Authors: Claire Adams
"What about
my contributions, Jack?" Sloan asked once we'd all taken a drink and
congratulated Leah.
"Your
contributions?" I asked with feigned surprise. She was playing right into
my hand, "What about them?"
"I've done a
lot to generate new business and bring clients on board," she said in a
tone that tried hard to hide her resentment at being ignored.
"Indeed you
have," I nodded.
"Then why
aren't you promoting me to Senior Vice President, too?" she pouted.
"Ah, that's a
very good question, Sloan," I said as I steadied myself for what was to
come next. "And I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you why. I don't generally
promote people who are actively trying to destroy my business."
You could have
heard a pin drop as the room went silent. The look on Sloan's face was one of
complete shock as I continued.
"You see, I'm
aware of the fact that you have been negotiating with the Chinese and the folks
in New Delhi to sell parts of Baby Steps' business to them," I said, looking
down at her, no longer smiling. "And I've cut off all possibility of you
doing any kind of business with them, or with me."
"Jack! How
could you think I'd ever betray you like that?" she cried as she stood up
and faced me.
"Probably
because you've been working with my brother to undermine me with the
banks," I said, turning my attention to Lincoln. The blood drained from
his face as I recounted the ways in which he'd sought to sabotage the business
and make it easier for Sloan to negotiate with foreign companies.
"How do you
know this?" Lincoln demanded. "There's no evidence of any of
this!"
"That's where
you're wrong, big brother," I said as I nodded at Norma who stood and
walked into the hall, grabbed the folder she'd left on the table, and brought
it to me. I opened it and pulled out the copies of all the evidence we'd
compiled and tossed it in front of Lincoln. "Here's all the evidence. Feel
free to take some time to read it, but I'm fairly certain that you're already
quite familiar with it, seeing as you drew up most of the paperwork."
Lincoln studied
the papers as Sloan silently fumed across the table,. I waited until he'd
looked through the whole stack to drop my next bomb.
"So, as you
can see, your attempt to break up Baby Steps was unsuccessful," I said.
"And as a result, I've decided to switch banks. As of tomorrow, Baby Steps
will be working with First National of New York, and as soon as I am released
from the contract I signed, I'll be shifting my own funds as well."
"You can't do
that!" Lincoln exploded as he shot up out of his chair. "You cannot
move the business!"
"Oh, but I
can," I said calmly. "And I have."
"Father
signed contracts and took out loans with Bank of Manhattan," Lincoln said
as he frantically tried to regain his composure. "You cannot simply
withdraw money and shift it from one bank to another."
"This is
where you are sadly mistaken," I said, narrowing my eyes. "There is a
clause in the agreement that clearly outlines the legality of such a move when
the loan officer has engaged in unethical behavior, which I believe you have.
Besides, it's already a done deal."
"Mother!"
Lincoln protested. "Tell him this is unacceptable!"
"I'll do no
such thing," my mother said calmly. "You lied to your brother, and
you tried to destroy a business that your father spent his life building. And
while you're my son—and I will always love you—I'm deeply ashamed of your
behavior, Lincoln."
My brother turned
a deep shade of red as my mother scolded him in front of everyone. I watched,
not saying another word. I could see Sloan's demeanor changing as she
considered her options. She turned to me and began trying to plug the hole
she'd drilled. I listened and then simply said, "Sloan, you're
fired."
"You can't
fire me!" she shouted.
"I can, and I
just did," I said. "You've violated the ethics clause in your
contract, and if you're smart, you'll reread it so you understand the
non-compete clause you also signed."
"I told you
this was a stupid idea," Lincoln said bitterly as he looked straight at
Sloan. "You and your big plans were absolutely idiotic."
"My idea? My
idea?" she shouted at him. "How on earth was this my idea? You were
the one who wanted to rip apart the company and sell it off bit by bit to get
back at your father!"
"Don't throw
that in my face," Lincoln growled. "You were the one who said you had
a foolproof plan for making a profit off of the sale of each department. Your
fancy MBA isn't worth the paper it's written on. Your father was right. You're
a terrible businesswoman, and you couldn't negotiate your way out of a paper
bag."
"Lincoln,
that's enough," Jessie said sternly. She hadn't said much all evening, but
this turn of events seemed to be the breaking point for her. "I've had
enough of your whining and complaining about how badly you've been treated.
You're not going to tear apart anyone else. I don't care what she's done.
You're equally responsible for this mess, so own up to it."
"What?"
he said looking down at his wife who wore a stony expression. "How dare
you talk to me like that!"
"Oh, do shut
up," Jessie said as she deliberately folded her napkin and carefully
placed it on the table in front of her. "I know you two have been having
an affair, and I know there have been plenty of others before her. I put up
with it because I thought boys will be boys, and you always came home to me and
the kids. But I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of you."
With that, Jessie
stood and bowed at my mother murmuring her thanks for a lovely evening. She
walked out of the dining room. My mother shot me a concerned look, and I nodded
as she got up and followed Jessie into the foyer. Lincoln rushed out behind
her, casting a hateful look in my direction before leaving the room.
Sloan stood
staring at me, shaking her head as she tried unsuccessfully to come up with
something to say. She finally gave up, throwing her hands in the air.
She said, "You're hateful, Jackson
Yates."
I simply nodded
and watched her leave the room. The three of us who were left at the table sat
in silence until Norma piped up and said, "Well, butter my butt and call
me a biscuit! That was one hell of a showdown, Jack!"
Leah and I burst
into laughter, and Norma soon joined us. We recounted the looks on the two
traitor's faces as I'd unveiled their plan. My mother soon returned to the room
and said that Jessie was going to take the children to visit her parents while
she and Lincoln tried to work things out.
"That was not
very nice of you, Jackson," my mother gently scolded. "But I
understand what happens when you feel like your back is against the wall. And
it was good of you to promote Leah after all the hard work she's done to make
sure the business keeps running smoothly."
"She deserves
it," I said, smiling at Leah who blushed a little and looked away.
"And so much more."
"Well, kids,
now that the show is over, I got to get myself home to bed," Norma said as
she stood up and walked toward the front door. "It was quite a spectacle,
Jack. I'm glad you're in control of things again."
"Thank you
for all your help, Norma," I smiled. "I couldn't have done it without
you."
"Shucks,
darlin'," she grinned as she waved her hand at me. "It was
nothing!"
My mother walked
Norma to the door, leaving Leah and me alone in the dining room. I walked
around the table and sat down next to her.
"Thank you
for the promotion," Leah said as she raised her bright blue eyes and
looked into mine. "I'll do my best to measure up to your
expectations."
"You deserve
it," I said as I reached out to take her hand. She pulled back as she
looked away, leaving me more than a little confused.
"Jack …"
she began, "I think it's really obvious that I'm extremely attracted to
you, but I think that if we're going to work together, it's better if I don't
act on that attraction. It might be seen as unprofessional, and I'm not sure
the guys in the warehouse would respect me if they knew I slept my way to the
top."
"What are you
talking about?" I said, genuinely shocked to hear her talking like this.
"I mean, it's
nice that you find me attractive and everything, but…" she bit her lip as
tears welled up in her eyes.
"But
what?"
"But, you
know, when you're with me you're really just…" she hesitated and then in a
small voice said, "slumming it."
"What the
hell?" I blurted. "Who told you that?"
"Sloan,"
she admitted. "She pointed out that you and I come from very different
places, and that to think this was some kind of Cinderella story would be a
mistake. We're just too different."
"Leah, listen
to me," I said as I slipped my fingers under her chin and lifted her face
so that she was looking at me again. "If tonight has taught you anything
about me, you should know that Sloan Morgan knows nothing about who I am or
what I value. I value you. Both as an employee and a woman, and I want to learn
more about you."
Leah shook her
head sadly as the tears dripped down her cheeks.
"What? You
don't want to get to know me?" I asked feeling my chest tighten as I spoke
the words. It hadn't occurred to me that Leah might not want more.
"No, I do,
but I just don't see how this could possibly work, Jack," she said sadly.
"We can't work together and try to date each other. It'll be too
complicated and way too messy, and I don't want the business to suffer."
"So what are
you saying?"
"I'm saying
that we can work together, but we can't be anything more than co-workers,"
she said as she got up from the table and walked toward the stairs. "I'm
going to try to find Riley and me a place to live, so we should be out of your
way by next week."
"But you're
not at all in my way," I thought as I watched her go.
CHAPTER
FORTY-FOUR
The
next few weeks were a period of adjustment as I settled into my new role as
Senior Executive VP. The guys in the warehouse cheered for me and then took me
out for drinks after work. They realized that I was going to have a lot more
responsibility, and they all signed on to contribute whatever they could to
make the whole thing work. Of course, I'd petitioned for and gotten raises for
all of them, so the celebration was really for all of us.
The following
months were easier as we all settled into a routine. Every day I came in to
work and met with Jack. These meetings were difficult at first because I ached
to tell him I was sorry and throw myself into his arms, but each night I
reminded myself that it was important that I maintain a level of professionalism
that would allow me to be taken seriously. Being Jack's girlfriend would never
allow me that. I still wanted him with every fiber of my being, but as we
worked together, I began to appreciate him in other ways.
Riley and I moved
into a nice apartment in Brooklyn near the office, and Betty helped me find a
good school for Riley so that she wouldn't be isolated from kids her own age.
It was a bit of an adjustment for her after spending all of her time with
adults and having a tutor focused on her individual learning. But slowly she
began to find her way in the new school. Soon she was hanging out with kids her
age as she worked to keep up with her lessons.
We visited Betty
regularly. Riley would often hop a cab after school and meet the tutor for
individual sessions, and then stay for dinner afterwards.
"Mother likes
it when Riley drops by," Jack said after we'd finished discussing the
third quarter plan and how we were going to expand the shipping department by
hiring more workers to take over the tasks. "I think she's been lonely
since you two moved out."
"I thought
she was getting ready to do some traveling," I said, surprised that he'd
brought her up.
"She is, but
I think she really enjoyed having you and Riley around," he said.
"Kind of like the daughters she never had, but desperately wanted."
"We can drop
by more often if you think that would make her happy," I said. Betty had
been so kind to us, and truth be told, I missed her, too. I liked the new
apartment, but it wasn't the same as padding around the mansion. Somehow the
apartment seemed lonelier.
"I think
she'd like it if you moved back in," he laughed as he gathered up the
reports we'd been working on and stuffed them into a folder. He looked even
more handsome now that he'd relaxed his work wardrobe and wore more casual
clothing than the designer suits he'd started out in.
"I think
Riley would like that, too," I said laughing with him as I stood and got
ready to go back to my office.
"And how
about you?" he asked. The question caught me off guard, and I hesitated as
I tried to think about how to answer it.
"I miss
having all of my meals cooked and my laundry done for me," I laughed,
trying to downplay the fact that living in the apartment was lonely. I'd spent
my life taking care of my family, so I hadn't developed any close friendships.
Now with Patrick in the church and Mama in a retirement home, I only had Riley
to look after. She was growing more independent by the day.
"We miss
having you in the house," Jack said, and then more quietly, "I miss
you."
"Jack …"
I said.
"I know, I
know," he held up his hand to stop me. "If we're going to work
together, it has to stay platonic. I know that."
"No, I was
going to say that I miss you, too," I said as I looked into his warm eyes
and held his gaze.
"Leah, why
are we doing this?" he asked.
"Doing
what?"
"Why are we
staying away from each other when we both want it?" he asked. I winced as
he said it because I wasn't sure I knew why. I just knew that I'd done my best
to keep up appearances and not put either one of us in an uncomfortable
position.
"Because it's
the right thing to do," I said, trying to hide how I really felt.
"What if I
say that I don't care anymore?" he asked as he moved dangerously close.
"What if I say that every night, I lie awake in bed thinking about how it
felt to have your body pressed against mine, your lips touching mine? Do you
know how much I want you to be close to me all the time?"
"I … I … I
…" I stuttered as he reached out and ran his fingers down my cheek. I shivered
as I felt his hand slide around the back of my neck. He pulled me to him. I let
go and melted into his arms.
"I don't want
this distance between us anymore, Leah," he said as he bent down and
lightly brushed his lips across mine before he slowly kissed his way across my
jaw, whispering in my ear, "I know you don't really want it either, do
you?"
"No," I
sighed as he flicked my earlobe with his tongue. "No, I don't."
With that, Jack
wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me against him as he kissed me
hard and deep. I slid my arms around his neck and returned the kiss with all
the fierce longing I'd felt since the last time we'd kissed. He spread his lips
and urged mine apart as he slipped his tongue inside my mouth and teased mine.
I could feel the deep well of desire suddenly explode and course through my
veins as we let our mouths pick up where we'd left off.
"Jack,"
I sighed as I pulled back from the kiss. "Jack, stop …"
"What? What's
wrong?" he asked as he furrowed his brow. "Something wrong?"
"No, just not
here," I said resting my palms on his chest and looking up at him. "I
can't do this here. Not now."
"I see,"
he nodded stepping back.
"I'm not
saying no," I reassured him. "I'm just saying not here. I don't want
it to be like this."
"I
understand," he said. "You're right. It needs to be special."
"Don't get me
wrong," I said with a half grin, "You're pretty irresistible, and I'm
not sure that I could actually say no to you if you really set your mind to
it."
"This is good
to know!" he laughed as he stepped around to his desk and picked up the
phone. He turned his back and spoke quietly for a moment, then hung up and
smiled at me. "Will you come with me? There's something I want to show
you."
"Of
course," I said, wondering what was going on.
"This is
something I've wanted to show you for a while, but I wasn't sure if I ever
would," Jack said as he reached out and took my hand.
I took a deep
breath and followed him.