The Perfect Storm (The Blake Boys Book 6) (2 page)

Channing interrupted. “The dating world has changed since you were last out there. It couldn’t hurt to get a refresher course. Besides, we don’t want you doing something stupid like falling in love with the first woman you sleep with.”

“Out.” J.J. hustled them out of there and closed the door.

He ran a hand over his face. He was officially a teenager again. Hopefully he’d dodge the angst and constant boners this time around.

* * *

Blake Enterprises was just the distraction J.J. needed from the upheaval of his personal life. He enjoyed the serenity and sweeping, lush landscape of the Twelve Horseshoes ranch, but he also loved the hustle and bustle of Dallas. It had been four years since his father turned over the reins of the company to him, and in that time he’d taken the company into a new stratosphere with aggressive, innovative land and construction deals that, as of last year, had made them a billion-dollar corporation.

It was good to be back in the office. The spacious office had a magnificent view of downtown Dallas. There was a conference room table and a sitting area with a couch and arm chairs. The door on the other side of the room led to his private bedroom suite, equipped with a shower. There were plenty of nights he’d opted to stay at the office rather than go home and face the emptiness that awaited him.

“Good morning Mr. Blake. How was the wedding?” Anna Beth, his executive assistant, beamed as she followed him into his office.

“It was great. I’ve never seen my brother happier. Did you do something with your hair?” J.J. hung his Stetson on the rack in the corner.

“I was in the mood for a change. Thought I’d try something new and exciting.” She smiled and ran a hand through her new short locks.

“It looks good on you.”

“Thanks.” She cleared her throat. “I received a reminder from Governor Thorpe’s office about the RSVP for the garden party he throwing next month. What do you want me to tell them?”

“You know I hate Ethan’s extravagant parties. See if Bubba can go in my place.”

“I asked, he said to remind you that you still have two IOU’s that he intends to cash in on soon.”

J.J. ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s use ‘my schedule is booked.’”

“Sorry, but you used that excuse last time. Besides, you told me the next time you tried to avoid one of the governor’s parties, to ignore you.”

J.J. chuckled. “Then I guess I’ll be going.”

“I’ll say that you’re attending. What about a plus one?” She bit her lip.

Plus one? Fancy parties were Eden’s thing, so he never had to talk her into attending social functions outside of the ranch.

“That’s fine. I’ll see if my Momma wants to go.” He mused.

“OK. Great.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “The audit with Regency begins this week. Since Mr. Jamison will be on vacation, would you like me to reschedule?”

“No, I already told my dad I would take care of it. Why would I reschedule?”

“I think Mr. Jamison looks forward to it.” Anna Beth gave him a sly grin.

“We’ll let him enjoy his vacation without worrying about the audit.”

“Maybe you should remind him. He’s in the office right now. He dropped off the Jacob Springs report a little while ago.” She pointed to the binder on his desk.

“If you see him again, tell him he’s supposed to be on vacation. Tell him you’ll call security and have him thrown out if he doesn’t leave.” J.J. turned on his computer and smiled. The screensaver was a group photo of the Blakes.

“I’ve also taken the liberty and cleared your calendar this morning. I thought you’d want to catch up on some things before you jumped back into meetings.”

“Thanks Anna Beth. What would I do without you?”

“Luckily you’ll never have to find out.” Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink as she scooted out of the door.

J.J. perused the first year report on Jacob Springs. The resort was a phenomenal success and was already yielding great profits. He had his sights set on a project in Montana after the deal with Affinity was wrapped up in his old home state Colorado. He had been a quarterback for the Denver Colts before a knee injury sidelined his career. Those had been the best three years of his life. He was playing the sport he loved and life was filled with so much promise. Ten years later, he was retired from his beloved football and divorced, nursing a bad knee and a broken heart.

A thunderous knock at the door brought him out of his bittersweet daydream.

“Come in.” J.J. looked up from the report. “Bubba, what are you doing here?”

“I remembered a few notes I had on my desk that needed addressing, so I here I am.” Bubba plopped down in a chair. “I thought we agreed you’d call me Bo in the office.”

“Why would I do that when I know it pisses you off so much?” J.J. laughed.

“Why are you giving me grief? You haven’t taken a vacation in the four years since you took over the company.”

“I don’t take vacations so my father can remain happily retired on that ranch spending his days with my Momma and chewing the fat with your daddy.” J.J. quipped.

“Are you sure I’m not taking too much time off?” Bubba winced.

“It’s only a month. Enjoy your road trip with your father. Besides, you are casually scouting land in Arkansas, remember?”

“That’s right.” Bubba breathed a sigh of relief. “How did the demolition party go?”

“Jesse and the boys are almost done clearing everything away. They begin new construction next week.” J.J. tapped his pen on the edge of the desk.

“I still can’t believe you demolished a perfectly good home.” Bubba took a seat.

“It wasn’t as simple as selling the house and moving. I knew Tyler or Channing wouldn’t want it, and daddy wouldn’t want a stranger living on the ranch. Besides, I want to sleep in a house that doesn’t have ghosts running through it.”

“I saw you sneaking off with Eden at the wedding reception. I thought for sure you’d reconcile.”

“Eden and I were saying goodbye the only way we knew how. Naked.” J.J. shrugged.

“You should have been prepared for that. You know how weddings make women all…” Bubba coughed.

“Horny?” J.J. grinned. “Speaking of horny. How did the evening end with your date? Felicia was it?”

“It was a very pleasant evening.” Bo winked. “Seth is making the rest of us look bad. My dad’s been talking about grandkids and asking me when I’m going to settle down.”

“If you came out to the ranch more often, you could join the debate. It meets on Tate’s porch and new members have to bring the beer.”

“Does this esteemed group of men make any progress?”

“No, not really.” He chuckled.

“I’ll try to make the next one.” Bubba laughed. “So when are you going to get back out there in the dating pool?”

“How about letting the ink dry on my divorce papers?” He shot him a look.

“You’ve been off the market for seven years. Enjoy the single life and have some fun.”

“I think I’d rather have you read the annual report to me line by line than getting into another relationship right now.”

“Nobody said anything about a
relationship
. I’m talking about cutting loose and seeing as many women as you please. I would say take a cue from your brothers, but they’re turning into respectable citizens. I wouldn’t be surprised if I heard wedding bells from Tate soon.”

“He’s working on it.”

Tate’s confession at the reception that he wanted to take his relationship with Isabelle to the next level was refreshingly mature. J.J. was proud of him for grabbing the happiness he finally realized he was worthy of having.

“It wouldn’t hurt for you to pick up where Tate left off. Can you play a guitar?” Bubba made a strumming motion with his fingers.

“Get out. And enjoy your vacation.”

Bubba exited the office and J.J. was left with his thoughts. It had been five days since he’d seen Eden. Their last night together intruded upon his daily thoughts. Before that evening they hadn’t slept together in months. There was a time when he couldn’t go a day without rushing home and falling into bed with her for hours. Towards the end, touching each other had begun to feel uncomfortable.

He laughed to himself when he thought about her first visit to the ranch. She’d screamed and complained the whole day, then he’d had to rub her feet because she’d opted to wear stilettos instead of comfortable boots. That had been the first glaring clue that she didn’t belong there.

His cell phone pinged with a text message of another offer to fix him up. Well-meaning friends had popped out of the woodwork poised to introduce him to the perfect woman when the news broke that he and Eden were divorced. That juicy tidbit made the evening news, a shocker for him because he prided himself on being below the media’s radar these days. His friend Steve’s wife had been trying to set him up with her friend Heather. She attached a picture to the text, and he had to admit Heather was gorgeous. Maybe Bubba was right. Maybe it was time to take the plunge and get that first date under his belt.

CHAPTER TWO

Sam Carson felt like she was being called to the principal’s office and she didn’t know why. When she got the call that Jack Stanton, the owner of Regency Private Security Management, wanted to meet, her mind raced at the possibilities. Not only was the globetrotting president in the building, he’d requested to see her. Could it be because she was assigned to the Blakes? There were some pretty heavy hitting names on the company’s list of wealthy, elite clients and the Blakes were the most prestigious family. Jack took a personal interest in all his clients but she knew for a fact he was close friends with John Jacob Blake.

She had on a nice, yet understated tailored black suit and there wasn’t a hair out of place. Her only business attire fashion offense was the shoes she wore. She took every opportunity she got to wear her fancy high heels when she wasn’t in the field. It made her feel like she’d maintained some femininity while dressed in her security garb.

“Hello, Mr. Stanton. Happy to be back home in Dallas?” Sam closed the door behind her.

“I sure am. Would you believe it’s the politeness I miss the most? Well, politeness and good barbecue.” Stanton chuckled.

She smiled. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“How is the Blake account going?”

“Everything is running like clockwork. I’ll be starting their annual audit this week. I’m going to do a surprise inspection at some of the sites around the country. I’d like our cyber division to take a look at the servers at Blake Enterprises and check any vulnerabilities. I’ve been thinking about having someone over there full time.”

“Good. The Blakes are old friends of mine, and I want to make sure we’re giving them the best technology and services.”

“The safety of the Blake family is my top priority. I’ll make sure they have everything they need.”

“I plan to play golf with John Jacob while I’m in town. I like keep abreast of anything going on when I meet with clients who happen to be friends.”

“Mr. Blake has been diligent in adding security since his grandkids started coming along. We came up with services that allow him the peace of mind he wants, without the ranch turning into a full-blown compound.”

“That’s great.” Stanton poured himself a scotch. “Would you like one?”

“No, thanks.”

“Ron Sheffield was your mentor, wasn’t he? He took you under his wing and lobbied for me to hire you.”

“Yes, he was. Partly as a favor to my dad.” She blushed. That was something she could never live down, that her dad was instrumental in getting her the job. Despite the fact that she was on the Dallas police force for six years, her father’s name always carried more clout than anything she could achieve. Deke Carson was a retired Texas Ranger and had a reputation for being an all-around bad ass until the day he died.

“Well, Deke wanted to make sure his little girl was in good hands. Don’t get me wrong, you have a hell of a reputation yourself. Must be that Carson blood running through your veins.”

“Dad was a dedicated lawman,” she replied. “If I become half as good as he was by my retirement, I’ll consider myself lucky.”

“I have no doubt you will be. Keep up the good work.” Stanton slapped his drink down on his desk and extended his hand.

“Thank you sir.” Sam shook his hand and made a beeline for the door.

By the time she made it back to the fifth floor where her office was located, her team waiting for her by the elevator. Rafe Kendrick, her partner in the field, started firing off questions.

“What happened? Did you get fired?” Kendrick joked.

She rolled her eyes. “No. Wipe the drool from your mouth. You won’t be getting my job today. The Blakes are personal friends of Stanton and he wanted to make sure things were good with the account.”

“Yikes.” He cringed. “What else did he say?”

“Sounds like he may be in town for a while. He’s planning on golfing and catching up with friends. So you have to be on your best behavior.”

“That’s no fun.”

“Tell me about it. I oversee the Blake account, so I’m officially in a fish bowl.”

“All you have to do is make sure the Blakes are happy.” Kendrick followed her to the break room.

Sam grabbed her Badass Princess mug from the shelf and fixed herself a cup of coffee. “Won’t be too hard. I’ve worked with them for a while and they’re good people.”

“And they got you face time with Stanton. He’ll remember your name.”

She stopped. “He already does. He remembered my dad.”

“Who wouldn’t? That man is a legend. If Deke Carson were my dad, I’d run the streets telling everyone.”

“Well, when you’re the relative of a legend, there’s a giant shadow that follows you around and casts a shadow over your whole existence.” She sighed.

Kendrick shrugged. “What’s wrong with that? It opens doors.”

“When a shadow looms over you, you never to get to see the sun.”

* * *

J.J. told himself that an evening out at the Bright Star was just what he needed. There were plenty of pretty ladies there all interested in having drinks, dancing and having a good time. After being hit on three times, Tyler and Channing complained he was now their competition. Seth and Tate were on the dance floor most of the night with Morgan and Isabelle. But J.J.’s heart wasn’t in it. He felt like the old man of the group. It was only ten thirty, and he decided to throw in the towel and go home.