Foolish Notions (19 page)

James not only wanted his company to be
financially successful but also well liked. The relationship between
a company and the community in which it operated was very important.
Companies like his were expected to get involved with the community,
to make a contribution, and not just through providing employment and
paying taxes.

“Yes, it’s with Jerry
Hancock,” Shelly confirmed. “I’ll call over to his
office after we get off the phone.”

“What else is on the agenda
today?” James listened quietly as Shelly gave him a rundown of
the schedule. She also read off all phone messages and any new mail
he had received. “Fax that over to me, I’d like to look
over it.”

“Will do, Mr. Taylor. How is your
mom doing?”

“It was a difficult night, but
she’s hanging in there.” He took another sip. “If
anything comes up, just call.”

Over the next three hours James worked
steadily. He held a meeting over the phone that lasted a grueling
forty minutes. He reviewed the minutes, which Shelly had faxed over,
from the Seattle meeting that he didn’t attend. He also went
over two proposals that were supposed to go out tomorrow. He spent
twenty minutes adding two more items for inclusion for one of them.

Samantha was sleepy-eyed, but showered
and dressed, when she stood in the doorway. “I didn’t
think you’d be home.”

“Good morning.” He looked
at his watch and grinned. “Or should I say, good afternoon.”

“That was a rough night.”

“Yes, it was.”

He pushed away from his desk and moved
to her. As he approached her, he caught the scent of fresh morning
rain, clean and sweet. The heat of the shower caused her skin to glow
a soft rosy pink. Just the ends of her hair were damp. She had
allowed it to dry naturally, just how he liked it. A little tousled,
not styled to perfection. She wore the comfortable, faded, frayed
jeans that drove him to distraction. And there were those perfect red
toes, peeking from underneath. This time they didn’t twitch.
“How are you feeling?”

Her expression was humorless. “Like
I haven’t slept.”

James’s lips thinned into a grim
line; he knew the feeling. He extended his arms out. And when she
walked to him without a moment’s consideration, he drew her in
close. When she sank against him, he could feel her exhaustion and
depletion, all of which should be expected after being up the entire
night taking care of an extremely sick person. However, he knew that
it wasn’t just his mom’s condition that was wearing her
out; it was also what was happening between them. Emotionally, it was
sucking her dry.

Samantha rested her head against his
chest. “I feel like I’m burnt out.”

“You’ve been going nonstop
for the last few weeks,” he whispered as his hand ran the
length of her back.

“I’m used to going
nonstop.” She had done it for the last year.

“You’re not used to working
around the clock for someone you love dearly. It puts a completely
different spin on it when it’s someone you care about.”
He would find something relaxing for them to do to restore her
energy, he told himself. She needed a break. He rested his chin on
the top of her head. “You’re not used to having me
around, either.” He hadn’t been making her job any easier
for her. He’d only been adding more weight to her already heavy
load.

She pinched his ribs. “Yes, you
are a thorn in my side.”

He kissed her hair, squeezing her
gently to him. “I’ll try not to be from now on.”

They stayed this way for a moment
before Samantha spoke.

“What are you doing home?”

He released her but kept an arm around
her shoulders. “I decided to work from home today.”

“You don’t need to stay.”

“I want to.”

“I can handle anything that comes
up.”

“I know you can.” Her
capabilities were clearly not in question. Her skills, without a
doubt, were impeccable. Not that there was any, but if there had been
hesitation, last night would have resolved all uncertainty. She was
amazing and he was simply in awe of how she had handled everything.

“Last night was hard on you,”
she said softly.

“I think it was hard on all of
us. I just needed to be here.” He couldn’t explain why,
so he didn’t even try.

“I understand.”

Raising his arm, he glanced at the
time. “I’ll be holding a meeting here in a little while.”

Samantha nodded. “I won’t
keep you.” She gave him the first smile of the morning. “I’m
going to get some coffee. I hope it’s as thick as mud.”

* * * * *

With her mug close by, Samantha
gathered the ingredients for homemade soup. She prepared it in the
slow cooker, so it would be ready for Marie whenever she wanted it.
After last night she knew that keeping something down was going to be
a challenge. Hopefully, something light would do the trick for her
nervous stomach. She went easy on the spices, keeping it bland.

As she wiped down the counters and
stored the cutting board, the doorbell rang. She cleaned her hands on
a dishtowel and raked her fingers through her hair as she walked
through the house.

When she opened the door, a gentleman
wearing a black suit, carrying a briefcase to match, greeted her. His
expression was serious, and then slowly transformed into one of
surprised pleasure when his eyes fell on her.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Taylor.”

Samantha moved to the side to allow him
in. “I’m not Mrs. Taylor.”

He tensed only for a moment before
ducking his head bashfully as he stepped in and closed the door. “I
apologize.” He titled his head thoughtfully as a sheepish grin
moved his lips.

“What’s that saying about
never assume?” He gave a guilty shrug. “I guess this is a
perfect example isn’t it?”

Samantha’s eyes warmed as she
smiled. “An apology isn’t necessary.” She offered
her hand. “I’m Samantha.”

“I’m a fool.” He took
her hand in his as she laughed openly at him. “Does that mean
the awkward moment is over?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then might I suggest we
start again?”

Samantha played along and swiftly hid
her amusement under a straight face. “By all means.”

Lowering his voice, he changed his
expression to that of a first-time meeting. “Hello, I’m
Jerry Hancock.”

“Jerry, it’s nice to meet
you. I’m Samantha, James’s mom’s nurse.”

He turned sincere. “Yes, I heard
she was sick. I hope she’s doing well.”

Samantha smiled gently and nodded.

“Thank you.”

“What for?”

“I have to be honest with you. My
nerves were at their limit when I arrived. I’ve never met Mr.
Taylor before and when I was told he wanted me to come to his home,
well, let’s just say I was very anxious. You have completely
broken the tension.”

“Glad to be of help. You know,
he’s not that bad.”

“That’s not how his
reputation precedes him.”

“No, I suppose not.” She
gestured over her shoulder. “He’s in his office. Would
you like me to show you?”

“Please.”

“Here you are.” She opened
the door for him and gave him a reassuring smile.

James looked up from his desk when the
door opened. He paused momentarily before he spoke, for the way his
guest was looking at Samantha caught him off guard. He stood. “Mr.
Hancock, come in.”

Hancock acknowledged James with a nod
of his head and then moved quickly across the room to shake his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Taylor. Please call me
Jerry.”

Leaning over the desk, James took
Jerry’s hand even though he had the urge to reject it.

“I’ve made another pot of
coffee,” Samantha said as she looked from Jerry to James.
“Would either of you like some?”

“I’d love a cup,”
Jerry said.

“You don’t need to bring us
coffee.” James glared at Jerry.

She wasn’t his goddamn gopher.
“We can get it ourselves if we want some.” The last thing
he wanted was to have Samantha come back into his office. If she did,
that would mean he was going to have to witness the pathetic way
Jerry was looking at her again. If that were to happen he would
surely hit the man.

“I don’t mind, really.”
She turned. “Jerry, cream and sugar?”

“Please.” His features
turned soft when he looked at her.

“Thank you.”

James wanted Jerry Hancock out of his
house, preferably as fast as possible. If it weren’t for
Jerry’s extensive experience in evaluating, researching, and
developing, James would fire him right on the spot. Jerry was an
asset to the company, so James tried to keep his anger in check. He
took a seat and gestured for Jerry to do the same. “Thank you
for coming, considering the short notice in the change of location.”

Jerry was still looking out the door at
the backside of Samantha as she walked away. “Of course.”

James watched him with irritation. The
man’s tongue was all but lying on the floor. He would move this
along quickly. “I’m very busy today, so I’d like to
jump right in. Do you have a list of the different types of charities
that my company can get involved in?”

Jerry pulled out several folders. “Yes,
I have both volunteer and donation services.”

“I’d prefer it to be
volunteer.”

“I would agree.” He passed
two folders. “A hands-on company always receives more
recognition. Do you want local, in the US, or around the world?”

“Let’s start with local,”
James said, glancing up to take the documents. “I’d also
like a list of charities that need corporate backing in order to get
themselves known.”

“Great idea. There are a lot of
hidden benefits when choosing a lesser-known charity.” He
paused. “Personally, I think it reflects a business that’s
not afraid to take chances and isn’t there purely for the
publicity.”

“I’m glad you approve,”
James said dryly as he wrote a few notes and flipped through the
papers. “I understand that your firm makes all the necessary
arrangements, but I’d like to know how my staff will be
notified when it’s their turn to volunteer.”

“We’ll send a monthly
schedule, which your employees will have previously signed up for.”
Jerry passed another sheet to James. “Here’s an example.”

“That will allow people to
contribute when they want to.”

“Yes, we’ve noticed that
employees are more apt to commit when they get to decide what and
when they are to do something.”

Samantha walked in carrying a tray, and
Jerry’s attention immediately shifted to her.

“Here you are,” she said,
handing him a cup. “Sugar and cream are on the tray.”

James thought Jerry’s thank-you
was much too effusive and his stare was much too probing. He had the
urge to shove him back into the chair when he stood as she came in.
He looked up quickly and smiled at Samantha when he caught her eye.
“Thank you,” he said softly.

She nodded and then left, closing the
door quietly behind her.

“Where were we?” James
asked.

“Mr. Taylor, I’m not really
sure,” Jerry said, shaking his head. “How do you do it?”

“What’s that?” James
looked back down at the folder in his hand, reading over the notes he
had taken.

Jerry looked back over his shoulder,
almost in disbelief, and then looked back to James. “How do you
wake up every morning and leave the house?”

For this he looked up. His nostrils
flared when he spoke. “Pardon?”

“She’s amazing.”

James’s hand hit the desk. “Out.”

Jerry’s eyebrows merged together,
openly surprised.

“What?”

His expression of shock only irritated
James further. “Get out of my house.”

“I don’t understand. I’m
sorry—”

“Jerry, you’re a smart man
who, at this moment, still happens to have a job. If you want to keep
it that way”—James’s expression didn’t
waver—“get out now.” James shoved the file to the
side of his desk as he made a mental note that he wouldn’t have
any more home meetings again.

James glanced around idly at the
crowded lobby, not recognizing any of the faces that passed by them.
“What do you have for me?”

“ISAC hired a spy—who
happens to be an email-tracking pro,” Al said just loud enough
for James to hear.

James leaned in. “Are you sure
it’s ISAC?”

“Yep.” Al smiled slyly.
“I’m not sure what you’re working on but it must be
good.”

“The sons-of-bitches,”
James bit out. “What do you mean an email-tracking pro?”

“He can pretty much hack into any
type of system. Including your company’s. And that’s how
he managed to steal the data.

“Our computer security is
state-of-the-art.”

“So are his hacking
capabilities.” Al’s voice turned to irritation. “I’ll
tell you what, he’s a little worm who covers his tracks well.
It took me seventeen hours to pinpoint the little bastard.”

James raised a brow. “How did you
find him?”

“Don’t inquire about how I
get my information.”

“Public records?”

“Sure, if it makes you feel
better,” Al said flatly. “It will take me a few days to
actually pin his location down. I would recommend stopping all email
communication and only using verbal communication until we catch this
guy.”

James nodded curtly.

“After this we’re going to
have to move quickly. Once the emails stop he’ll know we’re
on to him. Your company has a conference and expo coming up, right?”

“Yes. I’m going to speak.”

“That’s good. It’s
very likely that our little worm will be there. Can you get me a pass
for the event?”

“Yes, I’ll have it sent to
your office by the end of the day.”

James offered his hand. “Thank
you for getting this done so quickly. I appreciate it.”

Al nodded. “Unless something
comes up I’ll meet you at the conference.”

* * * * *