Dynasties: The Lassiters

Five

Becca steered her Bambino north up Highway 1, tawny-colored hills on one side, awesome ocean bluffs and beaches on the other. With the windows rolled down, breathing in sweet oleander-scented air, she suggested that they play “Did you know?”

“Did you know,” she began, “that there are no deaf birds or fish?”

Jack’s dark hair ruffled around the sunglasses parked on his head. “I did not know that,” he said, sounding suitably impressed.

“Did you know that one in every three hundred and fifty babies born have permanent hearing problems? Until twenty years ago, most children born with hearing problems weren’t detected until they were two to three years of age. Now ninety-five percent of newborns are screened.”

“That’s good to hear.” His grin was kick-ass sexy. “No pun intended.”

After steering through a stomach-dropping curve, she flicked over another look. Elbow hitched on the window ledge, foot tapping to 104 on the radio dial, Jack looked relaxed. Becca was stoked that he’d gone for this road trip idea even if it was simply because he needed the break from his desk. Of course, she knew Jack hadn’t got to the top of his game by slacking off. No doubt he hoped this trip would be in some way beneficial, either by garnering information from her that might help advance his and Angelica’s takeover plans, or by believing that he might actually pull off taking her to bed.

If she’d shared this smoldering chemistry with any other man, Becca might well have acquiesced. All kinds of sparks zapped around the room whenever she and Jack were together. But this week was not about romance. Definitely not about sex. It was about persuading a ruthless rich man not to add Lassiter Media to his wall of trophies. Becca wanted to reach Jack Reed’s more human and merciful side. She wanted to help him accept that true pride came with peace of mind and compassion, not suffocating wealth and majority indifference.

Jack needed to find himself, and she was going to help shine the light. She’d started by planting him in the audience at a high school, making him a part of the swirl and the thrust. This morning she would introduce him to another foundation-funded scheme, as well as a person who had returned from the brink of despair to get her life back.

Later, Becca aimed to completely remove Jack from his cutthroat corporate element. She wanted to strip his defenses bare, make him forget who he was while nurturing his higher self. She had to believe there was some part of Jack Reed who would connect with the joys and importance of simple things, and also recognize that others less fortunate needed help to achieve even that connection.

She was excited about the little friend she had lined up for that part of their journey. Becca’s friend, the owner of a gorgeous little dog, had come up with the idea. Chichi’s antics could soften the hardest of hearts.

“Auditory areas of the brain,” Becca went on now, “are most active not only when a child listens but also when he reads. Isn’t that amazing?”

“How’s your foundation involved?”

“It isn’t my foundation. Not really.”

“But the dream is to head your own charity someday?”

“If I did, it’d help all kinds of causes, like Lassiter’s foundation does. I couldn’t choose just one.”

“If you had to?”

Concentrating on the snaking road, Becca ran through worthy causes in her mind.

“I’d want to give hope to homeless kids,” she finally said. “I spent time in foster care.” She pulled up in her seat and then took another sweeping turn. “I lucked out with my last family.”

“The one with the bakery.”

Ah… The smell of freshly baked bread and cinnamon-apple fritters in the morning. By then, she had felt transported to heaven.

“It was the first time and place I remember ever feeling truly safe. And loved.” Such a beautiful, warm, vital feeling. “I was eleven, the age when a kid starts to mature, to change…when we question everything three times over and still have more to ask. But my parents seemed to have all the answers.”

“How’d they manage that?”

“With patience and kindness. Plenty of communication. Talking. But mainly listening.”

“Which brings us back to did you know.”

She smiled. Right. “Did you know that the foundation is helping fund clinical trials of auditory brainstem implants in children?”

“You’re really into kids.”

“We all started out as one.”

When he didn’t reply, she glanced across again. He was studying the ocean. A pulse popped steadily above his jaw. Had she made him truly think or was she simply boring his pants off? Not that she needed that image in her head. It was tough enough battling the epic visual of his bare chest and arms when he’d opened his front door earlier that day. The memory alone made her breath come short.

“I got one for you,” he said suddenly.

“One what?”

“A did you know.”

Cool. “Shoot.”

“Did you know, once a long time ago, I almost got married?”

Becca’s grip on the wheel slipped and the Bambino swerved before she corrected and got back onto their side of the road. She pushed out a shaky breath.

“Jesus, Jack, don’t throw those curveballs while I’m driving.”

Jack Reed’s reputation as a corporate raider was trumped only by his name as a player. He was always on the hunt for something or someone to jump into bed with, before moving on to some other project.

Seriously. Marriage?

“So…what happened?” She smirked. “Did she break your heart?”

“In a sense. She died.”

Gravel sprayed as the car veered onto the shoulder. Was this a bad joke? Given the tight line of his mouth, she guessed not.

“Jack…” God. “I’m sorry.”

“Like I said. It was a long time ago. A lifetime ago.” His gaze sharpened on hers as his eyebrows knitted together. “You okay?”

“I just…wasn’t expecting that.”

Not for one minute.

He studied her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. “Want me to drive?”

“That could work.” He might even enjoy it. “Except…this clutch slips a bit. The steering wheel wobbles a lot of the time. She’s a temperamental beast.”

“But full of heart.”

Exactly. “I think she’s worth the trouble.”

When she looked across, Jack’s thoughtful gaze probed hers. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Becca parked the antique-mobile out front of a redbrick single-story building. With its barred, round-arch windows, it was a cross between last-century public housing and urban old-English church.

During the rest of the drive, they’d spoken more about charities, including the fact that J.D. had left a good deal of cash to the Lassiter Charity Foundation. That segued into a discussion that touched upon the recent grand opening of the Lassiter Grill in Cheyenne. Jack had attended the opening with Angelica, which hadn’t gone down so well with the Lassiter “in” crowd. He mentioned that he hadn’t been invited to Dylan’s wedding to Jenna Montgomery; it had been very much a family-only affair.

Becca had then trilled about Felicity Sinclair’s upcoming nuptials to Chance Lassiter. Jack couldn’t see himself being invited to that shindig, either.

Now, as he and Becca walked up the rickety cement-block path, Jack pushed that other business aside to focus on a neat rainbow painted over the building’s entrance.

He scratched his chin. “Are we here to listen to a sermon?”

Becca reached back to release her ponytail and shake it out. “We’re here to test your powers of observation.”

Like observing how her hair unraveled around her shoulders like spools of gold silk? The way her every gesture and expression carried the conviction of what she believed in? Above all else, Becca believed in herself—what she was about and why.

She resembled Jack in that regard.

Not that he needed to explain himself to anyone—not for any reason. Although, when they’d played that game earlier in the car, he had given in to the impulse to throw a private snippet out there: if Krystal hadn’t died, they would have been married. Things would have been different.

Jack rarely thought about that period of his life. It stirred up unpleasant feelings, doubts, memories—well, obviously.

“How would you rate yourself?” Becca asked. “On observation.”

“I see what I need to see.”

“What you want to see.”

His gaze skimmed her lips. “That, too.”

He swung open the front glass door and they crossed to a counter. A vase of marigolds sat at one end, a framed headshot announcing “Employee of the Month—Brightside House” on the other. Becca addressed the receptionist.

“Hi, Torielle. Mind if I take a guest through?”

The woman had a magic smile, the type that made a person want to beam back. “You know you’re welcome here anytime, Becca. Anytime at all.”

“Torielle Williams, this is Jack Reed.”

Torielle’s dark-chocolate gaze flickered—perhaps she recognized the name and its recent connection to the Lassiter scandal in the media. But her smile didn’t waver.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Reed. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”

As they headed down a corridor, Jack felt Becca’s energy swell and glow. She was a natural leader, a person who got the job done. Knowing she was out for his scalp would have upset a lesser opponent. Instead Jack found himself absorbing her spirit. What might they accomplish if Becca and he sat on the same team?

“This facility helps long-term unemployed women not only find work but also regain their self-esteem,” she said. “No matter the color, creed, age or background, we do whatever needs to be done to get them back into contributing, earning and growing as individuals.”

They stopped at a window that opened onto another room. Inside, a group was immersed in doing nails and makeup. Numerous rails of women’s clothing were lined neatly off to one side.

“Every obstacle is tackled,” Becca said, “from grooming and carriage to interview skills and continuing education.”

Jack stole a look at Becca’s hands resting on the window ledge. Her nails were cut short, no polish. Her makeup was minimal, too, if she wore any at all. Her kind of bone structure and flawless skin didn’t need any help. Good diet, plenty of uninterrupted sleep. Jack imaged her opening her eyes each morning and bouncing out of bed. He usually hit the snooze button at least twice. Insomnia was a bitch.

Farther on, they stopped at another window and saw a well-dressed woman addressing a room full of women who were taking notes. Then the next room was a gym. Exercise classes were in full swing—spin bikes, Pilates, ball games.

“Everyone’s enjoying themselves,” he said.

“Exercise releases endorphins. Feeling good is addictive, Jack.” Her shoulder nudged his arm. “You got to keep it pumping.”

Jack grinned. “You like to push yourself.”

“That’s the way to success.”

“As long as you don’t burn out.”

“No chance of that when you’re doing what you love.”

“And you love what you’re doing.”

“Every minute.”

“Even troubleshooting problems like me?”

They faced each other and she tilted her head, as if she were trying to see him more clearly—see the good.

“You, Jack, are a challenge.”

“But redeemable?”

“Everyone’s redeemable.” Her fingers tapped his shirtfront. “Even you.”

Next was a stop at a newer facility separate from the main building. Groups of young children were painting, playing dress-up, making mud pies. Minders were engrossed in helping, sharing, laughing.

“A child-care facility?” he asked.

“And after-school facilities with a bus service to deliver and collect the kids. There’s a nursery for the newborns, too.”

As they walked along a fence lined with fragrant yellow flowers, Becca explained.

“In the States, more women than men are poor, and the poverty gap is wider here than anywhere in the Western world. When parents separate or divorce it’s more likely that mothers will take on the financial responsibilities of raising the kids. Childcare costs can be crippling, never mind medical expenses. While we get a woman prepared to interview for jobs, we make certain any children are properly supervised and cared for.”

A little girl with pink track shoes and big brown eyes saw Becca and waved her paintbrush hello over her head. Becca waved back and blew her a kiss before leading Jack back into the main building.

“Who was that?” he asked.

“Wait a minute and I’ll let you guess.”

They entered a room. Women sitting at half a dozen computer workstations glanced up and greeted them both. Becca sat at a vacant desk and logged in while Jack stood behind her, attention on the computer screen. She opened up a file labeled “Before.” There were countless entries, each catalogued by a headshot.

“These are just some of the women who the facility has helped,” she said, enlarging a “Before” image. Not only did the woman look disheveled, her resigned expression said she’d accepted that disappointment was her lot in life.

“She never finished high school,” Becca said, studying the screen. “For years she suffered in a domestic violence situation. Her husband put her in hospital more than once but she never pressed charges because she feared the next beating would be worse. Her teeth were broken. Can you imagine the agony of feeling discriminated against because of your smile? She was living in a shelter with her children when she came to us.”

“Did she get a job?”

From her seat, Becca grinned up at him. “You don’t recognize her?”

“No.” Then he blinked, focused harder. “Wait…” Something in those eyes… “Torielle?”

“Just two years ago.”

Of course. “The receptionist with the dynamite smile.”

“We have several professionals, including dentists, who donate their time. Now Torielle helps out here part-time and is working toward completing a college degree.”

“And the girl waving her paintbrush, saying hello…?”

“Chelsea, Torielle’s four-year-old daughter. She has two older brothers in grade school, twins. The boys both want to become jet pilots. They’re smart enough, too. Chelsea wants to be a ballerina—every little girl’s dream, and why not?”

“A happy ending,” Jack said as Becca clicked to Torielle’s “After” picture. The difference, the pride—real pride—shone from the inside out.

“We want to set these facilities up all over the country,” Becca said.

“But they need ongoing support.”

“The way we see it, we give a little now and society gets a whole lot back later.”