The Scent of Rain (32 page)
A nurse with a pudgy face and a short blond bob rushed in. “Who are you?” she asked.
“Daphne. A coworker.”
“How did you get in here? Her heartbeat is through the roof.” The nurse grasped Kensie's wrist. “You need to leave immediately.”
Daphne stood. “It's not the end,” she said to Kensie. “We're going to lift each other up. You're going to stay with me when you get out of here.”
“Please get out of here before I call security,” the nurse demanded.
“Daphne,” Kensie's weak voice called to her.
She stood in the doorway and waited while the nurse glared.
“Dave didn't make it, did he?”
She paused before answering. It was obvious Kensie knew the answer. “I'm sorry, Kensie. He didn't.”
Kensie lifted her hands to her face, and her tears fell freely. The nurse motioned for Daphne to go. As she left, she glanced back at Kensie. Life was hard, but God was good. When the rain fell on the pavement, the fresh scent of renewal blossomed, and her faith went deeper than her circumstances. Anne and Jesse had showed her, and now she intended to show Kensie.
J
esse's job responsibility was about to quadruple. He was barely doing his division manager job to full capacity, and now he'd be expected to step in for Dave until the board decided what to do. The very reason he'd left P&G now threatened him again. He wanted nothing more than to be a good father to Ben, to be the kind of dad he'd wanted. And now circumstances were creating that same scenario where he was nothing more than a paycheck. Only Abby wouldn't be there much longer to be a surrogate parent for his son.
Anne stepped into his office and fell into a chair. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“I'm not going to be able to do it, Anne. Especially without Abby.” He looked down at his hands clasped on his desk. “But she needs to live her own life.”
“And you and Ben need to live yours. God won't give you more than you can handle.”
“I hate when people say that, Anne. Where does it say that in Scripture?”
Two men in dark business suits suddenly filled Jesse's doorway. They were both older gentlemen, and Jesse had seen one too many Mafia movies to not be unnerved by their sudden appearance. The older man's face was lined and craggy, so much so that it made his face look filled with tiny pillows patchworked together. He had an enormous, bulbous nose. The younger man had a full head of white hair and dark black eyebrows that complemented his suit.
Anne regained her composure. “May I help you gentlemen?”
“We're looking for Daphne Sweeten,” the older man said. “She's a nose. Are we in the right place?”
Jesse stood. “She's at the hospital.”
The man dropped the briefcase he carried.
“No, no, she's fine,” Jesse reassured him. “She's at the hospital visiting a coworker.”
The man's eyes closed, and he crossed himself. “Where can I find this hospital?”
“I'm Jesse Lightner, her boss. May I assist you?”
“I'm Daphne's father,” he said. “And this is Arnaud Polge from Givaudan.”
“You're Daphne's father?” Jesse came around the desk and extended his hand. “It's nice to meet you, sir. I wish things weren't so out of sorts.” He extended a hand to the other man. “And, Mr. Polge, I know of you by reputation, of course. Welcome to Gibraltar. It's an honor to have you here.”
Mr. Polge nodded his response. Jesse didn't know if the man understood a word of English, but he tried to maintain composure and rely on his business acumen.
“You'll have to forgive us. Two of our employees were involved in a terrible accident, and we're awaiting word on their condition now.” He couldn't bring himself to announce a death to two unknown men in suits. “Daphne's at the hospital checking up on them.”
“But she wasn't in the car?”
“No, sir. She was with me at a wedding show this morning.”
“A wedding show? She just had her heart broken at a wedding a few weeks ago,” her father chastised. “Did you know that?”
“Yes, butâ”
“What kind of sadistic boss makes a woman go to a wedding show weeks after her groom walks out on her?”
“I would never do such a thing,” Arnaud said in English.
“She assured me she was fine with it,” Jesse said.
“I'm sure she did. She almost convinced us she was happy in this sweatshop, but that's Daphne. She'll tell you what you want to hear to make it easier on you. She never cares about herself first.”
“Even in the short time I've known her, I'd have to concur with that statement.”
Anne spoke up next. “I'm Anne. Daphne and her friend Sophie stayed with me for a couple weeks while our church fixed up her house. I hate to say it, Mr. Sweeten, but that place was not in livable condition.”
“That's not what I gave her,” Mr. Sweeten said. “Her fiancé was supposed to buy a lovely house on Peach Orchard. State-of-the-art kitchen and a master suite out of a design magazine.”
“Not in her house,” Jesse said. “I've been there. It's quite old. And Anne is right; it was uninhabitable.”
“I didn't buy her that house,” Mr. Sweeten repeated. “I am a Greek man. Do you think I'd let my daughter live somewhere that was not fit for her? You insult my heritage.”
Anne's soothing voice took over. “Jesse meant no harm, I assure you. Can I get you both some coffee?”
But Mr. Sweeten was still staring at Jesse. “You, the man who would take my daughter to a bridal show after what she's been through? You would insult me as a father?”
Jesse didn't have time for the drama. “Would you like to wait for her? Or should I tell her you'll meet her at her house? I imagine she'll be home early today.”
“I do not know where she is living. As I said, that's not the house I intended for her.”
“We'd like to go see her now if you can tell us where she is,” Mr. Polge said. “She's not answering her cell phone.”
“I'll take you to her,” Anne said. “The hospital is just a short drive from here.”
“That won't be necessary,” Mr. Polge said. “We have something personal to discuss with her.”
Jesse didn't like the way Arnaud acted. As though Daphne belonged to him. As though he need only say the word, and she'd go crawling back to him at Givaudan.
Daphne belonged to
him
now. At least for the next few months. If the esteemed Monsieur Polge had made the mistake of letting her go, why should he, Jesse, pay the consequences? He felt his fists tighten at the idea of anyone stealing Daphne away from him so soon, but what claim did he have on her, really? Whatever emotions were stirring in him, they were the stuff of dreams.
“You should probably just wait here then,” Anne said. “She should be back soon. She's not a relative, so the hospital won't be able to tell her much anyway. We just thought Gibraltar should have a representative there for the families.”
“I need to see my daughter!” Mr. Sweeten's voice filled with anguish as he spoke to Arnaud. “You told me this was for the best, but my daughter thinks I don't care. I fail to see how this is best. Her boss thinks I bought her a rattrap! And Iâ”
“Gentlemen, why don't you come sit down?” Anne said in her soothing pastor's wife voice. “There's a sofa in the foyer. Make yourselves at home, and before you know it, Daphne will be here.”
Anne led the two men away, then came back and shut the door behind her. “They're not here to take Daphne back to Paris or San Francisco, are they?”
“I don't know why they're here,” Jesse said. “But I've got to get up to the lab and talk to the scientists.” He dropped his head. “I burned the marketing reports, and now what? Kensie's not here to help with packaging.”
He'd make it work. He owed it to Gibraltar. To Dave. But once again, Ben would pay the price with an absentee father. He couldn't win.
“But what about Daphne? We can't lose her now.”
Jesse shrugged. “We can't stop her from going if that's what she wants to do. Slave labor is a thing of the past, thank goodness.”
“Jesse Lightner, if you don't put up some sort of fight for that young woman, I will never forgive you. Did you not see what happened today? Life is short. If anyone knows that, it's you. I'll bet you knew the first time you laid eyes on Daphne that she was meant for you.”
“Anne, that's crazy talk. You're just upset. I've told you that if I were marriage material, I'd have a wife by now. As for Daphneâyou should have seen her face when she woke up in the hospital and thought I was Mark. She positively glowed. She burst into the biggest smile I've ever seen, and then, when she discovered it was me at her side, it vanished. Of course, I was there to fire her and she probably knew it.”
“This is your second chance, Jesse. You can listen to your heart, no matter how foolish it seems, or you can let Daphne go back to her old life with those two old men in Paris or San Francisco, or wherever she lands. She needs a home, Jesse. She wants to be settled, or she'll run her whole life concentrating on the details and missing the point.”
D
addy! Arnaud! What are you doing here?” Daphne embraced one, then the other.
“We came to take you home,” her father said.
“Well, I guess I am home. Daddy, the house you bought meâ”
“I did not buy you that house. I picked out a beautiful house with a state-of-the-art kitchen and a Jacuzzi tub. Do you think your mother would allow me to buy our only daughter a fixer-upper?”
“I thought maybe because the wedding had been so expensiveâ”
“Daphne, I know I haven't always been there for you when you needed me, but, sweetheart, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you.”
“We couldn't warn you about Mark,” Arnaud said. “We didn't know who he was involved with, and Interpol would not let me tell you anything. At first they suspected you too.”
“Suspected me? Of what?”
“Mark never gave up the idea of the mind-altering drugs through the aromatherapy spray. He was essentially an international drug dealer, and his stuff must have worked. He had quite an international clientele.”
“But, Arnaud, I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me?”
“I couldn't,” he said. “I was under strict orders. When I realized I could give Mark a job and they could get the evidence they needed, that's the route we decided to go. But it was dangerous for you, Daphne. Mark used your father's money to help fund his operation.”
“I was in danger?”
“It's safe now. The dealers who were selling him chemicals have been captured. All is clear for you to come back to Givaudan.”
For some reason, Daphne looked back to Jesse's office. “I promised I would stay here for a while.”
“Daphne, this place is beneath you,” Arnaud said. “If Madeleine could see you here, she would cry, after all the work you did to get your credentials.”
“You love Paris,” her father said.
“I love Dayton.”
They both looked at her, perplexed. “I can't let you stay in that house. I've heard it's uninhabitable.”
“Not anymore, Dad. The men from Anne's church have made repairs, and Sophie came out and painted, and it's going to be lovely. And it's mine. I don't want anything more.”
She gazed down the hall toward Jesse's door, not ready to admit why she really wanted to stay.
“You don't know anyone out here. I refuse to let you stay.”
“I promised, Dad. You raised me to be a woman of my word.” Her shoulders fell. “And, Arnaud, I still can't smell anything. I'm not capable of coming to work for you.”
“You are. I've smelled the formula for your cologne. It's impeccable. And I cannot mimic it. You did as I taught you and left an important ingredient out.”
She smiled.
“You will have to change the formula a little to lower the price point, but it is perfection. To see the student outshine her master is such a feeling of pride for me.” He closed his eyes and put his hand to his chest.
“You want Volatility!? We're going to use it here. In a dog shampoo.”
“Of course we won't call it that. You might want to take the marketing courses again when you're back at the Institut. I'm willing to pay for the formula, but I'd rather have you back in Paris to create more hit fragrances. Your nose will come back when all is right in the world. You've been under such terrible stress.” Arnaud kissed her on both cheeks. “We were protecting you, my princess. Madeleine would never forgive me if I allowed something to happen to you.”
She looked again toward Jesse's closed office door, and panic rose in her at the sight, though she couldn't have explained why. It was as though a part of him was already unavailable to her. “I'll be right back,” she said.