Chapter 8
Blake McMillan had just been informed his sister Charlotte was back from Germany. Unfortunately, one of his friends was calling, pushing for information on an upcoming corporate merger. “Damn it, Matt, you know I can’t tell you whether the merger is going to happen. That would make me guilty of insider trading, and you know the SEC is always on the lookout for financiers willing to violate securities laws.” Blake grinned to himself as he baited his friend Matt Marshall with the fact that he had insider information about the biggest corporate merger in years, the knowledge of which, in the right, or wrong, hands could make the holder several million dollars richer, if they played their cards right. Acting on the information at the wrong time, however, could see both of the Wall Street financiers jailed for insider trading, so Blake was treading carefully.
“Look, Matt, as soon as I think it’s safe to tell you, I will. You have my word.” Blake tried to placate his friend, and it appeared he was successful. He was preparing to hang up when his sister Charlotte walked into his posh, corner office in the brand-new World Trade Center building.
Blake smiled at Charlotte as he hung up the phone. “Hey, sis! How was your trip to Germany? Do I now own a one-million-dollar dressage horse?”
“Actually, no,” Liz responded, clearly incensed. “You would not believe what happened when we got to Mendelssohn’s farm. None other than Michael Stafford, an Olympic gold medalist, was there to test ride the horse as well. As you would expect, Stafford rode the horse perfectly. It looked like he’d been riding the horse for years. Fortunately for us, Stafford can’t afford to buy Tempest, so Jessica is still in the running, but Mendelssohn isn’t yet sure Jessica, even with Liz’s training, can handle him. So, Mendelssohn gave both Stafford and Jessica sixty days to ride and train with Tempest, and he would observe the process. At the end of the sixty days, Jessica and Stafford will each ride Tempest in a rated show in Germany, and whichever rider scores the best with him, will have him.” Liz took a deep breath and looked at Blake to gauge his reaction.
“I’m new to all this horse stuff, sis, but it doesn’t sound like something that happens every day.”
“I’m no expert either, but Liz Randall is, and she assures me that she has never seen a horse owner require prospective buyers to jump through hoops like this. It’s unheard of.”
“So what can we do?” Blake asked.
“Liz called her friend Will Napier at the USDF, and they’re as shocked as we are at this turn of events, but they offered very little advice. It appears that the horse owner has ultimate control over who he sells his horse to, and even if we filed a lawsuit to force a sale, we would have marginal potential for success, then there’s the fact that we have to find a German lawyer to file our case there, and it will likely take longer than sixty days to get the case before a judge.”
“So, let me get this straight. I won’t even have the opportunity to buy this horse for at least another sixty days?” Blake was finally beginning to understand why Charlotte was so angry.
“That’s right. The horse is being transported to the UK as we speak, to stay at Stafford’s farm, and Jessica and Liz will stay there as well.”
“Why Stafford’s farm?” Blake queried. “That seems to give him an unfair advantage in this so-called competition.”
“That’s another part of this whole arrangement that I don’t like,” Charlotte continued. “Stafford’s brother is in trouble with the law, and Stafford needs to stay close to home to monitor him while he’s out on bail and to help him in his defense.”
“You mean to say that Stafford’s brother is a criminal, and that he’s living on the farm, where Jessica and Liz will be staying as well?” Blake couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Charlotte nodded. “That’s outrageous! I want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep Jessica and Liz safe.”
“I plan to go back there and stay with Liz and Jessica to make sure nothing untoward happens while they’re there,” Charlotte said.
“I know that’s what you want, sis, but I really need you here right now. The merger we’ve been monitoring is nearing completion, and we want to move fast to take advantage of the bump in stock price the merger will trigger. You’re my expert on the deal, and have all of the relevant information we need. I can’t let you go now.”
Charlotte sighed. “Isn’t there anyone else that work this deal?”
“I’m sorry, Char, but no. You’re my expert. No one else will do.”
“All right,” Charlotte couldn’t prevent the look of reluctance acceptance from showing in her expression. “I’ll do my best to keep in touch with Jessica via Skype and hope that will be enough.”
“Keep me posted,” Blake directed. “I’m very concerned about this situation.”
“I will.” Charlotte made her way to the door and looked back at Blake. It was clear to her that Blake had more than a passing interest in Jessica. “Jessica has a good head on her shoulders. She won’t allow herself to get into a situation she can’t handle. Plus, Liz is right there with her. She’ll be okay.”
Blake nodded and flashed Charlotte what he hoped was a reassuring smile. As the door closed behind her, though, Blake couldn’t help but be disturbed by this latest turn of events. He had hoped Jessica would be returning immediately to the States, grateful to him for buying her the horse of dreams. So grateful in fact that she would be amenable to becoming his girlfriend, and soon thereafter his lover. He was so looking forward to showing her off to his friends as his latest conquest.
His mind drifted to a vision of Jessica naked in his bed, her long, shapely legs wrapped tightly around his body as he pounded into her, both of them moaning with pleasure, their hot, sweating bodies moving as one. He felt himself harden, and moved to hide the lower part of his body behind his desk, and adjusted his pants slightly to accommodate his increased size. Bringing himself back to reality, he resigned himself to the fact that his fantasies would not be fulfilled any time soon.
This situation with Stafford’s brother concerned him, though. Maybe when things quieted down with the merger, he could fly to the UK personally, and make sure Jessica was all right, and that she realized how much he valued her. Maybe then she would be willing to show her gratitude for his concern. He smiled. Yes, that was an excellent idea.
~ ~ ~
“Please don’t worry, Charlotte.” Jessica had contacted Charlotte via Skype as Charlotte had insisted she do when they parted at Heathrow airport just a week ago. “Michael has been the perfect gentleman and an excellent host. I barely see his brother, Ian, and when I do, he keeps to himself, and doesn’t appear to be dangerous in the least. Liz and I are feeling right at home here, and are impatiently waiting for Tempest to be delivered. We’ve been told it could be as early as tomorrow.”
“So it’s Michael now, is it?” Charlotte teased. “You two must be getting along all right to be on a first-name basis so soon.”
Jessica felt herself blush, and hoped her computer’s camera wasn’t sensitive enough to transmit that detail to Charlotte. Of all the information she had just provided her, Charlotte had chosen that particular detail to notice. “Well, we have been living in the same house for nearly a week, and it’s just easier to call each other by our first names than be more formal. Michael is very informal anyway, and his manner invites others to be the same way. He isn’t at all the man I expected him to be, Charlotte. He’s actually really warm and friendly, although he has been keeping Liz and me at arm’s length, probably because ultimately, we’re the competition trying to take Tempest away from him.
“Away from him? Who says he has him to begin with?” Charlotte responded, feeling a bit irritated that Jessica was already selling herself short by allowing Michael the upper hand in their competition before they even began. Charlotte had been competing against men her entire career, and knew that it could be deadly to Jessica’s chances if she gave Michael Stafford even a scintilla of a head start in the competition.
“Charlotte, you know Mendelssohn was impressed with how Michael had ridden Tempest from the very beginning. It was only the fact the Michael didn’t have the money to buy him outright that created this competition at all.” Even so, Jessica had to acknowledge that she still had hopes that she might have Tempest as her own. Contrary to what Charlotte was intimating, Jessica was determined that she give everything she had to this competition, and give herself a fighting chance to win. “Don’t worry, Charlotte, I’m in this competition to win. This won’t be easy for Michael. You have my word.”
Charlotte smiled. “In that case, I’ll sign off and let you prepare. Is all of your equipment there? Do you have everything you and Liz need? You said Tempest is supposed to arrive there tomorrow, right?”
Jessica laughed. “Yes, to all your questions. Everything arrived here in excellent condition, and all is on schedule for Tempest to arrive tomorrow. Now, I have to go. I need to call my sister Hailey and make sure she’s okay. Thanks, Charlotte, for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” Charlotte responded. “By the way, Blake sends his regards, and wanted me to let you know he’s thinking about you and is concerned for you. I think you’ve made a conquest of my big brother. I’ve never seen him so interested in a woman, quite frankly.”
Jessica wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Blake McMillan was a very rich, handsome man who could have any woman he wanted. What could he possibly see in a horse-crazy, small-town girl from Ohio? “I think you must be mistaken, Charlotte. I can’t image what a man like Blake could see in me. I do appreciate the sentiment, though. Please thank him for me, and make sure he knows I am doing well.”
“I will,” Charlotte said. “I’ll call tomorrow, same time. OK?”
“Fine.” Jessica smiled and signed off, still puzzled about what Charlotte had told her. Surely, a man as successful, wealthy and accomplished as Blake McMillan wasn’t interested in her as more than just a struggling American rider needing financial support. Most likely Charlotte was just ensuring Jessica that Blake wasn’t going to abandon her just because their original plans for Tempest had changed. Of course, Jessica nodded to herself, that must be it. There certainly couldn’t be any other reason.