Jace swiveled around in his chair and glanced at the wooden door that connected his office to the one Shana was using, wishing he had the ability to stare straight through it. Then he wouldn’t have to wonder what she was doing. He figured she was probably working, which is what he should be doing. But he couldn’t concentrate. His thoughts were filled with her.
It was the last day of another workweek, and he hadn’t seen Shana but three times. She had made herself even scarcer than she had last week, and he couldn’t help wondering if that kiss a week ago had anything to do with it. He picked up a rubber band in what was becoming a habit and began stretching it in all kinds of directions as his mind relived that moment in the elevator for the two-hundredth time. The woman had the sweetest lips, their taste as succulent as any delicious fruit he’d ever eaten. He had thought about her all weekend, even during moments when he had visited with his father. And his dreams of her had become even more turbulent, racy and stunningly raw. How was Shana able to cause so much lust to run rampant inside of him? Lust he hadn’t been able to quench. And, from the looks of things, never would.
Drawing in a deep breath, he tossed the rubber band aside and went back to reading the notes he’d compiled from his conversation with his father this past weekend. It had been an enjoyable visit that had lasted six hours, and the four of them had tried to make every minute count.
Jace had gone over all the reports he’d read on the company and had brought up a couple of issues that had concerned him to get his father’s advice. Granted, Shep Granger had been away from Granger Aeronautics for fifteen years, but his mind was still sharp when it came to business matters.
His father knew Granger Aeronautics inside and out, and even though technology had changed over the years, Sheppard had managed to stay on top of advanced technology through books he’d gotten from the prison library as well as on their computer systems. And he had taken classes whenever they had been offered.
Jace glanced up when he heard the knock on the door. “Come in.”
He felt a knot in his throat when Shana walked in. Today, like always, she was wearing one of those conservative yet sexy business suits. This one was turquoise in color, and she had matching shoes to complement it. And today, like always, it looked good on her. “Hi, Shana.”
“I don’t mean to disturb you, but I have my initial report finalized and wondered if we could meet sometime today to go over it.”
Jace shifted his gaze from her to glance at the calendar on his desk. “I’m free any time after two.”
“If possible, I’d prefer that we meet after the office closes. I want this to be a very private meeting between you, your brothers and me.”
He noted that she hadn’t included anyone from his executive team. “Caden flew out today for New York. He has a couple of concerts that had been scheduled and were too costly to get out of. However, Dalton should be free.”
“Great!”
“When Melissa returns from lunch, I’ll have her check with him to make sure that he—”
“I’d rather you didn’t. In fact, I prefer you not mention this meeting to anyone.”
He lifted a brow. “Okay, let’s say around six? That way we can be sure everyone will have left by then.”
She nodded. “I’ll see you at six. And if you don’t mind, we’ll meet in my office.”
“All right.” She then left.
He wondered just what was in her report.
* * *
Shana sat at her desk and felt her heart beating hard in her chest as both Jace and Dalton read the reports she had presented to them. This was her initial report, and once they discussed everything, she would know how to proceed from here.
She wasn’t surprised that it was Jace who finished reading first. After all, he was an attorney and was used to the legalese when it came to reviewing case studies. He glanced up from the papers and his gaze snagged hers. Immediately, she felt every hormone in her body sizzle from the intensity of his stare.
Forcing her gaze back down to the papers on her desk, she drew in a slow breath while thinking that she didn’t need this. Especially not now. They had a lot of work to do, and going over this report was just the start of it. But Jace’s presence wasn’t making it easy. His presence was taking over everything and dominating the office space, and making her very much aware of him...even with his brother in the room.
“Shit, you mean to tell us that there’s a traitor in the company?”
She lifted her gaze and glanced over at Dalton. From his outburst, one would think he was more upset with what he’d read than Jace was. That could only mean one thing. Jace already had his suspicions.
“Looks that way, doesn’t it?” Jace said easily and calmly, without displaying any strong emotions.
Dalton picked up on it, stared over at his brother and quickly reached the same conclusion that Shana had. “Damn it, Jace, you knew!”
“Not for certain,” Jace said smoothly, switching his gaze from Shana to Dalton. “But I had a hunch.”
“And you didn’t tell us?” Dalton roared, offended.
“Only because, like I said, all I had was a hunch. Besides, I figured if my suspicions were right, it would come out in Shana’s report.”
“When did you pick up on something?” Shana asked.
Jace then shifted his gaze back to her. “My grandfather has a private file stored on his computer. He shared the password with me several years ago...in case I ever needed to get into it. It was a file where he mainly documented his thoughts or ideas. One of his most recent notations, one made a week or so before his death, indicated he suspected someone within the company of divulging trade secrets and felt that was the reason we weren’t topping certain bids.”
He paused a moment and then said, “And then after reading how one of our major competitors always seemed to underbid us, I began to think Granddad’s suspicions had some merit.”
Shana nodded. “I agree. That was the first red flag that made me take notice and start digging more,” Shana said. “I have my team investigating this and we must alert the FBI.”
“The FBI?” Dalton asked, surprised. “Why would you bring them in?”
Shana glanced over at Dalton. “Mainly because the theft or misappropriation of trade secrets is a federal offense. Not to mention the kind of contract this company pulls in, primarily from the government. For a few years, Granger Aeronautics was the number one producer of aircraft parts and motors, and now they’ve lost their edge to a competitor who’s only been around a few years. If the reason they lost that edge is because someone was giving the other company...let’s say bid information, then that’s a problem.”
Dalton leaned forward in his chair. “Do you have any idea who could be behind it?” he asked, and his voice was edged with anger.
“No, and we could be looking at more than one person,” Shana replied.
Dalton didn’t say anything but thought about what she’d said. “We’re going to need proof.”
“And we’ll have it. My team is thorough and won’t stop digging until they have something. Once the FBI is involved, they’ll probably do their own thorough investigation and even a sting operation. I know the guy in charge, Marcel Eaton. He worked with my father in Boston when he and Dad were police officers.”
“Your dad was a cop?” Jace asked, surprised, being reminded of how little he knew of her personal life.
“Yes. He retired from the force after twenty years and moved here a few years ago. Marcel is very thorough, and because of my friendship with him, he will keep me in the loop. I’m glad your grandfather suspected something.”
“I’m glad, too,” Jace said. “Now I understand why he wanted us to take things over. He felt no one would look after Granger Aeronautics like we would.”
“Until Dad comes back,” Dalton added.
Shana lifted a brow. “Your dad?”
“Yes,” Jace said, drawing in a slow, deep breath, knowing his grandfather’s thought processes. “Our grandfather believed that our mother’s killer would eventually be caught and that our father would be set free. He believed it so much that basically nothing in Dad’s office has changed. Granddad made it his business to keep everything intact, just the way Dad left it.”
“For fifteen years?” Shana said, not believing what she was hearing.
Jace nodded again. “I’m sure he didn’t think it would take this long. Granddad hired a private investigator who was supposedly the best in the business at the time.”
“What happened?” Shana asked.
“All I know is that the man died a few years ago in a car accident. I understand he’d been drinking at the time and was on his way home from a party,” Jace supplied. “Granddad thought the man was onto something big—at least that’s what the investigator claimed—but no one was able to find his report.”
Shana didn’t say anything for a minute and then spoke. “I also made several other recommendations in the report that I’m sure you saw but that you’ve yet to comment on,” she said to Jace.
Yes, he’d seen them, and a number of them involved massive department cuts. “People need their jobs now more than ever, Shana.”
“I am aware of that, Jace, but no company can afford to bear the expense of employees not doing what they are paid to do. And, if you notice, there are several departments not meeting monthly quotas. Your grandfather passed a couple of managers over for raises last year.”
Jace had noticed that, as well. “I will meet with them and put down the law. Jace’s Law. They’ll be given six months to turn their departments around or I’ll go in and make personnel changes.”
“Some of them have worked here for years, Jace,” Dalton reminded him. “A few even feel entitled,” he added, thinking of Cal Arrington.
“They can feel entitled all they want, but I’ll be holding them responsible for the success of their departments. But more than anything, I want to know who’s responsible for passing off Granger trade secrets.”
* * *
An hour or so later, Shana leaned back in her chair and gently rubbed the back of her neck, trying to work the stiff kinks out of it. She released a deep breath as she thought about what Jace had said. “Jace’s Law.” She had a feeling he would be fair with his employees, but at the same time, his expectations would be stern. She agreed with that approach.
There were three departments that Jace would need to concentrate on, and all three of them were currently overstaffed. Granger had to redefine itself, and there was no choice in the matter if they wanted to regain their position as a market leader in aerospace. Five years was a long time not to have been awarded a huge contract instead of the crumbs that had been left over.
There was a knock on the door, and she glanced up. “Come in.”
Jace walked in. “You’re still here.”
Shana nodded, trying to ignore the stir in her stomach and the way her heartbeat had begun throbbing in her chest. “I see you haven’t left, either.”
“No,” he said, coming to stand in the middle of the room. “I had planned to join Dalton at McQueen’s. It’s becoming his favorite hangout, but some female called and he dumped me to hook up with her.”
Shana couldn’t help but smile. “I understand he’s moving away from the family estates.”
Jace chuckled. “Yes, but for him it’s a good thing. Sutton Hills was never the same for him once our mother died and my father left. He was close to Mom.”
“Did you continue to live in your parents’ home?”
“No, we moved in with Granddad. My parents’ home, although located on the grounds of Sutton Hills, was on a different part of the estate. On a good, clear day you can see the rooftop of my parents’ home from Granddad’s kitchen table.”
Shana wondered how Dalton felt about his father being convicted of his mother’s murder. “How did things go this weekend when you visited your dad?”
She watched a smile touch Jace’s lips...lips that had shown her what a fantastic and passionate kisser he was. “Dad’s doing okay for a man who’s locked behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit.”
She was tempted to ask how he knew that for certain, when the evidence against his father had been so overwhelming. From what she had read, his father’s fingerprints had been on the murder weapon, a gun that Sheppard owned.
“It must have been hard on you and your brothers while growing up,” she said softly.
“It was, for a number of reasons. The hardest was when the parents of some of our friends—people we’d known for years—felt we were no longer good enough for their offspring to hang around with. That was hard for three teens to digest.”
And then, as if he didn’t want to discuss his father with her any longer, he said, “I want to run something by you that I noticed in your report. It was something you recommended.”
“Okay,” she said, giving him her full attention and in ways she wished she could control better. She was convinced that cleft in his chin was her weakness.
“Revamping of engineering technology.”
She eased back in her chair. “I noticed it’s been years since Granger has built an aircraft.”
“The last time was the year before Dad went to prison. She was a beauty,” he said, sliding into the chair across from her desk. “Last year, Granddad mentioned plans in the works to build another one. This one would have this special supersonic hydraulic pump. He wanted to move forward, but the Defense Department wouldn’t approve the plan. They kept finding things wrong with the design. Norm Ellison is my man in charge of the designing of the aircraft, and I’ve asked for a detailed report. I want to know why this hasn’t gotten off the ground.”
Shana didn’t say anything for a minute as she recalled the bio she’d gotten on Ellison. A graduate of MIT, he’d been top of his class. His name had also been on Kent’s list as someone of interest.
The whole purpose of today’s meeting was to provide Jace and his brothers with a list of what was wrong with Granger. A company that built air performance planes and airplane parts should be doing very well. But Granger wasn’t.
“Here,” she said, handing him another report. “I’m one step ahead of you. What’s in that report should be included in Ellison’s when he gives one to you. I wondered why Granger Aeronautics, which had been at the top of developing innovative ideas a few years ago, hadn’t come up with anything lately.”
The room was silent while Jace slowly flipped through pages and pages of data. She couldn’t help looking at him, liked looking at him. He had perfectly angled cheekbones, and she thought the line of his jaw was set in a way that didn’t leave room for guessing when he was displeased about something.
Knowing it was rude to stare, she forced her gaze down at the papers spread out on her desk. When he had walked into her office, she could tell he was tightly wound, tense, and everything inside of her had responded even when she hadn’t wanted it to.
Earlier, when he had been in here, she had felt need and want sparring to unleash within him, even when Dalton had been sitting beside him. His tense state had stirred her womanly core because she knew the reason for it.
What she needed was to call it a night and go home and jump-start her weekend. Last weekend, she’d been on a mission of checking out her father’s love interest. This weekend, he and Mona would go out for pizza. Her sixty-two-year-old father was acting like a teen who’d finally gotten the most beautiful and popular girl in school to go out with him.
“Interesting.”
She lifted her head and looked over at Jace. He was staring at her. “I thought so, too, but didn’t want to say anything until I researched it some more. But since you came in here and asked about engineering technology, I figured I’d share what I had gathered up so far. It seems Arrington gave Ellison the order not to work on the design any longer.”
“You are thorough.”
“Thanks, but there are still unanswered questions...like who gave Arrington the right to make such a call.”
“But you will figure things out,” he said smoothly.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She checked her watch and pushed back her chair to stand. “Time for me to leave. I promised myself that I would be out of here by eight.” She crossed the room to the coatrack, got her jacket and slid it on.
He stood as well, his body tall and trim. “I see you’re not skipping lunch every day like you used to, and that’s good.”
“Melissa is kind enough to make sure I order in something every day.”
He smiled. “Then I’m grateful for Melissa.”
She walked back over to the desk to get her purse and couldn’t stop the feeling of her body simmering, getting hyped, tortured by the sight of him standing there, tall, handsome, legs braced apart with hands in his pockets. “You’re about to leave, as well?” She hoped not. The thought of them sharing another elevator ride was too much.
“In another hour or so. There are a few things I still need to wrap up before I leave. Have big plans for the weekend?”
She thought of Charles. After she had time to think about it, she’d figured it had been for the best that they hadn’t hooked up last weekend. She had been prepared to use him to forget about the man standing in front of her. “No plans so far. I’m planning to have a quiet and restful weekend,” she said, thinking that she planned to relax, lie around and finish the novel she’d been reading. “What about you?”
He eased his hands out of his pockets. The casual motion seemed seamlessly controlled. “I’ll be going through my grandfather’s belongings...giving most of the items to Goodwill.”
She nodded, thinking it would probably be a tough task for him to do. On more than one occasion, she had heard him speak of his grandfather, and it was easy to see the two had a close relationship. “Will Dalton help you?”
“No, I doubt it’s something he could handle,” Jace said with a pensive expression on his face. “Although he and the old man butted heads more times than I care to remember, they were both good at hiding their true feelings.”
She tilted her head to the side, considering what he said. Her father had once accused her of doing the same thing. Not with him, since with her father she was known to demonstrate an overabundance of affection, but with the men she dated. He claimed she tended to be on her guard. But the way she looked at it, no woman wanted to get burned twice.
“Shana?”
When Jace said her name, he forced those thoughts to the back of her mind. “Yes?”
“Can you give me an estimate of how much longer you think Granger Aeronautics will be your client?”
She weighed what he’d asked. “Why?”
“Because I need to know.”
As far as she was concerned, his response wasn’t good enough. Had he gotten it into his head that once her work with his company was finished that would mean a green light for some sort of tryst with her? She had never slept with any of her clients, while she worked for them or after her work with them was done. They had maintained a business relationship. And things with him would be no different.
Shana placed her purse on her desk while thinking exactly what he suspected she was thinking—that his question had irked her. “I think I need to get a few things straight, Jace. That kiss was just a kiss. It was not a prelude to anything more, not during or after my work here is finished, and I don’t appreciate your assuming it was,” she said in a tone that didn’t disguise her annoyance.
“And was it just a kiss?”
“Yes. Let’s move on. Like I said, it was just a kiss. I’ve had plenty of them in my day, and I’m sure you have, as well.”
He took a step closer to her. “Can you look me in the face and tell me you felt nothing?”
Anger surged within her. What was he trying to get her to say, and why? If he needed to hear it, then she would say it loud and clear...although she would be lying through her teeth. Placing her hands on her hips, she stared him in the face and said slowly, articulating each and every word so he could hear and understand precisely. “I am staring you in the face, Jace, and now please read my lips. I...felt...nothing.”
Judging by the snap of anger that suddenly flared in his eyes, she knew her statement hadn’t gone over well. He proved her right when he said, “I guarantee that this time you will.”
The next thing Shana knew, two powerful arms swept out and pulled her into them.