A Clandestine Corporate Affair(20)

Since the instant Beth had introduced Nathan and Ana he had been drawn to her. And while it was true that their relationship had begun based on little more than sex—and really fantastic sex at that—he found what he missed most about her were the times they just talked. She had a very unique and quirky way of looking at the world. Despite her station in Texas society, there were no pretensions, no ego. She was who she was, and when he was with her, he almost felt he could be who he was, too. That she was the kind of woman who would accept him. But accepting him, and deserving him, were two very different things. But damn, had he missed her when it was over.

It would never work for them, so why was he sitting here devising plans to spend more time with her? Things like leaving work early and showing up at her door unannounced with dinner tonight.

There was a knock at his office door, and he looked up to see his brother let himself in. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Did Mom call you?”

“When I was in a meeting. I haven’t had a chance to call her back. Why, is something wrong?”

“No. She wants you to bring the wine this year.”

“The wine?”

Jordan laughed. “For Christmas dinner. It’s a week from this Saturday.”

“Seriously?” Nathan looked at his desk calendar. It seemed as though just a week ago it was Thanksgiving. And frankly, dinner with his mother once a year was more than adequate. “Maybe I’ll have the flu this year.”

“If I have to go, so do you.”

“I have an idea. How about neither of us goes?”

“She’s our mother.”

“She gave birth to us. The nanny was our mother. Maybe we should go have dinner with her.”

“It’s Christmas,” Jordan said. “The time for forgiveness.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Fine. I’ll call her and let her know.”

“Should we get her a gift?”

Nathan folded his arms. “How about a plaque that says Mother of the Year?”

“Funny.”

He might consider it if he thought for a second that she would appreciate the gesture. But when a twelve-year-old kid spent a month’s worth of allowances to get his mother a necklace for her birthday, only to find it crammed down into the garbage the next day, it left a lasting impression.

“Isn’t it enough that I’m spending an entire evening with her?”

“It’s not going to bother you if I get her something?”

“Not in the least.”

“So,” Jordan said offhandedly. “Anything new with the investigation?”

Nothing Nathan could tell him. Though Adam and the board had promised to keep Jordan in the loop in regard to the investigation, he needed plausible deniability. Jordan was operations officer and worked closely with the men in the refinery. They respected and trusted Jordan. If they knew there were agency operatives working undercover among them and thought that Jordan was a part of it, that respect and trust would be lost. That was too important to sacrifice, especially now.

Besides, as of the last report that had landed on Nathan’s desk, the agency hadn’t made any progress in the investigation and was no closer to learning who tampered with the equipment. And Jordan had seemed particularly antsy to get results lately. He valued each and every man at the refinery, and he didn’t want to believe that someone he trusted could be responsible for the explosion.

“Nothing new,” he told his brother.

“If there were, would you tell me?”

He didn’t answer.

Jordan shook his head. “That’s what I figured.”

If he thought for a second that he could trust his brother, he would tell him the truth, but Jordan would only take the information and use it to benefit himself. Everything was a competition to him. He was convinced that was why Jordan fought for the CEO position at Western Oil. It was some sort of twisted sibling rivalry.

“Anything else?” Nathan asked him.

“Nope, that’s it,” Jordan said, then added on his way out the door, “Don’t forget to call Mom.”

He should probably do that now before he forgot. Hopefully he could make it quick. He picked up the phone and dialed his mother’s place and the housekeeper answered. “Your mother is with her bridge club, Mr. Everette. You can try her cell.”

“Could you just let her know that I got her message and I’ll bring the wine for Christmas dinner?”