Brenda Jackson - The Danforths - Wesley, Ian & Imogene - Scandal Between the Sheets / The Boss Man's Fortune / Challenged by the Sheikh

He glanced around when he walked in. The coffeehouse was a real cozy affair but there hadn’t been anything cozy about his meeting tonight with Jasmine Carmody. Even when backed against a wall the woman had come out scratching, which a part of him couldn’t help but admire. A frown creased his brow. He didn’t want to admire anything about Jasmine Carmody. He had only to think for a second to remember how he had walked up on her going through his trash, and how he had offered her five hundred dollars of his hard earned cash because he actually thought she was someone who needed it.

He found a table near the back and a waitress quickly came to take his order. After being served, he leaned back in his chair as a scowl touched his face. The woman was destined to drive him nuts.

“You okay, Wes?”

Wesley looked up and found his good friend Reid Danforth standing next to his table with a concerned look on his face. Reid was Abraham’s second oldest son and the director of Danforth and Company’s shipping operation.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he replied as Reid slipped into the chair across from him. “Any word yet on the body that was found at Crofthaven?”

In the course of renovation on Crofthaven, Abraham Danforth’s mansion, the body of a young woman had been found in the attic. The ensuing police investigation had threatened to engulf Abraham Danforth’s senate campaign in a scandal before it could get off the ground. Everyone was wondering who the woman was. When dental records proved the body was not that of Victoria Danforth, Jake’s sister who had vanished without a trace after attending a concert nearly five years ago. Speculation remained as to who was involved in her disappearance. Like everyone else, he had fond memories of Tori and thanked God it wasn’t her body that had been found.

“No, I haven’t heard anything yet,” Reid said, and at that moment the waitress came to take Reid’s coffee order.

Wesley took a sip of his coffee, then asked, “How’s Tina?” Reid was engaged to marry a beautiful young woman by the name of Tina Morgan and Wes was happy for his good friend.

Reid smiled. “Tina is fine and I’m glad she came into my life. I can’t wait until the day we get married.”

Wesley nodded thinking that Reid and Jake had hit gold in finding women like Tina and Larissa, but as far as he was concerned, as long as there were women out there like Jasmine Carmody, he was determined to stay single.

Jasmine was in the bed when her phone rang less than an hour later. Glancing at her caller-ID box, she picked it up. “So, you finally decided to call to make sure I was still alive,” she said to Ronnie. During her drive to the coffeehouse, she had used her cell phone to call Ronnie to tell her about Wesley Brooks’s phone call and her plans to meet him.

“Well, what did he say?” Ronnie asked eagerly.

It took Jasmine less than ten minutes to tell Ronnie everything that had transpired.

“And he actually plans to follow you around?” Ronnie asked, clearly astonished.

“That’s what he says and I have no reason not to believe him since he followed me home tonight. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s parked outside when I leave for work in the morning since he’s hell-bent on teaching me a lesson.”

Ronnie chuckled. “Considering how he feels about reporters, it doesn’t surprise me.”

Jasmine lifted a brow. “And just how does he feel about reporters? I got the distinct impression that we aren’t exactly his favorite people. Is there a story I should know about?” she asked, curiously. She knew that Ronnie’s brother, Richard, had attended the same college as Wesley and Jacob Danforth at about the same time.

“Your family have only been living in Savannah for around eight years, Jazz. I think it’s pretty common knowledge to those of us who’ve lived here most of our lives that Wesley dated some girl when he went off to Georgia Tech who was a journalism student. I even heard he had fallen hard for her, but that she had only been using him to write some article for the school paper. It was an article that got him kicked off the football team.”

“Wow,” Jasmine said, thinking that getting kicked off a college football team was pretty serious stuff. “But, still, that’s no reason to take things out on me since I’m a reporter.”

“Yeah, but you did go on his property and rummage through his trash cans.”

Jasmine lifted a dark brow. “Hey, whose side are you on?”

Ronnie laughed. “Yours, of course, since I’m also a reporter and I’ve done some pretty crazy things, too. But personally, I think you’re getting obsessed with this Danforth thing, to the point where you’ll do just about anything to break a story.”

Jasmine frowned. “Ronnie, that’s not fair. You sound like you think I don’t have any ethics.”

“And I’m sorry if I sound that way, but think about it, Jazz. Ever since you were assigned to cover Abraham Danforth’s campaign, you’ve been determined to dig up anything and everything on him that you can.”

Jasmine shrugged. “I just want to report the truth.”

“Yes, but why are you so convinced there is something he’s hiding?”

Jasmine frowned deepened. “And why are you convinced there isn’t?”

Ronnie chuckled. “Like I said earlier, I grew up in this town. The Danforths have been around forever. That doesn’t make them saints but I personally think of them as good people. And as far as Abraham Danforth is concerned, he’s pretty well liked which is why he has a lot of supporters. So be careful, a lot of people won’t like you trying to sully his name.”

All she had to do was think of Wesley Brooks to know that was true. Before Jasmine finally drifted off to sleep an hour or so later, she couldn’t help but think about the conversation she’d had with Ronnie. Had she become so obsessed with breaking a story that she had started being unfair and biased?

She swallowed hard when she thought about just how pushy she’d been with Larissa Neilson in trying to get the woman to admit that Jacob Danforth had fathered her child.

She tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position in bed, determined to put Wesley Brooks, as well as the Danforths, out of her mind. A few minutes later she discovered it was easy putting the Danforths out of her thoughts, but getting rid of Wesley Brooks was a little more challenging.

Even when Jasmine finally drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t keep Wesley from creeping into her dreams.

Three

The next morning, while sitting at her kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee, Jasmine pulled out a folder to review all the information she had gathered on Abraham Danforth so far.

One thing she’d discovered about the man was that he was an overachiever. He’d been the first son born to the prominent Savannah Danforths, and as such he’d been expected to be the best at everything. Entering the military he rose to the rank of Navy SEAL commander. He married Chloe Forsythe, who represented the crème de la crème of Savannah society and she bore him five children. Jasmine’s report also indicated that while serving in Vietnam on a dangerous mission, Abraham had gotten injured.

When Abraham’s wife died, he was at the height of his military career and knew he couldn’t provide the kind of nurturing presence his children needed. He’d arranged for his children to attend the finest boarding schools and had asked his younger brother Harold to step in on the holidays when he was gone.

Jasmine pulled out a color photograph of Abraham Danforth and had to admit he was very good-looking for his age. His hair was a dark brown and his eyes were a beautiful color of blue. At fifty-six, he had an athletic physique which was probably due to all the hours he spent at a health club. Single and wealthy, he would be a prize catch for any woman. She couldn’t help wondering why he had never remarried or why his name wasn’t romantically linked to anyone. Maybe that was something she needed to look at more closely.