One Love (24 page)

Ken beamed at her and leaned in her
direction to face the others. “As I said, an excellent report. Are
there any questions?”

Ms. Shuster wore a stiff look as she
watched Hargrove move closer to Lanessa. While the others asked
questions to clarify portions of the report, she sat with her thin
lips pressed together. Lanessa’s radar picked up signals that
screamed jealous female. The old Lanessa would have rubbed salt in
the wound. That Ken held no attraction for her would not have
mattered. Fortunately for Ms. Tight Mouth the old Lanessa was gone.
Lanessa also knew that Dawson was aware of the minor drama. From
time to time he threw an irritated glance at Ken.

“
I think we have a complete
picture,” Dawson said in a crisp tone. This clear signal cut off
further questions.” We’ll have another meeting soon. We need to
review the building permits and other procedures
involved.

The others filed out of the room after
making appropriate good-byes. Lanessa thought they seemed glad to
escape unscathed by the formidable man.

“
Thank you, Ms. Thomas.”
Dawson looked at her. “We’ve taken up more you time than we
originally requested.”

“
No problem.” Lanessa smiled
at him. The extra hours added up to a handsome bonus.” That’s what
I’m here for. But I am puzzled by something.” She closed the
leather covered note pad that matched her brief case. In an instant
she decided on this move.

“
Yes?” Dawson looked
interested.

Ken put a hand on the back of her
chair. “Now you get to grill us.”

“
Just a question. Why that
area?” Lanessa returned his gaze. “It’s not far from Highway One I
know, but why not Norco or Reserve?”

“
Too much industry. We need
room to expand,” Dawson said.

“
Besides, we want to recruit
top plant managers from competitors. Getting out of crowded cities
into that lovely parish would make it attractive.” Hargrove smiled
at her.

“
Transportation isn’t a
problem. As you said, the highway makes truck deliveries
easy.”

“
Just seems out of the
way.”

“
The plant will be close
enough to water routes leading directly to the gulf,” Ken said. He
smiled at her. “We can ship with less fuss, move the product
faster.”

“
We just liked the site
better than the alternatives,” Dawson broke in.

“
For making gases and metals
used in manufacturing, is that right?” Lanessa noticed the shift in
his mood.

“
Yes. Well, I’m expecting a
call from Germany. You’ll have to excuse us.” Dawson
stood.

Now she was being dismissed. Lanessa
smiled at him as she crossed the room and shook his hand.
“Certainly. And before I leave, thank you. I have three new clients
because of your recommendation.”

“
I was glad to do it. They
need the best and you can deliver it. Goodbye.” Dawson headed for
the door that led to his office.

“
I’ll show Ms. Thomas out.”
Ken walked to the double doors leading to the hallway and the
waiting area.

“
Fine. I’ll need the cost
projections for this phone call from Munich.” Dawson gave him a
pointed look.

“
Don’t worry about it.” Ken
wore a relaxed expression. “I’ve got it covered.”

Lanessa pretended not to notice the
coded messages. Ken had come close to saying too much a while ago.
Now Dawson was warning him away from her. Ken was confident that
his masculine appeal was affecting her. Lanessa decided to play on
his conceit.

“
I can find my way out, Mr.
Hargrove.” She smiled at him warmly. “I don’t want to take up any
more of your time.”

“
The papers are on my desk
and this is the way to my office.” Hargrove opened the door for
her. “So why not mix business with pleasure,” he murmured. “And
call me Ken.”

Lanessa suppressed a shiver of
distaste. “Alright.” She maintained her smile despite wanting to
slap the smug look from his face.

“
In one sense I was sorry to
get your report.” Ken walked beside her with unhurried
steps.

“
Nothing in it was bad news
for your project.” Lanessa played the innocent. She had practically
written the rules to this game of flirtation.

“
I know. But we won’t be
meeting again.” Ken was slowing his stride even more to prolong
their progress.

“
You never know.
Paxton-Waite has a lot of new operations. You may very well call on
my services again.” Lanessa kept her voice neutral. Too much
inflection and he’d think it was an invitation.

Ken gazed at her. “Yes, maybe so.” He
picked up the pace of his footsteps. His half-smile exuded
confidence.

Lanessa smiled, too. She’d played just
the right card to massage his male ego. He probably took her
comment as a sign she could be discreet. Maybe she could massage
out a few answers before she left. Lanessa walked ahead of him to
the lobby. She turned to face him. Luckily the secretary was not
there.

“
So you must be gearing up
for construction. The plant will be in Pleasure Island, right?
Somebody came up with a great idea.”

The large rural area ten miles
northwest of Des Allemands was really where they planned to build.
Called Pleasure Island since antebellum times, it was surrounded on
three sides by bayous. In most respects it was a good site.
Something Robyn had pointed out to her on more than one occasion.
Hargrove would no doubt make sure the Paxton-Waite Board of
Directors knew his role in making the project a success.

“
Thank you.” He nodded
graciously. “I suggested that general area. Then after my people
did more foot work, I narrowed it down to Des Allemand and Pleasure
Island.”

“
Really?” Lanessa looked at
him with professional admiration.

“
We looked at land prices,
checked who was willing to sell for commercial purposes and permits
we’d need.” Ken did the upper-class equivalent of sticking out his
chest. He adjusted his silk tie and lifted his chin.

“
How did you know the locals
wouldn’t put up a fight?”

“
We didn’t. Not for sure.”
He was quite comfortable now. He put both hands in his pockets.
“More than one large company has gotten a nasty surprise relying
only on their staff research. We learned our lesson watching
Shintech and GTX take a pounding.”

“
It doesn’t pay to under
estimate the power of grass roots organizing,” Lanessa agreed with
him. “Local politicians and businessmen will naturally paint a rosy
picture.”

“
They stand to gain most.”
Ken sat on the edge of the desk. “And that’s where you came in. I
told Caine, Mr. Dawson, you were the right person after our first
meeting.”

“
Is that right?” Lanessa
assumed a pleased expression of surprise.

“
Sure. You understood what
we were after immediately. Not some list of facts from the library,
but the pulse of southern St. James Parish.”

“
Oh yes, I took a pulse
every chance I got. I was so hands on until my fingerprints are all
over that swamp.” Lanessa laughed with her head back.

Ken moved closer to her. He joined her
in laughter. “Beauty, brains and a sense of humor.”

“
Thank you,” Lanessa
said.

“
Anyway, armed with your
report we can start right away. A few of our board members and
senior vice presidents in the Atlanta office were kind of nervous.”
Hargrove seemed downright chatty now.

“
Especially knowing how
tricky that water route will be.” Lanessa threw out this comment
casually.

“
You bet. Who needs a lot of
red tape? We need to get those shipments on their way fast.
Especially with the damned Commerce Department people being such a
pain,” Ken said with a grimace.

“
I guess they have to do
their jobs. But why would they be so difficult?”

“
Because they’re idiotic
bureaucrats,” he said promptly.

The wide polished doors leading to the
executive his office swung open. “Excuse me.” Dawson wore a
strained smile. His grayish blue eyes were like ice chips as he
stared at Hargrove. “Ken, I really need those figures.”

“
Of course.” Hargrove seemed
not to notice the criticism in his tone. “Goodbye, Lanessa. I hope
to see you again. Soon.” With a jaunty smile, he headed down
another hall.

“
Goodbye.” Lanessa gave a
crisp nod to Dawson and walked out.

She turned over Hargrove’s words as
she rode down the elevator. Just maybe she’d gleaned enough to put
her on the right track.

Chapter 12

Lanessa tapped a foot nervously. All
her attention was focused on what she would say next. She dug her
fingers into the dark blue fabric of the sofa. The three of them
were in the breakfast nook in Jackie’s kitchen. Jackie loved to
cook and an architect had designed her favorite room just right.
The upholstery and walls were done in a warm reds and deep blues.
It had a cozy, welcome feel to it. Normally it was the one place
they felt most at ease to speak their minds. Today was
different.

They were running out of small talk.
Jackie shot Lanessa another look. Lanessa stared back with a
stubborn expression. Why should she walk off the cliff first?
Jackie’s eyes narrowed. The silent signals flew back and forth. You
go first. No, you. No, you.

“
What is with y’all?” Yasmin
crossed her arms. “You’ve been acting funny since I got here.” She
glanced at Jackie then Lanessa. “Well?”

“
I’ll have another glass of
herbal tea. That apple peach flavor is tasty.” Jackie popped up
from her chair. She went to the counter where a glass pitcher held
the golden brown drink.

Lanessa squirmed under Yasmin’s steady
gaze. “We’re just talking like always. We’ve always been able to
share our deepest thoughts. Especially in this little corner of the
world.” She patted a small throw pillow covered with bright colored
vegetables painted on the cloth.

“
Right,” Jackie put in from
her safe distance.

“
Funny how we just took to
each other, ya know? We’ve always been straight up. No telling each
other what we want to hear.” Lanessa groped her way toward the
place she did not really want to go.

“
Hey, the truth is the
light.” Yasmin nodded. “I don’t need friends who talk bull. I get
enough of that hanging around politicians.” She
chuckled.

“
You’re so funny.” Jackie
let out a weak laugh. It died when Lanessa looked at
her.

“
I just hope we can always
be that way.” Lanessa gripped her hands together.

“
Sure. Uh-huh.” Jackie still
stood across the kitchen. “Straight up.”

“
Bring the pitcher over
here. I want another glass, too,” Lanessa said in a bright voice.
When Yasmin turned away from her, she scowled at her.

“
Yeah, Jackie, come on,”
Yasmin gestured for her to come over.

“
Right. Right.” Jackie
picked up the pitcher and walked back to them with a look of
dread.

Yasmin frowned. “Cut the crap. What’s
up? Jackie, you’re always willing to speak your mind. Let’s hear
it.”

“
Well, er, it’s. .” Jackie’s
mouth worked but nothing more that was intelligible came
out.

Yasmin’s eyes widened. “Oh, Lord.
Jackie’s sick!”

“
No, no. I’m healthy as can
be,” Jackie managed to blurt out. She cast a desperate glance at
Lanessa.

“
Then somebody tell me what
is going on!” Yasmin yelled.

“
You’re right. I just got
through saying how we could talk to each other. And here we are
acting like we haven’t been through the fire together,” Lanessa
said.

“
Sisters in the deepest
sense of the word,” Jackie added nodding. “We should always
remember that.” She twisted a napkin to shreds.

“
I’m listening.” Yasmin
glanced at them in turn.

“
It’s about Charles.”
Lanessa put her glass down with a hard thump. “Damn it, Yasmin,
he’s no good.”

“
No good. None whatsoever,
girl.” Jackie wagged her head back and forth.

Yasmin’s posture became stiff and
defensive. “Just what do you mean?” Her voice cut through the air
like a razor.

“
He’s seeing another woman
and telling her she’s the only one, too.” Lanessa tried to put it
as gently as possible.

“
How do you know?” Yasmin
asked.

“
Someone I trust told me.”
Lanessa was worried. She was too calm.

“
This is some he-say,
she-say stuff,” Yasmin said. “I can’t believe you even brought that
mess to me.”

“
Yasmin, when I tell you
this source is

Trustworthy...” Lanessa began. The
look on Yasmin’s face stopped her cold.

“
I don’t care if your buddy
swore on a stack of Bibles! It’s a lie!” Yasmin stood up and turned
her back to them both.