Yahrah John - Lost Without You

“I do. But if the ‘wrong sort’—” Gabrielle used her hands to make quotation marks “—are looking for money, they are barking up the wrong tree. I live within my means.”

Andrew raised a brow. “You don’t sugarcoat your words, young lady, so let me get straight to the point. I would be willing to pay your father’s debt, if you do something for me in return.”

“Of course.” Gabrielle laughed shrilly as understanding dawned on her. “You wouldn’t help him altruistically.”

They had come to the crux of why Andrew Jackson was there in the first place. He wanted something from her. What? She wasn’t sure. She couldn’t fathom what she could possibly offer him that was worthwhile. She had some money in savings for a rainy day, but that was about it. “What do you want, Mr. Jackson?”

A crooked smile spread across Andrew’s face. “I hear you’ve accepted a position with Adams Cosmetics. And that could be beneficial to me.”

Gabrielle frowned and several lines formed across her forehead. “I don’t understand. How so?”

Andrew couldn’t believe how naive Gabrielle was. He would have to spell it out. “You could supply me with information.”

“What kind of information?”

“Oh, you know…” He paused. “Their latest research, marketing and, of course, any upcoming products.” Andrew searched her face to ensure she was getting exactly what was on the table.

“You want me to commit corporate espionage?” Gabrielle couldn’t believe her ears.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Andrew said. “I would say one hand is washing another. You give me information to help boost Jax Cosmetics and help level the playing field. In return, I save your father from a terrible fate at the hands of some mob henchmen.”

Gabrielle swallowed hard. There was a reason she had never quite trusted Andrew Jackson even as a child, and now she knew why. He was the devil incarnate.

“I think you should go, Mr. Jackson.” Gabrielle had heard enough and walked toward the door.

Slowly, Andrew rose to his feet, buttoned his suit jacket. He walked toward her and when he reached her, he glared down at her. “Listen, little girl, your father is in a bind.”

Gabrielle hated his condescending word usage, but couldn’t help replying much too petulantly to her liking, “My father is a grown man. He made his bed and he’ll have to lie in it.”

“So you would leave your father hanging in the wind?” Andrew asked. When she didn’t answer right away, Andrew knew there was still hope he could get her to do his bidding. “Why don’t you take a little time to think about it?” He opened the door to her suite. “I’ll be back in touch.”

Seconds later, the door closed behind him, and Gabrielle breathed a sigh of relief. What the hell had just happened? Had Andrew Jackson really just asked her to risk her job, her freedom and commit corporate espionage to save a father who in the past decade hadn’t shown an ounce of interest in her?

* * *

“Morning,” Shane said unenthusiastically at the breakfast table the next morning. It was a beautiful day, and their butler had set up a table out on the terrace so they could enjoy the fresh air.

“Hello, grumpy,” Courtney said as she poured granola over her fruit yogurt. She’d just enjoyed a leisurely dip in the pool and was famished.

“I’m not in the mood for you today, Courtney.” He’d slept fitfully the night before, barely getting a few hours of sleep, and now he was irritable. He reached for the carafe of coffee and poured a cup. He drank it black, uncharacteristically.

“Okay, okay.” Courtney held up her hands. “I will leave you alone.” She ran her fingers through her damp hair.

“What has got you in a bad mood?” his mother asked, sipping her coffee. It wasn’t like her son to be so snippy with his sister.

“No reason.” Shane lowered his head, adding some eggs and bacon to his plate from a nearby platter.

“Are you sure about that?” Elizabeth looked at her son suspiciously. She could read him and knew when he was hiding something. “How did it go with your new employee yesterday? You weren’t at dinner last night, so I couldn’t ask you how it went.”

“It went fine.” Shane dug his fork into his eggs and ate a generous amount.

“You could have fooled me,” Courtney returned. “I ran into her in the hall and she looked positively flustered.”

“Puh-lease,” Shane responded, taking a bite of bacon. “Gabrielle Burton can hold her own. She gave as good as she got.”

“But you were professional?” his mother countered.

“Of course, Mom. Courtney here even took her out for lunch on her first day.”

“That was kind of you,” their mother replied, turning to her daughter. “Is she as bad as Shane says?”

“No,” Courtney said, glaring at Shane. “She’s a lovely woman, though she could use a little fixing up. I told her I would help her.”

“So she’s your new pet project?” Shane inquired, raising an eyebrow. “I believe you have better and more important things to do with your time at Adams Cosmetics than fix up some straightlaced prude.”

“Shane!” Elizabeth was flabbergasted at her son’s response.

“See, I told you, Mama.” Courtney pointed at Shane. “He has it out for her. He wants her to fail.” For some reason, she felt as if she had to fight for Gabby, maybe because she was the only woman who’d ever gotten under her brother’s skin.

“I do not have it out for her,” Shane replied testily. “Nothing I’ve said isn’t the truth. You know as well as I do that Gabrielle Burton could stand to loosen up a bit.”

“But there’s no reason to be mean,” their mother admonished. “That is no way to treat a lady. I’m warning you, Shane. I better not hear that you’ve mistreated the young woman.”

Shane rolled his eyes at his younger sister. He didn’t appreciate a scolding by his mother. He was a grown man, after all. “If you’ll excuse me.” He scooted back from the table, nearly knocking his chair over. “I wouldn’t want to burden you with my presence.” He walked off the terrace and headed toward the front of the house, where he’d parked his Jaguar.

* * *

When he arrived at the laboratory, he was in no better of a mood. Gabrielle must have sensed his inner turmoil, because she gave him a wide berth that morning. She chose instead to work with several other members of his staff, and that was just fine with him. Shane didn’t know why her presence bothered him, but bothered he was. Even more so when he saw her dressed in a prim black skirt with a white silk blouse that tied at the neck. He wanted nothing more than to untie that knot and free her of her inhibitions.

Shane shook his head. Where the hell had that thought come from? He turned around and glanced in her direction. Gabrielle must have sensed it because she looked up at him with her almond-shaped eyes and gave him a broad smile. He noticed that she was wearing her hair differently from yesterday’s prim look. Instead of having her hair in an updo, she’d decided for a half up, half down look.

He looked away and returned his focus to his perfumer’s organ and pulled out several scents. He was determined to hit the right notes today and get this fragrance right, once and for all.

* * *

From the other side of the lab, Gabrielle reengaged herself with her coworker on the new skin-care products in development. She hadn’t meant to smile at Shane, but when she’d found him staring at her so openly, she’d thought they were off to a new start. She must have been wrong, because he hadn’t returned the smile; he’d ignored her and looked down.

She didn’t know why she was thinking about him anyway. She had more important things to worry about. Namely, Andrew Jackson. Overnight, she’d had to time to think, and thanks to Jackson, she felt compelled to at least reach out to her father and find out exactly what was going on. She didn’t relish the task. She hadn’t spoken more than polite pleasantries to her parents in over a decade.