Chapter 14
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"....he's working downstairs Laura." Keesha stated into the upstairs
line.
"How did this come about?"
"It just did." Keesha wanted to get off the subject of her marriage to
Jax as soon as possible. Lying wasn't something she was good at.
"Jax seems like a very nice person."
"He's the most wonderful person. I feel blessed to know him." Keesha
admitted to Laura, and herself.
Laura smiled. "I was worried about you, but I don't think I should be."
"Worried how?"
"Everything happened so fast, sometimes it's easy to get caught up in
the moment. A lot of things have happened in yout life, Keesha, I just
was worried that maybe you..."
"Latched on?"
"Yes."
Keesha nodded. Maybe that was it. God, was she that screwed up
emotionally?
"...But it doesn't sound that way. So, perhaps you can come to Spoon
Island and visit me. I don't think you've ever met Nikolas I think
he'd like you."
"I'd like that. What about tomorrow?"
"What's that mean?"
"What I said Jerry...now, anything new going on?"
"What are you going to do?" Jerry smiled " *Woo* her?"
Jax laughed. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Just don't run off like you normally do and get married....oh yeah,
never mind." Jerry chuckled at his own joke.
"Whatever. *Now* can we talk about what is going on?"
"Someone is digging into the family past."
"Sonny or someone else?"
"Someone else I would guess. Everything so far seems to be legitimate."
"So who cares? Let Alexis look, there's nothing to hide."
"True. Bye." Jerry hung up the phone and got off the sofa, putting on
his jacket and walking out the front door.
Jax knocked on Keesha's bedroom door.
"Yes?"
"Did I wake you?" he asked as he opened the door.
"No." she smiled. "How did it go?"
"Thanks to you, I figured out what I needed to know."
"Glad to be of service."
"Are you hungry? We could go out for dinner."
Keesha shrugged. "I guess we should leave the house sometime. Make the
rounds...."
Jax tilted his head and looked at her. He didn't want to make the
rounds. He simply wanted to have dinner with her. "Tell you
what...why don't we order in. It's still early enough to get some
decent Chinese food from Lin Chou's right outside New York City."
Keesha got up from the bed. "New York City? Jax's there's a place...."
"I don't want to hear it. Lin Chou's is the best place in America for
Chinese food."
"You're spoiled." she teased with a laugh.
"There's no earthly reason that I shouldn't have Lin Chou's if I want
it....I'm going to put the order in..."
"Oh, wait....this came while you were napping today, from Lucy. She
wants your opinion on it." Keesha took the small bottle of cologne
from the nightstand and walked over to Jax.
"Why?" Jax opened the bottle.
"I guess because it still has your name on it. She wants your approval
I suppose."
He shrugged. "It's okay. What do you think?" He put a little in his
hands and patted it on. He bent down with a devilish grin. "Check."
Keesha looked at Jax and then stepped closer. She reached up and took
a quick sniff. "I like it."
"I don't think you got the full effect. Here." Jax wrapped his arms
around her tightly, and Keesha couldn't help but laugh.
"Stop it." she giggled.
"Why?" Jax whispered into her ear. "Why do you like it?"
Keesha closed her eyes as her fingers instinctively trailed lightly
down Jax's back. "It's really...."
"What?" Jax's voice grew deeper as he wrapped his arms tighter around
her.
"That's really nice. It's just nice." Keesha stepped back from him,
pushing him away slightly. "What?" she asked as he continued to stare
into her eyes.
"I just like to look at you."
"If I didn't know better...and know that you realize that...you and
me....this....it would be a *bad* idea...." she emphasized. "I would
start to think that you're flirting with me." she finished.
"Then I must be losing my touch. I have to work on making it more
obvious." Jax stated simply. She looked at him, and he added. "Unless
you can give me one legitimate reason that...you and me...this *would*
be a bad idea. And I bet you that you can't."
"Thank God." Keesha said to herself as Jax walked over to the corner
to answer the phone. Whoever that was, she was going to make sure to
thank.
"Hello? Sure...it's Jerry."
"For me?"
"Yes."
Keesha went over and took the phone from Jax. "Yes...when....no,
that's no problem...I'll be there within 45 minutes." she hung up and
looked at Jax. "Emergency ELQ meeting."
"Can I come?"
"No. And you know that. Emergency meetings are for stock holders only
unless instructed by whoever called the meeting."
"So, work your charm on Edward."
"Edward didn't call the meeting...Sonny did."
Jax watched as she left the bedroom heading to his for her clothes.
"What is this about Corninthos?"
"Why is Jacks here?" Sonny asked curtly.
"He's our newest board member. Thanks to Nedly." AJ smirked as Edward
continued to glare at Ned.
"We're losing money in our Asian market." Sonny sat down on the couch.
"We all know that."
"But what are we *doing* about it?"
"You called an emergancy meeting for that? We have a schedualed
meeting for the end of the week."
"It couldn't wait. We need to deal with this now."
"Why do you care?" Ned leaned up against the bar. "You never took an
interest in our international holdings, why now?"
"Call it broadening my horizons."
"Gentlemen, I have a family to get to." Jerry stood. "The fact
remains that this meeting is pointless because the market hours are
closed in Japan right now, and there is a national holiday. By that
time things will likely pick up, Japan is due for an upswing anyway."
"How do you know?"
"Bored?" Monica whispered to Keesha and she smiled.
"I don't know, *Michael*. But what I do know is that you didn't call
this meeting about our Asian holdings. And even if per chance you did,
there is nothing for us to do about it. Isn't there some sort of
screening process, or can anyone call a meeting about nothing?" Jerry
turned his attention to Edward.
"Okay...is there anything we can do?" Keesha finally spoke.
Jerry shook his head. "Market is closed, anything we do now won't
register until Thursday at the very earliest."
"Then I'm going home." she stood from her end of the sofa.
"Great idea." Alan agreed.
"...Keesha..."
Keesha stopped walking to her car. "What?" she turned and looked at
Sonny.
"I need to speak with you, about...Jax."
"Is that the purpose of this meeting?"
"I knew if I just showed up at your house, Jax would never let me
through."
"Neither would I." she opened the door to her car.
"Jax has a pattern Keesha." Keesha sighed and looked at Sonny. Sonny
continued. "He uses women for...many things, but in the end, the
bottom line, is how he can benefit from you...in cash."
"Really."
"I know you don't want to beleive me. No one ever does. But think
about this, why so fast? Why are you married already?"
"What could I possibly have that Jax would want?"
"ELQ."
"Sorry, Mate." Jerry came up and put his arm around Keesha. "I'm
already in, and as you know, where I go, Jax goes."
"And if Keesha gives up her rights to Jax, then that just doubles your
interests, doesn't it." Sonny looked at Keesha again.
"I'm going home now."
"People around Jax get hurt Keesha..."
Keesha froze. How *dare* he....
Jerry felt Keesha tense. "Get in the car." Jerry whispered. Keesha
looked at him. "Go home to Jax. Just get in the car."
Keesha took a deep breath and did as Jerry asked. Sonny and Jerry
watched her pull off and then looked at each other. "Let me warn you,
for Jax. Leave her alone."
"If your brother wants to warn me, he can do it himself." Sonny
finished, watching as Jerry walked away.
Besides, Keesha was the one who needed the warning. He should have
known however, that talking to her one-on-one wouldn't do.
He would have to do some deep investigation. And come up with cold,
hard, proof.
Keesha opened the door to Jax's house.
"Hey...perfect timing....what's wrong?"
"You know I didn't think it was possible to hate someone so much...."
"And each time you see him, you hate him more." Jax agreed.
"Real healthy, isn't it?"
Jax watched as she walked over to the fireplace, looking into the fire.
"Dinner is ready."
"I'm not hungry. Thanks anyway..."
"What did he say?"
"The usual. What we expected. That you were using me, that you wanted
into ELQ." The nerve to say that people around *Jax* got hurt. Sonny
of all people...she looked over at Jax.
"Seeing Sonny shakes you..."
"Sometimes. Usually however it just pisses me off....I'm going to bed."
Jax walked over. "We can't have that." he opened his arms to her.
"Going to bed angry is not allowed. Especially over someone who isn't
worth it."
Keesha looked at Jax. Slowly she closed the space between them and Jax
enclosed her a hug. "Before this year is out, we'll have him Keesha."
Keesha barely nodded as she returned his hug, her head resting against
his chest.
She couldn't think about Sonny now. She was too content here, in Jax's
arms. Too comfortable, and warm, to think of anything or anyone
else...like as of late only Jax filled her thoughts now. Jax, and
wanting to stay here...with him.
"Let go." she managed to pull back. "Don't do that again, okay. I
can't focus when you do that." she looked at him and moved past.
"You must be focusing on something."
"On you." she admitted. She sat down on the couch, looking down at the
floor. Jax walked over and sat on the floor in front of her. "But
that's not good."
"Why not?" Jax asked her the same question he had asked earlier in the
evening. "Give me one good reason why this isn't good."
"Because, we have a job to do."
"Then, forget it."
"Great..." she sighed in releif.
"I want a divorce."
Keesha stared at Jax, in shock. "Are you insane?"
"If you think that you can't do this, at the same time as giving us a
chance, then I would rather give up on this, and let Mac and the rest
of them deal with Sonny."
"You don't mean that." she shook her head.
"Yes. I do. Keesha, being...being near you has brought me the
greatest joy, and confusion, and wonder, and worry than I have felt in
a long time. Until you I went through everything thinking *when is
this going to be over*. Everything I did, everyone I've been around,
it's been all about...finishing...getting the job done, getting what I
could, and moving on. Because nothing mattered. Do you know what it's
like for me around you? You're around and all I can think is this, I
don't want her to go. That's all I think about lately, ways to
convince you not to go...not to leave my life. When..." Jax knelt
down in front of Keesha. She watched as he took her hand. She looked
into his eyes once more, closing them as he leaned forward, kissing her
lips softly. "When I kiss you...I feel it, it means something to me.
I feel it..." he struggled, and finally came up with the only words he
could. "Within me."
Keesha reached up slowly, finally craddeling his face in her hands.
She kissed him, getting off the couch and kneeling across from him.
Jax stared into her eyes for a second and then kissed her again,
hungrily.
Keesha wrapped her arms around him, and Jax started to recline...
"Wait." she broke off the kiss, leaving both of them breathless. "This
isn't fair."
"Keesha..."
"I don't mean you, I mean me. This isn't fair of me."
"You don't want to be with me?" Jax was perplexed now.
"I want to be with you so badly it frightens me. I shouldn't want
you so badly, I shouldn't lean on you, we haven't even known each other
for a month Jax. But you're all I think about...and if it was so
simple as wanting to...to be with you, then it would make my life so
much easier. But if I'm with you now, I won't let go...I won't know
how."
"That's not a bad thing..." Jax reached out and touched her face.
"Yes, it is. Because I'm not capable of this Jax. I have way too much
going on in my life... I have no family, I feel alone..."
"Even around me?"
"No, that's the point. It's not good for me to be alone all the time
and then *bam* as soon as I get to know you not feel alone. There has
to be something to it. It's unhealthy." she said, trying to convince
herself as well as him.
"Unhealthy?"
"It has to be."
"It can't be that you just want to be with me?"
"No....why are you smiling?"
"I would be offended if I didn't know any better. You just need time."
"All the time in the world isn't going to change this."
"Sure it will." Jax got up from the floor. "But I'm no longer in the
habit of *chasing and waiting*. It doesn't work. So we'll just go on
about our plan, and when you change your mind, you can come to me."
"Jax, you don't want me to change my mind."
"Don't tell me what I want." he held out his hand and Keesha took it,
standing. "I know perfectly well what I want." he reached over and
placed a kiss on her cheek before heading into the kitchen for his food.
Shani
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