The Fortunes of Texas: All Fortune's Children

She looked up and blinked as if her mind was changing gears.

“Are you saying you’ll help me with the website?”

“Wait. What? No.”

“But you just said you’d rather do that, and I was only half joking when I brought up the new site a minute ago. Phil in design is swamped and I could really use some help. Otherwise, I’ll have to outsource the job. I can write the content, but all that technical HTML stuff is like a foreign language to me. Will you help me, Joaquin? Please?”

She wrinkled her nose and gave him a tentative smile that almost seemed as if she was holding her breath waiting for his answer.

The woman was a force of nature. He wasn’t quite sure what she’d just done there, and he obviously didn’t know what he was doing when he heard himself saying, “Sure, I’ll help you with the website. Why don’t we schedule a meeting?”

He thought he saw a flicker of surprise in Zoe’s eyes. “Oh, thank you. Does tomorrow at three o’clock work for you?”

He called up the calendar on his phone. “I can spare a half hour.”

“Well, we will just have to make the most of that time, then.”

She smiled at him as she stood and smoothed her skirt. Before he could stop himself, his gaze followed the path her hands were tracing. When he realized what he was doing, his gaze skidded back up to her face so fast, if there’d been a music to accompany the moment it would’ve sounded like a needle scratching across a vinyl record.

Had she just played him? The treacherous waters of possibly hosting an intervention to teach Gerald Robinson manners had certainly made the thought of designing a website for the FX350 seem like a child’s birthday party in comparison.

The victorious glint in her eyes tempted him to backpedal, but he didn’t. And when the unspoken window of opportunity to back out closed, he knew he’d need to be careful.

He had to admit he was attracted to her. He’d have to be dead or barely breathing not to be. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, but he was not going to cross that line. He could exercise some self-control for the duration of their thirty-minute meeting.

“So, your place or mine?” The flirtatious note was back in her voice.

But before he could answer, someone knocked and opened the door. “Sorry to bother you— Oh!” Steffi-Anne Bunting, the office manager, stuck her blond head in but stopped midsentence when she saw Zoe standing there.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked back and forth between Zoe and him.

“Do you need something, Steffi-Anne?” Joaquin asked.

“I was just, uh—” She pointed at a clipboard in her hand. “I just noticed that we don’t have your RSVP for the executive office trip to Cowboy Country. We leave this Thursday afternoon and we need a final head count. May I put you down as a yes?”

Steffi-Anne was another one who tended to pop into his office regularly. She could’ve emailed him about this. But since she was here now... “Actually, I sent my regrets last week. Didn’t you get it?”

“Yes,” Steffi-Anne said, “I got it, but—”

“You’re not going?” Zoe cried. “You have to go.”

Joaquin shook his head. “This is a team-building thing. I’m a temporary employee. I didn’t think it was appropriate.”

“It’s completely appropriate,” Steffi-Anne countered with a slightly condescending tone. “That’s why you were invited. That’s why I’m following up.”

The truth was he just wasn’t good at this rah-rah, team-building bull. It made him uncomfortable. No, uncomfortable wasn’t a strong enough word. It made him feel like a caged animal. And all he wanted to do when he felt backed into a corner was get the hell out.

He looked at the two attractive women standing in his office and knew that he should’ve loved the fact that they both seemed to take extra interest in him. There was a time not so long ago when he would’ve dated both of them. At the same time, as a matter of fact. He would’ve reveled in the game of juggling them both, along with various other women he might’ve kept up in the air right along with them.

Not anymore, though.

He’d learned the hard way that office romances usually led to disaster, and he knew damn good and well that toying with emotions was the fastest way to earn an express ticket to hell.

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time at Cowboy Country, but I have a lot of work to get done and a very short amount of time to accomplish it. So, thanks, but I’ll have to decline.”

“We’ll see about that.” Steffi-Anne’s smile was out of context with the edge in her voice.

“Stop pushing him,” Zoe said. “If he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t have to.”

Clutching the clipboard to her chest, Steffi-Anne put her free hand on her thin hip. “Look, Mr. Robinson wants every employee in the executive office to go on this Cowboy Country retreat. If it makes you feel any better, Joaquin, it’s for work. It’s not for fun. Heaven forbid anyone ever force you to have fun. I think you’ll want to clear your schedule.”

His gaze snared Zoe’s. Despite the way she’d defended him, there seemed to be something hopeful in her eyes. She’d be there, of course. Suddenly, the thought of attending the retreat seemed a lot more palatable.

Chapter Two

The next afternoon Zoe positioned two cappuccinos, red plastic stirrers and various packets of sugar and artificial sweetener on the corner of her desk. She turned the cups just so, then walked over to her office door and looked at them from the angle of someone just entering the room.

“That looks too posed,” she murmured under her breath as she walked back to her desk.

Well, of course it did. “It is posed. Just be cool and casual about it.”

She picked up one of the paper cups and took a sip, making sure to leave a bright red lipstick imprint before setting it closer to her computer keyboard. That way it would look less formal. Not as if she was waiting for Joaquin to drink her coffee.

For good measure she returned the other cup and the condiments to the beverage carrier on the credenza behind her desk.

What if he didn’t like cappuccino? What if it looked too presumptuous that she’d bought him a coffee? What if she drove herself crazy with all this second-guessing?

She placed her hand on her breastbone. Her heart was thudding. She took in a steadying deep breath—going in through her nose, releasing it through her mouth.

This wasn’t a date, and it wasn’t as if she was delivering a coffee to his office out of the blue. He was helping her with the website. It was a nice gesture. Of course it didn’t seem presumptuous.

If he didn’t like coffee, she would simply give it to someone else.

“What are you looking at?” The sound of Joaquin’s deep voice made her jump. He was standing behind her, following her gaze with his own.

She turned to him with a sudden feeling of clarity. “You want to know the truth?”

“Of course.”

“I got you a cappuccino when I went out to get myself one, and I just realized I have no idea if you even like coffee. Do you?”

“I love it,” he said. “And, actually, I could use a shot of caffeine right now.”

Zoe gestured toward the credenza. “Well, there you go. At your service.”

As Joaquin helped himself to the lone cup in the holder, Zoe made a mental note that he didn’t add any sweeteners to his coffee.

Good to know. For future reference.

“Thanks for this.”

Joaquin took a long sip of his drink, set it on her desk and then proceeded to move one of her office chairs around to the other side of the desk so the two of them would be sitting side by side. She couldn’t help but notice how his biceps flexed and bunched under the short sleeve of his white polo shirt. The light color showcased the deep, bronzy tan of his skin and she had a sudden mental picture of him on South Beach in Miami in a pair of board shorts and nothing else. She’d gone there for spring break when she was in college. Too bad she hadn’t known him then.

It made her wonder about his life before coming to Robinson Tech. Had he dated a lot of women or did he have someone special?

“Shall we get started?” Joaquin gestured for her to sit. After she slid into her seat, he settled in next to her. He was close enough that she could smell the soap he’d used and the subtle herbal scent of his aftershave. She propped her elbow on the chair’s armrest and leaned closer, breathing in a little deeper, savoring the scent of him as he pulled the wireless keyboard toward him.

Obviously he was oblivious because he was all business. With a few keystrokes he’d called up the page they needed and had signed in to a screen that looked utterly foreign to Zoe.

She centered herself in her chair, prepared to act like the consummate professional and not some lovesick puppy fawning all over him. That was the opposite of the tactics Steffi-Anne used. Zoe knew the woman had it bad for Joaquin. She and every other female in the office. But where Zoe tended to go all starry and wistful around him, Steffi-Anne became a dominatrix.

It was interesting how Joaquin didn’t seem to be partial to either of them.

Professionalism was Zoe’s safety net, her comfort zone. She’d gotten her job because of her ability and not simply because her father owned the company.

Steffi-Anne had made a few passive-aggressive digs about nepotism and, if Zoe were completely honest, it used to bother her, but she’d learned to let her job performance speak for itself.

That’s why she needed this website to be top-notch. That’s why she’d asked for Joaquin to lend his expertise.

She’d emailed him the specs and design ideas for the new site, as well as some images she’d procured for the project. Since she’d already turned in her homework and had no idea what all the numbers, letters and symbols he was keying in meant, she knew she would be no help right now.

What was the harm in making a little small talk?

“So, you like coffee,” Zoe said. “What else don’t I know about you?”

“What do you mean?” He kept his gaze trained on the computer monitor as his fingers tapped on the keyboard.

“I mean, I realized that we’ve been working together for three months and I barely know anything about you.”

“I’m a private person,” he said.

“So, does that mean that you won’t even share basics with me? You know, the niceties that people share when they’re getting to know each other? Even if it’s just to make conversation?”

“Is that what we’re doing? Getting to know each other? Or making conversation?”

“I’d like to get to know you.”

When he didn’t protest, she took it a step further.

“How about if I ask you one question and then you can ask me one after you answer mine?”

“Why do you get to go first?” he asked drily.

“If you feel strongly about it, you can go first. By all means. Please.”

His hands stopped typing and he slanted a glance in her direction. So, he was going to humor her, after all. For the first time since Joaquin had walked through the Robinson Tech doors Zoe felt a glimmer of hope where he was concerned.

Casually, she shifted her weight to her right elbow and discreetly inhaled another deep breath.

“Ladies first. By all means.”

“You’re such a gentleman.”

There were a million things she wanted to ask him, but she knew if she went right for the juicy, personal stuff, it might send him back into his shell.

So she opted for something that stayed on neutral territory to warm up the conversation.

“What did you decide about the Cowboy Country trip?” she asked. “Are you going?”

“Actually, I think I will.”

“Really? Are you just trying to get Steffi-Anne off your back? The woman doesn’t like to take no for an answer, does she? You’d think it was her own personal party.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said. “But I have family in Horseback Hollow and I figured it would be a good chance to visit. But instead of riding the bus with everyone and staying with the group on Thursday, I think I’ll drive down on my own and stay with my dad. I’ll miss the dinner Thursday evening, but I’ll catch up with everyone Friday.”

“That’s right. You lived in Horseback Hollow before you moved here, didn’t you?”

“I’m from Miami, originally. I only lived there for a few months to be with my family before I moved here. Horseback Hollow was a little too sleepy for me.”

He had a point. It probably was dull when compared to Miami. Even Austin had a different feel than South Florida. Granted, there was a lot more going on in Austin than in Horseback Hollow; Austin was edgy while Miami had more of a sultry, sexy feel.

Yes, sexy, sultry, like Joaquin Mendoza. With those brown bedroom eyes, he could’ve been the poster boy for everything that was exciting about Miami. She was certainly glad he’d brought that excitement into her world.

Her stomach fluttered.

Yes, she was very glad he was here now. Maybe if he continued to help with projects like this website, her father would find a permanent position for him after Joaquin had completed his temporary assignment. Then he could move here full-time.

“How do you like Austin?” she asked.

He shrugged, but just barely because his full concentration seemed to be focused on the computer screen.

“So far, so good.”

Okay, that was a little noncommittal. His expression and body language were a little aloof. And he’d given a closed answer.

Maybe she should move on to another topic?

Horseback Hollow was too sleepy for him. He’d gone there to be closer to his family. She liked that. Family was everything to her, even if her siblings could be a little overbearing sometimes.

Like the way her older brother Ben had been harping on the fact that several members of the illustrious Fortune family lived in Horseback Hollow. He was obsessed with the Fortunes and the absurd notion that their own father was related to them. Between Ben and her sister Rachel who lived in Horseback Hollow, they’d managed to get their sisters and brothers on the bandwagon, too. It was causing a lot of strain with their father, who insisted there wasn’t a drop of Fortune blood in his veins.

Even though Zoe was firmly on her father’s side and respected his word that he wasn’t related to the distinguished clan, she still thought it would be interesting to see what Joaquin had to say about them.

“So you know the Fortune family, don’t you?” Zoe asked. “I mean you have a connection to them, right?”

He looked at her for a moment as if he were trying to read her.

“It’s a huge clan, but I do know some of them since my brother Cisco is married to Delaney Fortune Jones, and my sister, Gabriella, is married to Jude Fortune Jones. But, honestly, I haven’t spent much time around them. Why do you ask?”

Her stomach clenched and she suddenly regretted bringing up the subject. Still, she had, so she felt as if she owed him some sort of explanation.

“The Fortune name has been bandied about quite a bit these days among my family.”

“Really? How come?”

Zoe sighed. “It’s a long, complicated story.”

Joaquin turned his attention back to the computer. “If you’d rather not say, that’s fine. I really don’t know them that well. If you think about it, my brother is married to your sister. So, really, there’s as much of a connection between us as there is between the Fortunes and me.”

She might have taken offense to that remark if he hadn’t raised his brows and smiled at her in a way that sent ribbons of awareness fluttering in her stomach.

Zoe remembered the first time she’d met Joaquin. It was last year at Rachel’s wedding. She’d been the maid of honor and Joaquin had been Matteo’s best man. She guessed the special honor had been bestowed upon him because he was the oldest of his siblings. She wondered how he felt being the eldest and having three of his four younger siblings married before him. She knew about his family because she’d pumped her own sister for information. Then again, the order in which siblings married didn’t seem to bother guys.

All she knew was that she was glad she was one of the youngest of her clan because there seemed to be something in the water in Austin, too. In addition to Rachel getting married last year, her brothers Ben and Wes had meet their soul mates this year and were living their very own happily-ever-afters.

At the rate she was going she might end up being the spinster sister, or at least the last one married. Her gaze swept over Joaquin’s perfect profile and her stomach performed that somersault that was becoming all too familiar when she saw him.

“Were there any Fortunes in Miami?”

He shook his head.

“Not to my knowledge. It seems like this is bothering you a bit more than you’re admitting. Sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

As she looked into his eyes all she could think of was how much she’d love to talk to him about anything. Shoot, she’d even be happy sitting there discussing the complicated gibberish on the computer screen. Then again, she’d do more listening than talking since she knew so little about it.

“Can you keep a secret?” she asked.

He looked at her warily. “If this is something you shouldn’t be telling me, then maybe you shouldn’t.”

“No, it’s not really a secret. I mean, not one that shouldn’t be told. If it was, I wouldn’t talk about it. I guess what I was trying to ask is that you keep it between you and me. Of course, it’s not as if you’d tell anyone here. You don’t seem the type to engage in office gossip.”

He chuckled. “No, gossip isn’t really my thing.”

He had turned his full attention on her now. As he sipped his coffee, watching her over the cup, her mouth went a little dry.

She followed suit and took a sip of her coffee before speaking. “All right. So, get this. My siblings have latched on to the absurd notion that my father is somehow related to the Fortunes.”

Joaquin squinted at her, looking as confused as Zoe had felt when she’d first heard the news.

“Is he?” Joaquin asked. “It’s a huge family. There are branches all over the place. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were Fortunes in Austin.”

“There aren’t. I mean, at least there aren’t any Fortune bloodlines tied to the Robinson family. My father has made that perfectly clear. I don’t completely understand where my brothers and sisters got this notion, but I think they should drop the issue since our father has asked them to.”

“But they keep pushing?”

“Right. My brother Ben went as far as tracking down a woman named Jacqueline Fortune. He’s convinced that she is our long-lost grandmother. But get this. She had one son named Jerome—Jerome, not Gerald, mind you—and when Ben asked her about him, she told him that her son, Jerome, was dead. She said he died decades ago. But do you think that stopped Ben from moving ahead with this weird crusade? No, he just keeps pushing and pushing and hitting dead end after dead end. He thinks Jacqueline Fortune is mistaken.”

Not only did Joaquin knit his gorgeous brows, he flinched at the notion.

“What?” he said. “Wouldn’t a mother know if her son died?”

“I know, right? Apparently, Ben located Jacqueline in a memory-care unit of a nursing home. I think she is suffering from some form of dementia.”

Joaquin was a good listener and Zoe appreciated it. He drew in a breath the way people do when they’re weighing whether or not to say something.

When he didn’t speak, Zoe asked, “What?”

“I can see that you are one hundred percent convinced that your father is telling the truth. But I still don’t understand why you are asking me about the Fortunes.”

“I’m not trying to dig up more evidence, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“No, of course not.”

Zoe shrugged. “I guess I’m just curious. But, you know, let’s just say even on the very far-flung chance my father was related to the Fortunes and for some reason he wanted to keep it from us... A—why would he hire you with your connection to that family? And, B—I mean, he’s clearly made a new life for himself and he’s asked his kids to drop it. I don’t see why they’re going against his wishes, continuing to doubt him and trying to dig up new evidence that proves he’s lying. If he says he’s not a Fortune, I think the family should respect that and leave the past in the past. What difference does it make who he used to be?”

As Joaquin sat back in his chair, his eyes darkened a shade.

“Are you asking my opinion or are those rhetorical questions?” he said.

“I’d love to hear your opinion,” Zoe said.

Joaquin took in a breath and let it out slowly, as if weighing his words. “Personally, I believe a family has a right to know their roots and where they came from, even if one person thinks he has a good reason for hiding the information. I think it’s better to get everything out into the open.”

Now there was a faraway look in Joaquin’s eyes. His expression and his words hinted that there might be something personal going on there.

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” she ventured.

“Me?” He shook his head. “We’re not talking about me. I’m just saying I believe it’s not right to withhold important information like that.”

For a moment he looked as if he was going to add something, but the moment came and went. Instead he said, “I also think it’s nice the way you look out for your father. Everything else aside, your dad must have done something very right to raise a daughter like you.”

Her heart did a strange little cha-cha-cha in her chest. Had Joaquin just complimented her? Maybe this thing she felt for him wasn’t hopeless, after all.

* * *

Friday morning Joaquin arrived at Cowboy Country USA, a Western-themed amusement park that had opened a year ago in Horseback Hollow, ready to meet his coworkers at the Sagebrush Pavilion inside the park.

He’d made the six-hour trip from Austin to Horseback Hollow after work yesterday evening. He’d arrived at his father, Orlando Mendoza’s, house around eleven o’clock, spent the night and had made it to the team-building retreat as everyone was finishing breakfast.

His coworkers had boarded a bus at the office just after noon the day before and had spent the night in Cowboy Country’s Cowboy Condos. Joaquin had been relieved when Steffi-Anne hadn’t hassled him about skipping the overnight portion of the trip. Sometimes the woman could be bossy and just this side of relentless, but at least she seemed to know when to back off and recognize that he was meeting her in the middle.

Inside the park’s gates, he made his way down Cowboy Country’s Main Street, past the old-fashioned restaurants and themed refreshment stands and gift shops. As he approached a rough-hewn wooden gate indicated on the map that Steffi-Anne had provided with the invitation, he heard gunshots and a loud round of whooping and hollering. About twenty yards down Main Street, a couple of cowboys, one dressed in white from his hat to his boots, the other clad in all black, tumbled out of the saloon, the doors swinging behind them.

“That’s the Main Street Shootout show,” said a park attendant who was dressed like a cowgirl and standing at the gates. “Right on schedule. Feel free to get closer if you’d like, but I must warn you, partner, they take innocent bystanders hostage from time to time.”

He wondered if everyone who worked here had to stay in character day in and day out.

“Actually, I’m here for the Robinson Tech event. According to this map, I’m supposed to meet someone here who will point me in the direction of the Sagebrush Pavilion. Am I in the right place? Are you the person?”

“You certainly are and I certainly am. May I see your invitation, please? And I will direct you the rest of the way.”

He scrolled up on his smartphone to the invite page and handed it to the woman. Finding it satisfactory, she handed him a map of the park that had his route sketched out with arrows. She opened the gate and ushered him through.