Heart Matters (5 page)

“Hmm,” Jeff muttered, frowning thickly, “Any
ideas who it could be?”

“Lord only knows. But I’m the likely
suspect, if you must know.”

Jeff sat up, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“What?!”

She gave him a dry smile. “That’s what the
insurance company seems to think. It’s what they call ‘foul play’.
They think I torched my company to claim insurance.”

“That is the most nonsensical accusation
I’ve ever heard! Do they have an explanation as to why they think
you would do such a thing?”

Jessica hesitated biting her lower lip
nervously. “To repay my debts.”

Her brother’s eyes narrowed dangerously over
her. “What debts?” Jeff saw faint color touch her cheeks and he
rose to his feet ominously. “Jessica. What debts?”

She sought to avoid answering him but he was
already before her, drawing her out of her chair to stand her for
interrogation. With Jeff’s kind of determination, she knew it was
better to tell him the truth than have him find out on his own. She
tilted her chin defiantly. “I had to expand sooner or later and I
took a couple of loans from certain finance agencies over the past
two years. I had several orders on hand but I didn’t manage to
repay the loans. I was supposed to pay them back by the end of this
year but I was nowhere close to doing it.” Her dusky gray eyes were
wide and honest. “In fact, I had already calculated I couldn’t do
it at the pace I was going.”

“Heaven help you, Jessi,” her brother
breathed slowly, “And just how did you plan to get out of this
mess?”

She lifted her chin boldly; her beautiful
face a picture of confidence. “I still have two months to go,
Jeff.” She paused, faltering briefly. “I’m getting married.”

He stared at her with unconcealed shock. “To
Warring?”

“Adam asked me to marry him last week.”

“You’re not wearing an engagement ring,” he
observed shrewdly.

“It’s still unofficial.”

Jeff caught her by her shoulders in a firm
grip. “He’s not right for you, Jessi. You know that, don’t
you?”

“Don’t be silly! Why would I agree to marry
him if I thought he wasn’t right for me?”

His grip suddenly tightened in anger.
“Because you want to get your hands on your inheritance, little
Miss Cantrell. You don’t really love him! You just want to gain
access to the inheritance and use it to repay your debts!”

A guilty flush dotted her cheeks but she
lied baldly. “I happen to love Adam and that’s the only reason I’m
marrying him.” She saw his disdainful look and tried to reason with
him. “Look, aren’t you always saying I should get married and start
a family? Well, that’s what I’m doing. So all right, my decision
happens to coincide with my immediate monetary need but that can’t
possibly hurt anyone.”

His hands suddenly released her as though he
was disgusted with her. “Jessi, I would like to believe I know you
better than most people. I’ve practically brought you up and trust
me when I tell you that I’d know if you were in love.” His
perceptive eyes sought to burn into her soul. “Right now my girl,
you are in need, not in love. Dad would’ve been disappointed in
you, angel. You know that.”

His near accurate accusation hurt but she
chose not to show it. It was true that she was not completely sure
of her decision to marry Adam but it was also true that she loved
him and wanted to marry him eventually. She squared her shoulders
resolutely. She wasn’t about to let him make her feel unnecessarily
guilty. “Dad made a very impractical stipulation in his will, Jeff.
He gave me half the shares of ‘The Residency’ but I can access them
only when I get married. Does that sound fair? It only tells me he
didn’t trust me to take my own decisions!”

“He made his will when you were ten and
unfortunately he died when you had just turned twelve. He didn’t
get the chance to change it. Besides, he was justified in his
decision. He didn’t know what you would turn out to be.”

She glared at him angrily, her rising temper
reflecting in her flushed cheeks. “Well, I turned out all right,
didn’t I? I could easily have got married when I was still in my
teens and blown off all my precious inheritance!”

“You didn’t need to, Jessi. You get enough
from ‘The Residency’ as your annual allowance.”

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have done it
if I had wanted to,” she threw back, running agitated hands through
her thick hair. “Jeff, the whole point is that I’m not a child
anymore! I am more than capable of taking my own decisions.”

Her brother watched her dubiously. Although
there were ten years between them, they shared a strong bond that
had not snapped over the years; strained perhaps but certainly not
snapped.

He had been only twenty-two when their
parents were killed in an air crash but he had not let his sister
feel orphaned. He had brought her up the best he could, fussing and
fretting over her like a parent as she grew up into a beautiful
woman. His only regret was that as President of ‘The Cantrell
Residency’, he had to be away quite often and couldn’t always be
there for her.

It was no casual matter running ‘The
Residency’. He had been lucky that his father had the right people
working for him and their support allowed him to get his degree in
Business Management. ‘The Residency’ and then college took up a lot
of his time but he somehow managed to be home for most holidays. It
bothered him to think of Jessica all alone at home and although she
sometimes accompanied him on his trips abroad, it was not always
possible.

Then he met Cheryl at a convention in Geneva
when Jessica was still in high school and married her after a
yearlong courtship. He was aware Jessica felt alienated from him
after his marriage and try as he did; he failed to convince her
otherwise.

While still in her first year of college,
she suddenly announced her decision to leave for Paris to get a
degree in Fashion Designing. When he tried to reason with her, she
brushed him off brusquely pointing out that it was her life and she
could do whatever she chose with it. He noted she had almost
completely withdrawn from him and wondered if it had anything to do
with Mark’s sudden departure. He knew she was smitten with Mark and
had wanted to delicately stir her away from him but before that
Mark had called to announce he was leaving. A month later, Jessica
was gone.

Those four years were the longest in his
life and he missed her terribly. But Cheryl gave him a beautiful
daughter and a son a few years later that kept him reasonably
occupied. Yet he did not ignore Jessica. He visited her frequently
and watched with pride as she blossomed into a beautiful, stylish
woman. She returned home after her graduation but dropped the bomb
on him with her decision to open up her garment boutique in L.A.
instead of their home city of Miami. He once again bowed down to
her decision and she soon lost herself into her busy new life.

Jessica made ‘Jess-C Creations’ her sole
purpose in life, striving hard to make it a success. She started
off on a small investment that was almost entirely funded from her
ample savings. She rented a small apartment in Santa Monica close
to her boutique and visited Cheryl and the kids occasionally. Jeff
sometimes felt as if she deliberately downplayed her heiress tag
and was determined to claim her independence.

As a result, he never interfered with her
work. It was only when she had called him a couple of days ago that
he had cancelled all his appointments and come running to help her
businesswise. She had wanted a loan from him that would enable her
to complete her pending orders but he had refused on impulse
wanting to understand her situation firsthand. It was not that he
didn’t want to help her but he had plans to divert her under the
care of someone he trusted. His natural over-protectiveness led him
to believe that she needed looking after. But of course, he wasn’t
about to let her know that.

Now as he watched the stubborn tilt of her
chin, he suddenly saw her as the lonely woman that she really was.
His heart reached out to her with all its affection and he drew her
in a warm embrace. “Jessi, my angel, I’m here for you. Don’t worry
about your debts; I’ll clear them for you. You can pay me back
later.”

She drew away a little to look at his
earnest face. She knew he could easily clear off her worries with
one signature on a crisp check but she didn’t want him to do that.
She had started and maintained ‘Jess-C Creations’ on her own so far
and she wanted it to remain that way. Although her plans to fall
back on her inheritance wasn’t exactly a display of her
independence but at least it was something that belonged to her.
Even the small loan she had asked of Jeff was a half-hearted
decision. She didn’t have a choice in that matter. Her bank balance
was dipping towards inexistence and she had some pending orders
that were urgent.

Her head shook wistfully. “No, I can’t
accept your help. I wanted a small loan from you to get me going
until I got married. I don’t want you to worry about my debts. I
can repay them through my shares with ‘The Residency’.”

He frowned slightly, a contemplative look on
his face. He knew she meant every word she said and he could do
nothing to change her mind. But he still had an ace up his
sleeve.

“Look, it might sound very simple to do so
but it isn’t really. You’re going to have to convince the board of
directors and then go about a whole set of regulations before you
can actually take such an important decision. You can’t expect to
do it overnight, Jessi and certainly not without tough opposition.”
He watched the dejected, uncertain look on her face and knew his
words had found their mark. “I respect your decision, angel, but
will you listen to one last advice?” She nodded absently and he
continued. “Have you thought of going into partnership with
someone?”

Her delicate brows rose slightly.
“Partnership?”

“Partnership. Why don’t you join hands with
someone who could bail you out of this mess? Someone who could even
keep your ‘ghost who walks’ at bay.”

Her large eyes stared at him in
bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”

“Think, Jessi, think. You said that the fire
in your company could be deliberate. What if this unseen enemy of
yours strikes again even after you repay your debts and get going
again? What will you do then?”

Several thoughts began crossing her mind,
slowly making some sense. “Can you explain some more?”

She missed the triumphant look on her
brother’s face. “Jessi, it’s quite simple really. What you need is
a partner who is stable and big enough to keep your competitors at
bay.”

She bit her lower lip, thinking deeply. Her
eyes suddenly flew to his face, comprehension dawning in them. “You
know just such a partner for me, don’t you?” She watched his slow
smile and felt a rush of eagerness wash over her. “Who is it?”

“You’ve heard about them I’m sure; ‘Hart
Inc.’ Remember, you told me they had approached you when you had
just started off?”

Jessica felt some of her excitement leave
her. “Yes and I turned them down. They just wanted my designs not
my identity.”

“Maybe they need it now. I’ve heard rumors
that they want to expand into the world of fashion merchandise. In
fact, they’re negotiating with a couple of designer wear companies
even as we speak now.”

She frowned, uncertain of his suggestion.
“But why does ‘Hart Inc.’ need to venture into a partnership?
They’re big enough to start their own fashion company if they want
to.”

“Yes but what they can’t afford is a
probable failure. Establishing a name for yourself isn’t easy, as
you know for sure. They now realize that they need a popular name
so that they are ensured a fair and quick return on their
investment. I know Steve; he doesn’t like to take unnecessary
risks. Challenges sure, but not meaningless ventures.”

“Steven Hart,” Jessica breathed the name
softly, “You were at college together weren’t you?”

“Yes and he’s still a good friend.”

Jessica raised a surprised brow. “I didn’t
know you two were close.”

Jeff shrugged nonchalantly. “We talk once in
a while.” His deep eyes held hers softly. “I guess you and I are
further apart than we thought.”

She felt a little hurt by his observation
but knew they had stopped telling each other about the happenings
in their lives in general. After all, Jeff had Cheryl and she
had…no one. She shrugged the gloomy feeling from her heart and
faced him with a bright smile. “No harm looking into it, I guess.
But tell me, how are Cheryl and the kids?”

An affectionate smile immediately broke on
his handsome face. “They’re fine and send you their love. This
reminds me, I have a surprise for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Cheryl decided to finally shift out West.
That way she can be closer to her mom. She’s moving to Beverly
Hills with the kids.”

Jessica’s smile turned to a surprised grin.
“That
is
a surprise! When are they coming? And what about
you?”

“They’ll be here in a couple of weeks.
They’ll be moving into the house I bought last autumn. As for me,
it’ll be a while before I can wind up at Miami. Six months tops.”
He stooped and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I hope I can
finally see more of you, angel.”

She nodded, a sudden happy feeling
surrounding her. Over the years despite having her friends around,
she had really missed her brother’s presence. She was very fond of
her niece and nephew and got along passably well with Cheryl. It
would definitely be good to have them around. “It’s almost lunch
time, care for a bite?”

“Nah, I have a flight to catch. I made this
unscheduled stop because you bawled over the phone and scared the
daylights out of me.” Jeff gave her one last hug before moving
towards the door. “You take care okay? And will you give ‘Hart
Inc.’ a shot?”