Steele Trap (Heart of Steele) (3 page)

Chapter Four

Dirk didn’t call for
several days. Ashley was still mad at him, but she was used to his constant
attention, so it miffed her when he didn't call. He was probably still pouting
because she wouldn't let him stay at the hotel with her the other night. But,
what would she have done with Becky? Sooner or later, her dad would see the
credit card bill, and he might be paying enough attention to wonder why the
girls needed two double rooms. It was a good excuse, anyway. The real reason
was that she didn't want to sleep with Dirk that night, punishing him for the
lips around his cock remark. That would happen on
her
terms, not his, if
at all.

By Thursday, Ashley grew
concerned enough to make the first move. She took out her cell phone and gave
him a call, but instead of Dirk's answer, she got his voice mail.

"I'm sorry I'm not
available to take your call right now. I'll be away until Monday, but leave a
message and I'll get back to you when I can."

Weird
.
In the first place, why didn't he tell her he was going somewhere? In the
second place, where would he be going that she couldn't reach him on his cell phone?
At dinner, she asked her dad if he would give her Dane's phone number.

"Why? Didn't you
ask Dirk?"

"No, Dirk's not
answering his phone. There's this weird message that he's going to be away all
weekend. I want to call his dad and see where he is."

"Baby, don't call
Dane. We're having some issues. I don't want you involved."

"Why is everyone
being so weird?" Ashley, as usual, focused on what she wanted and not on
what was going on around her. Jessica stepped in to change the subject. Wally
wouldn't want to worry his daughter about the trouble he might be in. Soon,
they were talking about the upcoming Independence Day celebration for the town
of Parker. Jessica headed the planning committee, and wanted to get Ashley's
opinion on a few local bands to book for the dance.

While his wife and
daughter chatted, Wally slipped out to call Dane.

"Johansson, what
are you up to?"

"What are you
talking about?"

"Ashley tells me
that Dirk isn't answering his phone, has some sort of mysterious message on it.
Is that anything to do with our problem?"

"Wally, I'm doing
the best that I can. I've got union problems. Dirk thinks he knows someone who
can straighten them out. I sent him to talk to them, get an idea how we can get
my construction crew back to work."

"Dane, we're in
enough trouble. That boy of yours is a hot-head. Are you sure he won't make
matters worse?"

"Relax, Wally.
He'll handle it."

"He'd
better."

Walter Steele had not
become a billionaire by being a sissy about doing what had to be done. But the
days of hard physical tactics were behind him. He was a respected man in the
community, an executive, not a ruffian. He didn’t wish to return to those days.
A few days ago, he asked Jake Daniels to nose around Johansson's site and find
out what the issues. He hoped Daniels would come through with the information
soon.

Jake Daniels was
thinking at the moment, trying to put together the information he had collected
to understand what kind of trouble Steele faced. It wasn't only because Steele
asked him to. Once he understood the stakes, he saw that he and his crews might
be in trouble if the threatened audit came down. The Feds might seize Steele's
assets, which meant he wouldn't be able to pay his crew for very long. Loyalty
went a long way, but it didn't last beyond a couple of missed paychecks. His
crew had bills to pay, and it was easy enough to find another job.

He had paid a visit to
Dane Johansson's building site that afternoon. He wasn't entirely welcome,
because Johansson hired a contractor with an all-union crew. Jake noticed that
none of the men he saw were working. The errand he had made up to explain being
there was just plausible enough to pull it off, but he hoped to get the general
contractor talking before being forced to leave.

"Big Jim,
howdy."

"Jake."

"I'm wondering if
you would help me out."

"Depends. If
you're here for more men, forget it. They won't work a non-union gig."

"No, that's not
it. But, now that you mention it, it doesn't look like they're working anyway.
What's up?"

"Safety issue. My
top ironhead started noticing that the material we were getting wasn't up to
specs. They won't go up until the client explains himself, at least. Maybe not
even then. We've heard rumors that he won't be able to make the next
payroll."

"Where'd the
substandard stuff come from?"

"That's the funny
thing. Johansson owns the company that manufactured the beams."

"You don't
say."

"Yep. As far as I
know, they didn't even put a bid request out. Just ordered from his
company."

"Sounds
fishy."

"Yep, could
be."

"Aren't you guys
worried he'll simply fire you all and bring in someone like me?"

"Would you take
the job?"

"No, of course
not."

"He can't do it
anyway. He'd be in breach of contract. We're in the right, here, Jake."

"Sounds like it to
me. Hey, thanks Big Jim." Jake left, wondering if Big Jim would realize he
never asked his favor. That was easier than he thought it would be, but how did
Wally get involved with this deal, anyway?

The next morning, he
reported to Wally's office after getting his crew sorted out and started for
the day. He pulled his own top ironhead aside first, though, and asked him to
keep an eye out for substandard steel. As far as he knew, their materials weren't
from Johansson's company, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful until he found out
for sure.

He waited about fifteen
minutes while Wally finished up a phone call that was in progress when he
arrived. The cute receptionist offered him coffee, which he gladly accepted.
Soon, Wally came out to greet him and usher him into the office.

"I can't tell you
how much I appreciate this favor, Jake. I won't forget it, next time I need to
hire a contractor."

"I'm hoping we'll
get to finish the job we're on." Jake spoke directly; he never spoke
otherwise.

"What did you find
out?"

"Steele, I need to
ask you where the material is coming from that we're using. Did you buy those
beams from Johansson?"

"No, why?"

"The supervisor on
his job told me yesterday that the work stoppage was due to a safety issue,
that the steel was substandard. His men refuse to work on it, and their
contract prevents Johansson from bringing anyone else in."

Wally was now more
worried than ever. It was obvious that Dirk had gone to get muscle to break the
strike, but who could it be? Not someone he would want to associate his name with,
certainly.

"Thanks, Jake. I
may need another favor before long. Can I count on you?"

"Whatever I can do
to help, Wally. You've been a straight shooter, and my ass is riding on it,
too."

"I'm sorry my poor
judgment has put you in this position, Jake. I'll do everything I can to see to
it you get paid for what you've done already, anyway."

"Glad to hear it. Holler
if I can help you with anything else."

Chapter Five

By Friday evening,
Ashley had grown tired of waiting for Dirk or Jake to call her. Since she still
couldn't reach Dirk, she decided to turn up the heat on Jake.

"Hello."

"Jake, hi, it's
Ashley."

"Oh, hi, Ashley.
What can I do for you?"

"It isn't what you
can do for me, lover, it's what I can do for you."

From the silence on the
other end of the phone, she must have shaken him up.

"And what would
that be?" His voice was pitched lower, she was sure of it.

"I could tell you
what I'm wearing right now."

"Ummm, yeah?"

"Yeah. I could
start with telling you that I don't have anything on but my bra and a
thong."

"Really."

"Yeah, really, and
now I'm taking my bra off. I wish you could see me. My nipples are all standing
up for you."

"God, Ashley, what
kind of game are you playing?"

"No game, Jake. I
want you. I have to take this thong off now, it's all wet."

More silence. Had he
hung up? Finally, so low she could hardly hear him, he answered.

"Wish there was
something I could do about that."

"Oh, there is,
Jake, there is. Where do you live? I'll be right over."

"I told you
Ashley, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Daddy will never hear
of it, I promise."

"That's the least
of my worries."

"It won't do any
good, not telling me. I may not be able to see you tonight, but I'll just get
your address from Payroll on Monday."

"They wouldn't
tell you; that's confidential."

"He'll tell me if
he wants to keep his job."

"You couldn't get
your dad to fire this 'him' you're talking about for nothing but not giving you
my address."

"No, but I
could
get Daddy to fire him for sleeping with me when I was sixteen."

"Jesus, Ashley do
you hear yourself? You think I'd put myself in danger of being blackmailed
someday?"

"I couldn't
blackmail you, silly. I'm of age now. Tell me where you live, or I'll show up
naked at the job site on Monday."

Jake wouldn't put it
past her. Against his better judgment, he gave her his address.

"You are going to
put something on before you come over, right?"

"You'll see."

Jake’s apartment wasn't
company-ready, he being a typical bachelor. In the twenty minutes it would take
Ashley to get there, he would need to pick up the clutter, swish out the toilet
and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. If Ashley had in mind what he
thought she had in mind, it might not be a bad idea to change the sheets, too.
He started in the bathroom, changed the sheets and picked up the clutter. He
was loading the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.

Jake looked adorable, his
mop of blonde curls in disarray, but his incredible eyes gave Ashley goose
bumps. At his invitation, she stepped inside, looking around curiously.

"Either you're not
a typical bachelor, or you've been running around picking up ever since I
called you."

Jake flushed, causing
Ashley mild amusement.

"Gotcha!"

"You did."

"Well, aren't you
going to take my jacket?"

"I'm afraid
there's nothing under it."

"Afraid?"

"Well, you did
tell me you didn’t have anything on but a bra and a thong. And you told me you
took them off. So, I'm afraid there's nothing under your jacket."

"No need to be
afraid, lover, they don't bite."

With that, Ashley took
off her jacket, revealing that Jake's fear wasn’t unfounded. Her bare breasts
were enough to make him forget his misgivings, though.

"Oh, my god."

Jake stood riveted to
the floor, as Ashley moved toward him, the objects in question swaying gently.
She took his hand and placed it over her breast.

"You can touch,
it's okay."

Jake lost his will. He
wasn't a womanizer, not really. But he did appreciate women, and this one was
worth his notice. Her golden skin, soft as a baby's, the pink-tipped breasts
even softer. His other hand came up to join the first, of its own volition.
Without realizing it, he groaned in frustration.

"Mmmmm, I can tell
you like what you see."

"What's not to
like? But Ashley, why are you doing this? We hardly know each other, and I work
for your dad. It's not right."

"I'm a grown
woman, Jake."

"I can see
that!"

"I liked what I
saw the first time I saw you. If Dirk hadn't come along when he did, I would
have seduced you at the club. I told you; I want you."

Jake was only human,
and Ashley did have a point; she was a grown woman. His two hands overflowed
with the proof. Now he slid his arms around her and drew her close.

His aqua ice eyes were
open as his face descended, looking intently into hers. When his mouth reached
her lips, she might have heard thunder in the distance. Oh, my, this man could
kiss! Jake proceeded to confirm her assessment, as he swept her effortlessly
off her feet and carried her into his bedroom.

Chapter Six

This wasn't, as they
say, Ashley's first rodeo. Her unique form of revenge on her father started
when she was fifteen. She had been sent to a private school for her freshman
year in high school, at fourteen, which would have required revenge all by
itself if she hadn’t already had an excuse. Ashley bitterly resented being pawned
off on strangers while her dad and step-mom took an extended world cruise to
celebrate their fifth anniversary. Old enough to understand why they didn't
want her underfoot, she nevertheless refused to forgive them for having a
loving relationship. Full of teen angst, she made the calculated decision to
hate them and get even, as soon as she figured out how.

Exposure to other girls
in a similar situation provided the ammunition. Most of the older girls were
already sexually active, sneaking out of the dorm at night to meet the boys
whose accommodations were on the other side of campus. On the nights they
stayed in, they regaled the younger girls with explicit and graphic
descriptions of the sex they were enjoying. To Ashley, it sounded like loads of
fun, and she began scheming a way to have the fun for herself, while getting
back at her dad. She never intended for him to find out, it was like a
delicious secret that took away from Daddy without his knowing it. The added
spice was that she would choose his employees to seduce, exactly like her
mother; the mother who walked away from her without a backward glance when
he
caught her with another man. The mother she hated and yearned for at the
same time.

Ashley put her plan
into motion soon after her dad and his wife returned from their trip and
brought her back home. The company parties were always held at their home, a
sprawling 15,000 square foot mansion on the hills overlooking Parker, or at the
Johansson's. The Johansson family were tight with her dad and step-mom. She
chose the first party to come up, at the Johansson's; it would be badass to do
it in the billiards room. It should be easy to pick one of the employees out of
the crowd after the drinks had been flowing for a while. And so it proved true.
Her first victim, one of her dad's human resources clerks, quite frankly didn't
know what had hit him. It was her intention to start with people who might be
as inexperienced as she, and she had chosen well. A virgin herself, it fell to
her to guide the poor boy, who was probably only in his late teens or early
twenties at the time, and possibly also a virgin. Somehow they got the deed
done, her first act of revenge accomplished. In spite of the awkwardness,
Ashley found she liked sex for its own sake.

Even when Dirk
Johansson, her neighbor's son and a cocky little bastard to boot, walked in on
them as they were still entwined, she experienced a little thrill of
excitement. Dirk made a scene, of course. While she and Dirk screamed at each
other, unheard elsewhere in the house because the band was so loud, the hapless
clerk fled the room, his shirt unbuttoned, tie awry and shoes in his hand. Dirk
ended the argument by seizing Ashley and kissing her hard, stifling her last
angry words. When he let go, he blackmailed her for the first time, but not for
the last.

"I want some of
what you gave that dweeb."

"And if I don't
want to give it?"

"I'll tell your
dad what I saw."

She had known Dirk
since she was nine years old and he eleven, and he had never spared much time
for her. For the first time, she noticed that he was good-looking. Tall, with
short brown curls, a slender build and golden eyes, he would do nicely for a
boyfriend. She didn't know if that's what he meant, but her daring move of the
evening had given her a hunger for forbidden fruit.

"Okay."

"Okay what? You
want me to tell your dad?"

"No, okay I'll
sleep with you, dork. But if I ever hear you've told any of your sleazy
friends, I'll ruin you."

"Yeah? Well, as
long as you make good, I won't need to. Come on."

Faced with the double
threat of blackmail now, Ashley followed Dirk to his room, where he acquitted
himself with more verve than the HR clerk. She actually liked it. And so their
uneasy 'couple' status began, with Dirk acting possessive of her ever since.
She took care not to let him find out she still actively pursued Daddy's
employees, but she chafed under the assumption their families made, that she
and Dirk would eventually marry.