 
### Contractual Attraction

By April Cronin

Copyright 2016 April Cronin

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License notes;

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### Chapter 1

The Contract

Tapping her perfectly polished red nails on the arm of her chair, Vivian sat, pondering. _Am I making a mistake?_ She thought to herself. She shook her head; she had to stop thinking so much. This was a good idea, the boy needed to settle down, and this was as good a match as any. They were perfectly suited in so many ways.

The knock on the door startled her from her thoughts, "come in, come in," she said, in a raspy tone.

Reaching in front of her she grabbed a fine china cup off the scarred oak table to her right, and took a sip of the very tea her husband had once taken so much pride in making. This is the right thing. That's final. Clearing her throat, she nodded to herself as if in agreement. When the door opened, she squared her shoulders, lifted her head a little higher and plastered on the warmest smile she could muster up.

_What's this all about?_ Jonathan asked himself.

He couldn't imagine what could be so important that he had to postpone his next appointment. He was due to meet the lead contractor of his newest project an hour from now. A young buck named Roth, and while he had come highly recommended Jonathan had no doubt in his mind that this Roth had just graduated from trade school and would be nothing more than an inexperienced child.

If Jonathan's accountant, an equal share holder on this project hadn't been adamant about hiring him, he would have surely looked elsewhere. Only 28 years old, and yet he was thought to be "brilliant, the best, you just can't get any better than Roth." Or so his accountant had said. Well Grandma, you had better make this worth my while.

He opened the door slowly, scanning the room, and there she was, an image of perfection and grace. Not a hair out of place on her tightly coiffed head. Her sky blue eyes penetrated his own, and her cherry red lips delicately parted to reveal her sparkling smile. Even her clothes were classic and pressed to perfection. She looked like something out of a painting, strong, elegant, and yet falling apart.

It had been nearly two years since his Grandfather had passed away, and although she tried her hardest to run the company in his absence, it was time, and they both knew it. At the age of eighty-three she was failing in health, and couldn't keep up appearances much longer; but damned if the stubborn woman didn't try. He loved his grandparents, and after a tragic accident had stolen the lives of his own parents, they did everything they could to show him love and raise him as their own. He couldn't have asked for a better family.

His Grandfather had worked hard, making a name for himself in the tea business. Soon after cultivating his first crop, he built a company from the ground up and it was worth more now than he could have ever imagined. Austin was a fair man too; he had treated his employees like family, and treated his family like gold. His love was never doubted. Having been married sixty-one years, his heart had finally given out on him, at the ripe old age of eighty-five.

Vivian missed him so much, and it showed. Now here she was in front of him, full of pride, but frail and wilting. Her purple suit, though classically tailored to fit her, was looser now, her skin paler, and her eyes slowly losing that brilliant light. _How much longer does she have?_ He wondered. Soon it would just be him. No brothers or sisters to speak of, no aunts or uncles close enough to truly call family. Nope, when she passed, he was all alone.

"Jonathan, my darling, don't look so happy." She said, slowly starting to frown. "I promise this won't take long. Please, sit, sit."

She pointed to a light blue upholstered couch opposite the pink flowered antique she currently occupied. "Have some tea my dear boy. I can have Magda bring in something to eat if you'd like."

He shook his head, and crossing his arms leaned against the arm of the couch. "No thanks Gram. I have an important meeting to get to. So please, let's just get to the point, shall we?"

"Very well," she gave him a pained look but nodded her head.

It was a shame to see him so tense. Such a handsome young man, and yet so many frown lines. "At your latest request of my resignation on the board of Paradise Tea, I've been going through some of your Grandfather's paperwork," she waved a hand dismissively, "and it seems I've come across a contract of sorts if you will, one that perhaps, complicates things."

She lowered her cup back to its saucer and picked up a napkin to dab her lips carefully so as not to smear her lipstick.

"Is that right?" He asked. "And what kind of contract are we talking about? I've read Grandfather's will, it was pretty straight forward. The estate was left to you, and the business to me. I know there was a clause in there stating some such nonsense about you seeing to the day to day running of things until you see as I'm fit."

He lifted one eyebrow in a cocky gesture and waved a hand in the air. "Though, I've improved this company if nothing else. I am more than qualified to run it."

Vivian smiled warmly as he continued. "I know this company inside and out, as well as having the degrees to match my training and experience. I've dotted my I's and crossed all my T's so to speak, so please do tell me, what could possibly stand in the way of me taking over Grandfather's business?" He unfolded his arms and stepped away from the couch, walking toward a large window at the back of the room.

_Don't do this._ She thought, there has to be some way out. What's more it was the secrecy of it all that perhaps bothered her more. Perhaps if she had told him sooner this could have all been avoided. She shook the thought from her mind, he couldn't know what she had done, he could never know. If she had told him any sooner he would have had time, too much time. He would have gotten to the heart of the matter, and she couldn't bear the thought of what he might think of her. Not telling him, and not adding pressure had been the right move. This was the only way, the right way.

"Your Grandfather and I signed a contract many years ago, shortly after your parents passed mind you, and it appears to be binding." He snorted. "There's no way out of this I'm afraid. We owed a favor to friend, and although we tried to give you every chance to fulfill this, 'stipulation' on your own, you haven't, and now action must be taken. Darling, you must understand, we kept this from you for your own good. We didn't want to put any pressure on you, we hoped it would happen naturally."

He turned from the window, and lowered his gaze so that it bored into hers. "What exactly are you talking about Gram? You're not really making much sense."

"Jonathan, dear, in order for you to take over the company and the family estate, you were to have been married and to have, or be in the process of, producing an heir, by the age of thirty-five." She tensed her shoulders and squinted, waiting for his response. He turned from her, but said nothing. She continued, "You see, this friend, we owed him a rather large favor, and had you met your deadline naturally, a trust would have been willed to his own heir to settle this, um, matter. But in the event you had not, er, met your obligations, you were to..."

He whirled on her suddenly, "I am to what, Gram, what am I to do?"

She sighed; this wasn't going to be an easy blow. "You are to marry his daughter." She plowed on cutting off his response, "She's a lovely woman Jonathan, the best breeding, excellent upbringing, you're very well suited." She flushed as his gaze landed on hers again, his eyes an icy blue, she could all but feel the flames shooting from them.

"I will marry when I am damn well ready to marry! How dare the two of you meddle in my life! We are not in medieval times, people don't just 'arrange' marriages anymore Gram, and I am sick at the thought of it! I will not do it! I won't." He stalked towards the door.

"Wait." She shouted, "There's more." With his hand on the door knob, his back stiffened.

"More? What else could you possibly say to top that?" His voice was clipped. She let out her breath slowly, still reeling from the verbal whiplash he had given her.

"If you don't marry this woman Jonathan, the company and estate are to be sold, and all profits are to be split between this 'heir' and a charity we all agreed on."

He threw his hands in the air. "What kind of favor could you possibly have owed this man that everything we have would rest on an arranged marriage? I just don't understand this. I want to see the damned contract. And tell me Gram, why now? Why have you waited until now?" He put up his hand to stop her. "Yes, you've said, to give me time to make it happen naturally. What if I decide to marry someone else tomorrow? I can pick some lowly woman off the streets and give you your 'heir'. What would happen then Gram?"

She stood, and dropped her head. "I only just ran across the contract again today, and after reading it, we've given you all the time you are allowed. You had up until your thirty-fourth birthday to choose your own wife. It's too late Jonathan."

She tried to smile at him, and reached for his hand. Even though he pitied her, he pulled away. He knew this couldn't be any easier for her to handle, but that she had felt the need to keep this from him simply enraged him.

"And this woman, Gram, she knows?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at her with an icy steel gaze. "She knows I'm thirty-four, and unmarried? Is there really no way out of this?"

She shook her head. "I received a phone call this afternoon from her lawyer, he was the reason I went looking for the contract in the first place. This is all legal and binding I'm afraid." His eyebrows lowered in response.

"For God's sake, she had her lawyer contact you? Has she just been sitting around waiting for the last damned twenty years, hoping I wouldn't marry so she could get her greedy little hands on our money? No, I won't hear of it! I don't care about her breeding, or whatever! I deserve to marry for love, not to some woman out for blood!"

He was infuriated now, shouting, and gesturing with his hands in the air. Vivian felt like a matador, waving her red flag in front of the bull. "I want to see this contract Gram, I'll take it our estate lawyer, there might be some kind of loophole. This greedy bitch doesn't deserve this family, this money."

She walked to the corner where a dark scarred oak desk occupied a large piece of real estate in the room, picked up a manila folder and held it out to him.

"She didn't know about this 'marriage' herself darling." _Liar,_ she thought to herself. "Her lawyer was given the paperwork along with her father's will a couple of years ago with instructions to wait until now to divulge the news." _Another lie, boy you're batting a thousand_.

"It appears that it was contingent on whether she herself married as well. Unfortunately, she's been quite dedicated to her studies, her career, and caring for her father."

_She's a monster Jonathan; she's been waiting for years to get her claws into you. Run, Run now._ She couldn't seem to shake her guilt; she lowered her head in shame as he reached for the folder. _How can I do this to someone I love, he trusted me. I've failed him._

He let out a long breath; the pleading look on her fragile face seemed to settle something inside him. He looked over the contract, and his expression shifted. Looking up into her defeated pale blue eyes, he couldn't argue anymore.

"You obviously saw something in this man, in his daughter, to make such an ironclad promise." _I WILL get to the bottom of this._ He thought as he placated her. "Gram, will this make you happy?"

He walked over to a scanner sitting on one corner of the desk and made copies, giving her a soft smile, he handed the folder back to her.

She took it, hands shaking. "I want to see you happy love. If there's a chance, even just a little one that this will work, I'd like you to try it. Perhaps, if the two of you just don't suit, we can buy her off. She's a lovely girl; you two would make such beautiful children."

He Scoffed. "Children, how can I be expected to have sex with a woman I've never met? Contrary to what you may think Gram, I don't just sleep with anyone."

Vivian laughed, and Jonathan's heart squeezed as the sound reached him, it was nice to see a smile return to her delicate face. He would do anything for this woman, for that kind of happiness. He made a mental note though to have the contract faxed to his lawyer, and check in with his private investigator. He'd play along for now, if it meant easing her stress, but there had to be some way out of this mess!

Gathering his hands, Vivian rubbed one wrinkled thumb gently over the back of his wrist. "I've spoken to the Lass, just before I called for you dear. She's agreed to come for dinner tomorrow; to sort this all out."

_To sink her teeth into you and never let go,_ she thought as she released him and walked back over to her seat. Vivian sat back down in her chair, crossing her legs just so. She was easily worn out these days, but she didn't want Jonathan to know just how bad things had gotten. He already had enough on his plate to deal with, he didn't need to worry about her health as well. Picking up her cup of tea, she looked at him over the rim of the china cup. His eyebrows were drawn together, his features, she couldn't decide, confusion? Anger? Defeat? He turned and walked from the room, stopping at the door he looked over his shoulder, and gave her a soft, sad smile.

"I'll be here dressed to impress Gram. Good day."

Tears streamed down her face as the door closed behind him; What have I done?

### Chapter 2

Friends with the Devil

Danielle licked cream cheese from one of her exquisitely manicured fingers. Placing a newspaper on her desk, she crossed her Manolo Blanc's on the top of her blotter and studied her hands for a brief moment. Picking up the paper again, a grin to rival the Cheshire cat crossed her luscious red lips. Dani my girl, you've done it. You've finally hit the jackpot. She let her head lull to the back of her chair, holding the paper so she could still see it, she couldn't help but smile at her good fortune. Finally. She'd waited years for this. She could remember seeing him for the first time, at a charity event in the Hampton's. He was an image of perfection, a Greek god of sorts. Any woman's wet dream, and now, he was all hers. At sixteen, his twenty-four years was too big a gap to bridge, but that didn't stop her from fantasizing about what marriage to him would be like.

His ethereal good looks had only gotten better over the years. He had hair, thick and dark, styled just so, that it could make even John Stamos envious. And his eyes, a color so blue and yet so crystal clear, you could lose yourself for hours in them. High cheekbones, an aquiline nose, a strong chin, and soft, supple, full lips filled out the rest of his face. He was tall, at least six two, and had the body of an athlete, toned and fit. He was an impeccable dresser, only wearing the finest, and yet, she'd been told he was very much like the man that had raised him in personality. He was kind and generous; giving to many charities, both financially and graciously with his time. He treated his employees with respect, everyone loved him. What a catch, thank goodness he hadn't married.

His picture on the front page of the business section didn't do him justice, she'd been to a couple of his charity functions, had even danced with him once; although he had seemed more interested in his beloved Granny at the time than her. _That Bitch, the stupid whore_ , her smile twisted with the thought. She had ruined her family; Vivian deserved what was coming to her now. I'll make what's left of your life a living hell for what you've done. She crumpled the paper and threw it across the room. Rubbing her temples, she was brought back to a place and time in her life she'd rather forget. Her mother had abandoned them, disgusted by her father and his actions. She never heard from her again. Found out some years later the whore had died from an overdose of heroin. She was weak, and incapable of making it on her own.

The old man hadn't fared much better. A huge gambling debt had cost them their vacation home in the Hampton's, but it hadn't stopped there. Her father gambled away the deed to their cozy apartment overlooking Central Park as well. When she turned eighteen, Danielle plunged head first into college, getting by with scholarships, and Pell grants, working as a waitress to pay for her pitiful dorm room. Her father, a broken down drunk, practically lived on the streets, going from shelter to shelter, dead end job to dead end job. He finally died right before her graduation of liver failure. _Good riddance_ she thought. What a waste of a life. From stock broker, to just plain broke.

At twenty-six she had made something of herself though, she was beautiful, young and on top of her game. The head paralegal at a prestigious real estate development firm, she had a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, drove a late model Lexus, and had a nice little nest egg to fall back on. She had made it, on her own dime. Of course if it hadn't been for the contract she had found in her father's drawer, and the support of her best friend Caroline, she might not have had the strength to keep going. Snooping through her father's drawers for some spare cash one day she had stumbled upon the contract. It hadn't been long after her mother had walked out on them, and being as her father spent a lot of time in Atlantic City, she was bored, and hungry. She had figured to find a couple of dollars to go grab a burger, but what she found instead changed everything. It gave her a renewed sense of hope and made everything else seem insignificant at best.

Danielle couldn't understand at first how her father could keep something of this magnitude from her, she was furious with him, ready to rip into his drunk ass the next chance she got! But slipping the contract from his drawer instead, hiding it in a shoe box under her bed, Danielle slowly realized her father must have forgotten about it himself. There was simply no way he wouldn't have groomed her for such a scam if he had remembered it. He was too thorough a man when he wasn't lost in the bottle, and the amount of money on the line would be far too much to leave to chance in her case.

No, he'd want her to be perfectly rehearsed, to know her place and be able to carry out his demands on her to the best of her abilities. Her mother was a first rate whore in her day, surely he wouldn't want Danielle to follow in her footsteps? He'd been so out of touch since she'd left though, and Danielle knew they were facing eviction on their latest apartment after having lost the condo already. Her father simply couldn't hold down a job, and as she was trying to keep up her grades in hopes of snagging a scholarship to get away from this god forsaken place, she couldn't afford to get a job herself.

So she'd sought a lawyer one day, a man she knew her father had dealt with more often than not. And after he filled her in on the details of the contract, the stipulations involved, Danielle knew she'd have to keep this to herself. It was best that her father had forgotten, otherwise, once she got her claws into Kane, he'd wring her for every dime he could. And of course, even then Danielle had known that Vivian would keep the contract out of the press, or off the records period, she wouldn't want to take the chance of tongues wagging. Hoping perhaps herself that Danielle's father would forget, that it would all just go away. No, she needed only to bide her time.

But how dare anyone think she wasn't worthy of such a man, no, she couldn't allow for that either. Perhaps Danielle had developed a certain reputation along the way, but she'd still managed to claw her way out of the slums, to become the woman her birthright had dictated she be. She had decided then and there to go to college, to make something of herself. She had felt as though she'd already won the lottery, but she still wanted it to look like she was able to afford the ticket. And soon, mere months from now, she would have everything she could have ever hoped for; a husband that every woman dreamed of, a house big enough to be called a castle, and more money than she could ever attempt to spend. _Yes_ , she thought, _it's finally going to happen for me, and nobody, is going to stand in my way_.

Driving through the streets of Albany, his eyes were trained on the local traffic. His mind however kept going back to this contract and what it meant to life as he knew it, and his freedom. Jonathan had thought about settling down and having children at some point, but wasn't thirty-four still young? Didn't he still have plenty of time to figure out what it was he wanted in a woman? In a family? Did he want kids? How many? Where did he want to raise them; the family home here in Albany, or his penthouse in the City?

Questions buzzed like angry bees in his mind. Did he want a wife with a career; one that could work the family business; or someone to stay at home with the kids? His mind swirled dizzily with all the questions he couldn't possibly have answers to by tomorrow. And what was he to think of this woman, Danielle? He knew nothing of her.

He picked up his phone and punched in a number. "Hello?" He said into the receiver as static filled the line.

"P.I. Services limited, how can I assist you?" Came a booming voice on the other end.

"Yeah, Willie? I want you to do a background check for me."

There was a snort on the other end "Nice to hear from you Johnny," Willie replied condescendingly. "Got another prospective employee?"

"No not a pre-employment." Jonathan paused, "I want to know everything about this one, I want to know if she so much as looked at someone the wrong way."

There was humor in Willie's voice now, "Jeez, got a hard on for this woman eh? Guess you're not taking her to dinner then."

Jonathan laughed, "As if I'd pay you to check out my dates for me."

Willie chuckled, "Okay, does she have a name?" he asked.

"Yeah, her name is Danielle Geier, and Willie?"

"Yeah Johnny?" Willie said on a sigh.

"Put a rush on it."

He could picture Willie smiling to himself and rubbing his mitts together, his chubby cheeks dimpling.

"I'm on another case right now, if I put it aside, it's going to cost you man." Willie replied casually trying to appear disinterested.

"I don't care, bill it to me," he said, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"You got it Chief." Willie said as he started to babble about Jonathan only calling lately when he needed something.

Rolling his eyes Jonathan cut him off, "Yeah, yeah, we'll grab a beer sometime. Thanks man," He paused as Willie gave him his usual 'no problem comrade' speech. "Thanks," He said again and ended the call.

He put the phone back into its cradle on his hip as he pulled into the construction site. Waving to the guard at the gate he parked his Silver Jeep in a parking spot at the back of the lot and took a quick look at himself in the rear view mirror. Blowing out a breath, better late than never, he said to himself.

Waving to different people as he passed through the site he approached a table with several men in hard hats gathered around it, they had their heads together looking over what appeared to blue prints.

Deep in thought no one noticed him, so he pushed his way through a gap between two of the men, "Excuse me gentlemen, I'm looking for a Mr. Roth?"

The group glanced up at him with awkward expressions, he instantly felt like he'd said something offensive.

"I'm Roth," came a soft but stern voice from the opposite end of the table.

His eyes widened in surprise, _a woman? C. Roth is a woman?_ He thought in shock.

"You look a little surprised; did nobody tell you I was a woman?" She asked holding out a hand, "It's nice to finally meet you Mr. Kane, my name is Caroline, as in Caroline Roth of C and L Roth Builders LLC. I'll be the foreman, or should I say forewoman on your project."

Caroline gave him a warm smile. He gripped her hand softly, afraid to crush her porcelain like skin. How could this tiny waif of a woman, be a lead contractor in a man's world?

"But I thought I had spoken to a man on the phone about the project?" He stammered regretfully putting his foot further into his mouth.

"Mmmhmm," she replied nodding her head. "Don't look so shocked Mr. Kane, " she said as she gave him a death grip of a handshake in return. "L Roth, is my Uncle Larry, I went into business with him shortly after college, and he made me partner last year."

He gave her a look of embarrassment followed with one of concern.

"I promise you, I more than match up to my credentials." she continued, urging him to relax with her no nonsense approach. "I'm sure you've seen some of my work, the Lasko foundation building? Or perhaps the Golden Wings Country Club in the Hampton's?"

Embarrassment crept into his features again as he realized the scope of her worth. "I have plenty of experience, but; if you'd rather work with someone else?"

He shook his head, "No, no, I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting someone so.."

She smiled at him, and the breath was nearly ripped from his lungs. "So what, Mr. Kane? So feminine?"

He let go of her hand and pulled out a red handkerchief to dab the sweat beading on his forehead. _So beautiful_ , he thought to himself.

"So classy, I was going to say." She cocked her head at his response. Causing him to stumble on his nearly tied tongue, "You look more like you belong walking the runway at vogue rather than out here in the dirt, Madame."

Oh, good come back. She said to herself, smiling at him and half expecting him to bow in front of her.

"Well." she said in an attempt to end his misery, "shall I show you the plans then? Or would you rather go over my credentials again?"

His lips formed into a warm smile that only added to his sharp masculinity, drawing her off guard. She'd seen pictures of this man in the papers, but never could she have imagined he could be so much more attractive in person. This is business Caroline, don't go down that road. She chastised herself for thinking such thoughts. He gestured with his hand towards the table, regaining his composure.

"Please, proceed. I'm very excited about this project, it was my Grandfather's dream to build a better working environment for his employees. He lived for his work, his, ' second family' as he called them."

Caroline knew all about the late Mr. Austin Abel, he was an invaluable man. Charity was his middle name, and everyone who worked for him, who even crossed paths with him, had nothing but amazing things to say about this wonderful man, and the business he had built from the ground up.

She too was excited about this project, not only would it pad her bank account substantially, but it was so much more than just a building. There were plans for a free medical clinic, and a cafeteria that would be staffed and completely free to its employees, with leftovers being donated to local food banks and soup kitchens. It also included an area for entertainment, conferences and public events. Everything about this building would benefit the community. She was so touched and excited to be the one heading up this project, designing the spaces, and seeing it all brought to life. This man, Jonathan Kane, was more than generous; he was a saint to many. She smiled up again, looking deep into those crystalline eyes,

"Yes, of course Mr. Kane, I can't wait to get started." She spoke warmly, and it touched him, made him yearn for something more.

He met her gaze, and something primal sparked deep inside, his chest tightened. "Please, call me John."

She nodded and walked to the table. A long braid fell down her back, the color of warm caramel when the sun hit it, a shade of blonde so dark it would almost be considered brown.

She was dressed simply, but elegantly. Her shoes were black, a small wedge of a heel. Comfortable, he thought. Her powder blue pencil skirt fell just above her knees, and her legs, tan, long, toned. He couldn't get the thought of those legs intertwined with his out of his mind. He shook his head in frustration. Her blouse was simple but fitted and white, and did nothing to hide the Marilyn Monroe curves that just wouldn't quit. Even the yellow hard hat she wore couldn't detract from the beauty of her face.

Eyes a deep sea blue, yet they hinged on green if the light was right, framed by thick dark lashes; a small pert nose, full pouty lips, a rounded chin and high but soft cheek bones. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. How was he supposed to work with this woman if he couldn't keep his mind from wandering to thoughts of passion and love making?

She leaned over the table, deep in thought it seemed. Tapping her pencil on the edge of the paper, she looked up at him from beneath her lashes, a warm smile spread slowly across her porcelain face.

"What do you think?" She asked with such exuberance.

She bit one corner of her lips studying his reaction to the plans, and tucked a strand of stubborn hair behind her ear. He couldn't concentrate like this. She was far too distracting. He frowned, and she shot up, shoulders straight, eyes wide.

"Oh, you hate it, don't you? Ugh, er, I can fix this. Give me a week, and you'll love it. I promise."

He snapped back into the present, smiled, laughing. The sound was a deep hearty laugh that melted her insides, calmed the fear and panic that rose up like bile.

"Don't judge my expressions so quickly. I'm often too composed for my own good. I assure you, your plans are spectacular."

She sighed a breath of relief. How was it that this man she had just met could have her so twisted up inside as to lose her confidence so quickly?

"There is however the matter of finances to discuss," he continued, as she pushed the intimate thoughts aside. "I'd like to go over a few things with you later this evening if you have time; budget, staffing issues, and the like. Say dinner, around eight?"

A startled expression crossed her face.

"I can send a car for you." He said smoothly.

She wasn't sure what to think, was he hitting on her, was this a date? She'd never worked for a client this prestigious before, was this the way they normally did things? Quickly she tried to regain some of her composure.

"I um, I had plans this evening, with a friend of mine." He nodded, _so she had a boyfriend_ he thought to himself. It felt like a punch in the gut.

Looking at his pained face, she thought, great I just blew whatever bonus I may have been after. Have dinner with him, what's the harm? He's nice to look at, and it's probably all business anyways. She heard strange words coming out of her mouth, it didn't seem like her own, but yes, that was her voice.

"I'll reschedule, this is very important to both of us, the sooner we can get the particulars out of the way, the sooner I can get started making your Grandfather's dreams come true." Yeah, this was business, sure, and had she really just said that? How cheesy.

He seemed delighted none the less, so she smiled; it was genuine, and warm. He liked seeing her smile.

"Good." He said, "I'll see you around eight. Oh, and dress nice, I like the fancier side of things when it comes to dining with my clients." A concerned look crossed her face again. "Good day." He said gracefully as he straightened away from the table.

Who was this man, she asked herself? The 'madams' and 'good days' she had never been spoken to so eloquently. This man oozed sexuality, and yet he was so well redefined, a gentleman. Composed and in control. She wondered what it would be like to make love to him; to see his passions set free, with wild abandon.

Oh gosh, what am I doing? He's my employer! She shook her head trying to rid herself of the tantalizing images. Turning back to her work she watched him walk away. He folded his long frame into a modest silver Jeep and backed out of the lot. This was going to be hard, the most rewarding, and yet, hardest job she'd ever taken on. She took a deep breath, and got back work. Shaking her head again as the last of the erotic images flitted through her mind.

Dress nice; fancy dinner?

What had she gotten herself into Caroline wondered. Staring into her closet she couldn't think, couldn't possibly decide. She needed new clothes. Sure she had nice things, but it was all business, she hadn't dated in what, five years or better? At least not since college, and even then, you didn't dress fancy to go to a bar for a couple of drinks and some dancing. She'd been so tied up in her work the last few years she wouldn't have noticed if someone had come on to her, let alone asked her out! She snagged her phone off her nightstand and punched the speed dial.

"Hello?" Came a slow sultry voice.

"Dani, oh thank goodness you answered! Listen, I need a favor."

"A favor huh?" Danielle asked.

"Yes, and before you start, I know I owe you like a dozen already, but this is important!"

"Okay, go on," Caroline could hear the interest perk up in Danielle's voice.

"You remember that job I told you about? The building for K & A Industries?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so Hun." Danielle replied, sounding bored again.

"Oh, well, no matter, I have a business meeting with the CEO, and I have NOTHING to wear!" that caught her interest.

"The big fish huh? I'll bring you some clothes love, I'm sure I've got something suitable for you to wear that'll reel him in!" she laughed.

"You will? Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best!" Caroline said excitedly, as Danielle said her goodbyes. "Okay, see you in a few." She said and set her phone down as she walked to her vanity.

Grabbing everything she needed, she plopped down in her little pink chair and went to work. A little eye shadow, some eyeliner and mascara, a dab of blush, a flick of lip gloss and she was done. With her curling iron heating she selected a bottle of perfume, and lightly spritzed herself. She ran her fingers through her hair, up or down, she couldn't decide, so she went with both. A few curls here, a few curls there, and presto; ready for a night on the town.

The buzzer on her wall sounded, and she rushed to push the button. "Come on up, Dani!"

Moments later she opened the door and in strode the bleached blonde beauty she called her best friend. There really was no comparing the two of them, Caroline was a classic beauty, the kind you would find on a queen's court. Danielle on the other hand looked as if she'd just walked off the Victoria's Secret runway; a knockout in her own right. She had bottle blonde hair, big green eyes, slashing cheekbones, and luscious lips. She had a tall thin frame, and legs that went on for miles. Although she wouldn't admit to it, she'd had a nose job, and her 'assets' had been enhanced.

She was still quite nice to look at though, and turned more than enough heads when the two of them went out together. Danielle was outspoken, Caroline was a little more reserved. Danielle was wild, and liked to party, Caroline like to soak in the tub with a good book. And whereas Danielle had plenty of 'experience' when it came to men and dating, Caroline had given herself to one man in college, and turned instead to her studies.

They were friends none the less. They had met in college, both were taking a management course, and had been inseparable since, even the small two-year age gap between them couldn't pull them apart. Polar opposites, they gave each other what they needed to feel complete.

"Okay Caro, I brought a couple of different dresses with me," she began, "but myself, I like this little red number."

She twirled the dress in front of her and raised her eyebrows in a provocative gesture. The dress in question was skimpy at best; too red, too short, much too revealing for a 'business dinner.' Although Danielle was a couple of inches taller than her five-five, luckily they wore the same size, but no way would Caroline be caught dead in that, at least not in public.

She tilted her head sideways as Danielle showed her the other three dresses. A nice blue cocktail dress with a crystal ensconced bodice, a short purple strapless party dress, and a little black dress that kind of flared at the bottom.

"The black one I think." She said. Danielle pursed her lips.

"Of course, you're always so safe. How are you going to make this big shot CEO take notice if what you're wearing is so safe?'"

Caroline opened her mouth in shock, and Danielle just laughed. "I'm not you Dani; I have no interest in getting my EMPLOYER into bed. It's business. Just business," she said trying to remind even herself.

"Okay Caro, if you say so, let's just get you dressed. Wouldn't want to be late would we?" She gave her most devilish grin. Caroline just shook her head.

### Chapter 3

Employee Benefits

Half an hour later, she sat nervously in the backseat of a black Audi sedan as it pulled into Greenwich Village, rolling her thumbs around in circles. The window between her and the driver rolled down slowly.

"We're here Miss. Mr. Kane said he would have a table waiting." She nodded to the driver and used her hands to flatten down her dress as the window rolled back up.

The car parked at the curb and the driver exited to open the door for her. She took a deep breath, and stepped onto the sidewalk. Looking up at the restaurant sign, she almost fainted. Carbone? They were eating at Carbone? That was one of NYC's hardest places to get into, she'd know, she had tried to take her parents here for their thirtieth wedding anniversary! How had he possibly gotten a reservation on such short notice? Her head began to swim, this was going to be a long night, she could just sense it. Dinner at one of the finest the city had to offer? What was this man thinking?

As she walked into the restaurant, the maître d took her by the arm ever so gently and led her as if she were a blind woman. Which of course she almost felt as if she had been blind and were now seeing for the first time. The place was so Italian, so elegant.

_So expensive_ , she thought. She noticed him at a table placed back in the corner of the room, he stood as she approached. He looked like a movie star; his black suit with subtle pin striping beneath his tailored to fit jacket, a red scarf in his pocket. His hair styled in that John Stamos way he had about him. His eyes met hers, and they appeared to darken as a smile crept over his face.

She blushed, and his smile widened. He liked that he could have that effect on her. She looked amazing. Her thin strapped black dress fit her every curve and fell just above her knees flaring out at the end. It was sexy, but elegant. Her long legs seemed to glide across the floor, how she managed that on those strappy five inch heels was beyond him.

Her hair fell in golden ringlets around her face, and her smile, the tinge to her cheeks, she was Aphrodite at her best. He started thinking what a mistake this would surely be. Being so close to such beauty, but not being able to do anything about it. He had never mixed business with pleasure, but oh how she was tempting. What he wouldn't give to have her beneath him for just one hour. Oh hell, one hour would never be enough to savor all that she was. One night then. _Or the rest of our lives_. Where had that thought come from? Business, he told himself, it's business.

He pulled the chair out for her, and being in such close proximity she could smell the soap and cologne that clung to him. Her gut clenched, this was too much. Here he was, the man of her dreams, and he was off limits. How she would get through this project, let alone this dinner was beyond her.

"Thank you," she said softly as he took his seat across from her. He gave a curt nod in acknowledgment. Picking up her menu and handing it to her he caught her eyes in a captivating battle of wills, who would look away first? He laughed, she smiled, blushing again as she dropped her gaze to his lush lips.

"Forgive me Mr. Kane; I'm not used to such fine dining." He placed an elbow on the table and a finger to his temple as he watched her inquisitively, his eyebrows rising slightly.

"Please, Caroline, call me John."

She lowered her eyes, pretending to look at the menu. Saying her name like that, in such a hushed and sexy tone made her mouth go dry, and her knees a little weak thank goodness she was already sitting down! What was happening to her? What was this man doing to her senses?? As she finally studied the menu, her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets! It was seventeen dollars for side salad; twenty for soup? Were they crazy? He laughed a deep throaty laugh that startled her.

"You weren't kidding about the lack of fine dining eh? Don't look at the prices Caroline, or better yet, I'll just order for both of us, "he suggested with a smile.

She nodded, too stunned to speak. She was definitely in the big leagues now.

The dinner had been easier than she had thought possible, the food amazing, and the conversation light. Business she could handle, talks of budgets, how many employees she would need, and the time frame to complete each part of the build.

They talked about who she would recommend to design the interior, paint schemes, furniture and the like. He wanted to be involved every step of the way; this wasn't just her baby it was his. They both shared a passion for this project. Working with him was going to be a lot easier than she first thought.

He was extremely generous when talking about pay requirements, what she would pay her employees, what she would make herself, and the kind of bonuses he would offer for completing projects ahead of schedule. _This man is amazing_ , she thought.

As they walked to the car together after dinner, she wondered if this was it, was this the end of the evening? It had been such an amazing night already, but she just didn't want it to end.

"I was dropped off earlier by an investor; I hope you don't mind sharing the car?" He said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Nn-no, of course not." She stammered, mentally thumbing her nose for sounding like an idiot.

"Good." he replied, as he opened the door for her.

Once in the car with him, the space seemed tighter, the air almost thick with sexual tension. She was in for it now, she told herself as she pretended to look out the window.

He touched her shoulder to get her attention and spoke in a smooth rough voice, "I don't by any means want to sound forward, but my place is just down the road from here, would you like to come up for a cocktail before I take you home?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, and bit the inside of her lip so as not to drop her jaw. She began arguing with herself mentally, this is happening, this is really happening. Go! Say yes! JUST GO!

"Sure that sounds nice." Oh my gosh, did I just agree? This isn't business anymore Caroline, what are you doing?

He smiled and rapped on the window to the driver, "To my place Winston." The driver replied curtly and rolled the window back up.

She watched the city go by as they chattered about nothing in particular. He told her about his grandparents and growing up in Albany. About his parents, how he had lost them at the age of just ten in a plane accident. On a much lighter note, he talked of traveling the world, studying abroad, backpacking through Europe. This man had done so many things that she could only dream of doing herself. She told him about her own boring upbringing.

Her family home in the suburbs of Jersey, her wonderful, but uneventful childhood. About her loving parents, still alive, still married and still very much in love. She had an older brother, a lawyer in Chicago. He was married to a very lovely woman and had three fantastic children of his own. He loved hearing of her life, wondered what it would have been like to grow up surrounded by family, not that his grandparents hadn't showered him with love, but a family like hers might have been nice.

Cruising down the streets of Manhattan, Caroline didn't give it much thought, the company was too nice, the conversation insatiable, she wanted to know everything there was to know about this man, and his life. He was fascinating. He had done so much in his short thirty-four years, seen so many things, and yet still had time to study, to get his MBA and a Bachelors in social economics. To learn the ins and outs of his Grandfather's company, no wonder he was still single, he had been far too busy for the politics of dating.

"We're here," he said, pulling her from her thoughts.

Looking out the window she nearly gasped. 740 Park Avenue. The Crème de la crème of luxury living. One of the most sought after buildings in all of New York, and he lived here? Of course he lived here! Hadn't she heard his residence in Albany was a castle? Or damn close to it. Hadn't his Grandfather built the most lucrative tea business in the world, not only to rival but beat out both Nestle and Lipton? This certainly put her one bedroom in SoHo to shame though!

He opened the car door for her, and smiling down into her ashen face took her gently by the elbow to lead her to the door. She looked around in wonder as they entered the complex; everything was so extravagant, so clean, so polished. She felt far from her element. He must have noticed because he began calming her in gentle tones.

"It's okay Caroline; it's just a building, like any other. If you're uncomfortable, we can leave."

She looked up into his eyes, crystal clear, and uncertain, but his smile was so warm. "No, no I'm fine. I just never dreamed I'd step foot into a place like this."

A little giggle escaped her. It was soft and had a girlish quality to it that made him melt. It all felt so right, he thought. Where have you been all my life?

He continued to smile down at her as they entered the elevator. Given the double take she had done when entering the building itself, he felt it appropriate to warn her, "judging by your reactions thus far, do me a favor, and don't panic Caroline. I know CPR but I'd prefer you just breathe on your own."

She craned her head sideways, "now why would I...." she watched as he pressed the button for the penthouse suite and almost fainted. She couldn't manage to finish her sentence.

He was touched by her reaction; she was so genuine, so humble. In the years that he'd dated, had brought women home, they always gushed over his living accommodations. Most women knew who he was, and thus usually knew exactly what he was worth. Maybe Caroline knew too, but she certainly didn't seem to have the same vain reaction, it was refreshing to meet someone interested in him for once, and not his family's money.

As the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened, Caroline's vision blurred, her head whirled. She couldn't imagine amassing this kind of wealth. What she would do with such money herself, she wondered. Donate it, play the stock market, anything but flaunt it surely. And yet, Jonathan himself never flaunted his wealth. He drove a Jeep, had friends drop him off while sending his private car for his guests, spent millions improving the lives of his employees and those in the community.

No, he never made himself out to be a millionaire, but he was. Standing reservations at one of New York's finest restaurants, a penthouse suite on Park Avenue, and what a suite it was! Looking around, the place suited him, to a tee. It was classic, and elegant, but not over stated. Not too masculine, it felt like a home rather than a bachelor pad.

"Would you like a tour?" he asked almost chuckling.

She could do little more than nod. With one hand still guiding her by the elbow, he gestured with his other hand.

"This belonged to my parents, I never redecorated, remodeled the kitchen, but nothing else, it's the only thing I have left of them I'm afraid."

She blinked, and smiled up at him, so sentimental, she hadn't expected that. Then again she hadn't expected anything she had learned about this man.

He continued, "It's four bedrooms, four and a half baths, chef's kitchen of course," he winked at her. "I love to cook, the usual living dining combo, media room, nothing too crazy I'm afraid."

Her thoughts were swimming, nothing too crazy? I wouldn't go that far!

"Our family home, that is until they passed away." He had such a pleasant look on his face as he talked about his family. Her heart ached with every word. "Gramps couldn't bear to put it on the market, had a cleaning service come in weekly to take care of it until I was old enough to take over. I loved that old coot for that, couldn't imagine calling anywhere else home."

All outwardly appearances; one would think this man had just fallen into everything. The only heir to a fortune she couldn't begin to calculate, a huge estate worth millions in Albany, and a penthouse suite on Park Avenue. He had it all, looks to kill, power, money, prestige, and he worked his ass off to be worthy of it.

Rather than allowing his grandparents to feed him from their silver spoon, he worked, and worked hard, to prove to them that not only did he deserve their legacy, he wanted it, and he wanted to run the company the right way, himself. Her heart squeezed, and suddenly, desperately she knew this was a bad idea. _You're falling in love with this man. How had this happened so fast_?

He looked at her with that smile on his face, the one that made her weak in the knees.

"May I sit down?" She asked. "Feeling a little, overwhelmed you might say."

His smile quickly faded into concern, "oh gosh, do you need to lie down?" He asked.

She shook her head, a faint smile curved her lips "just a chair will do, and perhaps that drink you promised me."

His features brightened, "yes, of course. What will it be; a nice warm Brandy? Or maybe something a little sweeter?" He led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the large center island.

"Surprise me," she said, looking around.

The kitchen was exactly what he said it was; a chef's dream. Striking granite countertops, the color a pearl white with golden accents; the cabinets a rich dark cherry, double gas range, huge subzero refrigerator, double wall ovens, a rather large wine fridge, cappuccino machine and to top it off two farm sinks. The kitchen was open to the living space, and in between the two was a wet bar, the same granite flowed into the bar. She placed her small black handbag in front of her on the breakfast bar and folded her hands on top.

Watching him walk towards the wet bar, she noticed just how well his pants fit, and as he removed his jacket draping it over an empty counter top on his way, she could see the outline of his firm, taut muscles through his perfectly tailored to fit shirt. Her mouth watered, and she licked her lips unconsciously. This man could very well be her undoing.

He looked over at her and grinned as he pulled out a couple of tumblers from a cabinet overhead. Dropping in some ice cubes, he chose an amber colored liquid and filled each glass halfway. Coming back towards her she noticed how his shirt tightened over his pecs with each movement. She blushed, causing him to laugh. She liked his laugh, a little too much; it was deep and warm, sultry, sexy even.

"I seem to cause you some sort of discomfort do I?" She looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "You blush quite often," he said.

Her lips curved slightly, "You're not what I expected Jonathan. Not in the least, and I must admit, however stupid this is. I find myself more and more attracted to you."

He cocked an eyebrow as he handed her a tumbler.

"I hope this won't interfere with our work. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." He laughed again, a deep, rich laugh this time. "Oh? Is something I've said funny?" Anger seemed to spit from her eyes like darts, and it only seemed to make him to laugh harder.

He caught her gaze, "my darling Caroline, working with you is going to be impossible, unless we can both admit there is something between us."

She began to relax and the smattering of color faded from her face.

He continued, "whether or not we decide to act upon our feelings is another matter altogether."

He stepped closer to her, taking a sip of his drink and running a finger along her arm. She watched him, alarm becoming apparent in her eyes.

He stopped, taking a step back. "I see, play it straight then." He said, frowning slightly.

"Oh gosh, no, Jonathan, I'm sorry. I'm not, I mean. Oh man." She was flustered, and he was confused.

_What a mess_ , she griped mentally.

She turned in her chair to face him, and grabbed his free hand, "I'm not very well versed in this kind of thing."

He looked more confused, and the heat from his hand was doing something strange to her body, the contact sparked such intimate stirrings in her. Making it harder to tell him how she felt.

"What I mean to say is, I've only dated one man my entire life, and before you get all weird on me, it was college, and nothing life changing. We fooled around, had fun, but it was never serious. What I'm feeling now, this." She said, as she stood, bringing their bodies closer.

The heat was suddenly intense; she could feel it down to the tips of her toes. "I don't know what this is Jonathan, but I do want to explore it. I just don't know how to keep this separate from the project we're supposed to work on together..."

His eyes darkened, he was done thinking about this. He wanted this woman, and he wanted her here and now. So by God, he was going to have her. He placed his drink on the counter and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Caroline." he said, his voice thick. "I feel like I've waited forever for a woman like you."

As the heat crept up her body, her cheeks deepened into rouge; her body suddenly responding to his touch. She was flushed all over, down to her very core, and itching to be touched, to feel his lanky body pressed to hers, and to be kissed.

"And I hope I'm not asking too much, but tonight, can we just see where this goes?" He asked, his eyes imploringly looking into hers. "We can analyze tomorrow, and set all the boundaries you want to, but for now, just say you'll stay with me. Please."

She barely had time to nod in agreement before his mouth covered hers, and her body pressed tightly against him. His kiss was earth shattering, his lips soft, but demanding. She could feel the hard length of his desire pressed deeply into the center of her own burning core. Giving willingly, opening to him without regard, she had never dreamed it could be like this. Sure she'd been kissed, but this was different, this was mind blowing.

He picked her up and led the way into his bedroom; setting her down in front of the bed, he turned down the lights, and then ripped the sheets from the bed. She threw her head back and laughed, a deep, sexy sound rumbling from her chest. He almost growled. He had to maintain control, but this woman was driving him mad.

Lust pumped through his veins, release begging to be found somewhere deep inside this gorgeous creature before him. He gently let down her zipper and removed the scrap of a dress she wore. Kissing every inch of skin, he revealed. A moan escaped from her, an almost soft mewling sound.

Reaching between them, she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. Slowly, almost painfully they undressed each other, kissing here, nipping there, tasting, and learning each other's bodies. She tasted sweet like honey, he was saltier, with hints of some rich creamy undertone she couldn't put her finger on, but they couldn't seem to get enough. As if fueled by some deep seeded hunger they lapped at each other's skin.

Finally, free of any barriers, he stepped back, and his eyes roamed her body, taking in every inch, skin as soft as silk, pale as milk, porcelain like and slightly translucent. It was as if she had been sculpted by the gods themselves. An urge somewhere deep inside made him groan, he suddenly felt this need to take her, and keep her from the rest of the world.

Gently he laid her on the bed, and slowly made his way down with her; running his fingers along every inch of her skin. She arched her body into his hands; it felt as if she might die without his touch. His fingers scorched her, sending little flames of desire shooting through her nerves each time the contact ended. He lay alongside her, getting to know every contour of her body. She was shaking with anticipation, closing her eyes, she groaned, _this is torture_ she groaned inwardly. He couldn't stop himself from touching and tasting every millimeter of her body. He sent shock waves of pleasure through her as he paid attention to the most intimate parts of her.

Her back arced wildly as she rode the spasms that wracked her body. She sighed, feeling spent, it was almost as if she had just finished a marathon. Sated and happy she pushed his hands away.

"Is something wrong Caroline?" He asked. "Do you want me to stop." _Dear God he hoped not!_ He didn't he could!

She shook her head; and placing her hands on either side of his face she kissed him deeply. Then she ran a column of kisses along his neck and nipped at his shoulder. She wanted him to feel the same absolute need and pleasure that he had ignited in her. He moaned, being so close to the core of her heat and desire, and yet denied any real contact.

"Oh Caroline." He said huskily.

She sighed heavily hearing her name in such a sexy, raspy tone.

He couldn't stand anymore of her torture, and his control suddenly snapped. She gasped as he penetrated her hot waiting sheath in one smooth thrust. Their bodies joined in complete and carnal passion. Keeping pace with each other, both were giving and taking; rolling on tides of pleasure together. Fevered kisses, moans and thrusts. Sweat trickled between them; the sheets clung to her back. Lost together in ecstasy.

Taking each other higher, further, deeper. Reality and all sense of time seemed to fade as they climbed higher together in their madness. Waves of pleasure wracked her body again, and as her spasms wrapped around him tightly, it caused his own powerful release; dramatic and all consuming. She held him as he shook, pulling him further into her, forcing every ounce of energy he had left out of him.

They lay there afterwards, totally sated and satisfied. He was on his back, breathing hard, their legs intertwined, she had her head on his chest, tracing circles in the hair on his pecs with her fingers. He reached over and picked something up off the nightstand next to him, and the voice of Sam Smith filled the room as he crooned soft sweet lyrics. Somehow it just fit, and he tried to snuggle her closer to him.

Instead, Caroline pulled herself along the length of his body until she could reach his face, and began pressing small feathered kisses everywhere; his forehead, his cheeks, neck and shoulder. She couldn't resist. Something about the lighting, the music, and him, it all felt like a wonderful dream, and she didn't want it to end. Turning his head, he met her lips for what seemed like an endless and passionate moment; he flipped her underneath him again, and she giggled. This was going to be a night they'd never forget.

### Chapter 4

The Devil Indeed Wears Prada

Somewhere near by an alarm clock sounded. She was roused from her sleep, bleary eyed she looked around for the offending noise. She noticed the annoying black box sitting next to her on a bedside table and reached over to turn it off. And then it hit her, this wasn't her bed, these weren't her sheets, and as she looked at herself she gasped, she was naked! Looking around in confusion, the memories of the night before came slowly drifting back. As if a dream she had almost forgotten. Smiling to herself she fell back into her warm cocoon. The bed was soft like pillows, the sheets and blankets clearly made of silk, a warm cream color.

The deep red curtains on the window had been drawn slightly to let in a slither of light. The room around her was understated, rich browns, vibrant reds, masculine, but with feminine touches here and there. A dark mahogany dresser was against one wall, and three doors occupied another. A big screen TV was mounted on the wall at the foot of the bed, and there were nightstands on either side of the bed, a lamp on each. A state of the art Bose sound system sat on top of a small desk in the corner nearest the window.

Sighing, she finally managed to get herself out of the empty bed. Feeling like a contestant on Let's Make a Deal, she tried to guess which door led to the bathroom. The first two opened to his and her closets bigger than her own living room! One of which was filled to the brim with clothes, suits, ties, shoes, jeans, you name it, and this man owned more than she had in her entire life! The other closet was bare except for a few boxes. Opening the third door she found herself in yet another large room.

The bathroom made up for the lack of extravagance she had found in the bedroom. White marble floors, blue cracked glass double vanities were to her left with clear green raised bowl sinks. The toilet was closed off in a room of its own in the right corner, and a large brick glassed walk in shower occupied the left corner. To her right was an enormous and deep jetted tub no doubt big enough for two.

_If I had a bathroom like this, I'd never come out_! She fantasized as she made her way to one of the sinks.

Splashing water on her face she opened a drawer looking for toothpaste. She used her finger to rub it on her teeth and tongue, and also took advantage of the mouthwash she found. She ran her fingers through her tousled hair, gave herself a once over in the mirror and grabbed a thick white robe she found hanging on the door.

Walking out of the bathroom the smell of coffee and bacon bombarded her senses. Her stomach growled. She made her way to kitchen and laughed to herself as she heard him singing along with some rocker on the radio she couldn't make out. He looked up at her and smiled as she entered the kitchen.

"If you would have waited a little longer I'd have brought you breakfast in bed." He said as he expertly flipped a pancake.

"Well in that case," she said pretending to turn around.

He gestured toward the breakfast bar. "What'll it be to drink; coffee, milk, or juice?"

There was a fresh pot of coffee brewing that smelled heavenly,

"Mm coffee please, black." She replied.

He nodded, the spread on the counter was enough to put any buffet to shame. There were plates of bacon, home fries, fresh fruit, and he was still making pancakes and eggs.

"Trying to fatten me up are you?" She asked playfully. "I never eat this good; first a three course Italian dinner, and now this?"

He cocked one eyebrow, "Perhaps we could think of some way to work it off together afterwards?" He said as he winked at her.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and blushed. "I um, I hope you don't mind, I borrowed your robe." She said picking at it to draw his attention to it.

She had to change the conversation, and fast. He shook his head and flipped another pancake. Pouring two cups of coffee he placed one in front of her and grabbed a couple of plates from a cabinet above the stove. He handed one to her and began piling food onto his own.

"Don't be shy, there's plenty." He said as he handed her a fork.

They ate in silence, but it was a companionable silence, there was nothing awkward between them. It felt so natural to be sitting there across from him, as if it were an everyday occurrence.

She began thinking about how many women he had cooked for in the past, and her eyebrows pinched together in a fit of jealousy. _What is wrong with me?_ She wondered. She had just met this man, and yet she was already jealous of his past lovers? He was gorgeous; of course there were other women. There were probably lots of other women.

He looked at her curiously from across the bar, "what's on your mind?" He asked.

Startled, she looked up at him, was it that obvious? "Nothing." She stammered.

Snapping back to reality, she picked up her empty dishes and headed towards the dishwasher. He turned to watch her.

"Leave them," he said. "I have a housekeeper that comes in around eleven, she'll get them."

She gave a brief nod in acknowledgment and placed them on the counter. He stood and walked over to her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a powerful embrace. The heat of him surrounded her, seeping into her bones and she sighed in contentment.

"I was just about to go take a shower," He said looking deep into her sea blue eyes. He gave her a devilish grin, "care to join me?"

A smile spread across her face, "I thought you'd never ask."

Danielle looked at herself in the mirror. Carefully she examined every inch of her reflection. From her nude colored Prada heels to the meticulously placed curls toppling down around her face. She was a downright knockout in her little body hugging Kate Spade dress; a jade green, with just the right amount of cleavage spilling over the top. Cocking one leg and then the other, she watched as her calves flexed, perfectly toned, and freshly tanned. _Tonight's the night_. She said to herself. Pouting her glistening red lips, she fluffed her hair and turned from the mirror. Grabbing her matching handbag from her vanity she walked out the door and locked it behind her.

Tonight would be the night she would finally and officially meet Mr. Jonathan Bradley Kane, the man she would marry; the man to whom she would bear children. The man whose money she couldn't wait to spend. One side of her lips curled upward as she thought of all the things she could do with his money, quit her job, buy a new car, hell buy a couple of new cars. She could use a new wardrobe too she thought, maybe some shoes and jewelry to match. Yes, tonight would be the beginning of the rest of her life, the life she deserved, the one she was born to live. It was her birthright damn it! She was meant to be a part of this family.

Jonathan sat on the corner of his bed, staring at nothing in particular as he straightened his tie. Thoughts from his evening with Caroline flooded his mind. He wondered what she was doing now; wondered if she missed him as much as he missed her. Their night had been filled with love making, she was insatiable and he couldn't stop himself from making love to her.

Each time had been better than the last, more powerful as they grew to know each other's bodies. And this morning, in the shower, the hot soapy water blasting down on them as they yet again brought each other satisfaction. Their bodies fit together so well, he had never experienced anything like it; Caroline matched his passion and movements in every way. The phone on the blanket next to him rang, jarring him from his daydreams. He flipped it open, "Yeah."

"Jonathan, hey it's Willie." came the voice on the other line.

"Uh huh," he replied, straightening.

Willie continued, "I haven't gotten everything back yet, but here's what I've got so far. Danielle Geier, twenty-six years old, works for the Peter's Group in Manhattan, going on three years now, graduated top of her class from Ithaca, majored in paralegal, minor in business management. Not a smudge on her record, not even a parking ticket. She drives a late model black Lexus." There was a crinkling noise as Willie shuffled through papers. "Grew up in Manhattan, father was a stockbroker, mother was a waitress cum housewife, seems he liked his women a little wild though, she did a stint for prostitution. Looks like she took off when Danielle was around sixteen, last known was an address in Utah, death certificate states an overdose."

Jonathan scoffed, "and the father?"

Willie's voice hiked up a notch, "Interesting character him. Co-workers say he was a genius, amazing at what he did. He amassed himself quite a bit of wealth." Willie paused and let out a long low whistle. "He had a house in the Hamptons, a condo overlooking Central Park, a trophy wife, and a beautiful daughter. Then sometime shortly before his wife leaves him, things go south." He paused again for effect. "He had some gambling problems that one; got in deep with some mobster type family in Jersey."

A low chuckle escaped Jonathan as he continued to listen.

"He loses the wife, the house, the condo. Then the job goes next, he was found dead seven years later in an alleyway in the Bronx. Says it was liver failure."

Jonathan rubbed his chin, "so he was a drunk? What's so interesting about that?" he asked.

"I don't have all the details, but sources tell me he didn't start drinking until about three years before he died. And here's where it gets really interesting, everyone I talked to said his gambling habit came after his wife left him, and at that point he had already lost his houses to the mobsters. It doesn't fit, my man, there's something missing."

Jonathan's interest perked up.

Willie went on. "I mean, what happened to this man if he was so brilliant, that would cause him to lose everything," He snapped his fingers into the receiver, "just like that?"

Jonathan pondered a moment before replying, "So what you're telling me, is his wife leaves him, some thugs force him out of his house, and then he turns to gambling only to become a drunk and die? Where was Danielle in all this? Gram seems to think she was some kind of a saint and took care of her ailing father."

There was a minute of hesitation on the other end, more papers shuffling. "Danielle entered college at around the age of seventeen, she had scholarships and some grants. Looks like she stayed on campus, didn't even attend the funeral." Willie's voice was somber now, "I gotta tell you man, from everything I've gathered on her, this chick sounds cold; real cold. No long term relationships; she parties a lot, gone under the knife a few times, likes pretty things if you catch my drift. Either Granny is blind, or there's more to the story, something she's not telling you." He sighed, "Look man, like I said, I've got some more digging to do, I'll fax over what I've got and let you know when I'm finished." Jonathan tapped his fingers on the phone ending the call, and tossed it on the bed.

Sitting there a few minutes longer while he processed everything, he heard the whir of the fax machine sitting on his desk as it began spewing out paper. He walked over to it and scanned the pages. As he read the facts, and Willie's notations, it looked like Ms. Danielle Geier had a pretty extravagant lifestyle. She was a high society miss when she was younger, and although her social status had been stripped, she seemed to have fought hard to get it back. He had transcripts, medical records, and the works. This girl hadn't even tried to stay out of the spot light. She attended countless charity events even though she hadn't herself participated, just found a rich arm to hang onto and enjoyed the limelight.

Looking over her photo he could see why men would enjoy her company. She was well put together. From her bleach blonde hair, to her double D's, everything about her was enhanced to make men take notice. Her swimsuit model body screamed look at me, and buy me nice things, he thought. So why hadn't she married? With looks like hers she had no need to work, any rich hot blooded male with or without the receding hairline would have loved to have a woman like her sitting at home. Raising the children, spending their money, going to events; she was classic trophy wife material. As Willie had said, something just didn't fit. There was something off about her and her entire family. There were plenty of available, rich men in the tri state area, so why him?

And how was it that this man, her father; this trash, had earned the respect from his own family? Why would his Grandfather associate with such a person? Where did the contract really fit into all of this? Gram had said his father was a friend, how close a friend though? He was going to find out. One way or another he would get to the bottom of this mysterious contract and the cold hearted Bitch it was trying to force him into marrying. The thought of Caroline crossed his mind again. Why he couldn't have met her a few months ago, and how he was going to break all of this to her he didn't know. Walking back towards his bed, he grabbed his coat and slung it over his shoulder. He picked his phone back up and dialed Caroline's number. Voicemail.

"Caroline, it's John, I hope you don't have plans this evening, I wanted to get together, maybe go dancing, let me know."

The door latched behind him as he left his apartment. _This is going to be interesting to say the least_ he said to himself as he reached the elevator.

Her heels clicked as she walked across the marble floors of the foyer towards the sitting room. Danielle's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she glanced around; the soaring ceilings, original artwork and sculptures, a crystal chandelier hanging in front of the elegant staircase, a dark cherry banister curling towards the second floor. The walls had been painted and papered by a masterful interior designer. Everything had been done classically to perfection. One would think they were inside Westminster Abbey or the queen's chambers at the castle itself. Millions had clearly been spent over the years to decorate this huge estate.

She'd done her homework and knew there were four separate wings in this house; one which housed the workers, a staggering number of fifteen people to manage the total estate, house and grounds. Ten bedrooms occupied the second wing, three large master suites, one for Vivian and her late husband, one for their late daughter and her husband who was also deceased and one for Jonathan.

The other seven rooms were sizable, had their own en-suites and were meant for guests and local Politicians. The third wing of the house was purely for entertaining, a billiard room with a cigar lounge and walk in Humidor, a media room, a library, a ballroom, two living rooms, a den, and a sitting room; which had a wet bar that connected to the pool and lanai, complete of course with a gourmet summer kitchen. The fourth wing was considered the working wing; it housed the kitchen, the butler's kitchen and pantry, the dining room, and four different offices.

The grounds outside were kept meticulously groomed and landscaped. The estate was huge, two hundred pristine and cleared acres; there was a gated entry with a huge circle drive, fenced pasture land on both sides dotted with trees and occupied by expensive, well trained horse flesh. Three detached four car garages, an RV barn, workshop, airplane hangar with its own private runway of course, and a 20 stall show barn with both covered and open riding arenas.

No expense was spared when this place had been built and remodeled over the years. Vivian and Austin had decadent tastes, but those who knew them, knew they gave as much as they spent. Jonathan was no different, _and soon it'll all be mine_. She smirked as she thought to herself.

She was brought back to the present as the butler stopped in front of a door to her right, opened it, and announced her arrival to the room's occupant. Her nerves were all jumbled as she walked past the butler, a small stately fellow by the name of Juan, she quickly gathered her thoughts, and squared her shoulders. As she entered the room, she took everything in, from the antique furniture, to the elegant fireplace, and a small wet bar; perfectly designed to entertain guests. And then her eyes landed on Vivian.

She was seated on a floral print love seat, a glass of brandy clasped by her bony, but exquisitely polished fingers. Her pale blue eyes bored into Danielle, spewing hatred. _Back atcha, you old witch_. She thought as she gave her sweetest smile in return.

"Danielle, darling, you look," Vivian waved her hands in a dismissive gesture, as Danielle straightened her spine. "Like a woman, I suppose; perhaps a little less like the street walker that I remember so well." One side of Vivian's wrinkled red lips curled in disgust.

Danielle stepped closer, sat down in the chair opposite Vivian's, and smiled sweetly. "My dear Vivian," she took a deep breath. "Why, you haven't aged gracefully at all, have you?"

Vivian's smirk fell. "So I see our distaste for one another hasn't changed much has it?" Vivian asked, anger clear in her voice. "You will do well to keep your opinions to yourself when Jonathan is around, or I promise I won't make things easy for you here."

Danielle cocked her head to the side. "Oh Vivian," She said in a too sweet tone. "I don't intend to be anything but the perfect wife for your dear Jonathan. I can be quite charming, when I need to be." She continued. "You haven't a thing to worry about. I'll be sweet as pie whenever he's near, and send you to lick your wounds on our own time."

Her smile turned into a snarl as she stared at the frail woman in front of her. "You'll get everything you wanted Vivian; a beautiful, smart, and charming daughter in-law. I'll see to Jonathan's every need." Vivian looked taken aback; she wasn't prepared to deal with such a cold, twisted woman.

The door opened then, ending their battle of wills, and both women plastered on their best smiles. Jonathan could sense the tension in the room, something felt wrong, very wrong. Danielle stood as he entered the room, and he got his first look at the woman trying to ruin everything he'd worked so hard to create. She was stunning. He knew she would be nothing less, he'd seen pictures, and they hadn't done her justice.

And while part of him was very attracted to her, he knew there was something not right about this woman, let alone that most of her had been enhanced specifically to attract attention, his attention. He found himself comparing her to Caroline, and realized he preferred Caroline over this real life Barbie doll standing before him. What might have been every other man's wet dream, was really more of a nightmare to him.

Danielle's mouth watered as she looked him over. Every inch of him screamed masculinity; he was something out of a little girl's fairy tale; a real life Prince Charming. She watched as he walked to his Grandmother, bent and placed a kiss on her fragile cheek. Vivian smiled at him, genuine and warm. Danielle felt as though she might throw up.

That the vile woman who had ruined her childhood and destroyed her family, could even love, sickened her. Pleasantries were exchanged between them, and he turned to greet Danielle. His eyes, crystalline and blue, searched hers, she felt as though he could see right through her, as if he knew she wasn't as she appeared to be.

"Hello, you must be Danielle. Gram hasn't told me very much about you." He smiled, and although it seemed restrained, she still felt herself relax slightly. "Perhaps we ought to take a walk around the grounds before dinner, get to each other a little better." He suggested offering her his hand.

She couldn't speak; she was in awe of this man. She nodded her head instead. He took her hand, kissed it, and looped her arm through his. Vivian sat still as a statue, her smile fading. Danielle looked back at her and winked as she left the room.

_What have I done_? Vivian thought as the door closed behind them.

### Chapter 5

Laying Down the Law

When they reached the garden, he released her hand and clasped his together behind his back. The gesture felt like a cold brush off and her defenses went up. Walking side by side down the garden path, he briefly and matter of factly gave her details about the compound. She smiled up at him as he spoke, desperately trying to hide her growing boredom. She thought this was going to be more exciting, she was so sure of herself; the moment had all but played out in her head. He was going to look at her, really look at her, and fall instantly and deeply in love.

He would tell her he had to have more of her, every inch in fact. Here, now, forever. That she was exactly the kind of woman he had been waiting for. He stopped suddenly, bringing her day dreams to a screeching halt. He turned to her, took her hand in his and looked deeply into her eyes. Her eyes widened, _this is it_. She told herself as she looked around. They were pretty far from the house, in the middle of a flower garden, surrounded by beauty. It was even better than she had imagined it.

Jonathan searched her face for any sign of recognition, but found shock instead. Somehow he didn't think she had been listening to a word he said, but had rather been lost in some girlish fantasy.

_Good_ , he figured to himself. _Let this come as a surprise, a nasty little surprise_. His gaze hardened, and his grip on her hands became stronger.

Confusion seeped into her eyes. "Is everything okay Darling?" She asked, oozing of fake southern charm.

"How can I put this?" He began. "I have absolutely no intention of ever marrying you."

Her jaw dropped, and her eyes began to fill with anger as he continued. "I know about the contract Darling" He mocked. "But I also know, it's a load of crap, and I'm going to find out why you seem to think you have some sort of claim on my inheritance."

Her chest puffed up as she started to speak. He held a hand up to her face.

"Don't," he said. "I'm not interested in anything you have to say. I'll play the love struck romantic for now if it appeals to Gram, but you can bet I'm going to find a way out of this. You are nowhere near the kind of woman I would marry, let alone one I'd take to bed."

The last insult had her reeling. Enough was enough. "I won't stand for this kind of treatment! You, you, why you're nothing but an ingrate!" She stammered, trying to find the right words. "I come here as per a contract in my father's will, and you think it's okay to insult me? I'll have you know I'm a far better woman than anyone you've ever 'taken to bed'!" She was red faced and seething mad now, it wasn't going at all as she had planned.

A smile ran across his face that seemed to mock her as she raged on.

"I don't know who you think you are, or what you think you know about me, but I'm a VERY successful paralegal, I own my condo, my car, and in no way do I NEED anything you have to offer. I do just fine all by myself! It's YOU who should be lucky that I've agreed to this at all!"

She had to get back on the offensive, she was losing him, and fast. This couldn't be happening! It had to have been that bitch Vivian! "Whatever it is that bitch of a Grandmother has told you," he stopped her suddenly.

"You will do well to watch what you say next." Her mouth shut quickly as she looked at him in a panic. "My Grandmother," he began calmly, "hasn't said a bad word against you."

She looked shocked, "perhaps she should have?" He asked as she shook her head.

"I'm so sorry," she said quickly. "I just don't understand where this is coming from. I mean, I just found out about this too. I was as shocked as you were! Here, I thought I had plenty of time to frolic and play the field," he scoffed as she went on. "Look here mister, as I've said, I don't need you. But my father spoke highly of you in his will, and he begged me to follow his last request, to fulfill my duties as his only heir and join our families."

She looked as though she were going to cry. He thought it was a very convincing act, almost. Too bad he already knew snippets of the truth. He gave her a look that said he wasn't buying it.

"You expect me to believe that you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart? That my money and stature have absolutely nothing to do with it?" He asked in an unbelieving tone of voice.

She blinked, "well, yes." She replied.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, "let's get something straight. I wasn't born yesterday. I know who you are, you're very intelligent, very beautiful," her mouth curved wickedly at his statement as he went on.

"And a very dangerous con artist," though her smile quickly faded with his last words. "I have every intention of digging far enough into your life, and the lives of your family to figure out what happened, and when I do, this will end." He held up his hand again to stop what she was about to say.

"However, due to her health, I don't want this to touch my Grandmother in any way. I will play nice until I've found a loophole. I assure you, I will be a perfect gentleman, and we will seem very much in love to those who need not know the truth. And when this is over, and it will be, it will end amicably for all the public to see. And then you will go away, you will have nothing to do with my family EVER again. Have I made myself clear?"

She licked her teeth in an angry gesture, "Crystal," she replied. Dropping all pretenses, she sneered at him, "I'll have you know though; Jonathan, that you can dig and dig and dig, and you will find NOTHING! There is NO way out! You belong to me, and you need to get used to it." He turned his back and laughed at her as he walked away leaving her fuming in a fit of rage.

She stood there in the middle of the most beautiful garden she had ever seen, and began to cry. She was angry, no she was pissed off. How dare he think he could walk away from her! This was her time! He was hers! It wasn't supposed to be like this. She knew Vivian had to have been behind this, and she was going to find a way to make the wretched bitch pay for it! There had to be some way to rectify the damage she had done; she would make him fall in love with her. She had to.

His phone rang as he reached the end of the garden path. Pulling it out of his pocket he smiled as he read the caller ID.

"Caroline, I'm so glad you called." His voice lightened as she replied, accepting his invitation for the evening.

The disastrous confrontation he had just faced slipped to the back of his mind for now. He was going to forget about Danielle Geier and her conniving ways for the evening, and Caroline was going to help him do it. Sweet, beautiful, Caroline. _I'm falling fast_ , he realized as he made arrangements for the night to come.

Slouching in her chair, Vivian shot upright as the door opened. Jonathan sauntered in beaming with a smile that stretched across his face, and though it made her happy to see such a smile, her heart sank. Vivian couldn't bear the thought of her precious Grandson being taken aback by such vindictive trash. Best not to let on though she thought and painted a smile on her own face.

"Grandmother, do forgive me, but I won't be able to stay for dinner this evening." Her brow knit at the casual way with which he excused himself. "Oh, don't look at me that way. Something's come up with the project. I'm meeting with the construction head to go over a few things, so I'll have to take my leave. Please give my apologies to Ms. Geier."

She was suddenly very alert and curious. "Jonathan, darling, exactly where is Ms. Geier? Have you two had a spat already?" She could barely contain her excitement. "You seemed absolutely smitten with her when you took her out to the garden, or was I mistaken?"

He couldn't seem to stop smiling, and she found it most troubling. "No, Gram. Danielle is wonderful, you were absolutely right about her."

It took every ounce of restraint she could muster to hide her shock. "I was? I mean, of course I was. Danielle is very special."

Jonathan crossed the room to where she sat and placed a kiss delicately on her forehead. "She's very special indeed; I think we understand each other perfectly. As I said though I must go; I had a business call, so I left Danielle in the garden to admire your prize roses."

Vivian nodded by way of understanding, "of course, business before pleasure. I hope you get everything sorted out."

Jonathan smiled at her once more as he quietly shut the door behind him. Vivian allowed herself the comfort of slouching back into her chair as she pondered over her predicament. Maybe Danielle could make him happy. _And maybe I didn't sleep with my daughters' fiancé._ She scoffed, Danielle was a money grubbing whore, no better than her trashy mother. There was no way that wretched woman could ever be good enough for Jonathan, and surely she would never make him truly happy.

Vivian walked over to her desk, opened a drawer, and took out an old photo album. Flipping through the pages, she flushed with warmth as memories came flooding back. The first time she met Austin, it seemed like love at first sight. He reminded her of Elvis; even had the dance moves down! She was so lucky to have had him in her life. She ran across a picture of them at a concert in the park, and then one of their wedding day; nothing fancy, they had been married right here, in front of the old carriage house.

It was later torn down to make way for the stables. She really loved Austin. It broke her heart to think of how she had betrayed him. Of how much pain she had caused him. She came across a picture of her and Austin in the hospital next. Young and in love; she was holding their daughter, a tired smile on her face, and Austin beaming down at the two of them. Paula; sweet little Paula. She looked so much like Austin, so much like Jonathan. Tears streamed slowly down her cheeks. She had lost so much, and Jonathan was the only family she had left.

Thinking about what she was forcing him to do broke her heart into a dozen little pieces. She willed her frazzled nerves to mend, and gently dabbed at the moisture on her face as someone rapped softly on the door and began to turn the knob.

"Madame? Dinner is ready, shall I fetch Master Kane?" Shaking her head lightly she placed the album back in the drawer and softly closed it.

"No Magda, Jonathan had some business to attend to. If you'll please just serve dinner in here, and ask Ms. Geier to join me. We've some things to discuss, and I'd would much rather have privacy."

Magda nodded her head, "Yes Madame."

Moments later Magda came back in with two large covered trays and placed them on the coffee table near Vivian. Her plump face quivered in a nervous smile as Danielle took the seat across from Vivian. The tension in the room was almost palpable and could be cut with a knife. It didn't help that she had overheard the young woman rambling on to herself as she had come stomping into the house from the garden. She had seemed very upset, both anger and tears had shown plainly on her face. Magda didn't know what had happened, but thought it curious that Jonathan would abandon a guest, let alone one as attractive as the young miss.

"That's all, thank you Magda." Vivian waved her hand in dismissal as Magda nodded gracefully and bowed out of the room. Vivian waited for the door to click shut before turning to her unwanted guest.

"Jonathan gives his sincerest apologies, he had to see to some kind of work related problem, I'm afraid it's just you and I for dinner." She said nonchalantly.

Danielle merely smirked in response. _Business, ha! He couldn't get away from me fast enough_. She thought to herself. Danielle kept replaying their conversation in her mind. She mentally thumbed herself for falling into his trap. She should have known better. A man like Jonathan Kane was not stupid, and could not be forced to do something he didn't want to do. So I'll just have to make him want to. They ate their dinner in silence, both deep in thought. Danielle trying to decide how she could make Jonathan fall under her spell, and Vivian reminiscing of happier times; unable to let go of the past.

Finished with her meal, Vivian cleared her throat. "I suppose we'll have to discuss the details of our little arrangement."

Danielle's head popped up from her dinner and Vivian snorted in disgust. "You have mashed potatoes on your chin." With a sneer, Danielle wiped at the offending glob. "Really Danielle, if you're going to be a part of this family, and I do hope that's not the case, you need to learn some better manners. The women in this family are very much in the public eye, and must present themselves as ladies."

Danielle tossed her napkin on the table, and ran her tongue over her teeth. Squaring her shoulders, she gave Vivian a wicked grin. "Darling, my manners are the least of your concern." Vivian rolled her eyes at the remark. "I already have that charming Grandson of yours eating out of the palm of my hand, and when I'm done with him, you'll be lucky if I don't convince him to put you in some sort of group home!"

Her jaw almost dropping, Vivian fought to quickly regain her composure; she couldn't let this little twit get under her skin! Re-grouping, Vivian picked up a manila envelope she had set aside earlier and handed it across the table to Danielle.

"What's this?" She asked with a sour look, as she opened the envelope and began removing its contents.

Vivian was almost laughing now, "it's a Prenup of course."

Danielle's head snapped up so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. "A what?" She asked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. No, this had to be wrong! The contract was very clear. She married Jonathan and became an ambassador to his estate, plain and simple.

"A Prenup." She repeated, still smiling.

"Don't be stupid woman, I know what a prenup is, what I don't understand is why you've given me one!"

Vivian straightened in her chair, "It's a standard contract my dear, you're a paralegal, I'm sure you've seen one before." She said mockingly. "By God, you didn't think I would just let you waltz right in here and clean house did you?"

Danielle's brows drew together as she bore her gaze into Vivian, if only looks could kill, she thought to herself.

"Danielle, it's simple really. I may not be able to stop you from marrying into this family, but I'm certainly not going to allow you to squander the fortune my husband worked so hard to build. If that were the case I would have poo pooed this whole thing and allowed you to walk away with our money in the beginning."

Danielle slammed the papers on the table, "this is garbage! I went over that contract with a fine tooth comb! Jonathan marries me, or I get half, and if he divorces me before an heir is produced, then I get half!" She was waving her hands in the air frantically in anger. "Even if he so chooses to divorce me after we've had children I'm still entitled to at least fifteen percent of his net worth!"

Vivian did little more than nod and smile as Danielle ranted on. She found the entire display to be quite amusing, and wished her Jonathan could have been in the room to see what kind of woman he was really getting.

"Danielle, do calm yourself, please. I wouldn't want the staff to hear this little conversation." She picked a small cup of tea up from the table and sipped it casually. "As much as I enjoy watching you fall apart at the seams, I'm well aware of what the marriage contract entails and the prenup in no way detracts from that. Although, I do believe you are mistaken, and that it states you are to get a portion equal to no more than half, if he so chooses not to marry you."

Danielle seemed to deflate instantly; it was as if she had taken a slap to the face. She flushed with color as she took a deep breath and sat down.

Setting her tea cup aside Vivian began gesturing with her hands waving them absently in the air, "the prenup simply states that if you decide to end the marriage within the first year, you walk away with nothing. Oh, you get to keep whatever pitiful assets you came into the marriage with," she said before Danielle could get a word in. The look on her face spoke volumes as to her thoughts on the matter.

"If you're going to force my Jonathan into this, you will not tarnish his name and walk away with his fortune. For every year you stick around you are allotted one-hundred thousand dollars. For every male heir produced," a look of disgust crossed her face as she continued. "You will receive one million. Female heirs will get you only five-hundred thousand. In the event of a divorce after any heirs are produced, Jonathan will retain custody, but you will still be compensated monthly for support." Vivian held up a hand, "please let me finish."

Danielle looked at her dumbfounded and picked up the paperwork herself to look it over. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Give up her own children? That was ridiculous. There was no amount of money in the world that could make her give up custody to her babies. _Or maybe there is_. She smirked as she looked at the amount for monthly child support.

"The prenuptial also states that you will be on a predetermined monthly spending limit while you are married; to increase yearly. Wouldn't want you to put us in debt now would we?"

Vivian laughed, the sound got on Danielle's last nerve. "Vivian, do you really expect me to sign this?"

Vivian nodded, "Yes, I do. And don't think for a second that you can charm your way out of this, even if you do somehow manage to win Jonathan's heart, he's a businessman, first and foremost. He would never put any of this," she gestured with her hand in a circular movement, "in jeopardy. Nothing in that contract is up for negotiation either, so do be a good little girl and sign on the dotted line."

Feeling very much like a child being scolded for putting her hands in the cookie jar, Danielle wanted nothing more than to stick her tongue out at Vivian, but the woman inside her forced her to do little more than purse her lips instead.

"You won't mind if I have my lawyer look this over first will you?" Her eyes seemed to be shooting darts.

Vivian simply picked up her tea again and took another dainty sip. "No, not at all dear."

Danielle stuffed the contract back into the envelope and began to gather her things. Placing the tea cup back down, Vivian stood hurriedly, sloshing some of the liquid onto her hands. Scoffing she flung her wrists sideways to knock it off.

"Danielle, there is one last thing we have to discuss this evening before you go."

Dropping her purse back on the table Danielle sighed. "Yeah?" She said, "and what is that?"

Vivian folded her hands primly at the front of her skirt. "I've asked Magda to ready a room for you in the main wing. I expect you to move into it until the wedding. I want you underfoot so I can keep my eyes on you. After you've married the two of you can decide on your own living arrangements."

That sure knocked the wind right out of her sails, Danielle's jaw all but dropped to the floor. "And my condo?"

Vivian shrugged her elegant shoulders, "sell it, sublet it, I don't care what you do with it."

Danielle couldn't believe it; she was between pissed off and elated. Living in this palace was her dream come true, but having Vivian say she wanted her 'underfoot' really grated on her nerves.

Vivian made a shooing movement with her hands as if dismissing her. "That's all, you may go now." Danielle gave her one last snarling look, grabbed her purse, and walked out; slamming the door behind her.

### Chapter 6

Too Many Interruptions

Caroline laughed emphatically as she reached their table, and pulled out a chair to sit down and catch her breath. She was sweaty and flushed from hours of dancing, but she couldn't stop smiling despite her waning energy levels. The sound of Jonathan's own deep rumbling laughter filled her ears as he came up behind her carrying two glasses of wine. His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and his tie hung out of his back pocket, he too was seemingly drenched in sweat. They had been twirling on the dance floor for what felt like an eternity to the sounds of a very energetic Jazz band. She couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun. The man had dance moves to rival Michael Jackson, and more energy than a two-year old!

Even though she herself lacked anything resembling rhythm and had stepped on his toes more than a dozen times, she couldn't have pictured a more perfect evening. A fabulous up and coming band in one of the hottest Jazz clubs downtown, and the sexiest bachelor on the market, not a bad way to spend the evening at all. It didn't hurt that said bachelor was also smart, respectful, and had an amazing sense of humor to boot.

Jonathan set the wine glasses on the table and reached for Caroline's hand.

"Oh no you don't," he said between breaths. "I'm not done with you yet."

She shook her head and tried desperately to pull her hand free. "Jonathan, I can't. Really, I'm done."

They both couldn't seem to quit laughing, but finally Jonathan gave in and released her hand, pulling out the chair next to her. Trying to catch her breath she looked over at him and smiled between fits of laughter.

"I cannot believe that little old lady out there!" she exclaimed. "I thought for sure she was going to collapse and break a hip, she was so tiny and frail looking!"

A deep rumble of laughter tore through his chest again as he pictured the woman in question doing just that. "Believe it or not, she was very taut and spry underneath those layers of clothing. I think I was the one in danger out there!"

Smiling widely, Caroline slid her hand across the table and clasped his. She rested her head on the table edge as another round of laughter took hold. Pulling herself together finally, she looked up, and into Jonathan's eyes, alight with laughter and pleasure. She had never seen eyes so genuine or so beautifully blue.

The evening had started out pleasant and harmless enough, he picked her up in his Jeep, dressed in a much more casual suit than last nights, and took her out for dinner and a cocktail at a local pub. Over a simple meal and light conversation, they had decided a nice jazz club would be preferable to the ruckus and boisterousness of a traditional night club. And Jonathan knew just the place, said he had often frequented it in his youth, keeping time to the rhythm with his Grandmother no less.

She couldn't picture it herself, that was until he grabbed the hands of the tiny little blue haired woman still getting down on the dance floor, and swung her around to the tune being belted out by the band. They were amazing together, as if they had choreographed it themselves beforehand. Just the thought of it brought fresh laughter. Jonathan stood, downed the last of his wine, and reached for her again.

"Come on, let's get out of here." he said, urging her to her feet.

He twirled her around, pulling her against his chest and was rewarded with another of her endearingly dimpled smiles as she gasped with laughter. Her hair fell around her face in deep gold cascading curls, and the simple white summer dress she wore flared outwards before settling at her trim waistline. In that instant, he had never seen a more beautiful image, and his breath hitched in his lungs as he felt her settle against him.

The moment was played out in slow motion, and it was only then that he realized just how deeply he was falling for this ethereal little pixie. Lacing her arm through his, and grabbing his coat off the back of a chair, they headed for the door. The cool air of the evening blasted them as they exited the club. Caroline sighed heavily, breathing in the crisp autumn scents as they continued toward his Jeep. There was something about the cooler air, and the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground that just seemed to melt all the tension away.

She could feel the change in seasons all the way to her core. As the wind whipped her hair about her face Caroline leaned further into him. He placed his arms around her and pulled her into his warmth. She shivered with delight as the heat radiating from him seemed to seep into her bones.

When they reached the passenger door of his Jeep a gust of icy air blew past them, blowing Caroline's dress in a Marilyn Monroe-esque fashion. Embarrassed and blushing, Caroline laughed and smoothed her dress back down quickly, hoping for the life of her that no one had noticed. From behind her though came the deep baritone of Jonathan's laughter.

"You stop it!" she exclaimed, frantically swinging out her hand in an attempt to catch him in the gut.

He caught her hand mid swing and in one fluid movement turned her to face him. Their laughter suddenly died as they looked deeply into each other's eyes. Something dark and desperate circled from within the deep sea that was Caroline's eyes, and he was fascinated by it. He was lost in the swirling colors, and the depth of her penetration.

His own eyes were a turbulence of blue, and as he reached up to place a hand on her face, he could hear the sound of her breath catch. His touch was tender in contrast to the passionate storm brewing within his smoldering gaze.

"Caroline" he said in a hushed and sexy tone.

But before she could respond, he bent his head and his mouth engulfed her own in a steamy kiss unlike anything she'd ever experienced. Caroline leaned into his fevered kiss and melted against him clinging for balance as all her muscles went lax in response. Every time he touched her, a fire ignited from within. She tasted of wine and honey, smooth and sweet. Regretfully he pulled away, and the fire within ebbed to a more bearable degree.

Looking down at her with her eyes still closed and her lips swollen from his onslaught, his chest squeezed, and his gut clenched. Here, in his arms was the perfect woman. A smart, classic woman, that oozed sexuality, yet, she was sensual, and witty. If the woman had a fault he'd yet to see it. A strong woman who could hold her own with the men that ran rampant in her profession, but soft and beautiful with all the grace of a queen. He couldn't believe she was here, now, with him. If there was a way to keep her forever, he would find it. He promised himself he wouldn't let this little imp evade him.

"Mmm," she murmured. "That was the best dessert I've ever had."

A wicked smile spread across his devilishly handsome face as he reached behind her and opened her door.

"I'm pleased you enjoyed it. Say you'll come home with me Caroline. I need you tonight." He whispered into her ear, nibbling her lobe as he backed away.

The delicious heat of his mouth sent little prickles of pleasure up and down her spine in anticipation of the images his invitation elicited. She could do little more than nod in agreement, as he helped her into the Jeep.

"Yes," she finally managed. "yes, I mean, okay, I'd like that very much."

They started the drive back to his place in silence, sexual tension buzzing between them. While contemplating what to say to break the stillness they had fallen into, his phone began vibrating, stirring him from his thoughts. Cursing it, he picked up and placed it to his ear.

"This had better be good," he said between clenched teeth upon answering it.

That he could sound so serious and hard when only moments ago they were melting into each other inspired such humor that Caroline had to place her hand to her mouth to stifle the laughter bubbling from within. She couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, but assumed it was nothing good as Jonathan proceeded to place his head against the steering wheel while they rested at a traffic light.

"Uh huh, yeah. I got it. Okay." He spoke quickly into the phone, trying desperately to end the conversation.

The seriousness with which his tone had begun had faded into something less than annoyance, but still not quite on the cusp of pleasant. He sighed deeply and turned to face Caroline as he ended the call and placed the phone in a cup holder.

"I'm so sorry," he began.

Caroline cocked her head, "Sorry?" She asked. "For what?"

He shifted the Jeep into gear as they pulled away from the light and made a U-turn at the next signal. "I have some business I need to tend to at the work site in Albany. I'm afraid I'll have to cut our evening short."

She felt deflated, but shook her head. "No, no it's okay. I understand. Another time, some other night."

He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You have no idea, how much I regret having to leave you tonight," he rubbed his thumb over her palm. "Caroline." He said, "Would you like to come to the estate tomorrow? For lunch?"

She smiled, and laced her fingers through his. "I think I'd like that very much, actually."

He threw her another wicked smile, "How are you on horseback? I know some lovely trails where we could get lost in each other for a while."

The implications of his suggestion weren't lost on her, "Sounds wonderful. Shall I bring wine?" She asked seductively.

He merely chuckled deep within his chest; the sound was husky, and pleasurable. When they reached her apartment complex, he pulled her arm to his mouth, turning it over and kissing the pulsing veins of her wrist.

"Until tomorrow." He said, looking up into her widened pupils.

She gathered her purse and coat, and stepped out of the Jeep. "Until tomorrow indeed," she replied closing the door.

The morning came, though not nearly quick enough. Caroline had tossed and turned a dozen times over. She couldn't get that passionate image of Jonathan looking down at her out of her mind. The look in his eyes, the feel of his hand on her face; she was lost in a haze as though she were stumbling through a dense fog. Her thoughts lived in that embrace for what felt like an eternity; she just couldn't bear to turn it off. It was well into the morning before she was finally able to flip the switch in her brain and get some rest. Though, even in sleep her dreams were torturous.

Thoughts of what could have been; thoughts of what had been. She was certain when she awoke that he would be lying there with her. Wrapped in the warmth of her sheets, she reached out for him, and groped the emptiness beside her. Smiling, she held onto her dreams another moment before pulling back the covers and flipping her legs over the edge of the bed. The evening had been filled with dreams and nothing more, but oh what dreams they had been!

The sound of her door buzzer was intrusive to say the least, ripping her from her daydreams. She grabbed a robe off the post of her footboard and quickly tied it around her waist.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," She said rushing towards the door. Grumbling to herself she hit the intercom on the wall, "Hello?"

There was a short silence on the other end before a familiar voice rang through. "Room service." He said in a cheerfully high pitched tone.

"Room service huh?" She replied, trying to control her laughter as she hit the buzzer. When she opened the door, he stood, pulling a straw hat off his head with one hand, and carrying a takeout bag in the other.

"Mornin' ma'am," he said giving a slight bow, while folding his arm in front of him in a true western fashion.

He looked the part of a rugged cowboy, and it suited him well. His jeans hugged his lean frame, and the light blue of his flannel shirt really made his eyes pop, while the fit showed off his extremely athletic physique. He had even allowed a day's' growth of facial hair to tie the look together! She covered her mouth and chuckled, then stood aside to allow him to enter.

"When you asked me to go riding, I'm not sure what I expected, but I'll be honest, this wasn't it," she said with light laughter lacing her voice.

"What?" he said, "I'll have you know, I competed in a high school rodeo once upon a time, and besides, I certainly couldn't wear a suit now could I?"

He strode past her through the door, and placing his hat and bag on a table, he examined her apartment. The color scheme was light and bright, the furniture while neutral tones, was over stuffed and looked comfortable. There were a few paintings and pictures of what he assumed to be buildings she and her firm had created placed strategically around the rooms.

There was a bookcase filled to the brim with books, novels, and photo albums against one wall; while a big screen TV occupied another. Her kitchen was done in earth tones, with stainless steel appliances, and an eat in nook with a view of the skyline. All in all, he thought the place was tastefully done, and knew her design choices would be a perfect complement to the project they were working on. Satisfied with his inspection he turned his focus on her, and nearly gasped as what he saw took his breath away.

She stood before him, her hair tousled, her eyes heavy lidded, and her porcelain skin bare and practically glowing. She was wrapped in a tiny almost sheer robe covering a risqué black lace teddy; it was enough to kill him then and there. Her nipples puckered under his intense scrutiny; her cheeks flushed with color. He couldn't move, could barely breathe.

Had it been only yesterday that they had gotten lost in each other? His mouth watered as he remembered the taste of her, and the feel of her silken skin. His eyes roamed her body, he knew every contour, and every inch of her still fascinated him. What little her ensemble had left to the imagination he found himself capable of filling in the blanks. She seemed vulnerable under his burning gaze and wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off the sudden heat. He couldn't hold himself back any longer; the erotic image she presented broke through what little resolve remained.

He quickly closed the gap between them, and before she could protest had her in his arms and greedily covered her mouth with his own. Unlike the previous evening, there was nothing gentle about this kiss. It was desperate and intense. He was taking what he wanted, and demanding a response, one she gave freely and willingly. She met his hunger with equal strides. Her arms wound their way around his neck and her legs wrapped tightly to his torso as he groped her bottom and lifted her upwards. Leaning against the door for support, he ravaged her, pummeling her mouth, nipping at the long smooth column of her throat.

"Jonathan," she pleaded, "am I dreaming?" Panting, and gasping for air, he asked himself the same question.

He hadn't come here for this, he'd come to have breakfast with her, and to take her back to Albany with him for a picnic and some trails. His dreams had been tormented by her and the passions they had shared. Seeing her fresh from slumber in her tiny negligee had snapped his constraints. He needed her, and he had to have her; here and now. It was then, in the midst of their heated passions that his phone chose to insist upon its own urgency and need of his absolute attention.

"Damn it," he muttered between kisses.

"Do you need to get that?" She asked; her voice breathless and husky.

Annoyed, he sighed angrily and slid her back down his torso. "This will just take a second," he said leaving her to catch her balance as she leaned back on the wall for support, breathing heavily.

"This had better be life or death," he growled into the phone.

He never took his eyes off her as he listened to the voice on the other end, and replied in clipped one syllable answers. Her chest rose and fell to the beat of his heart, and her gaze locked onto his own as she waited patiently. Her cheeks were a deep rose, and her lips were parted ever so slightly in an attempt to help her catch her breath. Looking at her made his groin tighten; she was pure erotica standing there. Her robe was hanging at her elbows and her night gown had raised high on her thighs.

Through slatted eyes she watched him, she had managed to unbutton his shirt in their fit of passion and it hung open now to reveal his glistening abdominals. Before his phone had begun its barrage, she had been fumbling with his belt buckle, and as such it hung limply open now weighing down the front of his jeans, exposing the deep V of his waistline.

He too was breathing with some degree of labor, and as she began to smile up at him, a flash of anger steeled into his icy gaze, taking her aback with its intensity. He set his phone down on the table, and filled the void between them in one fluid movement. Grabbing the back of her head, and threading his hand through her hair he tilted it upward kissing her with such severity before pulling away again breathlessly.

"I have to go," he said regretfully, as he buckled his belt and began buttoning up his shirt. Motioning with his head to the table he said, "There's biscuits and gravy in the bag over there, I'm sorry I can't stay and enjoy them with you."

She chewed her bottom lip and nodded, "you're a busy man."

He groaned watching her, "I'd like to be busy doing something else." He said with a wink as he picked up his phone and placed it in his pocket. "I'll send a car for you in about an hour; there will be no rain check today. This won't take long, and then I promise you, we will finish what we started." He kissed her gently on the forehead before leaving, closing the door behind him. Standing there, staring blankly at nothing in particular, she tried her best to regroup.

### Chapter 7

All the Stipulations

Danielle stormed into the office and slapped the prenuptial agreement on the blotter of her lawyer's desk. "This is crap Kevin; tell me the Bitch can't get away with this!"

He looked up from the paperwork he had been filling out and straightened his glasses. "Well good morning to you too Danielle."

She smiled at him sardonically. "Oh, Kevin." She said her lips going pouty, "Did I hurt your feelings?" She walked behind his desk and began rubbing his shoulders. "Do I need to make it up to you?" She purred, bending forward and pressing her breasts into his back as she ruffled his thick salt and pepper mane.

Clearing his throat, he straightened his spine, trying to shrug her off. "Danielle, that isn't cute."

She went to his side and sat atop the corner of his desk, crossing her long tanned legs in front of him; "You certainly weren't complaining last time."

He flushed as she winked at him, "Please keep your voice down, I have clients in the conference room, and this is highly inappropriate." He said cleaning his glasses and trying to regain his composure.

"As far as business is concerned, I haven't had a chance to look over the agreement yet, but I can assure you Danielle, that she can in fact impose such stipulations."

She looked at him with a sullen expression before getting up and pacing over to a large window at the back of his office. Putting his glasses back on, he breathed a sigh of relief before continuing.

"As per your request, I looked over the marriage agreement again." She turned to look at him, her arms crossed underneath her ample bosom.

"And?" Momentarily distracted by the cleavage spilling over the top of her blouse, he shook his head and turned back to the paperwork on his desk.

He picked up the contract in question and began to read it to her. "Article five of the contract states that in the event that Mr. Kane declines to fill his obligations, all said businesses and capital interests owned by the late Mr. Abel are to be sold for maximum profit and all proceeds are to be split between the named heiress, that's you," he said nodding in her direction. "And a charity by the name of Stracciatella's Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen, with a small portion to be maintained in a trust for Mr. Kane"

She slapped her hand on his desk. "Then explain to me how she's able to dictate my finances Kevin!" He placed one hand on top of hers; and she quickly jerked hers away in frustration.

"Calm down, let me finish. Article six of the agreement goes into the breakdown. "He cleared his throat again and grabbed a mug, taking a sip of coffee before continuing.

"Said Heiress is to receive no less than ten percent and no more than an amount equal to half of all assets to include all estates and businesses/capital interests. The remaining equity should be given in the form of a donation to be tax deductible to said aforementioned charity. Mr. Kane shall be entitled to all profits gained from the sale of any personal items, and properties acquired after the signing of this contract."

Sitting down in a chair in front of the large oak desk, she began tapping her fingernails on the scarred wood. "I don't understand Kevin, clearly I was mistaken. But if he gets to keep what wealth he has personally amassed, and I'm only entitled to ten percent, why wouldn't they just buy me out?"

Setting the contract down again he crossed his hands on top of it, "Because in order to as you say 'buy you out' they would have to sell everything and still live up to the rest of their agreement. Don't think for a second Danielle, that the Stracciatella family doesn't have a copy of this agreement."

She considered that for a moment. "You were here when this was written and signed, weren't you Kevin?"

He shook his head, "I'm afraid not, your father retained me only after this was signed into effect. It was my late partner E.J. that took care of this matter."

She sat back in her chair and crossed her ankles on his desk. Careful not to look up her skirt, he pushed himself from his desk and pulled at his tie. This woman and her blatant sexuality had him flustered and hot. She'd always had that effect on him, even as the gangly teenager her father had first introduced him to. She was a man eater, she knew what she wanted, and she always seemed to find a man that could make it happen. He had been caught in her crosshairs once before, and it ruined his marriage. Nearly ruined him, his practice, and his reputation all in one shot as well. He was careful not to allow that to happen again.

His partner, E.J. God, rest his soul, had met an untimely death shortly after drafting the contract in question. He had himself only just made partner, and wasn't privy to the actual meeting. Seeing the head of the Stracciatella family in the office with E.J. though had more than intrigued him at the time. What he wouldn't have given to be a fly on that wall. Then again, maybe it was best he hadn't been involved. Brake failure indeed, he thought to himself as he remembered reading in the paper about the accident that had taken the life of his colleague and friend.

Danielle was a beautiful, and intelligent woman, he couldn't imagine why she would want to get involved in anything having to do with the likes of the Stracciatella's. She could have any rich man she wanted, what was so special about Mr. Kane? She was very much like her father that one, greedy, and selfish.

As the Geier family lawyer, he had seen too many of their legal needs; contracts, custody battles, wills and trusts all included. And having had been married to their personal accountant, he knew of their financial successes and eventual demise. Danielle's father had been a brilliant accountant turned stockbroker, and had he not gotten involved with the Diamond Brokerage firm, a company owned by one Mr. Stracciatella, he might have had a better life. He might even still be alive today.

"Danielle, I'll look over the prenup if you'd like, I can even draft you a counter offer, but in my experience with Mrs. Abel, she's nothing if not financially savvy, take the deal." Taking her feet off the desk Danielle scoffed at him. "If you force her hand, she's likely to bury you in red tape before you ever see one penny of that ten percent. I'm sure whatever she's giving you is more than generous."

Danielle snatched the prenup off his desk and left the way she came, in a flurry of stale perfume and anger. Kevin picked up his phone, selected a number on speed dial and spoke in hushed tones into the receiver.

"Yeah, she just left," he said and promptly placed the phone back into its cradle.

Rummaging through a drawer in his desk, he grabbed a pack of smokes, and lit up. Taking a long pull on his cigarette, he pondered over his legal and moral obligations. Had Danielle still been the sweet girl of her youth, he might have felt sorry for her and what she was getting herself into. But this version of Danielle was far removed from the one he had been introduced to ten years ago.

He had once been a very close friend of her father's; he had once felt sympathy towards the girl because of the poor gene pool she had been born into. But the longer he worked for her; he realized she was an exact copy of her parents. She showed little in the way of humanity, and showed absolutely no remorse for the devastation she was destined to cause. Kevin stubbed his cigarette out, and got back to work, she wasn't his daughter thank God, so she wasn't his problem to deal with.

Jonathan shifted gears angrily as he roared down the open road that wound its way through the countryside. Passing huge majestic oak groves, and pasture land dotted with livestock, he took no notice of the beautiful scenery that surrounded him; he was lost in thought, frustrated by the turn of events. Twice now he had been thwarted in his plans to make love to Caroline. Last night, the security officer at the job site had called to tell him there were signs of vandalism, and they had apprehended a young boy.

He should have just allowed them to call the police to take care of the matter, but he knew what it was like to be a young boy once himself, and while he had never had a run in with the law, he knew if it were not for the compassion of a neighbor, he very well could have been arrested for the damage he caused to their fence and prized hedge work. He was just a boy, twelve at the time, and wondered how hard it could have possibly been to create the artwork in the bushes they had so painstakingly constructed.

People from Guinness World Records were supposed to be coming out to take pictures of their creations, and had he known that, perhaps he wouldn't have damaged their fence trying to climb over it, and maybe he wouldn't have raided their garden shed, stealing hedge clippers and destroying the T-Rex, they had spent more than a month sculpting. He could still remember the look on his Grandfather's face, as Mr. Sorlingas dragged him by his coat to their house and scolded him, telling him he ought to call the cops.

Instead, old Virgil worked out a gardening schedule with his Grandfather. Every moment of Jonathan's day was mapped out, since it was summer vacation and he wasn't in school, he had to get up early every day, working long hours in Virgil's garden to rectify the damage he had caused. It had taught him responsibility, and was his first lesson in work ethic. He'd never forget that summer, the knowledge he had gained, and the blisters he had received; both on his hands and his rear end after his Grandfather had let him have it.

So rather than call the cops, he wanted to see firsthand the damage and the youngster responsible. As it had turned out, the damage in question was a crude but anatomically correct drawing on the side of one of the main buildings, and the young man in question was no more than fifteen. He had been caught in action with a spray can in hand, and when approached made for a hasty if not fruitless retreat. He was quickly apprehended by another guard and his K9 companion patrolling the parameter of the site.

As Jonathan approached the young man, he noted the dirty streaks that lined his tear stained face, and was instantly reminded of himself and the mischief he had caused. After calling the boy's parents and speaking to them in private, he turned his attention once more to the boy, and outlined his punishment for him. With the thankful permission of his parents, the boy was sentenced to twice weekly cleanup of the grounds until the project was finished, starting with his own artwork the following day. It was the leniency he was shown in his own juvenile behavior that had him giving this boy a second chance.

Perhaps he could teach this young man the same lessons he had once learned, and perhaps the outcome of this young man's future could be rewritten. He made a mental note to check in on the young man at least once a week, and maybe after the project was finished he could give the boy a job. Thinking about the boy, and his future, helped to distract Jonathan from his current annoyance, but it didn't take long for his mind to shift back to the problem at hand as he pulled his Jeep inside the garage. The project had been put on hold while the rest of the permits were being pulled; he had maybe one to two more days' tops before he and Caroline would be too busy with work to find much time for each other.

Seeing her this morning, scantily clad, and fresh from slumber had been his undoing, he had plans for today, and that hadn't been one of them. Sweep her off her feet, he thought to himself, breakfast, trails, and making love to her in the little cottage his family owned deep in the woods. He had a picnic lunch and fresh floral arrangements delivered there early this morning, ordered the place cleaned and the linens changed.

Every last detail of today had been planned out. And then he walked into her apartment to find her like that. His will power drained, all mental constraints snapped. After being denied the previous night, he wanted nothing more than to plunge into her, then and there. And they would have taken each other to oblivion had it not been for that wretched phone of his. He knew he should have left it in the Jeep.

Only hindsight had him realizing the rest of the day could very well have been a disaster had he not answered that call. Ralph, his friend and chef, had informed him of the pending arrival of one Ms. Danielle Geier. His Grandmother, blast her, had invited Danielle to live with them at the estate until the intended wedding. He was so angry with her for not consulting him first. Having this woman in his home, and sleeping in his parents' bedroom of all places, was not acceptable to him.

Walking into the kitchen, he slammed the door behind him, as he scanned the room for his Grandmother. Ralph looked up from the stove where he stirred a pot, had he been in a better mood, Jonathan might have appreciated the delicious aroma wafting in his direction.

"Where is she?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"She's in the parlor, sir," he replied turning his attention back to his cooking.

Ralph had been with the family for a long time. His mother Magda had given birth to him and raised him at the estate all while working for the family. Her husband, Ruben worked in the stables, trained the family's horses and saw to their care and exercise. Ralph was two years Jonathan's senior, and had been his best friend and cohort growing up at the estate. They had been inseparable. Being that they were like brothers, Jonathan saw to it, that his family sent Ralph to college and paid for his tuition. Ralph grew up watching their butler Juan see to the family's meals, and had a passion for cooking, so it was only natural that he went to culinary school, and took over the family's cooking.

Juan was getting up there in age, and being both butler and cook was taking its toll. Jonathan's family believed in taking care of their employees in every aspect, Juan would soon reap the benefits of retirement, and would still retain his room in their home, unless he so chose to leave. At that time, they would either hire someone else, or perhaps Ralph would take over his duties and collect a higher wage himself; not that he wasn't already paid handsomely. They were nothing if not generous employers.

Jonathan stopped at the edge of the doorway, "thanks, again for calling me Ralph, I owe you one. By the way, it smells great in here!" He said as he continued on into the adjoining dining room. Ralph simply smiled to himself and continued with his task. Jonathan was his best friend, and given all that he had done for his family, there wasn't much he wouldn't do for him.

Jonathan found his Grandmother sitting on a chaise lounge in a little alcove of the parlor, reading a book from their library no doubt. She looked up at him and smiled as he walked into her line of sight. Her smile quickly faded when she saw the anger seething in his gaze.

"Darling, what's wrong?" She asked, her voice full of motherly concern.

She placed her book on the table next to her, and sat up. She looked lovely today he had to admit, she was dressed in white linen cut offs, and a loose fitting flowered blouse. Her hair was pulled tightly in a knot at the base of her neck, and her makeup was understated and feminine. She looked years younger, and seemed happy for once. It sapped all of the poison out of him, deflating his anger towards her.

How could he be angry with this woman? Had he not said he would give this a shot, for her? Had he not told her yesterday that Danielle was 'lovely'? No, he couldn't be angry with her for doing what she thought he might want. He softened his gaze and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"I'm sorry Gram," he began. "I received some troubling news from the jobsite last night, I guess I let it carry over into today. Nothing's wrong though, it's a beautiful day, and you look lovely as ever!" She smiled at him in a girlish way, almost blushing as she squeezed his hands. "You flatter me, love. I hope it was nothing too serious, I know that project is very important to you."

He shook his head, "no Gram, everything is fine. I actually came by this morning to take a client of mine out for a ride. I'd like you to meet her later if you're up to it. She's very important to the project, and I think you'll like her, she reminds me of you in so many ways."

Vivian nodded, "of course, I'm actually going to exercise Caesar a little this afternoon, would you like me to come with you?"

He shook his head, something akin to alarm flashed quickly in his eyes. "No no, I'm afraid the pace may be a bit too fast for you, Gram. In the meantime, though, there is something I wanted to speak to you about."

She cocked her head sideways, "Oh?"

Jonathan stood, pulling Vivian to her feet as he did. He slid her hand through his arm, and led her over to a cluster of chairs near a large window that overlooked one of their many pastures. A small herd of horses grazed near the edge of a pond; their coats glistened in the sunlight. Jonathan was trying to find the right words, and the best way to approach the topic at hand. He didn't want Danielle in his parent's room, let alone in his home. But he didn't know how to convey that without raising any alarms.

"Gram, I've been informed that Ms. Geier will be staying us, is that right?"

Her smiled returned as she nodded her head briefly, "Yes, I thought it was a wonderful way for the two of you to get to know each other, since you'll be spending more time here with the project and all."

He stood, and faced the window, hiding his disappointment. "I don't think that's such a good idea," he said, and rambled on before she could reply. "I'm going to be very busy these next couple of months, seeing to all the little details and what not before I turn over full control. Things are bound to get pretty stressful, and I'm just not sure that's the best time for her to get to know me. I wouldn't want her to get the wrong impression."

He turned and smiled at her, he thought his reasoning was logical, and hoped she wouldn't see through it. She looked at him, seeming to ponder his response.

"I understand your concern dear, but we can't put off the inevitable. You two will be married soon, and she needs to spend as much time as possible around you, so that she can get a glimpse of what marriage to you is going to entail." Vivian stood, and joined him next to the window. "If this is because I put her in your mother's room, I can fix that, I'll put her into the guest wing instead." The look she gave him, said she wasn't going to back down, that her decision was final.

He sighed trying to change tact's; turning to her he clasped her hand again. "The guest wing is a better idea, I agree, but can this at least wait until tomorrow Gram? It's very important to me that my Client enjoy today, it could very well set the tone for us working together."

He gave her a pleading look as he brought one of her hands to his mouth and kissed it briefly. "I just don't want there to be any sort of confusion today, please Gram, tomorrow is another day, a better day."

Vivian got the impression that there was more going on, something he didn't want her to know about, but she kept it to herself. If it pleased her Grandson, she would have Juan call the insufferable Danielle, and arrange for her to come out tomorrow.

"Yes, yes, tomorrow is fine dear," she said giving his hands a light pat.

He hugged her then, nearly squeezing the air out of her lungs in a crushing embrace. She had never seen him so happy, and wondered about the real cause of his excitement.

She smoothed out her clothes as he released her, "Oh thank you Gram, thank you." He said with such exuberance. Taken aback by his response, she looked at him quizzically, while keeping her thoughts to herself.

"Jonathan," she said. "Do let me know, when your client gets here, but in the meantime, I have some things to see to."

He nodded happily in response as he headed for the door. "Oh, and Jonathan?" he turned to face her, one hand on the door knob.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Chloe, that blasted dog of yours, has been moping about for days. Do make sure you show her some attention while you're around."

He gave her one of his most captivating smiles as he laughed, "I do believe she's your dog Gram, but I'll make sure to spend a little time with her. I'll see you later, enjoy the rest of your morning." As he closed the door behind him, she was once again left wondering about his current state of mind.

### Chapter 8

The Cabin in the Woods

Caroline took a deep breath in an attempt to expel the last of her nerves, as the car pulled to a stop in front of the large Albany estate. The two-and-a-half-hour drive into Albany had done nothing to calm the anxiety she had felt earlier in the day. It was one thing that Jonathan had welcomed her into his condo, but being here, at his family home, felt entirely different to her. More than a dozen scenarios played out in her mind as she wondered how his home would look, and how the day's events would go. She was excited and nervous and tried her best to conceal both.

Stepping out of the car and onto the driveway she surveyed her surroundings. The driveway had been done in an elegant Bluestone, with a granite contour, and an attractive white vinyl fence ran along either side. Turning her attention towards the house, she nearly choked. It was a cross between a Victorian and Plantation style home, with an extensive porch and large marble columns.

The estate itself was white with the massive and jutting turrets shingled in a slate gray to compliment the Bluestone of the drive. She could easily imagine a place like this gracing the cover of Luxury Home Magazine. With its lush and immaculate landscaping, and the unique architectural design it boasted; there were few homes that could compete. As a designer herself she could truly appreciate the hard work and thought that had gone into building such a remarkable structure.

The sound of a dog barking off to her right caught her attention, as she turned she noticed Jonathan walking towards her. Twirling excitedly about his heels was a blur of blue and white fur. The closer he got the more intense the dog's energy seemed to get; looking from the dog to him she noticed the cause of the dog's' discomfort. In his hands Jonathan was passing a green tennis ball from one to the other, the dog's' vision never wavered, waiting impatiently for him to throw it.

Only a few steps from Caroline he turned and launched the ball as far as he could, "Go get it Chloe." He said enthusiastically,

Chloe didn't need any further motivation and sprinted off in the direction of her prey. Turning his attention back to Caroline, he swept his eyes over her body approvingly, causing her to blush in recognition. Though she was dressed simply in a pair of skinny jeans with calf length Ariat boots, and a Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt, he was sure she couldn't have looked more beautiful if she had been wearing a formal ball gown instead.

Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and a few loose tendrils framed her face. Casual and comfortable was a look he had yet to see on her, and he decided he liked it best of all. Her natural beauty shone through in a way that could never be replicated.

"Beautiful dog," she said. "Is she a Border Collie?"

He nodded, "That she is, my Grandmother has an affinity for herding dogs. I guess it comes with the territory when you own horses."

A slow smile spread across her face, "Growing up, we had a German Shepherd named Connor. So I understand completely."

He casually nodded his head in the direction Chloe had run off in, "Come on, follow me to the barn and we'll get out of here. I've got a full day planned."

Her heart appeared to skip a beat as he laced her arm through his and led the way. Being so close to him again, feeling the heat as it radiated off him in waves, had her body begin pulsating with anticipation.

Approaching the barn, yet another magnificently designed building, she noticed it looked like a scaled down version of their home and was a perfect complement to the surrounding garages and workshops. To the left of the barn she noticed a show style covered arena, and just beyond it a round pen and an open jumper course. Everything was pristine and well taken care of; she could tell they took a lot of pride in their home and the property it occupied. Standing in front of the barn was a dark skinned man with a pleasant if not well worn face, he held a pair of brown leather reins in each of his hands.

Jonathan released her hand and reached for a set of reins, "Thanks for getting them saddled so quickly for me Ruben." He said handing the reins of a large Bay Roan gelding to Caroline.

The other horse, which was a rich smoky gray color, nickered to Jonathan and rubbed her head against his chest, the force of it almost shoving him backwards. Laughing, he gently patted her forehead.

"This is Lady," he said, stroking the mare's nose. Nodding in the direction of the gelding he continued, "That big boy there is Warrick. They're both Pryor Mountain Mustangs; I rescued them and a couple of others from a slaughter auction a few years ago."

Ruben left them then, giving a graceful bow and walking around towards the back of the barn as Chloe came streaking back over to nip at his heels. Still laughing, Jonathan motioned for her to follow him.

"Come this way," he said. "I want you to ride around the arena and get a feel for him first." She nodded and pulled her horse forward.

When they reached the covered arena behind the barn, Caroline noticed Vivian putting a beautiful Arabian through its paces. She looked like royalty sitting astride the large Black horse, she was dressed in classically English attire; wearing tan breeches, long black boots, and a crisp white blouse. The Dressage style with which she was riding showcased the horse's natural rhythm and beauty, as its muscles flexed with each movement. Entering the arena with their horses, Caroline couldn't help but watch.

The horse moved so fluidly obeying Vivian's every cue. She stopped her mount and turned him to face them once her horse caught sight of the intruders and became distracted. Riding over to greet them, the large horse pranced excitedly, talking to his new companions.

"Hello to you too, Caesar," Jonathan said, reaching out to touch his muzzle.

His gentleness with the animals warmed her, and his loving demeanor astonished her. She thought to herself what a wonderful father he would make, and quickly thumbed herself mentally for such foolish thoughts. She didn't for a second think this was going to be anything more than a passing fancy for him. She needed to keep her head out of the clouds and learn to just enjoy it while it lasted.

Gracefully dismounting, Vivian looked over the woman standing before her. She wasn't sure what she had expected of Jonathan's client, but this certainly wasn't it. She was however sure that this woman was the one responsible for her Grandson's good mood, and while it was almost certainly wishful thinking she hoped this woman would be the answer to all their problems.

Vivian pulled off one of her riding gloves and held out her hand to Caroline, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Vivian." She said giving her a warm smile.

"It's very nice to meet you Vivian, I'm Caroline; your Grandson has told me so much about you."

Vivian chuckled, "all lies I'm sure." Putting her glove back on, Vivian swung back into the saddle and turned her horse, trotting out of the ring she after them, "It's lovely to meet you Caroline, but please excuse me, I need to get Caesar cooled off and stalled. Have a wonderful time you two!"

Given the enormity of the situation, Vivian would be damned if she was going to stay out here and get in their way. Caroline must be some woman she thought to herself, she couldn't remember ever seeing Jonathan smile so much. His eyes appeared glued to the fair haired beauty, and she wasn't about to ruin it by sticking around. She only hoped it wasn't too late for them.

Jonathan gave Caroline a leg up, and then swung into his own saddle, "you'll have to stop by sometime after work and join us for dinner, Gram is quite pleasant to be around, I think you two would enjoy each other's company."

Using her heels to apply pressure to her mount Caroline smiled at him, "She seems nice, I bet we'd have a great time, and one day I might just take you up on that offer. Your horses are all gorgeous by the way!" She exclaimed.

"Thanks," he replied. "Gram has raised Arabs for the last forty years, it's her passion. I favor Mustangs and Quarter Horses myself, we have close to twenty-five in total I would say. Ruben does very well with them, he's trained them all, both western and English, of course, Gram prefers Dressage herself."

Urging Warrick into a trot Caroline glanced around, the arena was top notch and the pastures beyond were dotted with beautiful horse flesh in every color. She could easily imagine waking up to this scenery every day.

"Seeing you on that horse, you look so natural, but I still can't imagine you in a rodeo!" she said throwing her head back and laughing.

He pulled his horse alongside of hers and grabbed her reins. Inching closer to her he nipped her earlobe, "I'll have you know, not only did I compete in High School Rodeo, but I was very good at it, there are several trophies in the tack room that I shall have to show you one day." The heat of his breath on her neck sent shivers down her spine. "Now then, I think you've got the hang of this, let's hit the trails, shall we?" he asked letting go of her horse and leading his towards the gate.

They rode for what felt like an eternity, but was more to the tune of a couple of hours, before reaching a large clearing. They had talked about everything and nothing in particular, laughing and smiling all the while. He had asked her about her own riding experiences, while sharing his more embarrassing moments in the saddle himself, it seemed they had had more in common than she had first thought. Talking about some of their favorite things, she learned that he considered himself something of an amateur photographer, and loved to take pictures of the horses. He had even had a few of them published in various horse magazines.

He was particularly fond of taking pictures of his Grandmother while she rode, and she found that to be quite endearing. He was a conundrum really, he personified strength and masculinity, and yet he was so caring and soft of heart. He was a businessman and born leader, but he took direction well, and always sought the input of others. She couldn't seem to figure him out, just when she thought she knew what kind of man he was, he surprised her with yet another enigmatic behavior.

Riding into the clearing the first thing she noticed was a small lean to in the middle of a large round pen, with a trough on either side it. Just beyond that was a large hitching post and a crude if not beautifully constructed cabin. It was a small cabin, with a large porch and big poster windows. There was a hammock between the posts at one end of the porch and two large rocking chairs with a table between them at the other end. Looking at the cabin; she grew flustered as the implications flooded her mind.

In one swift movement Jonathan dismounted and grabbed for her reins. Pulling the large gelding to him, he placed his free arm around her waist and helped her slide out of the saddle. He left her standing where she was and made quick work of the horses' saddles, hanging them over the hitching post. He led the horses into the round pen, slipped the bridles over their heads and closed the gate behind them as they headed to the troughs to investigate.

Turning his attention back to Caroline, he tucked her into his embrace and quietly herded her into the cabin. It smelled sweet, like fresh blooms, and a hint of cinnamon, it was airy and bright. And while from the outside it appeared small, the high ceilings and picture windows made it feel anything but claustrophobic. It was minimally decorated with an adequate kitchen, and living spaces, and a small ladder towards the back of the cabin that led to no doubt what was a loft. A door to the left of the ladder was ajar showcasing a small bathroom.

Jonathan walked towards a small alcove that housed a round table and four chairs, "have a seat," he said pulling one of them out for her. Sitting down, she watched him round the table and walk to the fridge in the nearby kitchen. "I had the cook prepare and drop off a little picnic for us earlier," he said winking at her as he opened the fridge door and pulled out a small basket.

Placing it on the counter next to him he pulled out a bottle of red wine and a grabbed a couple of glasses that were hanging from a rack over the sink. The rustic little cabin had a very romantic feel to it and she found herself wondering how many women he had brought up here. It was the perfect place, private, charming, and cozy. The sudden pangs of jealousy that settled into her stomach made her feel very uneasy. She had no claim on this man, and though it made her uncomfortable she had no right to question what he had done in the past or even with whom he had done it.

"I used to come here with my Grandfather for overnight fishing trips," he said as if sensing her unease. "There's a lake about a mile from here, we rode in on Friday evenings to set up shop and walked down to the water first thing Saturday morning. Cleaned and cooked everything we caught right out back." He said gesturing to the window behind her.

Looking out she noticed a deep well with an old manual water pump, beside it was a large fire pit, with a rotisserie spit still intact.

"I haven't been up here in years," he continued. "The last time I came out here, I think I had just turned twenty-one," the memory brought laughter with it, "Ralph and I, that's my cook by the way, we got so piss drunk I almost drowned."

She could almost picture it, him as a gangly young thing, stumbling down drunk and falling into the water. She almost cracked up, and had to stifle back the laughter bubbling up. He had a way of calming her nerves, he always seemed to say the right thing, and his timing was simply impeccable. She was flattered to know that no other woman had had the pleasure of accompanying him to this place, she would relish the opportunity, and the time they had allotted.

After enjoying a glass of wine, and watching him carve up a ham, she followed Jonathan out the back door; to where a shaded picnic blanket laid spread out underneath the vast expanse of a grand daddy oak tree. Daises huddled in small batches all around the tree, and as she made herself comfortable on the blanket, Jonathan picked a small cluster, handing them to her in a slight bowing motion.

"For you Madame," he said in a thick French accent.

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind one ear, she reached for the flowers and giggled, "Oui monsieur, merci beaucoup." She replied holding onto his hand a moment longer than necessary and giving the inside of his wrist a whisper of a kiss.

The simple gesture sent a bolt of sensation through his body, that she had caught him so off guard, unnerved him. He found himself kneeling down beside her and zeroing in on the smooth column of her neck. She instantly arched her neck in response as his lips brushed against it. Moaning, she leaned into his kiss. He pulled her onto his lap, and turning her head he continued his assault on her throat, as it vibrated beneath his lips with each moan that escaped her.

Their lunch long forgotten, Caroline laid sprawled on the blanket with the weight of Jonathan atop her as he pleasured her with his mouth. Sweet drugging kisses bombarded her senses, dragging her deeper into ecstasy. He nipped at her earlobes, suckled on her lower lip, brushed fleeting kisses across her throat, and fought well calculated battles with her tongue. During his onslaught of kisses, he had somehow managed to work her t-shirt up over her head, and was attempting to finesse her bra off next.

With the last barrier out of his way, he turned his full attention to the new task at hand. As the heat of his palms enveloped her breasts, she arched her back wildly into them. He caressed and kneaded them, pushing her closer to the edge with each new sensation. Kissing his way lower still, he fumbled with the buckle of her belt before swiftly dispatching it, and yanking her skin tight jeans aside. Having taken off her boots before settling onto the blanket, her jeans were easily removed and discarded as well. The storm brewing inside her came to a head as he probed the most intimate parts of her.

She wrapped her legs around his shoulders, and rode the waves of pleasure he brought to her, as they racked her body over and over under his barrage of kisses. Panting, she collapsed underneath him and tried to focus on her breathing. A cool breeze fanned her flushed body as Jonathan stood up to undress himself, and caused goosebumps to pebble her porcelain skin.

Jonathan shed his clothes quickly and returned to her, settling himself again between her thighs. He kissed her deeply and thoroughly as the tool of his desire begged for admittance. Pressed up against her silken flesh her body yielded and she gasped as they became one, moving together, desperate for release.

She clung to him for support as they rode the tidal waves of pleasure higher and higher, breaking for the surface for short spurts to breathe before their tongues engaged in combat yet again. It was a battle of wills as one tried to push the other over the threshold, but in the end, they reached the boundaries of gratification together. Breathless, their limbs remained tangled, as their sweaty bodies were bound together. Rolling to her side, Jonathan greedily gulped in air, his chest heaved with the effort. Caroline wrapped the picnic blanket around her, and turned to face him.

"How far away did you say that lake was?" She asked, "I'd love to go for a dip." He smiled at her and snickered.

After riding bareback together on Lady down to the lake, they enjoyed a long dip in the cool waters, sans clothing, and spent a good bit of the afternoon making love along the banks, amidst the blooming wildflowers and floating water lilies that washed ashore. By the time they reached the cabin the sun was cresting over the roof, and the sky had deepened into a pale shade of lavender.

Jonathan pulled a bag of horse feed from the saddle bags he had brought with them, and poured it into a trough, the horses munched on it gratefully, as he poured fresh water from the well into the opposite trough.

Caroline spent the time alone in the bathroom freshening up, she found a brush and ran it through the tangles in her hair, and made quick use of a bottle of mouthwash she had found as well. Running her hands down her body, she straightened her clothes as she heard the door open and close. Nerves rippled to the surface, surprising her.

That she could still get butterflies at the sound of his feet as he walked towards her had her rattled to the core. After the length of time they had spent this afternoon getting to know every inch of each other's bodies, she couldn't fathom the reasons why he made her feel as she did.

Catching his gaze as she walked out of the bathroom, she blushed. She felt vulnerable standing in front of him, almost as though she were naked beneath his glare.

"It's getting kind of late, I hope you don't mind staying here tonight?" he asked. "You should be able to find anything you need here, aside from clothes that is," he said winking to her.

She opened her mouth to say something suggestive, and quickly shut it again as he closed the distance between them. Every time he came to within a breath of her, she felt it clear down to her toes. Her body was so attuned to his that she could have been facing the other direction and she still would have known he was close enough to touch. The sexual energy his body emitted buzzed around her, nearly intoxicating her.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders. His touch was steadying, it was as though he could sense that she needed the support, and he gave it willingly.

"Yes, a little bit" she replied, leaning into him and resting her head on his chest.

Jonathan let out a sigh of contentment as he folded his arms around her small frame. The past couple of days had been the best of his life, of that he was sure. He had never met a woman like Caroline. She wasn't the kind of woman he had ever pictured himself marrying, she was better. He had to find a way out of the mess he was in, because giving up Caroline was not an option.

### Chapter 9

Family Matters

Returning to the estate from their adventures on horseback, Jonathan ushered Caroline in through the kitchen door, as he saw to the horses. Her senses were immediately assaulted by the scent of blueberry muffins fresh from the oven, and the heavenly smell of Arabica coffee brewing on the nearby counter. A tall dark haired man sat at a round table in the middle of the room reading a newspaper.

"Mmm..." Caroline said, "Hats off to the chef, it smells wonderful in here."

Ralph looked up from his paper and smiled at the beautiful intruder. "You must be Caroline," He said casually taking a sip from a mug and placing it back onto a coaster. "Please, by all means, help yourself."

He nodded in the direction of the coffee and muffins. She didn't hesitate a second longer before snagging one of the gigantic muffins and pouring herself a cup of coffee. Everything tasted as good as it smelled, and after the long ride back, the hot coffee was exactly what she had needed.

On the way back to the estate it had begun to drizzle slightly, and though she wasn't soaked, the dampness had crept into her bones. "This is amazing," she moaned, between bites.

Ralph simply smiled at her and went back to his paper. Patting her mouth with a napkin, Caroline was almost startled when Vivian walked into the room behind her. She hadn't noticed the small hallway to her back as she had entered, and Vivian's padded feet seemingly made no sound, at least none she could hear over the loud droning of her chewing.

"Oh my gosh, Vivian." She said swallowing and making a last ditch effort to assure that her face was clean. "You scared the crap out of me!"

Vivian's face lit with excitement when her eyes finally settled on Caroline. Jonathan hadn't come home last night, and after talking to Reuben she had confirmed that the horses were still gone as well. It made her happy knowing the two of them had spent the evening together. She had done some research on Caroline, and knew her to be quite the young lady; she was just the kind of woman she had hoped her Jonathan would marry. Now if only they could figure out some way to get rid of Danielle. The woman was a parasite, and once she finally latched on to this family, Vivian knew there was no destroying her.

"It's so nice to see you again Caroline. Are you staying for lunch?" she asked grabbing a mug and pouring herself a cup of coffee. Caroline shook her head in between sips and swallows. "Pity." Vivian said as she stirred in some cream and sugar.

"I wish I could, but I have to get back to the city this afternoon and get packed." Caroline wanted to stay so badly. Everyone had made her feel so welcome. It all came so naturally, as if she had been a part of the family all along.

"Darling, if that's the case, I can have Magda run to your place and do that for you, just give me a list and consider it done!" Vivian exclaimed gesturing with her hands. Turning to Ralph, Vivian gave the man a hard stare through his newspaper, "What are we having for lunch this afternoon Ralph?" she asked.

"Ma'am?" he replied looking at her nervously. It wasn't often Mrs. Abel referred to him by his first name, she normally just called him boy, and sir.

"I wanted to know what you had planned, perhaps if it's enticing enough, we might convince Ms. Caroline to stay." Caroline laughed at the exchange, poor Ralph looked shell shocked, and Vivian was intimidating to say the least. "Okay, okay, I'll stay." She said putting her palms up in surrender. "I don't have to report to the job site until Monday, If I leave before dinner I can still get home at a decent time."

Vivian clapped her hands together happily in a girlish manner. Ralph gulped and hid behind his paper again. Jonathan walked in then, and sensing he had missed something, cocked his eyebrow as he caught sight of the mischievous grin on his Grandmother's face.

"What did I miss?" he asked anxiously.

Vivian's mouth quirked to one side, "I've just convinced Caroline to join us for lunch is all."

"Is that right? How did you manage that one? I was sure I had already monopolized enough of her time this weekend and thought she would be running for the hills before I could get in here!"

Caroline blushed as their eyes met. She was glad his Grandmother couldn't read her mind. She laughed in an attempt to hide her unease.

"Look at that woman Jonathan, could you say no to her?" she asked of Vivian and the bright smile painted on her elegant face.

Jonathan shook his head as he walked over to Vivian and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a kiss ever so lightly on her delicate knuckles. "No," he replied, "I suppose not, she is beautiful."

Color crept into Vivian's cheeks as she motioned with her free hand in a dismissive gesture. "Oh stop it you two, if I wanted horse shit, I'd have gone to the barn."

Caroline and Jonathan burst into laughter, as coffee spewed onto the table from Ralph's mouth.

Vivian picked up her coffee mug and walked out of the room grumbling to herself as the laughter followed her down the hall.

"That woman is something else," Ralph finally said as he went to the sink to grab a sponge and clean up the table.

Jonathan walked over to Caroline and went to work on her shoulders massaging them gently. "That she is," he said in agreement, "that she is."

Lunch had been great; Caroline was so happy she had stayed. On the ride back into the city she smiled and laughed to herself as she thought about how much fun she had had. Even at her advanced age, Vivian could hold her own. She was young at heart, witty and had quite a sense of humor. She hadn't expected Vivian to be as up to date and with the times as she was.

She was able to carry on a conversation about most topics, from politics to music, and the latest movies, the woman knew her stuff. She understood now why Jonathan spoke so eloquently, and saw a lot of Vivian in him. His mannerisms and facial expressions were similar in many ways.

It had also been nice to see the tables turned on Jonathan for once. She had never seen a grown man blush quite the way he did. Vivian relished the chance to embarrass him, and told Caroline everything from stories about his adolescence and troubled youth, up to the first time she caught him behind closed doors with a member of the opposite sex. Caroline's cheeks and stomach hurt from all the laughter. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so much. It was a wonder she hadn't peed herself after all the gut wrenching images Vivian had evoked.

After another delicious meal prepared by Ralph, she could really get used to eating his cooking, Jonathan had taken her on a stroll through the gardens. He showed her his Grandmother's flowers, the woman really had a green thumb; and then he gave her a tour of the stables and back pastures. All of the horses were beautiful.

From the regal Arabs to the short and stout mustangs, they had a horse of practically every color and size. A small foal in particular stole her heart. The mother, a leggy yellow dun quarter horse was very proud of her little colt, and trotted him alongside the fence to show him off to her admirers.

Jonathan told her he was only a few weeks old, but he had kind and intelligent eyes. He was curious about the new comers and willingly nuzzled against Caroline's out stretched hand. He was a leggy and gorgeous buckskin colored leopard appaloosa; Jonathan had informed her that his sire was a well-known Knabstrupper Sport horse that his Grandmother had recently sold to a friend of theirs. He was still relatively young and destined for the show ring, being as Vivian did little more than ride for pleasure these days, she sold him in hopes that he might be given a job again, and shine to his full potential.

The colt already showed the same promise, and Caroline hoped she might be around to see him flourish as well. Thinking about the future brought panic. She had enjoyed every moment spent with Jonathan, being in his company, she couldn't think of a time she had ever been as happy. He made her feel things she hadn't thought possible, or had only dreamed about.

But she wasn't an ignorant woman, she knew a man of his stature and experience would never settle for someone like her. She had a pretty face, and sure she was ambitious enough, but he had tastes that ran far more decadent than hers. She didn't kid herself into thinking she could ever truly fit into his world. His lifestyle required someone with more class and breeding than she had.

So while she relished the time they spent together, she wasn't a fool. She didn't allow for silly daydreams or childish wishes. Jonathan would get bored of her, and he would move on. Perhaps he would wait until after the completion of the project, or maybe it would happen gradually enough to where she hardly noticed at all, but it would happen at some point. She was sure of it.

### Chapter 10

History Lessons

The next few days found Jonathan's time spread thin. The bulk of his time was split between the job site and his office, with very little of it spent at home. The project was demanding and required him to make a slew of important decisions on a regular basis. He wanted to make sure he got everything right, so he was constantly left chasing his tail, and doubling back to ensure every decision he made was sound. Supplies had to be ordered, new employees had to be interviewed and hired, and daily cleanups had to be supervised. There were checks to be signed, contracts and blueprints to go over, designs to be worked out, and accounts to be balanced. Through it all he tried to set aside time to have lunch every day with Caroline. She was his constant, his sense of stability.

All his stress appeared to melt away when she sat down next to him and shared one of Ralph's famous sandwiches. Lunch was his favorite time of the day. The hours he was away from her, he found himself thinking back to their day at the cabin. They had spent the rest of their evening there in bed together after gorging themselves on the picnic lunch they had deserted earlier in the day.

Thinking about the time they had had together, was what often got him through to their next lunch break. He put Caroline up at a hotel in town for the duration of the project, but had yet to find the opportunity to visit her there. By the time his work had ended, all he could think about was getting home and crashing into his bed.

However, going home was another matter altogether. Danielle had indeed moved in, and attempted to make her presence known the moment he walked through the doors. He proceeded to take his meals in his office, often locking the door behind him. There simply wasn't enough scotch in the world to deal with the likes of her. She had only been there for three days, and it was already grinding on him.

She was constantly pestering him to sit and have a talk with her, a meal, or a cup of coffee. She was simply exhausting. Ralph had informed him that she was no less annoying to his staff. She requested breakfast in bed daily, and demanded a bath be drawn for her every morning. She had a special diet that she expected Ralph to follow, and even required her linens and laundry to be washed a certain way.

To say she was picky was putting it mildly. Jonathan knew he would have sit down with her and set the record straight at some point, but now was not the time. What energy hadn't been expended during the work day, he spent going over the new information that Willie faxed to him daily.

There was a lot to be learned about the Geier family history. So far none of it had proved to be useful. He had learned that Joshua Geier had come from a German immigrant family. His parents Adeline and Fredrik, had moved to New York in the early 1940's, worked blue collar jobs, provided adequate housing and put food on the table. His father was an engineer, and his mother a homemaker. Danielle's father was born in 1949, and obtained dual citizenship. Adeline passed away in the early 1980's and Fredrik nursing a broken heart, moved back to Germany.

The late Mrs. Geier's family portrait was even less interesting. Born Jessica Bunn, she too was of German ancestry, but several generations removed. Her father died in Vietnam, and her mother had worked up until retirement for a company called Home Base; as a sports broadcasting consultant. Both of Danielle's parents came from average run of the mill middle class families. So when he began reading the latest fax, he was surprised to find out just how screwed up they had become as adults.

Danielle's mother dropped out of high school when she was sixteen, and did a six-month stint in the slammer per Willies notations, when she was eighteen for prostitution. Shortly afterwards she was hired as a waitress for a small bingo hall in Little Italy, and moonlighted at a nearby gentleman's club, both owned by the same man; a Mr. Jovanni Stracciatella. Looking at the name again Jonathan did a double take.

Where had he seen that name before? He quickly shifted some papers on his desk and pulled out a yellow envelope. Opening it up he took out the marital agreement his Grandmother had given him and scanned the document. "Bingo" he said to himself as he came across it. The charity his grandparents and Mr. Geier had settled on was listed as Stracciatella's Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen, no way that was a coincidence.

Jonathan reached over and picked up the phone on the corner of the desk dialing Willie's number from memory. "Come on, come on, pick up damn it," he said into the receiver.

"Hello?" boomed Willie's voice after another couple of rings.

"Willie, hey buddy, I've been looking over everything you've sent me, and I think I might have found something."

He could hear Willie shuffling through a notebook on the other end, "Okay, shoot." He replied. "I need you to dig into the Stracciatella family for me."

Willie groaned into the receiver, "That's a pretty tall order there Johnny, I'm not sure I'm comfortable doing that."

Jonathan had known Willie for a long time, and hearing him turn down a job, any job, told him the Stracciatella's probably weren't on the up and up. The gears in his mind began turning, he knew there was something fishy going on from the start, but this was confirmation that it was much bigger and far more sinister than anything he could have comprehended.

"Damn," he said becoming frustrated. "Help me out here Willie, if you won't do it; give me the name of someone who will."

After a heavy sigh, he could hear a flurry of keystrokes, "I know this guy, Santos, but he won't come cheap. Here's his number," reluctantly Willie rattled off the number as Jonathan jotted it down on a sticky note he had plastered to his blotter. "Johnny, I've got a couple of men working on this still, I should have the rest of my report for you by late afternoon tomorrow, but if those goons are tied up in all this mess, you need to be careful. That's a dangerous bunch."

Jonathan thanked him again, and hung up. There was still a lot missing from the reports, but he knew he was getting closer to something, he just hoped for his sake, it wasn't as dangerous as Willie let on.

Getting back to the report he was reading, he discovered through public records that Mr. and Mrs. Geier were married in early March of 1989 and Danielle was born in mid-October of the same year, so she had either been born early, or the lovely Mrs. Geier had already been a couple of months pregnant when they tied the knot. Being that their wedding had a courthouse venue he guessed the latter was true.

They were married for a total of sixteen years, before the wife filed for divorce claiming domestic violence as her reason for terminating the marriage. He found several domestic disturbance complaints throughout the better half of their marriage, on record. Living amongst Central Park with a Hamptons retreat obviously wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

The reports were more frequent in the two years leading up to the divorce. Court records showed Mr. Geier retained custody of the then sixteen-year-old Danielle, and shortly after a change of address for Mrs. Geier was registered to an address in Utah, conveniently owned by Mr. Stracciatella.

_Just how far of a reach did this family have?_ He wondered to himself as he continued to look over her public records.

A death certificate was filed for Jessica Geier in 2006, the cause of death was noted as an overdose. That would have made Danielle just 17 years old. The reports on Mr. Geier were what Jonathan was still waiting on, and he somehow knew they were going to be the key to unlocking the mystery behind this contract.

Picking up the phone again he dialed the number Willie gave him, and reaching an answering machine he left a detailed message for the gentleman known as Santos. Afterwards he made another phone call to his lawyer, it had been more than a week since he had dropped off the contract and a prenup his Grandmother had given him after having had Danielle sign it.

Frankie Costanza had been the family attorney for almost fifty years; perhaps he could tell him something the private investigator couldn't. Frankie picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Frankie, have you had a chance to look of the agreement I sent you? Think you can shed some light on it for me?" He asked in a casual tone, Frankie was like an uncle to him, they had spent many holidays together around the grill.

"Jonathan my boy, how's that Grandmother of yours?" He asked, skirting his questions.

"She's fine, Frankie, great actually. About those papers?"

There was a long pause and a loud sigh before he continued, "Johnny, I've been an estate lawyer for longer than you've been alive, and I pride myself for standing on the edge of morality without ever having had to cross that line. If you want information about the Stracciatella family, you can forget it."

Jonathan tapped his pen on the edge of the desk in annoyance. "I didn't ask about the Stracciatella family Frankie, I asked you, as my attorney to look over legal documents."

There was another long pause before Frankie replied, "I know you didn't ask Johnny, but you were going to. I looked over the paperwork, and it's all legitimate as far as I can see. I knew the gentleman who drafted this contract, and it's no coincidence that he didn't live to see it through. Anything with the name Stracciatella attached to it usually carries a hefty fee. Please be careful." He said and hung up before Jonathan could get in another word.

Slamming down the phone, Jonathan banged his fist on the desk before pushing back from it and pacing in front of the window. He kept hitting a brick wall, somebody had to know something, he just needed to find that one person willing to talk to him. As a thought came to mind, Jonathan returned to his desk and picked up the public records again; scanning the divorce declaration he came across what he was looking for.

Turning to his computer he looked up the address and phone number of the Lawyer that proceeded over their divorce, and quickly jotted it down. Looking at his watch, he figured he still had a good half hour before they closed up for the evening and thought it was worth a shot. He grabbed his cell phone, punched in the number and made an appointment for Friday morning with the young receptionist that answered. She didn't bother to ask what the appointment was for, so he didn't bother to tell her. Hopefully with any luck, the Geier family attorney would be more inclined to talk to him than his friends had been.

So far, life at casa de Kane, had been less than desirable. Sure, Danielle had people to wait on her hand and foot, and yes, she was privy to the finest of everything, from silk sheets to prime rib, this house boasted the best there was to offer. Her experiences thus far with the staff had however been anything but pleasant. Vivian had made it perfectly clear to her that until she and Jonathan were legally married she wouldn't be afforded any money, and the staff would treat her no differently than if she were anything more than what she was.

A guest, and an unwanted one at that. She wasn't given access to any of their private vehicles and the driving services had been denied to her as well. The family's stable hand, Ruben also made it evident that her presence would not be welcome near the horses any time in the near future either. While the compound still had plenty to offer, she found herself quickly bored of the remaining amenities.

She had thought about driving into town to see what it had to offer in the way of shopping, but having had to resign from her job to move out here as the commute would have been out of the question, she had only her savings account to live off of. Her only bills at the present time were her car insurance, and the utilities, and HOA fees on her condo, but if she didn't come up with a plan soon she could be out of money before she ever had that ring on her finger!

She was no closer to winning Jonathan's heart at the moment either, as she hadn't had more than a minute alone with the man. He left the estate regularly at around five a.m. and didn't return until after six p.m. most nights, locking himself in his office until long after she had already gone to bed. Danielle spent her evenings primping and trying on every outfit she owned to get the perfect look for when he walked through that door, but it was always to no avail. She could have walked around naked for the entire world to see, and he wouldn't have batted an eyelash.

Not only did he fail to notice her, he blatantly ignored her requests for even a second of his time. She could have sworn that just the other night after hearing the tail end of one of his phone conversations as he was walking through the door, that he had been making plans with a woman. Something about he couldn't wait to spend their lunch together tomorrow, and her heart immediately sunk.

She was fighting a losing battle, and it was beginning to take its toll on her good mood. She had decided to find at least a part time job in Albany to occupy her throughout the day, and pay for her expenses so she wouldn't have to deplete her savings any. After making a phone call to her previous employer, she was given the name of a well-known real estate firm in the downtown area, and decided it was an option worth exploring.

Dressed in her most professional attire, she set out to meet the manager of the Davis Real Estate Group. The downtown Albany area was a contrast of Dutch colonial style buildings and traditional brown stones, and while shopping was limited on the downtown strip itself, she knew there to be a sizable mall on the outskirts of town near the University. She made a mental note to check it out later in the day after her interview this morning.

Walking into the Real Estate firms' office, she was reminded of the one she had recently left. Seen one office, seen them all I guess, she said to herself looking around. Various portraits of model homes hung on the walls, and a large poster size photograph of the Capital building hung just behind the receptionists' desk. It was an extremely imposing building, and rather interesting from an architectural point of view. Next to it Danielle noticed design plans for an equally impressive building, she walked over to it to get a closer look.

"That's a mock up for the new Paradise Tea Company Building," said a small redheaded woman behind the desk. "There are plans for expansion already once it's built, probably a small strip mall." She continued.

"It's impressive, but why is it hanging here? Is this company involved in the project?"

The girl shook her head, tossing her red curls left and right. "No, it's being built and funded by K & A Industries, but it's going to really put this community on the map. And our GM is in talks with their CEO about the possible expansion plans. If they go through with the strip mall, we want a piece of it."

K & A Industries, where had she heard that name before? Hadn't Caroline said she was heading up some project for them? Could this be the one she was working on? Danielle told herself she needed to call Caroline and find out what she was up to, if she was here in Albany, they needed to get together for sure. She hoped that was the case, she could really use some girl time. Just then a well-dressed brunette walked out of a glassed in office to the right, and gave Danielle a once over. Plastering on her most charming smile, Danielle extended a hand in the woman's direction.

"Hi, I'm Danielle, are you Linda?"

Grasping her hand in a warm handshake, she returned her smile, "Hello Danielle, it's a pleasure to meet you, shall we step into my office?" she asked.

Danielle had a feeling that the job was already hers, they appeared to be like-minded people, she could sense it. Linda was a handsome older woman, probably somewhere in her fifties, and a very sharp dresser to boot. The interview was kept short, Linda asked about her work experience, what her pay expectations were, how many hours she wanted to put in each week, and finished the interview going over her references with her. She had apparently gone to college with her previous supervisor, and Danielle came highly recommended. They shook hands once more, as she asked Danielle how soon she could start.

Wanting to see Caroline, and perhaps buy a few new suits for work, she was no longer working for a man, so most of her low cut bust lines weren't going to cut it, she decided Monday sounded like a better day than tomorrow. That would give her at least the weekend to prepare being as it was only Thursday now. They exchanged goodbyes, and Danielle took her leave. For the first time since she had moved to Albany, she felt like herself again. Now if only she could get Mr. Kane to take notice.

### Chapter 11

Say it Isn't So

Caroline was nothing if not an impeccable dresser, and walking up behind her, Jonathan noted the way her khaki pantsuit subtly accentuated her feminine curves. Her hair hung in a low ponytail down her back underneath the required hard hat, and her blouse, tucked in at the waist was a pale shade of pink. She looked completely in her element, waving her hands in the air, dictating to a co-worker on a crane as to the proper placement of a scaffolding rod. Stealth fully he crept up behind her and poked her in the ribs, causing her to jump. Whirling on him the anger in her features quickly faded into a smile,

"Jonathan, my God, you scared me!"

He chuckled to himself, "As I had intended to do," he replied. "Come on, I think it's high time we took our lunch break."

Caroline nodded, and waved in the direction of her employee, "Looks great Ron," she said giving him a thumbs up.

Pulling her against him, Jonathan whispered into her ear, "I was hoping we might make it an extended lunch today, I think we're both entitled to a little dessert this afternoon."

Caroline looked up at him with a pained expression on her face, and his roguish smile dissipated. "That's sounds amazing," she said, "But yesterday's rain storm put us a little behind, we're going to have to stay a couple of hours extra today just to make up for it." She reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek. "What about this weekend?"

Jonathan shook his head. "I'm afraid I'll be leaving for the city in the morning, I have some business to attend to, and I won't make it back until sometime Sunday afternoon."

A sinking feeling took hold of Caroline's heart, as she pondered over what kind of business might lead him to the city for the entire weekend. "Oh, business, right." She said sounding dejected.

Right on cue, as if reading her mind Jonathan responded, "I'm meeting with a lawyer to go over some contracts tomorrow, and I have a couple of investors to schmooze with on Saturday," her mood seemed to perk up almost instantly.

"Well, in that case then, what if I was to make the trip into the city on Saturday evening and meet you at your place?" she asked with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes.

"I like the way you think," he said winking back at her. "I'll make sure to leave my spare key at the desk for you, and you can make yourself comfortable while you wait for me."

Approaching a portable trailer, Jonathan opened the door for her and ushered her inside, giving her a pat on the rear end. Swatting at his hand she giggled when he caught her flailing arm and pulled her into him, looking up into his baby blues she caught the passion within them. She was preparing for the onslaught they promised, as her phone began to vibrate from within her pocket. "Of all the luck," Jonathan muttered, letting her go. Reaching into her pocket Caroline gave him a sympathetic look as she answered the phone and mouthed the words I'm sorry.

"Hello." She said into the speaker. Jonathan leaned his back on the wall and crossed his arms against his chest as he listened to the exchange. "Oh hey girl, I didn't know you were in town!" Caroline exclaimed. "No, I'm sorry Hun, I have a ton of work to get done, and my weekend's a little full. Yeah, we'll do lunch one day next week for sure."

She made talking motions with her hand that almost cracked through Jonathan's tough facade as he watched her roll her eyes. "Okay Dani, I'll give you a call next week then! Love you too."

Jonathan straightened away from the wall, "Dani, huh?" he asked.

Slipping her phone back into her pocket, Caroline walked back into his embrace, "Yeah, Danielle, we've been best friends since college, I guess she took a job out here and moved into some rich guy's house." She said shaking her head.

Jonathan seemed to stiffen as the impact of what she had just said registered. Caroline pulled back and looked up at him, "Everything okay?" she asked suddenly concerned.

He looked down at her and smiled, "Hmm? Yeah. You just reminded me about something I forgot."

"Oh?" Jonathan kissed her lightly on the forehead, and crossed over to the fridge in the corner of the room. "Yeah, I completely forgot that today is my friend Willie's birthday, he's really going to make me pay for that." He said as he pulled out a lunch box and removed the contents.

Caroline sat down at a conference table in the middle of the office, and began unwrapping the sandwich he handed to her. "Well, I guess you had better buy him something really nice then to help him get over it." She said winking at him.

Jonathan laughed, and bit into his sandwich. "I guess so," he replied swallowing and unscrewing the lid off a bottle of water.

_Of all the luck indeed_ , he chided to himself. Surely it was no fluke that she had a friend named Danielle that had recently moved in with a 'rich man' as she had put it. And what were the chances that the woman of his dreams and the thing of nightmares were best friends? Impossible. There had to be a logical explanation for this.

"So tell me about your friend," he said casually gulping down some more of his sandwich and popping some chips into his mouth.

Making quick work of her own meal, Caroline paused after inhaling another bite. "Dani's in real estate," She began. "We met in college, friends ever since, she's been great to me, like a rock. She's got a real reputation as a man eater though."

Jonathan kind of nodded in response, "yeah, I know the type." He said, as that sick feeling crawled back into the pit of his stomach.

Caroline had just confirmed his worst fears, he needed to find some way to get that woman out of his house, and fast.

"Don't get me wrong though," she said rushing forward. "Maybe she's not so good with men, but she's a great friend. I'd have been lost without her."

Jonathan finished his lunch and pushed away from the table. "You'll have to excuse me, Caroline, I think I'm going to cut lunch short today." She looked at him in confusion. "If I'm going to ever live it down with Willie, I might as well head into the city tonight and see if I can catch him at home."

Smiling, Caroline took a sip of water. "I understand, are we still good for Saturday?" she asked.

"Oh absolutely," he responded, unconsciously licking his lips. Jonathan wiped his mouth with a napkin before leaning over and kissing her thoroughly on the lips. "Don't work too hard now," he whispered seductively before leaving her to enjoy the rest of her lunch. _That man is going to be the death of me._ She thought to herself shaking her head.

"Danielle!" Jonathan yelled as he entered the house, nearly slamming the door behind him. "Where is that blasted woman?" he said when Juan walked into the foyer to greet him.

"She's by the pool I believe sir." Juan replied tenuously, he had never seen Mr. Kane so upset before, it was unnerving.

"Thank you Juan," he said walking hurriedly from the room.

He wasn't sure what he was going to do, or what he could possibly say to her that might convince her to leave, but doing something was better than nothing right? When he walked out onto the lanai he saw her stretched out on a lawn chair trying to soak up the last of the day's rays. She sat up instantly once she noticed his approach. She was scantily clad in a black string bikini; Jonathan turned his head and grabbed a robe from the back of a chair, throwing it at her.

"Put this on." He growled.

She stood up, and smiling, very slowly did as she was told. "Why Jonathan, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she asked seductively.

"Shut up," he snapped. "Go get dressed and meet me in my office, now!" He yelled, turning his back on her, as he walked away.

Danielle stuck her tongue out at his retreating form. Now what? She asked herself as she gathered her things and headed up to her room.

Jonathan paced back and forth in his office and repeatedly checked his watch as he waited. What the hell was taking her so long? He wondered, crossing over to the window and shifting the blinds to look out at the lake. As the doorknob to his office turned, he peered over his shoulder to watch her enter the room, and close the door behind her. _She thought she was clever did she?_ He asked himself turning back to the window.

Clearly she didn't find his tone at all threatening, as she had left him waiting nearly half an hour, and came in dressed only slightly less provocative than before. Her skimpy red dress left little the imagination, and the five inch heels were worn solely for effect, as they were completely impractical given the circumstances. She had let her hair down as well, and it fell in golden waves around her face. The picture she presented would have been intriguing had he been any other man and she any other woman.

But as it stood, he loathed the very thought of her, so it didn't matter what she wore, he wasn't going to be sucked into whatever game she was plotting. Facing her, he placed his hands on the back of his desk chair and gripped the leather firmly. His knuckles turned noticeably white as he pondered what it might feel like to strangle the woman in front of him. He had never done physical harm to another human being let alone a woman, but nobody had ever made him this angry before either.

Danielle walked slowly towards the desk and sat down in the chair in front of it, crossing her legs and allowing one of her strappy heels to dangle from her toes. Licking her lips in a suggestive manner she looked at him thoughtfully.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," she said in her slow seductive tone of voice that really grated on his nerves.

"You damn well know you did, Danielle." He replied through clenched teeth.

"Well, then let me apologize, your majesty. I'm so, so sorry, I dare not disrespect my keeper."

He couldn't believe it; the damned woman was mocking him! "Do you actually buy the bullshit you feed to people Danielle?"

Her brows knit together, "I beg your pardon?" She asked sincerely shocked for once.

"You parade around here in these little outfits," he began, and motioned to her current attire. "Honestly Danielle, I'm not going to suddenly forget who you are and fall under some kind of spell. Do you really think so little of me?"

She rose from her seat, placing her hands on the desk and getting mere inches from his face, "I will dress however I damn well please. As if anything I do is for you. That's a ridiculous notion, and goes to show just how full of yourself you really are!"

Being almost nose to nose with her, he nearly choked on her cheap perfume as it assaulted his senses. "Get out of my face Danielle," he warned.

She cast him a brooding look before straightening and backing away from his desk. Looking over his office she made her way to the opposite corner of the room and sat down in a small recliner near some bookshelves. Crossing her legs once again she shot him a pleading glance.

"Jonathan, can't we just let bygones be bygones and start over? I really don't think this is a healthy start to our relationship."

Jonathan scoffed at her and sat down in the chair behind his desk. "I don't think you understand Danielle, there will not be a relationship."

Uncrossing her legs, she leaned over and placed her elbows on her knees resting her chin in her hands. "Oh?" she asked, "and have you or your precious lawyers found some loophole I'm unaware of?"

Jonathan remained tight-lipped as she continued. "No, I didn't think so. You know Jonathan, if you and I are going to fulfill your contractual requirements; you're going to have to cut me some slack. I couldn't possibly imagine how anyone could expect us to have children if you can't even sit in the same room with me without copping a nasty attitude."

Jonathan slammed his fist down onto his desk, rattling a coffee cup and knocking it to the floor. "Are you stupid woman?" He screamed, "I wouldn't allow any child of mine to grow inside your abominable womb, let alone actually have sex with you!"

His verbal assault had her reeling, and before she could respond he was standing in front of her continuing with his barrage of insults.

"You listen to me, and you listen good, I don't care who you think you are, and I don't care what that ridiculous contract says, you aren't entitled to shit from me, and I'll die before I allow one red cent of my Grandfather's money to pass through your fingers."

Though his anger frightened her, Danielle forced herself to laugh at him. "You have no clue who you're dealing with, my lawyers will bury you Jonathan." She said with all the calm she could muster. Jonathan tipped his head backward and roared with laughter. Danielle didn't think it funny in the least and did her best to hide her now seething rage.

"I'm going into the city in the morning, I won't be back until Sunday, but when I get home, Danielle, you had better be gone." He put up his hand to interrupt her, "I don't give a damn what my Grandmother said. I'll deal with her, I want you out of here, and that's final."

He grabbed her by the arm and lifted her out of the chair, urging her towards the exit. Opening the door, he turned her towards him and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. "You have been nothing but disrespectful towards me, my family, and my entire staff, and I won't tolerate it a moment longer. Do we understand each other?"

She smirked up at him, "Perfectly, sweet heart." She said, pursing her lips. "Mark my words Jonathan, you will regret this."

Giving her a gentle shove out of the door, he whispered to her before releasing her arm, "Perhaps I will, but it doesn't change the fact that I don't want you here." He closed the door in her face, and let out a sigh of relief.

Simmering with rage, Danielle stomped her feet on her way back upstairs. She didn't care if the whole house heard her, she was pissed off. Not for the first time she wondered who this man thought he was, that he could treat her this way.

She didn't care what he said, she wasn't going anywhere. Let him get mad and throw another fit, this was as much her home now as it was his. He had no idea who he was dealing with, but he was about to find out. She wasn't going to let anyone push her around, especially him. Clomping her way down the hall, Danielle caught the attention of Vivian who opened her door and peered out at her.

"What's all this noise about?" she asked walking in front of Danielle and taking her by the wrist to lead her into her room.

It was clear to Vivian that something had happened between the two so called lovers, and she was insistent upon finding out what. Guiding Danielle into the sitting room that adjoined her suite she led her over to a chair near the window and sat opposite her on the edge of a small desk.

Danielle took a deep breath, "Your Grandson is an insufferable bigot!" she snapped. "I won't tolerate being treated like this!"

Doing her best to stifle her laughter, Vivian managed to put on a straight face. "And here I thought the two of you were getting along just fabulously."

Danielle sneered at her, "You're loving this aren't you?" she replied coldly. "Don't forget you old hag, if that boy denies me, you lose everything." That'll shut her up, she thought to herself.

"Don't you threaten me you little wretch." Vivian said wagging her finger in Danielle's face.

Danielle got up and walked to the door, "Your Grandson told me I needed to leave by the way." Vivian crossed the distance between them and shut the door, once again pulling Danielle into the sitting area.

"What do you mean he told you to leave?"

"Are you deaf woman? He said he was leaving for the weekend, and that I had better be gone by the time he got back."

Vivian couldn't comprehend what was happening. A few days ago he was smitten with her, and today he wanted her out. It just didn't make any sense.

"What did you do Danielle? He was completely on board with this whole thing. You said yourself you had him eating out of the palm of your hands!"

Danielle threw her hands up in frustration, "news flash Viv, he was never on board! Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe your precious Jonathan has been playing us both?"

Vivian shook her head, no, that couldn't be right. "No, he wouldn't do that. You must have done something to set him off."

This woman was an idiot, Danielle said to herself. "Look, I lied okay? He made it perfectly clear to me since day one, that he wanted nothing to do with me!"

Vivian cocked an eyebrow, "Then why would either one of you have me believe differently?" she asked in earnest.

"I can't speak as to his motives, but the look on your face when you thought he could actually fall for me, was more than enough motivation for me to lie to you. I hate you, Vivian. Perhaps that's clear enough now?" Danielle said disdainfully.

"But let's get something straight, Viv," she said placing strong emphasis on her name. "I know about you and my father, I know about Paula too, and I won't hesitate to bring this family to its knees if you don't get that Grandson of yours under wraps. He can't treat me like this, I won't stand for it!"

Vivian was reeling from the sting of her words, she felt like she had just been slapped across the face. "How do you know?" She asked in a shaky whisper.

Danielle chuckled under her breath. "I was with my father when he died; he said you were his one regret. He said he never should have cheated on Paula, said I could have had a better life, if it hadn't been for you."

Vivian grew pale, everyone involved in her disastrous mistake had long since taken her secret to their grave, and she had hoped that Jonathan would never learn of her betrayal. She had to find a way to keep Danielle's mouth shut.

"Jonathan can't know about this; it would kill him."

Snorting in disgust, Danielle sat back down; crossing her legs and leaning into the back of the cushion she thoughtfully pondered her next move. She had Vivian's full attention now; she was finally in control of her own destiny. Why she hadn't thought of this sooner was beyond her.

"I'll tell you what," she began, "You talk him into playing nice, and actually giving me a chance, and I won't tell him you slept with my father."

Vivian shook her head, "I can't force him to do anything, I've already tried that, and you see where it's gotten us."

Danielle considered that for a moment. "Fine," she said. "I'll deal with him myself, but you call off the hounds. I want access to everything, and I want you to ante up. I shouldn't have to wait to be married to cash in on my so called 'allowance'."

Vivian walked to her dresser, and pulling out her checkbook, she filled out a blank check and handed it over. "What are your intentions? I mean to say, how are you going to get him to let you stay, he isn't easily swayed once he makes up his mind."

Danielle smiled at her, "Don't you fret your pretty little head Vivian, I have my ways. I'm going to do some shopping this weekend, and when he gets home on Sunday, he won't be able to resist."

She wasn't sold, Vivian didn't think any amount of money or fashion was going to change her Grandson's mind, and Danielle had evidently underestimated her opponent. Walking to the door, Danielle looked over her shoulder at Vivian, she had finally gotten the better of the old hag, and defeat was plainly visible on her face.

"Have a good night Viv, and from here on out, don't get in my way again." She warned as she walked out closing the door behind her.

Danielle finally had her confidence in full swing, she chastised herself for not playing her hand from the start. Had she known how easily Vivian would have caved, she probably could have gotten herself out of the prenuptial agreement as well. Hindsight was a dirty thing, but she knew going forward she held all the aces. She wouldn't make that mistake again, blackmail was her friend, and she would use it to her full advantage.

### Chapter 12

Being Followed

At eight o-one the next morning, Jonathan walked into the law offices of Lower and Moeschet and headed straight for the receptionist's desk, where a petite blonde sat filing her nails.

"Good, morning." She said absently. The name plate on her desk said her name was Becki, but she showed little interest in exchanging pleasantries. "I'll let Mr. Moeschet know you're here, please have a seat." She went on, motioning to a small row of chairs lined up in front of the back wall of the waiting area.

"Thanks." He replied.

Keyed up after his argument with Danielle the previous evening, Jonathan had indeed left for the city that night. He met up with his PI Willie, and the two of them made a night of it in an attempt to calm Jonathan's frazzled nerves.

After catching a Hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, they spent the remainder of the evening at a pub downtown getting plastered and going over the rest of Will's notes. Nursing a hangover, Jonathan popped some pain killers and grabbed a Venti from Starbucks, as he went over Willie's report a second time before he headed off to meet with Danielle's lawyer.

His dreams had been haunted by images of his youth, his parents, their accident, and the vague recollection of an Uncle Josh. He knew the late Mr. Geier's name had sounded familiar, but until reading the reports Willie had gathered on him, he hadn't put two and two together. Things from his childhood that hadn't made sense were becoming increasingly clear.

"Mr. Moeschet will see you now," Becki said breaking into his thoughts.

"Right, thanks," he said getting to his feet.

The young woman led him to an office in the back, rapped on the door briefly, and opened it for him before heading back to her desk.

"Thanks again," Jonathan said as she brushed past him.

She did little more than nod in recognition, pulling a nail file from her back pocket and returning to her previous task. Kevin stood as Jonathan entered the office, observing his surroundings.

"Ah, Mr. Kane, welcome, please, have a seat. What can I do for you today?" He asked tentatively.

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Mr. Moeschet."

Kevin waved a dismissive hand at him, "Please, call me Kevin." He said with a smile.

Jonathan nodded, taking a seat in front of the desk. Getting a better look at the attorney, he noticed the faint black and blue circle around Kevin's left eye, and the telltale signs of puffiness that still remained. Someone had recently roughed him up and had done a pretty good job of it.

"So, what brings you into my office today son?" Kevin said straightening his glasses nervously.

Jonathan gave him a warm smile in an attempt to put the man at ease. He could see his presence was making him nervous. "You've been the Geier family attorney for a little while now haven't you?" He asked.

Kevin cocked an eyebrow curiously, "You look like a pretty smart man Mr. Kane," He began. "I don't think I need to tell you about attorney-client privilege. So why don't you just get to the chase. Why are you here?"

Jonathan could see he wasn't going to get very much out of this man either. He was starting to think he was a little too late in his efforts to attain information, and he would almost bet the shiner the lawyer boasted had been his warning to keep his mouth shut.

"My apologies, Kevin. I was just hoping you might be able to shed a little light on a certain contract for me, being as it was your practice that drafted it."

Clasping his hands together Kevin shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't be of much help to you. It was the senior Mr. Lower that handled the document in question, I had just made partner, and I simply wasn't part of the process." Jonathan's face remained expressionless as he continued, "If there's nothing else I can do for you, I have a meeting with another client in half an hour, and I'm not nearly as prepared I as I'd like to be."

The dismissal aggravated him, this man knew a lot more than he was letting on. Willie had come through with a little background information on Moeschet, so he knew at the very least that he was on the Stracciatella's payroll. His company's ownership had changed hands just before the initial contract had been written, and though Kevin's relationship with Geier went back to his college days, the Elder Lower had no previous knowledge of Geier that he knew of, up until the contract fell into his lap.

"Look, I'm going to lay it all on the line here, Kevin. Give me something; I know you're up to your neck in this. I'm not blind, someone gave you a black eye, and I doubt it was just some random bar fight. I've done my research, I know you're connected to the Stracciatella's, just give me the how and why, and I'll be on my way."

Kevin looked around nervously, "Don't do this boy, you don't know what you're getting into." He said leaning forward and whispering.

Jonathan sat back in his chair and glanced around the room. Why was he suddenly acting so strange? Was this placed bugged? Jonathan grabbed a notebook that sat on top of Kevin's blotter and scribbled a note, sliding it back to him. Kevin read it and nodded to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. Good day Sir."

Jonathan pushed back in his chair and stood. "I'm going to find out one way or the other," he said walking away and closing the door behind him.

Ten minutes later sitting in a booth at the local McDonalds drinking a frappe, Jonathan waved a hand in the air to catch the attention of a clearly skittish Kevin.

"I only have a couple of minutes, I don't think anyone is watching me, but Becki checks in with them at least once every half hour." He said sliding into the booth opposite Jonathan.

"Checks in with whom?" Jonathan asked taking a sip of his latte.

"Some guy named Johnson, he works for Mr. Stracciatella. They made me hire Becki a few months ago, to keep track of me, and make sure I kept my mouth shut."

Jonathan leaned forward. "To make sure you kept your mouth shut about what?" he asked quietly.

"Look, I wasn't lying when I told you I wasn't involved when they wrote that contract. I don't know the particulars, but given what they did to my partner, I probably wouldn't tell you even if I did."

Jonathan sat back and rubbed his chin, "So you're telling me that wasn't an accident?"

Shaking his head Kevin went on "I'm not telling you anything, you're in over your head here Kane. If I were you, I'd pay the trust, knock the little witch up, and be done with it."

Looking around nervously again, Kevin stood to leave. "Just answer one question for me, please." He said grabbing Kevin's arm. "What do the Stracciatella's have to do with my family?"

Kevin shook his head again, "I told you already, I don't know the particulars. I've got this goon threatening me to keep to my mouth shut, telling me to let me him know whenever Danielle walks into and out of my office, and that's about it. The only thing I can tell you is that nothing is as it appears."

He broke away from Jonathan's grip and hurried out of the restaurant looking over his shoulder as he crossed the street and disappeared. Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he didn't know. _Or maybe I am in over my head._ Jonathan admonished himself, as he finished his drink and threw it in the trash. Walking back to his Jeep, Jonathan looked around, he felt like he was being watched, though he couldn't pinpoint any one person in particular. But the deeper he got into this, the tighter the knot in his stomach seemed to twist.

Later in the evening Jonathan found himself sitting at the bar of a seedy little joint in Chinatown, enjoying a glass of Baijiu, and waiting for the man known only as Santos. He lifted his glass and swirled the clear liquid in a circle before taking another swig of the potent concoction. A tall gentleman dressed in a brown overcoat and fedora sat down next to him.

"I'll take a whiskey sour." He said to the bar tender, turning his attention to Jonathan. "You Kane?" he asked in a low raspy voice. Jonathan shook his head. "Did you bring the money?" Santos asked, picking up his drink and downing it in one gulp.

Jonathan pulled out an envelope and slid it across the bar to the man. Santos stood up, pulled a large folder from beneath his coat, sat it down in front of Jonathan, grabbed his money, and slipping a twenty-dollar bill down on the bar ledge, he walked off. _Huh, not one for small talk_. Jonathan thought shrugging mentally as he finished off his own drink, paid the bartender and stood to leave, taking the thick folder him.

Willie hadn't told him very much about Santos, just that he normally took the jobs no one else wanted and was very good at getting them done. When he spoke to the gentleman on the phone, he was very straight forward, "who do you want to know about, and this is what I charge." He didn't ask any other questions, and his fees weren't up for discussion. Couldn't get blunter if you tried.

Sitting in the back of the Audi, as Winston drove him to his condo, Jonathan tapped his fingers on the outside of the folder, and wondered about the contents inside. Did he really want to know the nitty gritty details of the Stracciatella family organization? And what, if anything did they have to do with his family? He thought back to what he had learned already through Willie's notes.

Joshua Geier and his mother had gone to college together. In fact, his mother Paula had been best friends with Kevin Moeschet's now ex-wife Tracy in college as well. Geier had graduated with an MBA in accounting and started off working with Tracy Moeschet at a local firm owned by the Stracciatella's, however neither had known about it at the time.

When the firm fell under investigation by the FBI for embezzlement, Tracy split and took a job with a more reputable firm in Manhattan. Geier on the other hand got sucked into the fray and took a brokerage job for Stracciatella's Diamond Brokerage Firm. Although Diamond was for the most part on the up and up, some laundering was done there from time to time. Geier had a knack for numbers, and his charm had him winning over customers easily.

Willie had found an announcement in the papers for the engagement of Geier to Jonathan's mother, but there was a retraction less than a month later. Why his Grandmother hadn't told him about it was confusing to say the least, and he made a mental note to ask her about it when he got back to Albany.

A little more than a year after that broken engagement, his mother married his father Edward Kane, and gave birth to him within the same year about ten months later. Fast forward eight years and Geier meets Jessica, where he couldn't be sure, but given she was both a stripper and a known call girl, one could only guess.

He imagined the Straciatella's had a hand in that as well, considering she worked for them. Over the next few years, Geier really made a name for himself. He owned a sizable condo that overlooked Central Park, a house in the Hamptons, and was just a few promotions away from the upper tier of management at Diamond.

In 1989, Geier bought stock in an aviation company, selling it in 1991 to Jovanni Stracciatella, the company was called Wright Winger, the name sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it. Two years later, mere months before the contract was written, Jonathan was 12 at the time, Geier relinquishes the deed to his Hamptons home to Jovanni as well.

Jonathan stepped out of the car as it pulled to a stop in front of his building, and clutching the folder walked up the steps and inside. He stopped at the front desk to leave his key and a description of Caroline to the manager on duty before getting into the elevator and going up to his floor. Once inside he poured himself a drink, and took the folder into the kitchen. He set it down next to the reports he'd gotten earlier from Willie, and walked into his bedroom to grab a laptop off his desk. Heading back into the kitchen he finished off the Brandy he had poured and set the glass in the sink. His stomach was churning, and his thoughts were all over the place. So far, the only connection to the Stracciatella's he could find was Joshua Geier. He was missing something, but what was it?

The rest of Geier's life seemed to fall apart all at once. After he lost his Hamptons home, the Condo in the park wasn't too far behind. His job went shortly after, and according to more than a few bookies, his gambling debts racked up fast. He had taken a few odd jobs and accounting positions throughout the last few years of his life, but various employers said his drinking was a problem, and he didn't make it for more than a couple of months before getting fired. There was a catalyst somewhere in all this mess, but damned if he could find it.

Jonathan sat down at the breakfast bar, papers spread the length of it, and clearing a spot, he set up his laptop and turned it on. Pulling up a search engine, he typed in the name Wright Winger and waited for the results. According to their website, they had been in business since 1978, owned and managed by Derek Kane? What? That couldn't be right! His Grandfather owned Wright Winger?

Jonathan tapped into county records and took a closer look at the property details. His Grandfather had apparently opened up shop in 1976 with a partner named Allen Kuruc, who later sold out to him in 1978. His company went public in 1985 and the majority stockholder share was bought up in slow increments by a J. G. Enterprises until 1989 when he assumed sixty percent of the company, and forced his Grandfather to resign. In 1990, his Grandfather sold the remaining forty percent to his father and retired altogether. It was suddenly all coming together. He knew his father had been in aviation.

He could even remember being in the plane with him from time to time as they flew clients across the country. He had no idea however that his Grandfather had owned the company his father worked for. He wondered to himself what happened to that forty percent once his father died. Taking a minute to look up J.G. Enterprises, he confirmed the inkling he had that Joshua Geier was in fact J.G. himself.

At the present time, Wright Winger had yet again changed hands. He knew Geier sold out in 1991, but the company was sold again in 1995 to a corporation called XOJET for a tidy sum. There wasn't any more mention of his father's stake in the company. Jonathan jotted the contact information for XOJET figuring to call them in the morning.

Was this the connection he was missing? Why would Geier buy out Wright Winger? What did he have to gain? He wondered if it had something to do with the fact that his father had ended up with his mother instead of Geier. Before he could turn his attention to the folder he had gotten from Santos, there was a knock on the door.

"Shit, who could that be?" He said aloud to himself.

Standing, he closed his laptop, gathered all his papers and the folder, and placed them in a drawer at the bar. Walking to the door he checked his watch, it was nearly ten thirty, he couldn't imagine who could be knocking on his door this late.

Jonathan looked out the peep hole in the door, and saw nothing. Curious, he slowly opened the door, and there sitting on the ground was a small manila envelope addressed to him. Picking it up he looked down the hall to the elevator, but there was no one in sight. His heart began to race, and sweat beaded his temple. _This can't be good_ he told himself going back inside and closing the door.

The ringing phone next to her on the nightstand roused her from her slumber. Danielle grumbled and turned on the light. Grabbing for the phone, she nearly fell out of bed, and the call ended before she could get a good grasp on it.

"Damn it," she said finally getting her hands on it. She had barely managed to turn on the screen before it started its torrent again, ringing loudly, and vibrating with urgency. "Hello?" she said sounding groggy.

"Danielle, it's Becki, I'm sorry for waking you up, but it's important."

Annoyed, Danielle snorted into the phone, "What's so important that it couldn't wait until morning? "she asked sitting up and pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

"Your Mr. Kane has been asking questions, and the Stracciatella's aren't very happy about it. I suggest you back him off before it's too late."

It took a minute for what she had just heard to sink in, but when she finally understood, her heart did a somersault. "What do you expect me to do about it?" she retorted.

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Becki replied. "Look, Danielle, it's safe to say that I'm fond of you, and it would be a pity to see you lose everything you've worked so hard for. I'm sure you'll figure something out, you're a smart girl." There was a click before the line went dead. Danielle swore under her breath and slammed the phone down onto the bed.

What was it with this man? Didn't he know who the Stracciatella's were? He was a fool to go asking questions, and he was liable to get himself killed if he didn't stop. Frustrated, she looked at the clock on her night stand, five thirty! It was five thirty in the morning!

"Damn you Becki," she whispered under her breath.

Getting to her feet she stretched and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. The nervous energy running rampant in her body wasn't going to allow her to get any rest, so she figured she might as well clean up and think about her next move. Washing her hair, she considered her predicament, should she wait for him to come back? Or did she make the trip into the city and confront him there?

If she waited for him to come home, it could very well be too late, no she needed to see him today, there was just no other way around it. She rinsed her hair, turned off the shower and toweled off all in the span of a couple of minutes, while she tried to decide just how to go about this correctly. She knew Jonathan had a condo in the city, but she didn't know where. Unfortunately, that meant she'd have to ask Vivian for help. She snarled at herself in the mirror as the thought crossed her mind.

Talking to Vivian again so soon wasn't very high up on her list of things she might enjoy. She had figured to spend her weekend shopping, and now that she wasn't going to work for the Davis' group, she could concentrate on filling out her new wardrobe with less modest clothing.

By the time she was dressed, and had had a cup of coffee, it was nearly seven o'clock. She figured if Vivian wasn't up by now, that was just too bad for her. She rapped lightly on her door, and waited listening for any sounds of movement. It didn't take long for Vivian to come to the door. She was dressed for a morning ride with black breeches and a long sleeved lavender blouse that she had yet to tuck in.

Her hair was already neatly pinned back, "What is it Danielle?" she asked sounding annoyed.

"I need you to give me Jonathan's city address." She replied casually.

"Ha! You're kidding right?" Vivian went to shut the door on her, becoming irritated Danielle placed her foot in the way and pushed it open with her hands, walking into her room.

"Yes, please come right in." Vivian said disgusted.

"I wouldn't ask you for his address without a good reason, now be a good girl and write it down for me."

Vivian crossed her arms and cocked one eyebrow, "Do tell me, this ought to be interesting." Vivian was beside herself, and had to contain her skepticism.

"Your Grandson is asking a lot of questions, and he's making a certain mobster family very uncomfortable." She said ignoring the jab.

Vivian paled, "You mean..." she began, before trailing off. Vivian braced herself against the wall, and stared blankly at Danielle, as the ramifications of Jonathan's actions crossed her mind. This was not good, not good at all. She thought to herself, if he kept digging, he was bound to figure it all out. And if he asked too many questions he might end up putting his own life in danger as well.

Danielle snapped her fingers in Vivian's face, "Hello? Earth to Vivian... Vivian come in!" she grasped the older woman by the shoulders and shook her lightly.

"I'm sorry, oh gosh, let me get you that address." She said quickly coming to.

Vivian walked over to the small desk in the corner of the room, and ripping a piece of paper out of a notebook scrawled the address on it and handed it to Danielle.

"I spoke to Jonathan last night. He said he was meeting with a couple of investors this afternoon. He was in a hurry, so I asked him to call me when he got home, he told me it probably wouldn't be until around seven or eight. So you'd do best to try him them." She was practically shoving Danielle out of the room at that point. "Have Hector drive you there, I think Jonathan retained Winston for the weekend. But the Cadillac should be available."

Danielle turned and shook her head, "No, I'll drive myself. If you talk to Jonathan though, don't tell him I'm coming, he probably wouldn't let me in the building if he knew."

Vivian nodded as she started to close the door, "Just be smart about this Danielle," she warned, "Don't put Jonathan on the defensive or he'll shut you down before you even get started."

Danielle gave her a thumbs up and walked away. Vivian peered through the half open door until she was out of sight. Closing the door, Vivian slumped against the back of it and began to cry.

"Oh Austin, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." She sobbed as the tears streaked slowly down her cheeks.

### Chapter 13

You Know Her?

Jonathan hadn't been able to sleep at all, after receiving the small package on his doorstep, he was nervous to say the least. He had sensed someone watching him earlier, and was sure that the Stracciatella's had to know by now that he was asking questions about them. These weren't the 1930's but mobster like activity still played an active role in the upper sections of New Jersey, and there were still ties in Little Italy as well.

He wasn't sure if they still sanctioned hits in this day and age, but he wasn't brave enough to find out. He rolled the package over and over in his hands before setting it aside and going back to his folder. Leafing through it, he found dozens of articles pertaining to businesses and charities run by the Stracciatella's. There were newspaper clippings, public records, and court documents that outlined their community activities. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

For all intents and purposes, the Stracciatella's were brilliant business minded people. He found no mention anywhere about a man named 'Johnson' and what little he found pertaining to the Geier's was mainly in the form of asset transfers. There was still a large piece of the puzzle missing. So far, he knew Geier was in deep, but what did that have to do with his parents? His mom had been engaged to Geier, but married his father instead, why?

His Grandfather had allowed Geier to buy him out, and shortly afterwards his father died in a plane crash, and Geier sells to the Stracciatella's. Again, why? Did Geier have a hand in the accident? Jonathan shook the thought off, no that was a little too farfetched. When eight a.m. came and went, Jonathan reached for the phone and called the XOJET's human resources department, he was hopeful that maybe someone there could give him some answers.

The conversation was short, but well worth it. He had learned that his father still technically owned the other forty percent stake in the company, but it was in a trust held up in probate. After his death, because there had been no will, the Stracciatella's had attempted to buy his share, but Jonathan's Grandfather had appealed, and due to his Grandfather's passing, things still hadn't been settled.

All of the earnings were deferred to an offshore account his father had set up a few months before passing making the process harder since no one had access to it. It was more or less a dead end, and relatively insignificant at this point. Perhaps after this mess with Danielle was sorted out he would put his lawyers on it, but as it didn't affect his current situation, he put a pin in it for now.

Finishing up the information Santos had gathered, he was no closer to an answer. He looked over at the envelope again, but decided he wasn't ready to find out what was in it. He was afraid someone had sent him some insidious and cryptic warning; he just wasn't prepared for that.

If he hadn't seen the warning, it didn't exist in his mind. Jonathan looked at his watch, he didn't have much time before he was due across town for a meeting with an investor interested in the possible expansion plans for the Paradise Tea project. He dressed quickly and headed out the door, grabbing a muffin off the counter, and pouring a cup of instant coffee. If things went according to plan, he was on track to make a lot of money.

Caroline woke up feeling rested and refreshed. She had worked her ass off the day before, and the project was not only back on track, but once again ahead of schedule. She smiled to herself, just a few years ago she would never have guessed she could be so successful in a man's world. There were few too many women who did what she did.

It was more than just being an accomplished architect though, she was well respected too, and that meant a lot to her. She had always been interested in buildings and the work that went into them. When she was a little girl, she had helped her uncle design the barn he built for her father, and from then on, she had never wanted to do anything else. She had fallen in love with the craft, and was so thankful for all the support she got from her family.

Nobody tried to discourage her, and her uncle bless his heart took her under his wing and taught her everything he knew. It was only natural that she went into business with him after college. She had never imagined though that he would make her an equal partner. Her uncle had no children of his own, his wife had died during child birth, and the baby didn't make it. He just didn't have the heart to start over. Caroline was his saving grace. Taking an interest in his work brought him out of his shell, and gave him life again.

Caroline saw to her daily hygiene routine, and went to the closet to pick out some clothes. Having packed before she went to bed, all she had left to do was get dressed and eat some breakfast. A knock at the door signaled that room service had arrived.

With a thick terry cloth robe tied tightly around her waist she opened the door and was surprised to see the bell hop with a large bouquet of flowers in addition to her meal. Laughing, she took the vase from him and set it on the table in the kitchenette while he rolled in her tray. She tipped him for his service, and read the card sent that was tucked in with the flowers.

"To my darling Caroline, I can't wait for this evening. All my love, Jonathan."

She held the card tight to her chest and looked at the flowers, they were beautiful. Two dozen long stem red roses, and they smelled heavenly. It was just one more romantic gesture, in a long line of gestures that he had made. She couldn't believe she was involved with such an incredible man. He was constantly surprising her.

After giving the flowers water, and eating her breakfast, Caroline finished getting ready. She knew she would have time to change into something a little more sensual once she got there, so she selected a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, opting for comfort instead. After leaving work yesterday, she had stopped off in town at La Perla to pick up something racy.

The white and red laced teddy she had selected carried a hefty price tag, but lingerie was the one thing she had ever allowed herself to splurge on. Even though she hadn't been intimate with anyone in a long time before meeting Jonathan, she had always enjoyed having a little lace lying around. She liked to wear sexy clothing to bed and around the house; it made her feel good, to hell with what anyone else thought. Slipping some sandals on her feet, she walked to the kitchen to pour some coffee into a travel mug.

Thoughts of her evening to come wafted through her mind. It felt as though it had been forever since she had been wrapped in his embrace. She couldn't wait to see him tonight. She had everything all planned out. She was going to stop and pick up some groceries first, and when he got home, dinner fit for a king would be waiting for him. She checked her suitcase one more time to make sure she had remembered to pack everything, and grabbed a large trench coat off a hook in the closet. She draped it over her shoulder and picked up her suitcase with her free hand. Locking the door behind her, she smiled; she was really looking forward to her evening with Jonathan.

With several investors on board, Jonathan decided to call it a success and headed home earlier than he had first expected. He stopped by the desk on the way up to his condo to check and see if Caroline had already made it, discovering that she hadn't, he called his favorite Chinese place and ordered some take out, figuring it would get there by the time she had. He didn't want to waste even a minute cooking or worrying about what to eat. When he stepped off the elevator, he instantly spotted the package at his door.

It was a carbon copy of the first. Equal in shape and size. He picked it up, and looked over his shoulder. There was no one there of course, but he was nervous now. Someone was definitely following him, or at the very least, they knew where he lived and were attempting to intimidate him. Jonathan locked his door behind him, and was almost tempted to chain the door as well, when he remembered that Caroline was still due to arrive at any minute. Jonathan quickly put the envelope in the drawer with the other one, and went to change.

Within minutes after emerging from his bedroom, Caroline walked through the door. They locked eyes instantly.

"No!" Caroline blurted. "You're not supposed to be here yet!"

Jonathan started to laugh, and thought better of it as she shot darts at him with her eyes. Going over to her, he gave her a quick kiss and took her suitcase, setting it on the floor near the door. He grabbed the grocery bags from her and walked into the kitchen while inspecting their contents.

"Wow, you were really going to go all out weren't you?" he asked putting the food into the fridge.

She nodded, "You've been so great to me, I really wanted to do something special for you." Coming up behind him, Caroline started to scratch his back lightly in a clockwise rotation. "I guess I'll just have to cook with you here, but don't you dare laugh at me when I put on my apron!" she squeaked.

Jonathan turned to face her, and pulled her into his arms. She sighed, breathing deeply. He smelled like heaven, and the scent of his cologne had a drugging sensation that made her head spin. This was what she had been looking forward to all day.

Jonathan stuck his finger under her chin and lifted her face to look into her eyes. They were dark and turbulent. The colors swirled around each other in a whirlpool of desire. Her pupils contracted as she held onto his gaze. He lowered his mouth gently to hers and tempted her tongue into battle with his own. They stood there dueling with each other, lost in the throes of passion. Just as Jonathan reached for her shirt, the doorbell buzzed.

"That'll be the Chinese." He said with his lips still pressed against hers.

"Mmm" she moaned, "they'll go away." She said between kisses.

Regretfully, Jonathan pulled away and went to the door. Pulling out a couple of twenties he handed them to the delivery man and took the food.

"Hungry?" he asked, placing the food on the kitchen counter.

"Starving," she replied walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "But not for food." She said as she lifted his shirt and began to feather kisses across his back. His muscles quivered under the heat and softness of her lips. In one swift movement, Jonathan turned and picked up a giggling Caroline, carrying her into the bedroom.

"You read my mind, little one." He said laying her on the soft sheets and coming down on top of her.

Half an hour later, they were sitting on the couch in Jonathan's living room, eating take out and talking about work. Watching Caroline, who was dressed in one of Jonathan's t-shirts as she talked about the project with such animation, Jonathan's heart tightened. Her hair was loose and mussed up, her face was flushed, and she had a small drizzle of duck sauce on her lower lip, but she couldn't have looked any sexier to him. It was in that instant that he knew he was in love with her.

"Come here," Jonathan said quietly, using his thumb to wipe away the duck sauce, as she leaned closer.

Caroline laughed, as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of rouge. "Oh gosh, I'm a mess." She said, pushing her hair back off her shoulders.

"No, you're beautiful," Jonathan replied. "Caroline, I'm falling in love with you." He said, cupping his hand against her cheek, and rubbing his thumb back and forth.

Caroline leaned into his gentle strokes, "Well that's good to know," She said. "Because I'm already there." The distance between them was suddenly too much to bear, and they came together in a powerful kiss to close the gap. Just as Jonathan was about to slide Caroline underneath him on the couch, the doorbell sounded.

Unwilling to break contact, Jonathan tried to hold on, but Caroline was quicker, and jumped up from the couch before he could make his move.

"I'll get that," she squeaked trying to evade his grasp as he groped the empty space.

Panic exploded inside Jonathan when he considered what might be waiting on the other side, "Caroline, no." He shouted a second too late.

"What's the..." she began, breaking off when she noticed who stood on the other side of the door. "Danielle? What are you doing here?" she asked sounding shocked.

Jonathan jumped off the couch and headed for the door, "Yes, what are you doing here?" he asked, with anger lacing his voice.

Caroline turned to face him as Danielle strode through the doorway.

"Caroline," she said surprised, "Why, darling, I was just going to ask you the same question. But seeing as you aren't properly attired, I can guess what you're doing here." Caroline pulled on the hem of Jonathan's shirt, seemingly embarrassed. "Kane and Abel industries," Danielle said, shaking her head, "I should have known, how stupid of me."

Jonathan walked up behind Caroline and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Danielle, you have no right to be here, please leave." He said icily.

Caroline turned and looked up at him, "Do you two know each other?" she asked nervously.

"Oh that's rich," Danielle said laughing. "You haven't told her, have you?" she asked.

Jonathan shot her a warning glance.

"Told me what? What is she talking about Jonathan?" Caroline asked backing away from him.

"Caroline, don't, please. Look I was going to tell you, but I just didn't know how."

Her brows furrowed. "Tell me what, Jonathan?" she said with more confusion than anger. "Oh my gosh," she said whirling on Danielle, "Have you been seeing each other?"

Danielle put her hands up and shrugged her shoulders, "You might say that." She replied.

"Shut your mouth Danielle." He warned. Caroline turned back in his direction.

"Jonathan, tell me what's going on. Please." Caroline was on the brink of a meltdown, the tears welled up in her eyes.

"Caroline," He began, before Danielle cut him off.

"We're engaged, Caroline," Danielle interjected.

The bottom dropped out of Caroline's stomach. This couldn't possibly be true. "You're, you're, what?" she stammered. Jonathan walked towards her, in an attempt to put his arms around her, "Don't touch me," she said pulling back.

"Caroline, it's not what you think."

She laughed at him, "It's not what I think? My best friend shows up at your door, and tells me the two of you are engaged, and you say it's not what I think?" She was shaking now, "No, you stay away from me Jonathan, you are EXACTLY the person I thought you were. I can't believe I fell for all your lies!"

"Caroline, no" He pleaded, "She's lying to you!"

Danielle stood off to the side watching the exchange, smiling to herself. She had known Jonathan was seeing someone, but never had she thought it was Caroline. She almost felt badly about what she was doing to her friend. But Caroline had stepped on her turf, and she wasn't about to bow out gracefully. Jonathan belonged to her, and she wouldn't let anyone else take what was hers. Not even sweet, angelic, Caroline.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline." She said innocently, "He fooled us both."

Jonathan stomped over to Danielle, "you bitch," he said pointing his finger at her.

"Jonathan, stop it!" Caroline yelled. "That's enough." She was crying now, the tears dripped fervently down her cheeks. Swiping them away, she grabbed her trench coat and pulling it on, picked up the suitcase that still sat by the door.

"Caroline, wait, please!" he implored, reaching for her. She shrugged off his advances once again, shaking her head.

"No, I can't," she cried, walking out the door and closing it behind her.

With his head against the back of the door, Jonathan banged his fist against it.

"Well," Danielle said triumphantly.

Jonathan was in her face, screaming, before she could get another word out, "What the hell is a matter with you, Danielle?" he shouted.

"What's a matter with me?" she asked calmly, before raising her voice "I'm not the one having an extramarital affair!"

Jonathan turned his back on her, afraid if he didn't that he would choke her. "For the last time Danielle, there will NEVER be a marriage between us!" he said, his voice laced with steel.

Jonathan went into the kitchen, and picked up his cell phone, dialing Caroline's number. She picked up right away. "Caroline," he said frantically.

"Jonathan," she choked between sobs. "Please, just leave me alone, it's over." She hung up before he could respond.

Slamming the phone down, he turned back to Danielle, who still stood smiling. "Why are you here Danielle?" he asked, his anger slipping into despair.

"Why, I came to warn you Jonathan." She said nonchalantly.

"Warn me about what?" he asked walking over and slumping down on the couch. Caroline was gone, she was really gone, he had ruined everything.

Danielle placed herself in front of him, watching as defeat took over. "You've been asking an awful lot of questions lately, and it's making someone very nervous. They want you to stop." She said with confidence.

"Fine." He replied. "You can go now."

Danielle was dumbfounded, "I can go now?" she asked suddenly unsteady. "That's it? No more yelling? No get the hell out of here Danielle?" She was angry now. His defeatist mood was grating on her nerves. "I've practically just ruined your life, and all you have to say to me is 'you can go now'? Where's the fight, Jonathan? I expected more from you!" Jonathan looked up at her, however there was no fight left in him.

"Just go Danielle, now." He said with finality.

Shocked and appalled, Danielle stormed off, leaving him to sulk. She couldn't believe it. All the anger and hatred and it was never about her. When she thought back to all their fights, she realized now, it was always Caroline. He wanted her gone, because of Caroline. She remembered now, helping Caroline get dressed for an evening out with her employer. With Jonathan. She had groomed Caroline that night to capture his attention. And she clearly had. Danielle laughed at the irony of it all.

No doubt she had lost her best friend now as well. She wasn't even going to try and make amends. Even if she told Caroline the truth, she was liable to hate her for it. She wouldn't understand why Danielle felt entitled to Jonathan and his money. She would never comprehend the damage done to her by Jonathan's family.

_What happens next?_ She wondered to herself as she exited the building and got into her little Lexus. Should she go back to Albany? Or did she give him some space, and hope he'd come around? With Caroline no longer part of the equation, had she won? Would he stop investigating and give in? She shook her head. Even without her in the picture, she doubted he would just roll over and submit.

No, she was in for a fight. His despair would give way to anger, and she would be caught in the crosshairs once again. Anger she could deal with though, this sad and pathetic version of Jonathan had her at a loss. She didn't know how to deal with grief, it was uncharted waters. She decided to go back to Albany and bide her time. When he was ready, he would come to her, and she would be waiting.

### Chapter 14

Misery Loves Company

The pain was too much for Jonathan to bear, he spent the next several weeks in solitude. He kept going over every detail in his mind, trying to figure out where he went wrong. He wondered what he could have done differently. Maybe if he had been honest with Caroline from the start? No, he thought, shaking his head. She wouldn't have understood. Or at the very least, she would have declined to get involved at all.

A woman like Caroline would never willingly get caught in something as scandalous as this. She was classy, and probably would have even encouraged the relationship with Danielle, being that they had been so close. There was simply nothing he could have done any differently that would have had a positive outcome. He just couldn't accept that it was over. There had to be some way to make her understand. She had to know that it was all a farce. He could never have feelings for a woman like Danielle, and she needed to see that.

He had tried contacting her several times, but his efforts had all be fruitless. She never answered his calls or texts, and her voicemail was now full. She hadn't shown up to work either. Though she was still working on the designs herself, her uncle had taken over for her at the jobsite and dictated what needed to be done. Nor could he catch her at home, as she had been staying with her parents in Jersey according to her uncle, and no he wouldn't give Jonathan the address. He said she was heartbroken, had lost weight, and was constantly ill.

Whatever had happened between the two of them, she wouldn't talk about it, but she made it perfectly clear she didn't want to see him. Between the unanswered calls, and all the flowers she had returned, one would think she would have gotten the point across, but he wasn't giving up. He loved Caroline, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get her back.

A knock on the door early one morning had him stumbling over himself to answer it. Could it be Caroline? Without checking to see who it is, he pulled the door open, nearly ripping it from its hinges. "Grandmother." He said dispirited. Vivian pushed past him, looking over his apartment. Food containers were littered about, and rejected vases full of flowers sat lined up and wilting on the counter tops. Jonathan was poorly dressed, his hair was a mess, and he hadn't shaven in what would have appeared to be days judging by the growth of his beard.

Dark circles were prominent underneath his eyes, his irises were dull and depression was shown clearly from within them. She had never seen Jonathan this way, and it broke her heart. Even when his parents had passed away, he had bounced back quickly. Surrounded by the love of his family, perhaps it had been easier then.

"Jonathan, come home with me, please." She asked solemnly.

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving the city until I talk to Caroline."

"And what if she never speaks to you again? You can't go on this way, it's been weeks!" she exclaimed. "Look Danielle told me what happened," she began, and scoffing Jonathan turned away from her.

"She's still in our home I take it?" he asked disinterested.

"Well yes," Vivian answered. "given the circumstances I told her to leave you alone, but I can't keep her at bay forever." Vivian walked over to where he sat on the couch and ran her fingers through his hair, in a soothing gesture. "You have to face her again at some point dear, this contract isn't going to magically disappear."

Jonathan jerked his head away, and looked up at her with anger. The eyes regained their color as they pierced into hers. "Get out. Now." He cautioned.

Vivian dropped her hand to her side and gave him a shocked look. "But Jonathan," she started to say, before he stood. With the full height of him up against her, he was imposing to say the least, and she backed away from him slowly; heading towards the door.

"I don't want to hear another word about Danielle, or that god forsaken contract again! Do I make myself clear?" he said nearly shouting.

Vivian nodded, "Fine," she said "But at least get yourself cleaned up, you look like death!"

Vivian closed the door behind her, and standing in front of the couch, Jonathan looked down at himself considering that last remark. Perhaps she was right about one thing; he did indeed look like death.

After taking a shower and shaving his face, Jonathan had to admit, he felt much better. Pulling a t-shirt over his head, he thought about what his Grandmother had said. Since the incident, he had stopped looking into the contract, and Danielle's background. Without Caroline in his life, it didn't seem necessary. But that didn't mean Danielle was likely to let this go, she was like a dog with a bone. Maybe she could let it sit there for a time, but eventually she was going to pick it back up and chew on it some more.

Regardless of what happened in the future between him and Caroline, he still wasn't interested in marrying Danielle. He would rather die than spend the rest of his life tied to her. No matter how depressed he felt though, death wasn't an option. It was high time he picked himself up and brushed Danielle off like the filth that she was. Remembering what she had said to him before he kicked her out, he walked over to the bar and pulled out the two unopened packages. He was making somebody nervous, that's what she had said. How did she know that?

Opening the first envelope he reached in and pulled out a single sheet of paper. The note scrawled on it eased his nerves. It was not from the Stracciatella's. They had likely not been watching him after all. The packages were from Santos, he said he was enclosing some pictures recovered from an anonymous source. And that there would be a second one as well. He wasn't however requiring any additional funds.

Looking at the pictures, Jonathan was confused. The woman in the photograph looked a lot like a younger version of his Grandmother, but he didn't recognize the man in the pictures as his Grandfather. He was too young. The pictures laid the story of an affair between his Grandmother and this young man.

They were seen together multiple times as they were both wearing different clothes in each picture. Holding hands, and kissing in other shots, they were apparently very close. It sickened him. To think his Grandmother had cheated on his Grandfather was disappointing, but what did that have to with the Stracciatella's? Noticing a name tag on the shirt of the man in one of the pictures, Jonathan grabbed a magnifying glass from the desk in his bedroom and took a closer look.

What he saw caught him completely off guard. The name on the tag was Josh! His Grandmother had had an affair with Joshua Geier! He wondered if that was why the engagement between Geier and his mother had been broken off. Tearing into the second envelope Jonathan was enraged by what he saw.

Pictures of his parents, out together on dates, or with him playing together in the park. Dozens of candid shots over a span of years. He felt dirty, knowing someone had been watching him and his family, cataloging his youth. The last few pictures in the stack were taken at his father's place of business. Shots of him flying or tinkering with this plane. Pictures with him loading clients and their luggage into the plane, one shot in particular caught his attention. It was taken at night, and it was a picture of his fathers' plane, with a man underneath it.

He couldn't be sure, as the shot was taken from a distance, and was a little blurry, but the features of the man that he could make out were eerily similar to Joshua Geier. In a separate bag, inside the envelope he found another small stack of pictures, the first of his father flying, the date in the corner was that of the day he crashed, the next four pictures were from the scene of the accident.

Gruesome and detailed, what he couldn't understand was how these had been taken. His Grandfather had had the scene locked up tight; no media had been able to get through, on the ground or from the air. He had made sure of that. The accident wasn't even reported to the mainstream media until the day after it had happened. And as the air strip was private, contact to air traffic control had been limited after takeoff.

He knew there had been no distress call as well, the plane's cockpit caught fire while still in the air, and there wasn't any time for his father to react before he came crashing to the ground. If not for the fact that the crash had taken place on their land, his Grandmother might not have ridden by it on horseback, and it might have been days before they found them. So who had taken these pictures, and how did they know about the crash?

Jonathan looked back to the picture of Geier under the plane, there was no date at the bottom, so he couldn't be positive but his gut told him, it was taken the evening before the crash. Which would have meant Geier could have very well caused the accident that took his parents away from him.

But why? If he hated his father for marrying his mother, to what lengths would he go? He had already bought out the majority share of his father's company, so what did he get out of taking the lives of both of his parents? Was he after the remaining forty percent? Was it enough to kill for? Jonathan needed answers. He picked up his phone and dialed Kevin's number. Becki answered right away, patching him through.

"Jonathan," he said, "You shouldn't have called me."

Jonathan paced the length of the room, "Kevin, listen to me. I need to get in contact with Mr. Stracciatella, can you make that happen? I promise you I'll never contact you again. Just please, help me this one time." He pleaded.

Kevin sighed, "Yeah, he'll be in touch." He said and hung up.

Looking at the phone, Jonathan shivered. He had a bad feeling about all of this. He only hoped he hadn't just signed his own death warrant.

Caroline woke up to the sound of her bedroom door creaking open, her mother's blonde head peeped in on her.

"How are you feeling baby?" she asked full of concern.

"I'm okay. Yeah, I think I'm okay." She replied stretching.

Her mother entered the room and carried in a tray, setting it on the bed. "You have to eat something honey," she cooed. "It's been days, and you're so pale, it worries me."

Caroline gave her a faint smile. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just been so hard. I love, I loved him." She stammered.

Caroline's mother sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair, "I know it hurts baby, but it'll get better. I promise."

Caroline leaned into her, "I know mama, thanks. You and daddy have been so great. I don't know what I would have done without you guys. Normally I would turn to Danielle for this sort of thing, but well..." she trailed off, allowing her head to lull to the side of her mother's shoulder.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry you have to go through this." Her mother soothed.

After another minute, Caroline sat up and inspected the contents of the tray her mother brought in. She breathed in deeply, it smelled wonderful. Her stomach growled, acknowledging that food was present and protesting its emptiness. Picking a spoon Caroline dipped into what she assumed was blueberry oatmeal and shoveled it into her mouth. The warmth of the oatmeal soothed her throat as she swallowed it. She rinsed it down with a cool glass of orange juice.

Finishing she turned to her mother again, "Thanks, I needed that." She said, smiling.

"I think I'm going to go into the city today. I'm sure the mail has piled up by now, and I wouldn't be surprised if all my plants are dead."

Her mother laughed and hugged her tightly. "I could take care of that for you, you know."

Caroline shrugged, "No, I've spent enough time mopping around, I need to get my life back together."

Nodding, her mother stood and picked up the discarded dishes. "Let me know if you need anything sweet heart. We'll keep the light on for you, in case you decide to come back tonight."

Smiling again, Caroline thanked her and proceeded to make her bed. She had spent the past few weeks in bed, or on her mother's couch watching TV, with large stretches of it bent over the toilet getting sick as well.

She had never faced this kind of adversity before, and clearly she wasn't built to withstand such heartbreak. Grief had taken a toll on her body. She had easily lost ten pounds, and she was still nauseous and weak. She couldn't go on like this for much longer though. She had to pick herself up and move on. Allowing herself to wallow in it even a moment longer could destroy her.

Her uncle stopped by daily during the week to fill her in on the work being done and get her opinion on one thing or another. He did his best to keep her informed in the event that she wanted to take the project back over. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't stomach making a decision one way or the other.

What if she ran into Jonathan there? What would she say to him? She felt so betrayed by him. She didn't understand any of it. She thought back to when they had talked about Danielle in his office, and it suddenly made perfect sense to her. He had lied to her about his friends 'birthday', of that she was sure.

The look on his face when she had said Danielle's name was no coincidence, she knew that now. But she didn't understand how he could possibly think she wouldn't find out. They were best friends for god sake! How could he possibly have expected to keep them both from finding out? She wondered how they had met, and shook the thought away. It didn't matter, he and Danielle were engaged, and he had deliberately withheld that information from her!

Getting dressed and running a comb through her hair, Caroline tried to think back and figure out if there were any other signs she had missed. If they were engaged, it certainly didn't happen overnight, so there had to have been other clues. She remembered how he had left her that morning at her condo before they had gone riding together was it because of Danielle? And was that why he had taken her to that cabin instead, to keep her from seeing Danielle?

She had so many questions, but she knew she would probably never get the answers to them. And maybe that was a good thing. She already felt like a fool, she couldn't bear the thought of finding out just how badly she had been duped. He was so good at what he did; he had the wool pulled over her eyes completely. She had believed him when he said he loved her.

What kind of idiot am I? She asked herself, pulling out of her parent's driveway, and onto the road. She needed to put this behind her though. She promised herself she wouldn't fall victim to another man again. She wouldn't allow herself to feel for another man the way she had for Jonathan. It didn't seem worth it in the end.

### Chapter 15

The Mobster

Shortly after talking to Kevin, his phone rang, it was a New Jersey area code, and quickly caught his attention.

Jonathan answered it cautiously, "Hello?" he said.

"Mr. Kane," came a smooth voice from the other end. "I believe you wanted to speak to me?" he continued

"Yes, I mean, yes sir." He said almost rambling.

"Very well then, I'll send a car for you." With that the line went dead.

Jonathan's heart started to race, what had he just agreed to? No less than ten minutes went by before his phone rang again and he was informed by the building manager that there was indeed a car out front waiting for him. Jonathan grabbed his keys off the table near the door, threw on a coat, and locked up.

Sitting outside by the curb was a black town car with New Jersey license plates. Jonathan took a deep breath and walked towards it. A man got out of the driver's seat and opened the door for him. Looking in he noticed a tall and rather imposing gentleman the size of a Buick sitting in the back seat nearest the opposite window.

Nervously he looked around before climbing in. The man held out his hand to him as the driver closed the door and got back behind the wheel.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Kane, my friends call me Johnson." He said his voice deep and rather loud.

Jonathan shook his massive hand and settled in for the ride. He tried to calm his nerves, and hoped they didn't show plainly on his face.

"There's no need to be nervous, Mr. Kane," he barked with laughter, "nobody is interested in hurting you."

Though reassuring, it did nothing to expel the fear he still felt. The ride was short, as they pulled up to a large warehouse building on the outskirts of the city near Wall Street, an area he knew to be called the Warehouse District. How fitting. He thought, as the driver opened his door. Johnson led him to a door on the side of the building and sliding a key card through a slot near the door opened it, and held it for him to enter. He guided him through a maze of empty and stale smelling hallways to what he assumed was the back of the building, where it opened up to a row of doors on either side of him.

One of the doors to his left was marked Do Not Enter, and it was to that door that Johnson pointed, "The boss is waiting for you in there." He said cryptically.

Jonathan tipped his head in response and turned the doorknob. When he walked into the room, it was nothing like he had expected it to be. It was a large room, and tastefully decorated. On the far back wall sat a large working man's desk, and what looked to be a rather comfortable leather chair. It was backed up to a picture window with a very of the city beyond. In the front of the room was a small seating area, the furniture was again tasteful, if not comfortable looking. On one wall a large flat screen had been mounted, and multitude of gaming equipment sat on a console underneath it.

A small row of theater seating was positioned strategically around the TV as well. A large saltwater fish tank occupied the opposite wall, and it was there that the 'Boss' stood, feeding his fish, and apparently having a conversation with a large lion fish that swam to the surface. As he turned to face him, Jonathan was surprised at what he saw. The man was young, he couldn't have been much older than himself, and he was indeed very Italian as well.

"Ah, Mr. Kane!" he said walking towards him and extending a hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Jonathan shook his hand, and though he felt it may have been premature, his fear of this man quickly faded.

"Please, sit." He said motioning to a chair in the middle of the room. "Can I get you anything?" he asked walking over to a small wet bar that had been blocked from view by the open door.

Jonathan shook his head. "No, thank you, uh."

Pouring himself a glass of Brandy, he looked over at Jonathan, "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Carmine. Carmine Stracciatella. My friends call me Sonny though, but don't ask why." He said laughing.

"Ok, Sonny it is." Jonathan replied, as the last of his nerves faded away.

Sonny walked over to where Jonathan sat and swirling the amber liquid in his glass leaned up against the arm of a chair opposite him. "I hear you're looking for some information?" he began. "I must confess though; I don't like it when people start asking questions. I assume that Santos provided you with what you were looking for?"

Jonathan gulped, he should have known Santos would be on the Stracciatella payroll.

"Don't looked so shocked Mr. Kane, my reach is far and wide. However, I'd much prefer you had just come to the source from the start. People tend to exaggerate." He took a sip of his drink and set it on a small round table in-between the two chairs. Laughing a little, he went on, "I'm a business man Mr. Kane, as was my father, and as was his father. We're no longer the thugs of the 1930's."

Jonathan nodded in agreement, "My apologies Sonny, I was lead to believe you weren't as easily approachable."

Sonny threw his head back in laughter. "Kevin?" he asked "The man is useless; I should have fired him after he cheated on my sister!"

Jonathan cocked his head sideways, "Tracy is your sister?"

Still laughing, Sonny shook his head and smiled, "Yes, yes, she's quite a bit older than me I know. We have different mothers. My father remarried after Tracy's mother died in a car accident. The same one that killed Mr. Lower no less."

Again, things were starting to click for Jonathan. The blanks were being filled in one by one, and he was finally getting a clear picture of events.

"So that was an accident?" he asked earnestly.

Sonny roared with laughter once more, "Yes, of course!" he said taking a breath. "As I've said, we're businessmen, our ties to the mafia have long since been severed."

Sonny sat down in the chair, making himself comfortable and took another sip of his Brandy. "Mr. Lower was going through a nasty divorce, his wife got the car, so he went out and bought that hunk of junk from a sketchy little lot in south Jersey. He had picked up Tracy's mother on his way back into town as a favor for Kevin. Her own car was in the shop and she and Tracy were supposed to have lunch that afternoon. Needless to say, the car was junk, and the brake lines, rotted as they were, snapped. Killing them both."

Jonathan was truly shocked, and it was written all over his face.

"I don't know what Kevin has told you, but he's been on my shit list now for over a decade. He treated my sister like crap, and she finally left him after he slept with that little tart Danielle."

It was all so clear to him now, "And the black eye?" he retorted, getting a snicker out of Sonny.

"Johnson caught him coming onto Becki the other day, he took exception to that being as she's married to him, so he clocked him one. As I've said, I should have fired him long ago."

Sonny had already answered a number of his questions and so many more things made sense to him now, but he had yet to ask him about the things most important to him. Lounging back in his chair a little, Sonny pulled out a cigar and cut the tip, "do you mind?" he asked politely before lighting up.

Jonathan shook his head, "Not at all." He replied.

"So, Mr. Kane," he began again, flicking some ashes into a tray.

"It's Jonathan, please." He said with a smile.

Sonny tilted his head, "Alright, Jonathan. What else can I tell you?"

### Chapter 16

A New Life

It was late in the morning when Caroline decided she needed to get out and get some air. She hoped that if she took a walk she might be able to brighten her mood a little too. She thought about going down to the little cafe' on the corner; or if she felt strong enough maybe even to the park.

All thoughts about peace and serenity went out the window though as soon as she saw him.

He was coming towards her up the steps of the building, and as he had already seen her, it was too late to try and dodge him. She braced herself as tears instantly flooded her eyes. During the last few weeks she had wondered how she would react when she saw him again, she just hoped it wouldn't be this soon.

"Caroline." He said, stopping in front of her.

He had his hands in the pocket of his faded blue jeans, and a white t-shirt stretched tightly across the expanse of his chest. His eyes had dark circles underneath them, and his hair was disheveled, as if he had been raking his fingers through it, but, man oh man, he still looked like heaven to her. How could she hate this man? She asked herself, as they stood toe to toe without saying a word. He had betrayed her, and yet her heart still ached for him, her body begged to let him hold her again.

"What are you doing here Jonathan?" she finally asked.

The tears she tried desperately to hold back, began to slip past her eyelids and slide down over her cheeks. He attempted to brush them aside but she jerked away from him.

"Please don't touch me." She warned.

It killed him to see her this way. Her eyes were swollen and red; she had noticeably lost weight, and looked extremely pale as well. It was all his fault that she looked this way. He had done this to her. He ruined the first woman he had ever loved, and it was breaking his heart all over again.

"I'm going to ask you again, what are you doing here Jonathan?" She used the end of the sweater she was wearing to wipe the tears from her eyes and looked up at him imploringly.

"I need to talk to you." He said weakly.

She shook her head, "We have nothing to talk about."

He blocked her path as she tried to evade him, "Caroline, listen to me, please." He begged her.

"Why should I?" she asked shaking her head and throwing up her hands in anger.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you about Danielle, but it's not what you think."

She was getting angry now, and it helped her fight away the grief welling up inside her. "Yes, you should have told me, but you didn't."

He dropped his head in defeat, "I didn't think you'd understand."

She didn't think she would have either, but looking at him now, she wanted to. "You're right, I probably wouldn't have. But you could have given me the chance."

He looked up, and saw the pain in her eyes. "Caroline, I.." he trailed off as she turned her head and nearly fainted. He caught her just in time, as her legs gave out. "Caroline!" he yelled "Oh God, Caroline, stay with me, please dear God stay with me!" He cradled her in his arms and rushed her over to his car, laying her in the back seat he barked at Winston to get to the hospital.

As she opened her eyes, the first thing Caroline saw was Jonathan, he was curled up in a chair alongside her hospital bed, a blanket lay on top of him, he slept soundly.

"He's been there all night." Said a nurse as she checked the monitors and jotted her vitals down on a clipboard.

"All night?" she croaked. "How long have I been here?" she asked looking around.

The last thing she remembered was arguing with Jonathan, and then she felt tired, she felt so tired. She realized she must have fainted.

"Since noon I think, yes it's right here in your charts. You came in just after noon." The nurse answered. "The doctor should be in shortly to talk to you now that you're awake."

Caroline nodded, "Can I have some water?" she asked.

"Yes of course," the nurse replied walking away and closing the curtains behind her.

Caroline sat up and smoothed down her hospital gown, as she searched for the TV remote. There was a Yankee's game on, and she didn't particularly care for Baseball. She found the remote sitting on the table next to her and reached over to grab it.

Flipping through the channels, Jonathan spoke, startling her. "I was watching that," he said casually.

Caroline jumped, "Jonathan! You startled me," she yelped.

"Same could be said for you." He retorted. "I've never been so scared in my life Caroline," he told her, sitting up and taking her hands in his.

The contact felt wonderful, and instantly soothed her frayed nerves. She had missed him far more than she wanted to admit.

She slowly pulled her hands away, "I'm fine now." She said.

She was just about to tell him he could leave when the doctor walked in. An older man, probably in his fifties, he had a small gut, and a rapidly receding hairline. He was friendly though, and smiled at her warmly.

"You gave us quite a scare young lady," he said as he leafed through her charts. "We gave you some fluids, and I'm going to send you home with a prescription for an antibiotic as well, you seem to have a slight ear infection, but otherwise, you're in pretty good shape, and we'll get you out of here. I'm also giving the name of a specialist I want you to see." He told her while writing the information down on his prescription pad and ripping off the first two pages.

Taking the pieces of paper from him she glanced at them and looked up at him in confusion. "An obstetrician? But I'm not..."

"Pregnant?" he finished for her. "It's still a little early, I'd say about four weeks along, but yes, you're pregnant."

Her eyes popped open in shock, and as she looked over at Jonathan, he paled instantly.

"Congratulations you two. Take care of yourself young lady." The doctor said patting the top of her hands before he walked out.

"Wow," Jonathan said, letting out his breath in one long whoosh of air. "How did this happen?" he asked. "I mean, I know how this happened, but I guess I thought. I mean."

He was at a loss for the right words, so she finished his sentence for him. "I know." She said. "Oh gosh. What are we going to do?" she asked placing her hands in her lap and looking down at them.

"What do you mean what are we going to do?" he questioned, "We're going to raise this child together, that's what we're going to do."

Caroline jerked her head up, "But what about Danielle?"

Jonathan looked at her blankly, "What about her?"

"Well, you're engaged." She said confused. "What is she going to say about this?"

Jonathan almost burst out laughing, "I don't give a damn what that woman says. I told you Caroline, it isn't what you think it is."

Caroline straightened her shoulders, she felt like a fool again. "Then just what is it Jonathan?" She was angry now, she didn't like that he was trying to lie to her again.

"Look, I'll explain it all on the way back to Albany, let's just get you out of here first."

She gave him a look of indignation, "Albany? I'm not going anywhere with you."

Jonathan started to gather her things together, "It's not up for discussion Caroline. You're carrying my child; which means I'm responsible for you now. So you're coming home with me." Caroline stiffened, but she knew she was fighting a losing battle so she kept quiet instead.

The ride to Albany started off quietly, Caroline fidgeted with her hands, while Jonathan looked out the window. He was trying to find the best way to explain things to her. He knew it wasn't going to be an easy task, so he finally just blurted it all out.

"Wow." Caroline said shaking her head when he had finished. "I've known Danielle for a long time now, and I never thought her to be capable of something like that. I mean, I knew she had problems with men, but that's a little extreme."

Jonathan reached over and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned into his embrace, it felt natural, and she had missed him dearly.

"It wasn't all her fault, Caroline. Her father really let her down." He said trying his best to console her.

"You're a good man Jonathan Kane." She said to him snuggling into his embrace.

### Chapter 17

It's Going to be Okay

In the weeks since their altercation, Danielle hadn't seen hide nor hare of Jonathan. More than once she had gone to Vivian and asked when he was coming home. She never tried to placate Danielle with pleasantries though. She was always brutally honest with her, blaming her for her Grandson's lapse into depression.

Vivian had once again cut off her funds, telling her that until she could prove to her that this wedding was going to happen, she wasn't giving into Danielle's demands anymore. She no longer feared Danielle running to Jonathan and blabbing her darkest secrets. She knew if Danielle went anywhere near Jonathan before he was ready to deal with her himself, that he would likely lay into her again, only the wounds might be deeper next time. And Danielle was smart enough not to press her luck.

Danielle had taken the job with the Davis firm; she and Linda became fast friends. They spent most evenings out together, and went on various weekend shopping trips. She needed the companionship. Without Caroline, she felt empty inside. She had always been able to count on Caroline, to answer her phone and talk her through all her problems. Man after man, Caroline had been there.

Part of her felt sick about what she had done. Caroline was innocent, she hadn't deserved the fate she had been handed. Danielle had tried to call her several times, but was never able to work up the courage to see the call through. She either hung up before the first ring, or faltered altogether while trying to dial her number. She didn't think Caroline would answer anyways, and if she did, what could she possibly say to make things better?

She certainly couldn't tell her the truth. Even if Caroline believed her, it wouldn't matter; she would still hate her for lying to her. For ruining the best relationship she had ever had. She knew they loved each other, and part of her was sorry for crushing them, but the other part of her just didn't care. As far as she was concerned, all was fair in love and war. Jonathan was hers, by right and by law.

Danielle spent what little time she was at home sitting out by the pool, draining margaritas while she tanned. On this particular day, the sun shone hot, the water was the perfect temperature, and she was well on her way to being hammered.

Looking out of the window to the lanai Vivian watched Danielle as she guzzled down drinks one after another. The girl reminded her more and more of her father. She blamed everything on someone else, never taking responsibility for her own actions and the problems she caused.

She had single handedly ruined any chance she had ever had with her Grandson, but refused to accept it. Vivian thought back to when Danielle's father had been alive, and the time they had spent together. It had started out innocent enough, a lunch together here and there to talk about the wedding, or an outing to the supermarket.

And it slowly progressed into more. She hadn't meant to sleep with him, she loved Austin with all her heart, but something about Joshua had sucked her in.

She imagined Danielle had that same effect on men. She had inherited a deadly trait; Joshua played seduction well. He watched your habits, he got know your likes and dislikes, and then he went for the jugular. When he struck it was fast, and you never saw it coming. He was a smooth talker, and he knew his way around a woman's body. Vivian had been ashamed of herself for a long time after the affair had ended, however brief it was.

She broke down and admitted it to Austin almost instantly, and because he loved her, he forgave her. She hadn't deserved it, and she did everything in her power to make it up to him. And though Austin had forgiven her, they had hardly been given the opportunity to move forward before Joshua struck again. After the death of Paula, and her husband Edward, they were given the task of raising Jonathan. He was good boy though, and made it easy on them.

He had taken care of Austin during his weakest point, and he had been there for Vivian during her grief as well. He was so much like his mother. Strong, independent, stubborn, and too caring for his own good. She saw a lot of his father in him too. He had developed into a wonderful man, and that made her betrayal hurt that much worse.

When Joshua first approached them about money, she and Austin had been firm, and denied him immediately. But he was persistent. He threatened to go public with their affair, claiming he had photos, and wouldn't hesitate to have them published. Austin's company was finally out of the red and picking up new clients left and right. They didn't want to take the chance that any bad publicity might stifle their business.

When they finally attempted to pay him off, he made the mistake of telling them how far in debt he'd gotten himself with the Stracciatella's. So Austin, ever the efficient businessman offered to speak to the elder Stracciatella and settle the debts for him on his behalf. But of course, it was never really about the money with Joshua, he was a shrewd business minded person himself and could surely resurrect his bank account had he only put his mind to it.

He wanted to hurt Vivian and Austin, he wanted them to suffer for the crimes he imagined they had committed against him. He should have been the one to marry Paula and take over Austin's company, but Vivian and her whoring ways had ruined it for him. It was her fault he had said, and she was going to pay. So taking care of his debts for him would never be enough, and he began to demand obscene amounts of money to keep quiet. Going so far as to show them a query letter to an editor of a popular magazine.

Unable to come to terms Austin could live with, Joshua devised an even crueler way to destroy their family. He decided that if he himself could no longer marry into the family, surely his daughter could, and he would be able to gain access to the family money through her. And so he requested that his daughter and their Grandson marry when they came of age.

Truly shocked and disgusted by the prospect of condemning their Grandson to such a fate, they immediately declined. But Joshua was nothing if not persistent, coming up with various ways to further threaten Vivian's reputation and ruin their fledgling company. Deciding it would be better to placate him for now, and simply work loopholes into the proposed contract, the Abel's begrudgingly agreed to an arranged marriage.

They decided that if Jonathan had not married on his own by the time he was thirty-five then perhaps marrying Danielle wouldn't have been such a bad idea. She would be taken care of for the rest of her life, and hopefully she could make Jonathan happy. Anything really to get Joshua to back down from his vengeful stance. And in the event that Jonathan did marry, and Danielle had not, they had agreed to set up a trust in her name, one that she could access once she turned twenty-five.

They even reluctantly added him on as her beneficiary should anything befall her once they were married, at his insistence of course. Though in earnest they hoped he wasn't capable of harming his own daughter. The agreement met most of Joshua's demands, and as an incentive they also agreed to make several hefty donations to one of the many Stracciatella charity organizations in lieu of repaying Grier's current debts.

After the initial drafting, however, Joshua, somehow managed to find several of the carefully hidden loopholes, and decided to drag the Stracciatella's further into the matter to solidify things. He made sure there was no way to buy Danielle off by forcing them to 'donate' everything she wouldn't be entitled to in a standard dissolution of the contract.

If ten percent was the going rate, then everything else went to 'charity' that way he could be sure it was easier for their Grandson to simply accept his fate rather than try to fight the contract. Vivian was beside herself when the Stracciatella's accepted the deal and her husband signed away Jonathan's right to love.

Snapping back to the present, Vivian watched Danielle climb out of the pool to grab another Margarita from Juan, and felt disgusted. They had their backs against the wall, and because of that, they signed an innocent boy's life away.

Hindsight told them there were other options, but given the time constraints, they did the best they could. Closing the curtains, Vivian walked over to a sofa and sat down. With her head in her hands, she let go. Sobs tore through her body. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, though no one was there.

By the time they reached the estate, it was nearly dark. Jonathan had called ahead to have the room opposite his made up for Caroline for the night, and having talked to his Grandmother already, he knew Danielle had gone out for the evening. He didn't tell Vivian what was going on, but as she had been shocked to hear from him at all let alone that he was coming home, he eased her frazzled nerves and let her know that everything was fine, and that everything was going to be okay.

Jonathan took Caroline up to her bedroom upon entering the house, and after getting her settled in bed watching some TV, he immediately went in search of Ralph to have him prepare something for her to eat. In her present condition he wasn't taking any chances, she needed rest, and she needed food.

She had lost far too much weight as it was, and he wasn't going to take the risk of anything happening to her or their unborn child. He instructed Ralph to keep her meals as bland as possible so as not to upset her stomach, and then left him to it to go locate his Grandmother.

Jonathan found Vivian in the library, where she was curled up on the bay window seat with a large photo album in her hands. The almost fetal position which she was in made her appear far younger than she was. Her hair, fair and pale was loose about her face, and the bags under her eyes suggested she hadn't been sleeping well.

This had taken a toll on all of them, and he felt awful for everything he had put the two most important women in his life through in the past few weeks. Walking over to her, she watched his approach with haunted eyes. He looked so much like Paula, so much like Austin. Tears began to slide down her cheeks, blurring her vision. Jonathan took the photo album from her and gently placed it on the seat next to her as he grabbed her hands and pulled her into his embrace.

"I'm so sorry I've put you through all of this Gram, I should have called you. I should have just come home."

She shook her head, trying to hold back as much as she could, but the floodgates were hard to hold at bay, as waves of emotion battered at them, like a ram rod. "No, it's all my fault, I've betrayed you, just like I did Austin." Her pain overwhelmed her and she burst into tears. Her body shook as she heaved with emotion.

Jonathan held her close and whispered soothing words into her ear, "shhh, shhhh. It's okay Gram, I'm here. Just let it all out."

It was nearly half an hour before Vivian was able to calm herself, with the last hiccups her spasms stopped and she was able to breathe in a normal hushed rhythm.

"Jonathan," she said wiping the last of her tears away. "I should have told you a long time ago about what I did. I'm so ashamed, this is all my fault."

Still rubbing her shoulders, he bent to look deeply into her eyes, "I know about Joshua, Grandmother, everyone makes mistakes."

Lowering her head, she tried to turn away from him, but he caught her and gently lifted her chin to meet her gaze again.

"You did what you had to do, I forgive you."

Her eyes filled to the brim again with tears as she looked at him. She placed her hands on either side of his face, "You are so much like your Grandfather, and as such, I don't deserve your forgiveness."

As her hands dropped to her sides, Jonathan placed a kiss lightly to her forehead. "Everything is fine Gram, everything is going to be just fine."

Leaving her momentarily, Vivian took the time to smooth the lines out of her dress slacks and pull her hair back into a knot at the base of her neck. When he returned he was carrying a dinner tray and a couple of empty tea cups dangled from his fingertips.

"Come, sit, sit." He said motioning with his head to a small table and a cluster of chairs in the middle of the room. "We have much to talk about, and I need you to eat something, you look awful." He said dripping of sarcasm.

He gave her a wry smile as she sat down across from him and examined the plate before her. Her stomach made its approval of the sandwiches in front of her known as she picked one up and took a dainty bite. Jonathan laughed at her, ravishing a sandwich of his own.

"I've figured it all out Gram," he said swallowing in between bites.

"Oh?" she asked, as she dabbed the side of her mouth with a napkin.

"I spoke to Sonny the other day," he continued, watching as her face paled. "He's a nice guy. He's going to make a fine business partner."

"Business partner? I'm afraid I don't understand." She stammered trying to regain her composure. Anything involving the Stracciatella's frightened her more than she wanted to admit.

"He has a lot of stigma attached to his name, but I think he brings a lot to the table as well. He's going to be working with me on the expansion project next year. He has some really interesting ideas."

Sipping casually on a cup of fresh tea, he filled her in on the events of the past few days, her eyes widened in shock as she took it all in.

"So it's over, it's really over?" she asked stunned.

Jonathan nodded to her, "It's over Gram, you can stop beating yourself up over this."

"And Caroline? She's here?"

He smiled at her warmly, thoughts of Caroline flooding his mind. "Yeah, she's upstairs resting, you can see her tomorrow."

"Oh Jonathan, I'm so happy for you, I've been miserable these last few years thinking about Danielle and this whole awful mess I've put you in."

"You don't have to worry anymore," he said softly, "Where is Danielle by the way?" he asked.

Vivian cocked her head slightly, "I don't know, but when you tell her, I'd like to be in the room." She replied with a wicked grin.

Jonathan nearly spit out his tea, the look on his Grandmothers face was that of a toddler that had just gotten away with coloring on the walls. He had never seen this mischievous side of her. It was entertaining to say the least.

"I don't plan on telling her until the morning, Caroline needs her rest." He said getting up and stretching, "I'll see you bright and early. It's going to be quite a show." Winking at her, he crossed to the door and with one last warm smile left her to her thoughts.

Vivian sat back in her chair and stretching her neck over the edge she smiled upward. Closing her eyes, she imagined Austin smiling back at her. After all the pain, and all the secrecy, things were finally coming to an end. She could be at peace, and she could be happy again. As Jonathan had pledged his forgiveness to her this evening, she had been transported back in time to when she confessed her sins to Austin.

Looking into Jonathan's eyes as he told her it was okay, she felt a sense of Deja vu, it was thirty-five years ago and she was looking at Austin, pleading for his understanding. The two men were very much one and the same. Noble and loving. And it was over, it was finally over.

### Chapter 18

The Final Confrontation

As the sun crept over the horizon, a peaceful calmness fell over the house. Vivian granted herself the luxury of sleeping in, while Jonathan saw to breakfast with Ralph and carried it up to both his Grandmother and Caroline. Leaving them to eat their meals in peace, he went looking for Danielle. Despite returning late in the evening, she was already up, he found her out by the pool, slathering on sun block. His lips curled in distaste, but he managed to gather his wits and paste on a reassuring smile.

"Ah, Danielle, there you are." He said in a smooth charismatic tone of voice.

Her head jerked up, and her eyes narrowed with suspicion as they bore into his own.

Jonathan lifted his hands, palms forward in a gesture of surrender. "Now now, I come in peace." He said teasingly. It did nothing to calm her hostile mood.

Turning to face him, Danielle propped one hand on her hip. "That'll be the day," she retorted.

Placing a hand over his heart he gave her a pained looked, "Why Danielle, you wound me. Is it so hard to believe that I've come to have a civilized conversation?"

"Humph," she said cocking an eyebrow, "What do you want Jonathan?"

"I just want to talk, honest."

"About what?" she asked.

"Us." He said simply.

She tried her best to contain it, but her heart began pounding in her chest. Excitement buzzed in her brain, that one word ringing loudly against her eardrums.

"Oh?" she squeaked, "there's an us?"

Nodding and smiling, Jonathan continued to walk towards her, "I was hoping you and I could sit down and talk about our future."

Danielle swallowed hard as he reached for her hands, "I've come to realize a few things these past few weeks, and I'd like the opportunity to discuss them with you."

Danielle looked around her, and then down at her attire. "Here? Now?" she asked breathlessly.

She had to be dreaming, and she willed herself to wake up. She had wanted this for so long, the way he touched her, the softness of his voice. It was her fantasies come to life.

Jonathan kissed her hand lightly, and backed away, "Why don't you change into something a little more comfortable and meet me in the study in about an hour? I'll have Magda bring us lunch."

Danielle stared at him dumbfounded for a moment before shaking her head and regaining her senses. "Yeah, okay. Sure." She said too quickly. "Great." He said turning from her, "I'll see you in a few."

With her new found giddiness, Danielle grabbed her stuff in one hurried movement and bounded towards the stairs. Mentally she ran through a list of all her clothes, she had to get this just right. This was bound to be a moment she would never forget, and she wanted to look perfect. Dashing into her room, she opened the door to her dressing room and flicking on the light she looked around.

All of her clothing had been brought from the city, and hung neatly around her. She flipped through several choices before landing on one that caught her eye. It was a simple but lovely brown dress that highlighted the beautiful green hues in her eyes. Snagging it off the hanger she slipped it on over her bathing suit and grabbed a pair of nude pumps.

Checking her mirror, she fluffed the loose hair around her head and pursed her lips. She hadn't intended on swimming today, so her makeup had already been done, pulling out a tube of red lipstick, she ran it over her lips and smacked them at her reflection. Perfection in mere seconds. One look at her and Jonathan was toast.

She finally had his attention, and if she had anything to say about it, today would be the day he fell in love. The horror of the past few weeks melted away as she imagined Jonathan carrying her up the stairs to his suite to make love to her. She sighed as she headed for the door. Her luck had finally turned, and it was time to cash in!

As she opened the door to the study, Danielle's eyes landed not on Jonathan, but on Caroline. She was seated at a small table overlooking the lanai, and across from her sat Vivian, a wide smile bloomed the width of her face. They were holding hands, and talking excitedly about something that Danielle couldn't quite make out. Perplexed, Danielle looked about the room for Jonathan, but he was nowhere in sight. Attempting to back out of the room before being noticed she almost ran into him.

"You're early," he said almost surprised as he took in her attire. "Come on in." he motioned with his head toward the door. In his hands he held a tray with the makings of tea and all the trappings.

"I uh, I thought we'd be alone?" she asked trying to read the indiscernible look in his eyes. She was confused, and she was beginning to feel trapped. Something wasn't right, why was Caroline here?

"Just come in, I'll explain everything in a minute." He told her reassuringly.

As not to run into him again in the tight space of the doorway, she backed into the room and out of his way. Jonathan placed the tray on the table between the two women and placing a hand on her back bent over to whisper something to Caroline. As all eyes landed on her, Danielle suddenly felt very much like an animal being hunted by a pack of lions. This was a trap, and she had fallen gracefully right into their laps. Caroline stood smoothing her skirt as she walked towards her.

"Danielle," she said with her hands outstretched, "I'm so happy to see you."

"You, you are?" she stammered as Caroline put her arms around her and hugged her tightly to her.

"It's been so hard without you." She said quietly. "Usually when I have problems, you're the first person I turn to. But how could I talk to you, about you?" Her voice quivered slightly as she smiled at Danielle through the pain.

"I, I'm so sorry Caroline." She said choking back a sob.

Caroline gave her an emphatic smile, "Oh Danielle, I'm not the one you need to apologize to. I'm sorry for the things you went through, I know what kind of person you are deep down, and I can't imagine what your father has done to you, to make you feel such hate."

As the meaning of her words hit home, Danielle stumbled backwards, "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

Jonathan didn't give Caroline time to reply, stepping between them he shoved an envelope into Danielle's hands.

"What's this?" she asked, opening it cautiously.

"It's the deed to my condo." Jonathan said calmly.

Danielle's head jerked up in disbelief.

"It's over Danielle." Vivian said from the back of the room drawing her attention.

Danielle dropped the envelope on the floor, "To hell it is," she said angrily. "I'm not sure what game the three of you are plotting at, but let me remind you, I'm not the only you need to appease. So you can shove that deed up your ass, because I highly doubt the Stracciatella's are going to let you off the hook so easily."

"On the contrary," Jonathan began, his voice commanding her attention. "Sonny and I reached an agreement just the other day on this matter. In exchange for voiding his half of the contract, I'm making him an equal partner in the expansion of the Paradise Project. He stands to make three times as much money as he would in the sale of my Grandfather's company."

Danielle's jaw dropped as the last of the restraints on her anger snapped, throwing her hands in the air she yelled furiously, "Fine, you want him Caroline? Take him, he's all yours! But I won't be bought out so easily, I'll take this to court if I have to. They'll force you to uphold my end and sell everything you hold so dear! Who gets the last laugh now?" she asked in mocking laughter.

Vivian stood then, "I do." She said easily. "I spoke to our estate lawyer this morning Danielle. The only property still in my dear Austin's possession, God rest his soul, is the old factory and a couple of small investment firms."

"Come again?" Danielle interjected.

"You heard right, Danielle." Jonathan said before Vivian could reply. "Sonny and I discussed quite a few things that day including the fact that he knew the contract wasn't worth much more than the paper it was printed on. His father even tried to talk my Grandfather out of it several times but he was so loyal to my Gram and couldn't bear the thought of the scandal she would face.

So the elder Stracciatella suggested the name of a lawyer, one he often dealt with when he needed to "get rid of assets" so to speak. My Grandfather made sure to sell this house," he said turning and motioning with his hands, "as well as the deed to my condo to a third party, someone he trusted not to screw him over, and then that dear friend turned the deeds over to me after the contract was validated. Clever really."

She couldn't believe it, nothing was as it had seemed, and everything was crumbling around her. Jonathan picked up the envelope and handed it to her again.

"That condo is worth far more than the ten percent of my Grandfather's assets. Don't be stupid, Danielle. Take it."

Close to tears, she couldn't remember ever being so angry or so humiliated. She hated them for this, there had to be something she could do. As a thought came to mind she turned to face Vivian, pointing a finger at her she spat words of hatred and anguish at the old woman, "You won't get away with this. You've ruined my life, and I will make you pay for it. I don't care if I have to drag my name through the mud too, the world will know what you did to me and my family!"

"Enough!" Jonathan boomed. "You'll not talk to my Grandmother that way!" he said getting inches from her.

Danielle shook with fear, and frustration, she couldn't decipher which. Pushing between them, Caroline pulled Jonathan away, trying her best to defuse the situation.

"It was your pathetic father that ruined your life!" he continued to rant from behind Caroline. "Your psychotic drunk of a father seduced my Grandmother and ruined whatever chances he had with my mother!"

"Shut up!" Danielle screamed back at him, "That whore couldn't stand to see her daughter happy and slept with my father!"

Seething with rage, Jonathan grabbed something off a table nearby and threw it at Danielle. "He couldn't bear the fact that he had lost to my father, that he had single handedly destroyed his future, and when trying to bury my father's business didn't work, he decided to kill my father instead. Anything to get her back, only he didn't know my mother would be in that plane too. Your father was a sick man Danielle."

Looking down at the photos at her feet, Danielle's rage was slowly losing ground. She didn't want to believe what he was saying, it couldn't be true.

"If you need someone to blame, he's your guy."

Tears slowly spilled over her eyelids and down her cheeks. His words stung, everything she had ever believed was a lie. She had been filled with hate for so long, and it had been directed at the wrong person this whole time.

"After he killed my mother, he couldn't live with himself Danielle. He drank himself into oblivion. He drove your mother to an overdose, and he destroyed your life."

Shaking her head, Danielle hugged her arms to her chest, "No, stop it, please stop it."

Caroline crossed the space between them and gathered Danielle in her arms. "Jonathan," she said turning to him. "That's enough."

Ushering her from the room, Caroline took her into the parlor and sat her down.

"I'm so sorry Caroline," she sobbed as her shoulders heaved in agony. "I'm no better than him, that bastard ruined my life, and I'm no better than him."

"No, Danielle, don't you dare think that way." She soothed. "Look at the life you built for yourself, you did that Danielle, and nobody can take that from you."

Sniffling, Danielle looked up into her eyes. "Oh Caroline, I wish I was more like you."

Caroline laughed, "You're a lot more like me than you know. You're so much better than this Danielle, I just wish you saw the same potential I do."

"I need to go." She said after a few minutes of silence. "I'm so sorry." She said again.

Standing, Danielle, looked at her one more time then turned and walked away. Jonathan walked out of the study and came to stand behind her.

"Let her go." He said gently, placing one hand on the small of her back. Caroline turned in his arms and looked up at him lovingly.

"I feel so bad for her, Jonathan." She said, snuggling closer to him.

### Epilogue

Jonathan laid in bed with Caroline tucked into the groove of his arm, sighing contentedly as he rubbed his hand over her distended abdomen. Their child kicked in response to his touch.

"Oh, that was a good one." Caroline giggled.

It had been six months since Danielle had walked out of their lives. After learning of her father's ultimate betrayal, she quietly gathered her things and left in pieces. Her pride deflated, she hadn't tried to fight them anymore, she hadn't even taken the deed to Jonathan's condo with her. Jonathan had heard from his lawyer a few weeks later that the contract was null and void at the request of Ms. Geier, and that was that.

Rifling through the mail he had left upon the nightstand, Jonathan came across a handwritten envelope, addressed to Mrs. Caroline Kane. Caroline Kane, he hadn't gotten used to it yet, they had been married for almost two months now, and he still couldn't believe it. She was the most amazing woman he had ever met, and now she was his. He was the luckiest man alive. A wife and a baby all in the span of year, what more could anyone possibly want out of life?

"This is for you." He said handing her the letter.

"Yeah?" she asked, "who's it from?"

"I don't know, there's no return address."

"Hmm..." she said intrigued.

Opening the letter, she mouthed the words as she read along, Jonathan laughed to himself as he watched her. She was peculiar his little one.

"So? Who's it from?" he asked.

"It's from Danielle." She replied simply. "She said she's sorry for all the pain she caused, that she's happy for us, we deserve each other, and she's accepted that."

"Huh, well I'll be." Sitting up, she continued, "Danielle says she's moved in with an Aunt in New Jersey, she needed a fresh start, she needed to figure out who she really was, and what that meant."

Sighing, she set the letter down on her nightstand and snuggled back into her groove.

"I'm glad she's taking the time to find herself. You never got to know the real Danielle, she's a good person."

Jonathan rolled to his side, propping his head on his hand he looked down at her.

"You're a good person." He said, looking deep into her eyes. "You make me so happy Caroline, thank you for loving me."

She blushed, "Why Mr. Kane, are you hitting on me?" she asked fluttering her lashes

"Damn right I am." He replied, nibbling on her earlobe.

###
Thank you for reading _Contractual Attraction_! I hope you enjoyed getting to know Jonathan and Caroline! Be on the look out in the future for Danielle and Sonny's chance at redemption! And be sure to take a minute and leave a review with your favorite retailer!

Thanks!

April Cronin

About the Author

As an avid reader of romance and mystery novels, I decided to take a stab at penning my own novel after a slew of dreams plagued my every waking thoughts. I currently live with my husband and two young sons in Florida where I am busy at work on a series of novels featuring a dynamic group of handsome hockey stars and the women who's hearts they wish to score!

### Here's a sneak peak...

Please enjoy a couple of chapters from my next novel, the first in the _Savannah Slashers Series;_ _Icing the Competition!_

With ten minutes and fifty-three seconds to go in the third period, Dean shifted the puck on his stick and looked down the ice. He had two opponents coming at him with another going off for a change.

As his right winger and assistant Captain, Donovan Pierce, crossed the blue line ahead of him, he swiftly stick-handled past an opposing forward and shot the puck in front of the net. Donovan seemingly appeared out of nowhere redirecting and pushing it home. The buzzer sounded, the fans went wild and Donovan shot his trademark arrow celebration into the crowd.

Dean glided across the ice slapping high fives and glancing up at the replay on the scoreboard. It was a nice goal, but being down by two in the home opener as the seconds ticked away, it wasn't nearly enough.

After losing the Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks a few months prior, Dean felt like he had something to prove. There weren't many teams out there that were capable of making it back to the Cup finals the season after losing it, let alone a team able to win. Dean however, was confident that he could not only take his Slashers to the finals again, but that this time they could bring the cup home with them.

Even though the off-season had been short, everyone was healthy, and the necessary changes had been made to bolster the roster. They had more depth on the blue line, had picked up a fresher set of legs on the penalty kill and found a heavy hitter to take some of the load off of their current instigator.

After this season they were likely to face an overhaul with the latest cap hits and his own big contract taking effect, not to mention the re-up his powerhouse line mate Donovan Pierce should soon receive, so this was it as far as he was concerned. They hadn't really lost anyone over the break, but this might be the last chance for the current roster to finally bring the cup back to the south, as it hadn't last seen the sun since the Bolts had it in two thousand and four.

Sitting on the bench trying to catch his breath Dean watched the action on the ice. An Icing was called on one of the Rangers younger forwards, and as the puck slid around the net, Donovan tapped the back of his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"That's our cue, Cap. Let's tie this game up!"

Flashing him a quick grin Dean slapped his mouthpiece into place and hopped over the bench onto the ice.

Skidding to a stop near his mark inside the circle to left of the net, he shredded ice as his skates grabbed for purchase. He hunkered down prepared for an offensive zone face-off with valuable points on the line as the ref leaned in to drop the puck.

Watching intently as his opponents stick smacked the ice a fraction of a second before his own, Dean felt the familiar thwack of wood on puck and sent it flying towards the boards and his waiting defenseman. Before he could move out of the way though, his young adversary's stick caught up with his own and he was whistled for high sticking.

Dean spit out his mouthpiece and cursed as he watched the young forward play it off by throwing his head back and touching his fingertips to his mouth checking for blood.

They had less than eight minutes to either tie this game up and take it into overtime or pull off the win. Now was certainly not the time to be taking stupid penalties, and as the team's leading penalty killer, he cursed himself as he slipped off the ice into the penalty box.

"Feeling the hangover, are we Dean?" asked Ken, the penalty box time keeper, or as the players referred to them as the box babysitters.

Dean shook his head and slid onto the bench. "No hangovers here Ken, just taking a little more time to mesh with these new line changes. But yeah, pretty stupid penalty huh?"

Ken tapped his clipboard seemingly uninterested, "minute and ten seconds." He replied.

Dean grabbed a rag from the bench and wiped his brow as looked out into the crowd. And then he saw her.

Just off to the right of the penalty box she sat right up against the glass. She was wearing a Slashers baseball cap, and her glorious red hair fanned out in soft curls around her face. In that instant, his breath caught and he had the strongest urge to bury his face in that flaming red mane of curls.

Her eyes, a piercing sky colored blue looked up to the scoreboard as a smile lit her porcelain like features and she let out a loud whoop. The smile reached all the way to her eyes, forming little crinkles around the edges.

Dean was so caught up in her beauty he nearly missed the shorthanded goal by Peter Petrovic as he slipped it past the goalie off a break away. Shaking his head to get his wits about him, he smacked Ken on the back and threw up his hand in a cheer.

"Thirty seconds left, Cap." Ken choked out.

Smiling, Riley shoved her shoulder into Abby. "I think he's looking at you." She yelled into her ear over the noise from the boisterous crowd.

"What? Who's looking at me?" she asked confused.

Riley pointed to the penalty box below them. "Um, only THE Captain of the team." she said as her finger shook with excitement.

Dumbstruck, Abby jerked her gaze towards the box to catch a wicked grin from Dean as he exited out back onto the ice. No way had he been looking at her! That's crazy talk! And even if he had, so what, he probably just smiled at her like she was any other fan. Right?

Abby shook her head, she couldn't jump on this train of thought, she had a boyfriend, and she needed to remember that. So what if Dean was completely dreamy and had a body carved from stone. She was with Joey, and he was good looking too. Maybe not Dean good looking, but he was certainly attractive enough.

As the train left the station though, Abby found herself fully on board and glued to the number eighteen on Dean's back as she watched him skate into the fray.

"If you had just seen the look on his face a few seconds sooner, my gosh Abs, he was totally checking you out! Dean Kirk, was checking you out!" Riley said emphasizing his name.

Abby just laughed as she watched while Dean pulled some crazy stunt that pushed the puck deep into the offensive zone. Rounding the boards, he poured on the fancy footwork as he maneuvered the puck around the back of the net and over to one of his young defensemen.

The kid wasn't quite able to calm the puck down again though and sent it back out to center where it was picked up by a defending forward and thrown down the ice towards the goalie. Francois Baudin, their six foot six goal tender, easily scooped up the puck and halted the clock as it ticked down past five minutes.

On the edge of her seat, Abby watched the face-off eagerly as Dean was thrown out of the circle and Donovan took over. Considering that the pair were no less than lethal with the puck, she noticed that the coach often had them on the ice together.

Straight off the puck drop however, Donovan was shoved to the ground, and Dean ever the avenger, stepped up to the veteran winger and threw down his gloves as if to fight for Donovan's honor. The crowd booed as the ref, blind to the Ranger's earlier antics, sent Dean to the box for his second penalty of the period.

While precious seconds ticked away, Dean was having a hard time focusing on just the game. Every millisecond he got he stole a glance into the stands to see if she was watching. And when the Rangers right winger got dirty with Donovan he saw the perfect opportunity to make his way back to the box.

He figured two minutes should be more than enough time to get her attention, and surely his teammates could pull off another penalty kill without him, and be able to somehow steal a win too. Five minutes was plenty of time.

Gliding into the box, Dean slid past Ken all the way over to the right so that he sat directly beneath her. Looking up, he tapped on the glass to catch her attention. When her startled gaze met his, he could swear his heart leapt. Her eyes were a shade of blue he had never encountered before, and as the game pressed on in front of him, he was lost and drowning within them.

"Hey Red, what's your name." He drawled in his best-and fake-southern accent. As her lips parted in surprise, a petite brunette sitting next to her elbowed her.

"Her name is Abigail." She yelled for her.

"Well, Abigail." He said, enunciating, "What can I do to convince you and your friend to meet me and some of the guys for a little celebratory drink down at Molly MacPherson's after the game?"

Before Abby could catch her breath, Riley cut in again, "Will Donovan be there?" she asked eagerly.

"Of course." He said with that charmingly crooked grin of his.

Smiling and shaking her head, Abby finally managed to get a hold of herself. "And what makes you so sure you're going to win this game? You're awfully cocky aren't you?" she mocked.

Dean tapped his stick on the ground and laughed. "Honey, I'll make it my personal mission to win this game tonight if it means you'll come out and celebrate with me."

Abby blushed as Riley elbowed her again. "Come on Abs, please!" she begged.

"Yeah, come on Abs, please?" Dean echoed winking at her and throwing her off balance yet again.

"Alright," she said on a sigh. "IF you win this game, we'll be there."

Dean gave her one more of his million watt smiles and slid from the bench as he headed back towards the ice. "I'm going to hold you to it," he said licking his teeth before putting his mouth piece back into place.

The two friends giddy with laughter and excitement watched intently during the final three minutes as Dean did as he promised. Assisting Petrovic on one goal, and putting one past ole Lundqvist himself to win the game in the last thirty seconds.

As the clock ticked off the final second and the buzzer sounded, Dean pulled into the penalty box after a short celebration with his teammates. Red faced and embarrassed, Abby put her face in her palms and tried not to blush.

"Alright, Red, you know how to get to Molly's?" He asked. Abby nodded. "I'll meet you there in an hour then," he said before waving to a couple of fans behind her and skating out of the box to the waiting camera crew for a quick post-game interview.

Abby and Riley made haste back to their hotel room and quickly changed before heading over to Molly MacPherson's Pub. Being as the hotel was in walking distance just a few blocks away, they hoofed it over with plenty of time to spare.

The illumination from the street lamps above cast a pale yellow light on the blue brick facade of the building, and in Abby's opinion, since she'd seen the place in the light of day, surely didn't do the place justice. Hanging above the French style doors was a large coat of arms announcing the rich Scottish heritage of the place, and planters sat atop both windows lending an air of romance to it. Abby knew that in the light of day the pub would've made a lovely postcard.

Upon walking through the doors however, she left the quiet romance of the night and entered into an all-out Scottish hootenanny. The walls were covered in plaques and coats of arms, banners hung from the ceiling, and a lively band blared traditional Scottish folk music from a stage in one corner, while people all around it danced the highland fling.

An over stocked bar nearly spanned the length of the wall nearest the door, and her heels clicked on the scarred wood floors as she headed towards it past the gleaming Cherrywood tables.

The two girls pulled out a couple of high backed bar stools and sat down, taking in as much of their surroundings as they could. On an earlier walk just after checking into the hotel, they'd passed by Molly's in search of shopping, but hadn't been tempted enough to go in. Now they almost wished they had, it was really quite the place.

Riley caught the attention of the bartender and ordered a couple of sodas while Abby twirled a strand of hair around her finger and nervously watched the door.

"Abby chill, they probably won't even show up!" she said, nearly shouting to be heard over the music.

Abby turned to face her and blew out a breath of air, "you're right, I don't know what I'm so nervous about."

Just then, the doors crashed open and the music stopped as a laughing hoard of men surged in. With their arms raised, they hooted and hollered, singing the lyrics to the song "We are the Champions." Gaining recognition, the bar patrons finally raised their glasses and chimed in as the band picked up the tune. Abby caught sight of Dean leading the pack and slunk down in her seat.

It was of course to no avail as he spotted her instantly, and after slapping a couple of high fives to some of the guys, split from his teammates and took the open seat next to her.

His dark hair was still wet from the shower he no doubt took after the game, and being in such close proximity, she could smell the soap that clung to his skin, it was something masculine with earthy undertones, and immediately sent her hormones into overdrive.

Facing her, his green eyes glittered and his cheeks dimpled as he gave her one of his heart stopping smiles. "You came!" he said as he motioned to the bartender. "Can I get you a drink?"

Holding up her coke, Abby shook her head, "no thanks, I'm good!" she shouted back over the music.

Dean nodded, but before he could say anything else, a couple of giggling blondes tapped him on the shoulder and asked for a picture. Ever the ladies' man, he slipped off the bar stool and stood between them smiling for the camera and signing a couple of autographs. Abby took the opportunity to try and slip away.

She was detained however a few feet away by Peter Petrovic as he bowed and politely asked, in a rather thick and hard to understand Russian accent, her to dance. Unable to decline he led her to where the band was kicking up another Scottish dance known as the Hooper's Jig and she tried her best to follow along. Nearly tripping over Peter's feet she desperately looked around for Riley and finally saw her cozied up at a corner table near the fireplace with none other than Donovan Pierce.

Riley had one hand on Donovan's arm and threw her head back in laughter as he leaned forward and whispered something into her ear. Caught up in the scene she didn't notice when Dean tapped on Peter's shoulder and cut in. As Peter twirled her out it was Dean's large hands that reeled her back in.

Coming up hard against the expanse of Dean's solid chest though finally snapped her attention away from Riley and Donovan. Stunned, Abby looked up and momentarily locked eyes with him. While their gazes held, Abby's heart thundered like a herd of wild horses against his chiseled form. She placed her palms on his muscular pectorals to gain some distance and quickly regretted it as the heat of his body seared her hands.

"Sorry for the interruption Red," Dean said unperturbed, as he took one hand in his and began moving them to the beat of the band.

Lost in the sensations his body ignited, Abby was helpless to do more than move along with him.

Finally, as the band took a break, Dean lead her away from the small stage and toward the doors. "Will you step outside with me for a minute Abby? It's kind of crowded in here."

As though her body had been taken over by a step ford, Abby merely nodded and followed him through the open doors.

With the cool night air surrounding them, Dean gently guided her by the elbow to one of two white benches that flanked the doors. Immediately after sitting down, Dean stretched out his long legs and threw his arms over the back of the bench.

Trying to regain her composure, Abby slid to the far side of the bench to put a little distance between them. Laughing, Dean put the arm closest to her down by his side, "I don't bite Red," he said.

"I'm sorry, you just," she began trailing off.

"I make you nervous," he finished for her.

"A little," she replied nodding slightly. "I mean I don't really know anything about you."

Dean turned towards her so that they were almost facing each other, "fair enough," he said holding out a hand, "Hi, I'm Dean Kirk."

Startled Abby accepted it and laughing, shook his hand, "Abby Clement," she replied.

Dean liked the sound of her laughter, almost a little too much, it was husky, but smooth and definitely feminine. And it stirred emotions in him he wasn't even sure he knew he had.

After the game had ended and he filled his contractual obligations with the press, Dean had quickly showered and changed, hurrying the guys along as fast as he could, hoping that she'd show. He didn't realize just how much he was looking forward to seeing her again though until he'd walked into the pub and seen her.

Sitting there at the bar, her blazing red curls flowing down her back like lava, and the clingy material of her silver cocktail dress sparkling as it showed off her curves, his mouth had watered. As a professional athlete, he had the luxury of meeting a lot of good looking women, but in all his twenty-eight years, he'd never seen one more beautiful than Abby.

Sitting next to her under the stars like this, the flowery scent of the evening air mingling with her own sensual smelling perfume, Dean almost couldn't breathe, let alone think. But stumbling through his new found awkwardness he was able to put together a coherent conversation.

"Tell me about yourself Red," he finally managed.

"Okay," she said folding her hands in her lap. "I grew up in Kingsland, got my bachelor's at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and now I'm the Public Relations manager of an animal rescue group in Yulee. I own a small piece of property there as well that I share with three dogs, two cats, one horse and an old donkey who's missing his tail."

Dean laughed, but inwardly he sighed a breath of relief as he noticed she hadn't said she was married or engaged. He wasn't out of the woods yet, a beautiful girl like her probably had men banging down her door daily, but he thought if she'd been in a serious relationship she probably would have mentioned it straight off.

"Only one dog and the donkey are mine, the rest are fosters," she said as she pressed on. "I like to read in my spare time, and I'm very active with several ASPCA organizations as well. What about you Dean?" She inquired.

"You know, I'm surprised you'd even need to ask, those seats you had aren't easy to come by Red, honestly, I sorta figured you for a puck bunny," he teased, earning himself a slap.

"I am no such thing!" She yelped, almost insulted. Though she hadn't expected him to express such concerns, she didn't think for a second he had ever actually thought her to be some kind of hockey groupie, or he probably wouldn't have invited her out in the first place.

"Alight, I deserved that," he joked, rubbing his shoulder. "I grew up in New Jersey, just across the border from Philly. Growing up, I watched a lot of Flyers and Devils games, played for Gloucester Catholic, and got drafted by the Slashers right out high school. I have no pets currently, my parents are divorced, my mom got remarried and lives in Connecticut. My dad still lives in Camden, and pretends to be a bachelor," he leaned in a little and cupped his hand around his mouth. "Between you and me, he's not very good at it, he's a hopeless romantic in disguise."

Abby laughed softly, and was rewarded with another of his sweet dimpled smiles as he continued. "I have an older sister as well, she lives in New York and works for an insurance firm. What about your family, Abby?"

"No siblings, my father died my senior year of high school in a car accident, and my mother lives in Saint Augustine, moved there just after graduation."

Dean resisted the urge to reach out and touch her, as a sad smile crossed her face when talking about her father. "Losing your dad like that, gotta be the pits. Sorry," he said sympathetically.

Abby shook her head sending her hair into motion, and Dean unable to help himself any longer caught one fiery lock in his hands and kneaded it between his fingers. It was just as soft and luxurious as he had expected it to be.

Stiffening slightly, Abby gently pulled away. "I'm sorry Dean, I have a boyfriend. I should've told you that right away."

Dean sat back and tried his best to hide his overwhelming disappointment. "Of course you do," he sighed.

"Joey, my boyfriend, he actually bought me those tickets for our anniversary. We were supposed to go together, but he couldn't make it." She admitted suddenly feeling guilty. She snubbed herself mentally for letting things get so out of hand. She should have told him at the rink about Joey, she should never have come here, and they certainly shouldn't have touched each other the way they had.

There was something about Dean though that made her forget about everything else. A feeling of familiarity that clawed at her insides. Passion and heat sizzled just underneath, and her body begged her for some kind of release.

After a long silence Dean stood up, and holding out his hand, asked, "Would you go for a walk with me Abby? There's a nice park just around the corner."

Abby looked at him skeptically, she had just told him she had a boyfriend, and now he wanted to take her for a walk?

"I'll keep my hands to myself, I promise," he said placing one hand over his heart and grinning sheepishly.

"Alright," she finally agreed. "But what about my friend Riley? Is she safe with that guy?"

"Who Donny?" Dean asked almost cracking up. "Donny might fancy himself a ladies' man, but won't anything happen that she doesn't agree to, and he's certainly not one to make promises, he'll tell her straight up what he's after."

Reluctantly Abby caved, and after one final look over her shoulders through the pub windows, she stood and walked with Dean to the park.

As they rounded the corner and stepped onto the path that lead into Franklin Square, Dean grabbed her hand and turned her to face him. "So tell me about Joey," he said softly.

"There's really not a whole lot to tell," she insisted. "We met in high school, I had a crush, he didn't. Met up again a few years ago, and have been dating ever since."

"So what, was it like the ugly duckling syndrome or something?" He asked on a laugh.

Though slightly insulted, Abby couldn't help laughing along. "Something like that, I had the goods, I just didn't know how to advertise."

Dean laced his fingers through hers and began walking again. Though her initial thought was to pull away, the heat of his palm against hers was delicious and she reveled in it instead.

"Joey's a good guy," she said almost defensively. "He's an accountant, we've been dating for three years, and while he's maybe a little quiet, we get along great."

Dean nodded, even though he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Abby. She didn't at all sound like a woman in love. On the other hand, his heart leapt at the implications.

"I'm no expert, but isn't three years a long time to be 'just dating'?"

Abby bristled and pulled away. "Why does everyone keep saying that? Is there some kind of time limit to how long you can date before you have to get married?"

Dean put up his palms in a gesture of surrender, "Whoa there Red, I was just asking. No need to bite my head off."

Sighing Abby turned to face him, "I'm sorry, I guess I'm a little touchy about our relationship."

"And why is that?" he asked innocently.

"Because I've been asking myself the same questions," she sighed. "I'm happy with Joey, we have fun together, but lately, I guess it just feels less like a relationship and more like a friendship."

"You want to talk about it?"

Abby shook her head, "No, I'm still trying to figure it all out myself."

Dean nodded and placed a tentative hand on the small of her back, gently guiding her to another bench nearby.

Rather than stretching out again, Dean bent slightly over his knees and watched Abby attentively. Uncomfortable underneath his bold gaze, Abby sat sideways one leg crossed over the other and placed her hands in her lap as she looked him over in silence.

"What's on your mind Red?" he asked cracking one of those devilishly crooked grins of his.

"I'm just trying to understand what a guy like you wants with a girl like me." she said quietly.

Dean laughed. "A guy like me huh?"

"Well yeah, I mean, come on Dean, I have a boyfriend, and I'm pretty and all, but I'm sure you could have just about any girl you wanted. So what are we doing here?"

"The boyfriend aside for now," Dean said as he sat up, and softly tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. "You're beautiful Red, don't sell yourself short. And besides, the type of girls you're referring to, just aren't my style."

Abby's nerves went haywire as his finger brushed against her ear, igniting a trail of fire along her skin.

"Oh?" she asked so softly it came out in nearly a whisper.

Laughing, Dean sat back, stretching both arms behind the bench and rolling his head to ease the kinks in his neck... "Honey, you won't find me in any tabloids. I don't date models. Too skinny, not enough meat on their bones."

Drawn to her like a magnate, Dean stroked one finger along her arm, despite the fact that she was,in his opinion, in a doomed relationship, he was having a hard time holding himself back. He itched to feel her bare skin against his, but settled for a little light contact instead. "I like a woman with a good heart, one that's attached to a decent brain."

"Is that so?" Abby asked fighting the urge to lean into him.

"Google me Red. You'll find plenty of articles about these dirty hands of mine." He said turning his palms towards her, "but they'll all be attached to statistics."

Unable to hold back the laughter bubbling up inside her, Abby let it rumble out. The smooth husky sound was again like none he had ever heard before. Like drinking a good whiskey while listening to jazz. Warm and melodic.

Dean somehow managed to stop himself from leaning forward and kissing her, but God did he want to. When the laughter subsided and her eyes slowly opened again, her lips were still slightly parted and she presented an image to behold. It was all he could do not to touch her again.

"Did you say earlier that you had a donkey with no tail?" he asked changing the subject before he did something stupid.

Abby nodded, "Yeah, his name is Eeyore, a horse ate it off when he was younger and for some reason, it never grew back."

It took Dean a minute to picture it but when he did he let loose with a low chuckle. "I get it, like the donkey from Winnie the Pooh, he had his tail nailed on right?"

"Right," Abby agreed.

"And you have a horse too? Do you ride then? I used to a little when I was a kid."

"You rode a horse?" She asked incredulously.

"I did," he replied winking at her.

"Well," she said, "Sparky, the horse I'm fostering, is much too skinny to ride, but I too rode when I was younger. My grandparents have a cattle farm down in Suwanee and I went there pretty much every summer."

"Do you foster a lot of neglect cases then?" Dean asked with interest.

"I try to," she went on. "I'm fostering a couple of barn cats until a permanent home pops up, they're pretty feral, so if we ever find them a home, I'll have to trap them. And the two dogs I've got temporarily are from a fighting ring we busted up."

Dean was impressed, and discovered he had a soft spot for this woman's philanthropy. He tended to donate most of his free time to children's hospitals but he found her dedication to animals refreshing and noble.

"And what about the dog you own, was he a rescue too?" He inquired.

"Rufus," she said with warm smile. "Yeah, he was a rescue. We found him wandering the streets as a puppy. I've had him for about five years now. He's just the cutest little harrier ever."

"A Harrier? What, like he's really harry?"

Abby laughed softly, "No, it's kind of like a beagle, but bigger."

"So like a foxhound then? Why do they call it a Harrier?"

"No, no it's smaller than a foxhound. Right in the middle of the two." she said shaking her head. "Harrier's just the breed. I think they mainly hunted hares."

Impressed by his knowledge about dogs, and his interest in her animals, Abby had the sudden desire to scoot closer, thankfully her urge was squashed when Riley rounded the corner with Donovan, laughing loudly.

"Hey! There's my girl!" Riley exclaimed. "We've been looking for you two."

"And you found us," Dean answered with a hint of annoyance.

Donovan offered a hand to Abby as he winked at Dean, "Donovan Pierce, pleased to meet you Abby. Riley here's been telling me all about you."

"Lies I'm sure," she said shaking his hand.

"Says you're a publicist. Is that right? I could sure use a new one myself. Especially one that looks like you," he continued, pouring on the charm.

"Unless you've got four legs and a tail, I don't think she'll be much help to you there Donny," Dean said gruffly as he looked over and noticed Abby blushing.

Donovan took the hint and looped one arm around Riley's shoulders. "Riley and I were just talking about heading back to their hotel and checking out the cabanas, You two interested in a swim?"

"Oh yeah, which hotel are you ladies staying at?" Dean asked.

"We're staying at Andaz," Riley supplied.

"Pretty swanky place," Donovan chimed in, pulling Riley closer.

Abby yawned and looked Riley square in the eyes, "I'm actually pretty tired, but you two have fun."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Riley sang with understanding, pulling Donovan along with her.

The two waved goodbye and disappeared into the night, leaving Abby alone with Dean once more.

Dean laid a tentative hand on her shoulder to regain her attention, "are you really tired Abby, or are you just tired of me?" He asked dolefully, sliding his hand down her arm and back to his side.

Shocked, Abby had a hard time answering him, but finally managed to find her voice. "No, no" she stammered. "I was just trying to get rid of them, I'm actually really enjoying your company."

There was a heated moment of silence between them before Abby spoke again, "You're a very interesting man Dean Kirk, I've never met anyone like you."

Just when Dean thought he had control of himself, she had to go and say something like that. He had been prepared for the let down as she feigned exhaustion and tried to slip away, but he hadn't counted on this, on her actually wanting to be alone, with him.

Abby nervously twirled her thumbs as the silence stretched a beat longer than she was comfortable with. She had just admitted to him that she wanted to be alone with him, and now she had to question his own motives as he sat there quietly assessing her.

"Alright then," he finally said standing and offering her his hand. "Shall we continue our walk?"

Abby nodded and slipped her hand into his, lacing their fingers together.

"You know, we do a lot of promoting for various causes, and I'm very interested in what you do Abby, maybe I could help," he said after a few minutes of walking quietly down the path.

"Really? What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, some kind of drive or event, maybe some autographed pictures or sticks or something?"

Stopping, Abby turned to face him, "Wow Dean, that would be awesome! Maybe we could do a calendar or something, you know like Bryan Bickell did a couple of years ago for his pit bulls!"

Dean scoffed and made a stabbing motion against his chest, "Bickell, the Blackhawks, way to stab me in the heart Red!" He teased.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," she said sympathetically while rubbing a hand up his arm to comfort him.

Smiling, Dean placed his hands on her shoulders, "I was kidding Red, it's okay really, but if you wanted to put your hands on me..."

Abby's mouth widened in shock, "You ARE one cocky son of a bitch aren't you Dean?"

Dean shrugged, "Well, my mother's no bitch, but...If the skate fits. Seriously though, I'll talk to the guys, you get in touch with my agent and we'll see what we can do."

Abby nodded as they turned and continued along the path.

After a companionable stroll through Franklin Square, talking about everything and nothing in general, Abby learned things about Dean that truly changed her opinion of athletes everywhere. He told her about the work he did with the Children's Network, and how he absolutely enjoyed the kids of the Make A Wish Foundation, how they inspired him and often taught him to be humble when his ego got out of hand.

And they talked about his condo on Tybee Island, how he loved waking up every morning to the sounds of the ocean outside his window, but that he often missed the changes of the New Jersey seasons, and wide open spaces where he grew up.

She was also impressed to learn what actually went into being a professional hockey player, the amount of work they had to do on their own outside of the already grueling practices.

When she asked him about role models and who inspired him to play the game, she was of course unsurprised to hear him reference the likes of Wayne Greztky, Bobby Orr, and Steve Yzerman, some of the greatest players to take to the ice.

She was however, slightly shocked when he told her he secretly aspired to be more like Jonathan Toews as a Captain, considering he was not only his current adversary but younger to boot.

"I grew up watching those guys, ya know? But Toews, he's something else. I don't think there's a Captain out there better than him." He had said.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you guys look like you have plenty of chemistry out there on the ice to me."

Dean smiled, but shook his head, "there's a lot more to it than that Red. And those damn Blackhawks, they seem to always find a way to win. We can beat them just fine during the regular season, but come playoffs, it's like they bring a whole new gear to the rink, beating them four out of seven times is nearly impossible."

As they exited the gates of the park, Dean nudged her with his shoulder, "enough about me, I want to hear more about you, tell me about your work Abby."

"Okay," she began. "I wanted to be a journalist. Write for some big time paper, but when I got deeper into my classes, somehow I became interested in the public relations aspect and decided being a publicist might not have been such a bad way to go either."

Slipping her hand comfortably into his she continued, "I met Riley just before graduation, she was finishing up her undergrad in Law, and I convinced her to intern with me at a local shelter. I was hooked. The intake process was really hard at first, you just want to take them all home, but when you watched a family walk out the doors with them, their tails wagging, it made it easier to deal with the other stuff. Yulee Animal Rescue was one of my contacts, and they were so impressed with my work ethic and ability to relate to people, they created a position just for me."

"Just like that huh?" He teased snapping his fingers.

"Well, no. It was a little more in depth I suppose. There was a lot of red tape they had to get through, and I had train in pretty much every aspect of the company before they gave me the official title, but it was worth it."

Dean nodded, "I can see that, I've always loved animals."

"And yet, you don't have any?" She questioned.

He shrugged, "I don't have time really, and I wouldn't want to get a dog and let him sit at home all by himself, that's just cold. Speaking of, who's taking care of your animals while you're off on this little adventure? Joey house sitting for you?"

"No," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "My neighbor Sam takes care of them for me. In fact, without Sam around I probably wouldn't have been able to foster at all."

"So this Sam guy is quite handy to have around then eh?" He replied with a hint of jealousy. As if a boyfriend wasn't bad enough, now he felt the need to contend with a man not only more suited to her lifestyle but a neighbor as well.

Flattered by his jealousy, she decided to put him out of his misery rather than teasing him like she wanted to. "Considering that Sam is only 16, yeah, I'd say it's rather handy that SHE'S around," she grinned holding back the laughter that simmered just below the surface.

Laughing at himself, Dean stopped walking and stood in front of her. Cupping her chin in his palm he gently stroked his thumb across her cheek. "Forgive me Abby. You're just a fascinating woman, it's hard not to be jealous. Joey's a lucky man."

Abby gulped, looking deeply into his eyes as they contracted and the beautiful colors swallowed up his pupils in the light. She didn't know what to say to him, so she just stood there, looking at him as he held onto her. The sensations he evoked and the passion that simmered inside her were unchartered territory.

Stepping back, Dean dropped his hands and sighed, "I guess I should get you back to the hotel."

Suddenly bereft, Abby agreed grudgingly, "yeah, okay."

They walked the few blocks in silence, enjoying the evening sights and sounds together.

"This is me," she said as they approached the front of the building.

Dean shoved one hand in his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck with the other, "well," he said.

"Yeah," Abby replied.

Unable to control his primal urges any longer Dean grabbed Abby by the shoulders and gazed into her startled eyes, "I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" she asked puzzled.

"For this," Dean replied a mere second before his lips captured hers.

To say she was shocked would have been an understatement, and while her first instinct was to pull away, Abby's body responded immediately. She pressed herself against the hard length of his torso and leaned into the kiss, yielding as his tongue probed for admittance.

Dean drank in the taste of her, sweet and tangy. Her mouth was like a drug, dragging him into oblivion. Holding her closer he felt her heart banging against her rib cage as she melted like hot wax in his arms. Pliant and supple she molded herself to him, giving herself fully over to the sensations he evoked. Groaning, he finally set her aside, if they kept up like this, they'd be making love right here for all the world to see. And while Dean considered himself an adventurous man, she deserved far more than the rough groping he was providing.

With her swollen lips still slightly parted, she fluttered her lashes open and looked up into his devious eyes. "Wow," she whispered.

Laughing, Dean ran his fingers through his hair, "thanks for coming out with me tonight Red. You're quite a nightcap." He taunted, and with that, Dean bowed ever so slightly and walked off into the night, leaving her dazed and wanting.
