Love After All, page 6
“She’s been shooting them down ever since she walked in here,” the bartender quipped quietly. Jackson shifted the change back across the counter and nodded.
Understanding, and accepting the generous tip, the bartender smiled happily. “Thanks,” he collected the change and dropped it into the tip jar behind him, then headed back to the other end of the bar as a loud group of travelers walked in.
Jackson took a few sips of his beer and casually looked around the now crowded room. He turned, seeing that the bartender continued to watch across the room. The man still trying to talk to the woman at the window gulped the last of his beer and became more adamant about his intentions. The woman never turned back to him. Then he reached across the table and roughly grabbed her. She resisted, jerking away.
In an instant, Jackson got up and walked over.
He gently touched the woman on the shoulder and leaned down to her ear and spoke loud enough for the man across the table to hear. “Sorry I’m late, sweetheart, traffic is miserable out there.” Then he looked up questioningly to the apparently intoxicated man across the table as he quickly let go of her arm.
“That’s okay, darling,” she said, instantly going along with Jackson’s ploy. “This gentleman was kind enough to keep me company until you got here. Thank you, sir,” she added pointedly and the man stood, muttering a few incoherent words, and walked out.
“Are you okay?” Jackson asked as he continued to lean close but this time he spoke more quietly in her ear.
The woman glanced to the side without looking up at him. A gentle wisp of loose hair dropped against her shoulder. “Yes, thank you, I appreciate your assistance,” she said then glanced at her diamond watch, gathered her belongings and as smooth as silk stood and walked out of the room without a single look back.
Jackson watched her walk away until she disappeared into the thickness of the flowing crowd of airport foot traffic. He half smiled. Her long lean legs and the sweet sway of her hips were beauty to behold. She was something else, all business and all gorgeous, and now she was a fantasy. And given the time, he might have attempted to talk to her himself, but her prompt departure took care of that idea.
Although he never actually saw her face, he imagined she was attractive. Her body alone had him itching. But the obvious don’t-touch signals were blaring, too. Her hair was pulled back severely in a tight braid, she kept to herself, sitting alone, not talking to anyone, and she didn’t make direct eye contact, all signs that she didn’t want to be bothered.
Jackson turned back to the bar, seeing that his seat and most of the bar’s counter had been usurped by the large crowd of travelers. He sat down at the now-vacant table. A few minutes later the bartender brought over another beer and cleared away the untouched wineglasses.
“Nicely done, smooth, you could be a professional,” the bartender said, wiping the table with a clean white towel and placing the glass of beer in front of him. Jackson put his hand into his pocket and pulled out another twenty. “Nope, you just saved me a lot of potential aggravation,” the bartender said. “It’s on the house, enjoy. Here’s a menu. Let me know when you’re ready to order.”
Jackson nodded his thanks and relaxed back, opening his menu but still thinking about the woman who had just walked out of his life. What he saw of her was attractive and he didn’t necessarily blame any man who felt bold and brave enough to approach her, but she obviously wasn’t interested.
He smiled at the possibility without realizing it. It had been a while since his last relationship. Maybe now that his workload had lightened he’d consider Jessie’s offer. He chuckled to himself, knowing of course that he wouldn’t.
The scent of the woman’s delicate perfume still wafted in the air. He inhaled deeply and again smiled at nothing in particular as his phone rang. He looked at the displayed number; it was his father again for the millionth time.
In actuality Marcus had called at least fifty times since Jackson left Los Angeles two days ago. Having not responded to any of his calls, Jackson knew that his father was desperate, yet he still seriously considered tossing his cell phone out the window.
“Where have you been? I’ve called you a dozen times. Did you get the originals?” The voice on the other end, obviously stressed, asked immediately not bothering with greetings and pleasantries.
“No,” Jackson said, hearing the disgusted sound of his father’s exaggerated exhale. “The contact never showed up.” Marcus sighed heavily a second time. It was obvious that he wasn’t pleased, but then few things pleased him lately.
“What do you mean he didn’t show up? You’ve been gone for two days already. What happened?” Marcus asked.
“I can’t go into that right now. Suffice it to say I followed his instructions, went to the hotel to meet him, but he didn’t show up,” Jackson said as he looked around the area, seeing that more customers had entered the bar and the small space was getting crowded. “We’ll have to talk about this when I get back. My flight’s about to take off.”
“Your flight? What flight? You can’t leave. You need to go back to that hotel and wait until he contacts you. Stay as long as it takes,” Marcus demanded. “You can’t just walk away and leave. We need those original documents.”
“Yes, I realize that, but I waited for twenty-four hours. That’s enough patience. If this person wants payment he’s going to have to contact me again.”
“Those documents could ruin this company, and you decide that a few more days aren’t worth your time?”
“I didn’t say that. Apparently, whoever this person is wants to play games, but if he wants payment he’s going to have to meet me face-to-face. I’m through playing his game.”
“And what about the company? If word gets out—”
“The company will be fine.”
“My reputation is on the line.”
“You should have considered that before you started all this.”
“It’s well and good for you to say that now that you’ve enjoyed the bounty that my actions provided. I did it for us, for this company, for you.”
“You did it for yourself.”
“That’s your mother talking,” Marcus declared.
“Don’t bring her into this, she has nothing to do with it.”
“Be that as it may, she was right there by my side every step of the way.”
“I won’t get into this with you right now. It’s his move, we’ll just have to wait to see what happens next.”
“We can’t afford to just sit around and wait.”
“Correction, you can’t afford to wait. I can.”
Jackson closed his cell phone and put it in his shirt pocket. He took a deep breath and turned to look out the window.
As always, their conversation had ended abruptly. Jackson took a sip of his beer. He looked back over to the bar. A different bartender was there, laughing and talking to a few patrons at the counter.
The perfumed-scented air, now completely faded and obscured by cigarette smoke, had dissipated, but Jackson smiled remembering the woman who had sat at the table. She, whoever she was, was the one bright moment in an otherwise disappointing and dismal trip, and now he was more than glad to be headed back home.
Transformed, she was the profiled epitome of executive style. Samantha, now completely reinvented in a stylish Suzi White business suit, four-inch Manolo Blahnik heels and designer reading glasses, sat in her first-class seat with the latest editions of Architectural Digest magazine and Computer Today on her lap. She flipped through the pages as her thoughts centered on her task. She steeled her courage as she focused on what she needed to do. Patiently, she waited for her part to begin.
As she glanced around the cabin, she remembered her last experience in first-class. It involved her brother, a banker, a baseball player, his agent and a large endowment to her education fund, which was eventually paid in full, compliments of her brother, who had simply asked her to do him a favor and she did.
The thought immediately made her smile. Where her father had mastered the jaunty carefree life of the con, her half brother, Jefferson, seven years her senior, had achieved flawless perfection. Like a Hollywood mogul, he directed, produced and wrote everything from start to finish. Every character and mark played right into his hands. And like a chess master he was twenty-five moves ahead before anyone even sat down to play.
And as with his skill, everything worked in timely fashion, perfect precision, and everyone walked away either richer, wiser or wishing that they’d never gotten up that morning. But no one complained. How could they? Greed had a way of making a point.
That was the last time she saw her brother. She heard that he had retired and was off to places unknown, doing exactly what we enjoyed doing.
But that was her old life; she hadn’t seen him in years and certainly hadn’t played the game in years. At a certain point she realized that the risk wasn’t worth her freedom and definitely not worth her life. Her father took that chance each time he walked out the door on another one of his jobs. Robert Taylor knew, as they all did, that there was always a chance that he wouldn’t come home.
Then it happened. A long con, it was a simple job, a quick switch and grab with a major payoff. Unfortunately, a member of his crew got greedy and went beyond the anticipated plan. That mistake cost the guy his life, and cost Robert fifteen years of his life. One member of the crew got away and her father never exposed him. Robert might have been undependable and conflicted, but he was also loyal. He’d never betray his crew, no matter what the circumstances. So he went to prison and so did his secret, leaving her and her mother with nothing.
Unfortunately, Robert’s imprisonment eventually led to her meeting her ex-boyfriend, Eric. She was signing off on some paperwork at her father’s attorney’s office after work one day. A man grabbed her purse and Eric, stepping in, retrieved it and chased him off. He saved her.
At the time she wasn’t sure if he’d followed her or not. He said that he hadn’t and just happened to see her leave the building at the last second, but now she knew that was a lie. But at the time she accepted his explanation and his offered friendship. He was a friendly face and had a smile that was infectious.
He seemed perfect, tall, dark and handsome, and he treated her like a princess. He was the first man she trusted to tell the truth about her family. Being that they were coworkers, she didn’t want him surprised or embarrassed if anyone ever saw them together and knew who her father was. She told him just about everything about her family and he was okay with it. He accepted that her father was in prison and he even tried to convince her to visit Robert. But she never did.
That seemed to disappoint him. It wasn’t until later that she figured it out. Their meeting, their romance, their love, was all one big con to get her to trust him and to get her to see her brother. The only thing he ever wanted was what her brother knew about the business.
When it became obvious that she wasn’t going to be pressured into visiting her father or telling him how to contact her brother, Eric broke into her office, used her computer and stole money from their employer to pay off a con gone bad.
He used her and she let him. The only saving grace was that she’d never contacted her father or told Eric how to find Jefferson like he wanted her to do. But as her mother said, family is forever and you never betray that. He tried everything to persuade her to make contact, but she had always adamantly refused. That was the one good thing she’d done.
Now, seated at the window, Samantha looked out and watched the airport handlers load the last luggage cart and make final preparations for the plane’s departure. Her thoughts wandered to the path before her now. Jefferson’s message said that a friend of his would contact her. Not knowing who it was, she reminded herself that she needed to be open to anything.
Like Kareem in the cab company, Jefferson had many friends.
“Excuse me,” he said, interrupting her wayward thoughts. As she looked up, he smiled, his eyes dancing. “I think you’re in my seat,” Jackson said as he looked up at the small metal tab above the seats, then at the boarding pass in his hand. “I believe I have the window.”
Samantha nodded, removed her reading glasses and sized him up quickly. To say that he was attractive was a stark understatement. The man was gorgeous. His face was as smooth as mocha silk with just enough evening shadow on his chin to make him look dangerous and sexy. His lips were strong, full and firm, the kind that could kiss a woman into submission.
His dark, wavy hair was cut short, with half sideburns that stopped short of his chiseled jaw and firm chin. Tall, with broad shoulders, he was exceptionally built. But it was his eyes that gave her pause. Framed by thick dark lashes, his eyes, exquisitely divine, shot right into her the very instant she looked up at him, mesmerizing her to silence.
She smiled, numb. He tilted his head downward as if to increase the intensity as his eyes brightened knowingly. They were luminously breathtaking and she suspected he’d been told that more than a time or two.
“Is that right?” she finally said as she pulled out her boarding pass and checked the seat number and the armrest number. “It appears you’re correct.”
“Do you mind? I’d prefer the window seat,” he said.
“Not at all,” she said, then stood and moved to step back into the aisle.
Jackson, who had begun storing his bag in the overhead compartment, stepped aside and right into her path. Their bodies connected against the back of the seat in front of them and pressed closer as another passenger passed behind them. The maneuver was completely innocent but extremely sexually suggestive.
Their eyes locked as she looked up and he looked down.
“Thank you,” he said provocatively, leaving it up to her to know what he was thanking her for. He smiled, grabbed his briefcase, then ducked his head and moved to the window seat and sat down.
His gold Rolex gleamed as she inhaled the scent of his expensive cologne. “My pleasure,” she responded as she sat down in the aisle seat and placed the magazines back on her lap and continued flipping through the pages.
Jackson looked around the immediate first-class area. “Looks like we’ve got most of first-class all to ourselves, at least for the next few hours,” he said as he glanced at her legs and then at the name of the magazine she had on her lap. She nodded but didn’t speak, then obligatorily glanced around the first-class cabin also. He watched the smooth perfect softness of her caramel skin as she turned, noting also the single two-carat diamond stud earring.
Jackson smiled as he took the opportunity to observe her more closely. He’d seen her before, of course. She’d been in the airport’s first-class lounge sitting alone nursing what looked like a glass of white wine as two others that hadn’t been touched sat across from her.
Now, seeing her face-to-face, he changed his assessment of her. She wasn’t stuck-up or haughty, she was something more. Attractive, yes, she was definitely an attractive woman, elegant and glamorously styled. She was impeccably dressed with the knowing air of a boardroom executive. But then there was something else behind her aloof coolness, an attitude definitely, but something more elusive. He was intrigued.
Finding a woman with money and power was relatively easy in his circle. They were a dime a dozen. They moved awkwardly in an affluently graced society that had groomed them for perfection since birth. But finding a woman with that certain something and who moved with the ease of assured confidence by her own making was something else completely. The difference, subtle to most, was blaringly obvious to him.
They sat side by side in silence as a continuing flow of passengers began to enter the plane and take their seats farther back. Preoccupied, Jackson rested his head back on the cushioned headrest and relaxed. The stress of the past few days had worn him down. He was glad to be headed back home. That is, until his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at the number. He closed his eyes and exhaled. It was his father again and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with that. “Damn,” he said tightly, then turned off the phone and put it away.
“Are you okay?” Samantha asked, witnessing his tense reaction.
He turned to her. “Yeah, sorry about that. Business,” Jackson said to Samantha, seeing that she had stopped flipping through the magazine. “I didn’t mean to get so loud.”
“It wasn’t loud,” she said, half smiling. “Sounds like trouble brewing.”
“Trouble is always brewing, but then life is trouble.”
“At times, true,” she turned to look directly at him. “Look, I know this is going to sound like a come-on, but honestly it’s not. You look familiar. Have we met before?”
“A come-on?” he asked, lightening his mood.
“You know what I mean. A pickup line.”
“And are you picking me up?” he asked hopefully.
“No, sorry, I’m just curious, I know I recognize your voice. I just can’t seem to place you.”
“Well, as a matter of fact we did meet briefly,” he said. “I was in the first-class lounge an hour or so ago when…”
“Oh, yes, of course, it was you, my knight in shining armor,” she smiled and his attraction was complete. “Thank you again, that was very kind of you. A lot of people these days would prefer not to get involved.”
“Don’t mention it. My sister has the same problem when she travels. She can take care of herself, but I hope someone might be there if ever she needs.”
“It is a different world and I seem to attract a lot of complications lately,” she said.
“I have to confess, truth be told I considered coming over, as well, but thought better of it after I saw you shoot down the other men who approached you.”
“I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
“Not at all,” he said with obvious facetiousness. “Jackson, Jackson Daley,” he said, holding his hand out to shake.
