Teresa Southwick - An Unexpected Partnership

“Was it coffee? I assumed it was the sight of me.”

“Wow again. I’m surprised you could find a helmet big enough for your swelled head. Not everything is about you, Leo.”

“And jumping to that conclusion just proves—”

“Hello, Leo.” His attorney interrupted him. The pretty, green-eyed redhead smiled at Tess and held out her hand. “I’m Annabel Sanders. You must be Ms. Morrow.”

“Tess.” She shook the other woman’s hand.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting. I didn’t expect my last client to take as long as he did.”

“I didn’t see him leave,” Leo said.

“I’m not surprised. You were having an intense chat.” Annabel’s eyes narrowed on him for a moment, and then she smiled at Tess. “It’s nice to meet you.”

As the two women chatted, Leo studied his lawyer. She was a beautiful woman. Spectacular curves were showcased in the body-hugging hunter green dress with the flaring skirt. She was also funny and brilliant but he’d never felt the slightest hint of attraction to her. Not once in the nearly two years he’d known her. Maybe because their relationship was professional.

“If you’ll both follow me into my office, we can go over the agreement.”

He let the women precede him into the large corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides. In one corner was a conversation area, defined by a leather love seat, two matching club chairs and a glass coffee table. The attorney sat behind her large desk. These digs were much nicer than the small, cramped office where they’d had their very first meeting.

Annabel opened a file on her desk and put on her lawyer face. “Tess, you got the email I sent with the attachment containing the agreement?”

“Yes.”

“You had a chance to read it over and have your attorney look at it?”

“I read it,” Tess said. “It looks fine to me.”

Leo had clued Annabel in on the background that the partnership was a go because Tess was strapped for cash and trying to save her business. He could see her making that connection as the reasoning for not getting a second legal opinion.

“I can assure you that the terms are extremely fair,” Annabel told her.

Tess nodded. “I agree.”

“Do you have any questions?”

“No.”

The attorney nodded. “Leo was very clear that he didn’t want to take advantage of your grief and your grandfather’s passing. My condolences, by the way.”

“Thank you.” Tess glanced at him and the paleness in her cheeks disappeared, replaced by a charming pink. Must be the “taking advantage” comment.

As he saw it, they’d had a mutual taking advantage, and the memories were never far from his mind.

“The thing is, Ms. Sanders—”

“Annabel, please.”

“Okay. Annabel. Before he died, my grandfather approached Leo about the partnership because he trusted him. I have faith in his judgment. And I didn’t see anything in the paperwork that changed my mind.”

“Okay, then. We’ll get this done.”

She went through each page, having them sign and initial where indicated. It was a lot of paperwork, but finally they reached the end.

“Congratulations,” the attorney said. “You two have a partnership.”

“In business,” Tess clarified.

“Yes.” Annabel looked from one to the other. “By definition partners need to work together.”

“Are you lecturing us?” Leo asked.

“No. Yes. Maybe.” She looked at him. “I heard you talking in the waiting room and got the feeling there’s an adversarial aspect to your relationship. If you’re going to make a success of this venture, it’s important to work together.”

“Of course,” he said.

“I mean it.” She looked at Tess. “I don’t know you, but I’ve worked with Leo for several years. He has an excellent head for business and a successful track record to prove it. Don’t let his cocky attitude fool you.”

“If you say so,” Tess said defensively. “I should point out that I’m no slouch. I have a degree in business and I’ve worked at the bar my whole life. There’s a loyal core of customers and we have to build on it.”

“That’s the plan,” Leo agreed.

“Okay. I didn’t mean to overstep, but I see the other side when things don’t work out. I dissolve partnerships, too.”

“Our joint venture will be fine,” Leo assured her. It was also necessary. “So, Tess, I’ll come by The Pub in the morning and we’ll discuss strategy?”

“Fine.”

“Is nine too early?”

“No.” But she looked as if she had swallowed a worm.

He’d never expected to go into business with Tess Morrow. But now that she was allegedly carrying his child, it was the best way to keep tabs on her. If she slipped up, he would be around to call her on the deception.

The last time he got screwed, he lost everything. He wasn’t so gullible now. He would do whatever he had to in order to protect himself.

Chapter Three

Morning sickness really sucked!

It especially sucked when Tess had to see Leo bright and early. The early part she could do. Bright? Not so much. But he would be arriving at nine o’clock sharp and she needed to look her best. Well, at least the best she could what with feeling like something the cat yakked up.

She showered, put on makeup and blew her hair dry. Unlike her unruly tummy, it cooperated, falling past her shoulders in its shiny straightness.

She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and ignored the dark circles under her eyes. “You look fabulous. This will be the first of many productive and profitable meetings.”

She managed to choke down a piece of toast with peanut butter. The doctor had said to eat lots of protein but she’d never expected that to be such a challenge. Five minutes before nine o’clock, she walked downstairs from her apartment. The staircase ended in a hall where a left turn went to public restrooms and the bar. Going right would put her in the office and storeroom, with high-capacity refrigeration, an ice maker and shelves. She went left.

In the bar, chairs were turned upside down on tables, where they always spent the night. There were two more rooms off the main area—one for pool and darts, the other with tables for a quieter space for grabbing a bite to eat. Some people might still enjoy eating even though she wasn’t one of them right now.

A knock on the door pulled her from the brink of self-pity and she moved to let Leo in. “Good morning.”

“Hi.” He handed her a bag.

“What’s this?”

“Thought these might come in handy.”

She peeked inside and saw soda crackers. “Wow. Be still my heart.”

“What were you expecting?”

“Nothing actually. So, thanks.”

“Keep them by the bed and eat one before you get up. It helps with morning sickness.”

“And you know this how?”

He shrugged. “I picked up the information somewhere.”

“It’s unexpectedly thoughtful, so I won’t say anything snarky about your women clueing you in.”

“That’s very generous of you.” One corner of his mouth quirked up. Then he indicated the briefcase he was holding. “I’ve been consulting with a building contractor—”

“Wait.” She held up a hand to stop him. “We only just signed the papers yesterday.”

“Since our verbal agreement, I talked to someone I’ve worked with on other business ventures. The guy is creative and does great work. He came up with some changes and I happen to think they’ll be a better use of the space we have.”

We? Apparently just signing the papers didn’t make her a team player. But since she’d put her name on the bottom line, telling him to take a flying leap didn’t seem like something she could do.