Corporate Affair (25 page)

Gordon stepped forward. “Go, Jordan. We’ll wait to hear from you. Call us if you run into any kind of trouble. Please let us know when you get there, no matter how late. We’ll worry if you don’t call.”

Jordan gave him a grateful look. “Thank you. Thank you for your hospitality and your kindness.”

Aiden stood still, saying nothing. Jordan stepped forward and shook first Nell’s hand and then Gordon’s. She turned to Aiden and said, “Thank you, Aiden. I’ll call when I get home and then let you know what’s happening tomorrow. I have to be there in the morning.” Tears still brimmed on her thick lashes, but she was calm. Aiden nodded. Jordan picked up Grace.

“Aiden, help Jordan out to her car with her bags,” Nell said. “Jordan, please drive carefully. Call us for anything. I’m a light sleeper.” Jordan gave her a grateful smile as she left. Aiden followed her out the door.

A few minutes later, Aiden returned to the porch doorway as he watched the lights of the Jeep disappear down the drive. Nell came and stood beside him. “You must go after her,” she said quietly. “You must follow her home. She’ll need you, though she doesn’t know it yet.”

Gordon spoke up, blowing and blustering as was his habit. “What the hell is going on around here? Girls taking over the business. Girls showing up unannounced. Babies! Well, Palmer didn’t time this quite right, did he? He and I should have cut this whole deal and set this girl to rights, so she knows what she’s about. Then he could have died when we were done! You better do what your mother says, son. Get in your car and drive to Vermont. Who knows what kind of shape she’ll be in in the morning.”

“She’s perfectly capable, Dad,” said Aiden. “And don’t forget, I drove here with her. My car is in Vermont.”

Nell took his hand and put a set of car keys in them. “Take your father’s car, dear. I think it has a full tank of gas.”

“My car! What the hell, Nell! We’ll have every car in the family in the backwoods of Vermont!”

“Shush, Gordon,” said Nell firmly. There had only been a handful of times in his whole life that Aiden could recall his mother pulling rank on his father, but “shush” was her code word, and when she said it, Gordon obeyed.

He grumbled something, then said to Aiden, “I’m not sure exactly what’s going on here, but I think I’ve got a pretty good idea. I’m only going to say one thing: Don’t lose that girl, son. Don’t lose her for the business’s sake and, more importantly, don’t lose her for your sake.”

Aiden opened his mouth to speak, but Gordon waved him silent. “Don’t explain. You don’t need to. I can see, can’t I? Now get going.” Gordon smothered him in his customary bear hug. Aiden gave a little smile, hugged his mother, and kissed her on the cheek.

“Do you have clothes?” asked Nell, always practical.

“I’ll have to stop at my place and repack,” said Aiden. “It won’t take long.” Then he said, “Mom, how did you know you would marry Dad?”

“How could she pass up such a good deal?” snorted Gordon.

Nell ignored him and looked at Aiden. “The first time I met your father, I knew. I knew I had met my lifelong mate. It wasn’t bells and whistles and fireworks.”

“It wasn’t?” Gordon sounded incredulous.

“No, Gordon.” She laughed. “That came later. What I felt was a wonderful peace of spirit. That’s how he made me feel. I felt there was nothing I couldn’t say to this man. He is my best friend.”

“That’s the way I feel about Jordan. That’s how I want her to feel about me.”

Gordon coughed, but Nell said, “Jordan has other issues to work on, Aiden. You’ll have to be patient with her. It’s never simple when there is a child involved. And she’s responsible for the business now, by herself. She’s very bright, but she’s also very young and without a lot of experience. It’s obvious how she feels about you, but she’s still trying to sort things out. Be there for her, but let her find her own path. It will lead back to you, dear.” She reached up to her tall son and kissed his cheek.

Aiden smiled at her. “I’ll let you know what goes on,” he said. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Hey, it’s my car. You’re taking
my car
. What about thanking me? I hate driving your mother’s car.”

Aiden hugged his father. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Let us know about the funeral arrangements,” said Gordon. “It would be black ingratitude and bad manners if we didn’t show up.”

“Okay, I’m off.” With that, he sprinted to his father’s big Mercedes and drove away.

It took him twenty minutes to reach the Wharf. He waved at the gate attendant and drove up the brick drive to his door. A turn of the key and he was inside. He climbed the stairs to the living area two steps at a time, and then went into his bedroom. He yanked out some clean clothes and a dark spring suit. It had been ages since he had worn a suit. He crammed the clothes in a duffel bag and zipped a garment bag over the suit. Hoisting them to his shoulder, he flew down the stairs, locked his door, and jumped into the car. In five minutes he was out of town, headed west.

The drive went smoothly. There was almost no traffic. The calm conditions of the road, however, were not reflected in his mind. He was anything but calm. He built and destroyed scenario after scenario in his head. How would his relationship with Jordan progress if they were two hundred miles apart? Could he induce her to move to Portland? Then who would run Chat in Vermont? Maybe Thatcher from the home office. No, that idea didn’t fly. Thatcher was an idiot. Or at least, not to be let loose on his own. Could he, Aiden, take over the Vermont operation? That would be risky. Something told him Jordan would not want to be encroached upon. He wouldn’t want her to feel as though he was trying to replace her, contract or no contract.

“You’re too tired to think straight, man,” he said out loud to himself. He decided to stop thinking about the whole situation. It was like his mother always said, morning was wiser than evening. He would be there tomorrow, assess the situation, and pick his path from there. He plugged his iPod into the car’s stereo system and listened to his music, trying to rest his mind.

Chapter Thirteen

W
HEN
A
IDEN
P
ULLED
I
NTO
T
OWN
, he drove slowly down the main street. It was a little after midnight. The Inn was dark, except for the red glow of an exit sign he could see far back within the building. Three street lights illuminated the green with a misty glow, but there were no other lights on anywhere. The local Jiffy Mart, the only gas station in town, had closed at eleven. Nothing moved. He followed the street out and around and drove into the ChatDotCom parking lot. He pulled up under a security light, shut off the car, and listened to the silence. The building was quiet, but Aiden knew that Dayton Phillips, the night watchman, was in there somewhere. He would have to make his presence known soon or Phillips would wake up the town and Aiden would have to explain himself once again to John Giamo. They didn’t care if he owned Chat now or not. Gene Palmer, even dead, had more sway over the townspeople than Aiden did.

He pulled out his phone and texted Jordan.

In Chat parking lot. Can I sleep in your office?
Sorry to wake you. ~Aiden

It was a minute or two before his phone buzzed. He read her reply.

Wasn’t asleep. What are you doing here? ~Jordan

Aiden was glad she was awake.

Need to be here in the morning. Don’t want you to have
to face this alone. I love you. ~Aiden

I will call Dayton. He will come out and let you in.
Where are you? ~Jordan

In parking lot under security light. Don’t let him shoot me. ~Aiden

Very funny. He doesn’t carry a weapon.
You can sleep on the sofa in my office.
Blanket and pillow in the closet at far end of room. ~Jordan

Thanks. I love you, Jordan. ~Aiden

I’m glad you came. See you in the morning. ~Jordan

Was she just going to leave it like that? He came here to be closer to her in this difficult time. Then, his phone buzzed again.

I love you, too, Aiden. ~Jordan

His breath caught. It was what he had wanted to hear. It was hard to know what would come next, how they would sort this all out, but she had said it. That was a good place to start.

The knock on his window made him jump. He looked up to see Dayton Phillips. “Mr. Stewart? Jordan Fitzgerald called me and told me to let you into her office. Follow me.”

Aiden got out of the car, shouldered his bag, locked the car, and followed the heavy-set man. Apparently the tradition of the taciturn Vermonter was lost on Dayton; he babbled on and on as they walked to back of the building.

“Terrible about Mr. Palmer, huh?” he said over his shoulder as Aiden followed him into the building. “Yah, everybody thought he was doing good, you know? He’d even come into the office once in a while. Oh, you could see he was failing, but he kept going. Nothing else to do. Just keep going. Hope he didn’t suffer much. Seemed quick, anyway.”

Aiden was relieved when they reached Jordan’s office. The watchman turned the key in the lock. “There you go, Mr. Stewart,” he said with a chuckle. “Have a good night. We shut up early around here!”

“I’ll sleep like a baby,” said Aiden sarcastically, knowing Phillips would never get it. “Thanks for letting me in.” He stepped through the door into the office.

“I’ll be here till six in the morning, so you just call if you need anything.”

“I will, thanks.” Aiden finally succeeded in shutting the door. He stood still for a moment, listening to the watchman’s footsteps as they disappeared down the hall. Then, he turned into the room and exhaled, his body giving in to exhaustion. Bending down, he pulled off his sneakers and walked to the closet at the end of the room. He was glad he had made the trip. He felt more at peace, somehow, here in her office. Closer to Jordan.

Aiden went to the big window and gazed out across the dark river. The moon was nearly full, shining through the high, scudding clouds. Silvery lights bounced from bank to bank only to disappear in the inky undergrowth. Suddenly, a dense shadow fell across the room. It moved like a living thing. Instantly, Aiden was on guard. He peered through the window, trying to determine where the shadow had come from. As suddenly as it had crossed the room, the shadow receded, almost as if it had sensed it had been seen.

As quickly and quietly as he could, his heartbeat racing, Aiden sprinted down the hall and opened the small, back door to the outside. There was silence. “Anybody there?” he called into the night, but the rushing river was the only sound he heard in answer.

“There a problem?” came a voice behind him, causing Aiden to jump.

“Dayton! You startled me! I was looking out the office window and I saw a shadow—a big shadow—move across the lot back here. It looked like a person’s shadow.”

“Hm,” said Dayton, rubbing his chin. “You want me to take a look?”

“I’ll go with you,” said Aiden.

Together, the two men walked out into the back lot. Dayton shined his flashlight across the pavement. Two Dumpsters stood against the far back corner of the building. A light breeze ruffled the night air, but nothing moved.

“Don’t see nothing,” grunted Dayton, scanning one more time with the flashlight. “Probably just a raccoon or something.”

“Probably,” said Aiden dubiously. He followed Dayton back in the building, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

“You’re just tired,” said Dayton. “You get some sleep. I’ll wake you up if I hear anything else.”

“Thanks, Dayton.” Aiden went back into Jordan’s office and locked the door behind him.

He opened the closet door, pulled out the light down comforter and a pillow from the top shelf, and lay down, fully clothed, on the sofa. He sighed and closed his eyes.

To his surprise, when he opened them, morning light flooded the room and a gentle hand brushed the hair back from his forehead.