Steele Trap (Heart of Steele) (2 page)

Chapter Two

Walter Steele put down
the phone and took a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe his brow. He felt
every day of his forty-four years at the moment, having been informed by his
CFO that irregularities in the books might invite a government audit. He had no
illusions that it didn’t have to do with that little side project of
Johansson's for which he had loaned a little money. Damn it, the money was his,
he should be able to do with it as he pleased, but the blasted government
didn't see it that way. Johansson should have made him whole again before the
quarterly internal audit. But, the project wasn't going as planned. Now he would
get to explain to some twenty-dollar an hour government flunky why he had taken
his
money out of the corporate account without approval from the board that
he appointed himself, to help a friend. His CFO told him it might mean jail
time. Unbelievable.

When he regained
control of his temper, Wally's next call was to Dane Johansson. The men had
been neighbors for over a decade, and their kids dated. The families even hoped
that Johansson's son Dirk might marry Walter's daughter Ashley, although he saw
no sign of an engagement ring yet. Give them time to grow up a bit, Jessica
always told him. Thinking of his beautiful young wife and what she did for him
in bed always cheered him. His frame of mind much improved, he softened his
first words when Dane Johansson picked up the phone.

"Dane, we've got a
problem," he said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, my CFO just
reamed me out because of that loan I made you. Right now it's internal, but he
says the board won't stand for it and may report me to the Feds. If they do an
audit, I'm cooked. When will you be able to get the money back to me?"

"Shit, Steele, I'm
sorry! I can get you half of it by next week."

"That won't do,
Johansson. I need all of it, and even then I might still be in hot water."

"Trouble is,
Wally, my project has hit construction delays. I can't get my next draw until it
ends, and I'm going to have a hefty fine to pay my client if I don't keep my
guys working. There simply isn't enough to cover everyone."

"Dane, you need to
figure it out. I'm not going to jail for you, no matter what kind of friends we
are."

"I'll do my best,
man. I'm sorry."

Now Walter was upset
again. What Johansson said basically meant, "No,
you
have a problem."
That's what you get for doing business with friends. Wally took a decanter and
tumbler from his credenza, poured a stiff drink and resolved to find out what
was going on at Johansson’s construction site for himself. After he did that,
he might as well run past his own.

Jake Daniels was a
contented man, enjoying one of Colorado’s typically beautiful days. His crew
was on schedule with Walter Steele's new headquarters building, and the phase
they finished a week early day before yesterday had earned him a $5000 bonus.
He liked Steele's way of doing things. Instead of fining a contractor for not
finishing on time, he incentivized an on-time completion by paying a nice bonus
immediately. So far, Jake's men had come through for him on every phase, and in
turn they shared in the reward, like last night when he took the crew from this
project to Howl at the Moon on his tab. They were a good crew. He was lucky to
have them, have their loyalty. In boom times like this, lots of general
contractors poached wherever they found discontent, gutting a crew for the
promise of an extra dollar an hour. His crews remained steady, though, because
he would always treat them fairly and keep them busy no matter what. He had
proved that time after time. That was worth more than an extra dollar an hour
for a couple of weeks and then a layoff for who knows how long before the next
job came along.

Jake was surprised,
though, when Steele rolled up to the site in his Benz 550 SUV. He seldom took
the time to personally inspect the progress, since he wouldn't really be able
to see anything until the build job neared completion. Jake strode over to the
SUV and opened Mr. Steele's door for him. Walter stepped out, hand
outstretched, and greeted Jake.

"Looks like it's
coming along, Daniels."

"Yes sir. We just
earned another completion bonus, thanks to you." Jake chuckled, "I
already spent it, so don't go saying it's been withdrawn."

"No," Steele
answered, a wide smile on his face too. "But if you keep earning them on
every phase, I might be bankrupt soon."

Ha, thought Jake. Like it
was possible ever to run out of money if you possessed a billion or more.
Steele did seem a little worried, though. He'd better make sure the financials
were solid.

"What can I do for
you, Mr. Steele?"

"For starters,
call me Wally, Jake. I was just in the neighborhood, taking a look at a project
I loaned the developer some money for. Thought I'd stop by and take a look at
my own while I was out."

"Hope you like
what you see."

"Oh, yes. You're
doing a fine job. Fine job. Everything going okay with my people? Getting your
draws on time?"

Now Jake was on high
alert. Why would he have mentioned the draws if there were no trouble?

"Anything you want
to tell me, Wally?"

Steele slumped.
Clearly, his distress showed.

"Can you leave for
a while without stopping the work?" he asked.

"Of course. My
guys understand what to do and don't need me watching them to do it."

It was true, and
because of it, despite his youth. Jake’s company was in high demand. At
twenty-three, he was one of the youngest general contractors in the area,
thanks to starting under his dad at sixteen. For a kid who looked even younger
than he was, he had a good head on his broad shoulders.

"Let's go get a
cup of coffee. Possibly you can help me with something."

Chapter Three

Ashley and Becky woke
up at the crack of noon in their hotel room, having had a bit too much to drink
after Dirk and his friend got there. Ash called down to the front desk and
arranged for late check-out while Becky took a quick shower. Becky called for
room service while Ashley freshened up, and both felt better by the time the
food got there. As they dug into the egg-white omelets, Ashley told Becky her
decision.

"You know that guy
last night? The hot one?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to get
him in bed."

"Ash, are you
sure? He's not, like, one of your dad's white-collar employees. He looked kind
of rough."

"I don't care if
he's rough, he's hot. When we danced, I could feel it, he's got muscles out the
ying-yang. I want him."

"So it's more than
your usual revenge screw?"

"Yeah, but that
makes it even better. Plus, I've got to do something about Dirk. He's getting
too possessive."

"Well, a guy tends
to do that when they think they're going to marry you."

"I wouldn't marry
that asshole if he was the last man on earth. I don't care what our families
want, I want someone who's a little less 'me Tarzan'."

Becky giggled.
"Dirk doesn't look anything like Tarzan. You've got to admit he's
good-looking, Ash."

"There are plenty
of good-looking guys, Becks. That don't threaten to make me give them head
because I danced with someone else."

Becky gasped. "He
did that?"

"No, he threatened
to do that next time we go to bed. Which is why I'm not going anywhere near his
bed until he calms down."

"I thought you
told me you gave him head before."

"I did, but that
doesn't give him the right to demand it. Anyway, I'm going to cool it off with
him while I seduce Jake."

"Hey, Ash, you
never told me how you and Dirk hooked up in the first place. First I realized
it, you were just suddenly dating him."

"Oh, he caught me
with one of Dad's employees in the billiards room at his place. There was a
party celebrating a joint project his dad and mine did. I don't remember, now.
I was fifteen, for Christ’s sake. Anyway, he caught us, and the next day he
threatened to tell Daddy if I didn't sleep with him, too."

"Jesus, so he's
always been an asshole!"

"Yep, pretty much.
Spoiled rotten, not to mention he's a selfish lover."

"What do you
mean?"

"You know. When I
give him head, he doesn't return the favor."

"Oh, what a jerk!
I've always meant to ask you, though. If you don't want your dad to find out
you're screwing his employees, what satisfaction do you get out of it?"

"I can't explain
it, exactly. I love him, he's my dad. But you know he threw my mother out when
he caught her with his old CFO, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, it makes me
feel like I'm getting something back. But I don't really want to hurt him, or
Jessica. I know it's messed up."

"Big time."

"Okay, well you
don't have to get all judgmental on me."

"Sorry, Ash."

Ashley dropped Becky
off at her home, and drove to her dad's office. He loved it when she dropped
in, even now taking her around to show her off to the long-time employees like
he did when she was a little girl. Now she dreaded that tradition, though,
because someone invariably asked her about school.

The fact was, she had
dropped out of school. It got boring after Dirk graduated, and she didn't
really have a plan for what she wanted to do with her life anyway, except party.
CU didn't have a major in partying that she knew of, although it did have a
reputation. Occasionally, either Jessica or her dad would ask about her plans,
but she always put them off by pouting. Jessica always tried to jolly her out
of it, and she would start talking about all kinds of careers. Ashley thought
Jess missed the career in broadcast journalism she gave up to marry Dad.

Jessica was very
pretty, with a heart-shaped face framed with black curls, beautiful blue-gray
eyes under defined brows and perfect porcelain skin. Her voice was perfect for
broadcasting, too; a warm contralto that you wouldn't expect from someone with
such a delicate face and petite body. Ashley loved her fiercely despite the
resentment she had harbored when Jessica came into the cocoon that her dad had
wrapped around her when her mom left. Seldom did she examine the complicated,
but mostly positive, set of feelings that she had for her stepmom. Jess had
been there for her since she was nine years old. Ashley was grateful to have
grown up with a mother substitute who truly loved her, but now she wanted
independence, and as long as Jessica hovered, she couldn't get it.

Dad was better. He
hadn't turned a hair when Ashley asked for the red Porsche 911 convertible last
year for her birthday. And he apparently had no clue she had been working her
way through his employees, one by one, for the past six years. This new one
would be little or no challenge, so she hoped he was as good in bed as he was
to look at. But, she needed to find out where among her dad's interests to find
him. She hoped he wasn't at one of the mines, or the copper smelter.

"Hi, Daddy!"
she chirped as she went around his desk to plant a kiss on his cheek.
"How's it going?"

"Fine, Precious,
just fine. Did you come to take me out to lunch?"

Ashley made a little
pout and said, "Oh, Daddy, I just had breakfast!"

"How about an ice
cream, then?"

"Daddy, I'm not
six. Besides, Jessica will kill me if she thinks I'm tempting you to eat ice
cream. We worry about that spare tire you're getting."

"You really know
how to hurt a guy, Baby."

"Well, get ready,
because I'm about to do it again. I came to find out where to find one of your
employees. I met him last night at the club. Dirk made a big fuss because I was
dancing with him when he got there, so I hoped I could apologize."

"Who was it?"

"I think his name is
Jake. Jake Daniels."

"Oh, yes, I know
who you mean. Good man. He's not an employee exactly."

"No? I thought I
recognized him from another time I came to visit."

"You may have. But
he's a contractor, working on my new office building."

"Oh, well, still.
I need to apologize. Do you think he's on site?"

"As a matter of
fact, I left him there about an hour ago. I'm sure he's still around."

"Oh, good. Bye,
Daddy." With another kiss to his cheek, Ashley left.

Jake looked over at the
fence, where one of his crew was arguing with a woman who had parked her little
red sports car behind the construction fence, in a no-parking zone. He gave his
guy space to deal with it on his own, while he took the time to answer a
question about the blueprints before sauntering over to intervene. As he got
closer, Jake admired the lines of the red Porsche 911. He was admiring that,
rather than looking at the woman, when he got near enough for her to call to
him.

"Jake! Tell this
man that I can park on Daddy's site if I want to!"

At that, he lifted his
head and recognized for the first time that the woman, if you could call her
that, was the girl he met at the club last night. Ashley something. She never
told him her last name. Wait, did she say Daddy? Walter's daughter? That could
be big trouble. He slowed even more.

Ashley couldn’t decide
whether anger or pouting would have a better effect. She settled on sarcasm as
Jake finally reached her.

"You took your own
sweet time."

"Sorry. Ashley, isn't
it?"

"Give the man a
cigar, for remembering."

"Hard to forget,
when your boyfriend dragged you out of there like fresh kill. So Walter Steele
is your dad?"

"Yeah. And he pays
your wages, so it would be nice if you helped me get this goon off my back.
There's plenty of room here, I should be okay to park."

"Well, except for
the slight matter of that crane swinging loads of steel overhead, I guess it's
okay. If you don't mind risking getting that pretty little car crushed."

Ashley looked up and
saw no steel beams swinging overhead. Assured of no emergency, she pouted
again.

"Fine. Where
should I park?"

"That depends on
what you're doing here. Your dad isn't here."

"I know, I came to
see you."

"Me? Why?"

That wasn't very
flattering, Ashley thought. But, what should she expect from a roughneck, or
whatever they called these workers.

"To apologize for
Dirk."

Jake pulled the
bandanna from his hair, revealing a rat's nest of sweaty curls. Shaking his
head, he told her he couldn't be long, but would talk to her for a minute. He
pointed to a safer parking place, and walked along with her as she slowly
rolled over to it.

When she stopped,
Ashley opened the passenger door for him and wordlessly invited him to enter. As
Jake folded his lanky frame into the passenger seat, he took the opportunity to
stroke the leather.
I could get used to this
.

"Nice car."

"Thanks," she
said. "Daddy gave it to me for my birthday."

"Does he always
give you such extravagant birthday gifts?"

"No, silly. It was
my twenty-first birthday."

"Ah." Jake
understood that Wally was loaded, but a car that cost north of 100 grand? Wow.

They sat for a minute,
out of easy things to say. Then, at the same time, he turned to her and cleared
his throat, while she said, "I'm sorry Dirk was such an asshat. And I'm
sorry I didn't tell him to get lost. I enjoyed dancing with you."

"Is he your fiancé
or something?"

"Well, he thinks
he is. Our families want us to get married, but I'm not going to marry him.
He's a spoiled brat."

Pot calling the kettle
black
, Jake said below his breath.

"Anyway,"
Ashley continued, "I wanted to say I'm sorry that happened, and ask if you
go to Howl often?"

"Not often, no,
but once in a while."

"Would you meet me
there sometime? I won't tell Dirk, so he won't interrupt our evening
again."

"I don't know if
that's a good idea, Miss Steele."

"When did I become
Miss Steele? It's Ashley."

"Okay, Ashley, I
don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"
Ashley pouted again.

"Well, for one
thing, I work for your dad. For another, you're out of my league."

"Shouldn't I be
the judge of that?"

It was tempting. She
was a looker, and over twenty-one. But, with everything going on, especially
the mission Wally asked him to carry out, she was likely to be trouble. He didn’t
think he should pursue becoming better acquainted.

"Maybe
sometime," he temporized. "I'm pretty busy for the rest of the
week."

"Give me your
number. I'll call you Friday."

Faced with the choice
between complying and causing a scene by refusing, Jake recited his number
while Ashley punched it into her cell phone. He worried that his peaceful life
was about to get turned upside down.