Chapter 15
They didn’t make it into the office on Saturday and decided to stay home Sunday as well.
He dropped her off at the Jeep on Monday and she grabbed her bags before heading to class.
She made it to her ethics course without running into anyone but when she walked in half the room turned to stare at her.
“Did you enjoy your weekend?” Anna asked as she sat down.
“It was heaven.”
“I think we all know why you married the man now. I mean whoa, the heat coming off you two was enough to curl my straight hair,” Gail teased.
“Please tell me he’s the best lover in the world or I might cry,” Anna added.
“I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I can say the movies have nothing on us,” she told her.
“Wait, nothing to compare it to? Were you a virgin when you two got together?” Gail asked dropping her voice to a whisper.
“Until after the wedding.”
“So Jordan met you, proposed, and married you without ever testing the connection?” Anna stated in amazement.
“As Gail said the heat was enough to singe her hair. It’s even better when it’s just us. We might have gone further before the wedding, but I told him the truth, and we wanted to wait. I know it’s crazy in this day and age to be a virgin on your wedding night, but it seemed right.”
“You’ve just made us more jealous than we already were,” Gail sighed. “Looks, brains, and the perfect man, how’d you get so lucky?”
“I ran out of bad luck?” she offered.
“Sure seems like it,” Anna said before the professor came in and shushed them.
They had a week of classes left before finals and they’d covered all of the material in the book, so he was filling in the time with other topics. Today he wanted to hear about local ethics issues, and she sighed as the debate began between the conservatives and the liberals in the class.
“So it’s fine for one company to get so big they can control the entire city’s future?” Kevin threw out.
“A city should never be dependent on one company and even if they were who cares? As long as it was for the betterment of the city why not?” Dina stated.
“What if that company got there illegally?” Kevin questioned. “What if they purposely stepped over the line violating ethics and laws to reach that point?”
“Name one company that’s done that and you can’t use the major scandals either,” Dina countered.
“Alright…Tuner Incorporated and Turner Media. They both violated ethics in order to control the basis for this town. If they left the whole city would be devastated not to mention the fact that they illegally post bonuses under goodwill on their statements,” Kevin stated.
Mel felt her head about to explode as she stared at the idiot letting his mouth run off with him.
“They’ve also started a sweatshop in order to produce their goods for cheap and…”
“You don’t know the first thing about Turner Incorporated or the running of Tuner Media,” Mel said cutting him off, anger seeping through her.
“That goodwill is just that. They donate millions of dollars to programs all over the city, as well as put down the funding for an inner city rec center to be built so the kids can stay off the streets and not be pulled into crap they shouldn’t be—a rec center which my company built, so yes, I know that for a fact.
They don’t run sweatshops. They built a new factory that employs several different sects of immigrant workers because they’re creating ethnic offerings to coincide with some of the programs they run on TV.
They offer the immigrants English lessons, help them learn to read if they can’t, provide medical coverage for their entire families without raising the premiums for the rest of the company.
That money comes directly out of their CEO’s pocket.
He doesn’t take bonuses he puts it back into the company so it can grow. ”
“How would you know?” Kevin stated. “My father worked for Turner for years and the big man’s a crook and a hack. He promises big things but never returns on them.”
“I’d suggest you not say another word about Ford Turner in my presence Kevin because his son would happily bring a slander suit against you,” she said as her grip on her pencil tightened.
“Well, well, well…don’t tell us little miss happily married is sleeping with a man who’s not her husband?
What would happen if the news came out that one of the Turners, if not the big man himself were having an affair with a girl younger than his?
” Kevin tossed out at her breaking her control over her temper.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who knows me that I’m sleeping with a Turner but it sure as hell isn’t Ford.
It would be really disgusting to sleep with my father-in-law and if you ever say another thing about my family you sure as hell better have proof to back it up because no one gets away with crap like that with me. ”
“I think the chick’s gone crazy,” Kevin laughed. “So you’re married to a Turner son, which one?”
“Jordan is Ford’s youngest son. He started his business under his mother’s maiden name to prove that he could be a success all on his own because that’s the sort of man Ford raised him to be.
I don’t know who the hell your father is, but I can guarantee that if he left the company under bad terms, they were all of his own making.
Turner is the best for a reason; they work for it.
Ford started his company with Gabrielle beside him when he was dirt broke.
Now, yeah, the city revolves around the company but it’s because they know it’s not going to fail so shut the hell up and learn to get the facts before you try and stir up crap,” she warned furiously.
“Whoa,” Anna said as she grabbed her things and stormed out of the room.
“I did not see that one coming,” Gail laughed.
“She can’t be telling the truth,” Nick stated but Gail was already typing a search into the computer.
“Holy hell,” she said as several pictures of Mel and Jordan appeared on the screen along with Ford and Gabrielle as well as one of the whole family taken at the Christmas party. “I think you’d better watch your back Kev; we all know what she’s capable of don’t we Devon?”
“Huh?” the man said not hearing anything until his name.
“I said you especially know what Mel’s capable of, you were wearing a dress in the middle of campus after all.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t cross Mel,” he agreed.
“Let’s move on shall we?” their professor stated holding back a smirk, his impression of Melinda rising tenfold.
∞∞∞
“Mel…Mel, baby what’s wrong?” Jordan asked as she stormed across the campus towards the parking lot.
“Jordan, I messed up.” She sighed sitting down onto a bench and covered her face with her hands.
“Baby, what did you mess up? Did you forget an assignment or something?” he asked sitting down beside her and rubbing her back.
“No, I try to keep my mouth shut when the idiots in my ethics class start going on and on about what they perceive is wrong with companies.”
“Today you didn’t?”
“No, well I was but then Kevin started throwing out accusations and I couldn’t stand to listen to him talk about things he has no clue about.”
“What things Mel?” he asked not following her.
“About Turner Inc, Turner Media, and Dad. I lost it Jordan. He called Dad a hack and a crook and I…”
“Let your temper fly?” he stated with a smile. “Baby it’s fine.”
“No, it’s not because now they all know that I’m Ford Turner’s daughter-in-law and that you’re his son.”
“You think I’d be mad or upset about that?
Mel, it honestly doesn’t matter anymore, the only reason I haven’t changed the name of the company is because of this project here on campus.
Yeah, when I…we first started out I wanted to get where we are because of our work, not because I was a Turner but now, we’re there, we did it without relying on that name.
I’m proud to be Jordan Turner, especially when you’re on my arm and even more than that when you’re in them,” he said lowering his lips to hers and kissing her deeply.
“You’re really not mad about it coming out?”
“Most people already know anyway Mel, and I know Dad will be thrilled that you stood up for him like that. What was this guy’s name anyway?”
“Kevin…Flaugher I think. He said his dad used to work for Turner,” she stated as he pulled out his cell.
“Hey Jake, it’s me. Look Mel had a bit of a run in with a Kevin Flaugher who called Dad a crook and made accusations against the company, said his dad worked there…alright just thought I’d give you the head’s up.”
“What’d Jake say?” she asked a few minutes later as he hung up.
“Well he searched the employee records and found a Joseph Flaugher. He was fired for a slew of reasons, the biggest being embezzlement of petty cash funds. He had a kid named Kevin.”
“Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that, but I guess it explains his attitude against the Turner name.”
“It does; Jake’s going to check up on Kevin and make sure he’s not going to be a problem. I just wish I could have seen you tear him down and I know Dad and Grant would have.”
“I do have my moments,” she grinned brightly at him as Dwight headed their way.
“You two are looking quite pleased, anything your dad should know about Mel?” he asked pointedly.
“Please don’t be another member of the when are we going to have a baby party,” Mel pleaded. “I’m twenty-three; I have plenty of time for that.”
“You do and I don’t think I’m quite ready to be a grandfather yet. So what’s going on and why aren’t you in class Mel? The normal time allotment doesn’t end for another twenty.”
“Seems someone in Mel’s ethics class doesn’t like Turners, they went off on the company and Dad and Mel being Mel…”
“Went right back off on him?” Dwight stated.
“Yup, letting it out that I am a member of the Turner family,” she told him.
“There’s only this week before finals. Don’t worry Mel, it’ll be fine,” he said and both Jordan and even Tate agreed once she’d told him about the events of the day.