Shana nodded. It shouldn’t surprise her, either, but this only added to the puzzle. And it was a puzzle she was determined to solve. “I’m calling Jace in here,” she said, picking up the phone, feeling irritated as well as anxious while dialing the direct number to his office. “He needs to be advised as to what’s going on.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Shana watched Jace’s reaction to what Bruce was telling him, explaining things in detail the same way he had done with her. Jace was listening attentively, taking it all in, and since she’d been as intimate with him as she had over the past seventy-two hours, she could read the signs.
He was pissed.
But his professionalism as well as his control wouldn’t reveal on the outside just how he was steaming on the inside. Every so often, he would ask Bruce a question, and she should not have been surprised by Jace’s vast knowledge of industrial espionage. From her research on him, she knew he’d worked for the state of California and recalled that he had assisted the California Bureau of Investigations—the CBI—in nabbing a sophisticated group involved with human trafficking that had used a major corporation as a front to do so. The authorities had used spyware to bring the corporation down.
Jace shifted in his seat, and her eyes shifted as well, moving from his fierce features to the suit he was wearing. Nice. Expensive. GQ. He carried himself with the ease of a man born to lead. His brothers were right. He was a true leader, and she could see him working alongside his father and grandfather had things turned out differently.
“Well, that’s about it, Jace,” Bruce was saying. “Do you have any more questions?”
“Yes,” Jace said, standing and moving toward the window. He paused a moment and glanced out before turning back to them. “What about my office and those belonging to my brothers? Could spyware be planted there, as well?”
“Possibly. I can check them out before I leave.”
“I would like for you to do that.” He moved back over to stand by Shana’s desk and picked up the pen, studied it and then said, “So someone wants to play hardball. We figured there was a traitor among us, and now we know just how far they will go.”
He moved his gaze from the pen to her, and Shana could feel the heat in his eyes. Earlier, he had been aware of each and every time she moved in her chair. His gaze would shift from Bruce to her, and a shiver would pass through her whenever he captured her within his scope...like now. It took a lot to contain her composure whenever she became the center of his attention. And she felt herself being drawn more and more to him.
Bruce cleared his throat, and both she and Jace glanced over at him. He smiled and said, “I’ll get started on those other offices once you give me the okay, Jace.”
Jace nodded. “Martin Fillmore heads my security team, and I want to make him aware of what’s going on.” He turned to Shana, smiled, and as if he’d read her thoughts, he said, “And I know everyone is a suspect until we find out who’s behind this. I will move forward on that premise and handle Fillmore and everyone else accordingly.”
Shana nodded, glad he saw the value in doing that. “When will Caden be returning?” she asked.
“Not until next Monday.” He then turned to Bruce. “And I want you to work with Shana to put my own security safety net in place. In other words, I want a watchdog to monitor the watchdog. Understand?”
“Completely. And I hope you’re aware that whoever is behind this will know they’ve been discovered. And since this is possibly an inside job...working with others on the outside...they will begin covering their tracks.”
A muscle in Jace’s jaw began to twitch. “That may be the case, but I’m determined to find out who’s behind this.”
* * *
“This is real James Bond stuff,” Dalton said, smiling as he eased into the chair across from Jace’s desk. “I was disappointed they didn’t find anything in my office. I’m offended someone doesn’t think I know anything.”
Jace fought back a smile. “You don’t.”
“The hell you say,” Dalton said, straightening up in his chair. “I’ve been reading all that crap just like you and Caden. Shit. I haven’t read so much boring stuff since college. Just don’t try being a smart-ass and throw an exam at me.”
Jace chuckled. “I won’t, but there are certain departments I’m assigning you to monitor. For starters, Security.” He was glad that Bruce had reported there weren’t any security breaches in the other offices. And as requested, the watchdog was now being monitored. Bruce even suggested they check Jace’s father’s office, although no one had used the office in over fifteen years and it was normally kept locked. No breach in security was found in Shep’s office, either.
Dalton nodded, and Jace could see from the expression on his face that he was well aware, like everyone else, that Security was an important department here at Granger Aeronautics. And in light of what Bruce had uncovered, it was even more so. Hopefully, this would keep Dalton busy and out of Brandy Booker’s pants.
A smile spread across Dalton’s lips. “Yeah, I saw how Martin Fillmore was sweating. The crap came down on his watch, and it didn’t make him look good. Like he’d been sleeping on the job.”
“I want you to stay on top of things, Dalton,” Jace said, tossing his pen down on the desk. He was about to hold a meeting with his other executives and had to sit there and pretend that perhaps one of them wasn’t behind it. That one of them didn’t have ulterior motives for wanting the company to fail.
“And you’re sure it was an inside job?” Dalton asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“Looks that way. Someone put that pen in Shana’s office, and it’s been there from day one.”
Dalton nodded. “Melissa set up her office, right?”
“Yes, with a little help from Brandy Booker.” He saw the lifting of Dalton’s eyes when he was remembering the way Brandy had looked that morning. For good measure, Jace then added, “But there were also a number of people in and out, including a couple of our technicians installing the computer software, a few guys from maintenance who assisted in moving furniture around and the guy cleaning the carpet.”
“Basically everyone is a suspect,” Dalton said thoughtfully.
Jace smiled. “No, not everybody. You’re not.”
Although it wasn’t a laughing matter, Dalton couldn’t help but do so. “Like I said, man, you’re crazy. But I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“And I appreciate you and Caden having my back.”
There was silence for a minute, and then Dalton asked, “When is he returning? I hate to admit it, but I miss him. Funny how over the years, the three of us have never been in each other’s pockets, yet now that we’re back together, it seems as if that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
Jace was surprised to hear Dalton say that. “Does that mean there’s no more wanderlust in your blood?”
“I didn’t say that. All I’m saying is that I like being around you guys for now. It might be a different story next week when either of you pisses me off about something.”
Jace stood and glanced at his watch. He had a meeting to get to. He then glanced over at Dalton. “What are your plans for later?”
“I’m heading to that joint on the corner. Food’s great, and the female company is even better. You ought to join me.”
“I think I will.”
Dalton lifted a brow as he stood, as well. “You mean you don’t plan to spend another night away from home?”
“Remember our deal, Dalton,” Jace replied sternly. “You stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours.”
“All right, already. Jeez. But I can’t help worrying about you.”
Jace chuckled as he slid into his jacket. “For what reason?”
“You haven’t been in the game for a while, and you might not know how it works. Things have changed since before the time you married Eve. You might be a little rusty, out of your element.”
Jace inwardly laughed at the
absurdity of his baby brother thinking that he could give Jace pointers when it came to women. “I think I know how to handle my business, Dalton.”
“I hope so. I don’t want your ineptness to give me a bad name. I have a reputation to protect.”
Jace rolled his eyes as he headed to the door. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Dalton followed. “Make sure that you do.”
* * *
Shana glanced across the kitchen table at her father. She had left Granger a little early today to drop by here since she hadn’t talked to him all weekend. And if she got one more call from Jules pushing her to find out as much as she could about their father’s Saturday-night date, Shana would scream. So here she was, wishing she’d gone home and straight to bed. If anyone needed to catch up on at least eight hours or more of sleep, she did.
Jace had been in a meeting when she’d left, and she figured he wouldn’t drop by her place anyway. No need to wear out a good thing on either of their parts...although the thought of making love to him again sent pleasurable shivers down her spine.
“So what do you want to know, Shana?”
She blinked at her father’s question that pulled her out of her reverie. “I haven’t asked anything.”
Ben chuckled. “But you will. That’s why you’re here, right?”
She felt a little offended. “You act like I don’t come by during the week.”
“You do, but never on Mondays.”
He had a point there. But only because she usually visited on the weekend. However, this past weekend, that hadn’t been the case. She’d known he had a date for Saturday night and had decided not to get underfoot. Besides, her mind had been filled with memories of all the action that had taken place in her office Friday night.
She had meant to drop by on Sunday, or even call at least. But a late night with Gloria had made her sleep late, and then unexpectedly, Jace had arrived. And once she’d given him access to her bedroom, she had forgotten about everything else for the next ten hours or so.
“Mona was disappointed that you didn’t join us.”
Shana raised her brow. “I wasn’t asked.”
He chuckled. “Yes, I know.”
Shana couldn’t help but smile. “So you wanted Mona to yourself. How did it go?”
“I took her to Kal’s Pizza, and we had a great time. She looked great, and I enjoyed her company. I’m taking her to the beach on Saturday.”
Shana took a sip of her tea. “Don’t plan on letting any grass grow under her feet, uh?”
“Not a single blade. So now you can go tell your sister that I made it through the date all in one piece.”
Shana put her cup down. “Surely you can understand why it’s taking a while for both Jules and me to get a grip on this, Dad. You’ve never dated before.”
“Yes, I did. I dated plenty of times while the two of you were growing up. I’d just never met a woman I cared enough about to bring home for you girls to meet. There are women you hang out with...for fun...and there are those you know you want to have a lasting relationship with.”
Hang out with for fun. Shana couldn’t help but think about what her father said. In other words, women a man just wanted to sleep with. Was that how Jace saw her?
“So what did you do this weekend? I had expected my phone to be ringing off the hook starting Sunday morning.”
“I slept late. Gloria and I took in a movie Saturday night and were up until almost five in the morning just talking. Because she’s been assigned to international flights, I don’t get to see her as much as I used to, and we had a lot of catching up to do. Girl talk and all that.”
“And from that car—a beauty of a white Lexus—that was parked outside your condo yesterday afternoon, I take it you had company later?”
Shana almost choked on the tea she’d just sipped. She stared at her father. “You came by my place yesterday?”
“Yes, but when I saw you had company, I decided not to stop.”
“What time was that?” she asked.
“Around six.”
Shana nodded. She and Jace had made it up to the bedroom by then and were making out like bandits, going into their third round. “You still could have stopped,” she said to be nice, knowing it was a good thing he hadn’t. It would have been very awkward all the way around. She was a grown woman, old enough to do what she pleased, but still. Your daddy was your daddy.
“I hadn’t heard from you and was worried,” he added, breaking into her thoughts. “Like I said, I’d expected my phone to start ringing off the hook before I got out of bed, and when it didn’t happen, I was concerned.”
“Thanks for your concern, but I was fine.” Her father would never know just how fine she had been. Jace had brought out the sexual greed in her, and she had gotten her fill in ways she’d never imagined.
“So when is Jules coming home?” Ben asked.
“Didn’t you talk to her yesterday?” Shana asked.
“Not for long. She had an important call come through. You know how she is with her work. I worry that you girls don’t get out more and date.”
Shana could feel it coming on, that talk he would have with her and Jules on occasion. The one when he told them in so many words that he was looking forward to a grandbaby to bounce on his knee and a son-in-law to watch the games with.
“I can’t speak for Jules, but I’m busy, Dad. This new case is going to take more of my time than I imagined it would. Just today, I found spyware in my office.”
He nodded. “It’s an aeronautics company, right?”
“Yes. Marcel is working on it. I’ve given him everything, and I’ve made him aware of this new development. He didn’t seem surprised.”
“Why would he be? Granger would be ripe for trade-secret violations, considering the competition for government contracts that’s going on. It’s gotten to be a war between the strongest and the fittest. Some companies believe being devious and underhanded is the way to go.”
Enough for people to resort to corporate and industrial theft, Shana thought. But she didn’t want to think about all of what Bruce had discovered or what Marcel was doing with the information she’d supplied to him. Until she’d contacted him today, she hadn’t heard from him in a while. But then, that’s the way the feds worked while building their case. Marcel would contact her when he felt the time was right.
Deciding to get back on the subject of Ben and Mona, she asked, “So which beach are you taking Mona to?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know yet. I want to make it a full day.”
“Although it might take her out of her comfort zone?”
“Especially so. I want to become her comfort zone.”
Shana paused with her teacup to her lips, thinking that her father had said something very powerful. There was no doubt in her mind that he intended to move ahead in this affair with Mona, and it would be serious. “Why didn’t you?” she asked.
He looked over at her. “Why didn’t I what?”
“Bring home those dates. There had to be some lady at one time who caught your eye.”
“Like I said, they were fun times. I honestly never met a woman who I thought could replace your mother.”
“Now you feel that Mona can?” she inquired quietly.
He shook his head. “No, because there’s no one who can ever replace your mother. It’s not about replacement, Shana. It’s about addition, and there is a difference.”
Her father’s words weighed heavily on Shana’s mind hours later when she was getting ready for bed. It was early, but considering her activities of the night before, she had no problem not watching television or reading her book but looked forward to crawling between the covers and getting some much-needed sleep.
She had come downstairs to turn off the lights and set the alarm when the doorbell rang. She knew it wasn’t Gloria, since she’d left on an international flight to China earlier in the day.
The porch light was still on, and as she moved t
oward the door, she stopped when she saw who was standing there in front of it.
Jace.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Shana opened the door. There was no need to ask why he was there. She had become one of those women her father had described, a woman a man could have fun with. Why did such a thought bother her? It shouldn’t really, when she should see him only as a man she could have fun with. She didn’t want a serious relationship with anyone any more than Jace did.
She stepped back and let him inside, and he closed and locked the door behind him. Before she could say anything, he rushed to ask, “When I got out of my meeting, they said you left the office early. You never leave early. Is anything wrong?” He reached out and pushed a wayward curl back from her face. She figured he probably assumed she was ill or something since she had on her pj’s.
“No, I’m fine. I hadn’t visited my father all weekend and wanted to see him.”
“Oh. And you’re dressed for bed already. I should have called first. I had decided to call you when I got home, but halfway there, I turned around and headed back this way. I wanted to see you.”
Jace drew in a deep breath. All of what he’d just said was the truth. He had joined Dalton for dinner, and when Dalton had invited two women to join them for drinks afterward, Jace knew it was time for him to split. The women had been nice enough, but there was no interest on his part. There was none of the gut-stirring attraction and desire he’d felt for Shana from the start. He had been on his way home, halfway there, when the need to see her again had tugged inside of him so badly that it became an ache. He’d then made a U-turn and come here.
Jace was well aware of the brief amount of sleep they’d both gotten the night before and figured Shana needed her rest; that was fine. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms for a while. “You were about to go to bed?”
“Yes.”
“Come on, then, and let me tuck you in before I leave.”
Shana quirked her eyebrows questioningly. “Tuck me in?”
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