One Love (29 page)

***

“
I’m glad you decided to
meet me for drinks.” Ken Hargrove wore an ingratiating
smile.

Lanessa wanted to toss the ginger ale
in his face but returned his smile instead. “Such a nice, out of
the way place.”

At his suggestion, Lanessa had agreed
to meet him at Dusty’s. It was a secluded lounge and restaurant
across the river from Baton Rouge in West Baton Rouge Parish. Those
who wanted their afterhours socializing to be discreet came here.
Lanessa was sure most of the couples were people married to.
Dusty’s was known to have a tolerant atmosphere. Definitely not a
family place. The owner, Dusty Destrehan, made a tidy income on
folks who wanted to break at least five of the Ten Commandments.
Lanessa exactly why Hargrove had chosen Dusty’s. The lighting was
always very dim. The entrance was narrow, almost cavern like so
that those seated at tables or booths near could see those entering
before they would be seen. Newcomers would have to go around a
curved bar first. Yet it was no dive. Rich dark woods made up the
décor.

The waitress placed a tray of
appetizers on their table. Small smoked oysters and hot wings. Ken
gave her a generous tip.

“
Thanks, Ken,” the waitress
said with a grin and winked at him. She cast a fleeting unfriendly
glance at Lanessa before she flounced off.

“
Guess I don’t have to ask
if you come here often.” Lanessa raised her glass and
sipped.

“
Oh, that.” Ken lifted a
shoulder. “They feature great local talent on weekends.”

“
Uh-huh.” Lanessa let her
expression say what she thought of that explanation.

“
Yes, I like to get away
from the country club crowd now and then.” Ken leaned both elbows
on the table and cupped his glass of Chevas Regal. “With their talk
about LSU football and family connections.”

“
Excuse me but didn’t you
play football at LSU in the eighties? And you have big time family
connections.”

“
But I don’t need to talk
about that stuff constantly.” Ken dismissed his own social set.
“There’s so much more to life.”

“
Is that right?” Lanessa
wanted to laugh in his face. He was trying to convince her that he
could blend into other cultures, that he was in tune with black
folks.

“
Me, I want my life to be
like a big bowl of spicy gumbo. Full of all kinds of tasty things.”
Ken sipped his drink and looked at her over the rim. “You
know?”

“
Be careful you don’t end up
with a bad case of heart burn.” Lanessa brushed back her
hair.

Ken’s gaze followed the movement of
her hand. “I have a strong constitution.”

Lanessa grew uncomfortable with this
dance. Ken was on the verge of reaching for her thigh underneath
the table. “You wanted to discuss business with me.” She shifted
her legs just a few inches farther away from him.

“
You seemed very interested
in the plant, like you didn’t quite believe what we told you.” Ken
sat back.

“
It’s just y’all were so
secretive about it and secrets intrigue me.” Lanessa was on alert
now. She gauged the timbre of his voice and his every gesture. Did
he know she’d been digging deeper than they wanted?

“
Yeah, well we’ve got
competitors that would love to find out some of those secrets.” Ken
wore a confident look. “We’ve got a quite a track record when it
comes to profit.”

“
So I’ve read.” Lanessa
lifted her glass to him.

“
Quite a few people have
made good money dealing with us. Charles Metoyer and Clifton
Franklin for example.” Ken looked at her.

Lanessa fought hard to control her
breathing. She decided to play a risky card. “Actually Charles
Metoyer owns Franklin Enterprises.” She tensed while she watched
his reaction. When he merely nodded with no change in his
expression, she relaxed a little.

“
Franklin sold him
controlling interest three years ago. It’s common knowledge in
certain circles.”

Lanessa nodded as though she was
accustomed to being in that particular inner circle. “Yeah, right.
It has something to do with industrial by-products and
gases.”

Hargrove looked around to make sure no
nearby was paying attention. “Franklin Enterprises is a
sub-contractor for some of the big plants around. Their products
are used in making valuable high tech components... and other
things.”

“
Such as?” Lanessa lost her
disinterested expression. She sat forward.

“
Let’s just say we stand to
make millions in certain foreign markets.” Ken spoke in a low
voice. “And you could get in on it.”

Lanessa was still trying to sort out
his oblique response when his knee rubbed against hers. His hand
soon followed. She’d acted on reflex before she realized, shoving
him away with one sharp jerk of both her legs.

“
Oops, you startled me,” she
mumbled. To cover her disgust with him, she raised the glass to her
face. When she lowered it she had plastered a greedy expression on
her face. “I was imagining stacks and stacks of money. You said
something about me?”

“
I sure did.” Ken put his
hand back on her knee. “I could use good research. Lots of it. And
your eyes and ears down at the legislature.”

“
Sounds interesting.”
Lanessa did not move this time. “Tell me more.”

“
I’ll pay you a monthly
retainer to work for me. Seven thousand okay?”

Lanessa was amazed at the money he
casually tossed at her. “You have money to burn, Mr.
Hargrove?”

“
As I said, I’m a good
performer.” Ken gave her thigh a pat then pulled his hand away. “Of
course you could only have two or three other contracts. I’d expect
to get most of your attention,” he said in provocative
tone.

“
Naturally I can’t make such
an important decision tonight. But I can say you’ve definitely got
my attention right now.” Lanessa signaled the waitress.

“
I understand.” Hargrove
gazed at her with satisfaction. He seemed self-assured that his
combination of charm and money had worked. “I think we’d do great
things together.”

Lanessa ordered another ginger ale.
The waitress barely acknowledged her. She picked up Ken’s glass,
cleaned the table in front of him with care then left. Lanessa
waited until the young woman was gone.

“
I’m already familiar with
the Des Allemands project. I could--”

“
We have all we need,”
Hargrove interrupted. “No, this is something completely different.
You know about nutria, right?”

“
Big over grown rats that
drive people nuts.” Lanessa was puzzled at the strange turn of this
conversation.

“
Jefferson Parish is
desperate to get rid of them. We might find a market for their
pelts and oils from their glands,” Hargrove said.

“
But they’re repulsive and
they stink.”

“
Look what George Washington
Carver did with the lowly peanut. There are fortunes to be made in
the most unlikely ways.” Ken wore a condescending smile. “And seven
thousand a month will make them look absolutely cuddly after a
while.”

“
I doubt it.” Lanessa
wrinkled her nose.

“
You wouldn’t have to catch
the darn things, Lanessa. You’d be far from the dirty work.”
Hargrove leaned until their shoulders touched. “A nice suite of
offices in the American Bank Building. You could even have a view
of the river.”

“
Wow,” Lanessa murmured. She
put the right amount of awe in her voice.

Far from what Hargrove was thinking,
Lanessa was excited for a very different reason. She must be close
to the truth. Hargrove and Dawson must be worried to try this
payoff gambit. But was Dawson in on this sordid seduction
plan?

“
Your boss gives you a lot
of authority if you can make such an offer.” Lanessa noted the way
his jaw tightened at the mention of Dawson. “He’s quite a
remarkable man.” She put a purr into her voice. Let him think she
was power hungry enough to go after bigger game.

“
He’s obsolete,” Ken snapped
in obvious irritation. “Dawson isn’t the future of Paxton-Waite.
His reputation far exceeds reality.”

“
I didn’t mean to touch a
nerve.” Lanessa dropped her voice. “He does seem a bit behind the
times. I mean, why move so slow on Des Allemands?”

“
Exactly,” Ken said
promptly. “You know how things work in this state. If you’ve got
the right support, no amount to protesting can stop a
plant.”

“
And you really don’t have
organized opposition anyway. Unless there are other reasons.”
Lanessa encouraged him to go on.

“
We’ll be moving important
cargo that we don’t want tampered with too much. Our customers are
a little jumpy.” Ken sipped from his class before continuing.
“Certain items are time sensitive.”

“
You mean it might spoil?”
Lanessa did not have to pretend she was riveted by his
words.

“
Not exactly.” Ken seemed to
think better of going on. He looked at her with a cocky smile.
“Let’s not talk about boring stuff like shipment
schedules.”

“
You’d be surprised at what
I’m interested in,” Lanessa answered in a distracted manner. Her
mind worked on what she’d learned so far.

Ken put his mouth close to her ear.
“Water pipes and engine wires aren’t my choice of topic with a
beautiful woman.”

Lanessa moved away from Ken and
studied him. He was lying of course. Lanessa knew such simple
products would not generate this kind of caution. With great
effort, she mastered the craving to question him more. She let her
face relax into a mild expression. It was better that he think his
judgment of her correct.

“
Why thank you,” she said
with a bat of her eyelashes. “Extravagant compliments and a sweet
business offer. What an evening.”

“
And we’re just getting
started.” Ken reached under the table for her thigh
again.

Lanessa grabbed his hand instead and
held it. “I prefer to be massaged by a professional and definitely
not in public.”

“
I have magic fingers.” Ken
rubbed the palm of her hand. “Believe me you’ll be quite refreshed
when I’m through.”

“
Moving a bit fast, aren’t
you?” Lanessa said pitching her voice low to sound
alluring.

“
How slow do you want me to
go?”

Lanessa put her face inches from his.
“I’ll let you know,” she murmured.

Ken was breathing hard now that she
let loose the full force of her act. Lanessa released his hand but
did not sit back.

“
You have lovely brown
eyes.” Ken seemed poised to pounce. He gazed at her body open lust.
“And the rest of the package is...”

“
Better get a frozen
margarita to cool down.” Lanessa chuckled. Mr. Lover folded all too
easy. “You’ll set off the fire alarm in a minute.”

“
I like the heat,” he
mumbled.

Lanessa placed a hand on his chest to
block a move to kiss her. “I’m not for sale,” she said in a curt
tone.

Ken was not perturbed by the change.
“I never meant to imply you were. But we’re attracted to each
other. And we have a lot in common.”

“
Such as?”

He sat back and straightened his silk
tie. “We’re both smart and can help each other make a lot of money.
It’s only natural that we get together.”

“
Hmm, that’s one way to look
at it.” Lanessa drank the last of her ginger ale.

“
I can take you to another
level, Lanessa. One you’ll like very much.”

“
Well you’ve given me a lot
to think about.” Lanessa considered all the sources she could track
even as she smiled at him.

“
Let’s forget business for
now.” Ken put an arm around the back of her chair.

“
Lanessa affected a faint
expression of regret. “I’m afraid I have to leave. More business
unfortunately.”

“
Can’t you cancel it?” Ken
gazed at her from head to toe. “I really would like to get to know
you better.”

“
Sorry, that’s not
possible.” Lanessa fought to hide her eagerness to
leave.

“
Maybe we can meet again
soon. I think I can convince you we’d be good together, in business
and otherwise.” Ken clamped a moist hand on her thigh
again.

It took great control not to twist his
wrist until it snapped. Instead she tapped his hand until he
released her. She smiled sweetly. “Don’t be impatient.”

“
I like a woman who makes a
man wait. I’ll call you soon.”

“
Goodnight, Ken.” Lanessa
stood up.

“
Have a good evening,
Lanessa.” Ken wore an arrogant leer. He was sure of
himself.

Lanessa was glad to get out away from
him. She’d had her fill of Ken Hargrove. Yet stroking his ego,
repulsive as it was, had produced results. Now she needed to act
quickly. Hargrove would not be put off much longer. He might be a
jerk, but he was no fool.