"Well, you were shot in the chest," Julian pointed out. "You can"t expect to recover quickly from that, old friend. You should rest and recuperate."
Jack shook his head. "It was six months ago. I"m fine."
Silver eyes a.s.sessed him. "I doubt that very much. I"m sure you"re physically fine, but the emotional aspects of such an injury can have much longer-ranging consequences."
"Like I said, I"m fine." Jack didn"t want to talk about it. It was something that was best left completely in the past.
Julian"s long fingers drummed on the top of his desk. "It"s just as well you decided not to stay. The Platinum Suite was taken just an
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hour ago. One of my wealthiest clients is bringing his wife in to play."
There was a secretive smile on Julian"s face that gave Jack pause.
"Tell me, Jackson, how is Samuel?"
"He"s fine," Jack responded automatically. He didn"t like to think about how annoyed Sam was with him. That restless feeling was back. Maybe he should stay the night. He wouldn"t have to face Abby and Sam and their questions if he spent the night here. He wouldn"t go down to The Club. He would just order a bottle of Scotch and try to pa.s.s out. He wouldn"t sleep. He never slept alone. He"d spent far too long with another body in bed with him. Even Sam, who he didn"t cuddle, was a comforting presence in bed.
There was a little trill from the phone. Julian pressed a b.u.t.ton.
"Yes, Sally?"
"Your five o"clock appointment is here, sir." Sally"s voice was completely professional over the phone. She sounded nothing like a woman who had offered her boss"s old friend a b.l.o.w. .j.o.b just moments before.
"Send him in." Julian stood and straightened his silk tie. Jack could see a look of distaste cross his features.
"Is this Lucas?" Jack asked. He didn"t mention the part about Lucas Cameron being his half-brother. He"d disavowed the Camerons a long time ago. Jack didn"t intend to make this a family reunion.
Julian shook his head as he smoothed out his tie. "No, this is Matthew Slater. He"s your father"s campaign manager."
"Don"t call him that." Jack didn"t have a father and never would.
Julian inclined his head in apology. "Of course. He"s the Senator"s campaign manager. Lucas is due in tonight. You"ll be late getting home, I fear. Mr. Slater is here to attempt to talk some sense into Lucas. I thought he could shed some light on the situation."
The door opened, and a slender man in an immaculately cut suit strode into the office. He was in his prime and obviously a professional in every sense of the word.
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He held his hand out to Julian, but Jack could see he didn"t want to touch the club owner. Julian"s handshake was brief. "Mr. Lodge, I apologize for the inconvenience." His hair was perfectly cut and graying on the sides. His dark eyes found Jack and immediately registered an awed kind of surprise. "My G.o.d, you have to be a Cameron. You look just like your father."
Jack"s hands fisted. He didn"t like to be reminded that he had a father, much less one who he resembled. "I have no idea what you"re talking about. My father died before I was born." It was all in the paperwork he"d signed when he"d accepted the five million Cameron offered him to keep his mouth shut about his paternity.
Matthew Slater smiled slowly. "Of course, Mr. Barnes. I understand the situation well. I was the Senator"s aide at the time. I typed up the agreement myself. You"ve been scrupulous about keeping up your end of the bargain."
"I got everything I wanted out of it," Jack allowed.
"And you"ve made something of yourself." Slater took the seat beside Jack. "Sadly, it seems the Senator"s most successful offspring is the only one he can"t acknowledge."
"He should remember that." Jack checked his watch and wondered how long this was going to take. He did not want to be acknowledged by anyone, least of all Allen Cameron. "Does someone want to tell me why I got pulled into Senator Cameron"s c.r.a.p?"
Julian shook his head. Jack knew he wasn"t happy with his use of words. Julian liked to keep things civilized. Jack refused to act the part. He was a rancher, and he would talk like one. "I believe my a.s.sociate would like to know a little about Lucas Cameron, Mr.
Slater."
Slater"s face became a mask of irritation. "Lucas is the Senator"s youngest child. He"s the youngest of three and, undoubtedly, the most troubled. He"s twenty-three, and he barely made it out of college. He seems to have an addictive personality. He can"t stay away from booze and women...or men. He really doesn"t judge. If it has a pulse,
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he"ll jump into bed with it. If there"s a camera around, all the better.
He has no sense of decorum whatsoever. He"s the bane of his father"s existence."
Julian smiled grimly. "I"m afraid Jackson doesn"t keep up with the latest gossip magazines."
Jack shook his head. He didn"t. He couldn"t care less. Abby did, though. She often came home from the grocery store with some ridiculous magazine she"d bought because the headlines were so atrocious. "Someone has to reward truly outlandish reporting, Jack,"
she would say. She and Sam would laugh about the latest over-the-top hijinks. Jack would hold himself apart. He wondered if Abby and Sam knew who Lucas Cameron was. "I don"t care about his reputation. I want to know why he"s decided to ruin mine."
Slater let out a long, suffering sigh. "I"m afraid he"s decided to take after his older brother." There was a long pause as Jack refused to take the obvious bait. He gave Slater his best "no bulls.h.i.t" stare, and the older man caved. "Lucas found out about the deal you made with the Senator years ago. He found the paperwork and made the proper a.s.sumptions. He might be a wretched addict, but he"s got a brilliant mind. Anyway, once he got it into his head that his father would cave to blackmail, he came up with this scheme."
"Why is he involving me?" Jack"s entire manner was brusque. He couldn"t care less that the great Allen Cameron was, once again, being raked over the coals by his unfortunate offspring.
"His father won"t give him another dime," Slater admitted.
"Senator Cameron is currently in a little power play with his son. He"s told Lucas that he will admit to the affair with your mother and claim you as his son before he"ll give in to blackmail again."
Jack was out of his chair before he could take his next breath. The implications of that admission made his head want to explode. "Like h.e.l.l he will!"
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Julian held out a hand, gesturing toward a chair. "Jackson, please." He turned to the older man. "I believe you will find that outcome is unacceptable to Mr. Barnes."
"d.a.m.n straight," Jack said, clenching his teeth. "I will not have my wife barraged by tabloid reporters. The senator and I had a deal.
I"ve kept up my end of the bargain. I expect him to do the same."
"The trouble isn"t really with the senator." Slater looked as though he was trying to placate a growling beast. He held his hands out in defense. "Lucas is the one pressing forward with his blackmail scheme. When he decided his father was serious, he did a little research. It didn"t take him long to trace you, Mr. Barnes. It was a little harder to find Mr. Lodge, but he decided that Lodge would be the easier mark."
Julian snorted and somehow made it elegant. "He"s threatening to bring down The Club. He says he has evidence of illegal goings-on here that he intends to hand over to the tabloids."
"What"s his asking price?" It didn"t matter. Little Lucas wouldn"t be making any money. Jack intended to take his little brother apart piece by piece. There wouldn"t be enough left to collect blackmail. He merely asked because he was curious.
Julian sighed. "He wants ten million from me and twenty million from you."
Jack felt his blood pressure rise. "That little s.h.i.t isn"t getting a dime from me. When does he get here?"
"He"s due to arrive at seven p.m. this evening." Julian glanced down at his calendar. "I"ve sent a car to retrieve him. We"ll be dining with him at nine, if that"s all right with you."
"I have no intention of sitting down to dinner with a boy who"s trying to blackmail me," Jack swore.
"Now, Jackson." Jack recognized the voice. Julian was in full-on teacher mode. "There"s no reason to leave civility behind." Julian turned his attention to Slater. "Did you need a room, sir? Or were you planning to return to DC this evening?"
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Slater looked slightly horrified at the thought of bunking down in a notorious club. Jack could have told him that Julian owned the entire building. The rooms on the upper floors made a five-star hotel look like a Motel 6.
"No," Slater choked out the word. "I"ve taken a suite at the Fairmont, thank you. I just thought I should be on hand in case I was needed. The senator is making this his top priority."
Jack just bet he was. He was up for reelection soon, and he had his eye on the presidency in a couple of years. A scandal involving his sons, one legitimate and one not, wouldn"t do the politician any good.
"I don"t give a c.r.a.p about the senator, but I will protect my family. Do you understand?"
Slater gave him a nervous glance. "Yes, I believe you will, Mr.
Barnes." The campaign manager took a deep breath, and his shoulders came down, relaxing slightly. He stood and straightened his jacket. "I will leave it to you, then." He pa.s.sed a card across the desk to Julian and handed one to Jack. Jack glanced down. It contained Slater"s contact numbers and the Cameron campaign slogan, "Family First."
Jack rolled his eyes as the officious man left the office.
"I"m going to need a room after all." He wasn"t leaving until he was sure this mess wouldn"t come back to haunt him. Every protective instinct in him was on full alert. He had to make sure that nothing hurt Abby or Sam.
Julian nodded as he pressed a b.u.t.ton on his phone. "Yes, of course. I"ll have you settled in one of the smaller rooms."
Sally the sub walked briskly into the room. She had a notebook in her hand. "Yes, sir?"
Julian stood, so Jack did as well. Jack looked at the clock. He had a few hours before meeting his soon-to-be-dead baby brother. He would clean up and call home. He would come up with some excuse that didn"t involve worrying his wife or partner.
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"Please get Mr. Barnes checked in to one of the rooms on the fifteenth floor. I think there"s one open next to the Platinum Suite,"
Julian ordered. "I believe he"s going to need clothing."
"Sorry, I didn"t bring a suit," Jack groused. Julian insisted on dressing for dinner.
Julian"s hands ran down the lapels of his suit. His mouth curved up fondly. "I doubt you wear them often on that ranch of yours." He looked back to his secretary. "Call Neiman"s, please."
Sally bounced slightly up and down in her heels. There was an expectant air surrounding her. Julian nodded slightly. Sally"s eyes lit up.
"We should have called them sooner. They could have sent the suit over with the stuff the clients in the Platinum Suite ordered."
There was a cheerful grin on Sally"s face. Her earlier debacle with Jack seemed forgotten.
"Have you met our latest guests, pet?" Julian"s smile was smooth.
Jack thought for a moment that he might be missing something.
Sally nodded vigorously. "She"s very pretty. She wanted to know where she could buy some hot shoes for tonight. She"s never been in The Club before. She"s not sure what to wear. She"s really nice, though."
"And her husband?"
Jack fought to keep control of his temper. He didn"t want to listen to Club gossip. He wanted to get to his room and get Abby or Sam on the phone. He had some explaining to do. Sally continued.
"He"s very handsome. The valet was super excited. They roared in on a brand new motorcycle." Sally"s face turned serious for a moment.
"Yes, pet? Do you see a problem?"
She thought for a moment and obviously decided to press on.
"She"s a sub. At least s.e.xually, she is. She"s very soft and gives off an air of innocence that will have every Dom in the club panting after her."
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