Her Tender Touch, page 1
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The software empire Jason Ward built from scratch is his best revenge against the tragic past he wants to forget. But when a business rival seizes his company, he discovers he has to reinvent his ruthless reputation. Hiring Abby Baylor to give him a polished edge with investors is a brilliant business move. Until she unleashes a desire that has Jason aching to show the gorgeous etiquette coach a few maneuvers of his own.
Still reeling from a messy divorce, Abby’s steering clear of romance, especially with her fiery-tempered new client. But the seductive entrepreneur is tempting her to mix business and pleasure with a passion that soon melts her resolve. However, when secrets from Jason’s past threaten both their futures and their lives, is Abby ready to gamble everything on love—the biggest game-changer of all?
She shook her head. “I can’t risk it.”
“What?”
“Anything more than a personal relationship with you.” She shook her head again. “I mean professional.”
He grinned, pleased she was flustered. “You were right the first time.”
“No, I wasn’t. I can help you, but not if you’re going to play games.”
His grin fell. “I’m not playing games.”
“What happens if you’re disappointed?”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“What if I let you kiss me right now and it’s awful?”
“It won’t be.”
“Will you stop working with me?” she continued. “Or will that satisfy your curiosity enough to let you realize that—”
Jason didn’t hear the rest of her words. Only one important thing echoed in his mind. “You’re going to let me kiss you?”
Abby threw up her hands. “Were you listening to a word I said? I said there are con—”
She didn’t get to finish before his mouth covered hers. Abby felt herself sinking into sweet ecstasy as his mouth claimed hers and he crushed her body to him. His demanding lips caressed hers, his large hands exploring the hollows of her back. She now knew—not just imagined—what he felt like. He fumbled behind her, opened the door to an empty room and pulled her inside.
Books by Dara Girard
Harlequin Kimani Romance
Sparks
The Glass Slipper Project
Taming Mariella
Power Play
A Gentleman’s Offer
Body Chemistry
Round the Clock
Words of Seduction
Pages of Passion
Beneath the Covers
All I Want Is You
Secret Paradise
A Reluctant Hero
Perfect Match
Snowed in with the Doctor
Engaging Brooke
Her Tender Touch
DARA GIRARD
fell in love with storytelling at an early age. Her romance writing career happened by chance when she discovered the power of a happy ending. She is an award-winning author whose novels are known for their sense of humor, interesting plot twists and witty dialogue. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spring mornings and autumn afternoons, French pastries, dancing to the latest hits and long drives.
Dara loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at contactdara@daragirard.com or P.O Box 10345, Silver Spring, MD 20914.
Her Tender Touch
Dara Girard
Dear Reader,
“I saw a woman in a kimono and she was completely naked underneath. When she bent over, it was just wrong….”
I heard this comment in a news clip featuring an etiquette coach and knew what career I wanted for Abby Baylor. A career rife with story potential got me thinking: What if a corporate etiquette coach is hired by a man with a traumatic past and a terrible temper? Enter Jason Ward.
However, Jason isn’t the only one with a lesson to learn. For all his ruthlessness and rude ways, he had a tender side I didn’t expect. And Abby had a harder edge that surprised me.
Fortunately, in spite of their ups and downs, the holiday season adds a nice touch to their roller-coaster romance.
Enjoy,
Dara Girard
To my rock (you know who you are) and my support. Thanks!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 1
Her hands were going where they didn’t belong, but they’d been doing that all evening. Jason Ward did his best to move away, but if he moved any farther, he’d fall out of his seat.
“I love a man who knows what he wants,” Stephanie Armstrong said, as she purred loudly. She reminded him of a hungry feline ready for mating season. She was an attractive older woman whose husband was a possible key investor. Jason’s partner, Dennis Collins, had put him in charge of keeping her entertained for the evening, but she only had one thing on her mind. And this wasn’t the first time. He didn’t know why the wives seemed to be drawn to him. Dennis laughed and said that, along with his good looks, he had a raw, hungry ambition their husbands lacked that sparked their interest. For a brief moment Jason thought of how he’d had to kiss up to many of them over the years, when he’d been younger and just starting out. He didn’t mind the perks that came with getting a lucrative business deal, but right now he wasn’t in the mood. He seized her wrist as it came too close to his manhood. His eyes met hers, and he saw them light up.
“I can make sure my husband gives you everything you want.” She bent forward, giving him a clear view of her ample cleavage.
He shoved her hand away. “I’m not that desperate. Excuse me.” Jason began to push his chair away. She extended her jeweled hand and placed it firmly on his forearm.
“You don’t want to make me unhappy,” she said in a low warning voice.
Jason took a napkin that was lying nearby and scribbled down a number, then handed it to her.
She grinned. “That’s more like it.”
He stood and left. Dennis saw him heading for the door and walked over to him. “Did I just see you give your phone number to that Armstrong woman?”
“No. I gave her a number, but it wasn’t mine. It’s for an escort service.”
“Does she know that?”
“She’ll find out when she calls them.”
Dennis swore. “Couldn’t you just flirt with her a little bit? I’m the brains and you’re the—”
“The what? The stud?”
“No, I’m just saying that you need to be a little more suave in your approach to people like that...”
“Who treat me like a boy toy or some kind of sex slave they’ve purchased for their private use?”
“She’s an attractive woman.”
“Just like all the others,” Jason said, bored. “You know my policy. I don’t sleep with wives.”
“No one is asking you to sleep with her.”
“You weren’t at the table—her hands were saying a lot.”
“We need this deal.”
Jason knew that. He and Dennis, his best friend, were partners in a software development firm they had created several years earlier. Due to major cost overruns they had incurred developing innovative cyber-security software they had recently launched, they had discovered that their chief financial officer had been embezzling some of the funds. He had hired his girlfriend as his bookkeeper—only at the time he didn’t let anyone know she was his girlfriend—who had fixed the books. Now the company was facing bankruptcy, but he and Dennis were the only ones who knew. To rectify what had happened, they had invited several key investors and speculators to a “wine-and-dine” weekend at a fancy golf retreat that cost them a fortune; but they were willing to spare no expense to get back on track. They had dismissed the CFO but desperately wanted to keep any knowledge of what had happened a secret, and had agreed not to file any criminal charges as long as he signed a nondisclosure agreement.
But somehow a rumor was spreading that the company was facing financial difficulty, and the two of them had decided they needed to make sure the investors were not nervous and felt secure with the direction the company was going. In order to avoid bankruptcy, Jason had recently forged a high-risk venture, which he hadn’t revealed to the board of directors yet, with hopes it would come through in time.
Jason looked around him and swore. What was he doing? He was tired of “entertaining” wives and significant others, just to get a couple of bucks. He never wanted to be like his investors. They wore their fine tailored suits along with their weak ethics and kissed up to him when it suited them, but he knew they’d drop him in an instant. It was all just business. He knew he was in a shark-infested ocean and needed to make sure to keep his teeth sharpened.
“You know, man, you make people nervous,” Dennis said.
“Are you still referring to Mrs. Armstrong?”
“No. I mean, people in general.”
Jason shrugged. “So what?”
“One day, someone may want to teach you a lesson.”
Jason tugged on the cuff of his jacket. “I’m already well schooled.”
“The company is in trouble. Bankruptcy is not something to toy around with.”
“I know why we’re here. Remember, I helped build this company with you, and I won’t see it fail.” He walked away.
* * *
Dennis watched him go and sighed. He was wrong. He wasn’t just the brains—Jason was, too, but no one would know it by the way he acted. He had the body of a wrestler and the brash manners of a street fighter. It wasn’t just his intimidating build that put people on edge; he had a certain disdain—especially for individuals he could tell were only after the bottom line, no matter the cost—which he didn’t mind showing. His eyes cut through them. What had once been an asset, his ability to fearlessly face whatever problem they had, was now a liability to the growth of the company. And Dennis knew the board was thinking of removing him.
“The man’s a damn gorilla,” one stockholder said. He could get away with saying such things in public since he was one of the biggest shareholders.
“He’s jeopardizing the image of the company.”
“He’s also made this company rich,” another said, one of the few who still believed in Jason. “He’s the reason SENTEL, Incorporated is in existence.”
“And he’ll be the reason it fails if we’re not careful.”
Dennis looked over and saw Jason arguing with Mr. Hansen, one of the key members of the board of directors. He gripped his hand into a fist and then released it. He wanted the company for himself. It was time. He no longer wanted to be overshadowed by Jason’s brilliance or crass behavior. They’d risen higher than they’d both imagined, but Dennis felt that Jason was now a risk to that dream. Dennis hadn’t grown up on the streets of Baltimore the way Jason had, but he’d tolerated Jason’s rough ways because he made him money.
Now his usefulness was coming to an end. With the release of the new software, and the profits that would follow, Dennis felt ready to rule on his own. But he wished Gwen Duggin were here. She was the one person who knew Jason. How he thought, and why he acted the way he did. After her death, Jason had buried himself in work and buried the man he used to be. Dennis had little interest in resurrecting that man. He just wanted to find a way to remove his old friend so that he could be free of him forever.
Stephanie approached him. “You said he was a sure thing.” Annoyance and hurt were clear in her voice.
“I was wrong,” Dennis said, guessing from her tone that she had called the number Jason had given her.
“I don’t like being made a fool of.” She moved in closer to him, and he could smell the wine on her breath.
“Neither do I.”
She arched a perfectly trimmed brow. “So we have a common enemy?”
“It looks that way.” Dennis took a sip of his wine. “I want him gone and you want him punished, but there’s not much we can do. I don’t want the company to suffer.”
“The company doesn’t have to. I think I know a way.”
“I’m listening.”
“It could be risky, and he might not fall for it.”
“He trusts me, and that’s all you need to know.”
“Good, then I know of a plan that will get him put out of the way for a long time.”
As he listened to Stephanie’s scheme, Dennis’s smile widened.
One year later
A cold March wind blew past like a desolate breath as Jason stared at a man he’d once considered a friend. The two stood in the parking lot outside their office after a long day. “What do you mean I’m out?”
“The board voted, and we’re replacing you.”
“But I built this company.”
“And we thank you for it. But you’re a liability now.”
“I can fight this. It will be a cold day in hell before I—”
“You’re lucky this is all that’s happening. Mrs. Armstrong accused you of assaulting her.”
“What? You know I didn’t touch her.”
“It’s her word against yours. Who do you think they’ll believe? That’s the problem with you, Jason. You think it’s all about honesty and integrity, but in business it’s about image and getting people to believe you. You know how to make money, but not everyone respects you.”
Before he could reply, Jason saw them. Several men, looking very serious, wearing what looked like identical dark suits, came up to him. “Mr. Jason Ward, you’re under arrest for fraud.”
“What?” He stared at them, unable to process what was happening.
“I’ll get you a good lawyer,” Dennis said as the officers led him away.
But no lawyer could help. Dennis had skillfully turned everything Jason had done over the past year to save the company into “questionable dealings,” including the high-risk venture he had discussed with Dennis and the company lawyers, to see if the idea, though risky, was viable. They had concurred that, although the approach appeared a little shady, he was on the right side of the law. Now he’d been charged with an obscure fraud violation he never knew even existed. In an instant, his image was shattered, and he knew that, although he couldn’t prove it, he was being prosecuted because of jealously and false accusation, and that Dennis and Mrs. Stephanie Armstrong were behind it.
Initially, he fought the charges long and hard, but soon discovered how difficult it was dealing with the federal government. The evidence presented was stacked up against him, and without the company’s wealth to back him, his lawyer told him that he wouldn’t be able to win and that he should make a deal. He did and was convicted, in spite of his willingness to work with the government and the fact that he had no prior record, and was sentenced to fourteen months in a federal penitentiary.
The fall of Caesar. The last person he’d trusted had betrayed him. But betrayal and disappointment were nothing new to him. He had gone through a lot growing up in the foster care system in Baltimore. His adoptive mom had given him a chance, once he’d aged out of the system. He had no memory of his real parents. As a child he just remembered going from one home to the next and having to take care of himself.
His adoptive mom, Beatrice Ward, had made a difference in his life. She saw what others didn’t. At eighteen, he’d given up on having a real family of his own; then she’d come along. He remembered now that she never liked his best friend, Dennis, when he’d introduced him to her. Dennis’s parents had briefly fostered Jason, and they’d struck up a lifetime friendship. At least that’s what he thought. After graduating from high school, he’d earned a degree in industrial engineering while Dennis got an MBA, and the two friends decided to build a company together. Work had been his saving grace after Gwen died.
He still couldn’t stand being alone or quiet with his thoughts, but prison had forced him to face himself. To face the harsh description of the man the prosecuting attorney had portrayed in court, saying he was a brute, ruthless, a reckless man. He would lay down his sword. There was nothing more to fight for. Everything that had mattered to him had been taken away. He couldn’t even face his mother and refused to see her when she came to visit. He wanted to disappear. That was until he heard she was ill, and he knew he had to be there for her. That’s when the old fire in him returned. He became a model prisoner, and with the help of a new attorney, he served only nine of the fourteen-month sentence.
Eventually the ruling was overturned, but the damage had been done. The nine months he spent being locked up had been like living in a nightmare, and he just wanted to get on with his life. While the TV cameras and news reporters had been there when he’d entered the prison, no one was there when he came out. Only a small news article was placed on the last page of the major local newspaper. He was still a wealthy man, at least on paper, but he had enormous legal fees, and his reputation was now in ruins.
