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woman who had walked away from a prestigious career for ethical reasons. A woman of
strong values and beliefs. She was also a woman who had spent her free time baking
goodies for the guys on his team. This was someone who definitely cared about others.
And more than anything, he couldn't forget that she had been celibate for eight years. He
had a gut feeling it would have taken more than the promise of her products being sold in
a Schuster restaurant for her to go as far with him as she'd gone if she didn't really care
for him.
He inhaled deeply. Had he acted irrationally two
BRENDA JACKSON 173
days ago? Had he been unfair by jumping to conclusions and not listening to her side of
things? Had he been wrong to place her in the same category as Iris? The two women
were nothing alike. Iris was an unscrupulous taker. Jessica was an extraordinary giver.
He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost midnight. He wanted to call
Jessica, talk to her. When he returned to Atlanta tomorrow he would listen to what she
had to say and not be so quick to judge. No matter what, he still loved her. What
happened with the Westmoreland recipes no longer mattered to him. If Jessica was hell-
bent on proving her grandfather's innocence then he would help her discover how the
recipes got into the wrong hands.
He took a deep breath. More than anything he wanted a future with the woman he loved.
"Listen, Jessica, if he loved you two days ago then he loves you now. Nobody can turn
love on and off like a faucet, not if it's the real thing."
Jessica heard her stepmother's words but she still wasn't convinced. She had seen the look
of loathing in Chase's eyes just moments before he'd left. But then she couldn't erase the
memory of another look as well. It had been the look he'd given her just moments before
whispering that he loved her. When he had said those words she had believed in her heart
that he had meant them, just like she had meant what she'd said to him. She loved him,
too.
"Even after I found out what your father had done," Jennifer was saying, "I couldn't hate
him. I was hurt and
174 THE CHASE IS ON
I put up a wall to protect myself from further pain, but the love was still there for a long
time."
"It doesn't matter," Jessica said softly. "Chase let me know things are over between us."
After a brief pause she said, "I've made some decisions."
There was a short silence, then Jennifer asked, "What sort of decisions?"
Jessica took a deep breath. "I met with a real estate agent today. I've decided to sell this
place and move back to California."
"And return to law?"
"Possibly, but it won't be as a corporate attorney. I'm thinking of becoming a consumer
attorney specializing in product safety."
"Do you think running away will solve anything, Jessica?"
"I'm not running away. I'm protecting my heart from further damage."
There was a brief pause again, and then Jennifer said, "Well, I think you and Chase need
to sit down and talk things through."
"So do I," Jessica said quietly. "But before he left I got the distinct impression that he
doesn't want to see me again. And since our businesses are separated by only one
building, there's no way we can avoid seeing each other. One of us will have to leave. It
might as well be me." After a brief pause she added, "Hey, I'm a survivor. You know
that."
She sighed deeply. She had let Chase become too important to her. She had done the one
thing she'd always
BRENDA JACKSON
175
promised herself she wouldn't do, give her heart and soul to a man. That made it harder to
walk away. But walk away she would.
"What do you mean she's selling her place?" Chase asked staring hard at Donna. He had
come straight to the restaurant from the airport to find Delicious Cravings closed in the
middle of the day with a For Sale sign in the window.
Donna leaned back against his closed office door. "Rumor has it that she's moving back
to California."
A chill of fear ripped down his spine. God, he'd been a fool to think the worst about her.
He had done a lot of thinking over the past three days, and in his heart he knew Jessica
loved him. He had been a complete idiot to accuse her of all those things. Unlike Iris,
Jessica couldn't relate to greed.
Donna cleared her throat. "I know this might not be a good time but there's someone here
who insists on seeing you."
Chase lifted an eyebrow. "Who?"
"A woman named Darcy Evans."
Chase's brow lifted higher upon remembering the name. He sighed deeply. "Please show
her in."
A few minutes later, Darcy Evans walked into his office. Although she had only worked
with his grandfather for a short while, no more than six months, he remembered her. She
had been quiet and kept to herself, much as Donna was inclined to do.
Chase crossed the room to shake her hand. "Ms.
176
THE CHASE IS ON
Evans, it's been years. It's good to see you again. Please have a seat."
When she had taken the chair across from his desk he met her gaze and asked. "What can
I do for you?" Chase couldn't help noticing that she appeared nervous.
"I wanted to talk to Ms. Claiborne but her place is closed up. She came to see me a
couple of times during the past month."
Chase knew he looked puzzled and confused. "Jessica came to see you?"
"Yes. She didn't believe her grandfather took those recipes from your grandfather and
wanted the truth. It's my understanding that she talked to me, Donald Schuster, Paula
Meyers and Theodore Henry."
Chase recognized all the names except one. "Theodore Henry?"
"Yes, he was the cook for Schuster at the time I worked for your grandfather." She sighed
deeply before saying, "Theodore and I were lovers."
Chase's eyes widened and he leaned forward from his desk. "You were?"
"Yes," she admitted. "We were together for almost a year, but we kept things a secret. He [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]