Донна Хилл – Scandalous (страница 11)

“I’ll send her right in.” Crystal closed the door softly behind her.

As soon as Vaughn was alone, her thoughts drifted back to Justin. She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he thinking of her? Her heart beat a little faster. What was he wearing today? Did he splash on that cologne that made her brain turn to mush?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. What was happening to her? This daydreaming and fantasizing was so unlike her. She seemed to have become engulfed in a whirlwind, a storm of unimaginable power. She was spinning helplessly. It was a heady, frightening sensation. For the first time in her life, at least since her teens, her emotions seemed to be totally out of her control. She couldn’t seem to rein them in and put on the brakes. Although there had been other men in her life, she had always felt some sense of control over her feelings, some sense of reality. Not now. And Justin Montgomery was the eye of her storm.

The light tapping on her door and the ringing of the phone competed for her attention.

“Come in,” she called out, while reaching for her private line.

“Yes. Vaughn Hamilton.”

“Good morning, Vaughn.”

Her stomach did a quick lurch. “Hi, Dad.” She waved Tess inside and motioned for her to sit. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. I thought we could meet for lunch and discuss a few things.”

Vaughn frowned slightly. She didn’t like the sound of “discuss a few things.”

“Has something come up, Daddy? Because if it’s not urgent, I really have a full schedule today.”

“I believe it would be in your best interest to fit me into your schedule. There are matters that must be dealt with immediately. What time is good for you?” he continued.

Vaughn sighed heavily and clenched her jaw. She knew she’d give in even as she told her father about her agenda. But she at least wanted to make him feel a twinge of guilt for disrupting her day, though she knew he wouldn’t.

“How about 2:30?” she said flatly. “I’d really appreciate it if you could come here. It’s going to be difficult for me to get away.”

“I’ll be there at two,” he replied. “Court reconvenes at three. See you then.” Elliott Hamilton hung up the receiver and looked, once again, at the pages in front of him. He pressed his lips together and slid his glasses from his nose. With his free hand, he rubbed it roughly across his face. He didn’t like it; he didn’t like it one bit. Vaughn had to be brought under control. Everything rested on appearances. He’d worked too hard to get her to where she was today. He wasn’t going to let her ruin it; that’s all there was to it. He slapped his hand against his mahogany desk with finality. That’s all there was to it.

The Chaney Building, which housed Justin’s suite of offices, loomed ahead. Moments later, Justin eased his BMW into the underground parking garage and swung into his spot. He looked across the lanes and saw that Sean and Khendra’s Lexus LS was also parked in their usual spot. Good, he needed to talk to Sean.

Retrieving his briefcase and his black leather trenchcoat from the backseat, he automatically activated the alarm system and locked the doors. In long, brisk strides, he crossed the gray and white concrete and entered the elevator that would take him to his offices on the sixteenth floor.

Justin pushed through the heavy, ornately carved wood doors that led to the immense reception area. Although he’d been coming through those same doors for nearly three years, he still had sudden flashes that it was all fantasy. Yet, this was his. He’d worked for it and everything, including every detail in the wood, had his markings. It was all a tribute to his enormous success, both in the courtroom and out. It was as a result of his success that he now had the time and opportunity to pursue other avenues, such as public speaking, advocacy, and writing that book that had been gnawing at him for years. And now, he finally had time for a woman in his life. He smiled unconsciously as visions of Vaughn bloomed ripe. He had the time to devote himself to making this relationship work and not have his work destroy the relationship—as it had between him and Janice.

Years later, it still hurt. Janice had been his first love, and his young heart had been fired with romance and ambition. He’d wanted Janice along for the ride. They’d married, had a child almost immediately, and before Justin had realized what had happened, they were divorced and Janice was gone, along with their infant daughter.

He’d expended his savings, his skills, and all the resources available to him trying to locate his ex-wife and child. They’d virtually disappeared off the face of the earth. Finally, after years of frustration, he’d given up and dove into his work with an incomparable intensity.

For that reason he’d become a devout advocate of children’s rights. He truly believed that he could somehow make an impact on legislatures to repeal the laws governing the sealing of adoption and foster care placement records and allow those children to lawfully find their natural parents. He had been a catalyst in helping to establish several organizations across the country who assisted parents and children in finding each other. It was his hope that although Janice saw no need to have him involved in their daughter’s life, his child would somehow find him through the channels now available. That hope was like an eternal flame that burned in his heart. If and when his dream of reuniting with his daughter was realized, he wanted Vaughn to be a part of that ultimate joy.

“Good morning, Mr. Montgomery,” Barbara Crenshaw, his executive assistant, greeted him cheerily. Her soft gray-green eyes warmed at the sight of him.

“Morning, Barb. Any messages?”

“They’re on your desk. Do you want coffee or should I send out for breakfast?”

“Coffee will be fine. I want to get my notes together for the staff meeting.”

“I’ll be right in.”

Justin waved and nodded acknowledgment to the bevy of staff members that made up his team as he wound his way through the maze of offices that led to his own. Once inside the soundproof room, he hung up his coat, rounded his desk, and punched in the extension for Sean’s line.

“Good morning, Phillips here,” came the distinctly feminine voice.

Justin smiled broadly. “How can that man of yours ever get any work done if you’re in his office doing who knows what when I’m not looking?”

Khendra’s husky laughter filtered through the phone. “Who says we’re here to work? We just come in to get a change of atmosphere,” she teased, enjoying the bantering that went on between them. “I presume you want to speak to my handsome, brilliant husband,” she added, giving her husband a quick wink.

“Well, only if you’re not keeping him too preoccupied to talk to me, of course,” Justin joked.

“Let me just check and see if he wants to be distracted, by business, that is, this early in the morning.” Khendra chuckled. “Listen,” she said, switching gears, “I was just going over the reports on the Harrison murder case. I think we should take it, Justin. I know I can pull this off.”

“Great. Bring your notes. We’ll discuss it at the meeting.”

“Here’s Sean.”

“Hey, Justin. What’s up?” Sean’s voice came over the wire.

“I was hoping you, uh, had some free time this morning, before the meeting.”

Sean immediately caught the hitch of hesitation in Justin’s voice. His thick eyebrows arched. Justin was never hesitant about anything.

“Sure. You want me to stop in now?”

“Yeah. Barb is bringing in coffee. Have you had breakfast?”

“We just finished. I just need to make two short calls and I’ll be right down.”

“Thanks.”

“Justin?”

“Yeah, Sean.”

“Is everything all right? You don’t sound like yourself.”

Justin thought for a moment and almost laughed out loud. He wasn’t himself. “Everything’s fine. Better than fine. That’s what I want to talk with you about. See you in a few.”

Justin reached again for the phone. His smile was broad. This time he dialed an outside number to the local florist.

Shortly there was a light knock on Justin’s office door.

“Come in.”

Sean strutted in, the picture of polish, power, and control. Sean was a connoisseur of fine clothing. His instincts and tenacity when it came to criminal law could be paralleled only by his wife, Khendra. But Sean knew when to relax and enjoy the good life he’d built for himself. He spent hours in the gym and on the racquetball court, which was where he and Justin had met nearly eight years before. They’d become fast friends, sharing a variety of similar interests. Justin had come to rely not only on Sean’s legal judgment, but on his personal judgment as well.

“What’s up, partner?” Sean asked, breezing in and taking a seat opposite Justin.

Justin stood up, slinging his hands into his pockets. He turned dark eyes on Sean. “I’m thinking about making some…changes.”

Sean’s eyebrows rose in question. He remained silent and listened as Justin revealed a side of himself that Sean hadn’t known existed.

The morning flew by with blinding speed. Before Vaughn had completed half of her tasks for the day, it was time to meet her father for lunch. She’d had Tess order two jumbo salad specials, knowing that they would be both filling and in keeping with her father’s diet, which he readily ignored.