One Love (39 page)

Shauntelle sat very still. Her eyes
blinked rapidly. “Did you just say...” She shook her head slowly as
though trying to make sense of the world.

“
I hated to have to tell
you. But I just had to. The man is garbage in a fancy suit,
babe.”

“
You’re wrong,” Shauntelle
said in a small voice.

“
No, I saw them together.”
Alex was so caught up in being relieved, he’d forgotten that his
work had just begun. The stricken look on her face reminded him.
“Aw, Shaun, I’m really sorry.”

“
Are you?” She looked at
him.

“
Look, you’re too good for
him anyway. And like you said, it’s for the best you found out so
soon.”

“
So you just couldn’t stand
it? I found a man who wants me.” Shauntelle glowered at him. Her
eyes glistened with tears.

“
What are you talking
about?” Alex was genuinely confused.

“
You’re jealous!” Shauntelle
hissed at him.

Alex gaped at her in astonishment.
“You can’t be serious!”

“
Lanessa dumps you. So you
creep over here to spread the misery.” Shauntelle’s voice
quivered.

“
You know better than that.”
Alex could not be angry, not when he saw the naked anguish in her
eyes.

“
Jealous. You can’t stand to
see another man make me happy,” She cried.

“
You know I’m not lying or
just.” Alex spoke to her gently. He got up and sat next to her on
the love seat.

“
No, no.” She kept saying
the word, her voice muffled by her hands and tears.

At first she pushed him away when he
tried to put an arm around her shoulders. Alex persisted in trying
to comfort her and she gave in. She rested her head on his
shoulder.

“
I wanted to be wrong,” Alex
said.

Shauntelle pulled from him and wiped
her eyes with a napkin. “I’m okay.”

“
Listen, if anyone wants you
to be happy it’s me.” Alex sat on the sofa again near
her.

“
You know what? I knew. I
don’t mean I knew who she was, but deep down I knew he was a
player.” Shauntelle gave him a weak smile that faded quickly. “I
shouldn’t have said those stupid things to you. Please forgive
me.”

“
I’ve already forgotten what
you said.” Alex waved a hand. “So there’s nothing to
forgive.”

“
The romantic fantasy was so
heavenly. I didn’t want it to end.” Shauntelle stared out the
through the patio doors to the lush green of the garden. “He was
like the charming prince from fairytales my mother used to read to
me. I’d never met a man with his finesse, his irresistible sexy way
of romancing.”

“
Oh, well.” Alex cleared his
throat.

“
I didn’t mean you were
boring. I meant,” Shauntelle stammered, her eyes wide.

“
Please, don’t try to make
it better.” He grinned. “I understand. There were never any sparks
for us, were there?”

“
The truth is, the only
sparks you felt were with Lanessa.” Shauntelle cut off his denial.
“Don’t even try it. I was never competition for that
lady.”

“
So here we are; lots of
sparks and we both got burned.” Alex leaned back against the
cushion of the sofa.

“
Things are really different
with you and Lanessa, Alex.” Shauntelle sniffed a few times and
dried her eyes. “At least she didn’t stab you in the
back.”

“
Oh no, just put her career
and social life ahead of our relationship. Nothing too serious.”
Alex wore a stern look.

“
Kid stuff compared to
getting involved with the great Charles Metoyer. A master liar,
slut and even a crook.”

“
Okay, so it’s not that bad.
But it’s enough to stop any chance of us being together.” Alex
picked up his glass of lemonade.

“
Listen to you.” Shauntelle
rolled her eyes. “I thought I was a tight butt.”

“
Hey, wait a minute!” Alex
wore an injured scowl.

“
No, you wait a minute.
You’re in love with her because she’s exciting, independent and
strong. And what do you do once she’s back in your life? Try to
re-make her in your own image. Men!”

“
I didn’t...” Alex’s voice
trailed off. “I just wanted her to--”

“
Be like you. To change
according to your specifications.” Shauntelle shook her head. “And
then you would have wondered where the sparks went once she’d
changed.”

“
Sounds like you’ve been
talking to my father. He said the same thing.” Alex groaned. “What
is the matter with me?”

“
Nothing except you’re
human. I think you should go find that woman and make up.”
Shauntelle gave him a melancholy smile. “Life is short a wise woman
once said. And true love is too hard to find.”

“
Never mind me.” Alex took
her hand. “Are you really going to be okay?”

“
Sure. In the long run I’m
better off without the worm. You’re right, he doesn’t deserve me.”
Shauntelle lifted her nose in the air.

“
Go, girl,” Alex said with
force.

“
One thing I did get out of
it, my new attitude. I’m going to go out more and stop staying at
home baking cookies. Even the girls said I was more
fun.”

“
Really?”

“
Sure. Taking care of myself
once in a while is just as good for them, too.” Shauntelle sighed.
“So I guess I shouldn’t be so down.”

“
Yes,” Alex said in a
distracted tone. His mind was in another place.

Alex thought back on the way Lanessa
engaged Tia and Nia with stories about her work. Her enthusiasm for
her work rubbed off on the girls. They became excited about being
in control of their own destiny. So maybe what his father and
Shauntelle said was right. Too bad he found out so late. Lanessa
would not be able to forgive the way he’d acted.

“
We’re in the same boat for
different reasons,” Alex said.

“
Good Lord! You’re being
especially dense these days,” Shauntelle blurted out.

“
Are you going for some kind
of insult record?” Alex pulled a long face and crossed his
arms.

“
Cry baby,” Shauntelle
teased. “Oh, alright. Maybe I was a little too rough on you. Guess
facing the truth about that lying bum has me in a nasty
mood.”

Hearing his name nudged a flicker of
something at the back of Alex’s mind. “What did you say about
him?”

“
He’s a lying bum, something
we both know. But it feels good to say it. He--”

“
No, no, a few minutes ago.
You called him a crook. How did you know about Paxton-Waite and the
Commerce Department investigation?” Alex sat forward.

“
I didn’t know about an
investigation, but I’m not surprised.” Shauntelle’s arched eyebrows
pulled together making her look especially fierce. “One more thing
I have to be ashamed of. Letting him use me like that.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Please, don’t make me admit
to more humiliation than I have to.” Shauntelle started to get up
when Alex put out an arm to stop her.

“
This could be important.
He’s after Lanessa.”

Alex gave her the background on how
Metoyer was connected to Paxton-Waite and Lanessa’s work for them.
As he talked, Alex gained a clearer picture for himself. This was
the first time he’d talked out the entire scenario.

“
That was part of the reason
I decided to tell you about him. I didn’t want you to hear it from
some gossip.”

“
Whoa, Charles is in deep
doo-doo,” Shauntelle said with an evil smile. “I like
it.”

Alex struck a fist in his palm with a
solid thump. “And I’ve got to stop him from hurting
Nessa.”

“
I can help.” Shauntelle
wore a look of malevolent anticipation. “After the way he used me,
I’m more than happy see that he gets his.”

Alex looked at her eagerly. “Come on,
tell me everything.”

“
My company has a big
contract with a marine barge outfit. Charles and I met when he came
to a meeting at the office with my bosses,” Shauntelle
said.

“
That fits in with
everything else I know so far. Some product he’s developed is going
to be exported.” Alex could almost hear the click as another part
of a complicated picture snapped into place.

“
Right. We outfit and repair
the barges but, and here’s where it gets interesting, we’re
expanding.” Shauntelle squinted. “He started romancing me right
about that time.” She seemed to go off into a reverie about the
handsome man.

“
Expand into what?” Alex
said to steer her back.

Shauntelle blinked at him as though
awakened from a dream. “Starting in the fall we’ll have contracts
to load and unload cargo at two ports. Eventually we’ll have our
own trucks to transport cargo inland.”

Alex nodded slowly. “And one of those
ports is the Port of Grand Isle.”

“
How did you know?”
Shauntelle looked surprised. “We haven’t done a press release
yet.”

“
Because it’s south of
Pleasure Island and maybe they figure slipping around regulations
will be easier there.” Alex clapped his hand once.
“Gotcha!”

“
Oh please tell me. I want
to know every delicious detail of how we can kick Charles in the
nuts.” Shauntelle cackled.

“
Ouch, baby girl! You’re
mean.” Alex did a dramatic cringe.

“
Lover boy mistook kindness
for weakness. Now he must pay!” Shauntelle assumed a look of
concentration. “Now what can I do?”

“
This is only a theory but,
I think Charles is working on some kind of export con game. He used
Yasmin to get close to the Senator—“

“
Senator Trent chairs the
Commerce and the Revenue Committees. But who’s Yasmin?” Shauntelle
gazed at him.

“
Er, the other lady he was
seeing.” At the wrathful expression this brought, Alex rushed on.
“Now don’t do anything crazy like call the woman.”

“
Don’t be silly. I’m not mad
at another hit and run victim.” Shauntelle huffed. “But if I could
just get my hands on him...” She had a dangerous glint in her
eyes.

“
Calm down. We need to think
clearly.” Alex patted her shoulder. This was a side of her he’d
never seen before, even at the lowest point before their
divorce.

“
Okay. Just let me stop
fantasizing about strangling him.” Shauntelle closed her eyes for a
moment then looked at him. “Sorry, it’s just when I think of what
he’s done...”

“
I know, babe. He’s smart, I
give him that.”

Alex stared through the glass of the
sliding patio doors. Tia, Nia and two friends were in the back yard
playing. When Tia waved, he waved as an automatic response. His
thoughts were travelling the tangled web of schemes woven by
Charles Metoyer and Caine Dawson. Alex had not really thought of
Dawson as an individual. He’d always referred to Paxton-Waite. Yet
now was the time to consider the individual actors in this drama.
He’d only heard of the CEO by reputation. Dawson was supposed to be
a man who was known for making bold business moves. If what Alex
suspected was the case, then what they’d planned was beyond bold.
When he spoke again, it was as much a process of arranging his
thoughts as informing Shauntelle.

“
Lanessa said Caine Dawson,
the CEO at Paxton-Waite, goes for the local connection. That’s one
of the reasons he hired her.

“
No surprise he went
straight to Charles,” Shauntelle put in. “They’ve got political and
business pals all over south Louisiana.”

“
Dawson has his sights set
on making a name for himself here. And millions of dollars.” Alex
felt the weight of dread on his chest. “And with that kind of money
and power at stake...”

“
You’re really worried about
Lanessa,” Shauntelle said. Now her expression clouded over to match
his mood.

“
I’m told Charles Metoyer
can be ruthless.” Alex wanted to wrap Lanessa a protective shield
somehow. If only he could.

“
Maybe we can find his weak
spot.” Shauntelle smiled at him. “My boss maybe into the old boy
network, but just wait until I mention the word investigation.
He’ll run like a jack rabbit with its tail on fire.”

“
Which might push Dawson and
Metoyer into a corner. One part of their plan gets wobbly just at
the worst time.” Alex smiled back at her with relish.

“
Every little bit helps,”
Shauntelle quipped.

“
We can distract them so
they’ll leave Lanessa alone.” His smiled faded again. “Then
again...”

“
Hey, one thing at a time.
How’s she holding up?” Shauntelle took a sip from her
glass.

“
I have no idea. We’re
haven’t seen in other in weeks.” Alex shifted at the twinge those
words caused. It had seemed like years with all the sleepless
nights. The arguments kept playing in his head at the worse times,
usually two in the morning.

“
Maybe you should call her
and--”