Tender Touch (32 page)

Shaena propped an elbow on the countertop.
“I can think of a dozen completely innocent reasons for them to
have been together. Did you speak to them?”

“No. Nick was with me, and I didn’t want to
give him any more satisfaction. He was gloating enough as it was.”
Jade groaned. “He pointed them out to me.”

“So you were with your ex-husband, but of
course you’re above suspicion.” Shaena crossed her arms.

“You didn’t see the look of pain in Damon’s
eyes when he talked about Rachelle. Or the way he smiled at her
when I saw them today.” Jade felt a hollow sadness. “Everybody
talks about how in love they were. Even Damon said so.”

“Even ‘solid as a rock’ love affairs end.
Look, you don’t need to talk to me. You should be talking to
Damon.” Shaena pointed to the cordless telephone. “Call him.”

“And say what?”

“Hello is a nice start.” Shaena got up.

“That’s your wise advice? Shaena, you’ve got
to help me think of what to say. Why do you think I got you over
here?” Jade pleaded.

“Oh, no.” Shaena shook her head.

“Don’t you dare walk out on me, Shaena
Greene.” Jade advanced to block her exit.

“Look, when it comes to men suspected of
lying, I go a little nuts. I have these awful flashbacks, of every
bad break-up. Somehow I always end up with a blunt object in my
hand.” Shaena backed away from her. “Just let me know how it turns
out.”

“Thanks a lot.” Jade looked forlorn.

Shaena put both hands on her shoulders.
“Jade, if you want this to work then be up front with him. Don’t
stew about it. If he’s lying, you’ll find out. We’ve both been
there before.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, Shaena—that I’ll
hear the familiar false note in his denial. The ‘Oh, come on, baby,
you know I wouldn’t do that’ line.”

“Damon doesn’t impress me as the type to put
on such a sleazy act,” Shaena said.

“We’ve both been wrong before. Spectacularly
wrong,” Jade said with a grimace.

“You’re judging him based on your experience
with Nick. Don’t make up your mind before you talk to him.
Otherwise, it won’t be a conversation but an inquisition.” Shaena
spoke in a logical tone.

Jade raked her hair with her fingers. “This
is the reason I didn’t want to fall in love. You’re always one step
away from misery.”

“And a heartbeat from heaven. Love brings a
lot of happiness, too,” Shaena said in a soft, sympathetic
voice.

“I know,” Jade murmured.

“I meant what I said. You call me anytime.”
Shaena gave her a hug.

“Thanks, Shaena.” Jade held her tight for a
second before letting her go. “Even if you are deserting me in my
time of need.”

“Don’t give me that bull, call him.” Shaena
pointed to the telephone. “Goodbye.”

“Yeah, yeah. Call him.” Jade stared at the
phone as though it were a coiled snake she was afraid to touch.

* * *

Damon sat drumming his fingers on the dark
green tablecloth. As usual, Ethel’s was packed. The unassuming
little soul food restaurant was an institution in the city. Strong,
delectable smells of jambalaya, com bread and fried chicken filled
the air. A strong contingent of Southern University students and
professors, here for the good prices as well as the good food, made
up a large portion of the chattering crowd. But Damon did not
notice the enticing scents. He waved at friends with a distracted
smile.

“Well, this place brings back memories.”
Bill shook his hand and sat down. “How are you? Whew, food still
looks good.” He waved to the tall, stately owner, Ethel’s
granddaughter, behind the counter. “Hey, Rose, you looking good,
cher.”

Rose beamed at them as she approached.
“Well, how you doin’, Mr. Big? Damon, I love how my new tile looks.
Your workers did a fine job. You boys keeping outta trouble, I
hope.” She winked at them.

“Yes, indeed.” Bill winked back. “Haven’t we
always?”

Rose threw back her head to laugh out loud.
“You devil, ain’t changed one bit.” She called out to a young
waitress to take their orders before she went back to work.

Bill took a long drink of iced tea. “So I
hope things at the center are going well. That grant should help a
lot.”

“Yes, it does. In fact that’s the reason I
wanted to talk to you.” Damon sat forward.

“Away from the office and prying eyes? What
is this about, Damon?” Bill did not seem upset, merely curious. He
also had the demeanor of a man humoring an old acquaintance.

“I know you’re very busy,” was Damon’s only
reply by way of an apology. “About the hearing coming up, what’s
the real story?”

“Nothing to worry about. With the new
administration, every project or program is under scrutiny. We’ll
give them the information they want, and that will be the end of
it.”

“But Dumaine is asking all kinds of
questions.”

“Which were answered to his satisfaction.
Listen, if that’s your only concern we can have a pleasant
lunch.”

“Bill, there are persistent rumors about
impropriety in the way certain programs and funds are being
administered. Now if Dumaine is satisfied, why am I going to a
Senate hearing before the Health and Welfare Committee?”

“Oh, that. You hearings are routine in
preparation for the legislative session.” Bill maintained his
relaxed posture. He toyed with his dinner fork.

“Except that these whispers won’t go away.
Level with me.” Damon struggled to hold on to his temper. This
condescending attitude was wearing his patience thin. His brown
eyes bored into Bill.

Bill heaved a sigh as though indulging him.
“All right. There have been a few questions on how we’ve
administered funds.” He returned Damon’s gaze with a slight smile.
“But Jade and I worked hard to prepare evidence to show
otherwise.”

“So you have a paper trail.” Damon stiffened
at the mention of Jade but chose to ignore Bill’s reference to
their late nights. “And you use the word evidence like you expect
to go on trial.”

“Bad choice of words. Let’s call it
documentation.” Bill’s good humor slipped a notch under the
persistent questioning. “Jade has done an excellent job of putting
together information for me. She’s meticulous, best assistant I’ve
ever had. With her ability and ambition, she’ll go far.”

Damon wanted to smash his fist into Bill’s
face. He was shocked at his strong reaction. The man had a right to
praise his employee. But was there an undertone of something more
in his words?

“Yes, Jade is good at what she does,” Damon
said.

“The best.” Bill smiled at him.

Damon bit off a sharp reply when the
waitress brought them steaming plates of food. Bill tasted a
forkful of his red beans and praised them to the waitress. She
blushed then bustled off a happy woman. But Damon did not notice
the spicy aroma of fried catfish that usually tempted him. A female
voice made them both look up.

“My goodness, what a small world.” Kathy
stood in front of Bill. She gave him a sour glance before turning
her attention to Damon.

“Kathy, this is Damon Knight. He—”

“So nice to meet you.” She flashed a smile
that faded quickly when she looked at her husband again. “So can I
expect you home this evening, or does your lovely assistant require
attention again tonight?”

“My wife,” Bill said to Damon with a look of
resignation. “Kathy, let’s not go there again. Yes, I may have to
work late.”

“Oh, the job benefits that come from being
high in state government.” Kathy’s face clouded over. “This is
getting old, Bill. I won’t stand for it.”

Damon sat stunned by her veiled accusation.
He was sickened by them both. “Maybe I should just leave.”

“No, Mr. Knight. I don’t want to interrupt
real business.” Kathy stared at Bill hard. “I’ll expect to see you
this evening at a reasonable hour—to talk about a certain newspaper
article.”

“I’ve seen it, Kathy. It’s nothing serious.”
Bill relaxed again.

“No, the one that will be coming out soon.”
Kathy grinned at the startled look that flickered across his face.
She gave a slight nod. “No later than six, my darling. Enjoy your
lunch.”

Both men sat for several minutes of tense
silence after her departure. Damon stared at Bill, who sat blinking
rapidly, his gaze darting around the restaurant.

“I, uh, listen...is that all you wanted to
talk to me about?” Bill rubbed his jaw with a nervous jerky motion.
He glanced at his watch. “I’ve really got to get back to the
office.” His food was untouched.

“Sure.” Damon wanted the man gone from his
sight before he did something foolish.

After Bill left, Damon sat trying to
convince himself not to come to the obvious conclusions. Jade was
very ambitious, this he knew. Had he fallen for the wrong woman
again? He thought of the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed.
Was that special look only for him? Or was she a clever actress
like his ex-wife, like his mother? Damon gave up trying to eat
after a few minutes. Bill Lang was an accomplished liar. Why should
he believe anything the man said or even implied? But then there
was his jealous wife. Damon felt as though needles were sticking
him with each question that popped into his head. There was only
one way to get rid of them, he knew. Somehow he must approach the
subject, or it would eat away at the trust between them like
acid.

* * *

“Hello, Jade.” Alex sat down across from her
at Uncle Joe’s restaurant.

“Gee, Alex, did I say you could join me?”
Jade shot him a venomous look. He’d interrupted her thoughts of
Damon—Damon and his leering smile at Rachelle; at least that’s how
Jade now thought of it. The last thing she wanted was to look at
another man with a penchant for hurting women.

“I knew you’d say no. I really need to talk
to you.” Alex did not give any indication that he would leave.

“Alex, we don’t have anything to discuss.”
Jade was reassured only somewhat by the fact that they were a
public place.

Since the night that she’d walked in on his
terrible fight with Lanessa, Jade had nothing good to say about
him. Alex St. Romaine was tall, attractive though not handsome in
the usual sense. He dressed in conservative dark colors. Sitting
across from Jade in a booth he seemed the exact opposite of the
violent man she’d seen at Lanessa’s house. True, she and Lanessa
were not on the best terms these days, but that did not cool her
anger toward Alex. Lanessa was still her sister.

“Thanks for coming. Listen, Jade, about that
night at Lanessa’s—” Alex did not meet her gaze.

“Don’t tell me—it wasn’t what I thought it
was,” Jade cut in.

Alex leaned forward. “No, it wasn’t. I have
never raised my hand to hit any woman. I certainly would never hurt
Lanessa.”

“Her furniture knocked over was a figment of
my imagination, I guess. Or did a strong wind sweep down the
chimney?” Jade folded her arms across her chest and sat back to be
as far away from him as possible.

“That was clumsiness—not because I attacked
Lanessa. Listen to me, did she have any bruises or say I hit
her?”

“I didn’t see any bruises. But then I didn’t
strip her down. And of course she’d deny it if she was scared
enough.” Jade bristled. “Surely you don’t expect me to buy
that?”

“Jade, listen to me. Lanessa is... She needs
help.” Alex stopped when the waitress came up to take their orders
for soft drinks.

“You’re a piece of work! I walk in on you
knocking my sister around and she needs help?” Jade fought to keep
her voice down.

“Jade, I—” Alex blinked as though her words
were blows to his face.

“The only help she needed was out of an
abusive relationship. Now that she’s dumped you, the problem is
solved.” Jade stabbed a finger at him.

Alex shook his head slowly. “I broke off
with Lanessa when she wouldn’t listen to reason and get help.”

“Bull. Lanessa got fed up with being used as
a punching bag. You couldn’t stand not being in control.”

“Shut up and listen to me. I’ve never hit
Lanessa, damn it! We were arguing because your sister is an
alcoholic. I’ve been trying for the last year to get her into
treatment. She won’t admit to having a problem.” Alex spoke in a
burst of angry frustration, his voice rising with each word. Then
he realized diners around them were staring. “I’m sorry. It’s just
I’ve been going crazy for a long time, trying to find a way to help
her.”

“That’s a lie,” Jade said in a quiet voice.
Her throat went dry.

“You’ve suspected something was wrong. I can
tell by the expression on your face.” Alex regarded her with a
steady gaze. “Admit it.”

“I’ve never seen Lanessa drunk. She has a
drink in the evening, but...” Jade remembered how Lanessa seemed
never to be far away from a bottle of alcohol. But she shook off
the label Alex was trying to put on her older sister. “No, Lanessa
has her problems but being a drunk isn’t one.”

“Lanessa hides how much she drinks. She
keeps a bottle in her bedroom. Sure, she doesn’t stagger around,
but not every alcoholic reacts the same way. That’s a widely held
misconception.”

“But Lanessa goes to work every day.” Jade
shook her head. “She’s careful about her appearance. If what you
say is true, she wouldn’t do those things.”

“Lanessa is a functioning alcoholic. So far
she’s been able to maintain some semblance of a normal life on the
surface. But she’s sliding down. That’s why we were arguing.” Alex
stopped talking and seemed reluctant to go on.

“What are you talking about?”

“She’s always in debt. Have you ever
wondered why she has to work when her last divorce settlement was
so generous? Lanessa is doing a juggling act with all her bills.
I’ve loaned her money several times in the last year alone.” Alex
took a sip of cola.