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the broken window or the sprinkler system that
failed.”
    “Hmm,” Jeff muttered, frowning thickly, “Any
ideas who it could be?”
    “Lord only knows. But I’m the likely
suspect, if you must know.”
    Jeff sat up, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“What?!”
    She gave him a dry smile. “That’s what the
insurance company seems to think. It’s what they call ‘foul play’.
They think I torched my company to claim insurance.”
    “That is the most nonsensical accusation
I’ve ever heard! Do they have an explanation as to why they think
you would do such a thing?”
    Jessica hesitated biting her lower lip
nervously. “To repay my debts.”
    Her brother’s eyes narrowed dangerously over
her. “What debts?” Jeff saw faint color touch her cheeks and he
rose to his feet ominously. “Jessica. What debts?”
    She sought to avoid answering him but he was
already before her, drawing her out of her chair to stand her for
interrogation. With Jeff’s kind of determination, she knew it was
better to tell him the truth than have him find out on his own. She
tilted her chin defiantly. “I had to expand sooner or later and I
took a couple of loans from certain finance agencies over the past
two years. I had several orders on hand but I didn’t manage to
repay the loans. I was supposed to pay them back by the end of this
year but I was nowhere close to doing it.” Her dusky gray eyes were
wide and honest. “In fact, I had already calculated I couldn’t do
it at the pace I was going.”
    “Heaven help you, Jessi,” her brother
breathed slowly, “And just how did you plan to get out of this
mess?”
    She lifted her chin boldly; her beautiful
face a picture of confidence. “I still have two months to go,
Jeff.” She paused, faltering briefly. “I’m getting married.”
    He stared at her with unconcealed shock. “To
Warring?”
    “Adam asked me to marry him last week.”
    “You’re not wearing an engagement ring,” he
observed shrewdly.
    “It’s still unofficial.”
    Jeff caught her by her shoulders in a firm
grip. “He’s not right for you, Jessi. You know that, don’t
you?”
    “Don’t be silly! Why would I agree to marry
him if I thought he wasn’t right for me?”
    His grip suddenly tightened in anger.
“Because you want to get your hands on your inheritance, little
Miss Cantrell. You don’t really love him! You just want to gain
access to the inheritance and use it to repay your debts!”
    A guilty flush dotted her cheeks but she
lied baldly. “I happen to love Adam and that’s the only reason I’m
marrying him.” She saw his disdainful look and tried to reason with
him. “Look, aren’t you always saying I should get married and start
a family? Well, that’s what I’m doing. So all right, my decision
happens to coincide with my immediate monetary need but that can’t
possibly hurt anyone.”
    His hands suddenly released her as though he
was disgusted with her. “Jessi, I would like to believe I know you
better than most people. I’ve practically brought you up and trust
me when I tell you that I’d know if you were in love.” His
perceptive eyes sought to burn into her soul. “Right now my girl,
you are in need, not in love. Dad would’ve been disappointed in
you, angel. You know that.”
    His near accurate accusation hurt but she
chose not to show it. It was true that she was not completely sure
of her decision to marry Adam but it was also true that she loved
him and wanted to marry him eventually. She squared her shoulders
resolutely. She wasn’t about to let him make her feel unnecessarily
guilty. “Dad made a very impractical stipulation in his will, Jeff.
He gave me half the shares of ‘The Residency’ but I can access them
only when I get married. Does that sound fair? It only tells me he
didn’t trust me to take my own decisions!”
    “He made his will when you were ten and
unfortunately he died when you had just turned twelve. He didn’t
get the chance to change it.