Heart of the Country Read Online Free PDF Page B

brother.” His deep voice held so muchthat the everyday ear would not pick up on. Arrogance. Piousness. Self-righteousness. I turned around, smiling politely, extending my hand. He shook it with a firm grip. It had been months since I’d seen him.
    “Jake, what’re you doing here?”
    He returned my smile cautiously, eyeing me pretty heavily. I remembered exactly how he looked that night, with a dark fitted suit pressed perfectly against his tall frame. He was at least four inches taller than I was, but often it felt like a foot because he had a long-reaching presence. It was part charisma, part intelligence. It boiled down to the fact that he was a likable intellectual who could speak on many different levels to many different people. He always found a common interest with a person he wanted to get to know.
    I wanted to get to know Mitchell Wellington, but Jake was standing in my way.
    “Duty calls,” he replied, stuffing a hand into his pocket, jingling some loose change. “Met a corporate pension guy down here. It was painful, believe me.” He lifted his gaze like he’d whiffed something foul. “How do you do this all the time? The loud music. The obnoxious personalities.”
    And then it hit me, as if he’d stood right there and punched me across the cheek. Kicked me in the gut. Thrown me to the ground.
    “You cut me off!” I knew I sounded like we were young again, but the words just flew out of my mouth, louder than the music. “You got to Wellington! That was my fund, Jake. I’ve been working on that for six months.”
    Jake’s voice was lower, controlled. “Six months?” He snorted. “If that doesn’t tell you something, nothing will.”
    I stepped closer to him, my fists balling and heat rising on my neck. “Is this city just not big enough? Is there no way we can both make money without having to do this?”
    Jake looked at me for a long moment, his eyes tracing me, then the room. His voice grew even softer. I had to strain to hear it. “The word on the Street is that you guys are three to one liability to asset at this point.”
    I hurriedly replied, “That’s an overrated index and you know it. We’re the only fund on the Street to return over 9 percent last year. You and Dad were down, what? Two and a quarter?”
    His face was nearly expressionless, and I knew mine was filled with every emotion I’d ever felt for this man, all the way back to childhood. I’d loved him once. Idolized him. Thought he would always protect me.
    “The mortgage thing is done, Luke.”
    “We’re diversified.”
    “Not enough. Not enough.” Those tough brown eyes that used to have a soft spot for me looked worried. “Luke, I can talk to Dad if you want to come back   —”
    I stepped back. “We’re fine.”
    He sighed, shook his head, looked around the room, then back at me. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you . . .”
    “You’re being quiet over there, Mr. Diplomat.”
    Maria’s voice snapped me back to the outdoor café. Icould’ve used a breeze to blow away Jake’s words, echoing in my mind, but the day was windless.
    I glanced at Faith, who smiled but also seemed concerned. Walter was returning to his seat just as my BlackBerry buzzed to life with a text.
    I read it. Reread it. My temple throbbed.
    “Hey. Everything okay?” Faith asked.
    “I need to get downtown.” I threw my napkin on my plate. “I’m, um, sorry. I’ll . . . I’ll call you . . .”
    “But wait . . . what . . . ?” Faith reached out for me.
    “Jake,” I mumbled.
    “Be nice,” she said, touching my arm.
    I took a taxi, arriving ten minutes later. I threw some large bills over the seat and slid out, looking for him. He’d said to meet at the statue of George Washington. I found him immediately, his hands coolly in his pockets. I hated that. He knew he’d be met with my frantic fear and sometimes I swear he relished it.
    I marched up to him. “You text me about an investigation? Faith was sitting right