One Love (22 page)

“
No.” Karin wore an icy
smile. It pulled her lips up and made her look more grim than
amused. “But I do understand what he needs. Alex wants someone who
will be there for him.”

“
This is so fascinating.
Please go on.”

“
Look, let’s get down to
it,” Karin said in a curt voice. The veneer of upper-class manners
slipped away. “You’re only going to hurt him again. Now I could be
patient and wait to pick up the pieces. But I don’t care
to.”

“
So what are you saying?”
Lanessa was amazed at the audacity of this woman!

“
I know the routine. You toy
with him, wrap him around your finger and then move on when
something more amusing comes along.”

“
My goodness, does everyone
know my secrets?” Lanessa put a hand to her cheek and affected a
wide-eyed look. “And I thought I was being so clever.”

“
Alex wants someone he can
trust. He also needs a wife who is a wholesome influence on his
daughters.” Karen looked at Lanessa with disdain. “We both know
that someone isn’t you.”

Lanessa still had control of
her temper despite Karin’s attempts to provoke her. “Honey, I think
I have a handle on what he wants
and
what he needs.”

“
Really? Where is he
tonight?”

Her aim was perfect. Karin had found
the tender spot of vulnerability. Alex was not happy at the long
hours she’d been putting in making the social rounds. Lately he had
refused to accompany her, claiming other obligations. Guilty and
unease settled in her chest. She had promised to ease up. Yet in
the six days she’d been out three times. Four counting tonight.
Lanessa struggled mightily with the urge to lash out at Karin. But
she was a changed woman now, Lanessa reminded herself. She stood
up.

“
You’re wrong. Things have
changed.” Lanessa brushed back her hair.

“
I don’t things have changed
very much. You’re here, he’s not.” Karin got up from her seat. “And
I’ll bet you’re worried now.”

“
About you? Not at all. You
see, he may not be here with me.” Lanessa let a slow smile spread
across her face. “But he hasn’t called you.”

Karin looked as though Lanessa had
just spit in her face. “He’ll see through you,” she
snapped.

“
Goodbye,” Lanessa said
biting off the word. She could not trust herself to say more. Anger
burned inside threatening to explode. She spun around and walked
off before Karin could answer.

The next five minutes were a blur.
Lanessa did at least recover enough to say goodbye to a few people
who were good business contacts. She complimented Nadine and made
her exit. All the while she could feel Karin watching her. Glenn
waved at her and approached. Lanessa ignored him. She turned and
walked out the door while he was still across the room. The heels
of her pumps tapped across the pavement as she went to her car.
Twenty minutes later she was at Alex’s front door ringing the bell.
Seconds ticked by without an answer. All kinds of thoughts went
through her head. What if he’d gone out? Maybe he wasn’t alone. The
automatic garage door was close so she could not tell if his car
was in there. When the locks clicked, Lanessa let out a slow breath
of relief. He opened the door and beckoned her inside.

“
Hi,” Alex said. He was
dressed in a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. “I sure wasn’t expecting
to see you.”

“
I just had a powerful
feeling come over me.” Lanessa put her purse down on one of a set
of slender oak tables in the foyer.

Alex shut the door and locked it. He
turned to face her with a look of concern. “What’s
wrong?”

“
I need a dose of
you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck
and kissed him. His warm body melded to hers. Lanessa poured every
ounce of passion she had for him into this kiss. She wanted to
claim him, to prove Karin wrong. This was her way of trying to make
him immune to any influence the other woman might have.

When they finally parted, Alex cupped
her face with both hands. “I need you, too.” He led her into his
bedroom and proceeded to prove it.

***

Yasmin sat in her office rubbing her
eyes. She glanced at the wall clock and sighed. There was a rustle
down the hall and a tall blonde man stuck his head in the door.
Shane McConnell was working part-time while earning his second
graduate degree in political science. He was only two years younger
than Yasmin.

“
What’s next, Shane?” Yasmin
wore a weary smile.

“
Why don’t you go home?
We’re just about finished anyway. The senator left over an hour
ago.” Shane jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Take off. No need
for everyone to suffer.”

“
No, I can stay. Besides my
plans for tonight were cancelled.” Yasmin’s expression darkened
briefly before she smiled again. “Anyway, pretty soon you and Pete
will be growling at each other if I’m not here to
referee.”

Shane groaned. “He has this nervous
habit of tapping his heels on the floor. Pat-a-tat-tat, all night
long. I tell you it’s sending me up the wall.”

“
I knew it. Here is the rest
of the information for the committee meeting tomorrow. We might as
well get to it.” Yasmin shoved a thick report across her desk.
“He’ll need our summaries.”

“
If you’re sure,” Shane
said. “You should be out being wined and dined.”

“
I agree, but this is what
I’ve got. So let’s get to it.”

She led the way to the conference
room. Pete Wilson, Senator Trent’s aide, glanced up when they
walked in.

“
I was wondering where you
two had gone.” Pete apparently did not see their late night as
unusual.

“
Just out dancing by the
light of moon,” Shane teased.

The joke was lost on the serious man.
“Senator Trent will be in the office at seven. And he expects to
have those notes to review.”

“
Gotcha.” Shane did a mock
salute and sat down at the other end of the long table. “Okay,
Yasmin. Snap to.” He shook a finger at her.

Yasmin tried to give him a look of
censure but ended up grinning at his antics. “You’re like a bad
little boy,” she mumbled when she got close to him.

“
Gotta do something to make
the load seem easier. Now come on. I’ve got my notes from the
meeting with the boss. I’ll highlight the sections he wants to
review again.”

“
Okay. Luckily in between
filing my fingernails and brushing my hair, I managed to summarize
certain sections.” Yasmin made a face at Pete.

“
Don’t waste your time.”
Shane looked at him. Pete was absorbed in a singled-spaced tiny
print document. “He’s in his element, reading some of the red tape
he helped write.”

“
He goes through that stuff
the way some people read comic strips.” Yasmin shook her
head.

She turned on Her Gateway notebook
computer and began to format the notes they would print out for the
senator. They worked in silence for twenty minutes. Shane cleared
his throat.

“
Well I see someone you know
may be coming into a load of cash.” Shane pressed his lips
together.

“
I hope it’s a close
friend,” Yasmin quipped. She looked up at him. “If not, they’re
going to be soon. Who are we talking about?”

“
Charles Metoyer. If the
committee votes favorably on the agenda item seven, he’s sitting
pretty.” Shane looked at her steadily.

“
Charles has no interest in
that dry stuff.” Yasmin shrugged off his comment.

“
He’ll pocket a tidy roll.
He’s a consultant for Paxton-Waite.” Shane’s brows drew
together.

Yasmin looked up at him sharply. “What
did you say?”

“
He’s working with them on a
project. Seems they were right to hire him.” Shane glanced
down.

“
Let me see what you’re
reading. There must be some mistake.” Yasmin blinked at the papers
he handed her. “I mean, Charles has his own business.”

“
Metoyer has a reputation
for sticking his finger in a lot of pies,” Shane said.

Yasmin read for several moments. She
dropped the sheets on the table. “He’s an influential man, what’s
wrong with that?” Yasmin said in curt tone.

“
Nothing.” Shane said no
more.

Pete looked up at them.” Did I hear
you mention Metoyer? Yeah, keep an eye on him. He’s been sniffing
around the committee members. He’s up to something.” He went back
to neatly arranging his files as he went through them.

“
Yasmin, I--”

“
Pete sees conspiracies
everywhere,” Yasmin cut him off. “The gossips are wrong. Charles
isn’t ‘up to something’.” Her voice was intense.

“
Okay,” Shane said in a soft
voice.

“
And don’t give me that
look. I’m not some deluded female. Now let’s get this finished.”
Yasmin glared at him as though daring him to disagree. When he
looked away, she went back to tapping the keys on the
notebook.

Chapter 11

Alex sat at the Café Bon coffee shop
staring at the sparse Sunday morning traffic. Sunlight slanted
through the long windows with white lattice. A courtyard and soft
jazz gave the place a real feel of New Orleans. He was waiting for
Evan. This was their ritual missed only because of work or family
obligations. He usually read the Sunday paper and swapped comments
about the news with other patrons. This morning he was reflective.
Other regulars recognized his inward pose and left him in peace.
Evan walked in and went to the counter to get his usual large mug
of café au lait.

“
Bonjour, bonjour,” Evan
called out in a general greeting. He flirted with the ladies
working behind the counter. After giving each a reason to smile, he
joined Alex.

“
Hi,” Alex said.

Evan took a gulp from his mug and
sighed. “Bon. Comment ça va?”

“
Sa va bien.” Alex did not
smile.

“
Humph, you said that mighty
weak. You don’t sound okay to me.” Evan spoke with a Creole accent.
“C’mon, T-Alex, what you got on your mind?”

“
I can always tell when
you’ve been back home to Cortableau,” Alex said referring to his
small hometown. “How is Papa Martin?”

“
Still driving my aunts
crazy. Eighty-five, still cuts his own grass, and got two lady
friends. That’s my granddaddy.” Evan chuckled. “Dad has given up
trying to talk him into living with him and mama.”

“
Your grandfather is a good
guy.”

“
Yeah, he is. Now let’s get
back to you.” Evan pointed a thick forefinger at his nose. “When I
see you with that deep look, something is wrong.”

“
Just thinking.”

Evan did not press him. They both
gazed out the window content with silence for a time. The downtown
streets were almost empty. A few people strolled toward the old
State Capitol that housed a museum. Finally Evan spoke.

“
Must have been a bad fight
you and Lanessa had.”

“
We didn’t have a fight. In
fact, it was the opposite,” Alex said. Just thinking about their
lovemaking made his skin feel the heat.

“
Oh.” Evan did not need
further explanation to understand. “I’m confused. You oughta be
wearing a big grin.”

“
Right. I should.” Alex sat
forward. “But. . . I don’t know.” He shook his head. It was as
though he was trying to solve a puzzle with missing
pieces.

“
You said things were going
fine.”

“
They were, I mean they are.
I think.” Alex rubbed his head in exasperation. “I’m losing my
mind.”

“
No, you’re just trying to
work it out.” Evan slapped his shoulder in a gesture of fraternal
reassurance.

Alex gathered his thoughts for several
seconds. “Lanessa is a great lady. And I thought we finally had it
all in sync. You know the emotional thing, the mental thing.
Definitely the physical thing,” he said with fervor.

“
I hear another ‘but’
coming.” Evan waved at a waitress with his empty mug.

“
She’s still into a kind of
addiction, but now it’s work.” Alex made a fist with his right
hand. “Seems like all I do is sit around waiting for her to call or
show up.”

“
And you said she’s into the
party thing again.” Evan lifted a shoulder. “This problem seems to
keep coming up with you two.”

“
I know, I know.” Alex sat
back.

“
Look, I’m no relationship
expert. But looks to me like you’re facing a dilemma.” Evan spoke
with authority despite his disclaimer.

“
What do you
mean?”

He leaned closer and lowered his
voice. “Like you said, on one level you got a solid groove thing
goin’ on. But you need something deeper.”

“
That’s what I thought we
had. We had long talks,” Alex said.

“
Yeah, but did you hear what
she was really saying?” Evan broke off long enough to accept a full
mug from the waitress. After the woman cleared the empty cups and
left, he continued. “Maybe you heard what you wanted to
hear.”