The Garrisons: Cassie, Adam & Brooke: Stranded with the Tempting Stranger. Brenda Jackson

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СКАЧАТЬ in Miami, a family she’d only found out about when she became a teenager. The truth had hurt, but then her mother and father had smoothed away the pain with the intensity of their love and had let her know that no matter what the situation was, the one thing that would never change or diminish was their love for her, as well as their love for each other. From that day forward, whether others did or not, Cassie understood and accepted her parents’ unorthodox love affair.

      She stepped off the elevator and walked into her office, stopping to smile at her secretary while picking up her messages off the woman’s desk. “Good morning, Trudy.”

      “Good morning, Ms. Garrison.”

      Cassie liked the sound of that. She had begun using her father’s last name within a week of his death. With both of her parents deceased, there were no secrets to protect and she had no reason to continue to deny herself the use of his name.

      “Any additional messages?” she asked the older woman whom she had hired a few months ago.

      “Yes. Mr. Parker Garrison just called and would like you to return his call.”

      Cassie forced the smile to stay on her face while thinking that no matter what Parker liked, he wouldn’t be getting things his way since she wouldn’t be returning his call. She could not forget the phone conversation they had shared nearly four months ago. He’d called within a week of the reading of John Garrison’s will and he’d kept calling. Eventually, she had taken his call.

      At the time she had been very aware that he, his siblings and mother had been shocked to discover at the reading of the will that John Garrison had an outside child. Of the five Garrison offspring, Parker had been the most livid because the terms of their father’s will gave her and Parker equal controlling interest in Garrison Inc., an umbrella corporation that oversaw the stocks and financial growth of all the Garrison-owned properties. He wasn’t happy about it.

      Their telephone conversation hadn’t gone well. He had been arrogant, condescending and had even tried being intimidating. When he’d seen Cassie would not accept his offer to buy her out, he had done the unthinkable by saying she had to prove she was a Garrison, and had threatened her with a DNA test as well as the possibility of him contesting the will. Parker’s threats had ticked her off and she was still angry.

      “Ms. Garrison?”

      Her secretary’s voice recaptured her attention. The forced smile widened. “Thank you for delivering the message.”

      Cassie entered her office. She would think Parker would have more to do with his time these days. It didn’t take long for news to travel over the hotel grapevine that the handsome and elusive playboy had gotten married. And not that she cared, but she’d also heard that another Garrison bachelor, Stephen, had gotten hitched, as well.

      She had no intention of ever meeting any of her “siblings.” She didn’t know them and they didn’t know her and she preferred things stayed that way. They had never been a part of her life and she had never been a part of theirs. She had a life here in the Bahamas and saw no need to change that.

      As she sat behind her desk her thoughts shifted back to the guy she’d seen in the lobby. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was married or single, straight or gay. She shrugged her shoulders knowing that it really didn’t matter. The last thing she needed was to become interested in a man. Her man was the beautiful thirty-story building that was erected along the pristine shoreline of the Caribbean. And “her man” was a beautiful sight that took her breath away each time she entered his lobby. And she would take care of him, continue to make him prosper the way her father would want her to do. Now that her parents were gone, this hotel was the only thing she could depend on for happiness.

      Brandon Washington glanced around the room he had been given, truly impressed. He had spent plenty of time at the Garrison Grand but there was something about this particular franchise that left him astonished. It was definitely a tropical paradise.

      The first thing he’d noticed when he had pulled into the parking lot was that the structure was different from the sister hotel in South Miami Beach, mainly because it was designed to take advantage of the tropical island beach it sat on. And it was nested intimately among a haven of palm trees and a multitude of magnificent gardens that were stocked with flowering plants.

      The second was the warmth of the staff that had greeted him the moment he had walked into the beautiful atrium. They had immediately made him feel welcome and important.

      And then it was his hotel room, a beautiful suite with a French balcony that looked out at the ocean. It had to be the most stunning waterscape view he’d ever seen.

      Brandon was more than pleased with his accommodations. And since he planned to stay for a while, his comfort was of the utmost importance. He had to remind himself that this was not a vacation, but he’d come here with a job to do. He needed to uncover any secrets Cassie Sinclair-Garrison might have that could be used to persuade her to give up her controlling interest in Garrison, Inc., his most influential client. Not to mention that members of the family were close friends of his.

      His father had been John Garrison’s college friend and later his personal attorney for over forty years and Brandon had been a partner in his father’s law firm. When his father was killed in a car accident three years ago, instead of transferring the Garrison business to a more experienced and older attorney, John had retained Brandon’s firm, showing his loyalty to the Washington family and his faith in Brandon’s abilities.

      Brandon had known John Garrison all of his thirty-two years and he was a man Brandon had respected. And he considered Adam Garrison, one of John’s sons, his very best friend. Now Brandon was here at the request of Parker and Stephen Garrison. It seemed John’s illegitimate daughter refused to deal with the corporation in any way and had refused to discuss any type of a buyout offer with Parker.

      Before resorting to a full-blown court battle, the two eldest brothers had suggested that Brandon travel to the Bahamas, assume a false identity to see if he could get close to Ms. Garrison and dig up any information on her present or her past, which would give them ammunition to later force her hand if she continued to refuse to sell her shares of Garrison, Inc. Another smart thing John had done was retain exclusive control of this particular hotel, the one Cassie had managed and now owned. No doubt it had been a brainy strategic move to keep his secrets well-hidden.

      Brandon pulled his cell phone from his coat jacket when it rang. “Yes?”

      A smile touched his lips. “Yes, Parker, I just checked in and just so you’ll know, I’m registered under the name of Brandon Jarrett.”

      He chuckled. “That’s right. I’m using my first and middle name since I want to keep my real identity hidden.” A few moments later he ended his phone call with Parker.

      Brandon began unpacking. He had brought an assortment of casual clothes since it was his intent to pose as a businessman who’d come to the island for a short but very needed vacation. That shouldn’t be hard to do, because since John Garrison’s death and his secrets had been revealed, Brandon had been working long hours with the Garrison family to resolve all the unwanted issues.

      Contesting the will had been out of the question. No one wanted to air the family’s dirty laundry. Doing so would definitely send John’s widow, Bonita, over the edge. There were a number of people who would not sympathize with the woman, saying it was her drinking problem that had sent John into the arms of another woman in the first place and that he had stayed married to her longer than most men would have.

      Then there СКАЧАТЬ