A Storm Is Coming (6 page)

“Yes, Braylee’s law firm has been retained to handle some matters for Manchetti Enterprises.”

There was a ridiculous amount of tension in their little circle, so it was a relief when the party planner interrupted their conversation, “Excuse me, Mr. Jorgensen and Ms. Willows…the auctioneer requests your presence as it is almost time for the silent auction.”

Jeanine and Michael looked at each other. It was obvious neither of them wanted to leave their dates alone with each other. However, reluctantly, they excused themselves.

Once they were alone, Alex spoke candidly, “I hate these things.”

Braylee laughed. It was a throaty sound, “So…do…I. But, Star-Fish does some amazing work, and that makes this little shindig worth it.”

There it was again, his heart stopping smile. Braylee didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her. She had never in her life been this affected by a man she barely knew.

It had to be the champagne. That was enough, no more champagne for her. She placed what was remaining in her glass on a nearby table. Between what she’d had at the bridal fitting and now at this party, it was obviously way too much. It had her losing her mind.

He stood a little closer and whispered in her ear, “If I was remiss earlier, I must say…you look incredible.”

She breathed in the scent of his cologne that was a rich musky fragrance mixed with just…him. The Mask slipped. The real Braylee wanted to come out to play, but she wouldn’t since he was obviously here with his girlfriend. She respected boundaries.

Yet, his nearness made her stomach quiver. Braylee backed up just a step and looked into those intense dark eyes. Her words seemed stuck in her throat. Somehow she managed to speak, “You don’t look half bad yourself, Mr. Manchetti.”

Lisa mentioned that Alexandro wasn’t dating seriously. Obviously, she didn’t know what she was talking about. Had he been single and not a client of hers, Braylee may have for the first time in her life been interested in releasing some stress with this gorgeous man.

Sadly, she wondered if her Violator had fresh batteries. And, it was a good thing she’d brought it home because Braylee would need them after tonight.

Alexandro wasn’t unaffected either. His fingers were itching to touch that smooth caramel skin that seemed to glow. How could she possibly be here with that little balding doctor? The little geek had been standing so close to her with his hand on the small of her back as if staking a claim. What could she possibly see in him? It couldn’t have been the money, she had her own.

His ears prickled when he’d heard her sigh. That little breathy sound escape from her all too kissable lips. He wondered if she would make the same sound if he kissed that spot right underneath her ear.

He considered himself a smart man. Why would he stand next to possibly the sexiest woman he’d ever seen and pretend like she had no effect on him? Now that would be crazy.

That little voice in the back of his head warned him to back off. She was his lawyer. But, a little flirting couldn’t hurt anything.

Alex gave her a sexy half grin, “Do you know how dangerous that thing you just did is?”

Braylee gazed up, “What thing?”

He’d moved just a little closer, “That little sound you just made. It made me have indecent thoughts.”

He was flirting with her and deny it all she wanted…she loved it.

“Well, Mr. Manchetti…”

“Alex.”

Braylee spoke softly, “Okay…Alex. If you weren’t my client…”

“How about we pretend…at least for now…that I’m not?”

“So, we’re pretending?”

He nodded.

She leaned over and silkily whispered into his ear, “If…we are pretending then…”

His breath was suspended wondering and waiting for what Braylee was going to say.

Before Braylee could finish her sentence chimes and bells went off informing the attendees that the auction was about to begin. Her eyes burned into his and his into hers.

She thought about saying what she really felt for just a moment. But, was literally saved by the bell and decided it was best to keep her thoughts to herself. “Back to the real world, Mr. Manchetti. I do believe it’s time we go to the auction.”

Alex would have much rather explored the energy that was crackling between them. It was intense.

Instead, he nodded and guided Braylee toward the auction area.

As soon as it was over and before Alex had an opportunity to revisit their earlier conversation, Jeanine appeared. She didn’t like the fact that an hour later, he and Braylee were still keeping each other company.

As if Braylee wasn’t standing there, she threw both her arms around his neck and kissed him squarely on the lips, “Darling…we made our fundraising goal.”

Braylee averted her eyes. Alex was caught completely off guard. He knew how this must have looked to her.

Just a few moments later, Michael appeared at Braylee’s elbow. His face was flushed, “Braylee, thank you for such a generous donation. We hit our goal.”

She smiled, “It was my pleasure.” Not that she had any reason to detest Jeanine but she did; Braylee didn’t want her all over Alexandro. Which was stupid because she’d known the man all of five seconds. When the little green-eyed monster decided to make an appearance that was her queue to leave.

Hopeful, Michael asked Braylee out, “Would you allow me to take you out for coffee to celebrate?”

The Mask was back, and she gave him her brightest smile, “I’m sorry Dr. Jorgensen. It’s late, and I have an early day tomorrow. Maybe another time. Jeanine…it was a pleasure meeting you and Alex we’ll talk soon.”

For the third time in as many meetings, Alex watched her walk away. He needed to do something about that.

Chapter
8

Two days after the benefit, Alex and his lawyers were meeting for the first time with Hinsdale and Associates. It was supposed to be a fact-finding meeting but quickly developed into more.

It was late in the evening, and the sun had set hours ago. They’d been at it for over twelve hours with very few breaks. The room was littered with empty Chinese food take-out containers, coffee cups, water, and soda bottles.

There were files on top of files; all over the floor, the conference table, and any other place where there was even an inch of space. Several white boards had been set up and were scattered about too. Each one filled with information.

Braylee was hunched over with her head bowed low reviewing a file. She’d been sitting in the same position for god only knew how long only getting up for brief periods of time to stretch or to go over some information she’d written on the board.

Every time, Alex and Braylee would make eye contact, he remembered their last conversation. He would give almost anything to know what she would have said. But, here…in her element, she was all business.

Alexandro was more than impressed with her work ethic. Looking at Braylee, he wasn’t sure if she had any concept of all the time that had passed. Her team was obviously used to how hard she drove herself...and them. However, he could tell that everyone was exhausted…Giovanni especially. It was time to call it a night.

He stood up, “All right everybody, it’s late. Time to go home. We’ll hit it again tomorrow. Braylee what time should we meet?”

Braylee furrowed her brow as she looked up at him and then at her watch. He was right the time seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye. Yet, they had so much more to organize and get through.

She sighed, “There never seems to be enough hours in a day. Okay…my team, we’ll meet back here at ten tomorrow morning. Alexandro, you and your team, can meet us around one tomorrow afternoon.”

Everyone began packing up their things…except Braylee. She wanted to finish marking up the document she’d been reviewing.

Nate walked over to Alexandro and in a low voice spoke, “Thanks for calling it a night because that lady over there just doesn’t know when to quit. And, I can tell by the tilt of her head that she’s going to be here for a few more hours…which also means so will I.”

Alex rubbed his chin, “I was hoping to speak to her alone.”

Nate paused. Then looked over in her direction, “Braylee, will you need anything else from me tonight? If not, I’m going to head out too.”

She looked up apparently agitated that she’d been disturbed…again, “Um…no. Go home. Come in a little later tomorrow with the rest of the team.” She went back to being completely engrossed in her document.

Alexandro leaned against her desk watching her with his hands in his pant pockets waiting for everyone to leave. What he wouldn’t give to run his fingers through all that hair, or his tongue down her neck.

“Keep it together Alex.” He needed to get his wayward thoughts under control. There were serious things that needed to be discussed.

He’d long since ditched his suit jacket and tie. Earlier in the day during a passionate explanation of how the electrical switch worked he’d rolled up his sleeves.

Manchetti Enterprises, developed a compound, the TNG1 that can be mixed with an extremely rare and sought after mineral called Tungsten. Tungsten is a mineral that I’m sure you use every day and don’t even realize it. It’s in your electronics like cell phones, computers, televisions, and so on. When added to steel, tungsten increases its strength and makes it heat resistant which makes it an even better alloy for turbine engines, military equipment, and energy generation.

Tungsten on a scale of ten for hardness is a nine. Second only behind a diamond but much much cheaper.

The problem with Tungsten is it’s rare, and our need of it greatly outweighs the ready supply. Considering we use sixty-six percent of the available world supply and the only place we can get it is China, Russia or the Congo and those last two regions are much too unstable. It has made tensions between China and the United States almost untenable. So, The TNG1 is a compound we created that could be used with Tungsten to effectively reduce the amount needed to create this type of metal by half.

These lawsuits are saying our compound TNG1 caused a breakdown in the alloy making what would normally be a heat resistant metal used for the electrical switches ineffective. When the heat got too high…the switch caught fire and caused the explosions that killed nine people in two private aircraft carriers.”

It hadn’t escaped Braylee’s notice when he rolled up his sleeves his tanned skin and corded muscles. It made all the women, and some of the men in the room sit up and take notice.

That night after the benefit, Braylee went home and used her Violator twice; bringing herself to orgasm twice but neither time was enough to be completely satisfying. And, watching him today in such command was way too much for her senses. The Violator vibrator was getting a serious workout since she’d met Alex.

Her heart rate accelerated after finally saying goodnight to the last person. They were completely alone.

Alex rubbed the back of his neck. He needed to have an uncomfortable conversation with Braylee but all he wanted to do was kiss her senseless and pretend like his nightmare life didn’t exist.

“I was hoping to get a word with you…alone.”

She closed her eyes and rolled her neck and shoulders. All day she’d failed miserably at ignoring his presence, but now they were alone; without anything or anyone to soak up some of his energy.

Watching her…for just a second, he lost his train of thought. How was it possible to be this sexy? Sitting curled up on one of her cushiony chairs; she’d nibbled off her lipstick and had kicked off her shoes. At some point, Braylee had thrown her hair up into a messy ponytail yet she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. How could he be thinking about kissing her considering what’s going on in his life? Alex felt guilty.

Finally, Braylee opened her eyes and blinked a few times as if waking from a dream. She’d done her level best to shake away any inappropriate thoughts of him and to remind herself that he was her client. But, it was an almost impossible task.

She spoke after placing the document and highlighter on the table, “That sounds ominous.”

Alexandro touched his brow, “Not ominous, just important. Things have moved so quickly today, and we’re so much farther along than I’d anticipated for our first meeting. But before we go any further, I need to talk to you.”

Braylee laughed softly, “Alexandro, we’ve done nothing but talk…about your case. And, I have every minute logged for payment to prove it. We should just stick to that…talking about your case.”

He moved towards her as his eyes bore into hers. Her mouth suddenly felt like cotton as she watched him get closer and closer.

The butterflies in her stomach were completely out of control.

Alexandro cleared his throat as he took the opposite seat in front of Braylee. “Yeah. Well…this is about the case. I spoke to Detective Jones a couple of weeks ago. He passed along some information that you won’t find in any of the police reports. He’s part of the reason I decided not to settle out of court.”

Her skin tingled with apprehension. She sat up, “What did he tell you?”

“He thinks Luciano was murdered.”

Braylee’s legal mind started going a mile a minute. She stood with an exuberance of what this could mean to their case. She started pacing back and forth before walking over to the whiteboard ready to plot their next course. “What proof does he have?”

Alex followed her over to the board, “Right now it’s just a theory. He’d had these nagging doubts about the crime scene until we met. We were discussing something or other, and I mentioned that Luciano was left handed.”

The excitement in her eyes dimmed, “Alex…if all he has is a theory…nothing can change in my approach to this case. While on the face of it, your brother’s death shouldn’t have any bearing on the defective product liability lawsuits against you. However, if this case goes to trial, the fact that your brother left a suicide note is going to be a powerful persuasion tool for the other side. I mean I can do my best to keep it out, but a good attorney will figure out a way to get it in.”