Chapter Twenty-Five
Jack
Midday, the club is empty. Tristan and I are sitting by the bar, talking, while I wait for Taylor to meet me here.
It’s our last day together before she goes home, and I’m not ready for her to leave.
Not without sorting through her situation with the senator.
I’ve had a few ideas, none I love, all of which puts her at risk should the federal officials think she’s hiding something or working with Senator Cross.
But I don’t want her to leave without a plan in place.
“I’ve got to say, your sister knows how to plan a vacation,” Tristan says from his seat next to me, unaware of my train of thought.
The entire trip turned out to be more fun than I thought it would be. Having Taylor around my family and best friends was easy. She fit right in, and my parents, who already liked her, got to know her even better.
“I never wanted to go, but I ended up having a good time,” I tell Tristan.
“Because you brought a guest.” Tristan props his elbow on the bar. “I like her.”
I grin because every time I think about Taylor, I smile. “She liked you guys, too.”
“Is she sticking around? I mean, how are things going to work with her having your baby and living in Charleston?” He checks his messages and pushes his phone aside.
I scrub a hand over my face and groan. “We haven’t talked about it yet, but we need to.
” After being with Taylor daily for almost three weeks, I can’t imagine not seeing her every day.
And I definitely don’t want her to raise the baby with me being a part-time dad on weekends or when I’m in town for business.
My phone rings, distracting me from serious thoughts, and I pull it out of my pocket. A glance at the screen tells me it’s a Charleston area code.
Knowing it’s about the club, I take the call. “Hello?”
“Mr. Dare?” an unfamiliar female voice asks.
“Yes?”
“This is Danielle Stern, from the Board of Architectural Review in Charleston.”
“How can I help you?” I ask, glancing at Tristan, while wondering why she’s contacting me.
We were thorough in filling out our application, but maybe there are things they want further specified.
Because from what I was told, we’d find out if our application to make changes to the building was approved or denied by checking the customer self-service portal. Not by phone.
“I’m calling to tell you that your permit for structural changes has been denied. I’m so sorry,” she says.
My stomach churns and I stiffen in my seat. “Can I ask why?” The inspector in the preapproval process led me to believe this shouldn’t be a tough request to have passed.
“The information is on the CSS. Again, my apologies.” She disconnects the call, leaving me in shock. I place my cell on the counter and instruct myself to breathe and to think.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Tristan asks, reading my expression well.
“Our application for structural changes in Charleston was denied. Fuck.” I pound my hand on the counter of the bar.
Before Tristan can react, my cell rings again. “Hello?” I listen and mutter a curse under my breath. “Yes. I understand. Thank you.” I disconnect the call and turn to my partner. “Business license denied.”
Two back-to-back calls that should have come through in other ways. I shake my head at how badly I screwed up by calling the senator. “Apparently, Chandler Cross wasn’t kidding about making my life difficult.”
“Hey.” Tristan stands and puts a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll figure shit out. Don’t forget we’ve got sharklike lawyers in our corner.”
I nod. “We will get it sorted.” Somehow. There’s no other alternative.
The door to the club opens and Taylor walks inside.
She’s wearing a yellow dress that hits mid-thigh, showing off the tan she’s acquired since arriving in Florida, and her hair is wavy today, falling to her shoulders.
She’s sunshine and happiness and I’m about to take that smile right off her beautiful face, dammit.
“Hi!” she says to me, obviously in a good mood.
“Hi.” I walk over, wrap an arm around her waist, and pull her into me, pressing a kiss to her lips.
She blushes and waves at Tristan. “Hi.”
“Hello, Taylor. Your timing is perfect. I was just heading to my office, so you can have this guy all to yourself.” He grins at her, slaps me on the back, and walks toward the back of the club.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, staring after Tristan’s disappearing form.
I guide her to one of the tables, and I hold out a chair for her and slide it in as she sits. I take the seat beside her.
“What is it?” she asks. “What’s wrong?”
I rub the back of my neck, massaging the tense muscles there.
“I have something to tell you, and I don’t want you to get upset.
” I decide to do it quickly. “Our permits and applications in Charleston were denied. And not even through the normal channels. I got a personal call instead of finding out on the website like every other applicant.”
Her eyes open wide. “No, he didn’t! What am I saying? Of course he did. I am so sorry.” She wrings her hands in front of her. “I never wanted my problems to impact you or your business.” She bites down on her lower lip, gnawing on the tender skin. “No. He can’t do that.”
“He can and he did.”
She grabs her purse that she’d put on the chair beside our table and begins to search through it, coming up with her phone. “I’m going to call him.”
“No.” I grasp the phone and slide it out of her grip. “Stay far away from that asshole. I’ll handle my issues.”
“How?” she asks, pinning me with her gaze, and I know I’m not going to get away with a vague answer.
I close my eyes briefly and groan. “Lawyers. And my father has connections everywhere. I already had him help me get the senator’s direct phone number.
” At that point I didn’t want to tell Taylor until after I’d made the call, so I didn’t ask her for the information.
She’d have tried to stop me. Now I’m wondering if ignoring the man wouldn’t have been the smarter thing to do.
She nods, listening, but I see the stress in the stiff way she’s holding her shoulders.
“Don’t worry. I’ll see if my dad has anyone who can pull strings for me. Maybe the owner of the Panthers has connections with another senator, or someone who can override Cross’s pull.” I drum my fingers on the table, the whole situation aggravating on so many levels.
“I’m glad you have that option.”
“I am, too, it’s just …” I trail off because I have issues using my father’s connections. Things I don’t normally talk about. They’re not even something I normally dwell on.
“What is it?” she asks, placing her hand on mine.
I draw a deep breath. “My dad is a man people look up to. He’s larger-than-life in his own way. You say the name Ian Dare in certain circles and people listen. As a result, I’ve always wanted to make my own way, outside of his shadow.”
“And you have,” she says, emphasizing the words. “Look at this place! It’s packed every night, and you’re expanding to South Carolina. You should be proud.”
“I am. I just hate to have to turn to him instead of standing on my own two feet.”
She squeezes my hand tighter. “Listen to me. What matters is that your club opens and is everything you dreamed of. And you know your father would do anything for you. It’s okay to ask for help. Like I needed to turn to you.”
I meet her gaze, a wry smile on my face. “You make good points.”
“I do. But you should know, I’m also going to deal with Chandler as soon as I’m home. No matter what you say. In fact, I think going to the Federal Election Commission is my best option. Let them direct me to the best people to talk to when dealing with a corrupt congressman.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “As much as I hate it, I agree with you. Talking to the people Cross is threatening to turn you into will cut him off before he can do any damage.” I rub my hand along the back of my neck. “I just want to do it the right way. With planning and with you protected.”
Her head bobs in agreement. “I’m not looking to get myself in trouble. I just want out of this entire situation once and for all. I know I have to go home, but I’d like to keep my personal dealings with Chandler as minimal as possible.”
“Exactly.” I pause. “There’s something else.”
“Oh … what now? Did something else happen?” she asks.
I reverse our hands and rub my thumb along her skin.
“I want to go back to Charleston with you. I have plenty to keep me busy with the nightclub issues, but I also want to be there if you need me.” I plan to check out the festival and see her dynamic with the senator for myself.
I feel like she needs backup, even if I don’t want to insult her by saying so.
I trust her to handle herself. It’s her ex I don’t trust.
She begins shaking her head before I can finish my sentence.
“Yes. I’m going even if you don’t want me to, so you might as well come around to it now.
Besides, didn’t you say you have your next doctor’s appointment when you go home?
I want to be there for it.” I want to hear the heartbeat, to see an ultrasound printout if that’s part of the checkup. I want in on everything.
She sighs and cups her chin in her hand. “How can I argue with that?”
I grin. “You can’t.”
She blows out a frustrated puff of air. “But Chandler cannot see us together. You can’t even be on the same flight home as me.”
“Then it’s a good thing my family has a private jet. Care to join me?” I ask with a wink.
She laughs but sobers quickly. “As much as I enjoyed the plane on the way to the Bahamas, I need to leave a trail for David and not expose your family to anything Chandler can think of doing to them. I have no idea what that could be, but I’m not taking any chances.”
Considering the man is using me to keep Taylor in line, she’s right.
We can’t put anything past him. The truth is, he already knows who my family is, and there isn’t anything he can do out of the state of South Carolina to hurt them.
But I’ve pushed Taylor hard enough. If she wants to fly commercial and thinks it’ll help, I’m not going to argue.
“Understood.” At least she isn’t fighting me on going to Charleston with her. “In the meantime, before you go home, I want to spend one more day alone with you.”
She smiles at that. “A day with you would be wonderful.” She sounds just as happy as I am to squeeze in all the time together that we can.