For Love or Money Bundle (Harlequin Presents)

by Sarah Morgan

  His fingers squeezed tighter on her arms. ‘And as for not knowing—I think you know a lot more about your good doctor than you let on.’

  He dropped his grip on her, almost thrusting her away from him. She turned away, rubbing where his fingers had bitten down deep into her flesh.

  ‘And if I did, why the hell would I tell you now? None of this makes sense, and I’m not going to contribute anything to this sick vendetta of yours.’

  ‘Don’t you understand anything?’ he said, lurching forwards again. ‘This is much more important than some mere vendetta!’

  She recoiled momentarily and then, when she realised he wasn’t reaching out to hold her again, she sighed, a long ragged sigh, shaking her head.

  ‘You couldn’t save Zoë so you’re desperate to save a sister who doesn’t want to be rescued. And you’ll pull down anyone who gets in your way. What are you trying to prove, Loukas? Zoë died in obviously tragic circumstances, but she’s gone. Hunting down Grace and ruining her career isn’t going to bring her back for you. Can’t you see that? If I wasn’t so angry about what you’re trying to do, I think I’d feel sorry for you.’

  ‘I don’t want your pity!’

  She spun back to face him. ‘Then what do you want? Do you expect me to help you on this crazy quest of yours? Is that what these last three nights were about? Did you think that once you’d got me into bed I’d only too readily spill everything I know about Grace’s seedy underside? Is that what you thought? Well, okay, you being such a red-hot lover, I’ll fall for it. I’ll give you the goods. I’ll tell you everything I know. Are you ready for this? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Do you understand? There is nothing to tell.’

  Cold fire marked his features, the veins of his neck corded and pumping fury.

  ‘I’ll tell you what I understand. I thought you were different. Over these last few days I’ve thought there was just a chance you weren’t like her. But I was wrong. You’re two of a kind. You belong together in your black magic world, turning out your plastic clients and your Barbie doll lookalikes, living off people’s insecurities and spreading fakery and artifice like a disease, like a weeping sore. And you’re the biggest fake,’ he continued with barely a pause. ‘Because you pretend not to know or to see what’s right in front of you.’

  ‘I can’t see what isn’t there!’

  ‘Still pretending,’ he snorted. ‘You’re so fake you can’t see straight. Or is that what happens when you’ve been under the knife too many times—you can’t recognise the truth any more? Which bits of you are real, I wonder? And which are fake? That nose? Those breasts?’

  ‘What are you talking about now? None of me is fake!’

  He laughed. ‘Sure. You’ve even dispensed with your accent so that nobody can tell who you are or where you’re from. That’s not fake? Face it, Jade, you have the services of the goddess of the cosmetic surgery world at your disposal. Don’t expect me to believe you’ve never taken advantage of a slight nip and tuck.’

  ‘Actually,’ she said, turning to recover her clothes from where they’d been scattered over the floor, ‘I’m past caring what you believe.’

  ‘So deny it, then. Deny you’ve ever had a cosmetic procedure.’

  She’d turned back, her mouth ready to snap back a retort in the negative, when she stopped herself short. Of course she’d had cosmetic procedures. First the botched attempts to remove the birthmark from her torso, and then the skilled hand of Grace finally ridding her of the mark from her face and neck.

  So instead of answering she turned away with the bundle of clothes in her arms, heading for the en suite bathroom.

  ‘I’m leaving,’ she said. ‘Don’t bother seeing me out. I’ll call a cab.’

  Mayor Goldfinch’s limo was parked in the driveway when Jade finally arrived home. She cursed silently under her breath. Even without all that had happened tonight the thought of seeing the Mayor made her feel sick to the stomach. His repulsive behaviour that night at the Gala was unforgivable—his betrayal of Grace a black mark that could never be removed.

  And yet Mayor Goldfinch was only here tonight because she hadn’t yet told Grace what she’d stumbled upon in the library. So wasn’t her own silence just as damning? Why hadn’t she had the guts to tell Grace what she’d seen? Why hadn’t she at least warned the woman who was supposed to mean more to her than anyone that the man she was involved with wasn’t to be taken at face value?

  Damn the man, and damn his presence!

  Now there would be no chance to warn Grace tonight about Loukas’s bizarre claims against her. And she had to talk to her. She needed to talk to her. Because on the long ride home Loukas’s evil claims had started to work on her psyche, had started to worm their way into her beliefs, and there were some things that might almost make sense—would almost make sense if you were as grief-crazed with loss as Loukas.

  There had been a large number of negligence cases against the clinic settled out of court in the last few years. It might simply be a reflection of the US being a litigious society, as she’d so long assumed, but what if she was wrong? Was it really a sign of something more sinister? What if there really was another reason for the uncomfortable number of cases that had ended in settlements?

  Grace’s unexpected cynicism about operating on Pia still irritated her sensibilities. Was the pursuit of money really that important to her?

  But Grace could put her mind to rest on all of these issues. And she would.

  Because the alternative was just too hard to think about, too impossible to be true.

  At least she could be certain of one thing. Grace didn’t do drugs. She knew Grace wouldn’t be so crazy as to risk her whole career. But still she needed to talk to her. And the Mayor’s presence meant that she wouldn’t get a chance tonight.

  Quietly she crossed the entrance foyer, heading for the stairs.

  ‘Jade!’ Grace’s voice trailed out from one of the rooms, stopping her in her tracks. ‘Come in. It’s so good you’re here. I have something to tell you.’

  Jade suppressed a curse, taking a deep breath and tucking the stray strands of her hair behind her ears as she tried not to think about the last time she’d seen Mayor Goldfinch—tried not to think about what he’d been doing and with whom. She plastered what she hoped would pass for a smile on her face, and entered the room.

  Mayor Goldfinch beamed at her and pulled a bottle of Cristal champagne from a silver ice bucket, pouring into an empty flute. Uneasy prickles started climbing up her spine. Why the hell would they be drinking champagne? Unless…

  ‘You’re the first to know,’ the Mayor said, pressing the flute into her hand with a beefy smile that turned her stomach almost as much as his words filled her with apprehension. She looked to Grace, hoping she was wrong, hoping she’d misinterpreted what this private little party was all about. But Grace smiled on, her eyes starry, her face radiant.

  ‘The first to know what?’ she asked, trying to garner the appropriate amount of enthusiasm for the game as they eked out the details.

  ‘The first to hear our wonderful news,’ Grace explained, beaming. ‘We’re going to be married.’

  Oh, God, poor Grace. Not only did Grace have Loukas Demakis breathing down her neck, but now she was marrying this sleazebag of a man. She had no idea what she was letting herself in for.

  And what made it worse was that Jade was going to have to be the one who told her. There was no way she could avoid telling her now. Grace would have to be told what she had seen that night in the library.

  Rapidly losing the battle to grip onto her smile, Jade managed a brief, ‘Congratulations,’ before taking a sip from her flute. Anything to save her from saying something she might regret later. She wished mightily that the superb champagne was a better contest for the bitter taste in her mouth right now.

  ‘Absolutely—and I sure deserve a deal of congratulating. She sure made me sweat it out, waiting for her decision.’

  Grace laughed, slipping her arm throu
gh the Mayor’s. ‘Goodness! It was only a few days. He actually asked me at the foundation Gala on Saturday night as he was leaving—wasn’t that sweet?’

  Jade had to get out of there, and fast. She whispered a hurried but honest excuse that she’d come home early because she was feeling off-colour before she bolted to her bathroom just in time to lose the contents of her stomach. Far too much was happening tonight for her body to be able to cope with something as pedestrian as digesting food.

  She sat there in the dark for a long time afterwards, wondering about—angsting over—what she should do. The Mayor’s behaviour was beyond repulsive, his actions utterly reprehensible. How could he have behaved that way—committing an act like that with some wannabe actress barely out of her teenage years—on the very night he’d gone on to ask Grace to marry him? What kind of man was he? And what kind of lousy husband would he make?

  Her heart went out to Grace. How could she tell her? How could she dash her dreams?

  She sucked in a deep breath as she collapsed onto her bed, her battered stomach bruised and aching but at least feeling more stable. Now it was just her mind that churned sickeningly.

  Only one thing was clear—Grace was going to need her support more than ever once she was told the truth. And Jade would give her every bit of support she could, and she’d make doubly sure that people like Loukas Demakis couldn’t touch her. His mad accusations and his bizarre need for revenge for the sad tragedy that had taken Zoë from him were the last thing Grace needed right now.

  She squeezed her eyes shut as she curled into a tight ball on the coverlet.

  She didn’t want to think about Loukas!

  At least not without anger. He’d used her as a means to get to Grace—to destroy Grace—and he’d told such hideous lies, made such crazy claims. It was okay to be angry.

  Anger was what she wanted.

  Anger was what she needed.

  White-hot anger that would scorch the truth of his actions into her consciousness with an acid burn—only that way could she let herself think about Loukas.

  Only that would take her mind off this huge sense of loss, this overwhelming sense of betrayal.

  He’d made himself out to be a different person than he was. He’d made out that his advances to her had actually meant something when they hadn’t. He’d tricked her into having dinner with him, tricked her by promising one million dollars to the foundation. And yet he didn’t care anything for those children with birth deformities, the kids with bone or facial imperfections who had grown up being freaks and outcasts in their own families and their own communities. The kids whose families couldn’t afford the fares to get them to the clinic, let alone the cost of surgery. The kids who otherwise didn’t have a hope.

  He’d found the one thing to ensure she’d agree to go with him, the ideal bait to hook her with, and he’d used it unconscionably to bend her to his will. And she’d gone along with it. She’d fallen for the bait and in the end he hadn’t even had to reel her in. She’d all but wrapped the fishing line around her throat herself. She’d offered herself to him on a plate.

  One million dollars. The only good thing to come out of this whole sordid affair.

  Her eyes snapped open in the darkened room. Assuming he’d made the promised donation!

  She hadn’t followed up on the delivery of the cheque—hadn’t asked him about it in the heady glow of their lovemaking. Why would she, when she’d trusted him completely?

  What a complete fool she’d been!

  ‘Grace, we have to talk.’ Jade stood nervously in the sunny breakfast room, her hands clammy, her head pounding. She’d been relieved to see the Mayor’s limousine gone this morning, even though it meant she couldn’t put off what she had to do.

  The older woman glanced at her watch and finished her early-morning cup of espresso. ‘Better make it snappy, then, Jade. We’ve both got a full list today. Mind you,’ she added, peering over the newspaper at her, ‘I must say you still look a little peaky. Still not feeling well? Do you want a cup of coffee?’

  She shook her head, ‘No, thanks. It’s not that, Grace. It’s actually about your engagement.’

  Grace put the paper down. ‘I was so delighted to see you home early last night. But it was sad you had to rush off like that. Charles was quite worried about you.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Jade said, her eyes finding it hard to stick on the older woman’s.

  ‘It doesn’t matter. As it happens I need to talk to you too. Charles thinks we should have a big party to celebrate, and he was wondering whether you might be able to help—you did such a fabulous job organising the Gala.’

  ‘Grace, I really don’t know if that’s such a good idea.’

  ‘You’re too modest, you know. I thought it was an inspired idea. I know it was such a lot of work for you, but couldn’t you do it as a favour to me?’

  Jade hauled in a breath and dropped herself into the closest chair. ‘Look, Grace, are you sure about marrying Mayor Goldfinch?’

  ‘What on earth do you mean? Of course I’m sure. Why? Do you have a problem with it?’

  ‘Well, I’m really worried about something I saw at the Gala, but I’m not sure how to tell you. It’s about the Mayor.’

  Her face hardened. ‘What about the Mayor?’

  ‘I saw him—at the Gala—with Rachael Delaney.’

  Grace’s face looked blank. ‘And?’

  Jade licked her lips. ‘And…they were making love.’

  ‘What? Oh, Jade, no way!’ Grace shook her head, lifting herself from her chair as she folded the newspaper on the table into four. ‘Why on earth would you want to tell me something ridiculous like that?’

  ‘Because I saw them.’

  ‘Well, you must have seen someone else. Because there’s no way he’d be having it off with anyone—least of all Rachael. She’s just a child.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Grace.’

  ‘Well, I don’t believe it. And why wouldn’t you have told me before if you had seen him? Why wait until now?’

  ‘I didn’t want to hurt you! But when he said you were getting married I couldn’t let you go through with it. I couldn’t keep quiet any more. Can’t you see? That’s why I felt so sick last night—I was upset for you.’

  Grace was shaking her head, her hands smoothing down her slim-fitting skirt. ‘I don’t believe it. Charles is a total gentleman. And I can’t for the life of me work out why you’d want to say such a thing.’ Then she looked up, her eyes narrowing. She gave a little mocking laugh. ‘You’re not jealous of me, are you, Jade? Because I’m getting married?’

  ‘No. Of course not!’

  ‘Not even just a little bit? Maybe it’s Charles you want for yourself, perhaps? Or are you jealous of me finding love when you’ve got no chance? Not with that scar—not around this town.’

  Grace’s words sliced into her psyche like razor-blades, deep and painful and unnecessary. ‘No. You’ve got it all wrong.’

  ‘Or are you worried you’ll lose your apartment and have to move out after the wedding?’ Grace hesitated, her tongue poised on her top lip. ‘Actually, that’s not such a bad idea, come to think of it. Maybe it would be for the best. I won’t want you here with Charles if you’re going to say such things.’

  ‘But Grace—’

  ‘No, Jade. I’ve made up my mind. I think it’s time you moved on.’

  Jade dropped her office phone back onto its base, momentarily confused after speaking to the bank manager. But after the trauma of her meeting with Grace it was no wonder she couldn’t think straight.

  Somehow she’d negotiated the traffic and driven herself to the clinic, and somehow she had to get through today without thinking about everything that was falling to pieces around her.

  But first she had to hold her raw nerves together and deal with a new problem. She’d had the bank manager repeat the figure three times. She’d heard him right. The foundation’s bank balance was lower—much lower—than what she’d expected
after the last trustees’ meeting, and the six-hundred-thousand-dollar figure told her one thing for certain—no way had Loukas deposited the promised funds.

  In scorching anger she reached for her phone again. Right this minute it didn’t matter that he’d deceived her. It didn’t matter that they’d parted on such terms. And it didn’t mean a thing that her argument with Grace might mean she wouldn’t be around to see the money put to good use. The most important thing right now was that scores of children would be denied the help of the foundation because Loukas had lied to her.

  Damned if she’d let him cheat those children!

  He answered on the second ring.

  ‘We had a deal,’ she snapped.

  A heavy silence followed her statement.

  Then, ‘What of it?’

  Her fury increased tenfold. ‘I expected you to follow through with your end of the bargain, regardless of anything that happened between us. That’s “what of it”.’

  ‘You’re talking about the money?’

  ‘Of course I’m talking about the money! You promised one million dollars for the foundation!’

  ‘And I take it you believe I didn’t follow through on my promise?’

  ‘I know you didn’t.’

  Another moment’s silence. ‘I see.’

  ‘Is that all you have to say? “I see”?’

  ‘Well, from your tone I take it you wouldn’t be likely to believe me anyway if I told you I delivered the cheque to your legal people myself?’

  ‘Don’t give me that. The money should be there. It’s clearly not.’

  ‘Then…might I suggest there may well be another reason why the funds have gone missing?’

  ‘Don’t you dare start that again! I heard enough of your lies and accusations last night. You’re not getting out of your commitment that easily.’

  ‘I assume that means Grace has denied all knowledge of what’s happened to the funds. That’s if you’ve even consulted Grace.’

  ‘Grace has nothing to do with your failure to deposit the money.’