She sat down across from him, the aroma of the food filling the space between them. “I came over because Caleb Tate dropped by the office, and he…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to figure out the right way to frame the problem.
“What?” He spat the word into her silence. “What did he do to you? I swear, if he did anything to hurt you, I’ll—” He bit off the rest of his words.
She stared at him. “What? Do you think you’re my protector or something?”
His face colored a little. Of course he did. He was a big, strong man. He was injured at the moment, but that did nothing to change his essential nature.
“Caleb didn’t hurt me,” she said. “He tried to bribe me.”
* * *
“What?” Topher barked the question as a surge of anger coursed through him. If Caleb Tate ever touched a hair on Jessica’s head, he’d ruin him financially and every other way possible.
He ground his teeth in frustration. He wanted to put his fist through the man’s pretty face, but that wasn’t possible now that he’d lost his strength. In a physical altercation, Caleb would take him down in a matter of moments.
Hell, Caleb could have taken him down even when he was young and strong and whole. And it made him cringe to think that he’d been such a coward when it came to the team’s running back. Topher had avoided confronting Caleb about his nasty locker room talk because he’d been bigger and meaner, and Topher hadn’t wanted to screw up the vibe that championship season. In short, he’d been selfish and cowardly—two things he planned to remedy in short order.
No, he couldn’t mess up Caleb’s face, but he didn’t need to do that. He just wanted to.
“He came to my office this morning,” Jessica said, pulling Topher from his fury. “He said a lot of things that were, I don’t know, vague but kind of threatening. Like if I helped him, he’d make sure I won the contract to design the new City Hall. But if I didn’t play nice, he’d make sure I didn’t have any chance of winning the bid.”
“What does he want?” Topher pushed his plate away. He’d lost his appetite.
“He wants me to urge you to invest in something. I don’t know what it is. But he thinks he can use me to get to you, and I’m sure he believes I can help him because of the gossip running rampant in town.”
“Dammit. I’m sorry you’ve gotten mixed up in this.”
“It’s okay,” she said, leaning forward, bracing her elbows on the table. “I just wanted you to know what he was up to. Because I’m not taking his bribe and I don’t think you should invest in anything he’s involved with. As for the City Hall project, well…” She paused a moment, looking away from him, her shoulders hunched. “The truth is I never had any real chance to win that bid. So it’s not that important.”
That was a load of BS. If she didn’t have a chance to win the contract, why the hell was Caleb dangling a bribe? And besides, he could read her body language. That City Hall project was damned important to her.
He was tempted to demand her honesty the way he’d done on Monday. But he held back because he didn’t want to reduce her to tears again. Besides, right this minute, he was too stunned by her bravery.
The irony was rich. People were forever calling him a hero just because he was the quarterback of a team that had won a state football championship. But here, sitting across from him, was someone who had saved lives, who’d endured great pain, and who was as scrupulously honest as the day was long.
His admiration for her swelled.
She wouldn’t have to worry about Caleb for much longer. Topher was well on his way to making that problem disappear. And tomorrow, just to make certain she was protected, he’d make a large contribution to the City Hall building fund and demand a seat at the table.
She would win that contract. And he would never let her know what he’d done. She might never love him, but he would take care of her the way her family should have done years ago.
“I’m really sorry,” she said, turning back to meet his gaze. “None of this would have happened except for the unrelenting gossip about me.”