by Maggie Thom
“So, where are we at with acquiring Caspian Winery?” he asked the moment he stepped through the door. He didn’t apologize. Nor did he acknowledge the dirty looks he was getting from the junior members of his legal team.
“We’ve made several offers over the last year. The latest was no different. It was turned down. Not with a ‘no’ but ‘never, so go away and stop asking’.”
James looked around the table at the three lawyers that he’d hired. They were to look after all his legal, aboveboard dealings. Actually, he’d hired Eleanor ten years before and she’d handpicked her team, which had changed a few times. It seemed some people just didn’t like working with him.
He smiled inwardly. His hotel chain, C-Lite Hotels, was doing so well he needed not one but a group of legal eagles to look after his company. It did, however, surprise him that he was paying them such exorbitant fees and yet they still couldn’t get the job done. Maybe he hadn’t really expected that they would. But he’d hoped.
“What price did you offer?”
“Eighty-five million, which is at least twice the value.”
“That may be true, Ron, but I made it clear to all of you that I want that property. And I want it sooner not later. Go back to the drawing board and figure out how you’re going to entice that Dorothea Lindell to sell to me. Her health isn’t good, I hear. She has a new person in charge. Find out what you can about her—”
“She used to run a brothel.”
“What?”
Eleanor, the senior lawyer in the group, spoke up, “She’s the new CEO. And she didn’t run a brothel but she did run an escort service. Her business was aboveboard but nonetheless...”
“So, how do we use that to embarrass the old lady to sell?”
“Dorothea Lindell doesn’t embarrass nor is she easily intimidated. We need a different approach with her. The woman who is running the company, LJ Brown, has been in place for a little under a year. She’s done an excellent job of running the winery and expanding their reach. She’s pretty savvy and the newspapers can’t praise her enough. There was an article about a year ago delving into her past, so everything has been out in the open for the public. Dorothea was in fact the one that broke the story. Smart woman. She jumped ahead of the media, who would have turned it into a circus. Since then she’s made sure the media hears about all the new CEO’s accomplishments.”
James stared at Eleanor for a few moments. She wasn’t like her two junior lawyers, who couldn’t look him in the eye. She stared him down, not blinking. He allowed the slightest of curl to edge up the corners of his lips, not that it was discernible to anyone. But he knew. He liked that she challenged him. He also liked the dark purple suit she was wearing. It was definitely flattering to her and her figure. That was one thing he liked about her; she knew clothes and she knew how to dress to look good and be taken seriously.
“Can we buy the woman?”
“Don’t think so. Rumor has it that Molson Brewery offered LJ an unprecedented five million to sign with them. No mention of what her salary would have been. She turned them down immediately. She’s not interested. She used to cater to some pretty well known and powerful men, not that she has ever divulged who they are. But again, rumor has it that she is not to be harassed nor is there to be any negative media printed about her. No idea how much truth there is to that but I’m betting there’s a lot. So the woman, LJ, has a lot of backing. And I’m quite sure that the men she catered to are men you don’t want to tangle with.”
“You don’t want the winery for the winery, so what are you thinking you’d do with it? We could use that angle to appeal to them. I mean, if you’re up front and open about it, then I’m quite sure you’d get further.” Martin, the youngest and newest of the three lawyers spoke up.
James glared at him. “I pay you to do work for me. I don’t answer your questions. Do you understand me?”
The young man’s face flushed as he leaned back in his chair.
“He has a point, James. We need to come at this from a different angle. I don’t care why you want it but the truth is that it isn’t for sale. So, give us another way to approach it.”
James looked hard at Eleanor but didn’t say anything. She had a point but it annoyed him that she defended her overeager newbie lawyer.
Ripping down that winery was of no concern to James. He wanted to own it, if he could hand it over to his daughter, Tarin, to run and make it her business. Maybe then he’d be able to bring her back under his wing. Her son was his heir and was one day going to take over his grandfather’s dynasty. Tarin though, was fighting him at every turn. She wouldn’t send her son to the schools he wanted; she kept saying he was too young. But three was the right age to start shaping him. James knew he could always take the boy but he didn’t want to do that. He wasn’t interested in raising him, just in making sure that he learned from the best. And of course, that he knew how to run a successful hotel chain. One day it would be his. But first he had to get his daughter to come back into his life. She’d done everything she could to stay away from him. She wasn’t interested in running his hotels but maybe if he built a resort... or an apartment complex... something for those who had money and wanted to live outside the city... get fresh, country air... He stared off into space as the ideas came to him.
She’d wanted to run one of his hotels in her younger days but he’d been too bent on making her climb her way up the ladder. He hadn’t wanted her getting special treatment. Only she’d shown him instead, by quitting and having nothing to do with him. It hadn’t bothered him for years that she’d been estranged. He’d always known she had something to prove to him. But now she’d just cut him out of her life. It wasn’t sitting well with him. He didn’t want to admit it but age seemed to be making him look more at who he had in his life, and she was his only heir. She had to come back. Who else did he have to share his dynasty with?
“Alright. I guess the meeting is done?”
James looked distractedly at Martin for a second before turning his attention to the table in front of him.
“Here’s what I want you to do. I’m creating a new company and we’re going to go in a new direction.” He explained his plan.
Someone knocked on the door, which he ignored as he continued to talk about what he wanted.
“Are you all clear what I need you to do?”
The door opened. Chris Simmons, or JT as he liked to be called, his Financial Manager, stuck his head in. “Sorry to interrupt but we have a problem with three trucks that have broken down and your limo isn’t fixed yet.”
“I told you to hire a new mechanic. Get me a list. I’ll do it myself.” JT had hired a mechanic; well actually two, but James had fired them within a few days. Neither had known who he was when he’d called down to ask about his limo.
Martin spoke up, “I know of a good mechanic—”
“Do you mind? It’s none of your business. Do what I tell you to do and nothing else.”
Eleanor stood up looking at the two men who’d come with her. “I’ll see you two downstairs,” she said dismissively. Ron and Martin left.
Eleanor gathered up her paperwork but as soon as the door closed, she looked at James. “Someday your attitude is going to bite you, James.”
He smiled at her and shrugged. “I doubt it. Besides, you like that side of me.” A few years younger than him, he liked that Eleanor always dressed professionally and conducted herself that way. But he also liked knowing that he had seen the other side of her. Her hair had been down, and she had been naked and sitting on him.
“Stop undressing me. This isn’t the time or place.” Her face scrunched up in annoyance.
“I know. However, knowing what you look like under that very proper suit brightens my day.”
“We agreed no bedroom talk while at work. In fact, I’m quite sure that was your request.”
James nodded; when they’d started seeing each other two years before, he’d been adamant no one know and to remain
detached. To him it hadn’t been more than a physical thing. Lately though, he’d been finding himself wanting to see more of the soft side of her. He wondered if he told her he wasn’t feeling well, what she’d say, what she’d do. Realizing he must be sicker than he thought, he changed the subject. “Your guy needs to be kept in line.”
“Martin? He’s harmless. And he’s good. In fact, he reminds me of you in your younger days when you were a shark in tame waters. He has ambition.”
“And you sound like you’re enthralled with him.”
“I know talent. And I like talent.”
“Keep him away from me. I don’t like him.”
Eleanor rolled her eyes. “He’s a good lawyer.”
“I’ll see you later.” He stood up from his huge boardroom table, glad he had placed his hand on it as he needed it to steady himself. Eleanor frowned. He moved over to the window and stared out over the city where it had all started for him. Toronto. It was here that he’d managed to take flight with his hotel chain. He was doing very well but the astronomical price that he was going to have to pay to get Caspian Winery could be a challenge. But he always got what he wanted, one way or another.
“Sorry, I’m busy tonight.” The slight click of the door let him know that she’d left.
Which was just as well, as the pressure building in his chest felt like an elephant was thinking of sitting on it. But he would have liked someone to take care of him.
If his damn daughter would come around, he wouldn’t have to play this stupid game. Would she appreciate all that he was trying to do for her? That he was trying to get that place for her? The place held a soft spot in her heart, so if she owned it, maybe he’d bring her around to his way of thinking.
He pulled out his cell phone and made a call.
“I have a problem. Dorothea Lindell won’t sell Caspian Winery.”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Go out there. Snoop. Find her weakness. Find out how we can exploit her or her place.”
“Alright. Any injuries?”
“No. Not this time. Get me some information. I’m not getting what I want from legitimate channels so see what you can find out. For now, no strong-arming. Just be curious tourists. A happily married couple. Got it?”
Chapter 6
Tijan kept her head bowed but peeked through her long strands of hair. She smiled. She could hear her step-grandmother say, ‘get your hair out of your face; you should never hide, Child’. And yet here she was doing just that, keeping herself hidden. Her focus was the building across from her. She doubted anyone would even notice her, but she couldn’t take the chance of being recognized. If she’d have thought it through, she’d have done better at disguising herself, something she’d have to do the next time.
The area was quite busy with steady traffic, cars on the road and people on the sidewalks. Each doing their own thing, but everyone seemed to be in their own world, oblivious to others. Across the street at the building she was interested in, it was no different. People seemed to be moving at their own pace heading for some unknown destination. She should know, she’d been watching for almost an hour. A few people came and went from Knights Associates’ Computer business. It was where she was focusing her attention. It was on the ground floor. For all those in and around the two-story building, there was never a familiar face. No one she recognized, and no one that looked like her.
Sighing, she rolled her head around on her neck, trying to work out a few kinks. She shifted a few times, her feet already feeling the hard cement of the city streets. She wore what she always wore, jeans, t-shirt and cowboy boots. She was going to have to dig out her runners, though. She’d never thought of herself as a tender-tootsie. The fast-paced, cement-lined city of Toronto, though, was making her rethink that. The occasional woman that passed by in high heels made her cringe. She couldn’t imagine anything more painful; not even that of being kicked by a calf she was wrestling.
Tired of waiting for something she wasn’t even sure she could identify, she crossed the street. If she could get a closer look at the place she might find some answers. At the far end of the block, she waited for the lights to change and the little white sign that said she could cross. It was one reason she hated the city. In the country, she could take a short cut or a long cut and not have to worry whether she was taking her life in her hands if she chose not to follow the rules. Standing on the other side, she felt the tension creep in. The noise, the hustle and bustle and the thick smelling air settled into her neck and shoulders like talons clutching deep. She shrugged her shoulders a few times to ease the pain.
The first few steps down the sidewalk seemed to break through the chaos and echo in her head. It sounded like she was walking in a steel tunnel with her cowboy boots. The sound was deafening. The closer she got to the one place that might give her a sign if her sister was alive made her stop. Thoughts that she’d tried to keep at bay bombarded her.
What if she’s a city slicker?
What if it wasn’t her?
The odds were pretty high on that one.
What if she doesn’t care that she has a sister?
What if she doesn’t want to meet Mom?
What if we don’t like each other?
What if she’s a bitch?
What the hell am I doing?
The one thought that she couldn’t shake was that her sister had been at a small wedding where someone had been shot. What kind of people did she hang out with?
Someone bumped into her. It brought her back to where she was and the fact that she was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking it. She stepped closer to the building and moved toward the one she was curious about. She reached the end of the wall she was hugging and stopped. Across the alley was Knights Computers. A few people entered; a few people left. Some carried their computers in and left empty-handed. Others came out with their computers in their hands. Her research had shown her some of what they did. They fixed computers, doing pretty much what needed to be done. The reviews she'd found online had been quite positive. They had a good reputation. If the number of people leaving or entering was any indication, they were definitely busy.
Finding the place and a lead to her sister had been much easier than she'd thought. She'd arrived in Toronto Pearson Airport the day before. She’d wanted to start searching immediately, but the trip and the muggy heat had drained her. In truth, she’d been kind of terrified to leave her hotel room. She’d been to Edmonton and Calgary, two large cities in Alberta. But they didn’t come close to the scope of Greater Toronto, which seemed to go on forever. Going to any city was something she avoided whenever she could. And now she knew why; it was hot, muggy, full of traffic and people. Watching others fascinated her but already she was feeling overwhelmed.
He was busy fumbling with something in his pocket but the moment he looked up, everything changed. He stared at her with such intensity and confusion that it made her feel a bit uncomfortable. When he started moving toward her, Tijan stepped back. But he kept coming, determined. She wanted to turn and run, but there was something that kept her standing there. He didn’t seem to be a threat but there was no question he was aiming for her. He didn’t look homeless, at least not in the messy, kind of grungy way she expected but maybe she should give him money. Whatever it was, something made her curious enough to stand there.
“Why are you dressed like that? What are you doing? Graham won’t like it.”
Tijan gasped. She got the implication of what he was saying which got her so excited that she wanted to do a jig—not something she’d ever done before. It also meant it was her cue to get out of there. Now was not the time to pursue finding her sister, but at least now she knew that it was definitely the place. She shrugged before turning and walked away. For an old guy who'd been shuffling his feet, he seemed to move pretty darn fast. He reached for her. Without waiting for the walk light, she ran across the street amidst car honks and screeching tires. As she ran, she glance
d back across the road. The old guy was watching her every move, and he seemed to be tracking where she was going. She was glad to see he'd stopped chasing her. Ducking her head, she kept moving, thankful to reach the end of the block and turn down it. As she hopped into her SUV, she realized how foolish she’d been to show up. If her sister was alive, it would be obvious to anyone who saw her, who she was. It would at least cause some confusion. Although she’d wanted to believe her twin was alive, she hadn't truly bought into it. Her fleeting memories hadn't been much but at times it had felt like half of herself was missing—until now.
Did she barge in? Or do more searching?
Her stomach was rolling and flopping like she was on a ship in high seas during a storm with rogue waves. She pressed her hand over her belly and closed her eyes. Her sister was alive. Who was she? Why hadn’t she ever contacted her? Or found her? Tijan wanted to charge in there and demand that her sister give her answers. But then she didn’t know if her sister was there. And she needed to know more about her before she met her. It seemed ironic that she'd flown out to Toronto on the whim of finding her twin and now she was scared.
What if her sister didn’t want to meet her?
The whole thing had come about because of some wedding her sister had attended. Caspian Winery had hosted it, and now it was time to go there and check it out. Feeling a bit like she was walking on quicksand, she so wanted to meet her sister but needed to make sure this was right.
And now it was time for a disguise.
Chapter 7
August felt a bit awkward in the office. He’d been in there a few times but usually it had been first thing in the day or at least after he’d had a chance to clean off. Unfortunately, his coveralls hadn’t protected him from the oil that had leaked while he was under the tractor repairing it. He was definitely going to leave a change of clothes at the shop.