The Merger (8 page)

Spencer tossed and turned all night long. He didn’t know if it was because the spare bedroom in Avery’s house was hot, or if it was knowing that Julie Jacobson was only feet away.

He’d heard Pete and Avery stumble in around two in the morning. He could only assume Avery had indulged in too much wine and Pete, being the diligent friend he was, brought her home and tucked her in.

Why they didn’t hook up was beyond him. The guy would do anything for her. He was simple though and Avery was anything but simple.

She’d been brought up by an oil heiress and a doctor. Although, Spencer had never seen a snooty side to his uncle, his Aunt Simone’s rich
upbringing
showed through once in awhile. And Avery had been the
mend
between Simone and her father. So Avery had tasted the heiress life. She’d been on the yachts and flown on the private jets. Her tastes were big and her desires for things even bigger.

She had a taste for wines and wasn’t it interesting that her grandfather had just purchased a vineyard outside of Paris?

Poor Pete. He’d been in all of their lives for as long as Spencer could remember. And yet Avery was still looking for Mr. Right, when Spencer was sure he was the one who had tucked her in and quietly let himself out the back door.

But what did he know? He’d been so involved with the lawyer he’d thought he despised, that he’d ruined what was supposed to be a sure thing. Now, he was sleeping in his cousin’s spare bedroom so that sure thing could be someone else’s sure thing.

He pounded the pillow into a different position and flopped back against it.

The question remained, he decided as he folded his hands over his chest and lay there looking at the moonlight on the ceiling, why had she kissed him in the first place and then driven to Nashville for a job?

He’d get his answer. In fact, he didn’t have anything going on Sunday. He’d just wait her out.

That’s right, he’d stay at Avery’s and just wait until she emerged. He’d corner her and they’d try that conversation thing again. Spencer closed his eyes. Now he just needed some damn sleep.

He woke the next morning to Metallica blaring from the living room. What in the
hell
was Avery doing?

He rolled out of the bed, nearly wrapping himself up in the sheets and falling on his face. He threw his clothes back on and started down the stairs.

When he saw
her,
he wanted to break out into laughter, but Avery dancing in the living room in her pink pajamas was exactly what he needed to perk him up.

When she saw
him,
she gave him a grin. Her hair was in a mess piled atop her head and she held in her hand a black coffee mug.

“C’mon dance with me.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to wake up and this is how I do it.”

He laughed. “And what does your neighbor think of your morning ritual?”

Her
eyes
flew open wide and she ran to the stereo and turned down the volume.

“Damn! I forgot all about her.”

Spencer shook his head. He figured that was some of Julie’s bitchy problem too.

“I thought you two were hitting it off.”

“We are. We did yoga and she was bringing coffee yesterday,” she winced when she’d remembered. “I left.”

“I drank your coffee. I don’t know how you drink that crap.”

“I have
taste
,” she rebutted. “God, she must think I’m horrible. I just ran out.”

“I think she’ll be okay.”

“I should go talk to her. Apologize for being such a
twit
and making so much noise.” She headed toward the kitchen and pulled down a coffee mug. “I’ll take her some coffee too.”

“What time is it?” He realized he hadn’t even looked at
a clock.

“Ten.”

“Really?” When was the last time he’d slept in that late? That’s right—not since college. If he wasn’t in Oregon the past
year,
he was on that community site making sure everything was running smoothly. The thought crossed his mind again. That’s where he probably should be now too.

He started back up the stairs. “Hey, if you talk to her see if she has dinner plans.”

“Really? You’re asking her out? Isn’t this the lawyer that you said was such a bitch?”

He backtracked down the stairs. “Don’t ever tell her that.”

“Do you think I’m so thoughtless?”

“She’s not a bitch. She has a lot going on in her life. I didn’t know that.”

Avery narrowed her eyes on him. “Interesting. Look at you with
a soft
spot.”

“Shut up. Just ask her for me, okay?”

She nodded. “Where are you going?”

“To kick Tiffany and the accent out of my bed so I can get down to the site.”

“Work. Work. Work. Be careful or you’ll have a heart attack like your grandfather did.”

“Never,” he called back down as he raced up to the bedroom to get his shoes.

Sunday mornings were for lazing around, Julie had decided. She hadn’t enjoyed a lazy Sunday in a long time. The merger with BBH had taken a lot of her time over the past year.

She sunk down deeper into the chair. What a waste of time. She’d put her heart into that work and they dismissed her as if she’d done something wrong. Okay, so she’d
dragged
out the process longer than necessary, but she was thorough, hadn’t she told Spencer that? Why had she been fired? And why had it been Mr. Grayson who signed the papers, but never spoke to her about it? Perhaps he’d reconsidered the reason he’d hired her. When it came down to it, she shouldn’t have been dismissed just because her husband—ex-husband—was screwing his granddaughter. The very thought made her sick.

Maybe that’s why he was so willing to merge with Benson, Benson, and Hart. It would have been equally heartbreaking to work that hard and to have his granddaughter inherit it all in the end. Of
course,
they’d taken care of that, her and Mr. Grayson. But now PLL was in good hands and not in Libby Grayson’s hands. Spencer Benson would take good care of Pacific Line Lumber.

Trying to be relaxed and enjoy
the lazy
day, she picked up the remote to the TV. Barricading herself into the basement apartment had her bored out of her mind. It was silly to
coop
up inside just so she wouldn’t run into Spencer, but that’s what she was doing.

Nashville was an enormous city and one she wanted to explore. Looking at the
clock,
she realized it was much too early for a drink down on Broadway, but she was sure she could find a decent meal there.

Quickly, she calculated what she might have in her wallet. Maybe she’d better just eat the few groceries in her refrigerator.

She sunk down even further in her chair.

The moment she heard
the knocking
on her door, she stiffened. Who would be knocking on her door? Only two people knew she lived there. It had to be one of them—or hoped it was one of them.

She winced. As much as some of her hoped it was Spencer—she truly hoped it wasn’t.

Slowly, at the second knock, she rose to look out the small peephole. There stood Avery with two coffee mugs in her hands.

Julie pulled open the door and smiled at the woman who still looked absolutely beautiful in her pajamas and her hair piled on her head.

“I realize it is much too late to still be in pajamas, but it’s never too late for sharing coffee, right?”

Julie nodded. “Come in.”

Avery handed her a mug and stepped into the apartment. “I swear it never changes down here. Well, when tenants add their own personal
effects
. Are yours coming?”

Julie looked down into the coffee mug. “No. I left with what I could carry. Nothing else seemed very important.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“You do what you have to do,” Julie said. “Please, have a seat.”

“I’m sorry about my loud music this morning. Spencer reminded me I can’t do things like that anymore,” she said sitting down on the couch.

“It’s okay. It startled me at first, but it doesn’t bother me.”

Avery
toed
off her flip-flops, curled her legs under her, and sipped at her coffee as Julie sat in the big recliner.

“So I’m told I can be a little straight forward. So I’ll ask, can I be nosy?” Avery asked as she settled in. “Why did you come to Nashville after you were done with the merger?”

Julie wondered if she really needed to answer that. Hadn’t Spencer told her all about the bitchy lawyer Julie Jacobson?

What did she have to lose? “They fired me before the merger was complete. I got divorced after I found out my husband was sleeping with the granddaughter of the owner of PLL. And I needed a change.”

Avery’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? He was sleeping with someone else?”

Julie shook her head. “The worst part is, this isn’t the first time he’s had an indiscretion during our marriage.”

“Indiscretion? Look at you with the polite words. What a prick!”

Julie tried to swallow back her smile, but decided it would be hidden behind her coffee mug.

She sipped, let the smile fade, and lowered the mug. “That’s what happens when you marry for companionship.”

“I can’t imagine you needing companionship. You’re beautiful and very nice to be around, no matter what…” She stopped and pursed her lips.

“No matter what Spencer told you?” Julie set her coffee on the small end table next to her chair.

“I didn’t mean that. I really didn’t. I just get to
talking
so fast sometimes that I…”

“It’s okay. He has every right to think what he thinks. I cost him a lot of time and money while I was doing my job.”

“Money isn’t anything to them.”

“Well, it is to me. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

Avery watched her for a moment and then smiled a brilliant, model kind of smile. “Do you want to go down to Broadway and get a drink?”

Julie let out a snort of a laugh. “It’s not even noon.
And
I’m extremely short on cash. I think I’d better take a rain check.”

“Let’s just say I’m not short on cash. Today it’s my treat.”

“Are you sure? I certainly don’t want to impose.”

“Trust me. I could use some good ole’ girl time. I also happen to know that Warner Wright is rehearsing and we could get in.”

Julie stared at her. Was she for real? “You know Warner Wright?”

“He happens to be married to my cousin.”

“Of course he does. Are you guys
not
related to anyone?”

Avery gave her a shrug. “You and I aren’t related, yet.”

“We will have to remain friends. I don’t see me getting married to anyone in the near future. Unless you have some other unmarried
cousins
you want to introduce me to.”

“Nope, only Spencer.”

“No.”

“I guess we’ll just be friends then,” she said swinging her legs over the couch and standing up. “I’ll go get ready and call Clara. She can get us in.”

“Clara? Another cousin?”

“Yep,” she said heading toward the door. “You know, if you just hang out with
us,
you’ll never need to marry for companionship again. You’ll probably have too much of it.”

She opened the door, gave her a little wave, and walked out.

Julie already knew that even being introduced to Avery’s family had given her a job, a home, and an opportunity to meet a reality TV personality and one of the most famous country artists in the country.
Knowing the Bensons and their cousins certainly couldn’t hurt anyone—especially someone who could use some companionship.

~*~

It was a sight, Spencer thought as he drove up to the neighborhood—or what would be a neighborhood.

From the
street,
it looked like a dream from his childhood. A sandbox filled with big yellow machines that would move the earth into piles and then smooth it all out again.

Roads were beginning to take shape. One day there would be sidewalks in front of houses. People would walk on those walks while their children rode bikes. Couples would hold hands and walk dogs on leashes.

He could almost see the people running under the shade of the trees on the path that would circle the neighborhood park. If he closed his eyes, which he did, he could hear children playing on that playground at the park.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the dream being built right in front of him and he grinned.

This was his dream, just as high-rises had been his
great-grandfather’s
. Families would call this home for generations to come and he’d envisioned it and drawn it out on the back of a napkin the day he’d thought of it. He’d been sitting in his car, just as he was now, looking over a tree farm, which had gone out of business, and the land was a mess. But Spencer had seen a vision and in a few years that vision would be complete.