A Game of Secrets, page 8
“I live here. Moved last year after landing a job at McCormick Place.”
“Oh. Nice.”
“The convention center.”
“I’ve heard of it.”
Chrissie gave Jake another long look. “Where’s Lincoln?”
“In DC.”
“I thought the two of you were engaged.”
“Don’t worry,” Jake smoothly interrupted, effortlessly mesmerizing her with the Eddington Effect, basically kryptonite for women. “Linc and I are business associates. He charged me with making sure his fiancée makes it back safely.” He held out his hand. “Jake Eddington.”
Her eyes widened in recognition as she accepted the handshake. “Eddington Enterprise.”
“One and the same.”
Chrissie’s countenance changed as she gave him her full attention. “I’ve worked with your company—well, indirectly. Your sister Maeve was one of my first McCormick Place clients. She met with us to discuss our hosting an international conference of lawyers. It ended up being virtual instead.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise. How do you know Reign? She’s my other sister and a host for this party.”
“I don’t know her. I’m the plus-one of a friend who works in the Bulls’ front office.” She began looking around. “I think I’ve already lost her.”
“Then we’ll leave you to your search.” He placed a hand on Sasha’s shoulder to lead her away. “Have fun.”
“Wait, Sasha. Are you going home for Thanksgiving?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Mom and I are spending it with the Trotters. I’m sure we’ll see you there.” She leaned over and gave Sasha a half-hearted hug.
“See you later.”
Jake reached for Sasha’s hand. She refused it. “Let’s go upstairs. It’ll be less crowded up there.”
“Fine but...don’t do that.”
“Don’t be paranoid, Sasha. She knows I’m with you at Linc’s request.”
They took the circular staircase to the second level and continued straight ahead to a sitting room where a glass wall framed a stunning view of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan beyond it. They walked over and stood with their backs to the door. Only then did Jake feel Sasha somewhat relax.
“I think she saw us.”
“Of course she did. We just had a whole conversation.”
“I mean earlier. When we were...making out in the foyer.”
“She maybe saw my arm around you. Or me kiss your hand. Friends do that all the time.”
“We weren’t hugging and kissing like friends do,” Sasha said, becoming upset. “The one time I let my guard down to try and just be myself, I run into one of Linc’s family members.”
“Do you think she’ll say something?”
“I think that by the time this party is over, Lincoln will know everything she even thought she saw, including what we’re wearing, right down to our shoes.”
“It might not be that bad.”
“It’s bad. I can feel it. When the family gets together, the time I’ve spent in Point is likely to get more carved up than the Thanksgiving turkey.”
“Maybe you should consider spending the holiday here, with Val. Or my family.”
“That sounds tempting but my parents wouldn’t hear of it. You guys would likely find a troop of McDowells and Trotters on your doorstep, ready to explode.”
“We’d be okay with that. Eddingtons don’t run from fires. We run into them.”
Nine
Sasha didn’t have to wait until Thanksgiving. The fallout began at six o’clock the next morning. First it was a call from Lincoln, which she ignored. She fully expected a text to follow. He didn’t disappoint.
Are you still with Jake? Chrissie saw the two of you at a party last night. She told me everything. You’d better not be seeing him. If Jake betrayed our trust, your parents and brothers will be disappointed. His reputation will be ruined. I’ll make sure of that.
Sasha rolled over, placed a pillow over her head and tried to go back to sleep. She tossed, turned and managed to catch a wink or two before the phone rang again. This time it was TJ. Knowing that the queries would keep coming until she answered, she reached for the phone.
“It’s too early for good morning, brother. What do you want?”
“Yeah, I hear you had a late night.”
“I got a text from Linc after running into Chrissie last night. I knew she’d go spouting off at the mouth.”
“Sounds like she had good reason.”
Sasha fluffed her pillows against the headboard and sat against them. “What? That I was at a party with Jake?”
“Not just there but...acting inappropriately. Her exact words to Linc.”
“Whatever.”
A lame comeback, but Sasha couldn’t think of anything else to say. If a public make-out session was inappropriate behavior then she and Jake were guilty as charged. But there was no way Chrissie could have seen them around the corner. Their elevator didn’t arrive until Jake and Sasha were away from the location of their lust-filled crime and headed back into the party. So what had Chrissie really seen? Nothing inappropriate, nothing scandalous. At least that was the story Sasha was going to stick to.
“Is she lying? The two of you weren’t fooling around?”
“We were joking around. Maybe he touched me—a hand on a shoulder, a casual hug. So what? Chrissie needs to get out of my business and find some of her own.”
“What about Lincoln? He says he phoned you last night and got voice mail. And that you didn’t call back or respond to his text. Does he need to get out of your business too?”
“Yes, brother. And so do you.”
Next, Sasha did something for the first time in life. She hung up on her big brother, the one her parents had defined as both protector and guide. She immediately felt guilty but strangely liberated too. So much so that she rolled over and went back to sleep. This time, soundly. When her alarm went off two hours later, she saw a missed call from her mom. No surprise there; she knew it was coming. She also knew that her parents had already discussed the situation before getting her input, and that her mother and Ruthanne had probably conversed as well. For a moment she was that insecure teen ready to do anything to avoid conflict, or that would bring embarrassment or shame on the family. Memories of the bullying she endured at boarding school for the first three years, where she’d adopted and perfected the go-along-to-get-along mentality that had kept her life mostly drama free, engulfed her. While taking a shower and getting dressed for her meeting with a major food chain, she thought about all the times she changed her mind or did an action because of what someone else wanted. She wanted this time to be different. But did she have the strength to go against her family? And Lincoln’s?
Not wanting to have the cloud over her head all day, she climbed into Val’s daughter’s car and eased out of the garage. As soon as she’d set the GPS and was on the highway heading to Chicago, she called her mom.
“Hello, Sasha.”
“Hello, Mother. I see I missed your call.”
“Yes, I called about an hour ago.”
“I’ve been busy and the workday continues. I have a meeting with a grocery chain who may donate a thousand full bags and another thousand gift cards to Val’s drive. Thought I’d call you back while on the way.”
“Then I’ll get straight to the point, Sasha. I heard some disturbing news this morning and am sure hoping that the deliverers of said news got something wrong.”
Even though it was a tactic with which she was familiar, hearing the disappointment in her mother’s voice made Sasha’s heart fall. But Sasha knew it was past time to hold her own with her family and show them the strong, confident woman the rest of the world already knew, the one who’d expanded Val’s annual toy, food and clothing drive to include long-term, life-sustaining programs. Like the ten-week workshop offered along with the food bags that would focus on nutrition, urban gardening and home-cooked, plant-based meals. Or the makeup and styling sessions, Etiquette 101 and step-by-step guidance to creating online businesses available to anyone receiving the clothing and wanting to improve their life status or raise self-esteem. Because of a suggestion inspired by Desmond’s wife, Ivy, there was a strong emphasis on educational toys. Sasha made sure that along with dollhouses and skateboards, children would find positive-image books, iPads and laptops filled with educational videos, games and brain food exercises beneath the Christmas tree. It was time her family saw the woman her godmother trusted to oversee all of this, along with what was close to a million-dollar budget, without thinking she’d disappoint anyone.
“I can’t imagine news about me that would be disturbing. What were you told, exactly?”
“I’m sure you know, exactly,” was her mother’s rather curt response. “You’ve gotten a bit too friendly with one of the Eddington boys. That’s totally inappropriate, Sasha. You’re an engaged woman with a reputation to uphold!”
I’m not engaged! Sasha almost bit her tongue to keep the words from spilling out. She knew that now was not the time for that conversation. A phone call with Pamela McDowell already in pit bull mode was not the time or place to break the breakup news.
“You know, Mother, it would have been nice for you to call and ask what happened instead of automatically assuming that what you heard was the truth. Jake’s sister Reign invited me to her boyfriend’s birthday party. Jake was there. We were having a lively conversation and yes, there may have been a casual touch here or there. Nothing that would warrant calling out the McDowell cavalry as Chrissie’s phone call has obviously done.”
“He didn’t kiss you?”
Sasha was glad to be stopped at a red light as that news gave her pause. She’d determined it impossible for Chrissie to have seen that kiss. But she could have seen Jake kiss her hand, or other amorous behavior as they reentered the club’s main room.
“Kissing?” Sasha managed a carefree laugh. “We were talking. Laughing. Enjoying the party. Having fun. I don’t know why Chrissie felt the need to report that to her cousin, but her interference has blown the situation way out of proportion.”
“Whatever happened last night or is happening in Point du Sable, one thing is being made clear. We need to get you refocused on what matters, your upcoming wedding. It’s time you set a date, Sasha, so that the real planning can begin.”
“I’ll be home next week, Mother. We’ll talk then.”
Sasha’s mom seemed to take her noncommittal reply as consent to move forward with plans she and Ruthanne had made without her inclusion. Her tone softened as she relayed how after the immediate family Thanksgiving meal, the McDowells had been invited to join the Trotters for dessert, drinks and their Christmas tree lighting. She went on about venues and tastings and possible color schemes, oblivious to Sasha’s nonparticipation. Sasha arrived at the store for her meeting with the CEO. She bid her mother goodbye, then sat in her car for a couple minutes to take her thoughts from her personal life to Val’s pet project. There’d be time to ponder the best way to tell her family about the broken engagement, which for Sasha wasn’t the most important conversation. The talk she really needed to have was with Jake. The conversation that would reveal her as the feline he slept with at the party. It was what she’d planned to do last night, followed by the suggestion that they get a room. Running into Chrissie had messed that up. For Sasha it was a mere delay, not a denial. When she returned to Point du Sable after Thanksgiving, she’d be officially single and ready to introduce Zorro to the tigress he’d been looking for.
Ten
Jake finished up a morning meeting, then left the office on his way to the club. He was on edge. He had been that way since Lincoln’s cousin, Chrissie, showed up at the party. After running into her, the casual vibe between himself and Sasha never got back on track. She seemed preoccupied, almost nervous. Jake got that, in a way. He and Reign knew that her relationship had ended, but aside from her ex, they were the only ones. His potential business association with Linc aside, the Trotters were an influential DC family. His grandfather was a retired grand bishop of a large congregation and revered everywhere. His mother, Mona, had taught him how society ran. Gossip was the gasoline that fueled their social engines, with high position and stellar pedigrees the vehicle’s destinations. It wouldn’t be good for scandal to hit. He understood how doing so would be uncomfortable, but why couldn’t Sasha just tell them the truth?
That possibility was the second reason he’d gotten little sleep. She said the relationship was over, but was it really? By her own admission there was a long history there, not just with Lincoln but with their families as well. There was love, too, even if it wasn’t blinding passion. Was it enough for Sasha to go through with the wedding in order to save face and her family’s social standing? Possibly. Love was only one reason women got married. Jake thought about the Eddingtons and their close ties. Controversy was never easy. Having it involve someone close to you was harder. Which was why he couldn’t discount the possibility of her changing her mind and getting back with her ex—a thought that hit him like a punch in the gut—specifically because of the third reason he’d lost sleep.
Sasha was the tigress.
Jake hadn’t confronted her again but was ninety-eight percent sure he’d uncovered his mystery cat’s identity and that her name was Sasha McDowell. The thought had flitted across his mind several times. In each instance he’d dismissed it outright. But last night and the kiss was a game changer. The moment their lips connected and her sweet, soft tongue darted out, demanding entry into a mouth more than willing to let it in, he knew. The way his body reacted, the same as it had at HalloMask. He’d been with scores of women, but Sasha, or whoever had worn the tiger outfit, was the only one who with the merest of touches sent him from zero to sixty in no time flat.
But it couldn’t be Sasha. That made no sense. She’d arrived in town that Sunday, the day after the party. During that brunch, she acted nothing like the take-charge woman he’d known mere hours before. Could the unthinkable turn out to be true? It was the best of possibilities and the worst of outcomes. Being true meant he’d slept with his business associate’s ex-fiancée. A guy that if their next meeting was as positive as the others had been, could become a part of his team. Sasha being the pussycat would mean that she’d deceived him. And lied. Two traits that Jake abhorred with a passion. Two characteristics he didn’t abide at all.
If she wasn’t the mystery woman, Jake was still in trouble. No doubt, Sasha felt the attraction as strongly as he did. Clearly, if last night was any indication, she wanted to act on it, as did he. Doing so, however, would create a whole other controversy, and set him and his family at odds with not only the Trotters but the McDowells. Powerful families in the nation’s capital, an area that if his business took off could easily become another of Jake’s playgrounds. And worse, Sasha’s ambassador father was a brother. A member of the uberpowerful, globally influential business fraternity that his own father currently helmed—The Society of Ma’at. He didn’t even want to begin to imagine what their secret being uncovered might cause. Sasha’s brothers, TJ and Brandon, weren’t close friends, but they were valued ones. Linc was a smart guy with experience that would complement what Jake wanted to do. His dad, Elijah Trotter, was also a SOMA member. This was a huge dilemma. Only one person could help him out of it. He checked his watch and engaged his Bluetooth.
“Jake! I was just thinking about you.”
Sasha’s voice brought out the day’s first genuine smile. “All good, I hope.”
“If some of it was a little bad, a little naughty, would that be a problem?”
“That might be a big problem.”
“A big problem or a thick problem?”
Jake’s whole body tensed. “That’s some pretty suggestive language, isn’t it?”
“You bring out the boldness in me—what can I say?”
A spark of light shot through. “Bold. Like a tiger?”
He gripped the wheel, a mix of anger and excitement building while awaiting her reaction. That she paused increased the mystery-solved percentage from ninety-eight to ninety-nine.
“Yeah, I could say that. Tigers are bold.”
“Where are you, Sasha?”
“I’m headed to the country club for lunch with Val and her sorors.”
“Perfect, I’m on my way there too.”
“I’d invite you to join us but I don’t think you’d want to spend an hour talking about fashion, food and toys.”
“That’s okay. Mine is a business lunch as well. If you can meet me beforehand though, I’d really appreciate it.”
“What about afterward? Or tonight? I only have about ten minutes before our meeting starts.”
“I’ll only need five. There are a series of private rooms adjacent to the main dining area. I’ll find out if one is available and text you to meet me there.”
“You sound serious, Jake. Any hint of what this is about?”
The tiger reference wasn’t enough of one? “It’s about us. See you in five.”
Jake arrived at the Point du Sable Country Club and headed straight to a door marked Fairway, one of the smaller rooms set up for private affairs. He tapped on the door before opening it to go inside. The room was empty. Sasha hadn’t yet arrived. The server had already set a pitcher of lime-and-mint water on the table along with two crystal goblets. Jake bypassed the pristine table setting and walked over to the window. Ominous-looking clouds had replaced last week’s sunshine, bringing with them a dip in the temps as well. He hoped the weather wasn’t a sign of what was getting ready to happen—his relationship with Sasha going from sunny to stormy.
