Blown Away (25 page)

“People see
that you donate to charities, but they don’t know that you dish out
soup to the homeless or pass out sleeping bags from the back of
your truck on cold winter nights. They don’t know you bought gifts
for all of the kids stuck in this hospital on Christmas day last
year.”

“And I trust
you’ll never tell anyone about those things.” Brent and his father
shared a smile. They would never forget where they’d come from or
how hard it had been. They were always one paycheck away from being
that family living in their car. Brent would always have compassion
and feel obligated to help the people who’d ended up there through
no fault of their own.

“Your secret is
safe with me.” Jerry winked. “Enough of this sappy stuff. Tell me
why you beat the hell out of Rea. And don’t even think about lying
to me. You still have a thing for Jamie? Is that what it was
about?”

“No, it had
nothing to do with Jamie.” Brent shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Or maybe it did, in a roundabout way. I never really dealt with
what happened back then. I just told her to get out of my life, and
she did. I never saw her or Rea again. I don’t know, maybe there
was some residual resentment I should have dealt with.”

Jerry chuckled.
“Ya think? From what I hear, you went all Charles Bronson on his
ass.”

Brent laughed.
Only his father could make him laugh when his gut was twisted up in
knots. “Charles Bronson? Really, Dad?”

“Just get on
with your story already. Why’d ya kick his ass?”

“I walked into
Jimmy’s and saw him dancing with Ava.”

“Ava? That’s
the girl you were all worked up about the other day when you
stopped by the house in the middle of a workday?”

“Yeah, she’s
the one.” Brent realized as soon as the words left his mouth that
they were true. She was
the one
, the only one for him.
Without her, things that used to matter to him didn’t anymore. The
future he’d mapped out took on a muted shade of gray instead of the
vivid Technicolor he envisioned every time Ava stepped into the
picture.

“So why are you
standin’ here with me when you should be down on your knees beggin’
Ava to forgive you for bein’ such a stupid son of a bitch?” He
smiled when Brent scowled. “Don’t even try to deny it. You went
crazy ‘cause she was dancin’ with some other guy. That’s just
stupid.”

“It wasn’t just
some other guy. It was Rea.”

“Speaking of
Rea, have you talked to him?”

“Yeah, we’re
good.”

“I don’t know
how you could be. I heard you knocked a few of his teeth out.”

Brent rolled
his eyes. “Haven’t I told you not to believe everything you
read?”

“Get out of
here. I need my beauty sleep.”

“You sure I
can’t get you anything before I leave?”

“No, but when
you come back, you can bring me one of those juicy burgers with
fries from--”

“I’m not gonna
smuggle that in here. Nurse Ratchet at the front desk will smell it
from a mile away. You’re getting out tomorrow. You can have one
then.”

Jerry reclined
and settled in for a nap. “Since when did you start followin’ the
rules?”

“Since breaking
them may have cost me the best thing that ever happened to me,”
Brent said quietly as he walked out the door.

***

Ava was trying
to concentrate on work when Jamie or Jasmine or whatever she called
herself knocked on her office door. “What can I do for you?”

Jasmine smiled.
“I know you’re busy, but do you have a minute? I’d really like to
talk to you.”

Deciding the
day couldn’t get much worse, Ava motioned for her to come in. She
hadn’t seen or spoken to Brent in almost three weeks, and she was
questioning whether they would ever find their way back to each
other.

“This won’t
take long,” Jasmine said, smiling, as she claimed the seat across
from Ava. “This is about Brent.”

“I assumed as
much. We don’t have anything else in common.” Ava winced when she
realized how that sounded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.
It’s just been one of those days.” Tomorrow or the day after that
didn’t look much better. Life without Brent seemed bleak, almost
pointless.

“I understand.”
Jasmine folded her hands on top of her large leather case. “I know
it’s none of my business, but do you think you can find a way to
forgive him? He’s miserable without you.”

Ava was
stunned, but she hoped she was doing a fair job of masking her
surprise. “How would you know that?”

“We’ve been
working together on his house.”

“I see.” The
thought of Brent working so closely with his ex, a woman obviously
still in love with him, was difficult for Ava to swallow.

“I’d already
completed the drawings years ago. They were exactly what he wanted,
so he didn’t see any reason to start over with another architect.”
She withdrew the plans from her portfolio and set them on Ava’s
desk. “This is his dream house.”

Ava looked at
the plans, complete with a full-color artist’s rendering. It was
stunning. Natural stone with subtle cedar accents that blended into
the surroundings. Ava envisioned it up on that hill, overlooking
the stunning view of his private lake. Lazy afternoons on the
water, drifting in his sailboat, morning coffee on the wraparound
deck or sunsets on lawn chairs at the end of the dock. She smiled
as she imagined roasting marshmallows with their family and friends
around the fire pit.

“You’re
smiling,” Jasmine said. “That must mean you like it.”

“I love it,”
she whispered, gliding her fingertip over the pitched cedar
roof.

“You could
imagine yourself living here with him.”

It wasn’t a
question, it was a statement, so Ava didn’t feel obligated to
respond. She simply waited for Jasmine to continue. If she wanted
to rub Ava’s nose in the fact she was the one helping Brent to
realize his dream, she’d already achieved her objective.

“He can’t
imagine living here without you.” Ava looked up, holding her breath
as she waited for Jasmine to continue. “You’re part of his dream,
Ava. The biggest part.”

“Why are you
telling me this?”

“Because I
loved Brent once. I want him to be happy, and I can see that being
without you is making him miserable. He needs you. Money won’t make
him happy. No matter how many companies he owns, business won’t
make him happy either.”

“What will?”
Ava wasn’t even certain she knew. Asking his ex-fiancée for insight
was humbling, but if Jasmine could help her understand Brent, Ava
was willing to listen.

“You.” She
smiled, though it never quite reached her eyes. “Just you.”

Ava’s heart
went out to the other woman when Jasmine cleared her throat. She
was obviously fighting back tears. Ava couldn’t even imagine how
she would feel if their situations were reversed and Brent was in
love with Jasmine.

“Don’t punish
him because he made one mistake, Ava. We all make mistakes. Trust
me, I know.”

Ava looked down
at the drawings. “I’ll call him. Maybe we can get together tonight
and figure out where we go from here.”

“He’s going to
be at the site at three. I’m supposed to meet him there, but I have
a feeling he’d be happier if you showed up instead.” Jasmine got up
and straightened her skirt. “Good luck.”

Ava tried to
hand the drawings back, but Jasmine shook her head. “They’re yours.
Don’t make the same mistake I did. Brent’s the kind of man you
spend your life trying to forget, but you never quite do. You have
a chance at a life most women only dream about. Don’t let fear get
in the way.”

***

Brent sat in
the driveway of the colonial mansion he’d vowed he would never set
foot in again. But he was only a boy then. He’d become a man, and
he had to face his problems. He couldn’t use his money to bully the
weaker man anymore. It was time to lay his cards on the table and
try to make up for the years they’d lost. Brent stood in front of
the double doors and drew a deep breath before he found the courage
to ring the doorbell.

His
half-brother, Jace, answered the door. “What the hell are you doing
here?”

The two men had
never been friendly… not since fifteen-year-old Jace showed up at
Brent’s office and asked Brent why he didn’t want to have a
relationship with him. That conversation filled Brent with shame.
He’d told the kid he was a stranger to him and that’s how he wanted
it to stay. Sharing the same mother was an accident of birth. It
didn’t make them family. That’s how he’d felt then. His father’s
recent brush with death and the knowledge that his father had been
able to forgive made him realize it was time for him to do the
same. Forgive and ask for forgiveness.

“I came to talk
to you and your parents.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, trying
not to look adversarial. “Are they around?”

“My dad hasn’t
been feeling too well,” Jace said, gripping the doorknob. “He’s
been under a lot of stress, thanks to you.”

“That’s what
I’d like to talk to y’all about. I might have a solution to your
problem.” Brent hoped he did. He would never consider Martin a
friend, or even a stepfather, but he didn’t want to be his enemy
anymore. He had a better understanding of what prompted his mother
to leave, and he couldn’t hold Martin responsible.

“What’s your
angle, Armstrong?” Jace asked, narrowing his eyes. “Are you here to
lull us into a false sense of security before you lower the
boom?”

Jace had every
reason to be suspicious, but Brent wouldn’t allow that to deter
him. “I haven’t got all day, kid. Are you gonna let me in or
not?”

“Fine.” He
stepped away from the door. “I’ll let them know you’re here.”

Brent wandered
through the marble foyer into the sunken living room. He was
surprised to find framed pictures of himself and Keith on the
mantle alongside pictures of Jace. Brent realized Jerry must have
given them to his mother.

“Brent,”
Claudia said, entering the room ahead of her husband, “this is a
surprise. What brings you by?”

Brent could
tell she was trying to act casual, but the tremor in her voice gave
her away. “I had a talk with Dad, and I thought a lot about what
you said, Mother.” He was tempted to call her by her first name,
just to let her know he wasn’t ready to welcome her back into his
life with open arms just yet. He decided that she knew it would
take time. They would have to get to know each other and hopefully
build a new kind of relationship, as adults.

“I see.” She
gestured to the sofa when Jace and Martin claimed the two
armchairs. “Please sit down. Can I get you a drink?”

“No, thank you.
This won’t take long.” He looked at Martin. “I’ve decided a hostile
takeover isn’t the best approach to take with your company.”

Martin sat up
straighter, a glimmer of hope in his dark eyes. “What are your
plans?”

“I think I can
turn things around.” Brent set one elbow on the mantle and put the
other hand in his pocket, adopting a casual pose he knew would
convey his message: He was still the one in charge. He was throwing
them a bone. They could choose not to accept it, but they wouldn’t
get a second chance. “I’d like to suggest you hang on to your
shares of the company for now.”

“Why?” Jace
asked, crossing his arms. “You’ve already driven the value
down--”

Martin held his
hand up. “Let’s hear him out, Jace.” Martin obviously wasn’t a
stupid man. He knew Brent had backed him into a corner. He could
either surrender or come out fighting a losing battle.

Brent
continued. “I’m confident I can turn things around. With a few key
changes, we can make the company profitable again within eighteen
months. If you want to sell your shares at that time, I’d be happy
to buy them at fair market value.”

“Why are you
offering to do this?” Martin asked, leaning forward. “You hate
me.”

Brent shrugged.
He’d never allowed emotions in any of his business dealings, but
Martin’s company had always been the exception. Whether they wanted
a relationship with him or not was irrelevant; Jace and Claudia
were still his family. “I’m a venture capitalist. I like making
money and I believe in mitigating risk.”

“Why am I
having a hard time believing this?” Martin asked, shaking his
head.

“Probably
because I’ve hated you since the first time I laid eyes on you.
Ruining your life became my life’s work.” Brent’s lips turned up at
one corner. “It drove me to make a lot of money over the years, so
I really can’t complain about the outcome.”

Martin matched
Brent’s half smile. “I’m glad I could be of service.”

Brent glanced
at his mother, who looked stunned. “I thought I had all the
answers. It turns out, I didn’t.”

“Your
father...” Claudia looked from her husband to her eldest son. “Is
he responsible for this?”

“I make my own
decisions.” Brent cast a glance at Jace, who looked as surprised as
his parents. “You’ve made a lot of mistakes with the company, kid.
I’m going to assume it had more to do with inexperience than
stupidity.”

Jace glared at
him. “Who are you to tell me--”

“My track
record speaks for itself. I buy and sell companies like yours every
day. My brother…” He cleared his throat. “
Our
brother,
Keith, is an expert at restructuring companies like yours to make
them profitable. He can work with you for the next year, help you
to establish your deficiencies and create an action plan for
correcting them.”

Jace asked,
“Why would he want to do that?”

“Because
whether we like it or not, we’re family.” Brent caught Claudia
wiping a stray tear from her cheek. “I don’t know that we’re even
going to like each other. Maybe too much damage has already been
done, but I’m willing to accept my share of blame if y’all are
willing to start over and try to figure out a way to make this
work.”