Chapter 11
Key West, Florida
“Damn, dude. What the hell crawled up your ass today?” Gus griped, giving Jack an annoyed look as they walked up Whitehead Street to The Spent Pickle for lunch. “You’ve been biting heads off all morning.”
Jack huffed and brooded in silence, not certain he was ready to talk about it. His conversation with Charli that morning had shaken him and the thought of her taking off to Boston for any length of time scared the shit out of him.
What if she didn’t come back?
Gus chortled at the silence. “Man, I know that look from a mile away. Women troubles...” He smacked Jack on the shoulder. “What’s wrong? Did Charli finally come to her senses and turn you down?”
Jack stopped in his tracks and glared at Gus for a moment. “No!” he practically yelled. He shook his head and started walking again, his stomach twisting.
Gus caught up and nudged Jack with his elbow. “Come on, man. We’ve been friends since grade school. You can talk to me.”
“She’s talking about heading back to Boston to handle a case that’s in trouble,” Jack spat out. “And I can’t do anything to convince her not to.”
Gus was quiet for a moment as they walked into the bar and took a high table in the corner. Jack sat and scrubbed both hands through his hair, clenching his eyes as his stomach twisted in knots.
“Hey!” Steve shouted from across the bar. “You two prissy boys too good to sit up at the bar like real men?”
Gus gave the old man a wave. “Just talking business and strategy over here, Steve. Can we get the usuals?” The old, grizzled bartender gave them a nod and turned to put in their order.
Gus smacked Jack on the shoulder. “Snap out of it, man. You just need a game plan, that’s all.”
Jack grunted, not feeling the urge to talk.
“I’m serious, Jack. Show her what she’ll be missing if she leaves,” Gus urged. “It’s not fair for her to make a decision like that without knowing what’s on the line. Romance the shit out of her.”
Jack glared at Gus. “I have been romancing her, dick. That’s all I’ve been doing since she stepped off that plane.”
He glanced down at the scarred table. “I took one look at her in the airport terminal and I was done, man. She was so beautiful, even buttoned up and tidy in that damned wool suit that all I wanted to do was undo her, if you know what I mean.”
Gus snorted. “Well, from what the gossip mill has been circulating, you’ve already unbuttoned her.
” He punched Jack in the shoulder. “And what you’ve been doing for the last month is not romancing.
You’ve been tiptoeing around this chick ever since she arrived.
” He offered his thanks as the waitress delivered their drinks.
“Food’ll be out in a minute, fellas,” she droned as she walked off.
“You’ve been helping her settle her aunt’s estate and maybe copping a feel every once in a while,” Gus continued.
Jack snorted. “Fuck you.”
Gus chuckled. “There’s my boy.” He took a sip of his drink. “No, man. I’m talking about real romancing, like the stuff that chicks read in those kissy-kissy books they love so much. Trust me, man. I know romance. It’s coded into my Cuban DNA.”
Jack rolled his eyes, half tempted to tell Gus to take a flying leap. However, he stopped himself before he could fire off a reply.
Gus is right – I haven’t pulled out all the stops...
“What exactly do you have in mind?”
Gus leaned back and pursed his lips, deep in thought for a moment. He rubbed his hands together. “Your family has a sailboat, right?”
“Yeah, my brother captains it for the company’s sunset cruises.”
Gus hummed. “Mmmmm. Yeah, that’s it. First, you’ll take her on a sunset cruise.”
“Huh,” Jack muttered. “I could talk to my brother about that.”
“Fuck yeah, you will. Now, hold on a minute. I’m not done.” Gus rested his forearms on the table, his eyes gleaming. “That executive from the real estate firm still owes you one, right?”
Jack listened with brows raised. “Yeah, and?”
“And, he owns a cottage on Sunset Key, right?”
Jack blinked. “Yeah.”
Gus grinned, his eyes gleaming as if a light bulb had gone off.
He chuckled and flexed his hands together.
“Okay, so here’s what you do. Have your brother take you and the lovely lady on a sunset cruise, have him drop you off on Sunset Key.
Then, you take her to dinner at Tropics, and afterward you show her to the cottage which you’ll have for the weekend.
After that, you just romance the ever-loving shit out of her.
I’m talking cooking, wine, massages, conversations about her, and of course lots of sex. ”
Gus pumped his chest with his fist. “Dude, you can’t get more romantic than that. Goddammit, I’m a fucking mastermind!”
Jack snorted. “Oh really? If you’re such a genius, then why aren’t you married or actively romancing a beautiful woman?”
Gus gave him a secret smile. “She promised me she’s coming back to the island. I’m just waiting for her. When she returns, I’ll never let her go.” He waved his hand dismissively in the air. “But forget about that right now. What do you think of my plan?”
Jack pressed his lips together and gave him a firm nod. “I can probably pull all that together.” He sat back in his chair as the waitress delivered their food. He narrowed his eyes at Gus. “You think it’ll really work?”
Gus snorted. “If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what will.” He eyed Jack quietly for a moment and took a bite of his sandwich. “Just be honest with her Jack. You need to tell her how you feel. This woman is top-shelf, man...she ain’t staying for just the sunsets.”
Jack sighed. “You’re right and it’s a great idea.
” He swirled a french fry in ketchup, feeling energized at the prospect of a solution.
He contemplated the calls he’d have to make to put this plan in place.
He took a bite of the fry and squinted at Gus.
“What if she doesn’t go for any of this? Then what?”
Gus heaved a big sigh. “Then you break out the big guns.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Those aren’t the big guns?”
Gus laughed. “Nah, man. That’s all the fun stuff, the romance.
If she doesn’t go for plan A, then you switch to plan B.
” He gave Jack an evil grin. “You get Art to sell her on taking over his practice. He’s been looking to retire for years and she’d be a perfect replacement.
” He shrugged and pointed a french fry at Jack.
“And no one can say no to that man when he’s on a roll. ”
Jack grinned, suddenly feeling lighter, like there was a real solution, a solid light at the end of the tunnel. “Annette was telling her to open a practice on the island. Maybe I can get her involved, too.”
Gus’s eyes lost focus and a wistful expression appeared on his face. “Ah...my Annette...” He raised his fingers to his lips and threw a kiss into the air. “That woman’s a goddess.”
Jack chuckled. “Liked her, huh?” He bit into his sandwich. “She said something about coming down here to run the resort once we have it operational. I’ll probably take her up on it.”
Gus’s eyes squinted. “You better.” He raised his fist to Jack, who bumped it with his. “So, it sounds like we have a plan. Get to it, man.”
* * * *
Charli paced back and forth in her office, her eyes plastered to the video on her cell phone. “Tell me what’s going on there,” she urged, fighting the panic in her chest, her stomach churning.
“Well, this is only my second day back in the office, so pump the brakes. I don’t have a handle on everything yet,” Annette grumbled as she grimaced.
She leaned in toward the camera. “But something weird is definitely going on around here—I can tell you that. Percival looks like he’s been put through the wringer.
..and the wringer has obviously been Evan.
” She released an evil chuckle. “And that man is as twitchy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers.”
Charli crinkled her brow. “What do you mean?”
“Evan’s jumpy as hell and every time he opens his mouth, he’s screaming at his staff.” Annette smirked. “I’m guessing that douche canoe is in a little over his head.”
Charli snorted a laugh at Annette’s pejorative for Evan and replied, “The kiddie section would be way over the bastard’s head.”
Annette gave a sharp nod. “Exactly. There’s a lot of whispering going on right now, and I’ll probably have a better idea of what’s going on in a few days. Want me to call you next week?”
Charli stopped in the middle of the room and released a rough breath. “Actually, I’m wondering if I should just head back up there tomorrow and see it for myself.”
“No!” Annette practically shouted. “Charlotte Dorothea, you are not coming back to this office to fix their monumental fuck up after what they did to you. Listen to me—you are going to stay in paradise with that incredibly hunky partner of yours and finish the job your aunt left you. That is your priority right now, not this shit storm. These assholes made their bed—let them lay in it.”
Charli groaned. “Annette, you didn’t hear Alan this morning. He was panicked, scared, and absolutely livid—I’ve never heard him this upset. Honestly, it’s not the firm I’m worried about. I can’t leave Alan like this.”
Annette’s lips pursed. “From what little I’ve gathered, Alan’s case has already progressed to a trial.
I don’t think there’s anything you could do to change that, especially with the board pushing Evan to take an aggressive track.
” She paused and glanced around discretely, then leaned in toward the screen.
“Honestly, the best you can do for Alan right now is help him find a new attorney and then back him up when he decides to sue this firm for malpractice,” she whispered urgently.
Charli funneled her fingers through her hair and sat at the desk. “I don’t know what to do,” she groaned.
Annette was quiet for a moment before she asked, “What does Jack have to say about this?”