View Park, page 4
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about what I plan to do now that I’m back.”
Janet was grateful for some good news. “You don’t have to pick the practice you want to join yet. We know you’ll make the right choice.”
Leigh produced a weak smile. “I hope you mean that.”
Janet’s smile faded. She knew her children too well. Caught up with Haley, she hadn’t ignored Leigh’s virtual absence at the house the past few days. She said she was visiting friends, but Leigh was a horrible liar.
“Because,” Leigh went on, “I made up my mind about what I wanted to do a few months ago. I want to open up a free clinic in South Central for children with HIV and AIDS.”
“A free clinic?” Janet’s voice caught in her throat. “For poor people?”
“Yes, Mom.” So it begins. “You say it like there’s something wrong with that.”
Steven took a heavy breath. “We donate to several clinics like that, but it’s not the right job for you. You’re a Chase, Leigh. If you want to show compassion, make a donation or find a safe clinic to volunteer at every now and then, but you’re going to be a doctor of reputation and success and that only comes from having powerful patients and major hospital connections.”
“That’s your dream, not mine.” Leigh begged herself to keep it together. She’d known this would be hard and she hated being such a coward. “What I experienced in Africa has—”
“Warped your mind,” Janet pointed out. “You’re just on a goodwill high. You’ll come down.”
Leigh shook her head. Her mother spent her life on philanthropy. What had it all been for? “You’re wrong. HIV and AIDS among African Americans is an epidemic. Lack of education and access to care is what is killing our people, not the disease.”
“Leigh.” Steven loved the heart of this child. “Maybe there is some way you can continue to volunteer with these types of people, but not for a living.”
Leigh didn’t try to conceal her hurt. “Look, the truth is I need the Chase Family Foundation to help fund the clinic.”
“No,” Janet dictated. “I won’t support this.”
“Daddy.”
“Leigh, I’m sorry. You know I love you and want you to be happy. We agreed to this stint in Africa, but…”
Agreed? Leigh specifically remembered threats were made. They fought her tooth and nail, but she did it anyway because it was her calling. So was this clinic.
Janet began anxiously fluffing the pillows on the sofa, unwilling to add this to her list of worries. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
“Think about it,” Steven said. “You’ve glamorized this stuff. It’s not—”
“Glamorized? I just spent a year in Africa! Look, I’m going to do this.”
“Not with the Chase Family Foundation, you aren’t.” Steven hated hurting her, but that was what a father had to do for his child’s own good.
“Fine.” Leigh knew that wasn’t fine at all, but there was nothing else she could say. “I know people who want this as much as I do.”
She had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying until she left the room. She had no reason to cry because, unfortunately, that had gone exactly as she’d thought it would.
Steven kissed his wife on the forehead even though it couldn’t cure the pain in her eyes. “Baby, I have to go to the office. You’ll stay with Haley?”
She grabbed his hands, feeling such a burden with her desperate need for him. He was the world to her. “Not today, Steven.”
“I need to go to the office for at least a few hours today. You’ll be here and so will the bodyguards.” He ignored the guilt that he always felt when he picked Chase Beauty over everything else. Janet understood more than most wives, but she couldn’t be expected to understand all the time. She would be cold to him when he got back home. He was used to this.
In her heart, Janet tried to smother the disappointment that came with Steven’s choices. It was a sacrifice for him as well. She had to remember that and handle this day herself. Reaching into her pocket, she took out a small prescription bottle of Valium and swallowed a pill. She was used to this.
After graduating from college with a business degree, Avery Jackson, the girl next door, knew opening a hair salon wasn’t what her parents expected, but they had always taught their daughter to find what she loved and the money would come. That advice birthed Essentials in View Park, and three years later, Essentials II in Baldwin Hills; a neighborhood beauty salon where there would be no two-hour wait, and everyone would be in and out on time; even on Saturday. Service was better than the highest-end salons, but at neighborhood salon prices.
And she was only twenty-six.
Avery knew she should be the happiest woman in the world. Sometimes she wished she was better at fooling herself, but like most women, she wasn’t able to separate her private life from her business life. Everything melted together, and as she sat in the back office of Essentials going through numbers that didn’t make sense, all she could think of was Alex, her apathetic fiancé, and wondering why she let the phone call she had just hung up on get so out of hand.
She had tried to hold on to her emotions, because Alex only became defensive when she yelled. What was she supposed to do? He had been canceling their plans week after week, and wouldn’t settle on a wedding date. He preached about the pressures of a salesman, telling her the solution was for her to work less. What was happening to them? She was so easily irritated and he was constantly annoyed. All of those qualities, Avery told herself, weren’t as important as their love three years ago, but were becoming more important now after almost a year of being engaged.
“You wanted to see me?”
Avery hadn’t even noticed Craig come into the office, let alone stand at the desk staring down at her with an anxious expression on his face. Craig Moon was a throw-back from the eighties. He was a dead ringer for Phillip Michael Thomas in his Miami Vice days. An expert accountant, after four years he was now a minority owner in the overall business. Avery respected Craig’s talent, but his secretive behavior in the past few months was bothering her.
“Craig, I was just going over last month’s numbers and I think something is—”
“Knowing you can’t count past ten.” He laughed, scanning the documents on her desk.
“I can count, Craig. I have a business degree.”
“I told you I would do that. That’s why you brought me on. I’ll handle it.”
“We’ll handle it.” Avery worked hard not to seem so possessive of Essentials, but it was her baby and she wasn’t going to stand for anyone pushing her out. With all of her frustrations with Alex, she ignored Craig’s increasing tendency to push her away from the numbers. She had to regain her focus. “If we don’t increase our profits, we’ll never be able to open Essentials III.”
Craig grabbed his keys on the hook at the door. “It’ll pick back up.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have some errands. Then I’m off to II.”
Avery let him walk away even though she was angry. She hated coming down hard on Craig—on anyone. That was her problem. She was so preoccupied with keeping peace and making people happy that she was losing control of her business and her relationship. When had she lost her backbone?
Avery knew she had a temper, a spicy side to her, but she had bottled it down recently because it only seemed to anger Alex, making him push away from her. She preferred to hang up on him than deal with him. The old Avery would have called him back and cussed him out, putting him in his place, before asking him what he would like for dinner later that night. This Avery didn’t want to bother starting something. She couldn’t blame that all on Alex.
She needed a distraction. She needed out of this office. Tuesday was one of the slowest days of the week for Essentials, but she welcomed whatever distractions were there. Seeing her business—her child—thriving always made her feel better.
“What’s going on?” Avery sauntered to the front window of the salon where most of the customers were standing, looking out.
“Outside, girl.” Alexa Duchese licked her lips. “It’s Carter Chase.”
As she watched Carter Chase step out of his silver Mercedes SL-Class convertible across the street, Avery felt like she had a brick in her stomach. At least it wasn’t Michael. She wasn’t sure she could take another second of that one. Carter was different. He had a smooth way about him, not as abrasive, so she was told. She had never met him, but everyone knew everything about the Chase boys. Carter was the smooth character; laid back. Even the way he walked across the street, ignoring traffic as if he was sure nothing could ever happen to him, seemed to be in slow motion.
“I can’t believe he’s still single.” Verona Dellis’s hand spread over her heart.
Calabra Velasquez huffed. “I heard he’s single because he’s a big player.”
“I could make him stay home.” Lisa Tyson snapped her fingers. “But I like the younger one. Michael.”
“He’s married to that model thing.” Calabra rolled her eyes.
“She trapped him,” Lisa said. “Got pregnant and made him marry her.”
Avery had heard enough. The black community’s obsession with the Chase family was nauseating. “Okay, ladies. He may look good, but he’s not worth letting your process burn through your head.”
They returned to their places, but never took their eyes off Carter when he entered the store. Avery had no love for any Chase at this point. Not after the last few months of Michael, and she wasn’t about to give Carter a chance either.
Carter flashed a winning smile for the woman standing in front of him, but she didn’t seem impressed. Impossible. She was incredibly attractive in that suburban girl type of way, but this was about business so that didn’t matter either way. Over the last few days, he had let his father’s brooding looks and biting words get to him and he wanted to close this deal even if it meant being an ass. He didn’t like it, but he was just as good at it as anyone. Better. “Can I speak with—?”
“No.” Avery, hands on hips, was ready for him. With her current mood, a good-looking man meant nothing.
“Excuse me, but I need to speak with Avery—”
“That’s me and the answer is no. You can leave now, Mr. Chase.”
As she turned and began walking away, Carter started after her. “I was warned about your stubbornness, but I wasn’t aware you were also unprofessional.”
Avery swung around. “Unprofessional? What you and your brother are doing is what’s unprofessional. Trying to push everyone around.” She reached her office, planning to slam the door for effect, but Carter caught the door just before it closed. “I didn’t invite you in.”
“I don’t push people around. Look, Ms. Jackson. If you would take a second, I can tell you why you should reconsider.”
Avery sat down at her desk, eyeing Carter. Something about him was definitely different than Michael. Even though Michael was meaner, something told her Carter would be harder to fight. “I’m not selling my shops. Your obsession with me is a waste of time.”
“Obsession?” Carter laughed for a second before becoming completely serious. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Am I going to have to get a restraining order against your whole family?”
“My brother can be a little—”
“Your brother isn’t a little anything.”
Carter knew now why Michael had been unsuccessful with this woman. She was too smart and Michael tended to underestimate women. He wouldn’t make the same mistake, and he didn’t need to make excuses for Michael. “I’m not my brother, but I’m prepared to offer you twenty-five grand more than his last offer.”
Avery looked him dead in the eye. “No sale.”
“You didn’t even think about it.”
“I don’t need to. Unlike you, money isn’t the deciding factor in why I do what I do.”
Carter helped himself to the chair across from her, never once taking his eyes off her. “You don’t know me well enough to pass judgment, so I suggest you watch your mouth before you put your foot in it.”
Avery paused, her lips forming into a beautifully wicked smile as she thought of where she would like to put her foot. “Your charm is just wooing me off my feet, Mr. Chase. Listen, why don’t I make a deal with you?”
Carter knew he was walking into it, but he would indulge her. “Let’s hear it.”
Avery leaned forward. “I’ll watch my mouth if you get the hell out of my office.”
Carter allowed her to lean back with an accomplished look on her face. She didn’t know who she was dealing with. “That’s a stupid move.”
“There is just no end to your flattery, Mr. Chase.”
“Call me Carter.”
“Mr. Chase, like I told your brother the last four times he tried to buy me out, Essentials is my baby and it’s not for sale.”
“Everything is for sale, Avery. Even you.”
The intensity of his light eyes caught Avery for a second and she couldn’t think of the best comeback. “I already use all of your products. I’ve made enough of a contribution to the Chase wealth machine.”
“You use Chase products because they’re the best out there. Everything we do is the best. And when we take over Essentials—”
“Not gonna happen. Now I have two shops to run. I don’t have time for back and forth with Steven Chase’s little boys.”
Carter gritted his teeth. That one got through, but he wouldn’t let it show. Casually, calmly, he reached into his tailored coat jacket, pulled a contract out of the breast pocket and tossed it on her desk. “At least look at it. It’s much better than anything you’ve been offered. It’s more money than your shop made any of the five years you’ve been open.”
“How do you know how much my shops make?”
Carter ran down her revenue for the past three years, smiling at the sight of her unintentional blink. She was a privately owned business with carefully protected financial information. It was a guilty pleasure, seeing the look on someone’s face when they realized they were dealing with a Chase. Nothing was that protected when it came to his last name.
“I also know,” he added, “that Chase Beauty is going to own this shop as well as that other little joint you run and we’re gonna make it bigger and better than anything you could have dreamed of making it.”
Avery was digging her nails into her palms under the desk. He was different than Michael, all right. He was better. “So now you claim to know my dreams?”
“It’s not about what I know,” he explained. “You know that you could never do for Essentials what we can. And if you learned anything from that state college education you have…”
Avery couldn’t stop her mouth from opening wide. She had lost her footing with him and she needed an out before he got any farther.
“You’ll know,” he continued, “when it’s time to cash in and move on.”
Unsure of how to verbally respond with words, Avery snatched the papers he had given her and ripped them into several pieces before tossing them into the garbage next to her desk. Carter showed no emotion and that un-hinged her even more.
“That was a mistake, Avery.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Carter smiled innocently, showing a genetically inherited smugness. “The police chief’s little girl? I would never.”
“If you’re suggesting I need to hide behind my father to fight you, you’re mistaken. I can handle you by myself. Now get the hell out of my shop.”
Carter stood up. That was enough for now. Winning the big ones took patience, something Michael didn’t have. When he was finished with Avery, she would beg him to take Essentials just to get him out of her life.
“You have a nice day, Avery.”
When he was finally gone, Avery’s head fell flat on the desk and she let out a moan. Although she would never admit it to a soul, he had intimidated her in a way his little brother was never able to, and Avery knew she hadn’t seen the last of him.
Standing outside of Essentials, Carter took a deep breath as he pulled out his cell phone. He had intended to be as polite as professionally possible, but when she referred to him as one of Steven Chase’s little boys, she declared war. This was his fight now, and unlike Michael who went right at you, Carter took the less expected route. From what his private investigator told him, Craig Moon was that route.
Sean thought of his entire apartment and surmised that it was probably the size of Haley’s bedroom. Sizing it up, the only thing that really bothered Sean was the balcony. He noticed the white garden climbing trellis with thick flowery vines on the right side against the house. It was sturdy enough to hold a normal sized person and reached all the way to the ground. The backyard was well manicured, with bushes and statues that could hide a considerable figure. He wondered how much of this big-neck Jason had figured out.
The room was at the west end of the home, which was separated from the neighbors by tall eucalyptus trees. No gate on the sides, which wasn’t good. He knew the family must have a top-notch security system outside as well as in, but sometimes the richest families were the most absentminded when it came to security. He’d seen the results of their mistakes; especially when they didn’t give a damn, which perfectly described Haley. He had to get his mind around that girl.
Returning from the balcony, Sean came face-to-face with a scowling Haley just as she closed the door behind her.
“What in the hell are you doing in my room?” she asked.
“Checking for safety. Your father gave permission.”
“Well, it’s not his room, is it?”
Sean found her sense of entitlement incredible. As if she didn’t owe everything to her father. “You want to make the rules, why don’t you get a place of your own? That way you can give all the permission you want.”
Haley’s lips formed a prissy smile. He was a slow learner. “So I can live like you? No, thanks. Keep your middle-class fantasy. I like my life just fine.”
“Well, if you want to keep that life, I suggest you check that attitude and get with the program.”
