Eternally Yours - Brenda Jackson [102]
“What are you doing here?” Braxter snapped. He was both surprised and upset to see her. His chest heaved with outrage at the sight of her. “Who gave security the approval to let you in here?”
Celeste nodded to the other two men in the room before answering Braxter. “I deliver travel packages to occupants of this building all the time. Security is used to seeing me.”
“What do you want?”
She placed the packet on the desk. “I came to give you this and to say I’m sorry. I hope one day you’ll forgive me for what I did.” She turned to leave.
“Excuse me, miss,” Clayton said, putting together what was transpiring between the two individuals. “Who hired you to get information on Senator Lansing?”
Celeste turned back around. She remembered Clayton from the party at Whispering Pines. She bit her lower lip. It had taken every scrap of courage for her to come here tonight to make amends. But she had to come. She had to do the right thing.
Her gaze left Clayton, then went to the senator, before finally coming to rest on Braxter. She knew he hated her and would never forgive her. The piercing dark eyes staring back at her did not show any signs of forgiveness.
She knew at that moment why she hadn’t been able to go through with passing the report on to Senator Harris. She had fallen in love with Braxter. Her eyes closed momentarily, shielding his angry glare from her. When she reopened them, she shifted her gaze back to Clayton. “The person who hired me is Senator John Harris.”
She then turned and quickly walked out of Senator Lansing’s office.
Chapter 24
“Are you sure he’s going to be here?” Clayton asked as he and Senator Lansing stepped into the elevator of an elegant apartment building near downtown Austin.
“I’m pretty positive,” Senator Lansing replied, keying a special code into the elevator door panel box. “During the week, Syntel stays here instead of commuting back and forth to the ranch. And he seldom goes out in the evenings.”
Clayton nodded. Since discovering Syntel Remington was Syneda’s father, he had begun searching his mind for whatever personal information he knew about him. It was a known fact that he had never married. He also remembered reading somewhere that he had taken over the running of Remington Oil fifteen years ago, upon his father’s death.
Clayton’s thoughts came to an end when the elevator door opened and they stepped into a plushly carpeted hallway and walked toward the only door on the floor.
The door was opened on the second knock. A surprised expression lit Syntel Remington’s face. He moved aside to let the two men enter. “Ned, I didn’t know you were in Austin.” He then turned questioning eyes to Clayton. “Madaris, this is a pleasant surprise.”
For the first time since meeting him over a year ago, Clayton looked deeply into Syntel Remington’s eyes. They were eyes so much like Syneda’s in color and shape that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed them before. But then he hadn’t been aware that the man standing before him was her father. He also noticed that Syntel and Syneda shared similar smiles and the same well-defined features.
“I just arrived in Austin less than an hour ago,” Senator Lansing said. “I flew in from Washington. We both did. There’s an important matter we need to discuss with you, Syntel.”
Syntel Remington’s brow lifted. “This sounds serious, Ned.”
“Trust me, it is.”
“Let’s go into the study. I was just about to settle down and get some reading done.”
He led them to a brightly lit room where bookcases lined both sides. He gestured for them to take a seat. He then took a seat behind a large oak desk.
“All right, Ned, what is it? What’s so important to send you racing to my door from Washington with one of Texas’s most dynamic attorneys in tow?” he asked, managing a wobbly smile. He was confused and concerned with the expression his best friend wore.
The room fell silent, and a few moments later Senator Lansing spoke. “It’s about Jan.”
Syntel Remington’s eyes suddenly became distant and pained. “What about Janeda?”
The senator