Climbing High Read online

  “Depends on what level you handle.” She twirled her cup in her saucer, her face thoughtful. “Fontainebleau is mostly easy bouldering, you understand. If you want to free climb something more challenging, the Mount Blanc, Chamonix area provides some grueling ascents on granite. Though of course it’s further out of the city, and most of the climbs require an overnight stay to get the early start needed to finish in daylight.”

  “Sounds like the kind of thing I’m after. Our Rocky Mountains provide a lot of granite work. I like to test myself when I go up. I noticed you were with a group. Is it a climb club? Maybe I could join up for their next climb.”

  “No, just friends.” She rose and started gathering her things. “We’re heading for Chamonix Friday night to make a climb Saturday. If you’d like to leave your contact information with me, I’ll ask the group if they mind you joining us.” She tilted her head in question.

  Jake leapt to help her, noting the white line around her lips and the depth of pain in her eyes. “Works for me. I’m here till Tuesday and don’t have solid plans for the weekend.” Jake mentally cancelled his dinner with the trade commissioner, his date with a nubile French model he looked up whenever he came to Paris, and the hours he’d set aside to prepare a proposal for a French company he was wooing. He must be an idiot. Even with the thought bonging in his brainbox, he pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it over. He watched, curious to see her reaction when she read the name of his business and his position as owner/CEO. He’d built the company from a patented software program in college to a major player on the world stage.

  She smoothed her fingertips over the black embossed letters that told a story of technical genius.

  Her face remained quiet, her eyes calm. “I know this company.” She tucked his card in her pocket.

  Jake’s curiosity ramped up another notch. Her tone had been so neutral he couldn’t read a thing from it. What did she know? Had she read about his business in a reputable magazine or about his personal life in some sleazy gossip rag? Did she work for someone who did business with him?

  His company wrote software for other companies who needed to make their products work. JDI Inc. had clients around the world and pulled in billions of dollars in revenue a year. But his satisfaction came from solving the problem of a client, in helping get a product up and running and out there. JDI technicians could design a new assembly line, a new method of distribution, or instructional software for the employees. He had the best techies around the world working for him. He went after the work that kept them busy and that meant a lot of travel and networking. And tore great chunks out of his personal life. Stifling the urge to prolong his time with her, he moved away. If he wanted to climb this weekend, he better write that proposal.

  “Well, Ms. Suray Loran, it’s been a pleasure. I hope your friends have no problem with me joining their climb.” He placed a few euros on the table to pay for her tea. “My treat,” he insisted when she leaned forward to protest. “I hope there won’t be any lasting damage from the accident.” He didn’t make the mistake of offering to see her home. She exuded independence. He had no doubt she’d ask for help if she wanted it.

  “Thank you again, Jake, for coming to my rescue. I’ll contact you with details, if the others say you’re in.”

  He felt her gaze on his back as he walked away. She wore no rings. Not married then. But wait, a lot of climbers took their rings off to climb. He just hoped she showed up on an Internet search, because the minute he was off this street he’d be typing in her name. He looked back before he turned the corner, his shadow already on his trail. She’d pulled out a smart phone and her slender fingers were flying over the keypad. If she looked him up, she’d have a lot of reading to do. He couldn’t sneeze without someone making it a story. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t just see the business and climbing articles, but the pulp connecting him with dozens of women over the years. Would she, like so many, label him a womanizer? Her tongue in cheek gesture earlier made it obvious she had discernment. With luck, he’d become her favorite bedtime reading material.

  ****

  Siree indeed took the time to read up on Jacob Daniel Ingles. She already knew of his business success from articles published in Economics Yearly, Fortune Favours, and Washington over the past ten years. A millionaire software whiz by twenty-four, the CEO of JDI had taken his company international and grown it to a billion dollar business. He had to be thirty-two. Six years older than herself. It’d taken her a while to connect the gorgeous man at the café with the business mogul so highly respected by her clients.

  There were four hundred hits on the climbs he’d completed, alone. Good to know he wouldn’t put them in jeopardy. Looked to be more experienced than any of them. She could justify checking the man out before inviting him to join her friends. Spending the rest of the night reading about his social life had to be one of her poorer choices. Listed as the sexiest man in America, two years ago, in the top list of the world’s most eligible bachelors last year, he made for some heady reading. He appeared to attend every high profile event out there. She could paper her hotel room with photos of Jake escorting some beautiful woman somewhere. Did the man never focus on just one? The next photo she saw featured him in a wet swimsuit that clung to his muscled thighs. With a soft moan of approval, she fell to imagining what that beautiful body would look like naked. She surfaced to find her nipples taut and a light film of perspiration on her skin. For goodness sake, you sound like an animal in heat.

  Her lips tightened as she looked back at her screen. Not fair. Aquamarine eyes, black hair, and bronzed skin should be outlawed. “And a mouth to die for,” she enumerated, taking in the wry quirk at one corner of his lips. She recalled how his eyes took on a devilish glint each time the corner of his mouth tilted.

  “You almost fell into that one,” she taunted herself, closing the laptop and shoving it across the bed. She flopped back and pounded her pillow, demanding sleep to rescue her from her thoughts. But they chased her still. She relived the instantaneous and considerable attraction she felt for Jake.

  She’d noticed him reading at the café table when she’d arrived with her friends; so had Gretta and Lara. No woman with blood still moving in her veins could ignore him. He’d exuded power and confidence. She’d pondered if a person could be too confident and concluded it just proved they’d coped with whatever life threw at them and came out on top. Then he’d come to her rescue, and she’d seen his sensitivity to Burdett’s embarrassment and his compassion for her pain. Too bad he’s not just an ordinary guy. I would’ve liked to date him.

  But he didn’t ask for a date. He’d asked for a climb, instead. And in a weird upside-down way that made her like him more. Siree had long since learned most men saw her as a pretty package and went after her wrappings without ever checking the contents.

  So, no Jake Ingles. She shrugged. Life didn’t always give you what you wanted. If her friends agreed to include him, she couldn’t see any harm in inviting him along. She’d just keep her distance. Her thoughts strayed to his tight buttocks. She imagined his narrow hips thrusting against her own. Whoa. Climbing on Mont Blanc wouldn’t be her greatest challenge.

  ****

  The text came that evening. Immersed in flow charts and complex financial breakdowns, Jake still grabbed his mobile phone the second its soft purr sounded. He’d hoped she’d phone so he could hear her voice again, maybe get her talking. Disappointed, he read her text.

  U’r in. 05:00 Mont Blanc Chateau lobby, 21st. S

  He’d spent considerable time after his meetings searching for information on Suray Loran and found nothing. Either she’d given him the wrong name or she’d done nothing with her life. Remembering her intuitive leaps of thought, he doubted the latter. He pushed back from the desk and stretched. Was she playing him? With the media always hard on his heels, tracking him proved easy. Many women had set up what appeared to be spontaneous meetings to get an introduction. So had many business people
who wanted to pitch a project and couldn’t get by the security surrounding him. The idea she wanted something from him didn’t sit well. She intrigued him and he didn’t want to walk away.

  Confirmed. J, he tapped into his phone, certain if she had ulterior motives he’d unmask her with just a little more time in her company.

  He emerged from the proposal hours later, pleased he’d been able to put her out of his mind and concentrate on work. “See, Ingles,” he reassured himself, “she’s nothing but a beautiful woman and the ‘in’ for a good climb. You can let down your guard.”

  But he dreamed about golden hair flowing over him and golden eyes laughing into his and had woken up diamond hard just before their mouths touched.

  He spent the day feeling edgy. Finchley got on her high horse when he told her to dig deeper and find him something on Suray. He snapped his fingers and swung back to her. “Try it with Larain, the French spelling.” His smile held until she reported no hits again, but a Siree Larain showed up under forensic accountant, no photo, minimal information. Jake negated that the animated woman climbing with friends on a workday could be a staid number cruncher. But he tucked the name Siree Larain away in his mind and read everything Finchley dug up on her.

  When brought into the loop, Gribbs, his head of security, narrowed his eyes, making it obvious he disapproved of Jake climbing with a bunch of strangers. That he couldn’t tell Gribbs a thing about them, assuming Suray, AKA mystery woman, would act as his threshold to information, made Jake even more irritable. He felt like a damn fool. Nonetheless, he growled at Gribbs to get used to the idea. He wanted this climb. His time constraints, now pushed to the max, meant he couldn’t afford to travel down the night before. He rode the edge of his temper when he thought of the lost time with Suray. Siree? Dammit, Siree. At least a Siree existed.

  Finchley hammered away at her keyboard getting the proposal ready for the client and hunched her shoulders every time he even hinted about changing an appointment. Though she travelled with him everywhere business demanded, Finchley hated to be outside Canada. Generally, she’d set up headquarters in an executive suite and never stick her nose out the door. The longer they were in another country the more annoying she became. Usually his long time affection allowed Jake to put up with her complaining. This time he rode the grumpy bus with her. Raking his fingers through his hair, he decided to give them both a break. He instructed her to finish the proposal and get herself on the next flight home.

  Chapter Two

  Jake strode into the lobby of the Mount Blanc Chateau ten minutes ahead of schedule and found his mystery woman waiting for him. He and Gribbs had flown in by helicopter. Gribbs, still ticked off at Jake’s refusal to have him on the climb, ordered him to keep a low profile. Gribbs loitered just inside the lobby door, passing himself off as a businessman in his dark suit.

  Siree greeted Jake with the same cordial smile she gave to the concierge. Before he could react to her disinterest she turned to acknowledge the call of one of her friends. If she wanted something from him, she couldn’t be playing him better. His hunting instinct kicked up a notch. Her climbing buddies tumbled out of the elevator like a litter of boisterous puppies. They wore coated nylon pants and soft shell hoodies to combat the cold in pre-dawn mountains, similar to his. Beneath he wore lighter clothing, knowing that by mid-day he’d be sweating and happy to shed a layer. From the quality of their backpacks and gear, he sorted out the experienced from the amateurs. It looked like a mixed bag.

  Intros were fast and noisy. Jake met a German couple, Sig and Gretta. Lara and Frankie greeted him in French. They seemed to be close friends without a sexual connection. The final man, Ernst, seemed out of type with the others. He had a few years on them, limited wear on his gear and seemed more determined to stick to Siree than to climb.

  They hopped into a seven seat minivan. Sig drove, inviting Jake to sit up front and go over the plan for the climb. It took forty minutes to wind their way to the base of the north face. Mont Blanc, the White Lady, towered above them. Though not their goal for the day, she made an impressive mark on the landscape. For this last climb of the summer they wanted a lesser peak, one that allowed for the free climbing they loved; with man and rock pitting themselves against each other.

  From the back seat, Lara and Frankie noisily lobbied to head for the Argentierre basin, an easy day climb of only one thousand metres. Sig, Gretta, and Siree held out for the peak called La Verte, with just as much volume. After a moment’s hesitation, Ernst agreed with Siree.

  “What’s your vote?” Sig asked Jake.

  Silence filled the vehicle.

  “La Verte. I came looking for a harder climb, but don’t know why it can’t serve both purposes. The early stage of either climb will be fairly easy and when the difficulty increases, those who want can turn back.”

  Like disturbed bats streaming from a cave, a cacophony of agreement exploded the silence.

  Dodging potholes and broken rock like a slalom skier, Sig drove the deteriorating road to the north side, parking the minivan in a scooped out lot at the base of the first incline. Darkness cloaked the valleys and fog draped the high peaks around them in silver veils. Inside the van they checked their maps, GPS, and went over the routes again. Then they clambered out to pull on their climbing shoes and spot check each other’s gear. A line of yellow outlined the awesome peaks to the east. They began to climb toward the sun.

  Sig took lead threading the jumble of large rocks and scree patches that made up the lower slope. With a quick look over her shoulder at Jake, Siree moved out with Gretta and Ernst vying for position behind her. Ernst pushed himself past Gretta. Jake felt embarrassed for the guy. His obvious interest in Siree looked to be one-sided. The corner of his mouth kicked up. At least Ernst got a little attention, while all he’d seen of her so far was her slender back.

  Fastening his helmet and securing his chalk bag to the strap of his pack, Jake took the rear behind Lara and Frankie and spent the next two hours of grey light helping them whenever possible, without making it obvious. Gutsy and determined, they moved methodically up the lower slopes. Their cautious approach relieved Jake, even though it forced a much slower pace on him. Switching to their native French, he asked casual questions that netted him a lot of information on Siree. She wouldn’t be able to hide from him at the end of the day, this time. It seemed she’d attended the University of Munich with Sig and Gretta to get her economics degree, taken her Master of Finance at the Sorbonne, where she’d become friends with Lara and Frankie; then finished her PhD in Finance at Rotman School in Toronto. He processed the fact she’d lived only miles from him for several years. Ernst, new to the group, just as he’d thought, had parleyed coffee with Siree at work into a request to join the climb. Lara grimaced when she made that comment. Jake winced inwardly, wondering if he’d been slotted in the same category and not liking the comparison. Dammit, I just wanted a good climb.

  “Whenever Siree comes to France on business she arranges a few extra days and we meet up,” Frankie said.

  “We started climbing together as students,” Lara explained. “Sig and Gretta live in Frankfurt, now. They took time off so we could do some climbing and reconnect. They climb all the time, and Siree loves this climbing a lot more than we do,” Lara added, “so she climbs wherever she goes and we only climb when she comes here.”

  Which explained the different levels of expertise.

  “Ernst works for Siree’s client and has tagged along all week,” Lara complained. Her eyes rolled. “We’re not sure how much experience he has.”

  Lara and Frankie both worked in the world of finance and knew Jake’s company and reputation.

  “Knock it off. You make me feel like an old man you’re going to have to help off the mountain,” he joked when Lara answered yet another question with exquisite politeness. Their constraint vanished after that, and they included him in their teasing.

  Once they’d broken out of the tree line and crossed the
loose scree bridging it to the granite sheets rising above, Jake moved ahead so he could show Lara the best hand and foot holds. Above he could hear Siree directing Ernst in the same way. Free climbing meant no ropes or harnesses as safeguards, just plenty of nerve. Ernst seemed to be muscling through on more determination than skill. Siree’s patient instruction floated down to Jake, making him hunger for her to focus the same attention on him.

  It took two hours to hit the three hundred metre mark, over twice the time for a good climber. The slower pace worked against those having to hold themselves back to allow Lara and Frankie to keep up. Experienced climbers often accommodated beginners, allowing them to gain experience in turn. Jake didn’t begrudge doing this for other climbers. But with the mountain changing from gentle slopes to straight verticals, Lara had reached the high point of ability and invited an accident if she pushed beyond. Frankie too struggled. Thirty meters above him, Jake noted a ledge stretched across the incline. He estimated it to be long enough to hold them all.

  “Sig, we’re about ready for a rest,” he called up. “How about stopping on the ledge above you?”

  Sig pulled himself on to the ledge and turned to wave. Siree pivoted herself over the edge then rolled and sat up. She moved over, making room for Gretta, who’d passed Ernst on the steeper face. Ernst thrust his head above the ledge and put out a hand for Siree to haul him over. Sig reached down and jerked Ernst over the edge. When Jake reached the lip below the ledge he moved horizontally on the steep cliff to let Lara take advantage of the best toeholds, and gave her a boost when she hung half on, half off, her legs flailing. Frankie hoisted himself over without too much trouble. Men had such an advantage in upper body strength when it came to climbing that Jake admired the courage of the women who did it. They had to depend on the strength in their legs, which didn’t always help in a tight spot. He gripped the lip of the rock and chinned himself up to a narrow gap between Siree and Gretta.