her colorful childhood.
She told James about the
boarding schools, charm schools, riding classes and
her mother's expectations.
"She preferred I would be a rich man's wife.
At my
coming out party, when I was sixteen, she
introduced me to every medical student at the
party.
She had imaginations that my fortune
would look better if it were controlled by a husband
of her choosing," she said shaking her head, "I still
remember the argument we had about a dinner
dance in my junior year at Yale.
She wanted me to
go with Ryan Van Linden, a promising medical
student and I wanted to go with Eric Schwartz, a
music student.
She thought he wouldn't make any
money, now he heads the Boston Pops. "
James chuckled softly.
He could see Alex as a
young woman, demanding her way only to have to
succumb to her mother's machinations.
"You
were defiant even then. "
"Yeah, I had to be.
One minute they wanted me to
be this independent creature with my own mind,
but the next they rescinded all promises and
demanded that I do things their way.
It was a
mess.
When they died, my grandparents made
sure that I would be comfortable in the house
alone.
When I decided to sell it and move to D.C.,
they never even blinked.
I think they were happy
that they didn't have to worry about me.
Being
four hundred miles has its advantages.
What
about you?
"Well, my childhood wasn't all that fantastic.
I was
raised in the hills of West Virginia by a simple
farming couple.
My mother and father both
descended from coal mining families.
When the
coal ran out, they stuck around and farmed the
land.
Fortunately, I didn't have any of the
arguments you did.
There was enough money to
survive, but not much else.
I joined the Navy
when I graduated from college because there was
little else to do.
Now here I am, wondering if I'm
good enough for you," James sighed, finishing his
story.
"Why would you think that?"
"Alex, you're rich.
What makes me think that I
could give you the things that you want in life?”
"James, you're what I want in life.
Don't you see
that," Alex said, walking around the table to kneel in
front of him.
The overhead light bounced cruelly off the bruise
under her eye.
Reaching out, he brushed his
thumb across it gently, trying to speed the
healing. "Alex, I only want the best for you.”
"That's what you are, James," she said before
placing a soft kiss on his lips.
James sighed and returned the kiss.
He would
wonder if she made the right choice to stay with
him if it weren't for Tad's cruel treatment of
her.
Pulling back from the kiss, he eyed the bruise
that had deepened slightly in color.
He realized
then that she was right.
Alex and James cleaned up the supper dishes, in
between stolen kisses and longing
glances.
Afterwards, James went back to working
on the living room with renewed vigor.
He wanted
the house to look good for Alex.
He no longer
thought about Jean or his playboy ways.
He was
putting his past behind him and thinking of a larger
future with her.
She hadn't expressed any
thoughts in that direction, but James sensed that
she would stay with him forever if he asked.
Alex had thought ahead and brought a book and a
few items from her house to keep busy with.
She
didn't want James to think that he would have to
spend every minute with her, although she wouldn't
have minded.
Alex moved out onto the deck,
dusted off a lounge chair and propped her feet up
to read.
She listened as James moved around the
living room, nailing dry wall to the studs, dropping
nails and even the hammer at one point.
Turning
her concentration back to the book, she thought
briefly about how comfortable she was in the house
that she could stay here forever, never again think
about his past.
Laying the book aside, Alex glanced up at the sky
and sighed.
She wondered briefly about Tad and
what he would do now that she had rejected
him.
Reaching up to touch the bruise on her
cheek, she knew she would have to use some
creative makeup on Monday to cover it.
She
didn't want anyone wondering about it.
James came out of the house and found her in that
position.
With a beer in hand, he again leaned
against the jam and watched her return to her
reading.
Sasha and Sly had both eaten their fill
and had come out to the deck to sit with her.
Each
of them flanked her and dozed in the sunshine.
"They like you," James said.
Alex smiled and looked down at the dogs, "Yeah, I
noticed that.
I think it's cause I fed them. "
James laughed, finished his beer, placed a kiss on
her sun-warmed red hair and went back into the
house to work.
They spent the weekend together making love,
sharing dreams and pasts.
Monday morning
brought reality as they dressed for work and
prepared to leave their sanctuary.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather come to work
with me," James asked again.
"I'm sure.
Although everyone at Harry's party
knows, I don't want to broadcast our relationship
yet.”
"Alright," he relented finally.
Alex smiled at him because she knew he was just
letting her have her way.
She had enjoyed their
weekend together, but knew that she would have
to return home.
Chapter 16
Alex and James arrived at the plant and
followed each other in.
Francine stared them
down as James left Alex at her desk and continued
into his office.
Getting up from her chair, she
huffily went into James' office and slammed the
door.
"That's who you dumped me for," she asked
angrily.
"Calm down Francine.
You weren't dumped.
We
never officially dated.”
"Yeah, but you didn't mind screwing me did you?"
"You offered, Francine.
Don't start laying a guilt
trip.
You knew I wasn't serious about you.”
"But you're serious about her!"
"I haven't decided yet.
But it is possible," he bit
off, "I'm not having this conversation again,
Francine.
So whatever you have to say, say it," he
barked.
"I don't know who you think you are, James, but I
resent being used like this! I won't stand for it!"
"You won't stand for it! It's not like I forced you to
do anything, Francine, so don't give me this high
and mighty act. "
"I could claim sexual harassment," she threatened.
"You could," he said calmly, lighting a cigarette,
"But you won't. "
"And why won't I?"
"Because you're easy; it wouldn't take a threat from
anyone to get you to crawl into bed with the
devil. "
"I could say the same for you!"
"Yeah, well, that's changed. "
"Yeah, right!
When hell freezes over! This isn’t
the end of this, James.
I won't let it be," she
declared angrily before charging out the door.
As she passed Alex, Francine stopped, leaned down
and whispered, "A leopard never changes his
spots. "
Alex watched her leave and sighed.
This was not
going to be easy.
The month of July plodded on; the heat and
humidity made life difficult in the factory.
With no
central air on the floor itself, the men were forced
to open the dock doors and hope for a breeze.
Alex and James divided time between their houses,
but mostly stayed at his for the dog’s sake and so he
could finish the living room.
Alex had tired quickly
of her books and evenings listening to James pound
on the walls.
He accepted her help cautiously,
showed her what to do and smiled as she picked up
on the basics enthusiastically.
After they would
work until they were too tired to hammer, they
would make love; sometimes in the bedroom,
sometimes in the living room, once on the deck
with the dogs and the stars watching.
Alex let Francine simmer for a couple of weeks
before approaching her on anything not related to
work.
Fortunately, Jeff had been on vacation for
those weeks and had not witnessed the scene or
the animosity that festered between the
threesome.
Grayson had hit the roof, when he noticed the
remnants of the shiner on Alex's face.
She had
been able to explain what happened without
making him angrier.
Harry had also questioned
James in depth about his hand and the bruise he
had seen on Alex's face.
He was mildly concerned
that James had hit Alex and that was the reason for
both their bruises.
James told Harry about the
scene with Tad in confidence, knowing he wouldn't
say anything.
Tad made his announcement on the "Today" show
during an interview.
His PR people had fabricated
a story for the cut on his cheek and Tad had spun
the web like a professional.
Alex saw pictures of
him in the USA Today on Tuesday morning as he
made another official announcement in his
hometown of Denver.
The camera people had
angled his face away from the lens so as not to
show too much of the cut.
James had said that he
looked like a ferret when they took the picture and
Alex had to agree.
When Jeff returned from his vacation, he saw the
difference in the relationship between James and
Alex.
Typically they were at each other's throats
about something, however, now they exchanged
glances and smiles instead of harsh
words.
Secretly, he was happy for them.
He had
been looking forward to James getting over his
divorce and had regretted his decision to keep quiet
about the affair that James was having with
Francine.
When he had discovered their liaisons,
he had frowned and asked James if he was happy
living that way.
James had only shrugged
denouncing his intentions of getting emotionally
involved with another woman.
He had said at the
time, that he only needed them for one thing and
could live without it, if necessary.
But Francine
had continued to service his needs much to Jeff’s
chagrin.
There was little he could do about
it.
The relationship had not interfered with
business, which was his major concern.
Now it seemed that James was aware again of his
need for love.
And it appeared that Alex was the
cause.
But he was now at a crossroads as to what
to do with Francine.
Since she had learned about
Alex and James and James' subsequent ending of
his relationship with Francine, she was sullen,
moody and cross with everyone.
He had no real
reason to fire her and was slightly afraid she would
claim sexual harassment, if he did.
Sighing, Jeff
turned his attention back to the bulging in-box that
had been jam packed while was on vacation.
Chapter 17
He was sorting the piles, when something caught
his eye and a red flag went up in his
head.
Reaching for the phone, he punched up
Alex.
"This is Alex.”
"Can you come in here, please," he requested.
"Sure. "
Alex strolled into his office, pen in hand and a smile
on her face.
"What's up?"
"Did you see this," he asked handing a fax to her.
Alex took the fax and read it over, her face going
pale.
"When did this come in," she asked Jeff wide eyed.
"I don't know; obviously while I was on vacation. "
"Damn," Alex cursed, turning from Jeff and going
into Francine's office.
"When did this come in," she demanded.
"What is it," Francine asked not looking up.
"It's a fax denying payment on the four machines
we sent to Fort Jackson on July 8th.
The fax is a
week old. "
Still concentrating on her typing, Francine replied, "I
don't know.
I just tossed it in Jeff’s box," she
shrugged.
"I saw that," Alex remarked acidly, "Why didn't you
tell anyone about it?"
"Because it was something that Jeff should
handle. "
"James was in charge.
He should have been
informed about what was happening."
"Well then I guess I made a mistake."
Alex retreated from Francine before saying
something she'd regret.
Shaking her head, she
went back into Jeff’s office, "The date on the fax is
July 15th.
That was only last Monday.
I'll call the
paying office in Columbus and see what I can find
out.”
Jeff nodded his head in agreement, then called
James into his office.
"What's up," he asked
around a freshly lit Marlboro.
"DMAO has denied payment on the Fort Jackson
machines."
"Why?"
"Because there was an addendum that nobody
bothered to tell us about," answered Alex from
behind him, "I just talked to DMAO, apparently an
addendum was issued on July first requiring the
change in the paint color and an additional spare
parts package for each of the machines.”
"Jesus," Jeff sighed.
Everyone in the room knew it
meant potential disaster.
The DMAO's payment
was to be the fourth quarter budget for Hasani as
they pushed their international line.
Without the
$1,000,000, Hasani had no income for salaries,
utilities or materials.
"Can it be fixed," asked James urgently.
Alex shook her head as she came into his line of
vision, "Those machines are still on the flat beds
down in South Carolina.
Ft. Jackson refused to
accept them because they weren't correct.
DMAO
said that if we pick up the machines, make the
changes and have them back to them by the end of
August, they would pay us.
But, they're deducting
25% of the fee for the mix up."
"Where's the addendum," queried Jeff.
"It's coming across the fax machine now," she
replied as the machine began to ring.
Jeff called Allen in next and had him run a bill of
materials on the cost of the new items as well as
the cost of transporting the machines back to
Ashmore Valley.
Alex walked in with the fax just as Allen finished up
his numbers, "If we're lucky, we'll escape with
about twenty percent overhead on this. "
"Twenty percent is better than nothing," remarked
James.
Jeff agreed as he looked over the faxed addendum.
"May I ask a question," said Alex and seeing Jeff’s
assent continued, "If the machines were wrong why
did Sam sign off on them?"
James felt as he if he had been struck and he saw
the whiplash reaction on Jeff’s face as well.
The
government inspector, Sam Minish, would never