by Jayne Castle
Gabriel, who was stretched out in the chair beside Eric, his feet propped carelessly on the desk and his shirt opened at the throat, did look up, and he also smiled fleetingly.
“Did you make it exactly the way I told you?” He took a mug from her hand and sipped experimentally.
“After all the junk food you two have eaten this evening, you’re not likely to notice the bouquet!” she retorted. “I would never have believed I’d see the day when you’d stoop to eating frozen pizza, Gabriel. And look at you, you’re positively disarrayed!” she added, eyes gleaming as she took in his wrinkled shirt, tousled hair, and casual sprawl.
“The things a man will do for a woman,” Gabriel murmured comfortably.
“Getting closer, Eric?” Samantha asked.
“I’ve found the file on the zoning stuff,” Eric mumbled absently, his attention so glued to the screen that he didn’t notice the coffee Samantha set down beside him.
“We don’t want the main file, we want some other, buried file on the same subject,” Gabriel said quietly.
“Are you actually inside the Buchanan computers?” Samantha asked in awe as she sat down next to Gabriel and stared at her brother’s hunched form.
“That part was easy. I simply dialed up the Buchanan computers on your telephone. You’re going to have one hell of a phone bill, though.” Eric chuckled, never taking his eyes off the screen. “I’ve been in contact for over three hours.”
“This is so illegal,” Samantha breathed shakily.
“It’s a blast,” Eric corrected her, entering another command which brought up more files of information.
“The fact that other people’s computers can be searched long-distance by folks like Eric, here, is definitely a security flaw,” Gabriel observed calmly, sipping at his coffee. “But useful.”
“Aren’t there any safeguards?” Samantha asked uneasily.
“Sure,” Eric responded. “Lots of them. All kinds of electronic safeguards. That’s what makes it interesting. It’s a real challenge to get beyond them.”
“Uh huh. Let’s hope the challenge doesn’t land you in jail someday, Eric Thorndyke!”
“Buchanan’s people will never know they’ve been invaded,” Eric assured her. “I’m not leaving any tracks behind. I’m not trying to play with the records they’ve got filed in the computer, I’m only searching them.”
“Don’t worry about Eric,” Gabriel advised. “Besides, he owes you this.”
“He doesn’t owe me!” Samantha protested angrily.
“You’re the one who got Kirby off his back.”
“He’s right, Sam.” Eric took a second to gulp down his coffee. “I owe you this. Not just for helping me out when I came here to hide from Kirby but for a lot of other help you’ve given me down through the years. You’re my sister. My real sister,” he concluded simply.
Gabriel leaned forward to examine something on the screen. “And besides, he loves his work, don’t you, Eric?” he drawled wryly.
“Yup.”
“I think,” Gabriel said absently as he peered more closely at the line of computer print, “that when this is all over we’ll have to talk about setting you up in the computer security advising business. Something tells me that if we don’t channel this flair of yours for computers into a legitimate area, you’re going to come to a bad end sooner or later.”
That brought Eric’s head up from the screen, and he stared at Gabriel in astonishment. “What? You’re going to help finance me? Help get me started in a business of my own?”
“That’s how I make my living, remember?” Gabriel said calmly. “For a percentage of the profit, of course.”
Eric’s face reflected his astounded enthusiasm and pleasure. “Christ, Gabe, that’s fantastic. You really mean it?”
“I mean it.” Gabriel was still staring at something on the screen, frowning intently. “As I told your sister, I recognize competency when I see it. Of course you’ll have to be willing to take a little advice along the way as far as the management end of things goes.”
“You bet. Don’t worry about me listening to your advice!”
“Good.” Gabriel nodded once. “Knowing your sister that point does concern me a little because I was a bit worried that her bullheaded tendencies might run in the family.”
“You know the two of you are thrilled to pieces tonight because I’ve given you an excuse to do something so illegal it’s disgraceful. If I were an upright businesswoman, you wouldn’t have had the chance to play computer detectives.” She peered over her brother’s shoulder. “Hey, wait a second, Eric…. “
Gabriel leaned forward, his eyes on the same document record. “Eric, I think we’re on to something here. Back it up and let’s see that record on the zoning commission meeting just before this one.”
Samantha and the two men traipsed back and forth through the files of the Buchanan Group. It was incredible, she reflected, the huge quantity of information it took to run a large business these days. She had had many occasions to use the Buchanan computers when she was working for Drew, and it hadn’t been hard to point Eric in the right direction for the sort of information needed. But she no longer had the codes and passwords for getting into the regular files, much less these very-private-looking files.
Eric had found his way past all the barriers, however, with an ease that both delighted and shocked her.
“Here?” Eric asked.
Gabriel nodded. “Isn’t it amazing how often during the past several years various members of various zoning commissions across the country have changed their minds about Buchanan properties? How many times tonight do you think we’ve seen commission members change ‘no’ votes to ‘yes’ votes in favor of the Buchanan Group? A few too many.”
“Drew always was very good at making his case for development projects to zoning commissions and other people in city governments,” Samantha observed dryly.
“A little too good. Buchanan, I think, has discovered an easier route than convincing people with environmental impact statements and economic arguments. Your ex-boss has been making payoffs for years, Samantha. He’s been buying the votes he needed when he couldn’t get them any other way; I’ll stake my food processor on it.”
“Then I was right. The question now is whether or not he was dumb enough to leave some records of those payoffs, hmmm?”
“People like Drew Buchanan keep records on everything,” Eric volunteered confidently. “You should know that.”
“Even information that could hurt the firm?” Samantha shook her head.
“That kind of information is kept in great detail,” Gabriel said dryly. “But not usually together with the legitimate stuff.”
They found what they were looking for at three forty-five in the morning. As soon as Eric retrieved it, the phone connection linking the two computers across several thousand miles was cut off by the simple process of unhooking the phone from the computer modem and restoring the receiver to its cradle.
“Just like that,” Samantha said wonderingly. “Just like my brother can gain access to any major computer in the nation.”
“Well, it does take a bit of talent and intuition,” Eric pointed out with grave modesty. He looked as exhausted as he had the night he tried to fake up the Thorndyke spread-sheet. They were all exhausted.
“It takes,” Gabriel said, rising stiffly from his chair and stretching broadly, “sheer genius. You, Eric Thorndyke, can go far if you find a legitimate outlet for your talents and if you’ll listen to my advice.”
Eric summoned up a tired grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll listen. I can’t wait to tell my brother Vic that I’m starting my own business. He still thinks computer experts are only glorified electronic clerks.”
Samantha staggered a bit as Gabriel dropped his arm heavily around her shoulders and pulled her toward the door. “Bed, everyone. This kind of business takes a lot out of you. Christ, I’m tired.”
“So am I.” Samantha yawned.
/> “You s-should be.” Gabriel laughed. “This was all your idea, remember? In your own way, you’re as much of a genius as your brother is.”
Samantha smiled smugly, inordinately pleased with the compliment. Coming from Gabriel, it meant something. They made their way upstairs, undressed, and climbed into bed. Samantha curled into Gabriel’s hard, reassuring strength with sleepy pleasure. She was almost asleep when Gabriel murmured in her ear.
“When this is all over… “
“Ummm?”
“I think it’s time I met your mother. See if s-s-she’s interested in meeting her future son-in-law.”
“Mom’s not real big on son-in-laws,” Samantha warned, too tired to argue.
“S-she’s going to love me. Didn’t you tell me yourself the first day we met when I poured tea for you?”
Samantha could feel him smiling complacently, his chin resting on the top of her head. She had just tacitly agreed to marry him, and they both knew it.
“I’ll phone her this week.”
Because she was going to marry Gabriel Sinclair. Samantha made the decision with her usual sudden conviction, and then she went to sleep.
Chapter Eleven
“I’ll make my reservations for Miami after breakfast.” Gabriel calmly helped himself to another of his perfectly cooked poached eggs while Samantha dropped her fork with a small crash.
“Your reservation? What about mine?” Her eyes turned suddenly fierce.
“I think it would be best if I handled this last face-to-face meeting alone, Samantha. It isn’t going to be pleasant,” Gabriel declared very seriously. He didn’t appear too fazed by the simmering warning in Samantha’s gaze.
“I’ll be damned if you’re going to handle the grand finale without me! This was my scheme, remember? You are not getting on that plane to Miami alone. We’re partners!”
Frowning, Gabriel appealed to Eric, who was happily wolfing down poached eggs on toast. “For Christ’s sake, Eric, talk to her. Tell her s-s-she’s being an idiot.”
“You’ve been doing a pretty good job of it yourself, and it never seems to have much impact,” Eric observed.
“I don’t know what you expect me to do. Besides, I can’t use logic on her because she’s got a perfectly logical reason for going.”
“What logical reason?” Gabriel gritted.
“She’s going to protect you.” Eric shrugged.
“I don’t need protection!”
“Tell her that.”
“Cut it out, both of you,” Samantha ordered briskly, polishing off the last of her toast and egg. “I’m going with Gabriel because this was my idea originally and because Gabriel and I are business partners. That’s all there is to it. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to get dressed.”
Gabriel watched broodingly as she strode regally toward the door of the kitchen. Just before she reached it, he growled, “You didn’t particularly enjoy it the last time Buchanan and I met,” he reminded her flatly.
She smiled unconcernedly at him over her shoulder. “I shall trust you to find some way to keep the mentality out of the locker room this time.” Her yellow terry robe whipped about her ankles as she made her exit.
Eric followed Gabriel’s narrowed stare toward the empty doorway. “Sorry, Gabe, but when she’s made up her mind like that, there’s not much that can stop her.”
“Damned amazon.” Gabriel sighed, folding his napkin very precisely and putting it back on the table.
“You can do the dishes, Eric. I’ve got to get ready.”
“Hey, Gabe…”
“Yes?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Eric said very seriously. “She’s a good one to have in your corner sometimes. I know she’s kind of small and she’s a female and all, but she’ll go to the wall for you now, believe me.”
Gabriel groaned. “I do not particularly want her up against the wall! I’m trying to make s-s-sure s-she’s going to be safe in the future, not-out in the line of fire, goddam it!”
“She’s just as anxious to protect you,” Eric explained, trying to pacify the older man.
“We shall probably strangle each other in the process!” Gabriel exploded and stalked out of the kitchen. But he knew he wasn’t going to keep Samantha off that plane to Miami, and other than the fact that the scene with Buchanan was liable to be vicious, there was no real reason to forcibly prevent her from being present, and he knew it. She was his business partner, as she had been reminding him all morning, and she had a right to be in at the kill.
He just hoped she wouldn’t faint at the sight of blood, he told himself furiously. Then he remembered how she’d sunk that little paring knife into Tony’s arm that night Kirby’s men had intruded. No, she wasn’t likely to faint at the sight of blood. Damned amazon.
Samantha had almost forgotten the bright glare and the pervasive warmth of Miami. It inundated her as soon as she and Gabriel got off the plane and it followed them into the cab. The cab’s air conditioner was not sufficient to deal with the humidity, and by the time the Buchanan building came in sight on a palm-lined street, Samantha’s turquoise blouse was starting to stick to her body. She didn’t think it was noticeable beneath the summer white suit she was wearing. It had been a long time since she’d dressed like this, she reflected as Gabriel escorted her into the lobby of the building. Her hair was pinned neatly at the nape of her neck, her suit was elegantly tailored, and her expensive leather pumps added an extra two inches to her height. Even Gabriel had felt obliged to comment on the outfit.
“Hell, lady, you’re rather formidable in your battle dress, aren’t you?” he’d growled as he’d driven to the airport in Seattle. “I hadn’t realized how very professional you could look.”
“This is the way I had planned to look for our first meeting at the spa,” she retorted. “It’s not my fault that the first time you saw me I was only wearing a towel!”
That drew a reluctant smile from him. The first smile he’d managed all morning. “Personally, I s-s-shall always have some fond memories of that first meeting.”
“I’ll bet if I’d been wearing this suit instead of that massage table, you’d have had a much better impression of my business ability!”
“Maybe. But I’m pretty s-s-sure that I’d still have noticed that cute little ass, suit and all.”
“Gabriel!”
The chiding humor which had sprung up briefly between them on the drive to the airport, however, had vanished completely en route to Miami. Gabriel was solid business by the time they reached the Buchanan building.
In spite of herself, Samantha found she was looking around the steel and glass high-rise with a certain professional interest.
“Is this where you used to work?” Gabriel asked evenly, seeing her attention to the building.
“No, it wasn’t completed by the time I left Miami. I was the one in charge of getting the land, though. Used to be an old three-story apartment building on this spot. A lot of the tenants didn’t want to move,” she murmured, remembering. A lot of memories were crowding back, and she didn’t particularly care for any of them.
“You had to kick the tenants out?” Gabriel asked perceptively,
“I managed to relocate each of them. It wasn’t easy.” She sighed.
“I’m surprised Buchanan cared enough to worry about relocating people.”
“Somehow I managed to prove it was a cost-effective procedure,” Samantha explained dryly.
“Was it?”
“No. I scrambled the facts and figures a bit before I handed in my final report. Lied through my teeth, to tell you the truth,” she admitted ruefully. “But the papers got hold of the story, and they loved it. Buchanan came out looking like a real corporate hero. Since then, as tenants have become more informed about their rights, the procedure has become genuinely cost-effective in many cases. Cheaper than going to court with each and every tenant you want to remove.”
The elevator they were riding purred to a stop at the
top floor and opened with a hushed whisper. Across an expanse of plush silver carpet a poised receptionist glanced up in polite inquiry.
“Miss Maitland and Gabriel Sinclair to see Mr. Buchanan,” Gabriel murmured politely.
“Is he expecting you?”
“No, but I think he’ll see us.”
“If you’ll have a seat, I’ll check,” the woman began austerely, only to be interrupted as a rather harried-looking young man emerged from the inner office.
“Alice, can you get me Daniels down in Accounting? We’ve got a problem with the paperwork on that damned restaurant in Phoenix,” he began intently and then halted as Gabriel said evenly, “No rush, Alice. There are one or two more problems which are going to crop up on that damned restaurant.”
“Who the hell are you?” Jeff Ingram demanded, frowning.
“Buchanan’s problems.” Gabriel smiled.
Ingram glanced from his face to Samantha’s. “Don’t tell me,” he muttered. “I’ll bet you’re Samantha Maitland. And this is Sinclair, right?”
“How did you guess?” she said brightly.
Ingram closed his eyes in despair. “Never mind. Alice, call me when these two have gone, will you? That is, if I’ve still got a job left.” He left without a backward glance.
“Poor man,” Samantha said sympathetically. “How well I know that look.”
Alice was already using the intercom to contact her boss. She had been a secretary long enough to know when to delay and when not to delay. Whoever these two were, they weren’t salespeople.
A moment later Samantha and Gabriel were ushered into Drew Buchanan’s panoramic office. He looked up with mocking resignation as Samantha dropped lightly into the seat across from him.
“Jesus, Sam. Aren’t I ever going to be rid of you?”
“You’ll be rid of me just as soon as we conclude negotiations on the restaurant,” she informed him with a bland smile as Gabriel took the chair beside her. “But there seems to be some question about the price. We thought we’d come to Miami and clear it up in person.”