Jordan waved his hands. “Adam is thrilled about the IPO and can’t wait. He’s got big plans. Amazing plans. The kid is a genius, and not just because he lets me take care of the business side of things,” he said with a wink. “He’s a visionary and, let me tell you, he’s light-years ahead of the rest of us.”

As I watched him ease the banker’s ruffled feathers, I couldn’t help but wonder if his smooth reputation with women wasn’t based on the same principles with which he conducted business. Telling people what they wanted to hear could be as much an art as anything else.

In the end, Wally’s fears seemed allayed and we walked out after shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. In the parking lot, Jordan took off his coat, rehung it and pulled off his tie, unbuttoning his collar.

I watched him with a frown. He stopped and quirked a brow at me. “What?”

“How’d you know all that stuff about him? His kids—family?”

He shrugged. “Social media. And I have some people...” He glanced away. “Collecting info in this day and age is not difficult. But I’m no cyberstalker.”

“You have people, do you?” He sounded like my dad, and I was a little uneasy about that comparison. The less I thought about my dad these days, the better.

He gave me a canny smile and opened the door, sliding into his seat. I slid in beside him, turned and folded my arms across my chest. “Did you collect information on me?”

That glib smile froze and his eyes looked a little panicked for a split second before he turned back toward the wheel, laughing it off.

“You did, didn’t you?”

“You are the creator of a PR situation for my company, Weiss. Does that surprise you?”

Biting my bottom lip, I shrugged. “I’m sure you didn’t find out much, considering I’m rather boring. I’m one hundred percent positive it wasn’t worth the effort it took.”

A brief frown crossed his features before he glanced at the time and sighed. “Well, that was a huge pain in the ass drive to shoot the shit with a skittish banker for thirty minutes. Sometimes I hate this job.”

“You could have taken the train up and had a driver bring you over from the train station. Then you could have gotten some work done.”

He scowled at me. “Last I checked, this is California. We drive everywhere ourselves. Even when we are rich enough to have drivers. It’s part of our culture. Plus, I needed to get my ass out of the office. And I needed to get your ass out of the office, too.”

“My ass? Why would you—?” I cut myself off as understanding dawned. “Oh…you were afraid I was going to confess to Adam while you were gone.”

He touched his nose and winked at me.

“We have another stop to make before heading back down south. I’d planned on this before I knew I was bringing you. So you are just going to have to humor me because if I back out, there will be hell to pay.”

I raised my brow. Was he checking in with one of his ladyloves? Because if so, I wanted no part of that.

My stomach growled. He laughed. “And lunch is included.”

We headed into the city and through the quaint downtown before driving to a middle-class residential area on the outskirts. Soon, we’d pulled into the driveway of a modest-looking bungalow-style house. I puzzled this one out as I slipped out of my seat and followed him to the front door.

He knocked loudly and then turned the knob, calling into the house, “Pop? It’s Jordan.”

There was a call from the back of the house, and Jordan opened the door for me to precede him. The house was decorated in an understated style that was a little outdated and had a feminine, homey touch to it. I glanced around, taking in the large, pastel lampshades, an art deco-style mirror, a few antique pieces, and a big, overstuffed suede couch.

A tall, thin man appeared. He looked like a sixty or seventy-year-old version of Jordan, wearing a sweater and corduroy pants. He immediately clasped Jordan in a bear hug.

“Well, it’s about time you got up here to see me,” he said. The older man caught sight of me over Jordan’s shoulder and his eyes widened. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a lovely lady with you.”

Jordan stepped back and turned toward me, appearing embarrassed. “She’s my assistant, Pop. April, this is my grandpa, Reverend Gerald Fawkes.”

Reverend? Jordan’s grandpa was a minister? How…strange and ironic that was. I wondered if he had any idea what a tomcat his grandson was. I stepped forward and gave him my biggest smile as I shook his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m April Weiss.”