Tender Touch Page 4

  “To the exclusion of everything else.” Lang’s voice had a hard edge that sliced through the space between them. “Even spending time with my son. I had to fight like crazy to get my ex-wife to let him spend three weeks a year with me.”

  “You know how much I enjoy having little Derrick visit.” Kathy failed to sound sincere.

  Lang gave a snort of skepticism. “Yeah, sure you do. That’s why you throw temper tantrums whenever he asks to spend time with me.”

  “His mother uses it as an excuse to call my house and throw herself at you!” Kathy snarled. “That witch still wants you.”

  “Now you’re back on this kick about Ilene. What is it with you anyway?” Lang gazed at her with a sour look.

  “Bill, please. I didn’t come here to fight.” Kathy tried to appease him.

  “Then why are you here, Kathy?” Lang went back to scanning the papers in front of him.

  “I thought we could... Honey, let’s take a long lunch together.” Kathy got up and crossed to stand beside him. She stroked his hair. “Like we used to.”

  “I’ve got too much to do today.” Lang ignored her.

  “You’re the boss. Take the rest of day off. I set us up an appointment at Crown Travel. There is a wonderful trip to Jamaica that would be just heaven.”

  “No.” Lang still did not stop reading.

  “I have pictures of the suite we’d have. It has a view of the beach and this fabulous king-sized bed.” Kathy leaned down to nibble his ear. “I always could make you forget work with a certain touch in just the right place.” She reached down toward his lap.

  Lang pushed her hand away. “I can’t get away right now. Excuse me.” He reached to open the desk drawer next to her hip. “I need to get something.”

  Kathy jumped back. “Why can’t we go? It’s not like you don’t have able assistants.” She perched on the desk edge again when he closed the drawer.

  “Because there is a lot going on right now that I personally have to attend to. Why don’t you run along so I can get back to work?” Lang gave her a brief glance before picking up another report.

  Kathy’s face became rigid with anger. “Just like that. Run along, Kathy.” Neither paid attention to the knock on the door.

  “Bill, Warren is going to bring you that... Oh, I’m sorry.” Jade stopped just inside the door when she saw Kathy. The look on the woman’s face made her back up. “It can wait.”

  “Come in, Jade. Kathy is on her way out.” Lang stood up and took his wife’s arm. He walked her out. “Goodbye, dear.” He gave her a perfunctory kiss on the cheek.

  “We’ll continue this discussion later.” Kathy scowled at him then directed her ire toward Jade. “Goodnight, Ms. Pellerin.” There was no mistaking the belligerence in her voice. She stalked off.

  Jade cleared her throat. “I’m really sorry for interrupting. I didn’t stop to think Mrs. Lang might still be with you.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Lang seemed to have already dismissed his wife from his mind. “Come in.”

  Jade followed his lead and got back to business. “As I was saying, Warren is going to come down this afternoon.”

  “Good. We can get started preparing for the next legislative session. Now what about this note you left on Senator Boudreaux?”

  They spent well over an hour sorting through notes from legislators who wanted to discuss health care issues in preparation for committee meetings. The phone rang every ten minutes it seemed. By four-thirty Jade was still busy even as she waved goodbye to the other office support staff on their way out.

  “Jade, it’s been a long day,” Lang said. He leaned against the door frame of her office.

  “A long week, Mr.—”

  “Ah-ah.” Lang held up a forefinger.

  “I mean Bill. The weekend didn’t come too soon for me.” Jade arranged items on her desk in a neat configuration so as to make her day start off right on Monday. “Oh, here are some more reports for you, but they can wait until next week.”

  “Thanks. Got big plans, I suppose.” Lang spoke in a casual voice. He followed Jade toward the elevators.

  “Yeah, dressing real comfortably and doing nothing.” Jade laughed.

  “Some of us are going out for dinner and drinks. Why not come along?” They stopped in front of Lang’s office.

  “Thanks, but I’m meeting a friend.”

  “Oh? Well, I see. Have a good weekend, then.” Lang smiled at her and walked away waving.

  “You, too,” Jade called out. She turned in time to see the elevator door open with Shaena standing inside.

  ‘Taxi, ma’am?” Shaena beckoned to her with energy. “Come on, let’s get out of this place and pretend we don’t have to come back.”

  Thirty minutes later they settled in at their favorite seafood restaurant, Uncle Joe’s, savoring the aromas. Jade nursed a diet soda while Shaena sipped iced tea. These were their drinks since both were driving.

  “Ah-hhh, that hit the spot.” Shaena smacked her lips. She waved to several people who passed.

  “What would we do without Uncle Joe?” Jade let out a sigh of contentment.

  Both women gazed around at the dining room that had been a fixture since the early sixties in the black community. An old jukebox blared blues tunes by Buddy Guy and Tabby Thomas. Friends, some who had known each other since childhood, laughed and talked with great animation. Waitresses called customers by name.

  “There would be a riot if Joe Junior ever closed this place. And I’d be the ringleader.” Shaena switched her attention to Jade. “Now about your social life.”

  “Say what? How did we get onto this subject?” Jade folded her arms in a defensive pose.

  “I brought it up, that’s how. I just hate seeing you acting like the Lone Ranger, girl.” Shaena put her elbows on the table. “Listen, being lonely is not the cure for being hurt by one man.”

  “Thank you, Miss Ebony Advisor,” Jade quipped.

  “I’m being serious, work and more work is no life. This guy I’m dating has a real fine friend. His name is Norman.” Shaena sat forward.

  “No, thank you.”

  “Look, if Damon ain’t your speed, give Norman a go. He’s very serious, a churchgoer and never been married.”

  Jade groaned. “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?”

  “Well, if not Norman, then... Hey, over here!” Shaena stood up and gestured to someone.

  “Is that Latonya with our order? About time,” Jade said. She put a napkin in her lap.

  Jade twisted around, expecting to see a tray of food balanced by their waitress. Instead Damon walked up with the fluid movement of an athlete sure of every step. He was wearing dark green corduroy pants with a matching plaid shirt open at the collar. His tan jacket was slung across his shoulder. His dark hair was a frame of tight curls like lamb’s wool framing his face. She let out a tiny gasp at the sight of him, so fine and smiling down at her.

  “Good evening. You ladies addicted to this place like three- fourths of the black folks in Baton Rouge, eh?”

  “You bet. Join us.” Shaena maneuvered him onto the seat next to Jade in the booth.

  “I was just going to get take-out...but I guess I could stay.” Damon hesitated only a few beats before sitting next to Jade. “How are you, Ms. Pellerin?”

  “Okay,” Jade replied. Her mouth felt like cotton. Having him so close sent tiny jolts of delight through her. A wild urge to inch closer until their thighs touched seized her. In response, she moved toward the wall away from him.

  Damon noticed her discomfort. “They’ll have my order ready soon. I should be going anyway.” He turned away to stare across the restaurant. “I have someplace to go.”

  “Don’t be silly. Stay and eat with us. Right, Jade?” Shaena shot her a look of disapproval at her behavior.

  Jade felt a tinge of guilt at his reaction and Shaena’s admonishment. “Yeah, sure. No need to rush off.”

  Right, stay here and help me make a
pure idiot of myself. Jade wondered if she could resist the strong magnetic field this man radiated. No surprise women flocked to him. A long moment of awkward silence stretched.

  “Latonya, he’s going to eat in after all, so bring his food with ours.” Shaena took control of the situation. “Now that’s that. So y’all are going to be working on some project I hear.” She looked from one to the other.

  Jade cleared her throat. “Not exactly, he—”

  “Actually Ms. Pellerin will be working with the director of the Gracie Street Center. I, uh, I’m on the board of directors is all.” Damon darted a glance at Jade from the comer of his eye.

  Shaena suppressed a smile at the two of them studiously avoiding eye contact. “I hear you helped get the place started. It’s given kids a safe, clean place to hang out. Not a small thing in that area of town.”

  Damon’s dark eyes brightened. “Eddie has worked real hard to give that neighborhood a center where people could come together and be a real community again. I haven’t done much really.”

  “Don’t be modest. Why, you’ve given more time and money than a lot of people have in this town. You even sent a couple of those children to junior college.” Shaena studied Jade. She smiled when Jade turned to Damon.

  “That’s what kids living in such poor neighborhoods need, a place to have some hope—which is why I’m so glad about these grants we’ll be getting,” Jade joined in.

  Damon nodded. “Yes, the most dangerous person in the world is someone who feels he has nothing to lose. Those kids are talented. But so are their parents. They deserve a chance, too.”

  “Exactly, when parents have a dream they can be better parents. Your adult literacy program is tops in the state. I mean, the program at Gracie Street,” Jade said.

  “We’ve had a couple of the adult students go on to more training and better jobs.” Damon took obvious pride in the work being done at the center he helped create.

  “And with the grant, you could direct more center funds to helping Meals on Wheels to the elderly and the Early Intervention Program. Why, the center could really grow,” Jade continued enthusiastically.

  “We hadn’t considered that—I guess because grant money can dry up.” Damon shrugged.

  “But you could start with grant money but switch to a combination of United Way and Community Care funding. Neither of those will see new programs. But they do fund programs with a track record that could end without their help.” Jade felt excited, thinking about all of the great things the center could do.

  “Now there’s an idea. Well, Ms. Pellerin, I think you and Eddie will make a heck of a team.” Damon wore an expression that said he was impressed.

  Shaena stared at them for a few seconds. “Whew, too much iced tea. Excuse me.” She slid from the seat and winked at Jade as she walked off. Instead of rushing to the ladies’ room, she lingered to chat with a laughing group at a table several feet away.

  Jade watched her with a jaundiced eye. She would get that little sneak later. Damon’s voice brought her back to her predicament. She was determined to hide how attractive she found him—an even harder task now that they were alone.

  “You’ve got a real solid grasp on program implementation and funding. You a social worker?” Damon looked at her.

  “No, my degree is in management. But I’ve had extensive training in public health policy in the last eight years.”

  “So how did you get into human services? I thought all you management grads went into business to make big bucks.” He smiled at her. Smooth brown lips parted to reveal teeth like pearls.

  Jade fought to slow her breathing. Damon Knight could melt icebergs with that smile. She braced herself before speaking.

  “I worked in the private sector for a while. But one of my father’s friends recruited me to work with him when he was appointed as regional manager for the Department of Social Services. I got hooked on helping to shape public policy and stayed.”

  “Lucky for the state of Louisiana and me. What I mean is, your expertise on this project will be a real asset,” Damon added quickly. He tugged at his collar.

  Jade did not look at him. She tried to press down the rise of pleasure his words evoked. How many times had this bashful act worked? “Thank you, but it is my job after all,” she replied in a business tone. Darn, that sounded too prissy even to me.

  Damon sat erect. “Of course.”

  Another of those awkward silences stretched between them. Jade decided she could at least be more cordial to the man. Especially since Shaena was determined to take her sweet time getting back to the booth. The waitress refilled their drinks, giving Damon a big smile and lingering as long as possible.

  “I mean, I’m glad to have the opportunity to work with you on this project. It will mean a lot to those folks.” Jade twisted the drinking straw between her fingers.

  Damon relaxed next to her. “It will. Look, I’ll be at Gracie Street on Wednesday. Maybe you could schedule to visit the.” He stared into his glass of root beer “If you’re not tied up that is.”

  Jade’s heart went thump at the simple invitation. Her mind shouted “yes!” but she forced out a composed, “I’ll check my calendar Monday and let you know.”

  “What’s happening Wednesday?” Shaena seemed to pop out of nowhere, a gleam of mischief in her light brown eyes.

  “Setting up a meeting is all,” Jade blurted out.

  “About the project,” Damon added a little too quickly, he thought. He shifted in his seat.

  “Yeah, right.” Shaena arched an eyebrow at them both. “Well, here is the food, thank goodness. I’m starved.”

  For the rest of the meal, Shaena helped jump start a steady stream of conversation between Jade and Damon. They talked about all kinds of topics. Jade could now see why women were so wild about Damon Knight. He was not only charming and handsome but almost courtly in his treatment of women, yet he did not make it seem artificial. Jade found keeping her thoughts of him neutral to be increasingly difficult.

  Damon glanced at his watch. “Wow, look it’s almost seven- thirty. Ladies, I’d better get moving. My parents are probably wondering what happened to me. It’s really been nice talking to you,” he said, gazing at Jade for several seconds.

  “Yes, nice seeing you, too. I’ll call you Monday...about the site visit.” Jade wanted to keep looking into those eyes for just a few moments longer. She let out a sigh as he walked away. Several female heads swiveled to watch him as he passed through the dining room.

  As though he finally came back to himself, Damon turned around. “Good to see you again, Ms. Greene.” He waved.

  “See ya around, Damon,” Shaena called after him. She wore a smirk. “Damn! The man was so mesmerized by you he forgot I was even in the room.”

  “You’re crazy.” Jade was exhilarated at the thought despite her protest.

  “Maybe, but I ain’t stupid. That man wants you bad.” Shaena leaned toward her.

  “Damon Knight comes on to a lot of women. I want more than a casual thing.”

  “There is nothing casual about it. I saw the look in his eyes. The man is down with some serious feelings for you.” Shaena shook a finger at her.

  Jade held herself in check. “Don’t be silly, Shaena. You don’t know what he’s thinking—or are you psychic now?”

  “Girl, I don’t need gris-gris or tea leaves to tell me Damon is hot for you in more ways than one. The man cares what you think. That’s a sign.” Shaena sat back with a wise look.

  “A sign of what?”

  “In my experience any man who takes time to find out what you think on some dry, serious subject wants more than a slam- jam, thank-you-ma’am kinda thing.” Shaena nibbled on a comer of French bread. “Don’t waste time. Bag it up!”

  “You are hallucinating darlin’. Besides, I’m not going to get involved. So there.” Jade stared at her friend with a resolute expression.

  “Save that act for somebody who might be fooled by it, okay?�
� Shaena waved away her declaration with a manicured hand.

  “I’m not acting. I’m not going to be the same fool twice. And that’s all there is to it.”

  “Yeah, right,” Shaena said, her tone dripped skepticism.

  Jade ignored it and went on to talk of something else. Yet for the rest of the evening, she kept getting flashes of the way his lips, so full and inviting, curved when he smiled. Damon Knight had left an impression that was like a hot brand on her consciousness. A growing anxiety mixed with anticipation at seeing him again took root. She could keep him in check, but could she resist the temptation to give in to his allure? The picture of how those other women looked at him brought her up short. Yes, she would have to be strong. Damon Knight would have fun with her and move on to someone in his league—probably a long-legged beauty from another old Louisiana family. Better to face reality now than be hurt again. Time to end this silly, teenage fantasizing. Jade went home with a new determination to protect herself.

  * * *

  “What about that office building job? Did that new carpet come in time for you to meet the contractor’s schedule?” Oliver Knight sat across from Damon in a large easy chair. His salt and pepper hair was still thick despite his age and recent illness.

  The elder Knight held himself erect, though his right hand curled slightly and he leaned to his left. It was apparent which side of his body had been affected by the stroke he’d suffered two years ago. Still he’d made a good recovery by most standards. He was only a half inch shorter than his oldest son. Dressed stylishly in an expensive long-sleeved sport shirt with olive green chino pants, he was still a striking figure at fifty-nine.

  “Come on, Pops. Forget the business. You should just relax now. How was your golf game?”

  “Damn game,” Oliver muttered. “And Larry Mayew is foul- tempered fool!”

  Damon suppressed a smile. “You’ve been saying that for twenty years now. Why didn’t you guys just quit playing with him?”