Twelve

“Talk to me, Don,” Jay said after he punched the button on the speakerphone in his office.

“It’s exactly as we suspected. Alesha Warren approached her sister-in-law about filing the lawsuit. According to Jennifer, Warren intimated that there were several other Sparks cheerleaders willing to join the class. Jennifer was surprised when no other cheerleaders were named. She’s a little peeved at her sister-in-law.”

“Peeved enough to drop the lawsuit?” Jay asked.

“Unfortunately, no. She’s still claiming that several Blaze players made her feel uncomfortable at the photo shoot. Jennifer says they crossed the line into sexual harassment several times during the trip. I got the feeling there was more she wasn’t telling me, though. But her father wouldn’t allow her to elaborate without Alesha Warren present.”

Jay swore. “Bridgett will have to depose her as soon as possible. I want to know why Alesha brought the possibility of a lawsuit to Jennifer and not the other way around. Especially if the two hadn’t spoken for some time. Any clues there?”

“Not a one,” Don said. “She pretty much clammed up when her father gave her the signal. He’s likely envisioning a big settlement. The family emergency is legit, though. It looks like Jennifer’s grandmother is at the end of her life. I’m thinking I might stick around a little longer to see if Alesha’s ex shows up. I might be able to learn something from him.”

“Good thinking.” Jay paused and glanced out the window overlooking the pool. He was relieved to see Charlie reclining on one of the chaise lounges, a magazine in her hands.

“By the way, Asia has been asking around and she has a list of the players who were at the photo shoot that week. Shall I have her send it along to Bridgett?” Don hesitated when he said Bridgett’s name. Don knew the circumstances of Jay and Bridgett’s stay at the motel in Virginia Beach and he likely didn’t give much credence to the blogger’s claims. But Jay needed him to.

“Yeah, e-mail it directly to her. And, Don, if nothing else comes out of this wild-goose chase, I want that blogger found. I won’t have mine and Bridgett’s relationship talked about all over the Internet.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Don spoke again. “Uh, sure thing, boss.”

“Call me when you have something,” Jay commanded before clicking the speakerphone off. He looked over at Linc. “I take it Charlie stayed put last night?”

Linc looked a little sheepish when he answered. “I talked her into giving it a day.”

Jay eyed his assistant carefully. While he liked the kid well enough—he was smart, goal oriented, and savvy—Jay wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Linc and his sister together, probably because he didn’t want to think about anyone being with his little sister. Both definitely gave off vibes of disliking each other, but all Jay had to do was go up to his bedroom for proof that negative vibes didn’t necessarily mean anything. Still, his sister could do a whole lot worse and she was still at the vineyard, so he kept his misgivings to himself. “You didn’t talk her into telling you who the father is, too, did you?”

“No, but it’s not Blaine,” Linc said with a grin. “Apparently, he’s in love with one of Princess Charlotte’s ladies-in-waiting—the one with the tongue piercing whose daddy is the satellite radio pioneer. They’ve had a bit of a falling-out and he’s being a hangdog putz trying to get her back. He seemed to think she’d be here with your sister.”

“Thankfully, Charlie left her entourage in Europe.” Jay sorted through some papers on his desk. “Still, I’d like you to keep an eye on her for me. I’m going to be tied up in meetings most of the day.”

“With your lawyer?” Linc unsuccessfully tried to stifle the shit-eating grin that spread over his face at the double entendre.

Jay ignored him. “Did you track down that name I gave you?”

Linc sobered up before unlocking the safe in the credenza. He pulled out a file and handed it to Jay. “It’s all here, including the current address.”

Thumbing through the sheets of papers, Jay bit down on the bile rising at the back of his throat. This was one confrontation he’d hoped to avoid ever having. A fit of conscience had forced Jay to go easy on this person the first time around. Fortunately, Jay never made the same mistake twice. “We’ll meet with the media consultant in the dining room,” he told Linc as he slipped the file into his briefcase. “I’m just going to have a word with my sister before the day gets away from me.”

Linc nodded as Jay made his way out to the pool deck. Charlie didn’t bother looking up from the glossy pages of her magazine.

“She must not be that impressive if you had to leave in the middle of boinking her to beat up my friend.”

Jay didn’t bother responding. His sister was spoiling for a fight of her own and he found it was best not to engage when Charlie was in full princess mode.

Charlie was never able to stand his silence for long and she eventually glanced up. “Damn, not even a fat lip.”

“What are your plans for the day?” Jay was still holding out hope he could persuade her to have dinner with their mother. Perhaps he’d bring Bridgett along, too. Somehow, though, he didn’t think the dinner would be everything he’d fantasized about thirteen years ago. Too many secrets would be hovering over the table. But still, he wanted the only three women who were part of his private life to meet.

“I thought I’d throw back a few mojitos, then do some skydiving,” she quipped. “From what I read surfing the Internet, I figured you’d be holed up in your suite with your lady lawyer lover. You’re awfully dressed up for a day in the sack, though. Unless you two are into some kinky Fifty Shades of Grey role-playing.” She made a face very similar to one that always used to make Jay laugh when she was kid, but not so much now.

“When you’re ready to grow up,” he said, “I have a favor to ask.”

“I don’t do threesomes. Especially not with my brother.”

“Can you turn off the snark, Charlie? My favor involves shopping. I know you excel at that.”

“Does it involve your lawyer lover?”

Jay flinched at the name the blogger had dubbed Bridgett with. The moniker likely mortified her. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call her that. She’s staying through the game on Sunday and she’ll likely need clothes.”

“Other than a thong and stilettos?”

He was beginning to regret his decision to involve Charlie, but he wanted his sister occupied. A bored Charlie was a dangerous Charlie. Jay also wanted her to get to know Bridgett. The two would be seeing a lot of each other if his plan came to fruition. It would be a bonus if everyone got along. “I doubt she brought anything to wear to the cocktail party on Saturday night.”

Charlie dropped her eyes back to her magazine. “Ah, so I’ve been replaced as hostess already.”

Damn! Why did women always read things the wrong way? Jay didn’t have the time or patience to deal with any slight to his sister’s feelings this morning, but he didn’t want her sulking all weekend, either. “No,” he said evenly. “I asked you to help me host, Charlie.”

She flipped a page of her magazine. “But your lawyer lover will be there, too.”

“Yes.”

“Am I spending your money or her money?”

Jay snorted. He doubted Bridgett would be too happy about attending a cocktail party for Blaze sponsors and other NFL dignitaries. She’d be positively furious at the idea of him buying her clothes; of that there was no doubt. “You won’t be spending anyone’s money. Just showing her where the better stores are.” He turned to head back into the house. “And, Charlie, be nice.”

“Jay,” she called after him. “Is she your lawyer? Because, you know . . .”

He knew what she was asking. Jay had been right when he assumed no one knew about the baby Charlie was carrying. “Yes. The baby is protected under the confidentiality proviso.”

She nodded solemnly and went back to her magazine.

•   •   •

“How long has this been going on?” Stuart’s normally jovial demeanor was nowhere to be found this morning. Her boss hadn’t called her Buffy one time. Bridgett hated lying to him. Then there was the fact that she wasn’t lying. One look in the mirror at the disheveled bed behind her and her skin grew warm beneath her Escada suit. She decided to stick as close to the truth as possible.

“Nothing happened in the motel the other night.”

Stuart snorted incredulously. “But it is happening now—is that what you’re telling me? Damn it, Bridgett, these weren’t the type of headlines I envisioned when I put you on this case!”

“I tried to recuse myself but you wouldn’t listen!”

She heard the familiar sound of the cracking of marbles. Stuart would work them through his fingers whenever he was agitated. “Fine. Let Mimi handle the media mess that’s sure to come of this and whatever else Alesha Warren is planning, and you come back to Baltimore. Dan has already begun interviewing cheerleaders and some of the other staff who were on the calendar shoot. He can take over anything else. I’ll have to hold McManus’s hand myself.”

The words Bridgett had waited to hear didn’t bring about the relief she expected. She told herself it was because she knew Jay would use whatever means necessary to make sure she stayed put and it had nothing to do with her reluctance to leave the beautiful vineyard. Or this bedroom. “It’s too late for that. He says if I go, he’ll take his business elsewhere.”

Bridgett held the phone away from her face as Stuart swore. “Well, you’ve worked yourself out a fine deal, haven’t you, Bridgett?”

She cringed as his words. She’d worked hard to achieve the rank of junior partner in her law firm, never letting her reputation become subject to innuendo. Unfortunately, as a woman, she was always at risk for the types of accusations Stuart was making. It was no use arguing because, for the first time in her career, she was guilty.

“I thought you were smarter than this,” he said sharply and his words made Bridgett’s throat tighten. “It doesn’t matter. He has the reputation of being a bit of a playboy. When he’s done with you, he’ll be done with the firm, too.”

Bridgett hated the sound of disgust in Stuart’s voice. She wanted to argue with him, but deep down, she knew he was probably right. Whatever it was Jay had proposed last night had been open-ended, and would last only until he grew tired of her. She was a fool for even considering putting herself in that position once again.

But then she glanced in the mirror again. What they had in bed was real. When she made love with Jay, she became her younger self again, the Bridgett who delighted in life and the world around her. The women she’d been pretending to be these past thirteen years was just that: pretend. A thick shell of a lawyer who saw the world in black and white so that she could go through the motions of life. She really didn’t like that woman. But it was the only way she’d known how to survive.

“Everything isn’t always as it seems, Stuart. I know what my job here is and what the client represents to our firm. I’m not about to lose sight of any of that. I’ll call you after our meeting with Mimi.” She clicked her phone off and stared at the neatly put-together woman in the mirror. “Don’t mess this up,” she told herself. She just didn’t know if she was talking about her job or whatever it was that was happening again with Jay.

She left the sanctuary of the relaxing suite and made her way down to the first floor of the house. The rooms she passed were well appointed with both antiques and cozy, inviting furniture. A soft breeze filtering in through the open terrace doors carried the sounds of workers harvesting the grapes in the vineyards. Bridgett’s stomach rumbled and she followed her nose toward the delicious smell of food coming from the large room at the end of the hall.

The dining room was stunning. A huge Swarovski chandelier hung above an oval rosewood table that seated sixteen. The French doors opened to a flagstone terrace complete with sofas, a bar, and a stone fireplace. Behind the terrace was a breathtaking view of the vineyard, framed by the foothills behind it. Viewing the sunsets from that spot had to be amazing.

Bridgett didn’t realize she’d spoken the last part out loud until she heard Mimi Livingston’s voice behind her. “So you’ve been too busy doing other things to take in the sunsets, have you?”

She turned to find the media specialist standing beside one of the sideboards, a plate of food in her hand, wearing an Albert Nipon suit, four-inch Jimmy Choos, and enough filler in her face to kill an elephant. Bridgett had worked with the older woman before on a case involving a class action against an Internet provider. The case had been decided in their client’s favor, and Mimi had been invaluable in deflecting the negative media away from their defendant. She’d also been insufferable, condescending, and way too forward with their client, the company’s CEO. The last part had bothered Bridgett enough for her to hop on her soapbox and confront Mimi about it. Damn. Payback was definitely going to be ugly.

“Good morning, Mimi.” Bridgett picked up a plate and loaded it with some fruit that she’d likely pick at, her appetite having suddenly left her.

“Hmm,” Mimi said. “I doubt it’s a good morning for you, Miss Prissy Pants. Unless you like your dirty little secrets played out all over social media. Or is he just that good in the sack that you’re willing to overlook the torpedo to that sterling reputation you’ve been postulating?”

“Let’s save the catfight for the ladies’ room, Ms. Livingston. We’ve got work to do,” Jay said as he entered the room, his assistant trailing behind him.

Bridgett wasn’t sure which embarrassed her more: Jay’s interference on her behalf or the fact that he’d overheard Mimi’s comments. She gave him a look of indifference as she took her seat at the table, leaving two open chairs between her and the seat Jay had taken. He arched an eyebrow at her but didn’t bother to comment. With a huff, Mimi took the seat directly across from Jay.

“So can we assume the counsel for the Sparks cheerleaders leaked the story about your little tryst with your new attorney in the seedy motel?” Mimi asked.

“For your clarification, Mimi, there was no ‘tryst’ in a seedy motel,” Jay said, his tone even. “Miss Janik’s and my long-standing relationship isn’t germane to the case.”

Mimi flinched at the phrase long-standing. “It is now. The question is why and how did the blogger find out about it?”

Jay’s assistant spoke up. “Alesha Warren had someone interview the motel’s desk clerk.”

“How do you know that?” Bridgett leaned forward in her chair to look past Jay at Linc.”

Linc glanced at Jay before answering. “Because we had someone interview the desk clerk after Alesha’s guy was there.”

Bridgett glanced between the two men in surprise.

“The spy games part doesn’t matter,” Mimi said. “I’m actually surprised that she led with this when she alluded to having information about your sexual harassment exploits.”

Jay quickly cut her off. “I don’t practice sexual harassment and if you’ve read the case files we’ve provided you, you’ll see that none of those claims were ever substantiated.”

Mimi sighed as she flipped open a folder. “Mainly because you paid all these women off. It’s a smart way to avoid the court system and a media feeding frenzy, but these things do have a way of cropping back up.” She sorted through the papers in front of her before lifting her gaze toward Bridgett. “Some of these cases look like lovers scorned, however. They should be easy to defend in the court of public opinion as long as no one else is going to come out of the woodwork.”

A silence settled over the room as Mimi looked from Bridgett to Jay. She knew that Mimi was alluding to Bridgett, but Jay was likely thinking about whoever he thought had access to his most secret files. Bridgett tried not to squirm.

“Nothing else is going to ‘come out of the woodwork,’” Jay answered, his tone quiet but lethal. Bridgett hoped he was right, because if the sexual harassment cases had all been settled out of court, Alesha had to have been made aware of them by someone. Bridgett worried her bottom lip as she prayed that whoever it was didn’t know all Jay’s secrets.

Mimi heaved another sigh. “Let’s hope not. For now, we’ll start a quiet little campaign to paint these previous cases for what they were—jilted lovers.”

Jay’s jaw grew taut but he remained silent, not bothering to refute Mimi’s perception. Aggravated and annoyed, Bridgett did fidget in her chair this time. Jay shot her a quelling glance that only served to make her more frustrated.

“That way,” Mimi continued, “if and when the Girlfriends’ Guide to the NFL runs with the sexual harassment angle, we’ll already have a wave of media outlets who can contradict her.”

“Too bad she doesn’t have an even bigger story to distract her,” Linc said.

Three heads turned to the end of the table to stare at Jay’s assistant.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Mimi said. “Whoever is behind that blog seems to have a personal vendetta against the team. Or, perhaps, just you, Mr. McManus. Regardless, Stuart wants me to stay close just in case. I’m assuming you’ll be remaining in California until after the game on Sunday?”

Jay stood when Mimi did. “Yes, we’ll fly back Monday morning. I’m hosting a cocktail party here on Saturday night. Please join us. Linc will give you the details.” He nodded at his assistant, and Linc escorted Mimi from the room.

Dropping back down into his chair, Jay released a sigh.

“You agree with Mimi that this is something personal, don’t you?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “According to Asia, the majority of the cheerleaders are happy to be on the Sparks squad. They’re paid well for what the job is and they all think they’re being treated fairly. They do it for fun. The players allegedly involved in the sexual intimidation are on the practice squad. Hank will cut them immediately if Jennifer Knowles’s claim can be substantiated.”

“As your attorney, I have to advise you not to settle for Alesha Warren’s asking price. Let the case languish in the courts. It’ll drop to the bottom of the news cycle pretty quickly if Hank makes a statement that the players are gone and the behavior won’t be tolerated. It’ll take months to get the class notified, but we’ll have a better chance at dismissal if Jennifer Knowles is the only plaintiff.”

“I don’t plan on giving anyone a dime, Bridgett. But I’m also not going to sit around and let someone use Alesha Warren to slander me. The person behind this isn’t going to stop until they reveal all my secrets. This is about payback.”

“You know who it is?” she gasped.

Jay’s tone was resolute. “I have my suspicions.”

“What are you going to do?”

When he didn’t answer, Bridgett leaned forward in her chair and whispered. “Jay, don’t do anything stupid. I don’t care if anyone finds out about the baby. That was years ago.”

His face was stoic as he glanced over his shoulder to the sound of a woman’s laughter in the hallway. Bridgett recognized it from the night before as Charlie’s. “That’s not the only baby I’m concerned about here,” he said.

“Yes, of course,” Bridgett said around the lump that had formed in her throat. She stood, running her hands down her skirt to smooth out the wrinkles. “Just don’t do anything stupid. Our firm only handles civil cases. I’ll head back to Baltimore this afternoon. As much as Dan is probably enjoying interviewing the cheerleaders, I want to make sure we’ve got all our bases covered. Mimi can handle whatever media issues arise from here.”

“Not so fast, counselor.” Jay reached out and wrapped his large fingers around her wrist, pulling her down into his lap.

“Jay!” she cried, frantically looking around to make sure they were alone.

He slid a hand beneath her skirt and cupped her bottom. “You’re not going anywhere, Bridgett.” She tried to resist him but he had the advantage of surprise when his mouth took hers in a wildly possessive kiss. Bridgett loathed the way her body responded without a trace of resistance to his heavy-handedness. Breaking the kiss, she smacked his chest in frustration at herself as much as Jay.

“I swear I’m going to have to start wearing a flak jacket around you.” he murmured against her neck.

“I don’t want you kissing me.”

She felt his smile against her skin. “I think you do want me kissing you and that’s what has you so mad. You like it too much.”

“I don’t,” she breathed as one of his fingers slid beneath the crotch of her panties. “Jay,” she gasped when his finger breached her entrance and her body squeezed around it.

“I have to go into the office and then I have a dinner scheduled,” he said as he stroked her. “Otherwise I’d take you upstairs and do this a lot more thoroughly.”

Bridgett tried to tell him to stop, that their behavior was unprofessional, but the words never made it past her lips. Instead her breaths became more staccato as Jay flicked in and out of her. Her body began to tighten around his finger just as his mouth covered hers, swallowing up her cry of pleasure.

The room came into focus a moment later. Bridgett was still sprawled out in Jay’s lap but his hand was no longer beneath her skirt. He swore softly when she shifted. “Be still a minute,” he choked out.

“I can’t stay here,” she whispered.

His lips brushed her hairline. “Yes, you can. I’m the client. I call the shots and I say you stay here at the vineyard in case I need further legal advice. Or bailing out of jail.”

Jay groaned when she jumped off his lap. “You are not going to do something stupid!”

She wasn’t sure if his grin was one of amusement or pain, but Jay slowly stood to face her. He reached out a hand to cup her face. “I’m not.”

“Promise me,” she demanded, surprising them both at the ferocity of her tone.

His face softened and he wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and pulled her body against his. “Promise me you’ll be here when I get home tonight, Bridgett. We can spend the day exploring the vineyard tomorrow. I’ll even let you bill me at your hourly rate.”

She smacked him on the chest again as laughter rumbled up beneath her hand. “I didn’t bring anything suitable for a cocktail party.”

“I’m way ahead of you. Charlie’s agreed to take you shopping.”

Bridgett’s eyes snapped back up to his. “Your sister?”

“Hmm,” he said with grin. “And she’s even agreed to be nice.”

His lips brushed the tip of her nose and Bridgett sighed. “Fine. But I’m only agreeing to the weekend, Jay. On Monday, we go back to the way things were.”

“Are you sure about that?”

No! If he asked her to run away with him, she’d be sorely tempted, just as his offer last night had tempted her. But she needed to listen to the levelheaded Bridgett, who’d been guiding her these past years. It was the only way she knew how to survive. “I’m sure.”

His mouth took on that self-satisfied grin again. “We’ll see.”