It was almost dinner time by the time Jacqui was able to get her father home. Sophia had gone on ahead earlier to prepare a meal and make sure his bed was ready for him. Nothing was broken, luckily, just bruised and banged up. He was on some pain pills Jacqui was sure would make him loopy for the rest of the night. With his behavior at the hospital, loopy was good. It kept him from bitching at her again.Once Bert was settled in his bed, pillows propped behind his head, television blaring through reruns of Law & Order, Jacqui fixed herself a steaming cup of orange spice tea and settled into her plush sofa, doing her best to allow the stress of the day to flow from her taut nerves. She was furious with Sophia, even though the fault was partially Bert's. He knew better than to push himself and to put Sophia in that position. He was lucky he hadn't hit his head on a rock or part of the steps going down to the backyard. Jacqui closed her eyes, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. H
Good question, but he knew he couldn't exactly tell her father that he wanted to see how far the chase could go. He needed to come up with something less devious. "I don't like to see the people I work closely with wound so tight. I'm going to be around for quite a while, and I'd like to work with someone who was a little more relaxed.""Good luck with that. Jacqui never relaxes.""I've noticed."He followed Sophia as she drove Bert Clydesdale to his home, a cooler of beverages and their lunch in the back of Morgan's truck. As he drove, he thought more about what he had told the old man about his own daughter. Truth was, he liked Bert. He was a cantankerous old man, but that was probably because of what life had dealt him. He also understood the man wanting to have some sort of independence over his own life. No one likes to feel like they have no control and Jacqui Karston was one who needed to be in total control. Yet, he was going to be working closely with her on more than just thi
Jacqui glanced at her watch. 11:45. She stared down at the file she had been reading, realizing that she hadn't been focused on the last two pages. It was time for a break and lunch with her father sounded good. She pressed the intercom button on her phone."Yes, Mrs. Karston?" Lily's voice came through the speaker."Will you call Sophia and tell her I'm coming home to have lunch with my father, please?""Yes, ma'am." The speaker went dead.Jacqui stretched her arms over her head, popping her sore muscles back into life. She had not realized she had been hunched over in the same position for so long. Lily must have been doing the same at her desk, because she usually came in and forced Jacqui to move a bit, even if it were to sit up straight. Things were growing more hectic as the groundbreaking ceremony drew closer. It had been a while since she had taken on such a major undertaking and she had forgotten what all was involved. Add to that the normal daily business and they were all ru
Well, Bert was right. It definitely wasn't the reaction I expected, Morgan thought as he fought the urge to smile. It was probably embarrassing enough to Jacqui that her father was laughing at her from behind his hand. Morgan should feel bad, he knew, but Jacqui Karston would learn that he could give as well as he received. What was it his mother always said? If you can't take it, don't dish it out. Well, Mrs. Karston was going to learn he could dish it out just as well as she could.He finished pounding his nail into the wood and then took the beer from Jacqui's hand. "Thank you." He raised it in the air toward Bert and the two drank. "I hope you don't drink on every job," Jacqui said, her arms now crossed over her chest.He shrugged. "Depends on who I have to put up with." While he tried not to stare, he couldn't help noticing the way her arms were pushing her breasts up to the opening in her blouse. He doubted she realized the effect, or she wouldn't have been standing that way.Be
She watched the backs of the two men disappear as they rounded the corner and walked down the hallway, her mouth agape at the audacity of Morgan Brewer. They had both completely ignored her. She was used to her father doing it to her, but for someone who worked for her to do it… It was unbelievable. She would go to dinner, of course. There was no way she was going to allow her father to go with Morgan Brewer without her. She would need to be there to somehow control the evening.She glanced over at Sophia, whose eyes were glued to the food in front of her. She wanted to yell, scold the woman for what she put Jacqui in the middle of and the embarrassment she had been caused. She let out a deep breath as she reached for her glass of water. She wanted to yell, but she wouldn't. As much as the situation frustrated her, she couldn't blame Sophia. Bert was great at badgering people into doing what he wanted and from what Jacqui had seen of Morgan, he was equally talented in that area. Soph
As he dressed for his night out—blue jeans and a dark red flannel shirt—he thought again about how formal Jacqui always seemed. Nothing she did was casual. Her office was big on titles and last names, she kept her napkin smoothed over her lap as she ate, and she was always dressed immaculately, without even a stray hair out of place. He bet she even wore shoes throughout her house up until the time she went to bed. He chuckled a little as he pictured her watching television, eating popcorn with her pinkie finger up in the air, her high-heeled feet side by side on the floor as she sat there with perfect posture. And then it wasn't funny anymore. It was sad. Surely, she hadn't always been that way. Was it all a part of her penance?He scooped up his keys, locking his apartment as he headed out for the evening. Why did he care? Sure, she was a challenge, something to keep him from getting too bored while he was settling into a new area, but was that it? He had no problem picking up wome
She had been tricked, conspired against by her own father. Again. If she didn't know better, she would have believed Morgan and her father were in cahoots to get her out of the house just to embarrass her. She glanced over at Morgan and the way he was dressed, then took in her own attire for the evening again. They were definitely a mismatched pair. He looked like he was ready for a rodeo and she for a board meeting. She should have asked him what the attire for the evening was so she would have been better prepared. Not that it would have mattered. She had no use for casual outfits. She didn't attend picnics or go to barbecues. So why was she going to one now?Because my father couldn't mind his own business. She crossed her arms over her chest as she exhaled a frustrated breath. Her father had backed out at the last minute, setting her up on this date without him. No. It's not a date. It's a kidnapping. She refused to think of it as a date. She didn't go on dates."So, you haven't h
Standing in front of her picture window, Jacqui stared down at the city of Biloxi without seeing it. Her fingers toyed with her lips, gliding over them in slow, easy strokes. She could still imagine his lips on hers, the warmth of his breath against her skin, the way it stole the air from her lungs along with her voice. She hadn't even said goodnight to him as he walked away from her and back to his truck. She could only stare at him as he drove off, lost in the fact that he had kissed her.Her father was in bed when she finally pulled herself away from the retreating taillights of Morgan's truck, the house dark except for one lamp Bert left on for her. She peeked in on him while he slept, Morgan's words echoing in her mind. They were still echoing as she stood in her office, unable to focus. Was she being unfair to her father? She had never thought about it the way Morgan had put it, but it made perfect sense. She had never sold her home, because it was her connection to Marc and Magg