California baseball team, heâd had to face the fact that even though heâd healed well enough to have a normal range of activity, heâd never be able to throw a baseball the same. He then became a water-sport man.
âListen, Mick, I know Tressa comes on strong sometimes, but you know as well as I do that sheâs gifted when it comes to knowing when, where and how to move money around.â He shot wide and pretended to care.
âShe told him to fuck himself.â
He cringed. Closed his eyes and pictured himself and Levi sailing the ocean on a finished schooner that looked amazingly like the half-built one in his garage.
âShe went that far?â he asked as the bankâs regional director, in from LA, made a perfect shot to the green and picked up his bag. With his own bag on his shoulder, he followed along, letting the older man set their pace.
âShe didnât tell you?â The gray-haired man gave him a sideways glance. Mick Hunter, in his late sixties, had a gaze that was as sharp as any Jem had ever seen. Wrinkled skin and slowed pace aside, the man was as strong-willed as ever.
âOnly that sheâd been understandably upset and had said more than you thought appropriate.â
Nodding, Mick walked in the direction of Jemâs misplaced ball. Heâd do better to get the game right so that he didnât wear out the man he was there to appeaseâon his ex-wifeâs behalf.
âShe needs this job, Mick.â He couldnât believe even Tressa had lost her composure to that extent. Not at work.
And wished he couldnât believe that sheâd let him come into this meeting ill-prepared.
âI canât have the head office getting calls from wealthy investors because one of my managers doesnât have the ability to reel herself in.â
âHe called her a thief.â
âHeâs a bit senile, Jem, and he wasnât understanding his most recent investment statement. All she had to do was listen to his concerns and explain things to him. And then, when he saw how upset she was by his accusation, he apologized. In person and in writing.â
âDidnât he offer to pay her off for her trouble?â Jem said, dropping his bag as they reached his ball. Pulling a nine iron out of his bag, he lined up a shot for the tee. If he focused, heâd make it. âThatâs bribery.â If he gave a ratâs ass about the game, heâd probably be good at it. âUsually when a man offers a bribe, he has something to hide.â Jem played his best card.
âHe doesnât want his kids to know that he forgot about moving money from one fund to another. And he only offered her money after her response to his apology was...so inflammatory.â
Straightening, Jem looked over at the other man. Mickâs hat shaded his forehead, but not the serious light in his eyes, or the frown beneath that grayed mustache. That afternoon was the first heâd heard that the man had apologized at all, let alone in writing. Tressa said heâd tried to âpat her on the headâ afterward.
âShe mouthed off when he accused her,â he clarified. Sheâd specifically said sheâd been a bit tactless when the elderly investor had first accused her. Tressa wasnât one to admit to wrongdoing. So when she did, he knew she was telling him the truth.
âThatâs when she called him an asshole.â
Obviously the âtactlessâ reference. Oh, hell. Tressa, will you ever learn to hold your damned tongue inside your mouth?
She wasnât anything like her parents; heâd give her that. And couldnât imagine what it had been like growing up with them constantly berating her, withholding love on a regular basis.
But how much did she have to lose before she realized that people did not tolerate the verbal lashes that seemed perfectly normal to her?
Lord knew heâd tried to tell her. She thought