Seducing the Old Flame (26 page)

But what about her?
 
What
about the life she wanted?

Two years ago, she hadn’t known what she wanted.
 
Not really.
 
She’d met Jason and fallen head over heels in love with him, but she hadn’t
been ready for those emotions, hadn’t even known where to begin.
 
Neither had he and they’d ended up hurting
each other.
 
What about now?
 
They were older, wiser, had experienced life
without the other, would things have worked if she’d told Jason she wanted more
than a weekend?

Would he even have agreed to more than a weekend?

Because despite his not wanting her to go, he really hadn’t put
up much of a fight to keep her there.

Nor had he made any effort to see her in the weeks that had
passed.

If he’d wanted to see her, he’d known where to find her.
 
He hadn’t.
 
There had been a part of her that had wanted him to come after her, to
demand she acknowledge the emotions between them.

She had to accept that Jason wasn’t coming after her, that she
loved him, but he would never be hers.
 
Not beyond the sweetness of her memories.

Perhaps erasing that weekend from her mind and just recalling
their previous relationship would make moving on easier.
 
Because recalling the way Jason had looked at
her that last time…Tabitha’s stomach clenched and she couldn’t take any more.

She stood and walked across her office, her heels clattering
over the tiled floor.
 
She glanced out
the window at several men coming and going from Stewart and Steinman.
 
Mostly businessmen looking for surefire ways
to secure financial freedom and early retirement.

Harold Steinman shook hands with a fortyish looking gentleman
wearing a badly fitted, but expensive suit.
 
Something familiar about the man struck Tabitha but she couldn’t quite
place him.

Probably she’d met him here at some point in the past.
 
If Harold was greeting the man himself, a lot
of money must be on the table.

Interesting.

With a yawn, she walked back to her desk.
 
What was with her?
 
Not that she was sleeping the greatest, but
she’d felt so tired over the past week.
 
Drained.

Enough was enough.

She was going to have to kick out of this mourning for Jason
mode.
 
Jason was a big boy.
 
If he’d wanted her in his life, he’d have
come for her.

“Tabitha, I’d like to introduce you to an old pal of mine,”
Harold Steinman said as he tapped on her open office door, then walked into her
office.
 
“Bill Banks.”

Bill Banks?
 
Even the name
sounded familiar.
 
It wasn’t like her to
forget a name or a face.
 
Bill Banks.
 
She’d met him at Jason’s job site.

“Miss Sterling, it’s a pleasure seeing you again.”
 
The man smiled and shook her hand.

 
“You two know each
other?”
 
Harold looked from one to the
other.

“We met briefly about a month ago,” Bill said, smiling at
her.
 
“Did you keep the cat?”

“Yes.”
 
She nodded then
turned to Harold.
 
“Mr. Banks and I met
about a month ago on the day I found She-cat.”

Harold smiled in that tight Harold way he had when he wanted to
ask questions but didn’t because it wasn’t the “proper” thing to do.
 
Harold liked to be proper.
 
To the point he came across as abstentious at
times.
 
Not that she didn’t love him
dearly.
 
She did, just thought he needed
to loosen up.
 
No man in his mid-forties
should act like death warmed over.
 
Usually she got a kick out of putting that look on his face, but not
today.

She refocused her attention on Bill.

Why was he here?

“Tabitha, Mr. Banks has a project he’s wants to discuss our firm
backing.
 
I’d like you to sit in on the
meeting.”

Nothing unusual about that, she usually did sit in on any major
deals and the three of them would later discuss the pros and cons of the
projects.
 
Although, not a full-fledged
partner, Ben and Harold always trusted her judgment, swore she could spot a
lemon a mile away, and that she was the secret to their success.
 
Which wasn’t entirely true since they’d been
worth millions long before she’d come to work for them.

Since her promotion to vice-president six months ago, she didn’t
think they’d once gone against her advice on whether or not to invest their
client’s money, or their own, in a project.

“In what capacity?”

“Bill here is going to tell us why the Savannah Blue project is
going to make us a lot of money.”

The project Jason was counting on to boost his company to the
next level.
 
Tabitha bit back her wince.
 
And her desire to beg out of the
meeting.
 
Harold would want to know why,
but more than that, he’d find her outright reluctance in front of Bill Banks as
disrespectful.

Proper men expected respect.

Harold deserved her respect.
 
So she smiled at both men, picked up a legal pad and pen off her desk
and saved her inner turmoil for later when she could discuss it with Harold
alone.

Tabitha rubbed her temples to ease the throbbing pressure that
had started about two minutes after she’d sat down in one of the conference
room chairs.
 
About the same time as Bill
Banks mentioned the Savannah Blue project had lost its biggest backer and he
wanted to offer Stewart and Steinman the first opportunity to make millions.

A roaring noise in her ear made listening to the details of the
project difficult, almost impossible and she caught only bits and pieces of the
conversation around her.

“Kelly Construction?” she automatically repeated after Bill Banks
said the name.
 
Funny how those two words
pulled her right out of her fog.

“Kelly Construction does quality work and their bid came in tens
of thousands less than the other bids.”
 
Bill Banks deigned her with a pudgy-faced smile.
 
“I’m sure you could vouch for Mr. Kelly’s
integrity.”

Three sets of male eyes bore into her.
 
“Jason Kelly is one of the most honest men
I’ve ever known.”

Harold shook his head, glanced at his watch, and said, “Okay,
carry on.
 
I’ve got another meeting in
fifteen minutes.”

Tabitha made herself stay focused on the plans Bill Banks laid
out.
 
The Savannah Blue project could be
a gold mine.
 
It could also be the worst
investment the firm ever made if they opted to back it.
 
There were never any guarantees of course,
but this project had a lot of ifs especially with the current economy.

Normally gut instinct kicked in and Tabitha saw the answer as
black or white, yes or no.
 
Today that
gut feeling was missing.

Or she was ignoring the hell out of it.

Which could only mean that her intuition was that Stewart and
Steinman shouldn’t risk the company’s assets and reputation.

Which meant hurting Kelly Construction.

Which meant hurting Jason.

Which left Tabitha in a quandary.

Could she knowingly do that?

Harold glanced at his watch again, effectively ending the
meeting as he stood.
 
“We’ll discuss this
and call you within a week to let you know if you can count us in or not.”

“A week.
 
I can keep the
others happy that long, but not much more than that or we’ll have to offer this
rare opportunity to other investors.”
 
Bill gathered his things, leaving each one of them a detailed copy of
the plans for Savannah Blue.

Tabitha watched his body language and didn’t like what she saw.

He was nervous.
 
Not just
a little from the perspiration beaded on his neck.

Bill Banks didn’t have anyone else interested in the Savannah
Blue project and apparently didn’t think his odds of finding another investor
was likely.

If Stewart and Steinman didn’t provide funding, the project
would likely die a quick death.

Harold walked Bill out of the conference room.
 
Tabitha leaned back in her chair and stared at
the tiled ceiling.

“You pick up on those nervous vibes or what?” Ben said the
moment they were alone.
 
Whereas Harold
always opted for safe, secure, steady, proper, Ben went for the polar
opposite.
 
He was the risk taker, the
gambler.
 
With her dead on financial
instincts, Tabby balanced the two.

“Yeah, there aren’t any other investors.”

“Unlikely.”
 
Ben glanced
over the packet Bill Banks had left him.
 
“Still, it could hit the jackpot if Banks could pull this off.”

“Possibly,” Tabitha said without really commenting one way or
the other.

Ben eyed her curiously.

“So, you have a personal relationship with this Kelly
Construction man, Tabitha?” Ben asked, always one to ask whatever pops into his
head whether appropriate or not.

“We share a past, but I am no longer involved with Jason, if
that’s what you’re asking.”

“Good.
 
So, what do you
think about all this?
 
We’re talking a
lot of money here.”

“I’m not sure.”

“What?”
 
Ben’s dark black
brows veed together.
 
“The Tabitha
Sterling killer instinct hasn’t kicked in on this one?”

“Not yet,” she hedged.
 
“I
wanna look over this first.
 
Then I’ll
let you know my take on it.”

Harold stuck his head back in the doorway.
 
“Next Monday we’ll meet at nine to discuss
this project.
 
Make a note of it for your
schedules.
 
I’ll be out of the office for
the rest of today.”

“Go get em, tiger,” Ben teased, earning a scowl from Harold.

“Tiger?
 
What’s up?”

Harold rolled his eyes, shot Ben a disgusted look, then
waved.
 
“Monday at nine,” he said before
disappearing again.

“Don’t mind him,” Ben advised, leaning back in his chair and
propping his feet on the polished table.
 
“He’s just a grump because his sister convinced him to sponsor her son’s
soccer team which somehow led to coaching the team.
 
Today’s the first practice.”

“Great.”
 
Tabby picked up
her packet.
 
“I’m going to go finish up
for the day.
 
Lots to do before going
home.”

He sighed.
 
“Yeah, here
too.”

Tabby stepped into her office, closed the door, then sagged
against the sleek wood.
 
The packet slipped
from her fingers, dropping with a light thud, papers spreading across the floor
in disarray.

Her gaze caught on two words that seemed to glow from the top
sheet.
 
Kelly Construction.

What was she going to do?

Jason pulled into the assisted living facility and braced
himself for his visit with his dad.
 
These visits were easier with Lori, but he always tried to visit at
least one weeknight, too.
 
Even after the
last visit where his father incessantly talked about Tabby.
 
How was it his old man remembered her so well
after just the one visit?

His eyes lit on a silver BMW coupe.
 
It couldn’t be.

T-CAT personalized tag.

It hadn’t been just one visit.

What the hell was Tabby doing visiting his dad?

Only one way to find out.

He slammed out of his truck, determined to find her and rip a
piece of her feline hide away.
 
What kind
of sick game was she playing that she’d involve his dad?

With Tabby one never knew.

“Hey, Earl,” he called out to one of the other residents.
 
A spry man in his seventies who suffered from
Alzheimer’s, but was in perfect health otherwise.

“Hello,” the man greeted him with a toothless smile, the smile
of a child.