Chapter Forty-Seven
Harlan’s posture was the exact opposite of relaxed now. He sat up straight, looking ready to spring. “Your office said you were in a meeting all afternoon.”
“Right. This one.”
Jackson skipped right over Brock to smile at Gram and Celia. “This is Micah Bainbridge, the owner of NOI and Kasey’s boss.”
“He’s Brock’s boss, too.”
I didn’t need to add that bit but seeing Brock sitting there bubbling with anger and unable to release it made the moment worthwhile.
“We seem to have a misunderstanding about who is handling what issue. We should clear that up now.”
Jackson stood there, fully in charge and unimpressed with the hurricane of frustration building in the men at the table.
That thing where I used to think of him as stiff and unbending? A tad dull? Dead wrong. There was nothing boring about this man. His voice, that stance, the way he stormed in here at just the right moment, all said sexy.
He had an air of confidence that never tipped into jackass territory. Intelligent. Competent. So unbelievably adorable. The sexy combination made me feel sorry for his ex, Anna, for losing him. Not sorry enough to say it out loud or find her phone number and tell her, but that woman did miss out.
Harlan stood up. “Jackson, I need to speak with you outside for a moment.”
“Of course.”
Harlan started to move. “We can—”
“After we straighten out this confusion. I know you want to resolve this as much as I do.”
Harlan’s jaw clenched so tight I could hear the snapping sound. “Correct.”
Oh, damn. Harlan would blame me for this. He would never accept that Jackson was a grown man with beliefs and dreams separate from the family name. That he had a strong enough ego to fight when necessary and to back off when appropriate.
Where Harlan didn’t have an off switch when it came to things he wanted, and plowed ahead and pressured, his son had boundaries. And Jackson came out swinging here.
“I called Micah yesterday afternoon about a business opportunity.”
Jackson didn’t offer more even though there was definitely more to say.
Celia frowned. “You did?”
“Interesting.”
The bulk of the fury drained out of Harlan. His unreadable expression said he didn’t know if he’d won this round or not. “We do have a misunderstanding or a scheduling issue because if I had known we could have combined our talents.”
Jackson had made a promise to me when we stood at that shed two days ago. I counted on him to follow through. That’s who he was. Harlan might be cautiously optimistic and growing in confidence but if my instincts were correct, we were about to see a fiery crash.
Good thing I was sitting down because the fallout from this wreckage could get wild.
“I went directly to the person responsible for making the major decisions at NOI.”
Jackson nodded in Micah’s direction. “The man in charge.”
Harlan glanced at Brock. “I may have gotten the wrong impression. I thought Brock was handling this acquisition.”
Micah watched as the conversation unraveled around him. “Handling?”
For once the repeating thing didn’t bug me. Not when Micah aimed it at Brock and wiped the smirk right off his face.
“Neither the sequence of events nor the employee directory of NOI matter right now. The point is, I contacted Micah about a client of mine.”
This time Gram flinched. “Jackson, should we—”
“Let me explain this first, Mags. See, I represent a company that, for years, has been invested in agriculture and forestry in the state. With the age of new environmental awareness, the company wants to expand into the area of carbon offsetting.”
Jackson let that tidbit sit out there for a second or two. “Kasey suggested I contact Micah because this is a topic of great interest to him.”
Micah nodded. “Great interest.”
There it was. The assist I didn’t know I needed when I landed in North Carolina two weeks ago.
Jackson’s comments could go anywhere next but the jumpy, unsettled sensation that overwhelmed me when Harlan walked through the door subsided. The tension that had been trapped and flailing without restraint ran out of me. The room still pulsed with dark energy, most of it coming from Brock’s side of the table.
I trusted Jackson. Whatever road he was about to walk us all down had been planned out and perfected. All done in record time because I’d only dropped the information about some of this, particularly his dad’s excitement at screwing over Gram and Celia, two days ago.
Buckle in.
Gram must have felt the strain loosening as well. She took a deep breath, acting more like herself and less ticked off the longer Jackson spoke. Celia smiled. Harlan looked ready to drag Jackson out of the room.
And Brock? It was hard to describe his look. Shock. Panic. The same look a little kid got when he accidentally wet himself in public.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
“Micah is an environmentalist and the type of leader who gets out in front of emerging technologies and creates opportunities to integrate them into his business plan.”
Jackson should write Micah’s bio because yikes. So much bullshit and Jackson somehow made the words sound true.
He wasn’t the only one who could throw the bullshit around. My turn. “Micah’s great appreciation for the environment and need to make different decisions going forward is one of the reasons I wanted to work there.”
“Great appreciation.”
Micah sounded pleased with the praise.
The color drained from Brock’s face, but he stayed quiet.
I could play this game all day.
“I met with Brock a few days ago around lunchtime,”
Jackson said.
“We didn’t exactly—”
Jackson raised a hand to stop Brock from continuing. “I informed him that, as the attorney for Mags’ Desserts, all discussions and proposals needed to run through me. That I would deal directly with Kasey because she’d been integral in convincing the ladies to even consider the possibility of outside investment.”
Micah nodded as he’d been doing almost nonstop since walking in the door. “Informed him. Yes.”
Brock made a strangled sound. Like, he saw the boiling pit of crap waiting in front of him and desperately wanted to steer around it.
“That’s exactly what Jackson told Brock.”
Jackson didn’t need my help, but why not. This was the first time I’d enjoyed any part of my job.
“Unfortunately, Brock’s pushing and his attempts to work around me and, more importantly, Kasey convinced the ladies that any sort of joint venture with NOI was impossible,”
Jackson said.
“Exactly.”
Gram must have been loving the show because she was not the type to sit back and let someone talk for her. She ceded the floor to Jackson again without so much as a twitch.
“But Kasey had spoken so highly of you, Micah, that I made that call yesterday. I’m happy I did,”
Jackson said.
“Agreed. I think NOI and your client, with your guidance, can do significant and important work together.”
Then Micah turned to Brock. “We’ll discuss all of this on the way back to the office.”
“You don’t understand.”
“A long discussion.”
Micah acted like Brock hadn’t said anything. Almost like Brock didn’t exist.
Sounded good to me.
“Kasey, you’ve worked hard over the last two weeks and while this deal did not come to fruition in the way we anticipated, your efforts directed me to other leads. That’s the sort of teamwork NOI is built on.”
Micah smiled, clearly pleased with whatever he was saying. “Take a few days and we’ll see you in the office next week.”
The comment made me worry about Micah’s ability to analyze a situation, but I wasn’t about to correct him. “Thanks.”
“Brock? We should go.”
Micah turned to Gram and Celia. “I apologize for the inconvenience but I’m grateful for your granddaughter and proud to have her as part of the NOI team. Her work ethic is a reflection on you.”
I knew he thought that was a compliment, but . . .
“Thank you for understanding, Micah. Some people can’t take a hint.”
Gram glared at Brock. “I appreciate that you can.”
With that, the unwanted and highly entertaining meeting ended. Everyone said their goodbyes. Except for Brock, who stayed quiet and acted sheepish. Two things he never did.
Jackson walked the NOI team to the door then returned.
Harlan hadn’t moved. He stood by the table, not saying a word. Not giving anyone eye contact. Not even looking angry. His expression read more as blank.
I wanted to congratulate Jackson, maybe shoo Harlan away and give Jackson a kiss, but I honored the silence and waited for Harlan to explode.
He finally lifted his head. His gaze bounced from me to Jackson. “That was a huge mistake.”
“I’m not sure why you got involved in this, Dad. You know Mags and Celia don’t want to sell. We consider them family. I needed to step in before this went too far. Hell, I should have stepped in days ago, but I never imagined you’d turn your lobbying efforts against the people you care about.”
Jackson managed to defang Harlan and play the family card in one breath. Impressive. There was no other word for it.
“Thank you, honey.”
Celia’s smile carried more than a note of relief.
Harlan shook his head. “I’m trying to understand why my motives are so hard for you all to understand. Jackson has a bright political future. Mags, you and Celia have an impressive business. I can help all three of you get what you want.”
“I want to be a lawyer and I want you to stop pushing.”
Jackson drew the line and stood on it. “I’m not your client and I don’t want to be. It’s that easy.”
“This is a seismic change. A few weeks ago we were in agreement.”
Harlan shook his head as if he couldn’t believe how the afternoon had unfolded. “Then she came to town and . . . is all of this trouble really for her?”
“Watch yourself, Harlan.”
Gram was not having this. Her tone made that clear. “Do not drag Kasey into your nonsense.”
“I agree.”
Jackson hadn’t moved but he somehow looked bigger, more imposing. “If you want to fight, do it with me. Not her.”
The whole conversation made me shaky and breathless and not in a good way.
“You’ve lost focus. Instead of concentrating on our candidate plan, or even your legal work, you’re running around town—”
Harlan’s abrupt stop likely meant he knew he needed to change direction, and fast.
Jackson didn’t let him do it. “What, Dad? Say it.”
I wasn’t as eager as Jackson to hear what came next. Harlan looked and sounded like a man about to plunge over the edge into full jackassery. If Gram didn’t stuff a funeral pie down his throat, I might.
Harlan looked around the room before his gaze landed on Jackson. “I understand the two of you grew up together and are close—”
This guy made my head pound. “You can say my name, Harlan. We all get it. You think I’ve done something to Jackson. That I can sway him against your political agenda.”
“You have an unhealthy hold over him.”
“Dad, stop.”
“Harlan, be careful,”
Celia warned.
Harlan kept his focus on Jackson. “I know why Anna left. What she saw at Christmas.”
Jackson shook his head. “Not relevant.”
Okay, wait. I’d missed something.
“I get it.”
Harlan waved a hand in my direction. “She’s different from your usual type, which can be very exciting, but it’s not sustainable because she’s not built for the long-term.”
“Do not make me come over there and whoop you.”
Gram sounded ready to do it, too.
“I don’t have a choice but to speak up. It’s my job as a parent. I’m telling Jackson what he already knows.”
Harlan stopped. His stern expression looked as if he was gathering his arguments and about to let the worst fly. “I know it’s hard to hear, son, but your love for her makes you sloppy. Less driven. Frankly, far less marketable and less appealing to the people who can further your career.”
I heard a gasp. I saw a sea of angry faces. Only one thing went through my mind. His what?