Disguised with the Millionaire (Dangerous Millionaires Series Book 2)

by Debra Andrews

  Too weak to resist him, she melted into his embrace and lifted her hand to his cheek. His hand rested on her hip. Kate moaned at the sensations from his kiss. He called her back to reality by raising his lips from hers. She gasped.

  “That’s how much you like me in a business sense, Kate.”

  “But we work together—you like my cousin,” she whispered. She ran her tongue over her lips, while taking a step back from him.

  “It’s inevitable that we’ll be together.”

  “I don’t sleep around.”

  “You won’t have to. You’ll be with me.”

  “You’re moving way too fast for me… This can’t happen,” she said weakly.

  He buttoned his shirt and retied his tie. “Yes, it can, Grace.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Grace?”

  He nodded and gave her a brief smile. “And I’m not sorry. You want me and I want you. Let’s not make it more complicated than that. We’ve had some problems at the construction site down in Homestead. I’ll be away for up to a week. I’ll call you, when I return. We’ll go out to dinner and talk. Please remember our kiss.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingertips.

  This time there was no guile. She believed him.

  After he strode out of the office, she released a shaky breath and raised her fingers to her throbbing lips. Her body trembled with unquenched desire—a desire that had been building since she had first met him, regardless of what she’d tried to tell herself.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Trent stayed in Homestead for one week, until he was assured everything was running smoothly. Then he returned to his main office at Farrington Towers in Fort Lauderdale.

  He couldn’t wait to see Kate and looked forward to surprising her at lunch and letting her know he’d returned. He talked to her only once on the phone where he’d asked her if she was thinking about them, and she had said a breathless, yes.

  But for now, he had company work to finish. He scoured the documents on his desk, confident the building should win the State of Florida award.

  Without knocking, Roland stalked through the office door. Jacketless, and his shirt soaked with sweat under the armpits, he flung papers onto Trent’s desk. “Sign these, so I can get the check. I’ll wait.”

  Trent stared into his cousin’s red, swollen eyes. “Whoa. What the hell is wrong with you? And what’s this new company—Ace Advertising?”

  Roland blew out a breath. “We need more exposure.”

  “I disagree. The amount of advertising Farrington does is adequate.”

  “And I disagree with that. You don’t know how it peeves me to have to ask for your signature now. So sign.”

  “Leave the papers. I’ll look them over. I doubt I’ll sign without more information.”

  “To hell with you.” His cousin whirled and stalked toward the door as Trent’s mother entered.

  “You look in fine shape, Roland,” Eden said as she stepped aside. Her haughty glance roamed over Roland. He returned a disgruntled snarl before striding out of the office.

  Eden’s cool gaze then focused on Trent. “Trent, darling…”

  “Mother,” he said, flinching. “What can I help you with? Do you need money, too?”

  “So that’s what the squanderer wanted?” She dropped into the chair in front of Trent’s desk. “No, I’m not here for money, but to discuss several things with you. This company is like a small town, and rumors have a way of getting back to me. I have a few questions about our newest employee—Dr. Meyers.”

  Trent lifted an eyebrow. “Such as?”

  “I heard last week she fainted at the Karger site. You took her to Hannigan’s Pub and—”

  “Your point?” He leveled his gaze on her.

  “She always seems to be in some kind of trouble. Weeks ago, Cecilia told me Dr. Meyers fell in the lobby and you caught her. Now, I hear she’s fainted and you apparently helped her again. I see a pattern here. Have you gotten her pregnant?” At his still expression, she shrugged and continued, “Good. Then I have to question if she planned these stunts because she has designs on you. Nothing unusual. Some women might find you fairly attractive. You’re certainly rich enough.”

  “Thanks,” he said through gritted teeth. Sighing, he unclenched his hand. “Now, why don’t you tell me what you’re really getting at and why you’re here?”

  She rose from the chair and moved to stare out the window. “Remember, Trent, when you were little and used to ask me, ‘Mom, why are you never happy?’ Well, I’ll tell you why. I always wanted more children.”

  “You!” he sat back in his chair in disbelief. “You were never around for me. What would you have done with another child?”

  His mother whirled and her icy gaze swept over him. “I might as well be forthright about this visit,” she said, ignoring his question. “You’re the heir to this company—our legacy. I want everything to stay with our side of the family.”

  He frowned. “I don’t have a problem sharing with Roland.”

  “He’ll destroy the business. I want grandchildren to secure the company’s future—our future…through you.”

  “Since when are you jumping on the children bandwagon? You weren’t particularly loving to me. You always gave me the impression kids were just a headache to be tolerated. How would you treat a grandchild?”

  She blew out a deep breath. “I suppose I should explain why I have been the way that I am. I suffered so many miscarriages that holding a living child was hard.” A bleak expression crossed her face as if this was a difficult confession. “And I was trying so hard to get your father back. I was losing him to yet another one of his whores.” She nearly spat the last word. “Marry Cecilia, and give me those grandchildren.”

  “Give it up. That’s not going to happen.”

  She returned to the chair across from his desk and leaned toward him. “Should I speculate there’s someone else? If it’s not Dr. Meyers…? Who?” She frowned. “The girl at the benefit ball? You seemed quite entranced with her.”

  He inwardly groaned that his mother had been watching him with Kate that evening. Time to turn the tables. “I don’t tell you who to see, Mother, but rumors have it you’ve taken up with your assistant?”

  “Marc?” she said with a dry laugh. “Ridiculous. However, I do enjoy having an attractive man show me around.”

  “And what does he get out of it?”

  She clasped her hands on the chair arms. “None of your business.”

  “Then stay out of mine. You were never interested before, so stop interfering in my life now.”

  She smiled, but without humor. She picked up a paperweight from the desk and tossed it around in her hands. “You’re the company’s future—our future. If you settled down with the right woman, I wouldn’t have to interfere. Besides, you might be surprised who I’m actually seeing.”

  “I don’t care if he’s Jack the Ripper.”

  She rose from the chair. Piercing him with her pale blue eyes, she gazed down her nose at him. “You can tell me if you’re gay, Trent.” Her lips curled in irony. “Then I would understand why you don’t like a beautiful girl like Cecilia. However, it wouldn’t change the way I feel about you at all.”

  Gaping at her, he slowly shook his head in amazement and lounged back in his chair, pressing his fingertips together. How cold-hearted his mother could be, but he was used to her calculated verbal blows—nothing new there. He knew she didn’t believe that he was gay, but as usual, she thought she could strike a hit at him, thinking that would hurt him, just because she didn’t get her way.

  His mother strode to the door, then paused and turned. “I want to warn you about someone who I think is a problem at the company. Cecilia returned from lunch the other day and saw Dr. Meyers had just come out of Purchasing—and she was sure she’d been in the file room. What business would she have in there?”

  “Maybe she went to speak to Cecilia.”

  Nearly snor
ting, Eden shook her head. “Call it women’s intuition, but there’s something about Dr. Meyers that I don’t like.”

  She turned and swept out of his office, leaving Trent with this latest information about Kate to ponder. Why had she been in the Purchasing Department and in the file room? What had she been looking for?

  He’d been looking forward to seeing her today. He wanted to trust her, but with this news about her potentially snooping around, his nagging doubts about her returned. Why had she kept her identity from him the night of the benefit ball? Was there more she was hiding from him, and because of his attraction and feelings for her, was he being duped?

  Because she worked for the company, on the night of the benefit ball, she had known the building’s floor plan. She knew exactly where the ballroom would be. However, she’d been going up to the offices when he first discovered her that night in the stairwell. Later, she’d been in Roland’s office, saying she hadn’t brought a cell phone and needed to use a phone, when she could have used the one in her own office.

  His head beginning to throb, Trent pressed his fingers to his temples. Every fear he’d had of betrayal with women reared like an ugly beast inside him. Was she just another woman who lied and couldn’t be trusted? Why had she been in Purchasing? Why had she not confessed she was Grace?

  He swore under his breath, then said it aloud. “I can’t trust her.”

  * * *

  Her nerves on overload, Kate arrived at the construction site for her appointment to meet Bobby, Matt’s friend. Near quitting time, the whirl of activity that usually took place had already wound down. She hoped to get a sample to prove her theory that a lower grade of Sheetrock was being used for the drywall.

  Kate blew out a weary breath. She did not like coming here at all. While she waited inside the gates, she thought of Trent. She had heard he had returned from Homestead on Tuesday. Now, it was Thursday and she still hadn’t seen him, and he hadn’t stopped by her office either. Perhaps, he’d taken her advice and decided it would be wrong for them to see each other romantically. She tried to tell herself everything would be better this way, but if so, why did she feel this terrible and crushing sense of disappointment and loss?

  Her eyes burning, she rubbed a weary hand over her forehead. She was being ridiculous. She’d been beyond stupid to allow her heart to become involved with him.

  Besides, if her research turned out like she suspected and this sample checked out with the lab, maybe she could make a connection to the responsible party. Then she wouldn’t be at the company much longer. This charade needed to end before she was caught, before whoever put that mask on the fence took another step.

  The caged elevator lumbered down the vertical track running the height of the building. The doors opened.

  Bobby stepped off and strode up to her. “Nice to see you, Kate.”

  “Thanks for meeting me.”

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t get those samples you wanted. Too many people around.” He must have read the dejected look on her face. “Look, Kate, if I can get any, I’ll drop them by your house and leave them on your porch. But from what I could see, nothing looks out of the ordinary.”

  “No? Well…thanks, Bobby. I thought for sure I was onto something. Have you noticed anything suspicious with the equipment or supplies? What if Matt had discovered something and someone didn’t like it?”

  Her brother’s friend wrinkled his brow and he touched her arm. “I haven’t seen anything, but I’ll help you in any way I can.” Concern flickered in his eyes. “Be careful snooping, Kate. Matt wouldn’t have liked it if I let anything happen to you, too.”

  “That’s so sweet of you to care.” She gave him a faint smile to relieve his worry. “I promise I’ll be careful.”

  “I don’t like you’re doing this on your own. You should go to the police again if you suspect anything.”

  “They didn’t believe me then, and without evidence, they won’t believe me now. Do you know of anyone who might want to hurt Farrington Construction?”

  “No.”

  “Will you call me if you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

  He nodded. “I’ve got to get to my doctor’s appointment. They’ll be closing up shop soon. Don’t get locked inside.”

  She shuddered at the eerie thought of being locked in all night—alone. “I won’t. Bobby,” she said softly. “I’ll just be here a moment longer to take pictures. Thanks for everything.”

  “Keep me posted.”

  At a sounding bell, a stream of workers clocked out and exited through the gates.

  Kate strode to where the heavy machinery was kept and where the supplies were stacked on pallets. She pulled a small camera out of her purse. A few pictures and she’d be out before the guard locked the gates for the night.

  About to round the corner of the stacked pallets, Kate spotted a man in a hard hat, sunglasses, and a brown overcoat. Her stomach knotted. She ducked behind a crane. Who was he? All the workers should be off the site.

  She crouched down to look underneath the cab of the crane, but all she could see on the other side were the man’s legs encased in jeans, work boots, and the edge of a long brown coat. When he neared the supplies, her heart increased in tempo.

  Kate bit her lip, torn between walking around to see his face and fear that kept her remaining hidden. He could just be someone working late. Or, what if he were the perpetrator? Great—she cringed. She was alone with him.

  Her heartbeat quickened. The only weapon she had was her pepper spray. She clutched the tiny bottle tucked inside her pocket—not totally reassuring, but better than nothing. If this man discovered her spying on him, and came after her, she had to hope the guard at the gate would hear her scream.

  From under the crane, she watched the man’s boots as he walked away. She released her pent-up breath and waited a few minutes, hoping he’d left the site. When he didn’t return, hunching over, Kate backed up to find another way out. Her backside bumped into a hard, masculine body.

  Strong muscular arms wrapped around her and clamped her arms to her sides.

  She shrieked. “Let me go.” Going a bit wild, she hit back with her elbows and stomped his foot.

  “Kate, ouch. Kate, it’s me,” Trent said, with a groan in her ear.

  Her breath rushed out of her lungs. She ceased struggling, although her wildly beating heart nearly burst in her chest.

  He held her in a tight grip. “What the hell are you doing here…again?”

  Panic swept through her at what he would think. “Nothing,” she whispered.

  He abruptly released her as if she was something too hot to handle. She thrust the camera into her pocket, then whirled to face him, forgetting she had the pepper spray in her other hand. Under any other circumstances, she would have welcomed the punch in her gut at seeing him dressed in the tight blue jeans and nicely fitting white t-shirt. However, she was enormously relieved he wasn’t the man in the overcoat. At the same time, she wished for it to have been anyone other than Trent who caught her snooping around. And he already knew she was Grace, but still, he hadn’t called her. Frowning, she raised her gaze to his. Perhaps he’d found out something more about her…?

  “Put that thing away,” he ordered, “unless you intend to spray me with it again.”

  “Uh, no.” She slipped the spray into her pocket.

  Trent narrowed his eyes. “Why are you here, Kate? And this had better be good.”

  “I thought you were at an important meeting with the city to recruit new contracts,” she said, stalling.

  “Never mind where I was. This time I want a straight answer. Why are you here and without a hard hat on? I’ve warned you. I know you’re hard headed, but you still might need one.”

  Kate lifted her chin, searching for a logical explanation as to why she was in the supply area of the construction site. She couldn’t think of anything.

  He narrowed his eyes. “I thought after your last experience here, you wouldn
’t be so eager to return.”

  “I-I needed some info on an employee’s records, which were incomplete.”

  “Who?”

  She winced and said in a low voice, “Bobby Owens.”

  “Him again?” Trent folded his arms across his chest. “Now isn’t that interesting? You’re in the supply area, and I thought I saw him leaving for the day.”

  She swiped the back of her hand across her perspiring forehead. What else could she say?

  He took a long hard look at her, and she didn’t like the suspicion and distrust now reflected in his eyes for her. An ache of despair welled up in her throat. “My mother tells me Cecilia saw you walking out of the Purchasing Department, too. Why were you there, Kate? That’s not your area or part of your job either.”

  So that was why she hadn’t seen him since he returned from Homestead—he didn’t trust her.

  For once, she thought to be truthful. “Okay, I’ll tell you,” she said with a nod. “I’ve had some concerns about things going on in the company, and I thought I’d check things out for myself.”

  “Like what?”

  “Perhaps someone is ordering inferior supplies—trying to save money so they can skim the profits.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you come and tell me this?” he demanded.

  She shrank back. “Because I didn’t think you’d believe me. I wanted to check the records first and then check here.” She took a deep breath. “You know, about the man who fell and died…maybe it wasn’t just an accident.”

  “So you’ve read the newspapers?”

  She stabbed the air with her chin. “Yes, I did.” She hated herself for not telling him the entire truth. “And you also said the man who fell had not taken proper safety precautions. What if that weren’t the case? I think there’s a possibility he got too close to discovering something…someone who was stealing from the company by substituting inferior products.” There she’d said it. Her shoulders sagged in relief. “What if his harness had been rigged so he would fall to his death, to silence him and cover up something?”