Tender Touch (28 page)

“Mrs. Lang, it’s okay,” Savoie said.
“Listen, you picked out this place because you were sure no one
would know you here. Relax.”

“Why do both of you have to be here? I
thought I was just meeting you, Mr. Curtis.” Kathy leaned across
the yellow table. “Then you show up with him.”

“John is an investigative reporter for the
Morning Advocate. He needed to hear your story for himself.”
Glenn’s expression said he was not happy to be sharing the source.
But he had no choice.

“I know who he is!” Kathy hissed at him.
“That’s the only reason I’m still here. In fact, Mr. Savoie, since
you’re the reporter with clout at the Morning Advocate, we don’t
need him,” she said, jerking a thumb at Glenn.

“Call me John, ma’am,” the blond-haired man
said with an engaging smile. “Since Mrs. Lang is so uncomfortable,
maybe we should talk alone.”

“Hey, hold up,” Glenn protested. “This is my
story—”

“I’ve been developing this for nine months
now. You’ll get a shot at the local angle, like I said. But I got
most of what I need without you. Mrs. Lang was on my list of key
people to contact anyway.”

“Yeah, but I got you the interview.” Glenn
thumped his chest. “Without me, you wouldn’t have gotten this close
to Lang.” He glared at Savoie.

“Listen, you two work out your squabble
another day,” Kathy snapped. “Do we talk or do I walk?” She looked
from one to the other.

“Glenn, come here a sec,” Savoie said,
tapping Glenn’s arm. When they were a few feet away, he turned his
back to the booth where Kathy sat. “Listen, she’s jittery enough as
it is. You’ll still get a piece of this. Just take off.”

Glenn huffed for several seconds. “What
choice have I got?” He stomped out of the restaurant.

Savoie went back to the booth and sat down
again. “Now let’s start with what I already know...”

* * *

“You just got back from where?” Shaena
stared at Jade with an amazed expression. She had stopped by Jade’s
condo right after leaving the office. “Here I’m having the usual
manic Monday and you’re grinning like a Cheshire cat.”

“You heard right, sugar, Barbados. Three
magical days with Damon.” Jade sank onto her sofa with a sigh. “A
dream come true.”

“You dropped everything at the last moment
and flew off to Barbados? Just like that?” Shaena sat down. “I
can’t believe it.”

“Quit looking at me all goo-goo-eyed like I
just announced I flew to Jupiter. I can be spontaneous, too.” Jade
lifted her nose in the air. She popped up and went into her
kitchen. “I’ve got some iced raspberry herbal tea.”

Shaena followed her. “Fine.” She took the
glass and sipped from it. Still dumbfounded, she wandered back into
the living room behind Jade. “Have mercy. Tell me everything. I
mean everything.”

“The hotel was beautiful and—”

“Beach view from the bedroom? King-sized
bed, too, I’ll bet.” Shaena gulped in air at Jade’s gleeful nod.
“Whoa! Then what?”

“We ate at an enchanting restaurant called
The Boatyard. It’s on the outskirts of Bridgetown.” Jade’s eyes
glowed at the memory of holding Damon’s hand across the table,
listening to the melodic steel drum band.

“Skip the G-rated stuff. Get down to the
nitty-gritty. What does he like when... you know.”

“Shaena! I don’t kiss and tell.” Jade
smirked at her over the rim of her tea glass.

“Oh, come on!”

“Forget it.”

“Fine. I wasn’t really interested in details
anyway.” Shaena affected a tone of disinterest. She relaxed against
the back of the love seat.

“The reverse psychology routine is tired,
baby. You’re dying to hear all about it.” Jade eyed her.

“Ooh, I could strangle you, Jade Pellerin.”
Shaena shot her a dirty look. “Just tell me this; did you do it on
a secluded, lovely beach?”

“No way! You’ve been reading too many
romance novels,” Jade said with a laugh. “Those folks would have
arrested us for sure.”

“Another fantasy shot down. Seriously
though, I think it’s great that you’re so happy.” Shaena beamed at
her. “Didn’t I tell you? Giving in to the feeling doesn’t always
mean losing out.”

“Shaena, happy doesn’t begin to describe how
I feel. In fact, words fail.” Jade shook her head.

“And now you’re back to the old grind. I
assume you’re going to work tomorrow.” Shaena raised both eyebrows.
“I mean, you haven’t quit your job to run off to this island
paradise forever—”

“Do I look like I’ve gone completely nuts?
Don’t answer that.” Jade cut her off.

“I hate to spoil your good mood, but things
are getting strange down at the department.” Shaena sat up with a
serious expression. She put her empty glass on the end table at her
elbow. “How do you mean?”

“Dumaine is asking all kinds of questions.
Computers are being moved around, and all of a sudden none of the
attorneys in legal want anything to do with writing rules for Bill
Lang.” Shaena ran her fingers through her braids. “I don’t like it
one bit, Jade.”

“Bill told me about Dumaine while we were in
D.C. It’s all routine at this point. And as for that other stuff,
you’re seeing conspiracies again.” Jade shrugged. She went into the
kitchen to get a bowl of nuts and chips.

“Brad says thing are happening at higher
levels, too. A lot of meetings with the purpose kept vague. He’d
heard talk that there are serious questions about policies out of
your office.”

“Déjà vu, girl. Like I said before, there is
no smoking gun. I’ve tracked everything, and it’s all been done in
compliance with rule- making procedures. I wouldn’t be sitting here
so cool otherwise.”

Shaena took a deep breath. “Okay, this is
the real reason why I wanted to talk to you away from the office.
Brad swore me to secrecy, so don’t repeat this or I’ll deny
it.”

“Check, I’ll swallow poison from my secret
ring if they try to get it out of me,” Jade said in a stage
whisper.

“Will you cut that out? Word is Bill has
somehow made lots of money from decisions made.” Shaena nodded
slowly as the playful expression melted from Jade’s face.

“I don’t believe it.” Jade tried not to feel
uneasy.

“Only a few real insiders are even willing
to whisper this.”

Several minutes of silence stretched between
them as Jade chewed over this new information and Shaena chewed on
several snack foods from the bowl. Bill did not seem like the
underhanded type. Sure he overdid the charm sometimes, but that was
just Jade’s personal preference. Since Nick, men with too much
polish did not appeal to her. And after all these were just rumors.
Her previous boss had been tainted by false accusations that were
never proven. Jade remembered the long hours working with Bill. He
was truly dedicated. He could have profited dozens of ways but did
not attempt to do so. Despite the whispers, Jade was not
convinced.

“Bill Lang may not be a saint, but if he was
that crooked, I’d have smelled a rat by now. Since that last near
fiasco, I’ve kept my eyes wide open, sugar.” Jade went to the hall
closet for her coat.

“I hope you’re right, for all our sakes.
Every time there’s a shake up, everybody gets hit by the flying
shrapnel. The good suffer with the bad.”

“You’re telling me? It takes forever to get
even a minor contract through review since that last little
scandal. You’d think these guys would learn. Reporters love to read
public records.” Jade gave a grunt of distaste.

“Yeah, they used to slip it by them all the
time. Keep it under fifty thousand and word it just right. Throw
your old frat brothers a plum contract. That way no review by the
legislative auditor, contract review or the inspector general.”
Shaena gave a short laugh. “Gotta hand it to ’em, they’re
slick.”

“But I’m telling you, Shaena, Bill hasn’t
pulled any tricks. And you know I’ve seen it all.” Jade stood
before her. The more she thought about the last few months, the
better she felt.

“Like I said, I hope you’re right.”

“Look, I’m not going to lose my jazzed-up
feeling from this weekend.” Jade pushed department worries from her
mind. “There is life outside that Ten-story box downtown.”

“There is? Why didn’t somebody tell me?”
Shaena cackled.

“Girl, you and Brad are both workaholics.
I’ll bet you’d sleep down there if they let you.” Jade shook a
finger at her.

“Well, we didn’t exactly sleep on Brad’s
desk late on Thursday night,” Shaena said with a sassy wink.

Jade’s mouth flew open. “You didn’t! His
desk?”

“Overtime has its benefits.”

“Have mercy.”

“Whew! Just thinking about it makes me
hungry. How about the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Red Dragon?”
Shaena stood up.

“I’m with you. Boy, you are something else.”
Jade stopped and stared at her friend, then shook her head.

“Hey, we got caught up in the moment. Just
like you and your honey. He’s something else, I bet.”

Jade’s smile returned. “Yeah, Damon is the
original Dr. Feelgood.”

“Brad ain’t no slob, either.” Shaena moved
her lips seductively. She hummed and snapped her fingers.

Jade belted out the words, doing her
imitation of Aretha Franklin. They danced out the dance floor,
giggling and singing off key. Still they did not fully recapture
the buoyant mood left over from her Barbados weekend. Jade made a
decision that she would speak to Bill about the rumors at the first
opportunity. She was sure he’d heard at least some rumblings by
now. Even if he had made a few poor judgments, Jade could not stand
by and watch another talented black official suffer an unfair
setback. Yes, she would definitely talk to him.

* * *

Two days later Damon sat stone-faced in
Eddie’s office at the center. He did not like what he was
hearing.

“I should have known,” Damon said. He
slammed a fist down on the desk. “That sleazy bum.”

“Keep your voice down, man.” Eddie got up
and closed the door. “Anyway, it’s all unsubstantiated rumors right
now.”

“William Jefferson Lang, III, is a rotten,
lying—” Damon broke off at the look of reproof from his
quiet-spoken friend. “Sorry. It’s just that we need people in those
high positions so much for the sake of communities like this. But
what we keep getting is Bill Lang and his sort.”

“I know how you feel. But like I said, this
is just talk going around certain circles. My buddy in the Medicaid
office swore me to secrecy.” Eddie watched his friend. “What is
this with you and Lang anyway?”

“Let’s just say I’ve seen his handiwork,
man. Lang is a master at orchestrating shady schemes. But he always
manages to escape without a scratch.”

“He’ll need every ounce of skill to get out
of this if it hits the fan. If they can trace it back to him.”

“At least the center isn’t involved.” Damon
started to relax until he noticed the look on Eddie’s face.
“What?”

“Uh, more bad news. Questions are being
raised about the way decisions were made on several grant
programs.” Eddie held on to the arms of his chair, braced for a new
outburst.

“Then we’ll just show them that Gracie
Center is squeaky clean.” Damon did not raise his voice, but it was
obvious he was struggling to control his temper. “We’ve got to
protect the at-risk teen programs we just started.”

“You might as well know it all,” Eddie
muttered. He ran a hand over his short haircut. “The contract we
have to operate our AIDS prevention program and drug programs are
being criticized. It’s not just the new grant.”

“That’s almost one quarter of our budget.
This is bad, Eddie. Really bad.” Damon, in true fashion, began to
worry about the people being served. He forgot about his anger
toward Lang.

“Reverend Little is going to say ‘I told you
so’ real quick if we lose that money.”

Damon let out a groan at the mention of the
stern young Baptist preacher. “Over a year ago, Ted brought up that
we shouldn’t be so dependent on state money. And we got into a hot
argument that stretched over three meetings.”

“This is my fault. I should have pursued
grants from Greek organizations, the Links—and others. I’ve let
myself get too wrapped up in the day-to-day running of this place,
going from one crisis to another.” Eddie let out a long breath.

“Don’t talk nonsense. You’ve done an
outstanding job,” Damon said with intensity. “You can’t be
everywhere at once.”

“I don’t know, man. Maybe my focus should
shift to being a better administrator.” Eddie shook his head. “Just
the thought of losing those programs because I didn’t take the time
to go after more money makes me sick.”

“Eddie, if you put in more time at the
center, Beverly would never see you. You work late on a regular
basis and come to weekend center activities. Beverly comes with the
kids as much to see you as to help out,” Damon said with a
grin.

Eddie smiled at the mention of his family.
“Yeah, she’s one of a kind. Bev is what makes our house a home.” He
grew grave again. “Lots of kids don’t have that, Damon. I feel like
this center is a lifeline. We’ve got to protect it.”

“And we will, man. We will.” Damon clenched
his fist again. “Grade Street Center and the Heritage Foundation
have over ten years of credibility in this city. Not to mention a
powerhouse board backing it.”

“Like Reverend Little,” Eddie said. “He’s
not just fiery in the pulpit. He may fuss behind closed doors, but
when the chips are down, he’ll be behind us all the way. Still I’m
going to make a few phone calls to the River City Links president,
AKA, the Deltas and a few others today.”

“They can’t give us the kind of money we get
from those grants. We’d have to scale back, even eliminate
programs.” Damon got angry again. “No, we haven’t done anything
wrong, so our community center should not suffer.”