Underneath It All Read online

  “I think it’s time for a condom,” he urged, motioning toward the glove compartment, which now seemed like a trillion miles away. He couldn’t come close to reaching, and when she backed off to get them herself, her rear end hit the horn, setting off a blare so loud it could have wakened the dead.

  Outside he heard the friendly beeping of neighboring cars and distant laughter, reminding him that there were other people around. And if that weren’t bad enough, a rap on the window halted them both in their tracks.

  He looked at Nicole, her cheeks flushed and her lips chafed with sex. She was still straddling him but now checking her dress to assure nothing was exposed, and he followed suit by pulling his pants back up his waist and quickly, but carefully, zipping his fly.

  When they seemed to be in order, he reached out and rolled down the steamy window to come face to face with the flashlight of a Georgia State Ranger.

  The man raised a brow when he spotted Devon and Nicole, thankfully not taking the time to study them too closely. He’d probably been down this road more times than he could count.

  “Aren’t you a tad old for this?” the man asked.

  Devon opened his mouth with no idea what to say, and before he could, Nicole answered for him.

  “Too old for sex?”

  He turned his eyes to her, not believing what she’d just said.

  “For public indecency,” the ranger said rather humorlessly.

  Nicole got the hint and slid off Devon’s lap.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” Devon said. “We were enjoying the view and got carried away.” Nicole’s snicker left him fighting to keep a straight face. He didn’t know what the park rangers were like in California, but in the South they demanded respect.

  “You and every teenager up here.” The man scowled at him then turned the frown to Nicole. “I think you kids should move the party back home.”

  Kids?

  “Yes, sir,” he said. “Absolutely.” And when he heard the snap of Nicole’s seat belt, he knew the party was over.

  4

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU two got busted by a park ranger!” Eve said. She and their coworker, Jane Kurtz, sat across the conference table at CATL-TV, their eyes wide with disbelief.

  Nicole chuckled. “He told us to take the party home.”

  “So you did, right?” Eve asked.

  Nicole’s smile faded. “Not exactly. We started back toward town but before we could even talk about what to do next, his brother, Todd, called needing a ride home.” She frowned. “I don’t know why the guy couldn’t call a cab, but the next thing I knew, Devon was dropping me off at my car, kissing my cheek and asking for my phone number. Our evening ended in the parking garage across from the club.”

  “Oh, wow, that is such a riot.”

  “So do you think he’ll call?” Jane asked.

  Nicole shrugged. “I don’t know. He probably thinks I’m a sex-starved lunatic, coming on to him like that in the front seat of his car.”

  Though she had to admit, it had been fun to step away from her problems and let loose for a change, to forget about the confusion that had zapped her spirit and left her wandering life like a stray dog.

  For over a year, she’d been trying to process her adoption and all the issues surrounding it. She didn’t want to be angry with her parents, but no matter which way she turned it over in her mind, she couldn’t understand why they did what they did, why it had been so important to them that she believed she was theirs. For her entire life, they’d implanted an identity, and now that identity had been snatched out from under her as if the person she was never existed.

  She wasn’t a Reavis. Their heritage wasn’t her heritage, their culture not her culture, their blood not her blood. Instead, all those things were here in Atlanta, the home of her birth parents. Or at least it was their home twenty-nine years ago when she was born.

  Nicole had shown up in town nine months earlier following the urge to find out where she really had come from. If she wasn’t a Reavis, who was she?

  Admittedly, she hadn’t had much of a plan. She figured she’d settle into her job, get to know the area then try to find out as much about her birth family as possible. At the onset, she’d only expected to spend maybe a year in the area researching her family relations. But so far, she hadn’t even uncovered a family name. Her parents had only given her a birth date and the name of the center that held her adoption papers. She’d obtained a copy with everything pertinent blacked out. Everything else had been sealed, and so far Nicole hadn’t had the time or the energy to start the long process of decoding the rest.

  She’d been dragging her feet, telling herself it was the unexpected pressures of the job. But a side of her realized it wasn’t even that.

  Maybe a side of her didn’t want to know.

  She’d come here on a mission, her intentions clear, her goals in place. And then like a light switch, it all shut off. Doubt and confusion set in. She’d found herself feeling woefully out of place. Atlanta, Georgia, wasn’t California by any means, and instead of moving into town feeling as though she’d come home, she felt like an uninvited guest, an intruder trying to insinuate herself into a place where she didn’t belong.

  And if she wasn’t a Reavis, and she didn’t belong here, then who was she and where did she belong?

  “I’ve yet to meet a man turned off by a sex-starved woman,” Jane said.

  “And you should know,” Eve said. “It was that wild weekend in Vegas where you got together with Perry, after all.”

  Jane grinned in that starry-eyed way new lovers always do. Between all of them, Jane had been the most conservative of the bunch, the one who kept her feet firmly set on the floor. Thus, it had come as a surprise to everyone when she’d packed up and taken off to Las Vegas, only to come back in love with her neighbor, Perry Brewer. The two had been an item ever since and if Nicole were a gambler, she’d bank on the fact that marriage was somewhere in their future.

  She smiled. “Well, I hope Devon calls. I’d like to finish what we started.”

  The conference room door opened and in walked Zach Haas and Cole Crawford, the other two CATL members who had won the lottery with the three women. With Liza Skinner coming out of the woodwork and launching a lawsuit, the group had arranged to meet first thing to agree on next moves.

  Nicole didn’t have much of an opinion when it came to the matter. Having come in after Liza left Atlanta, she didn’t know the woman or the history she’d had with the other members of the crew. From the moment the mess started, Nicole had decided she would opt with the majority, going along with whatever everyone else decided.

  Unfortunately, it looked like the other four were split, the two women wanting to fight Liza’s claims, the men wanting to resolve the matter fast so they could all walk away with their money.

  Cole took a seat while Zach closed the door behind them then joined the group at the table.

  “All right,” Cole said. “We’ve all been talking amongst ourselves lately, now it’s time for some group action.”

  Eve snorted. “Oh, there’s a few things I’d like the group to do with Liza.”

  Jane placed a hand on Eve’s and shot her a look of consolation. From what Nicole had learned, Liza Skinner had been best friends with Eve and Jane, the three women founding the show and practically sisters in every way. Until they had a falling out and Liza left without a word. She’d packed up everything and had taken off without so much as a note explaining where she was going or when she’d be back.

  The move had left Jane and Eve in a bind as to what to do. Liza had been the chief segment producer on the show, and expecting she might come back, they hadn’t rushed to replace her. Amidst their concerns for her well-being, they’d both worked double-time to fill in for her, until the stress got too high and they were forced to hire Nicole.

  Nicole had taken Liza’s job and had had to jump in with both feet. From that standpoint, she understood Eve’s and Jane’s feelings. It ha
dn’t been a small effort to get the show back on track, and when Liza returned without the slightest remorse for taking off the way she did, they were all pretty sour. If she’d just communicated with them, she could have saved everyone a lot of grief. Not to mention the fact that once she did come back, her only purpose had been the lottery money and getting what she felt was hers.

  Her attitude had been a stab in the chest to the two women who’d thought they were friends.

  Cole flashed Eve a stern look. “Let’s keep the personal stuff out of it.”

  “But it is personal. At some point, Liza has to learn she can’t walk in and walk out as she pleases, strolling into town and taking what she wants, then shoving off again, be damned with the rest of us. Have you forgotten what she put us through?”

  “I haven’t forgotten,” Cole said. “But we’ve got an issue here that needs to be resolved, and rehashing the past isn’t going to move us forward.”

  As the show’s producer, Cole was always the big picture man of the group, the one who rose above the details to get to the bottom line. He was also the one with more at stake than the rest of them, being a single father of twin girls.

  Already, the media had taken an interest in their lives, Liza’s lawsuit adding fuel to the flames. The group had become a good story, a local saga that many people had become interested in following, and while it was a mere annoyance for the rest of them, Cole had his daughters to consider. Since his wife broke up their marriage and family, he’d been working hard to make their life as normal as possible, and he was understandably worried about how the media attention might be affecting them.

  “I think we need to do whatever it takes to resolve this matter quickly,” he added.

  “Not if it means giving Liza what she wants. I’d gladly forfeit all my lottery winnings before giving her a cent.”

  “It’s not only your winnings, Eve,” Zach said. “That’s the problem here. It’s not just about you, Jane and Liza. There are three other people involved who need to be considered.”

  He looked to Nicole for agreement and she responded with a faint nod. Like her, Zach was also fairly new to the group, only having taken his job as camera operator several months earlier. Though their newbie status had given them that bond, Nicole was reluctant to side with Zach wholeheartedly. Of all of them, she understood betrayal and the deep hurt Jane and Eve were dealing with, and she didn’t want to side against them.

  In fact, she didn’t want to side against anyone, and while this lottery win had seemed like a godsend in the beginning, this battle it had created between her coworkers only proved to be another problem on her plate.

  A side of her did want to suck it up and settle if it meant they could all move on. But unless everyone felt good about the settlement, none of them would be able to walk away and put this behind them.

  “I understand that,” Eve said. “And that’s all the more reason we shouldn’t back down and hand Liza whatever she’s asking for. I mean, what if six more people come out of the woodwork claiming a stake in the prize?”

  “On what basis?” Cole scoffed.

  “Who knows? Liza’s claim is ridiculous, yet she’s found a lawyer willing to back her. After that, I wouldn’t put anything past anyone.”

  “I have to agree,” Jane said. “We need to draw a line in the sand and demonstrate for everyone we aren’t going to give our money away to anyone who demands it.”

  “Our only other option is to take this to court,” Cole said.

  “So let’s take it to court.”

  “Court cases can take years, way more time than we have. Remember the deadline. If the winnings aren’t distributed within eight months of the drawing, the whole pot is forfeited. There’s no way a court case will settle before then.”

  Eve opened the folder containing the demand letter they’d all received from Liza’s lawyer. “She wants an equal share and a public apology. Apology for what? If anything, she’s the one who should be begging our forgiveness.” She closed the folder and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can go that far. We don’t owe her anything.”

  “Is that the way you feel?” Cole asked Jane.

  Jane sat quietly for a moment and Nicole could see the hurt in her eyes as she turned the situation over in her mind. Obviously, these wounds ran deep.

  After a few seconds of silence, Jane looked to the group and nodded. “I’m sorry, but I agree with Eve. All the money in the world isn’t enough for me to apologize to Liza for cutting her out of the winnings. We’ve done nothing wrong, and I’m not going to sell my integrity.”

  Cole looked to Nicole. “And you?” he asked.

  She opened her mouth, but it took a few beats before she could answer. She really didn’t like being in this position. There were five of them and she was the swing vote. Problem was, she agreed with both sides, a truth she knew they wouldn’t want to hear, but the truth nonetheless.

  “Guys, I don’t know what to tell you,” she finally said. “I understand Jane’s and Eve’s feelings. Liza has done nothing but jerk them around, and if I were in their shoes, I’d forfeit my money before allowing her to stomp on me again.”

  Eve met Nicole’s gaze and smiled.

  “But,” Nicole added, her expression to Eve apologetic. “I’m with you and Zach, too. This isn’t just about Eve, Jane and Liza. Zach and Cole and I are in this too, and it’s not fair to everyone else to risk losing the money because of this rift.”

  “So majority rules,” Zach said. “We split the pot with Liza?”

  “That’s not what I said,” Nicole defended. “And I don’t think this should be a situation where majority rules. We all have to agree. This lottery will destroy us all if we can’t find a solution that everyone can live with. Plus, legally I don’t think we have a choice. No one can force Jane and Eve to give up a portion of their winnings if they’re against it.” She looked to Cole for confirmation. “Isn’t that right?”

  Cole motioned to Eve. “You were contacting a lawyer. What did you find?”

  Eve straightened in her seat and cleared her throat. “Yes, I contacted Jenna Hamilton, the station’s lawyer. I think most of you have met her on one occasion or another. Is that correct?”

  The other members nodded, and though Nicole hadn’t met Jenna, she’d heard of the woman and that she had a solid reputation around the office.

  “She’s willing to take our case if we’re all in agreement,” Eve said. “In fact, I’d told her we’re meeting this morning and she’s made herself available in case we’d like to call and talk to her.”

  The five looked to each other for consent, each of them either nodding or shrugging acceptance of the idea before Cole finally said, “I think Jenna’s the closest thing to a lawyer we all know and are comfortable with. I certainly don’t have a better recommendation. And I do think, given the circumstances, we should seek legal counsel of our own.”

  “Yeah, we definitely need a lawyer,” Zach said.

  “Does everyone else agree?” Eve asked.

  The others consented, prompting Eve to pull the phone to the center of the conference table and dial Jenna’s number. The whole group needed an initial briefing on where they stood, and after sharing their decision with Jenna, Eve jumped right in with the questions.

  “So, she doesn’t have a leg to stand on, right?”

  “I don’t think so,” Jenna replied. Her voice was smooth and reassuring, leaving Nicole with the feeling they’d made a good choice.

  “But the laws can get murky where that’s concerned,” Jenna added. “Add in the fact that this is a state lottery and there aren’t many cases out there that are exactly like this one. I’ve only started looking into old cases, but finding precedents isn’t going to be cut and dry, and the thing we don’t want to do is blaze our own trail. That can get costly and take a lot of time.”

  “You realize Lot‘O’Bucks has an eight-month time limit to resolve the dispute or we all forfeit,” Cole said.


  “That helps and hurts us.”

  “How’s that?”

  Jenna explained, “Everyone involved is going to want to see this thing resolved, so dragging our feet—on either side of this—won’t be an option. From the start, both parties will want to settle and avoid court proceedings.”

  “Settle as in give her our money?” Eve asked, a bit too anxiously.

  “I’m not saying that. I know you’re against it, and from what you’ve told me, she shouldn’t have any claim to the winnings. Her contributions had been exhausted long before you bought the winning ticket.”

  “Even though technically we were still playing one of the numbers she chose?” Jane reminded.

  “I don’t see how that can be a factor. Without a written contract, those numbers have no meaning. For all intents and purposes, they could have been randomly selected.”

  Eve squeezed her eyes shut as if she were reluctant to ask, “What happens if this does go to court? What if we can’t settle?”

  “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t go that far. My plan is to respond to the demand letter letting Liza and her lawyer know there’s no basis for this suit. This could merely be a scare tactic on her part. Her lawyer might be giving this a shot, hoping you all panic and offer her what she wants.”

  Zach huffed. “If not, this could end up in court and drag out beyond the time limit.”

  “The local courts are aware of the time limit and I doubt our elected officials will want to get blamed for a group of lottery winners losing their money. People love lottery winners, the whole Cinderella idea of regular folk winning it big. Regardless of whether people end up on your side or Liza’s, they’ll want someone to get their money, and so will the lottery board. People won’t play if they begin doubting they’ll get their money. It’s bad publicity all around. That’s one of the reasons they made the rule. So people get their money fast.”