn it, and you know it!” Farrah sprang forward so forcefully she nearly fell out of her chair. “Always have been...always will be—even when you’re wrong.”
The sisters stared at each other for several moments before simultaneously saying, “I’m sorry.”
They both smiled, and Farrah sat back in her chair.
“Look, Francine, Meeks loves you like crazy,” Farrah said, adjusting the ponytail that sat high on her head. “The thought of you being in danger, especially if you’re pregnant, would drive him insane. And that would drive us all insane. I didn’t think keeping you out of this one case would be that big of a deal.”
“I know he does, and I love him like crazy, too. But don’t you see why this is a big deal?” Francine asked, as she rose from her desk and walked over to her mini refrigerator where she removed two bottles of water. “Want one?”
“No, thanks,” Farrah answered.
Francine took several sips from her bottle, trying to fight a sudden wave of nausea. As she returned to her chair, the doorknob rattled, and her attention focused there as she said to her sister, “Meeks can’t think he can just step in and dictate my life, even if I’m pregnant.”
Meeks opened the door and walked into Francine’s office just in time to hear her declaration.
“Is that so?” he asked. The door swung open and he strode into the office.
Meeks stood inside the doorway dressed in the company T-shirt, which showed off those broad shoulders and arm muscles, along with black jeans that accentuated his very fine butt, with his hands on his hips, a deep frown on his face and a clenched jaw. Meeks’s glare moved between Francine’s face and the papers on her desk. “So I see you’ve been doing a little light reading.”
“That I have,” Francine said, standing and crossing her arms.
The room remained quiet for several moments before Farrah broke the silence. “Well, it looks like you two have a few things to discuss, so if you’ll excuse me...” She hurried toward the door but glanced back over her left shoulder at her sister. Farrah leaned in to Meeks and whispered something that Francine couldn’t quite catch, and then rushed out the door.
“So, care to explain to me what the hell you think you were doing taking over my case and leaving me out of the loop?”
“First things first. Tell me, are you pregnant?” Meeks asked with what looked like a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
Francine sighed, realizing that her sister had given Meeks all the ammunition he needed to push the issue. “No...maybe... I don’t know,” she said, frowning as she realized that she should be more sure of what was going on with her own body.
“What the hell does that mean, Cine?”
“It means I had an unusual cycle this time. It means I’ve been too scared to take a test or go see my doctor. That’s what it means, okay?”
Meeks crossed the distance between them. “Baby, we have to find out.”
“Don’t ‘baby’ me, mister! And why?” she challenged, brushing off his attempt to take her into his arms. “So you can have an official reason to try to control my life?”
“That’s not fair. I’m not trying to run your life, Cine,” Meeks defended himself.
“Oh, really?” Francine put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. “What do you call it then?”
“I call it trying to protect you—”
“From what?”
“From yourself!” Meeks snapped, matching her stance. “I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you and our baby safe.”
She released a deep sigh and went to the window. “Baby or no baby, Meeks, you have no right to try to control my life.”
Meeks closed the distance between them, snaked his arms around Francine’s waist and pulled her into his chest. She gave no resistance.
“I have every right to protect the love of my life who could very well be carrying my child. Not to mention my future wife,” he whispered into her ear before turning her around to face him.
Francine felt the tears begin to pool in her eyes as she saw Meeks looking down at her with an expression so loving it made her heart ache. “Is that supposed to be some sort of proposal?” she asked, smiling up at him.
“No, just a statement of fact,” Meeks said, lowering his head to claim her lips in a passionate kiss that set her body on fire.
Arrogant ass. Francine shook her head.
“All right, I get you want to protect me, and I think it’s sweet—in an overbearing caveman sort of way,” she said, giving him a warm smile.
“Francine.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m only—”
“Wait, Meeks, let me finish.” Francine placed her finger over his mouth. “I know you want to protect me, and it makes me love you even more. But baby, you have to un
derstand, I have a job to do just like you—a job I’m very capable of doing with or without you by my side, and one that I’ve worked hard to prove that I deserved.”
“I know you have, Cine, but I think you’re confused about your job description.”
“What are you talking about?” Francine asked, pushing out of his hold and stepping away from him.
“You’re CEO of one of the most successful security firms in the country. You’re not a full-time agent any longer, Cine, and it’s about time you stopped acting like it and started acting like an executive,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I’ve always done both jobs, and you know it,” she said, pointing her finger at him.
“No, get it right!” he countered. “First you were hired as an agent, and then you were promoted to CEO. You created this hybrid role.”
“So?”
“So,” Meeks snapped, “look where it’s gotten you lately.”
“What are you talking about? I’m damn good at both jobs, and you know it,” she said.
“No, I don’t.” Meeks said as he removed his hands from his pockets, checked and adjusted his watch. “You’re an excellent CEO, and you were an excellent agent, but you can’t be excellent at both at the same time.”
“The hell I can’t!” she protested. “I’m just as capable as you are at getting things done and even kicking a little ass if I have to. Don’t ever forget that either,” Francine said, poking her index finger in his chest.
He caught her finger in his hand. “I know how capable you are, Cine, but that won’t stop me from trying to keep you safe or from taking unnecessary risks, especially if there’s a baby coming. It’s not fair to our child to put both its parents in danger.”
“Then why don’t you stop working in the field, Mr. COO?” she asked, tilting her head.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Oh, now I’m ridiculous?” she said, throwing her hands in the air.
“Yes, because my job requires me to be in the field from time to time and you know it.” Meeks walked over to her bookshelf and removed one of her reference guides. “That’s why your father created the position years ago, so that he and my father could share the workload. My father took care of the field operations, and your father handled the sales and administration side of things, just like we should be doing it today. You’re the one who decided to dip those beautiful toes of yours into my side of the game.”
“Is that what this is really all about...me stepping on your toes?” she asked.
“You know damn well it’s not,” Meeks said, looking up from his book. “We’re not talking about this anymore. You’re off this case, and you’re staying off.”
“Like hell I am,” she shot back. “You have no right to make such a declaration!”
With a slight curve of his mouth he said, “I thought we covered my rights already. Now you answer this question—when are you going to find out if we’re pregnant?”
Francine glared at Meeks. She knew she should tell him what she already suspected. She didn’t need a test to tell her what she already knew in her heart. Farrah was right: the triplets’ cycles had always been like clockwork. If being late wasn’t enough to convince her she was carrying Meeks’s child, her extremely tender breasts and this morning’s brief bouts of nausea were. Sharing these symptoms with Meeks was reasonable, but Francine wasn’t in any mood to be reasonable.
“I’ll schedule a doctor’s appointment sometime next week,” she snapped.
“Next week? Why don’t you take one of those over-the-counter tests?” he asked, his voice laced with excitement and confusion.
“Because a blood test is more accurate this early in a pregnancy. Besides, what’s the hurry? It’s not like it will change anything right away if I am...not really.”
Meeks frowned down at Francine. “You really have lost your mind if you think things aren’t going to change if you’re pregnant.”
“Don’t try to put your demons on me,” Francine warned.
Meeks froze and raised his chin. “I don’t have—”
“Yes, you do,” Francine said, putting up her right hand to stop his protest. “I’m not reckless or needy, and I never put myself before others and their safety. The devil will repent before I risk hurting my own child.”
Meeks recoiled back as though he’d been hit. Multiple memories flooded his mind: losing his father as a young man, his inability to recognize Jasmine’s dangerous ambition and her sometimes thoughtless behavior when he’d first started working with her, which had put lives in jeopardy, and Francine’s injury. These were the very demons he tried to deny.
“I know that, Francine,” he said softly. “I know you would never do anything to put others in danger. What I’m more worried about is you putting yourself in danger. It’s my job as head of the family—”
“Head of what family?”
“Our family, Cine,” he said, pointing his finger between the two of them. “And don’t you dare say we’re not a family.”
“Meeks, this isn’t the ’50s, you know. Pregnant women...wives, do work. Many of them run companies, run in marathons and lift weights. And yes, some even fight the bad guys.”
Meeks walked slowly toward Francine, setting the reference book down on her desk, and stared down at her. Francine stood her ground and raised her chin in a defiant manner. “My woman...my wife will not put herself in unnecessary danger. And let me make myself perfectly clear. You will be my wife.”
Meeks turned on his heel and walked out of Francine’s office.
“Again, if that’s your idea of a proposal, it sucks!” she shouted after him.
Chapter 20
Meeks was too furious to return to his office, so he headed down to the gym. When he finished a grueling seven rounds in the ring with his trainer and thirty more painstaking minutes on the bag, every muscle in his body was screaming. The last thing Meeks wanted to deal with was the leggy redhead walking his way wearing an extremely tight red-and-black sports bra with a matching pair of shorts that fit like a glove.
“Jasmine, what are you doing here?” Meeks asked. “And what the hell do you think you’re wearing?”
Jasmine arched her back, ensuring that Meeks had a clear view of her breasts, and smiled. “This old thing? It’s just a little something I had lying around.”
“I thought you were covering Tiffany tonight,” Meeks said.
“I switched with that Jenna chick from one of Robert’s other teams that wasn’t busy, the blonde one that needs to touch up her roots. You remember how much I like to switch things up, don’t you?” she asked, giving him a sexy smile.
Meeks glared at Jasmine and said nothing.
“Tiffany is on a play date with one of her friends, shopping or something,” she said, waving her hands in a dismissive manner. “Since there hasn’t been anything new from Jergens, I thought I’d come work off a little extra energy. I was hoping to find someone to work out with. Interested?” she asked, giving him a flirtatious smile.
“Not wearing that, you’re not,” he said, frowning. “We have a dress code that everyone adheres to, and that includes workout clothes that we provide. If you want to work out in this gym, you will, too. Is that clear?”
Jasmine rolled her eyes and pulled her hair into a tight ball at the back of her head. “Even your precious Francine?” she asked.
“Everyone!”
“Fine,” she said, raising her hands in a surrendering gesture.
“Get with Mary, and she’ll give you a set,” Meeks said as he walked toward the door.
“If I go change, will you work out with me then?” she asked, pointing toward multiple weight machines. “I could really use a spotter. You have a state-of-the-art gym here and some of this equipment is unfamiliar to me.”
“Sorry, I’m done, and unfortunately, no one else will be around until after six. So if you want to come back then, you’re more than welcome as long as you’re appropriately dressed.”
She folded her arms and said, “Let me guess, a long dress with a chastity belt?”
“Nothing so drastic. I’m sure you’ll approve.” Meeks gave Jasmine a small nod and left the room.
* * *
Francine had given up trying to get any more work done. She made a quick stop at the convenience store and went back to her apartment. She changed out of work clothes and into a white T-shirt, blue jean overalls and steel-toe boots—clothes more appropriate for her workshop. When Francine had first built out her apartment, she made two of her bedrooms smaller than the original plans had called for in order to create a space that she considered a retreat. The rustic feel and smell of the different woods were the perfect cure to a difficult day.
Francine unlocked the oversize steel door she had installed to help soundproof the room and keep unwanted smells from her work away from the rest of her place. She pushed open the door, exposing the open space with hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, and two twelve-foot work tables standing five feet apart in the middle of the room. Multiple storage units throughout held different types of wood and woodworking equipment. Two unfinished pieces sat on one of the tables, while the other held a door that Francine was refinishing for her baby sister’s apartment.
Francine entered her workshop, and an immediate sense of calm came over her body. After closing the door behind her, she opened the glass doors and walked out onto the balcony. She took a deep breath, and as she exhaled, the weight that she’d entered with drifted right over the concrete barrier. Once she returned inside, she put on her protective eye gear and mask. She turned on her electric sander and went to work.
While Francine felt the tension leave her body as she pushed the sander across the wood, she couldn’t help but think about her fight with Meeks. She kept replaying their words over and over again in her mind. The one phrase—you can’t be excellent at both—stood out more than any others.
Protecting the Heiress Page 13