Tender Touch (30 page)

“I thought you got along great with Jeanne,”
Jade said.

“She didn’t appreciate Lanessa. I always
said do,” Clarice broke in. “Probably scared Lanessa would get
promoted ahead of her,” she sniffed.

“Mama, Jeanne is not like that. Besides, she
encouraged Lanessa to apply for top positions. Right, Nessa?”

Lanessa gave a snort. “At first she was
okay. But she changed. For the last year, she seemed to have it in
for me.”

Jade wore a frown of surprise. “Really? That
sure doesn’t sound like the Jeanne I know.”

“I think she was envious of my clothes, my
car. Guess when her husband dumped her she got bitter.”

“I saw her a couple of months ago, and she
seemed fine. We had lunch and—”

“What did she talk about?” Lanessa cut her
off. She sat up straight.

“Oh, I don’t know, the usual casual
lunchtime chitchat. And she talked about her ex-husband as though
they were on good terms. We even shared dating horror stories.”
Jade laughed.

Lanessa squinted at her. “So you didn’t talk
about me?”

“No, Lanessa. Believe it or not, we actually
had other things to discuss.” Jade rolled her eyes. “Talk about
vain.”

“Yeah, she better not have been talking
about me. I would sue her for breach of employee confidentiality.”
Lanessa relaxed against the sofa cushions again.

“Jeanne is a professional.” Jade stared at
her older sister with an expression of puzzlement. “You’re awful
touchy today.”

“I’d think you would take your sister’s side
in this. It’s obvious the woman is jealous and tried to use her
position to punish Lanessa,” Clarice said before Lanessa could
respond.

“Mama, I’m not taking sides, for goodness’
sakes. I was only...” Jade let her voice trail off when she saw
Clarice was not listening. “Forget it,” she murmured.

“Anyway, Lanessa tells me she broke up with
Alex. She’s on the dating scene again.” Clarice sipped her hot tea.
“What you need, Lanessa, is a man who can give you security.”

“I’m going to really take my time this
go-around, believe me.” Lanessa took out her compact to examine the
state of her makeup.

“Too bad things didn’t work out with Alex.
Such a distinguished family,” Clarice said.

“Well, onward and upward is what I always
say.” Lanessa snapped the compact shut, satisfied with the
condition of her lipstick.

Clarice gave a wistful sigh. “Such a fine
old family.” She brightened. “Speaking of fine old families, how is
Damon?”

“Great.” Jade did not want to discuss her
love life with Clarice at all. “We’re having dinner Thursday as a
matter of fact.”

“Such a dashing young man. Why, he’s dated
all the most beautiful girls in town.” Clarice raised an eyebrow.
“Quite a reputation after his divorce.”

“So I’ve heard.” Jade clamped her mouth
shut. Trust Clarice to remind her that Damon had his pick of
glamorous women from old-money families. But he’s with me now. Jade
tried to ignore the insistent self-doubt trying to take hold as
usual when in her mother’s company.

“So tell me, does he have a sexy brother for
me?” Lanessa said.

“He has a younger brother. But—”

Lanessa raised and arched eyebrow. “Hmm, how
much younger?”

“Twenty-eight. And he—” Jade began.

“Six years isn’t too bad. I’d love to meet
him if he’s even half as fine as Damon.” Lanessa took on the look
of a cat stalking prey.

“Don’t get excited. He’s deeply in love,
won’t even glance at another woman.” Jade held up a palm.

“Sugar, some of my best boyfriends were
deeply in love with someone else when I met them.” Lanessa winked
at her.

“Damon hasn’t met Lanessa, has he?” Clarice
put in.

“No.” Jade looked at her mother.

“Then maybe we could have a get-together so
we can all meet.” Clarice tapped a finger against her cheek. “Yes,
that would be nice. Oh, of course his brother could come.”

Jade felt a tightness in her chest. “Mother,
what did you have in mind?”

“Something simple, intimate. Lanessa, you
could bring that wonderful crab dip you make.” Clarice grew
animated.

“Mother, I buy it from the deli department
of a grocery store near my house.” Lanessa brushed her hair.

“He doesn’t have to know that,” Clarice
replied. “What about a week from Saturday?” She looked at
Lanessa.

“I planned to see a concert in New
Orleans.”

“Are you sure?” Clarice looked disappointed.
“I don’t want to wait too long.”

Jade felt as though they had stepped into a
time machine. She was fifteen years old again and Lanessa was the
most popular girl in her high school class. That year, Jade had a
huge crush on Ronnie Johnson. Ronnie was a track star with a
dazzling smile that left girls weak. Jade almost fainted when he
asked her out. They met several times at the movie theater. Then
Ronnie insisted that he pick her up for their next date. The moment
Ronnie stepped through the door and saw Lanessa, Jade knew their
budding relationship was doomed. Clarice seemed to be an
accomplice. Two weeks later a tearful Jade went to her mother for
consolation. Clarice said maybe it was for the best. He was too
mature for Jade, according to her. Jade flashed back to the feeling
of betrayal and anger as though the incident had happened
yesterday.

“Just what the hell is going on here?” Jade
raised her voice over the back and forth planning of the two
women.

Clarice blinked at her in shock. “Jade! What
in the world...?”

Lanessa’s mouth formed a wide circle. “Whoa,
Jade-girl, chill. You are tripping.”

“Mama, why are you so hot to have Damon meet
Lanessa?” Jade brushed aside their reproaches to get to the
point.

“I wanted him to meet us all and—”

“He’s met you and Daddy already.” Jade’s
eyes were hard.

“But Lanessa wants to meet him...and his
brother,” Clarice stammered.

“But you really want her to meet Damon,”
Jade persisted.

“He’s a nice, mature young man. Why
shouldn’t we all get together?” Clarice lifted a shoulder.

“I see. He and Lanessa ought to hit it off,”
Jade retorted. “She can ladle on that thick charm you’re so proud
of. Is that why?”

“Uh, Jade, is there a problem here?” Lanessa
said.

Jade did not hear Lanessa, only Clarice
pushing her aside once again. “No, I’ll tell you why. You think
he’s a better match for Lanessa. He’s too good to be wasted on me.
Right?”

“Don’t be silly!” Clarice gaped at her in
astonishment. “I said no such thing!”

Jade jabbed a forefinger at her. “So you
want them in the same room so Lanessa can pull one of her old
tricks like before.”

“Now hold on, I never...” Lanessa’s voice
died at the withering look from Jade. “It only happened a couple of
times. We were kids back then!”

“You’re right, Lanessa. But we’re not kids
now. And Damon isn’t some horny teenage boy. Grow up! Both of you.”
Jade snatched her purse from the ottoman. “Damon won’t run sniffing
after you just because you wag your tail.”

“You’ve gone too far, young woman.” Clarice
stood up.

Jade stood to face her. “Mama, I could put
up with your favoritism toward Lanessa. I’ve always been proud of
her; I even wanted to be like her.”

“I do not play favorites,” Clarice
protested.

“Not being the center of attraction doesn’t
bother me. But for once couldn’t you think about my feelings?
Instead of being happy for me, you’re thinking up ways to get Damon
interested in Lanessa.” Jade’s voice quivered. She was fighting the
urge to cry but fast losing the battle.

Lanessa reached for Jade’s hand. “Listen,
honey, you know I’d never try to hurt you.”

Jade gazed at her. “You never mean to,
Nessa. But somehow you always think of yourself first.” Lanessa
pulled back from her with a stricken expression.

“Now this is too much. Jade Pellerin, don’t
you ever speak to me like that again!” Clarice glowered at her.

“Mama, I’m grown now.”

“Well, being an adult doesn’t give you the
right to insult your mother,” Clarice shot back. “You’ve got some
nerve behaving like this in my house.”

“Then I won’t visit your house until I get
the same respect and consideration you expect me to give.” Jade
turned to leave.

“What nerve!” Clarice followed her. She
grabbed Jade’s arm to stop her. “You apologize right now.”

“Goodbye, Mama,” Jade said in a quiet voice
as she pulled free and walked out.

For the rest of the evening Jade tried to
tell herself she’d done the right thing. Yet within a few minutes
of closing her mother’s front door behind her, all the familiar
self-doubts came rushing back. Jade felt like the plain little girl
again, except for the first time in her life, she had stood up to
her sister and mother. Hundreds of times she had wanted to say
those things to them but had never found the courage. Unlike those
girlhood fantasies of standing tall, she did not feel the least bit
of satisfaction. What she felt was alone and unsure of herself. Was
Clarice right? Maybe she was foolish to think Damon was serious
about her. Wherever they went, attractive women did a double take
as he passed by. Until now Jade had quieted her feelings of
inadequacy. Could she be deceiving herself? Was she hiding from the
truth like she’d done before? Stop it. It was you Damon made love
to all night. You he took to Barbados. Don’t let Mama get to you
the way she has all your life. Jade spent the rest of the evening
bolstering her battered self-esteem.

* * *

“Where the hell is he getting all this
garbage?” Bill shook the newspaper in his hand. He glared at Mike,
Tavis and Steve Franklin.

“Reporters are scum. They nose around like
pigs in the mud then piece together half-truths to make a flashy
headline. This’ll blow over.” Steve Franklin’s flushed face was
shiny with sweat. He glanced at the other two men in a plea for
confirmation. He was disappointed.

“Hate to say it, Steve, but you shot off
your mouth once too often.” Mike smiled at him without a trace of
real humor. “They mentioned your name at least twenty times.”

“Why me? My company operates in accordance
with all regulations.” Steve mopped his brow with a linen
handkerchief. “I’m going to sue that damn paper.”

“Don’t waste your money, Steve.” Tavis
looked at him in mild disdain. “We all know everything he’s printed
is from public record.” He dismissed Steve and addressed Bill. “His
article reads like a novel with an open ending.”

“And the question is what comes next?” Bill
stared at the newspaper as though trying to get the answer from
it.

Mike shrugged. “More expose on greedy health
care providers. Dry boring stuff the public will ignore and the
reporter will move on to another story.”

“But only after the private company
suffers.” Steve gulped in dismay. “They suggest we give back 2.3
million dollars at least. That would ruin us.”

“Will you be quiet?” Mike said with scorn.
“The department has always been willing to work with conscientious
providers to arrange a reasonable payment schedule. Right,
Bill—”

“Step carefully, Bill,” Tavis broke in. “I
hear Dumaine has serious questions about the last agreement we
negotiated. Community Care, Inc. has paid pennies compared to the
one million dollars owes. If that gets out...”

“He doesn’t refer to any other companies by
name.” Bill rubbed his jaw.

Steve pointed to the newspaper. “Yeah, just
me. I won’t stand idly by and be slandered. Like you said, other
companies have problems and—”

“Will you shut up?” Mike spoke through
clenched teeth. “Babbling on like an idiot is what got you in this
fix. Let’s keep Community Care out of this.”

“You’ll give this reporter more reason to
dig deeper. And you do not want him to get on that particular
trail.” Tavis eyed him steadily. “You’ll have a lot more to worry
about than unpleasant press.”

Bill dropped the newspaper onto his desk.
“Let’s not get carried away because of one article. No need to
imagine all kinds of disasters at this point. We’ve taken measures
to be within all regulations.”

“Smooth.” Mike wore a wily grin. “No need to
mention how the regulations have been...molded.” He gazed at Bill
with admiration. “You’ll do nicely when that reporter finally calls
for a statement.”

“He already has. We meet Friday. He’s coming
here.” Bill did not show one bit of concern. “We might wring some
advantage out of the publicity.”

Steve Franklin hopped from his chair with a
look of horror. “What are you planning? You can’t just throw me
under the bus and lay all the blame on me.”

“Get a grip, Steve,” Bill snapped at him. He
turned his back to the still shaky man. “Mike, have Errol in
communications come down here. We’re going to have a nice string of
press releases over the next two to three weeks.”

“Press releases on what?” Mike wore a
puzzled expression, his brows drawn together.

“Our efforts at AIDS prevention, changes to
improve health care for infants in low-income families, how much
money we saved with rule changes—to name a few subjects.” Bill
smiled at him.

“Very good.” Tavis gave an appreciative
nod.

“John Savoie is one reporter who won’t be
sidetracked,” Mike said.

“We need lots of good press as a cushion
just in case, and drown out Savoie.” Bill appeared relaxed now. He
brushed a hand across the newspaper still on his desk. “We need to
act fast with the legislative session coming up.”

“Excellent,” Tavis said. “You can’t stop
him, but you can dilute the negative impact. By the way, I’ve got
the information you wanted on—”

“Good, stay here.” Bill stood up and took
Franklin’s elbow. He guided him to the door. “Steve, relax.
Everything will be fine.”