“Shannon, I’ve told him what we’re up against. Shown him the papers my mother gave me.” Cassidy touched Shannon’s arm. “I know it’s upsetting, but the amount of money it will take to make this right is staggering.”
“Daddy forged signatures, tricked little old ladies out of their oil rights. Maybe we should suffer now because of what he did.” Shannon blinked as tears filled her eyes. The idea that her father, who she’d put on something of a pedestal, had been a crook was still hard to take.
“It’s not only your family who will suffer, Shannon. There are stockholders who will too. Me among them. We owe it to them to keep the damage to the company to a minimum.” Billy was taking this seriously now. “Some of the people Cassidy notified have already hired lawyers of their own. What we don’t want is this turning into a class action suit.” Billy patted her hand. “Hiring me puts them on notice that Calhoun isn’t going to lay down and roll over. I have a reputation…”
“You sure do.” Shannon frowned when he took her hand. She wrestled it away from him. “You represent criminals. So hiring you is almost like we’re admitting we’re just as dirty as the motorcycle gang that shot up that diner in East Texas or that creep who killed his mother and put her in the freezer.”
“Not true. I won those cases because the boy who put his mother in the freezer had suffered decades of abuse at her hands. And the gang thing was provoked. By stereotyping. Or I guess we should call it profiling. The police overreacted when they saw the Harleys in the parking lot and went in guns drawn. The whole thing got out of hand. But that’s not why I’m here.” Billy glanced at her hand. “Calhoun Petroleum spent decades earning money legally. With an unblemished record. Just because your daddy cut a few corners early in his career doesn’t mean we should give up everything he worked for after that.”
“A few corners?” Shannon poked him in his expensive tie. “You sound like you’re talking to a jury. I saw those papers. Daddy, with help from my mama, started this company based on theft and deception. How are you going to spin that, lawyer man?”
“He’s not the only one who’s going to be spinning the truth.” Cassidy had been observing their interaction and frowned. “I hope you can get along with each other because the public relations aspect of this is going to be your responsibility, Shannon. I don’t want Caroline Wilson involved.”
“It’ll be a nightmare. I just hope we can settle things quietly.” Shannon turned her back on Billy. “As for PR, that’s why I’m here.” Shannon handed her sister the papers. “Look at this. Ms. Wilson told me I’m supposed to cancel all these charitable obligations that Calhoun has always honored. Pull our sponsorships. Talk about bad public relations! It’s a mistake.”
“Wilson’s doing what I told her to do, Shannon. We can’t be generous with others when we’re barely staying afloat.” Cass shook her head. “Sorry, but you’ll have to make these calls if that’s what she told you to do. It’s your new job.”’
“Let me see that list.” Billy tugged it from her hand before Shannon had a chance to stop him. “The ballet? Not really my thing but I remember you loved it. Cancer Society, definitely. You remember my mother died of ovarian cancer, Shan.”
This time Shannon touched him. She did remember. “What are you saying, Billy?”
“Let me go through this list with you. I can pick up some or most of these sponsorships.” He smiled, that rakish twist of his lips that always pulled her in, before she realized they were so not right for each other.
“Really? You’d take over the financial obligations?” Shannon thought for a moment. “That’s a lot of money.”
“Honey, I’ve made a butt load of money.” He flipped the page then glanced at her, his bright blue eyes twinkling. “Since you’ve obviously been following my career, I guess you know that.”
“I’ve not, I mean…” Shannon glanced at Cassidy, but she’d moved back to her chair and was intent on her computer, meeting over.
“I have a condition, though. If I take over these things., especially the symphony and the ballet thing.” He stood and pulled her to her feet.
“What?” Shannon backed up a step. Typical Billy, in her space. Not letting her breathe.
“You have to be my date for these events. On my arm, looking beautiful. I can talk to the press, have for years. But it’s not my favorite thing. You can be the mouthpiece.” His eyes lingered on her mouth.
“That’s ridiculous.” Shannon licked her lips and he grinned.
“No, it’s not. You can play up the PR angle for Calhoun. Explain that it’s a joint effort, the Pagan and Calhoun sponsorship. Obviously, my image needs polishing since I’ve had some negative press lately. This will help, giving to charities. We’ll be partners. My money, but Calhoun gets half the credit. You can spin it any way you want when you make your calls.”
“Seriously? It will be all your money?” Shannon realized Cass had stopped working long enough to listen. “Calhoun can’t afford to kick in.”
“That’s okay.” He stroked a hand down her arm. “Nothing adds polish like a beautiful woman on your arm, especially one of those Calhoun women. You can tell the press what a good guy I am, Shan. So…giving.”
“Strictly business, Billy, or it’s no deal.” Shannon stepped out of reach. Why, oh why did his touch bring back so many memories? Nights in his bed. The way he could make her feel. They always had chemistry, but that wasn’t enough.
“We’ll see.” He smiled. “See you, Cassidy. Let me know when you have those figures ready. And be sure Holly sends me the names of any lawyers hired by the people suing Calhoun.” He grabbed Shannon’s elbow. “Now it’s lunchtime. I’m thinking sushi. You like stuff like that. There’s a place just a block from here. We can go over the list of charities and I’ll put the dates of those events on my calendar. Strictly a business lunch. Are you game?”
Shannon glanced at her phone. It wasn’t quite eleven o’clock. Lunchtime? But he’d thrown her a lifeline. Now she wouldn’t have to call those people. She nodded then waved at her sister before she let him guide her out to the elevators. She had just time to wish for her purse and lipstick before the doors opened. Oh boy, was she going down.
* * * *
William P. Pagan sat across from Shannon Calhoun and figured he had to be the dumbest son of a bitch on the planet. This whole move was going to cost him over a million dollars when all was said and done. For what? To have a half dozen dates with a woman who didn’t want him? Goddamn it.
The truth? He wanted her. This was all about proving to her once and for all that they belonged together. He’d come up hard, poor, and working angles all his life. God had blessed him with a brain that saw everything, and he knew how to use what he saw to his advantage. This charity thing? An opportunity he could not resist. A scholarship to college got him where he needed to be to make the right connections, and he’d quickly figured out who those were. Dylan MacKenzie had been one of them. He and Dylan had become fast friends and that son of an important family in Houston had opened many doors for him after law school. Dylan chose the paper pushing; Billy had always known that his flair for the dramatic needed to play out in a courtroom. Lucky for him, unlucky for his clients, the rich also needed a good criminal lawyer. Dylan had come through for him with referrals when he was getting started. Now he was sitting pretty. He could afford to blow a cool million on a strategy to get Shannon back in his bed and into his life.
He didn’t know why he still wanted her. God knows, she’d hurt him when she’d dumped him on his ass the first time. Yet they kept circling each other. Had tried again over the years, three or four times. It seemed like whenever they got close to making it work, she’d run. Because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut about her drinking. Yeah, he’d fallen for a party girl, the