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Tanner slowly got to his feet, dusting the lint off his slacks.
“I gave Diane instructions I was not be disturbed,” he said all bluster.
“Yes, I know.”
The woman was watching them intently. She didn’t seem overly concerned.
“Your pearl earring has to be here somewhere, Kennedy,” Tanner said, brusquely. “I’ll have the cleaners look for it before they vacuum. If it can’t be found I’ll replace it.”
As though Salim was supposed to believe that. So much for initial impressions; wholesome she was not. She was just another ho, except this one was more cleaned up.
The studio head now stood with his arms crossed. He was a tall, distinguished-looking man with silvering hair, wide shoulders, a bit of a gut and an intimidating stance. Yet women were drawn to him like a magnet. Salim never could understand why. It certainly couldn’t be his overbearing personality, so he had to attribute it to his power and wealth. And Tanner was a powerful man with influential contacts.
“When a door’s closed it usually means a person is busy,” his father barked.
“I knocked. You wanted to see me and here I am.” Salim glanced at his watch. “I have to be some place in exactly thirty-five minutes.”
His father’s woman stood, smoothing the skirt that had slid up to her thighs. She was as cool and brassy as they came.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Washington,” she said. “You’ve certainly given me a lot to think about. May I get back to you tomorrow with an answer?”
She sounded formal, almost prim; a departure from the usual classless type Tanner went for. It was an act, had to be.
“Of course you may, and if I can do anything more to help make up your mind, don’t hesitate to call.” Tanner handed her a business card. “I’ll see you out.”
With a smile and a nod she made her way by Salim. Tanner stopped for a moment to make introductions.
“Kennedy Fitzgerald is a leadership consultant. I’m hopeful that she will soon join our team of executives. Kennedy, this is my son, Salim.”
Kennedy’s handshake was brief but firm. Salim swallowed the bile at the back of his throat. The audacity of the old man, hiring a woman he was involved with, as if he hadn’t embarrassed his wife, Lucinda, enough.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Were you in the lobby earlier?” Kennedy Fitzgerald asked.
“I was.”
Salim took his time looking her over, letting his eyes slowly slide up and down her long legs. She wore sensible pumps and her navy suit reminded him of a banker. The plain white blouse under it covered her full breasts. Kennedy’s hair was held back from her face with a tortoiseshell headband and was evenly trimmed.
Now he knew that conservative outfit was a cover. The sparkle in those slightly slanted eyes indicated she was not as prim as she looked. He’d seen with his own eyes his father on his knees between those long legs of hers.
“Is something wrong?” the Fitzgerald woman asked as he continued to stare.
“Actually, I was thinking that you might not be a very good fit for a television studio. Creative artsy types tend to get wild and you are as conservative as they come.”
“Am I, now?”
She was as cool as an icicle. He doubted anything rattled her.
Tanner’s brows furrowed and his eyes flashed disapprovingly. Salim continued to smile. Tanner nodded curtly in his direction. He held his latest by the elbow and eased her toward the door.
“We’ll talk tomorrow. If I can do anything to sweeten the pot just let me know,” he said, closing the door behind her.
Arms folded across his chest and gut, camouflaged in an expensive suit, Tanner faced Salim. “How dare you!”
“How dare I what?”
“You come barging in here when you obviously knew I was in a meeting.”
“You said you wanted to see me. You had Diane call.”
Salim looked directly into the eyes of the man he’d been told he was the spitting image of. At thirty-three he refused to be intimidated. They looked nothing alike. He favored his mother, not this arrogant man with the overinflated ego.
“And you informed Diane you were too busy and couldn’t make the time to meet with me. You said you were jet-lagged.”
“I was. I still am.”
“But you made the time to see your mother.”
“I always have time for my mother.”
Unlike you. The unspoken words hung between them.
“Have a seat,” Tanner said, waving Salim toward a huge black leather couch.
The casting couch.
He’d be damned if he sat down on that thing. Who knew what disgusting things lived in that sofa?
“I prefer to stand,” Salim answered, arms also folded, mimicking the man who had given him life. “What’s so urgent that it required me being here? We haven’t spoken in months.”
“That was your decision,” Tanner reminded him quietly.
Yes, indeed it had been his decision. He was sick and tired of watching this man hurt his mother. Their lifestyles were so very different anyway. Tanner loved living large and enjoyed the glitz and glamour that came with the television business. Salim despised it. He much preferred to do something useful like help change lives. His money was used to make a difference in other people’s circumstances. That’s why his last jaunt to Africa had been so satisfying. He’d enjoyed seeing what a little money could do to enhance lives. This upcoming trip would be even more rewarding. The clinic in Haiti badly needed staffing and money for medical supplies. He’d managed to get some substantial contributions.
A few years ago Salim and a partner had started a foundation that helped promote safe sex globally. Their ultimate goal was to educate and stem the transmittal of the HIV virus, particularly in some African and Caribbean countries.
The good thing about having a trust fund was that it gave him the freedom to travel and donate funds as he saw fit. A nine-to-five job would not allow him to pick up and leave whenever he wanted to. Of course he preferred not to remember that TSW Studios made his way of life possible.
“Perhaps you had better take a seat,” Tanner repeated, his expression serious. “What I am going to say will take some time, and then we’ll need to meet with the lawyers. There’s some paperwork to go over.”
Since it sounded serious Salim sat. He would strangle the old bastard with his bare hands if he told him he was going to divorce his mother and replace her with a younger model.
Kennedy Fitzgerald to be exact.
Kennedy had a lot to think about. Tanner Washington’s job offer had come out of the blue, and at the perfect time. But it sounded as though she would be a glorified babysitter. Tanner wanted to hire her to groom his son, who appeared to be a handful. Kennedy was to get him ready to take over Tanner’s position as studio head.
The television mogul had admitted to already having three heart attacks. He was now being scheduled for bypass surgery. His doctor had advised him to get his affairs in order, and this was where Kennedy came in. Tanner Washington was being forced to think of his mortality.
Kennedy still hadn’t heard word one from Marna. Now Kennedy needed every penny she could get. First there was the matter of transportation to get her around. Her car could very easily be on its way to an auction block, which meant buying another. She’d already used a sizeable chunk of the money earned in Japan to get her bills current, and she dreaded thinking of how that delinquency would affect her credit.
She could kill the woman. Maybe Lincoln, her brother—named after Abraham Lincoln—knew of Marna’s whereabouts. He still lived in eastern Washington where they’d grown up. Kennedy put in her earpiece and punched in the programmed number on her cell phone.
Lincoln’s deep voice brought a smile to her face.
“Hey, baby girl. I bet you’re glad to be home?”
“It was nice of you to call and check on me,” Kennedy said sarcastically.
Linc’s deep laughter rang out. “Don’t get attitude with me. I’m a family man and plenty busy with the new baby. What’s up?”
“Have you heard from Marna?”
“Was I supposed to? The last I knew she’d taken off to Alaska after some guy.”
“What! She was supposed to be house-sitting for me.”
“Yeah, I’d heard something about that. She’s got this friend Betsy you might want to call.”
After an extended hold Linc returned with Betsy’s number. Hanging up, Kennedy called the number and became even more frustrated when she was kicked into voice mail. Having no choice, she left a message. Next on the agenda was the towing company.
“A silver Honda?” the stressed employee repeated while several phones rang in the background.
“Yes, yes,” Kennedy said impatiently, giving her license plate number and mentally ticking off a dozen things she needed to do.
“Sorry, ma’am, but that vehicle is no longer here. When cars are repossessed they get wholesaled out to dealers. Yours could be on any number of trucks heading anywhere.”
Seconds from losing it, Kennedy hung up the phone. She couldn’t believe the mess her life had become.
Chapter 3
“I’ve decided to accept the position but on one condition,” Kennedy said to Tanner Washington two days later.
“I’m delighted. What’s the condition?”
“Your generous offer has to come with a company vehicle.”
Tanner’s rich laughter rang out. “All of my executives have company vehicles or at the very least they receive a car allowance.”
Yes! Kennedy covered the phone’s mouthpiece before she could say the word out loud. She exhaled the breath she didn’t know she was holding. Things were definitely looking up.
After doing a little more digging, she’d learned her vehicle had been wholesaled out. Gone was the forty-eight hundred dollars she’d shelled out over the past year in car payments. The rental she was now driving was costing her a fortune, and to add insult to injury she hadn’t been able to use a credit card, and that meant more money coming out of her bank account.
“There are several makes and models of cars you can choose from, but most of our executives drive a Lexus,” Tanner added. “Come by and get the contract from my assistant, Diane. You’ll need to sign it before you pick out a car.”
“What’s my start date?” Kennedy asked, already feeling a whole lot better. She took long, steadying breaths and waited for Tanner’s response. She was just about to seal the most lucrative deal of her life that could very well help get her back on solid ground.
“I’d like you to start yesterday,” Tanner Washington said. “My son, Salim, is going to be a challenge. He’s headstrong and not really cooperative when told what to do. I had to enlist the help of his mother to help him see things my way.”
“You mentioned you were having surgery. When is it planned for?”
“When you come in we’ll talk about it. I’ve got a meeting in exactly two minutes. Let me transfer you to Diane.”
He didn’t wait for her to agree but simply handed her off to his assistant.
“This is Diane,” a no-nonsense voice said into Kennedy’s ear.
Kennedy tamped down on her excitement. She had a job and that meant income. Her credit had taken an enormous hit thanks to Marna’s irresponsibility and in a short time her previously orderly world had turned into a nightmare. Bill collectors had been calling, and she’d had to go to the various utility companies to pay her water, gas and light bills before they were shut off.
Free yoga classes at her local community center were keeping her calm and she’d resumed her fast walking. The phone rang and Kennedy inhaled, anticipating another demanding creditor. It was not in her nature to dodge or use the answering machine to screen calls, but she was strongly considering that option.
“Hello?” she said.
Her mother’s breathless voice came at her. “Honey, I was so worried about you. Why haven’t you been answering your cell phone?”
Her mother Taiko Myers, had been on her honeymoon in Hawaii when Kennedy returned to the States. This latest marriage would be her fourth. Kennedy hoped she’d made a better choice this time around.
“I never got your message. I would have called you back. How was your honeymoon, Mom?” Kennedy prepared herself for the lengthy discussion that would surely follow.
Ten minutes later she managed to get in the first word. Kennedy used that opportunity to take the conversation in an entirely different direction.
“Have you heard from Marna, Mom?”
“Not recently. She’s supposedly in Alaska with some guy she met in Seattle.”
“She was supposed to be house-sitting for me and paying my bills with the rent she collected.”
“Didn’t she turn that job over to her friend Summer?”
Kennedy’s right eye began to twitch. “Summer? I’ve never heard of a friend Summer.”
“Taiko!” a gruff male voice called in the background.
“I’ll be right there.”
“Taiko. I need you. Where’s my clean socks?”
Kennedy hadn’t met stepfather number three, but from the sound of things, her mother had picked another winner. She tended to go for controlling, abusive types. Growing up, Kennedy had learned to insulate herself from the succession of men in and out of her mother’s life. More than one had been far too interested in her.
The uncertainty of coming home and finding her mother in tears had made her wary and cynical of men in general. If this was what relationships were about, she wanted no part of them.
“Who’s Summer?” Kennedy asked, focusing her mother back to the topic.
“Summer is Marna’s best friend,” Taiko explained. “I may have her number somewhere. If I find it, I’ll call you back.”
“Get your ass off the phone,” her mother’s latest screamed. “I need to get dressed.”
Stepfather number three was shaping up to be just like the others.
“I’ve got to help Jack find something,” her mother explained hurriedly.
