Brenda Jackson - The Danforths - Wesley, Ian & Imogene

“You didn’t ask as many questions as I expected at today’s press conference,” he said putting his grocery bag in the back seat of his car. “I was impressed.”

She glared at him. “Don’t be. There will be other days, trust me.”

Wesley held her glare, emitting one of his own. “But I don’t trust you. Ms. Carmody, and doubt that I ever will.” He opened his car door to get in. “I suggest you go on home before your ice cream melts.”

Without waiting for her to respond he slipped inside his car and started the engine. But he didn’t move his vehicle until she had angrily gotten into hers and pulled out.

Glancing into her rearview mirror Jasmine saw that he was determined to follow her to her door. She inhaled deeply, thinking it would be a waste of energy to lose her temper. If the man had nothing else to do then that was his business and she refused to let him get to her.

But a part of her knew it was too late. He had already gotten to her and it would be a sheer act of will on her part to ignore him.

Wesley smiled when he pulled into his driveway to find Imogene Danforth sitting in her car and waiting on him. He was pleased, as well as surprised, to see her since they hadn’t got the chance to talk much at the press conference earlier that day. Everyone knew that Imogene was one very busy woman, almost working obsessively as an investment banker to move up the corporate ladder. She was known to eat on the run while conducting business over the phone.

He also knew that Imogene put a lot of stock in her appearance. She always chose just the right clothes, the right haircut and the right possessions. She saw all those things as essential in succeeding in the cutthroat business world of finance.

After he parked his car and got out, he watched Jake’s little sister get out of the sporty Lexus. He leaned against his car and frowned as he stared at the very attractive woman who was walking toward him dressed in an expensive navy-blue powerhouse business suit with matching shoes. She had her briefcase in one hand, a candy bar in the other, munching in between the conversation she was having on the cell phone headset that was plugged into her ear.

By the time she had reached him, whatever conversation she’d been holding had ended and she’d pulled off the headset, snapped the phone shut and slipped it into her purse at the same time she swallowed the last of the candy bar.

“Wes, I’m glad you finally came home. I thought I would die of starvation.”

Wesley lifted a brow. “You must really be hungry to confess that you are, Imogene. I thought you promised your parents that you would improve your eating habits.”

The attractive blond-haired, green-eyed woman standing in front of him lifted a brow of her own. “I’ll start eating better when you do.” She glanced at the grocery bag he held in his hand. “So, what’s for dinner?”

Wesley shook his head grinning. “Spaghetti.”

She smiled. “That figures, and I hope there’s one to spare. I have another appointment in about an hour.”

A half hour later Imogene was finishing off the last of her microwave spaghetti dinner with a glass of white wine. She smiled over at the man she considered one of her brothers. “Maybe you need to rethink my offer of investing in this food company since you seem to enjoy their product so much.”

Wes smiled as he leaned back in his chair. “We’ve had this conversation before, Imogene, and the answer is still no.”

She returned his smile. “I was hoping you would have changed your mind.”

“Not hardly, so go harass another client.”

Imogene giggled as she leaned back in her own chair. “So what’s going on with you, Wes, other than not eating properly? It seems Mom has the both of us on her ‘worry about’ list. She called this morning and asked that I check up on you to make sure you were eating properly.”

Wesley shook his head. “Umm, that’s interesting. When I saw her at Crofthaven today, she mentioned something to me about checking up on you, as well.”

Imogene frowned. “That figures.” After a few moments she said. “But what doesn’t figure is the looks you were giving that reporter at the press conference. Is there something I should know, Wes?”

Wesley raised a dark brow. Imogene had been on the phone the majority of the time trying to cut deals. He was surprised that she had noticed him looking at Jasmine Carmody.

“Isn’t she that same reporter who’s been snooping around trying to dig up stuff on the family?” Imogene went on to ask when he didn’t answer her earlier question.

After taking a sip of his own wine, Wesley answered. “Yes, she’s the same one. And my interest in her is purely business. I’m keeping an eye on her.”

Imogene smiled over the rim of her wineglass. “Well, that much was obvious. How is keeping an eye on her business?”

“Because I’m making it my business to see that she stops harassing the family.”

Imogene nodded. “That should be interesting and I’d love to hear the full details later.” She glanced at her watch and stood. “Time’s up. I’ve got to run. Thanks for dinner.”

Wesley stood and he opened his mouth to tell her she needed to slow down and take care of herself more, but he knew he would be wasting his time. “You know you’re welcome anytime.”

He walked her to the door and watched as she got into her car and sped off. After checking his watch, he decided to tackle the work he had brought home with him.

A few hours later, Wesley shut down his computer when he reached a mental block, a first for him. Standing, he stretched and moved away from his desk and walked over to the window.

He loved his new home, especially the view he had of the Savannah River from his office, his bedroom and several other rooms in the house. As a kid, the river had always given him peace and whenever he ran away from one of his foster homes, the area surrounding the river would be the first place he would go to hide.

But this evening the river didn’t deliver the peace and tranquility it normally did and all because of Jasmine Carmody. Earlier today he hadn’t been able to concentrate on what Abraham had been saying at the press conference because he’d been distracted by her. If Imogene had noticed, he wondered if the rest of the family had, too.

It seemed that his gaze had automatically located Jasmine in the crowd and had latched on to the mass of braids on her head, her sexy body and her cool and confident posture. The funny thing was that women constantly threw themselves at him, yet his thoughts had never been filled with any of them like they were with Jasmine. But here was a woman who loathed him and didn’t want to give him the time of day and his mind was filled with nothing but her.

He turned when he heard the phone ring and walked back to his desk to answer it. “Yes?”

“Wes, it’s Ian.”

Wesley smiled. “Ian, what’s going on? If you’re calling to gloat about winning the poker game last night, forget it because—”

“She’s here,” Ian interrupted by saying. “At the coffeehouse.”

Wesley raised a brow as he sat down. “Who’s at the coffeehouse?”

“The woman you told us about last night. The one you caught going through your garbage. That reporter, Jasmine Carmody.”

A frown covered Wesley’s face and he sat up straight in his chair. When he had seen her earlier at the grocery store, she had led him to believe that she was heading home and would be in for the rest of the night. In fact one of the main reasons he hadn’t been able to concentrate while working on his computer was because of the visions he’d had of Jasmine sitting cross-legged in the middle of her bed, wearing very little, while eating her carton of ice cream, and thumbing through the magazine she had purchased earlier. In his mind he saw her legs and appreciated just how long and shapely they were.