[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
his attention. He picked it up. He read the words written on her To Do list for today:
Talk to Donald Schuster again regarding the Westmoreland recipes.
The paper slipped from his hand as he felt a stabbing sensation in his heart. He closed his
eyes in denial. There was no way another Graham was betraying a Westmoreland. It
couldn't be possible. When he opened his eyes and stared at the paper and the photo once
again, he saw that anything was possible. Had Schuster heard that he was thinking about
franchising and made some kind of deal with Jessica to get close to him? Damn, she had
gotten close to him, and he had even trusted her enough to share one of the recipes with
her. What was in it for her? A chance to sell her sweets in
168
THE CHASE IS ON
all the Schuster restaurants around the country? He clenched his teeth. It hurt like hell to
know she was an opportunist, just like Iris had been.
He felt angrier than he'd ever felt in his life, anger mingled with deeply entrenched pain.
He left the office and raced back up the stairs. For the second time in his life he had given
his heart to a woman and look what happened. Never again would he trust blindly.
He felt a tightening around his heart when he walked back into Jessica's bedroom. His
body was torn with the love he felt for her and the hurt her betrayal was causing.
Exhaling deeply, as if that could expel any emotions he felt for her, he walked over to the
bed. "Jessica, wake up."
Fighting sleep, Jessica slowly opened her eyes when she heard the sound of Chase's
voice. When he came into focus she saw that he was standing over her with features filled
with anger. She pulled herself up in bed. "What's wrong, Chase?"
For a moment he didn't say anything; he just looked at her and the anger was there,
clearly, in his eyes. "Chase, please tell me what's wrong."
"Why didn't you tell me you were Carlton Graham's granddaughter? Did you get a kick
out of playing me for a fool?"
She sucked in a quick breath, wondering how he had found out, but then knowing it
really didn't matter. He had found out and she hadn't been the one to tell him. "No, that's
not it at all, Chase. I wanted to tell you but thought I could prove my grandfather's
innocence first."
"You can't prove what isn't true."
Jessica was out of bed in a flash. She got into Chase's
BRENDA JACKSON
169
face, not caring that she was completely naked. "My grandfather didn't take any recipes
and I wanted to prove it. But then I fell in love with you and "
"Hell, you didn't fall in love with me. It was nothing but an act. Do you think I'm stupid,
Jessica? I saw that note about you meeting with Schuster today. Are the two of you
working together to pry more recipes out of a Westmoreland? What did he offer you? A
chance to peddle your sweets in his restaurants?"
Jessica shook her head. "No. How could you think something like that? Schuster has
answers. Someone gave him those recipes all those years ago, and since I knew it wasn't
my grandfamer, I met with him once to see what he could tell me. I'm meeting with him
again to get more information out of him if I can."
Chase drew in a deep breath. He wanted to believe her, but all he could think about was
her betraying his love. His mouth tightened in a harsh line. "If any of what you're saying
is true, why didn't you tell me who you were? We've been seeing each other for almost a
month, Jessica, and during that time you've had every opportunity to tell me the truth, but
you never mentioned you were related to Carlton."
Jessica swallowed, knowing he had her there. There had been opportunities when she
could have shared that fact with him. "Like I told you, Chase, I wanted to prove his
innocence first. I was going to tell you when you first got here last night, but I didn't get a
chance to. You've got to believe me. Chase. I love you and "
Chase laughed. It was an unforgiving sound. "Love?
170
THE CHASE IS ON
Is this how you show your love? By being deceitful? Then I don't want any part of it."
He turned and walked out of the room. Jessica held her breath until she heard the door
slam shut behind him. Tears flooded her eyes. She had made a complete mess of things.
She hadn't cleared her grandfather's name, and worse Chase hated her.
Eleven
V^hase slipped out of bed. Whenever he traveled he made it a point to stay at the best
hotels. But a nice room and a soft bed couldn't prevent his restless nights.
For the past two days he had been so thickly involved with business negotiations that he
hadn't allowed anything or anyone to invade his thoughts.. .other than Jessica. She had
managed to wiggle inside his head, although he hadn't wanted her there.
And he couldn't get her out no matter how hard he tried.
Without wanting them to, memories of that night came back to flood his mind. She had
actually looked shocked by his accusation. Well, hell, how had she expected him to
react? Had she thought he would embrace her with open arms? Overlook the fact that his
grand-
172
THE CHASE IS ON
father and hers had ended up bitter enemies? For heaven's sake, she was a Graham and he
was a Westmoreland. He distinctively remembered his grandfather's warning never to
trust a Graham. Not only had he trusted one, he had fallen in love with one.
He sighed deeply. And did she actually think he would believe her story about trying to
prove her grandfather innocent? That the only reason she had met with Schuster was to
find out the truth?
But then he couldn't dismiss the possibility that his reluctance to believe her was the
reason she hadn't leveled with him in the beginning. She had known he wouldn't embrace
her with open arms. They would have become enemies before having the chance to
become friends.
On top of knowing that, there was this thought that had been nagging at him for the past
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]