After John left, she found herself wandering out into the park, seeing it in her mind’s eye and planning the different areas. With the park empty, she could visualize the different sections and what they would look like. The Chapman Brothers theme park was never empty. Visitors thronged the park during the day, and the cleanup and maintenance crews worked at night.
* * *
Jake stood off to the side in the shade of an orange tree, watching the former child actress as she walked around the park. She wore jeans, a white T-shirt and sneakers. Curly black hair hung down to her shoulders. Her skin was the color of caramel cream, and she looked very intense as she held a notebook in her hand. Every few feet she’d stop and write something in the notebook. Then she’d turn her head first one way then another as she studied what she was looking at. Then she’d write in her notebook again and move forward a few more feet.
She was cute in a waiflike manner with slightly tilted dark eyes and smiling mouth. He remembered her from Maddie’s Mad World. He’d loved the show when he was a kid and had had a bit of a crush on Maddie’s best friend, Chloe, as played by Meredith Alcott. And seeing Chloe in the flesh made his fingers tingle while a little shiver walked up and down his spine.
His phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the display. He had to answer this one.
“Jake Walters,” he said, and braced himself.
“You said your father was ready to sell,” Harry Constantine said angrily. “What’s going on, Walters? Did he have a better offer that I don’t know about?”
Actually, Jake had had a number of offers once the word had gotten out his dad was thinking of selling, but he wasn’t about to tell Constantine that. “I’m sorry, Mr. Constantine, but he just doesn’t want to part with the park yet.”
“My partners and I are deeply annoyed at this interruption to the deal.”
“There hasn’t been a deal yet. The property belongs to my father, sir,” Jake said stiffly, wondering why Constantine thought he was going to be the one. “He doesn’t have to sell if that is his decision.”
“I wasted months of my time putting this offer together and getting investors. And now he decides he doesn’t want to sell! That property is ready to be developed. There are five new housing projects in development in that area. Does he want more money? I’ll toss another million on the pile.”
“Money isn’t the issue, sir.” Jake wanted to be polite to this man, but his normal level of diplomacy was quickly becoming strained.
“I’ve wanted to purchase this property for ten years,” Harry said, his voice rising.
“Sir, I apologize for my father, but he changed his mind and that is his prerogative. Since no papers have been signed, he can do that.”
“I’m talking to my lawyers.” Constantine disconnected and Jake found himself listening to dead air.
That didn’t go well, he thought. He wondered who would be calling next. Probably Alicia Mortensen at Kessler Investments. She and her investors had made an offer, as well. Alicia was a predator and a longtime rival of Constantine. Jake didn’t want to think about all the people his father had probably antagonized because of his decision. So he went back to watching the actress. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that he doubted she’d even noticed him.
He finally found himself walking up to her. She looked up at his approach and his head did a little lurch inside his chest. She’d been pretty as a teenager, but she was beautiful now. Beautiful in a way that took his breath away. She was petite, maybe an inch or two over five feet, and had a trim, slender figure with curves in all the right places. Her face was long and a bit narrow, framed by shoulder-length black hair with a hint of curl. Her mouth was bold and pouty, and her brown eyes were intense with a fire that took his breath away.
He wondered what kind of a person she was. In his mind, actors had such fragile egos. He figured he could intimidate the hell out of her and she’d back off. Maybe even quit, and then Jake could talk to his father again. Before he had a chance to say anything, his phone rang again. He glanced at the display. “Ah, Alicia Mortensen.” He sent the call to voice mail. He would deal with her later.
He walked right up to the actress, and before he could open his mouth, she smiled at him and he found himself speechless, caught up in her hypnotizing beauty. He felt like a gulping fish.
“Hi.” A light breeze fluttered the tips of her curly black hair. Up close, her brown eyes had the tiniest bit of green in them.
“You must be Chloe.” That was original.
Her eyebrows went up in surprise. “I think you have me confused with the name of the character I played on Maddie’s Mad World.” Her voice was sultry and low. “My name is Merry. Meredith Alcott.”
“I know,” Jake replied, chagrined at his mistake. “I’ve always wondered what child actors did after they retired.”
“Some of us get jobs, some of us go into rehab, some of us just drop out of sight,” she replied sweetly.
“I’m glad you’re not in rehab.” That sounded pretty foolish. He couldn’t come up with something better?
“Me, too,” she said.
“How are you planning to separate my old man from his money?”
Her eyebrows rose and she chuckled. “You must be Jake. Your sister was a bit more subtle than you.” She studied him for a second and then stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”
Was that sarcasm? He opened his mouth to say something. Again, nothing came out. Apparently she wasn’t threatened by him, or by his sister, and Evelyn was a bulldozer. So much for her being a frail, fragile actress. She watched him, her jaw set in determination and a look in her eyes that told him there was nothing frail or fragile about her. He looked down at her hand and saw ink smudged on two fingers. She had beautiful hands, with long, slender fingers and nails buffed to shine. He took her hand and shook it, surprised at the firmness of her grip and the softness of her skin. For a moment, wild thoughts chased themselves through his mind until he pushed them away.
“Um,” he said. “Likewise.” She wasn’t going to rabbit on him, so what was step number two? He should have planned this better.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and spend your dad’s money.” She turned on her heel and walked away, her head held high.
Jake stared after her. What the hell had just happened? That petite woman had just put him in his place.
His phone rang and he retrieved it from the holder on his belt. He glanced at the caller ID. Mel Vaughn, one of his particularly difficult clients.
He answered the call. “Mel.” Jake closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m buying my child’s mother a car,” Mel launched into his pitch. “I found this hot Ferrari that would be perfect for me—I mean her.”
“And where would she put a kid’s car seat?” Jake asked. He’d signed off on a SUV.
“Hey, man, the Ferrari is perfect.”
“I
