by Tina Folsom
“Thank you all for coming so quickly,” Zach started. “I hope I’m not keeping you from anything important.”
Michael grinned and jabbed Paul in the side with his elbow. “I think he means you.”
Paul rolled his eyes. “You’re just envious.”
Hunter laughed. “We all are, buddy! You’ve landed the hottest woman on this planet, and we didn’t even get a chance.” He lifted his whiskey glass to salute him, before he took a sip.
“Well, well,” Wade agreed and lifted his glass. Then he motioned to Zach with his chin. “So, what was so important to call a crisis meeting?”
Without further ado, Zach explained, “The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating me for insider trading.”
Immediately, everybody was talking over each other, huffing, cursing and making their displeasure known.
“That can’t be possible!” Michael said.
“But you’d never do such a thing,” Hunter claimed.
“Totally ridiculous!” Paul cried out.
“What’s your lawyer say?” Wade asked.
“Guys, please,” Zach tried to calm them down, so he could explain what he needed from them. His friends fell silent. “Thank you. So this is what’s happening: Somebody wants to pin this on me. The SEC doesn’t just investigate without having any suspicion. They must have received a tip, which was credible enough for them to launch an investigation. And I can assure you that I’ve done nothing illegal. Somebody is out to ruin my reputation.”
“And not only that,” Xavier claimed calmly. All heads turned in his direction. “I have the feeling somebody is out to make a grab for your company.”
Zach had already assumed the same, but before he could reply, Xavier continued, “As soon as the public knows that the SEC is investigating you, all the big shareholders will turn away from you, try to force you out as chairman of the board, and make you resign your position as CEO.”
Hunter stood up. “And they won’t even have to prove your guilt. But the longer the investigation lasts, the more likely it is that the shareholders will find out and withdraw their support.”
Zach nodded. “I’m aware of that. That’s why I need your help.”
“What can we do for you?” Wade asked.
“I have to find out who’s behind it.”
“Hmm,” Xavier mused, “then I don’t think you’ll have to look too far.”
Zach raised an eyebrow and tossed a questioning look at his friend. “A member of the board?”
Xavier nodded. “Who’s opposing you when it comes to the new project? Who’s going to vote against you? And who would try to get the other shareholders onto his side?”
Suddenly it was all too clear. “Chris Leech!” This morning, he had made his position clear: he didn’t want the company to invest in Russia.
“I can have him checked out,” Michael agreed quickly. “I have a few contacts.”
“Do that,” Zach said.
Wade jumped up. “I know somebody at the stock exchange. I’ll find out if he’s made any large trades lately.”
“Thanks, Wade.”
Paul exchanged a look with Xavier. “If I were you, I’d also check out the other large shareholders. After all, Leech wouldn’t be able to pull this off by himself. He needs support.”
Xavier nodded. “Paul is right. If Leech is behind this, then he’s probably already asked for assurances from other shareholders that they’d vote with him.” He looked at Hunter. “You sit on the board of the opera. If I’m not mistaken, a few of Zach’s shareholders are on that board, too.”
Hunter emptied the last of his whiskey. “I’ll keep my ears open. The gossip mill is churning constantly anyway. Maybe I’ll hear something useful.”
“Guys, I’m really grateful.” Zach nodded at his friends. They’d often helped each other out in the past and he hoped that it would work again this time. “The quicker we get a handle on this, the better.”
Michael rose and walked to the wet bar. “And what are you doing in the meantime, Zach?” He reached for the whiskey bottle and poured himself a drink.
“I’m going to get to work on that pretty investigator.”
Michael whirled his head in Zach’s direction, just like the others did. “Pretty? They sent a woman to investigate you?”
Zach shrugged.
From his corner on the couch Xavier said, “You wouldn’t by any chance be planning to seduce the poor woman, would you? I’d strongly advise against that. It will only turn out badly.” He shook his head in disapproval. “If you’re trying to influence her, then you’re going to look even more suspicious.”
When Zach said nothing, but simply held Xavier’s gaze, his friend stared at him, horrified. “You’re an idiot, Zach.”
He already knew that, but he couldn’t go back now. What had happened, had happened. Besides, even if he could, he wouldn’t undo his night with Rochelle for anything.
11
The limousine slowed down.
“Left at the next corner,” Rochelle instructed the driver.
“The three-story brownstone?” he asked.
“Yes. You can let me out right here.”
“Wait, I’ll turn around so you won’t have to cross the street.”
“That’s really not necessary. It’s fine here.”
A moment later he stopped at the curb and she reached for the door handle. “Thank you.”
The chauffeur jumped out of the car, walking around it, but she’d already opened the door herself and got out.
“Good night, Miss Wright. I’ll wait here until you’re safely inside,” he said politely and closed the passenger door behind her, while Rochelle looked left and right and then crossed the narrow street.
She loved the East Village. Even though it was in the middle of Manhattan, it felt like being in a little village. Most apartment buildings had only two or three floors, and on the first floor of most houses, there were small shops. Sometimes the mish mash of boutiques, restaurants, and grocery stores made the area look a little grubby, but Rochelle found it charming. On top of that, the area was relatively safe, which couldn’t be said of all the neighborhoods in New York.
She briefly glanced over her shoulder and saw Henderson, Zach’s chauffeur, get back into the driver’s seat of the limo. Her hand was already in her handbag to reach for her keys, when she noticed that the front door to her apartment building was ajar. Annoyed, she shook her head. Some of her neighbors were truly careless and didn’t always pull the door shut behind them.
“Hey!”
The greeting made her whirl around and sent her pulse into the stratosphere. She let out a surprised gasp.
“Damn it, Steve! Do you want to give me a heart attack?”
“Sorry. But I’m glad you’re finally home. I’ve been waiting for quite a while.” He motioned to the other side of the street, where the limousine still waited, engine running. “Did you win the lottery or something?”
She ignored his question, because even her brother had to realize how ridiculous it was. “What do you want?” she asked instead, in a sharper tone of voice than she’d meant to use. She added, slightly softer, “I’m tired. I’ve had a long day.”
“Well, at least your job comes with some perks. Can’t be all that bad.”
Rochelle sucked in a breath of air and narrowed her eyes at her brother, annoyed by his comment. “If you’re here because you want money, then you could have saved us both the time.”
She turned to the door and pushed it open. In the foyer she marched toward the mailboxes. As expected, Steve followed her.
“I’m sorry if you’re not in a good mood. Did something happen at work?”
She glanced over her shoulder. Did he really think by pretending to be the concerned brother she would open her wallet for him? She didn’t want to fight with him, so she pushed back her retort.
“I’m just tired. Can we talk another day?”
She opened the mailbox, took
out her mail, and shoved it into her handbag. She’d left her briefcase at the SEC office earlier, after meeting with Nicole and Antonio to discuss various points of the investigation, and before meeting Zach for dinner.
When she turned to the stairs, she felt Steve’s hand on her shoulder. Involuntarily, she looked back at him.
“Rochelle, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t urgent.”
“It’s always urgent with you.”
“This time it really is. I’m in trouble. I’ve borrowed money from this guy.” He looked down at his shoes, clearly concerned. “And now I have to pay it back.”
“Let me guess: you don’t have the money.”
He nodded.
She shook her head. “Then you’ll have to tell him that he’ll have to wait.”
“Rochelle, you don’t understand. He’s not the kind of guy who’ll just wait. If he doesn’t get his money, he’ll send somebody after me. He’ll hurt me.”
Shocked, Rochelle took a step back, feeling all the air rush from her lungs. “Who are you dealing with?”
Steve ran a shaky hand through his hair, and for the first time in a long time she saw the little brother in him, the one she wanted to protect. Even if he always got himself into trouble through his own mistakes.
“I had no idea who this guy was. But Tom said that he doesn’t ask questions when somebody needs a loan.”
“Tom?” she asked.
“Yeah, an old buddy from university. He had this great idea, where we could totally make a shitload of money, but we needed capital—”
“And he recommended that guy?” Rochelle wanted to curse, but she suppressed the urge, because she didn’t want her neighbors to overhear her conversation with her brother. “And that didn’t make you suspicious?”
“But the business idea was fabulous!” Steve protested.
“If it was so fabulous, then how’s the business going?” She stared at him, already knowing the answer to her question.
Steve avoided her scrutinizing gaze. “Something went wrong. It wasn’t my fault. Another guy had the same idea and beat us to it. It was just bad luck.”
She sighed. Did her brother really not see that somebody had pulled a fast one on him? “Oh, Steve.” She stroked her hand over his hair. “When will you learn that nobody is as honest as you? You’re too trusting and are always being taken advantage of.”
His dejected expression broke her heart.
He sighed. “And what am I gonna do now? If I don’t pay back the money by the end of next week, he’s going to come after me and hurt me.”
“How much do you owe him?”
Steve’s chin tightened and all the life seemed to seep from his eyes.
“How much?” Rochelle asked again.
“Fifty thousand.”
“Oh my God,” she choked out. Her heart began to race. “Even if I emptied my savings account, I wouldn’t have that much.” Tears of helplessness welled up in her eyes. “Oh, Steve, what have you done?” She pulled him into her arms and squeezed him to her.
“I’m so sorry, sis, I really am.” A sob tore from him. “But I have to get out of this mess somehow.”
And she knew she couldn’t refuse to help him. He was her brother, her flesh and blood, and as much as she was annoyed by his actions, she couldn’t let him down. If the loan shark he owed money to really employed brutal methods when he didn’t get his money, then she had to prevent that. Even if that meant she had to raid not only her savings account but also empty her retirement account.
“Come upstairs with me. We’ll see what I can do.”
With a glimmer of hope in his eyes, he smiled at her. “Thank you so much. You’re my absolute favorite sister.”
“I’m your only sister,” she corrected him and walked up the staircase ahead of him.
12
Zach stepped back from the doors of the elevator, which closed behind his friends and turned back to the door of his condo, when his cell phone rang.
He pulled it from his pants pocket and saw Henderson’s number on the display.
“Yes, Henderson. Everything ok?”
“I’m not sure, Mr. Ivers.”
He was instantly alert. “Did you have an accident? Did something happen to Miss Wright?”
“No, no!” his chauffeur immediately assured him. “No accident.”
Zach let out a sigh of relief.
“But I drove Miss Wright home to her apartment in the East Village like you asked me to and… well, maybe it’s nothing, it’s just…”
“Spit it out, Henderson.” Knowing that something wasn’t quite right, and not knowing what it was, drove him insane.
“When Miss Wright went to the door of her building, somebody was waiting there for her. A man. I couldn’t see his face in the dark.”
Zach’s pulse kicked up. “A man? Did he touch her?”
“I don’t think so, but it looked like she didn’t want to talk to him. And he followed her inside.”
“And you didn’t go after them?”
“She didn’t call for help. I would have heard that. So I didn’t do anything. I waited for a while, but he didn’t come back out.”
Fuck! Zach clenched his jaw. Who was this guy? What did he want from Rochelle? What if he’d been armed and had forced Rochelle to let him into her apartment by threatening her with a knife? Then she most likely wouldn’t have dared scream for help. Attacks like that were common in the city.
“Give me her address, Henderson,” he demanded.
“Should I pick you up and drive you there, sir?”
“No, I’ll take the sports car. It’s faster.”
A minute later Zach ran into the parking garage below his building and jumped into his black McLaren 650S. The engine of the sports car revved up and he raced out onto the street. There was still lots of traffic on the streets of Manhattan despite the late hour, because New York truly never slept.
His hands clamped around the steering wheel, he paved his way through the traffic. Even taking shortcuts, the drive seemed to take an eternity, although only twenty minutes had passed since he’d left his condo on Park Avenue.
Zach pulled up next to the address Henderson had given him and killed the engine. He jumped out and ran to the front door, perusing the names on the doorbells. He bent closer to be able to read them better and his elbow hit against the door. It creaked and opened inward. Either somebody had left it open or the door didn’t close properly.
Zach pushed it open wider and stalked inside. His gaze fell onto the mailboxes on the left side of the wall. On it, the names and apartment numbers of the residents were written. He found Rochelle’s immediately: Wright - 1C, it said.
Taking two steps at the same time, he ran up the stairs. Rochelle’s door was the third he reached. With his fist he hammered on the door.
“Rochelle! Rochelle!”
No sound. Was he too late already?
Christ! What had this guy done to her?
Once again he slammed his fist against the door. “Rochelle! Open up! It’s me, Zach.”
Finally he heard something. Did a door open somewhere inside the apartment? Did he hear somebody shuffle to the front door?
“Rochelle,” he called out again, this time not quite as loud, because he was suddenly aware of the silence in the stairway. The neighbors had probably already heard him, but he was surprised that nobody had yet asked him to be quiet.
“Zach?” he heard Rochelle’s voice come from behind the door. Then a bolt was unlatched and the door opened a crack.
Immediately he noticed that Rochelle’s chestnut hair was sleep-rumpled. Had she been asleep? When his gaze dropped lower, every sane thought fled his brain.
Rochelle was wearing the most seductive baby doll night dress he’d ever seen. Below the thin pink cotton her full breasts could be seen. And the way the light from the hallway now shone onto her, it was immediately evident that she was wearing nothing beneath it, not a bra, nor panties. The sight robbed h
im of his breath and switched off his brain altogether.
Without knowing what he was doing, he pushed the door open wider and entered the apartment.
“Are you crazy, opening the door dressed like that?” he ground out. “What if there’d been some thug out in the hallway?” Even if it had been only a burglar without any intention of touching her, how could any man resist that kind of temptation, seeing Rochelle like this?
“But you announced yourself. I knew it was you,” she huffed and braced her hands at her hips, which caused her already short nightgown to ride up even higher on her thighs, revealing more of her tempting skin.
Didn’t this woman know what was good for her? How was a man supposed to keep his cool at the sight of such female perfection?
Grunting, Zach slammed the door shut behind him. “Bad enough that the door to the building is open. Every criminal in this city can just walk in here.”
“Well, we can’t all live in a doorman building.” Rochelle glared at him, her eyes sparkling with aggression. “Besides, what are you doing here? I’ve already told you that there can’t be anything between us. Can’t you get that into your thick skull?”
He grabbed her bicep, and she jerked back, closer to the wall of the tiny foyer. “Then why did you open the door?” He pointed to her clothing. “Dressed like that.”
“I was in bed already. Sleeping. So don’t you turn this around and make it look like I’m out to seduce you, jerk!”
Her belligerence drove him nearly insane. He suppressed the urge to paddle her sweet ass and pushed her against the wall instead. Then he braced both hands at the wall to either side of her head and leaned closer.
“Too late, too fucking late, Rochelle.”
He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her. For a moment he thought she’d push him back, fight him, but then he felt her hands clamp around his shoulders as if she couldn’t keep herself upright without his help.