Sparring Partners (31 page)

William ignored Jordon's question, choosing
to continue with his own agenda, one which Jordon was beginning to
fear this marriage plan had been all about to begin with. He didn't
understand the twisted logic behind William's machinations, and
then it hit him.

Tradition.

Appearances.

Old money social status taking precedence
over individual happiness.

Takahara, being the head of a traditional
Japanese ruling class family, was the embodiment of tradition, duty
and obligation above all else. And William wanted his business.
Since Takahara Limited was worth billions, potentially hundreds of
billions, everyone wanted Peichin Takahara's business. If Jordon
was able to get Takahara to sign on with B.H., his place as
William's successor would be set in stone, a done deal.

"Giles has been speaking with Mr. Takahara's
people on behalf of B.H. while you've been gone." William paused,
taking a slow sip of his drink, eyeing Jordon above the rim of his
glass from a good ten feet away, knowing Jordon couldn't get his
hands around his uncle's throat without crossing the room. Damn
good thing. But then, William was a master at manipulating people,
situations, even his place in a room. Jay Giles's name, more than
the man himself, had Jordon gritting his teeth. He was better at
running B.H. than Giles and William knew it, and yet he continued
to taunt Jordon with B.H.'s third in command, as if the knife he'd
already inserted in Jordon's back wasn't painful enough.

"So am I to assume that Jay will also be
joining us for our 'family' dinner?"

William glanced at the oversized Patek
Philippe on his wrist. "Jay, Mrs. Giles, and their three daughters
should be arriving within the hour."

Heat flooded through Jordon's veins like
liquid fire, his gut, already twisted from the moment Jordon caught
that time-to-pay-the-piper look in Williams eye as he exited the
van, clenched, adding to his pain. He'd been the one to woo
Takahara before William forbade any contact with clients or
potential clients while he took a mandatory leave of absence for a
month. And why did Jordon need to take a month off? To find a wife,
preferably one with a family of her own, and make her love him, so
he could look like a real family man with traditional values in the
eyes of past, present and most importantly future B.H. clientele,
namely Mr. Peichin Takahara.

So much for introducing Reed and company to
his family and his real life slowly.

Now Reed was going to have to experience the
cold hard reality of his world before he had the chance to ease her
into it. Before he had a chance to tell her he loved her. Before
she was able to process the enormity of the world she'd unknowingly
married into. How the hell was he going to convince her of his true
feelings now? Who would want him, knowing that the only reason he
set out to get married was to solidify his position at the top of
the food chain at Bennett Holdings when William finally decided to
retire?

An image of tall, willow thin, elegant,
heartstoppingly-beautiful Giselle flashed through his mind. She'd
take him in a heartbeat, no questions asked. She wouldn't mind if
he traveled for B.H. twenty-eight days out of thirty, as long as he
fucked her once a month and gave her unlimited access to his credit
cards. Giselle fit perfectly into his world. She'd even sacrifice
her model's body to give him an heir, if that's what it took to
solidify her position as his wife. Giselle would love the life, the
status, the prestige and especially the attention. She'd love
everything about being Mrs. Jordon Bennett, but would never truly
love him.

"You've invited Giselle, haven't you?"
Jordon asked, not quite able to keep the anger and resentment he
was feeling completely out of his tone, which sounded sharper and
more clipped than he would have liked.

William noticed too, damn his soul. He had
the fortitude, or the stupidity, to smile slightly at Jordon before
turning his back to him. With one hand in the pocket of his
perfectly pressed khaki's and the other grasping his crystal glass,
William stared out the window at the lake beyond, pausing before he
answered.

"It couldn't be helped. She ran into your
mother and me in New York, and then again at the Kennedy Center a
few days ago in front of reporters. She had to be invited to keep
up appearances. We need to show the world that your marriage is
real and there is no animosity between you and your old flame, who
happens to get an inordinate amount of press for carrying on
Princess Diana's crusade against land mines." William took a deep
breath, and Jordon wondered briefly why William and his mother were
seeing so much of each other lately. "That can be accomplished this
weekend, provided everything goes smoothly."

"Giselle craves publicity, she couldn't give
a shit about land mines. Nothing goes smoothly when Giselle is
around. The woman thrives on the chaos she leaves in her wake."

William stiffened, but didn't turn. "Be that
as it may, we need to present to our guests and to the outside
world a picture perfect image of you as a family man. Giselle's
presence, no matter how personally distasteful you now find her,
will help project that image."

Jordon swallowed his rage. "Is she arriving
tonight?"

"No. Tonight is for family and as you so
adroitly pointed out, business. Giselle will arrive tomorrow.
She'll be spending the weekend along with thirty or so other
friends and family in honor of your wedding. The reception will be
an intimate affair of about a hundred, Saturday evening. Followed
by brunch on Sunday with just the family, of course."

"Of course." Jordon felt his throat closing
around the words.

"There is proper attire in the closets for
each member of your family. I'll have Thorson park your minivan in
the secondary garage in back. If you need to leave the estate, have
Thorson drive you. Undoubtedly, there will be press in town. While
I want to promote your image as a family man... take the Cadillac,
or the Lincoln. I don't want you to appear too, well– pedestrian."
William paused again but Jordon didn't think he was through issuing
orders. He was right.

"Dinner is at seven sharp. Don't be late."
William said, finishing his drink, not bothering to turn
around.

He'd been dismissed. That was fine with
Jordon. With his world spiraling out of control he needed to hit
something or go hold his wife before he cracked and told William to
shove the shit he was delivering back up his tight ass.

Jordon turned to leave. He didn't see the
slight shake in William's hand as he set his now empty tumbler on
the window sill, but he thought he heard William's voice saying,
forgive me, James
.

His dead father's name stopped Jordon at the
door. He looked over his shoulder at his uncle, his father's older
brother, whom James loved and respected, who now had both hands in
his pockets. Other than that motion, William hadn't moved except to
straighten his already ramrod spine.

Nothing in William's demeanor or stance
indicated to Jordon that William thought he needed to be forgiven.
Hell, the man probably hadn't made a mistake that he could remember
since Jordon was born.

Jordon left, closing the door softly behind
him, believing he imaged words his uncle never said, hearing them
echo through his heart anyway. Anger, need, rejection and
helplessness coursed through Jordon, leaving his world dark even as
the bright afternoon sun lit the checkered black and white marble
flooring of the open foyer outside William's office.

Rainbow streaks of light from the stained
glass lite danced on the marble floor in front of him. Jordon
raised his palm seeing the rainbow colors dance there too. He
closed his fist, trying futilely to hold onto the hope that that
rainbow promised, but it vanished, blocked by a cloud. If he were a
more superstitious man, he'd believe it was blocked not by a cloud,
but by the farce he'd allowed his life to become.

He turned and headed down the long black and
white checkered marble corridor that led to the family suites.

He needed to find his wife.

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

The sense of foreboding Reed felt while
arriving at Cottage Bennett slipped away when Lily showed her to
the room she'd be calling her own for the weekend. It was bright
and beautiful, and done in so many shades of yellow her eye
couldn't distinguish them all.

Reed loved it.

Yellow eased her mood considerably. She
associated yellow with sunshine, a happy color, one she loved
almost as much as bright orange. Satin and lace and what looked to
be raw silk adorned the pile of pillows on the king-sized four
poster bed, streaming with sheer netting pulled back at each post.
Oriental carpets, well worn but perfectly clean, in flower and vine
motifs of various shades of gold, green, blue, mauve and burgundy
graced the floor in a way that at first appeared haphazard, and on
closer examination allowed the occupant to stay on the soft wool
instead of cool marble no matter where in the room they
traveled.

The windows let in spectacular amounts of
light and allowed an unobstructed view of the estate's whitewashed
gazebo and the lake beyond. Fresh cut flowers, some of which Reed
couldn't name, occupied every table and ledge in the room, imbuing
it with a soft, green scent that was comforting without being
overpowering. The ceiling was so high Reed hadn't seen anything
like it outside of England's castles and palatial residences.

The effect was calming and overwhelming at
the same time. Reed felt like a princess one second and a kept
concubine the next. She gazed out the windows expecting to see
peacocks guarding against her escape with their shrill cries like
in the stories of harems she'd read about as a teenager, but the
beautiful, beastly birds were nowhere in sight.

Reed suddenly wished she'd had the foresight
to pack her weapons bag. She had a feeling that despite being
surrounded by all this beauty, she just might need it. That feeling
stayed at her periphery, almost, but not quite out of sight, as she
allowed her self to surrender to the urge to revel in the beauty
around her for awhile. It was seductive to believe, even for a
little while, that the hardships of life couldn't touch her
here.

Reed ran a hand over the duvet cover,
marveling at the thickness of the down under all that smooth silk.
The urge to take off her clothes and jump on the bed hit her with a
force she hadn't felt since she was a child in a hotel room on
vacation.

She looked over at Lily, who had silently
watched her take it all in. "Thank you." Was all she could think of
to say. She'd never slept anywhere as lovely, nor in her wildest
dreams did she ever think she would.

"You're welcome." Lily said, her lips slowly
curving into a full smile that made her glow like a fine pearl.
"Feel free to jump on the bed if you want."

Reed's cheeks flamed. "That obvious,
huh?"

Lily's eyes twinkled and her smile deepened.
"I've felt the urge a time or two myself."

The thought of Jordon's elegant mother doing
anything so rash made Reed laugh, but somehow the image seemed to
fit. There was more to Lily Bennett than met the eye, that was for
sure.

Lily backed out of the room, closing the
double doors as she went. "I'll leave you to it then." She nodded
towards a small button above the table by the side of the bed. "If
you need anything, press the button." She said, shutting the doors
all the way with a soft click.

Reed took off her sandals, rubbed her feet
in the soft wool of the carpet nearest the bed and threw herself as
far into the middle of the bed as she could. She felt mildly
sacrilegious messing up the perfectly made bed, but the feeling
quickly faded as she gained her feet and began to jump. She got
pretty high too, the mattress had great springs. She jumped in
circles as high as she could until she got dizzy and fell laughing
in a tired, yet oddly fulfilled heap, in the middle.

She hadn't heard the doors open as she
jumped.

She hadn't seen or sensed her husband in the
room.

She simply closed her eyes relishing these
quiet moments of joy, thinking she was alone with no one but God
and Goddess watching over her.

Jordon was determined to tell Reed the truth
and ask for her assistance getting through the weekend. Then he
planned to ask for her forgiveness, and make a plan for how they
could move on until his position at B.H. was assured and they could
part ways, her being much better off financially for her time. It
wasn't like she hadn't married before because it was the most
expedient way to get what she wanted. With the money he'd provide,
she'd never have to worry about Potters Woods and the people who
lived there for the rest of her life. And, if she used it wisely,
all of Jesse's life.

Then he saw her jumping, and every rational
thought fled.

He needed her joy.

He needed her love of life.

He needed her.

Jordon moved from the door, closing it
gently behind him, trying not to disturb Reed. He moved toward the
bed silently and spent a second just looking at her. He didn't
fight the tightness in his chest, he recognized it for what it was
and he was done fighting. He reached out with one hand and brushed
the hair away from her face. She smiled at him, slowly, fully, blue
eyes sparkling with warmth and acceptance.

"I love you."

She leaned into his hand. "I love you
too."

Three words, surprisingly easy to say,
anti-climactic in their simplicity, changed his life forever. There
was no going back now. No return to what he had been, he was a new
person now and unsure of his status, while at the same time
completely sure he wanted to keep it as long as she was part of the
deal.