“If that kiss bothered you so much, why’d you hire me?”
“Because I’ve dedicated my life to the success of this project, Mr. Burke. Measured against that, one kiss is hardly important.” Her eyes turned a darker hue and, not for the first time, Dillon wondered what motivated her. “However, it mustn’t happen again.”
“As I explained, it wasn’t sexually motivated.”
“Good.” Her smile indicated that she was as relieved as he that the topic was closed. “Before we go see Mr. Stein, is there anything else on your mind?”
“Yeah. Who is Mr. Stein?”
Chapter Twenty
Palmetto, May 1991
The civic auditorium was packed to capacity that balmy first day of May. Jade was seated in a row of chairs that had been set up on the stage at the front of the room. It was rapidly filling up with a noisy, curious crowd.
Gradually word had gotten around that a large parcel of land had been purchased and rezoned for industrial use. Dillon had been in Palmetto for several weeks, obtaining the necessary building permits and arranging for public utilities to be accessible at the site, but he had kept as low a profile as possible and certainly had made no public announcement.
Gossip was rampant. Rumors circulated that everything from a theme park to a nuclear reactor was being built in Palmetto. Jade had requested that the city council—the members of which weren’t even certain what GSS planned—call this town meeting to allay fears and to enthuse and involve the community.
Her speech had been thoroughly prepared, but there were butterflies in her tummy. To calm them, she thought about the house she had leased for as long as she, Cathy, and Graham would be living in Palmetto. It was an older house that had spacious rooms, hardwood floors, and ceiling fans. The owners had completely refurbished and modernized it before deciding to tackle another renovation project in Charleston. Jade, working through a realtor in New York, had signed a lease as soon as the house became available.
Cathy would love the sunny kitchen and screened back porch, which would undoubtedly remind her of her house in Morgantown. The deep, tree-shaded backyard was encircled with azalea bushes. Jade had designated one of the upstairs bedrooms as Graham’s. He would like the built-in shelves where he could arrange his stereo system.
Enthusiastically, she had described the room to him via long-distance. “It’s got three large windows that overlook the front yard and a walk-in closet with so much more space than you’ve got now. You’re going to love it.”
He was still feeling some uncertainty and reluctance. “It sounds okay, I guess. How far is it from where you’re building the plant?”
“Several miles. Why?”
“Just wondering. Dillon said maybe I could come out there sometime.”
Dillon had been introduced to Graham in New York when he dropped in at the office one afternoon after school. They had met only one other time, but Graham frequently mentioned the man. Hank was the only adult male Graham was close to. Jade reasoned that his idol worship of Dillon was harmless, as long as it went no further. Although Dillon Burke was exactly what she needed to build TexTile, she wasn’t certain that he was a suitable role model for her impressionable son, especially since Dillon might be looking to replace the son he had lost.
She knew more about Dillon than he suspected. Besides herself, the contractor would be the most important individual on the project. During the two-week interval between their meeting in Los Angeles and his appearance in New York, Jade had utilized GSS’s wealth of resources to delve into his background, hoping to prove that her instincts about him were right.
She now knew about his troubled childhood, the time he had spent in a detention center, and his college career. She knew about Pilot Engineering Enterprises and his difficulties with the new management after it was acquired. The tragic deaths of his wife and child explained his cynicism. She had learned from former employers who remembered him that he was an exceptional but wasted talent.
When she had asked him for references, it had been to test his integrity. His truthfulness had convinced her that she had made the right choice. He had personal reasons for wanting to tackle this project. They weren’t as strong as hers, but they were powerful in their own right. If he hadn’t shown up in New York, she would have returned to L.A. and sought him out.
It was decided that Graham and Cathy would stay in New York until Graham completed the school term. If the prospect of seeing Dillon again made him more agreeable to relocating, fine. However, Jade didn’t want him to regard Dillon as a playmate. She was confident that once Graham started school in Palmetto next fall, he would make new friends and adjust quickly.
Although he had grown up with two women, he was a well-adjusted boy, without any ambiguities regarding his sexuality. He was four when he had first asked, “Mom, where’s my dad?” They had just moved from Morgantown to Charlotte, and Jade had enrolled him in a preschool. He was bright and inquisitive, so it wasn’t surprising that, after his first few weeks in the school, he had noticed that his family lacked what all others seemed to have.
“You don’t have a dad,” she had gently explained. “You don’t need one. You’ve got Cathy and me, and before he died, you had Poppy. You’re very lucky to have this many people who love you so much.”
He was temporarily pacified, but the topic came up again after a visit from Hank. “Is Hank my dad?”
/>
“No, darling. He’s just a dear friend who loves you.”
Graham’s stubborn streak had grown in proportion to the rest of him. The twin bars of his eyebrows drew closer together over the bridge of his nose, and his blue eyes darkened mutinously. “Then who was my dad? I had to have one.”
“You had one, but he isn’t important.”
On the contrary, having a father was extremely important to a seven-year-old. Unlike before, the topic wasn’t so easily dismissed. “Are you divorced from him?” he asked.
“No.”