The situation was complicated by the fact that until he had followed her, found out about Emma and then started hurling accusations, she had almost let herself fall in love with him. She had begun to trust him more than she’d ever anticipated trusting anyone again.
Now, like Larry, Jeb had betrayed her. Rather than supporting her, he had added to the problem, much as her ex had. But that was personal and Jeb’s accusations were professional. Her professional integrity had never, ever been called into question before. She owed it to her future to fight back with all she had. She just wasn’t sure how much fight she had left in her, which meant getting someone in her corner. The same attorney who’d handled her divorce came to mind.
She called Grace Foster’s office and made an appointment to find out what her options were. If Delacourt Oil intended to press charges against her, she needed to be ready with a battle plan of her own.
She was about to leave the house when Mrs. Hanover called.
“Brianna, dear, are you all right? I expected you in by now. You’ve had several urgent calls. Carly’s been able to handle some of them, but others insisted on speaking to you directly.”
Obviously the news of her quitting hadn’t made its way down the corporate ladder from the executive suite. Maybe Jeb hadn’t had the nerve to pass along the word. She had enough confidence in herself left to be pretty sure that his father wasn’t going to be happy about it. She was just as glad that no one knew. It would make it easier to go back and fight.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hanover. I should have called first thing. Something’s come up that I have to deal with. I won’t be in today. Possibly not for several days.”
She heard her secretary’s sharp intake of breath. “Is it anything I can help with?”
“No, but thanks,” Brianna said. “I’ll be in touch. I’m sorry, but I have to go now. I have an appointment.”
“What should I tell Mr. Delacourt the next time he calls?”
“Which one?”
“Jeb.”
“Tell him to go straight to hell,” she muttered, then apologized. “Sorry.”
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Hanover murmured. “Are you sure about this, dear? If this is about something he’s done, shouldn’t the two of you be trying to work it out? He seems like such a nice young man.”
“Yes, he does give that impression, doesn’t he?” Brianna concurred. “Too bad it’s a charade. The man is a snake.”
“Oh,” the older woman said with a shocked gasp that didn’t seem entirely due to Brianna’s sharp assessment. “Oh, my.”
There were rustling sounds, a muffled protest and then Jeb announced, “This is the snake.”
“Were you listening on the other line? That would be pretty much in character for you.”
“No, I just walked in in time to hear my character impugned.”
“Welcome to the club. I have to go.” She hung up before he could try once again to persuade her to listen to him. If he kept at it, sooner or later she would weaken. She couldn’t allow that to happen, not when her stupid heart kept yelling at her to do just that. What did a heart know, anyway? If ever a situation called for cool, rational thought, this was it.
The attorney she met with agreed. Grace Foster was as indignant on Brianna’s behalf now as she had been during the divorce. She was more than ready to take on the entire Delacourt empire if need be. “You say the word and I’ll file the papers,” she assured Brianna. “We’ll win, too. You’ll never have another financial worry.”
Brianna had always liked the woman, but never more so than she did at that moment. It wasn’t just because of her unrestrained faith in Brianna’s case, but for her clear assumption that Brianna was innocent.
“Just so you know, I didn’t sell any secret information to our competitors,” Brianna told her.
“Even if the divorce hadn’t told me everything I needed to know about your character, I would have known that the minute you started talking. Otherwise, I would never have taken the case. I like fighting for the underdog, but I’m not an idiot. I don’t take cases I don’t think I can win, not against people like the Delacourts.”
“I don’t have a lot of money,” Brianna warned her. “You know where every cent is going. And Larry’s behind in his child-support payments again.”
“Which makes it all the more important that we beat the stuffing out of them in court, so you’ll get enough to pay my exorbitant fees.”
“And if we lose?” Brianna asked worriedly.
“We won’t. Now you go spend some time with that little girl of yours and forget all about this mess. When the time comes, we’ll whip their butts.”
Brianna grinned at her confidence. “I like the way you think.”
“If you think I’m a tough act now, wait till you see me in court on this one. It’ll make what I did to Larry look like child’s play.”
Brianna was brimming with confidence herself by the time she left the attorney’s office. She’d taken the first and most important step in fighting back. She’d found an advocate who believed in her completely. She couldn’t help wishing that Jeb had had the same sort of faith.
“But he hadn’t,” she reminded herself wearily. And therein lay all her troubles.
She managed to push them out of her mind while she visited with Emma, who seemed curiously excited about something she refused to discuss.
“You have to go now, Mama.”
“Why? I have some extra time this afternoon. I thought we could spend it together.”
Emma shook her head. “Not today.”
“How come?”
“I got things to do,” Emma said importantly.
“What things?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Brianna knew better than to argue with a kid planning a surprise. She’d had enough of her own spoiled over the years.
“Okay, pudding, I’ll leave, but you owe me a really long visit tomorrow.”
Emma lifted her arms for a hug. Brianna knelt down and gave her daughter a tight squeeze. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too, Mama. Now, go.”
“I’m going.” Down the hall, she paused to speak to Gretchen, who was subbing for the day supervisor. “I’ve been banished.”
“I’m not surprised.”
Brianna’s gaze narrowed. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“So, you’re in on the surprise, too? Okay, I’ll back off, but a word of warning. I have recently learned that secrets have a way of backfiring.”
Gretchen looked vaguely guilty. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
After she’d left the rehab center, Brianna found herself at loose ends. She thought of going to the office, but it was too soon. Let Jeb sweat a little. For the first time in years, she regretted not having made more of an effort to stay in touch with old friends. Unfortunately, many of her friends had been Larry’s, as well. Rather than forcing them to take sides, she had simply walked away from most of them, blaming it on the amount of work she had, as well as Emma’s demanding care.
She drove to a mall and tried to shop, but now definitely didn’t seem like the right time for a shopping binge. She finally ate a quick slice of pizza in a food court, then went to a movie. It was a romantic comedy that only served to remind her of the budding romance she’d had with Jeb that had died before it could really flourish.
By the time she got home, she was feeling well and truly sorry for herself. Finding Jeb on her front stoop didn’t improve her mood.
“I’ve come to eat crow,” he told her.
“Sorry. I don’t have any.”
He held up a bag filled with chocolate croissants. “I brought along my own, just in case.”
He looked so thoroughly dejected, so totally ill at ease, that Brianna relented just a little. How could she really blame him for leaping to the defense of his family? Wasn’t family loyalty one of the things she loved about him? If only he hadn’t turned on her in the process.
She sighed and sat down on the step next to him. He regarded her hopefully.
“Forgive me?”
“No.”
“But you’re thinking about it, right?”
“Maybe.”
“I shouldn’t have leaped to conclusions,” he admitted.
“No,” she agreed. “Not about me.” She regarded him curiously. “Why did you?”
“Circumstantial evidence, combined with some crazy idea that I could prove to my father what a fantastic investigator I could be. So far, the whole plan has pretty much backfired. He’s ready to fire me.”
“I can’t say I blame him.”
His lips twitched. “So much for sympathy.”
“From me? You must be kidding.”
His gaze sought hers in the gathering twilight. “Can we start over?”
“That depends.”
“On?”
She leveled a look straight into his eyes. “Do you actually believe I would ever betray your family?”
His silence lasted a beat too long. Brianna stood up. “I guess that answers my question.”
“I want to believe you,” he said fiercely. “Believe me, there is nothing I want more.”
“But it’s not the same, is it?” she said wearily.
“No, I suppose it’s not. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“Brianna, come back to work. Dad wants you there.”
“And you?”
“It’s not up to me,” he said candidly.
“But you’d prefer I stay away so I can’t give away any more company secrets,” she said, re-considering her decision to stay while she fought his accusations. It would be untenable. “Sorry. I’m not coming back knowing that you’re going to be looking over my shoulder, waiting for me to slip up.”
“What will you do?”
“Believe it or not, I am a damned fine geologist. I’ll find another job.”
“Even with this cloud hanging over you?”
She sucked in a breath at the implied threat that he would leak his suspicions to the world. “No one except you knows about this so-called cloud,” she said evenly. “I suggest you keep it that way, or the lawyer I saw earlier today will take you and Delacourt Oil to the cleaners. By the time we’re through, maybe I’ll be CEO—and you’ll be the one wishing we’d never met instead of me.”
“Did Dad rake you guys over the coals, too?” Jeb asked, as he sipped his second beer. He’d gotten a head start while they were on their way over.
“He mentioned his displeasure,” Michael said, in what was probably a massive understatement. “He reminded me that he had specifically told me to keep you out of it after that last deal fell through.”
“What about you, Ty?”
“I lucked out. I was out of the office all day long,” Tyler said. “Besides, I’m only a bit player. I’m only guilty by association with the two of you. I wasn’t in on the deal, I didn’t get Jeb all stirred up, and I didn’t tangle with Brianna.” He grinned. “Hey, I guess that makes me the good son for a change.”
Michael lifted his beer in salute. “Lucky you.”
Tyler studied Jeb. “How’s Brianna taking all this?”
“She’s mad as a hornet. She’s also hurt,” Jeb said, thinking of the sorrow in her eyes when she’d realized that he still had doubts about her integrity. His continued offers to help her had only inflamed her more.
“Can you blame her?” Michael asked. “It would be bad enough if one of us started hurling accusations her way, but for you to do it must have really crushed her. I should have left you out of it. I wasn’t thinking. Dad was right about that. Now I’ve messed up whatever the two of you might have had going.”
Jeb was surprised at his brother’s sympathetic tone, even more surprised that it was directed at Brianna. “I thought you were all for nailing her.”
“Only if she’s guilty,” he insisted. “I assumed you’d quietly assemble some evidence before you went to her. In fact, I pretty much thought you’d jump through hoops trying to prove her innocence.”
Jeb winced. “Okay, that’s what I should have done. I foolishly thought I could get her to open up by trying the direct approach.”
“Women hate the direct approach,” Tyler said. “Puts ’em on the defensive right off. You might as well kiss the evening goodbye after that. Subtlety and charm, that’s the ticket.”
Michael chuckled. “Listen to him, Jeb. Nobody knows women like our brother.”
“Unfortunately, his advice is a little too late to do me any good.” He regarded Tyler intently. “So, tell me, how can I bail myself out of this mess?”
“Which mess are you referring to? The one that’s left your personal life in a shambles? Or the one in which you’re about to get your butt sued for professional slander?”
“Could be they’re one and the same,” Michael pointed out, just as his cell phone rang. He scowled at the intrusion but didn’t hesitate to answer it. Surprise registered on his face before he said, “Yes, it’s me.”
Jeb and Tyler watched as their brother’s expression went from surprise to displeasure to indignation, all without him having a chance to open his mouth.
“Must be a woman,” Jeb decided.
“A woman with a lot on her mind,” Tyler said. “Do you suppose he blew off a date to come over here tonight?”
Jeb chuckled. “He’s loyal, but not that loyal.”
“He could have forgotten.”
“Michael, the man who has two calendars in the office, one at home and another in his briefcase?” Jeb scoffed. “I don’t think so. It’s got to be about business.”
“Maybe it’s a reporter who’s gotten wind of what happened with those land deals,” Tyler speculated.
Jeb shook his head. “Reporters ask questions. They don’t deliver monologues.” He studied his brother. “And I don’t think they deliberately put the subject on the defensive if they hope to get information. Look at him. He’s turning purple. I give him less than a minute till he explodes.”
“Nah. Michael thrives on confrontation,” his brother said.
Michael glanced over and scowled at them. “Could you two go elsewhere to do your play-by-play?”
Jeb grinned. “We wouldn’t be able to do it from another room. It’s illuminating to watch a man of action from a front-row seat.”
Michael muttered an obscenity, then turned his attention back to the caller, who apparently hadn’t let up for a second during his distraction.
“Okay, okay,” he said finally. “You’ve made your point. I’ll get back to you.”
When he hung up without saying anything more, Jeb and Tyler exchanged looks.
“That’s it?” Jeb questioned. “No witty repartee? No hard-line comeback?”
“Blasted female,” Michael said.
“Told you it was a woman,” Jeb said triumphantly.
“Not just any woman,” Michael retorted. “But a very angry Grace Foster. Have you had the pleasure?”
“Uh-oh,” Tyler murmured knowingly.
“Who’s Grace Foster?” Jeb asked.
“The thorn in Michael’s side, the woman who got away, the one who makes his blood boil and his hormones tap-dance,” Tyler said, when Michael’s expression only darkened.
“She’s also Brianna’s attorney,” Michael said. “She just shared a very generous piece of her mind with me, along with some legal warnings. We’ve got trouble, bros. Personal issues aside, Grace may be a pain in the behind, but she knows her law.” He stared hard at Jeb. “Can you switch investigative gears and do it in a hurry?”
“Meaning?”
“Go to bat for Brianna,” Michael said at once. “Instead of trying to prove she did it, prove she didn’t. Find the guilty culprit and save the day. Once Brianna gets past the fact that you doubted her in the first place, she’ll love you forever.”
Jeb studied Michael. “If that’s what you really want.”
“It will have the added benefit of bailing Michael here out at the same time,” Tyler added. “Not that I think he wouldn’t enjoy going a few rounds with the barracuda attorney, but my hunch is he’d rather do it in the bedroom than the courtroom. Right, Michael?”
“Go to hell,” Michael retorted succinctly. “How about it, Jeb? Can you save the day? Isn’t that what you really want?”
Still sober enough to find the challenge provocative, Jeb considered the idea of forever. A couple of months ago just the mention of the word would have made him shudder and run for the hills. Now he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more, and he wanted it with Brianna. He wanted to make things right, not for the company’s sake, not for his father’s, but for Brianna and for himself. He wanted them to have the future that had seemed so promising just a few days ago, before things turned ugly.
“I want it,” he said quietly. “I want to make things right.”
Neither brother seemed especially shocked by his declaration.
“Do you believe in her?” Michael asked, then pointed toward his head. “Not here, where you’re analyzing all the circumstantial evidence, but down here, in your gut? Do you believe Brianna incapable of the kind of corporate espionage we’re talking about?”
“Yes,” he said at once, surprising himself. Why the hell hadn’t he listened to his heart sooner? That was easy. Because he’d been trying too blasted hard to prove what a hotshot investigator he was. He’d wanted a quick solution that would impress his father. Instead, he’d botched things royally, infuriated his father and lost Brianna. That was quite a triple play.
“Okay, then, let’s get serious and try to analyze this,” Tyler said briskly. “We’re obviously missing something.”
None of them had had so much to drink that they couldn’t think clearly. They concentrated so hard it was surprising that the clatter of all those mental wheels turning wasn’t audible.
“There’s something fishy about these deals,” Michael said eventually. “Dad never seemed all that broken up when they fell through.”
“I agree,” Tyler said. “The sites were promising, too. I even took a look at this last one. I’d been hoping to convince Dad to let me go down there and run the operation, but when Jordan Adams stole it away, Dad just shrugged it off. I figured that was because Jordan had been so good to Trish after she had the baby. I thought maybe Dad figured he owed Jordan and decided to let it pass.”
Jeb stared hard at his brothers. “So what are you saying? That Dad’s losing his competitive edge? Since when does he let sentiment get in the way of good business?”
Michael hooted at that, just as he had the first time Jeb had suggested it. Tyler was equally dismissive. “Never. If he let those sites go without a fight, there had to be a reason for it. Maybe he knew something the geologists and I missed.”
Since scientific data was far from Jeb’s area of expertise, he asked, “Such as?”
“That the balance of oil to potential investment wouldn’t work in our favor,” Michael suggested from the perspective of a number cruncher. “Just because there’s oil on a site doesn’t mean it would be cost-effective to drill.”
“Or maybe there were environmental regulations pending that would have made it all but impossible to drill at that location. It could have been tied up in court for years,” Tyler suggested.
“Wouldn’t any smart competitor have known that, too?” Jeb asked.
“Some are willing to take the risk,” Tyler said, as Michael nodded his agreement.
“But a man like Jordan Adams?” Jeb asked. “From everything I’ve heard about the man, he wouldn’t deliberately get into a battle with the environmentalists. He’s always tried to balance corporate interests with the public good, according to Dylan.”
“That’s what I’ve heard, too,” Michael said.
“Let’s go back to the leaks for a minute,” Jeb suggested. “Is there anyone else who could possibly have known about the pending land deals? Brianna’s not the only person in that department. I know you told me that Dad insists that the samples be tested without any identifying data, but there could have been a slip-up.”
“Maybe one,” Michael agreed. “But three? I doubt it.”
“There are people in that department who’ve been there a lot longer than Brianna,” Jeb argued. “Wouldn’t they know the safeguards? Maybe they’d know how to get around them. They might also resent the fact that Brianna was brought in as head of the department, bypassing them. Selling out Delacourt Oil and implicating her in this could have been a form of payback.”
“Anything’s possible,” Michael said. “But those safeguards are pretty secure.”
“I’ll check them out anyway,” Jeb decided.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m beat,” Tyler announced as the antique grandfather clock in the foyer struck midnight. “I’m crashing on the sofa. Michael, you can have Jeb’s guest room, since I know you need your beauty sleep so you won’t look any more wrinkled than those perfectly pressed suits of yours.”
“And you could obviously sleep in your jeans and no one would know the difference,” Michael retorted.
“It’s way too late to get into a discussion of your fashion sense, or lack of it,” Jeb said. “Good night, guys. Thanks for coming over.”
He walked away to the familiar sound of his brothers bickering. His head was swimming, and not from booze. He had a lot to think about, a lot to resolve before he went back to Brianna one more time with hat in hand and begged for forgiveness.