by Lyric James
Jade didn’t know if that information was important or not, but she was sure going to write it down so she’d remember.
“So, you’re filling in for his Kathy until she gets back?”
“Yes.”
“Well, good luck,” she said and smiled. “Next to the governor’s office, this one is the busiest. Then mine of course. But I’m sure you can handle it.”
“I hope so,” Jade replied.
“If you need any help finding your way around or help looking for files, just yell at me. I’m extension 224.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
Jade smiled as Cecily walked out and made another mental note to make friendly with her and question her about the goings on in the office. As the third in command’s secretary, surely she knew everything that went on in this place.
The rest of Jade’s day was filled with phone calls, relaying messages, setting up appointments and meetings, typing letters, and running errands and dropping off files from one end of the building to the next. Later that evening she sat on her couch massaging her feet. Cecily had been correct about the office being busy. The conversation Rhys had tried to have with her before his meeting with the secretary of state never happened. She’d barely seen him the rest of the day. She never even had a chance to do any investigating around the office.
The only thing she did remotely related to the case was running over to her friend’s office to drop off the letters and get them checked for fingerprints. He promised to let her know something by the end of the week. From the coffee table, she picked up her notes and settled back into the cushions. The first topic on her list was an old lover.
Rhys definitely fit the bill to have a scorned lover or two. Every woman who got involved with him didn’t just see a handsome face. They knew he came from money, and each and every one of them probably expected to be Mrs. Rhys Cunningham. She was sure some of them walked away with broken hearts and probably carried a grudge. Maybe he’d even fallen in love with one or two of them and confided in them his deep, dark, illegitimate baby secret.
Tomorrow, she was going to spend her lunch in the newspaper archives at the library. Specifically, the high-profile section. She needed names.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Jade walked into her office to find a letter for Rhys sitting right in the middle of her desk. Just like the other ones. She glanced back at the door. It had been locked when she walked in. That meant it was definitely someone working from the inside. At the very least, they had help from someone who worked within this building. There were guards at each entrance, plus anyone who came in the building had to sign in. She made a mental note to see if any of the names she gathered from her afternoon library trip had friends or socialized with anyone in any of these offices.
She quickly sat down, pulled a pair of gloves out of her bag, and began to open the letter. It was bigger than the last, but the block lettering on the front was exactly the same. She used a letter opener and carefully slid it between the folds. When she emptied the contents onto her desk, she saw a slip of paper had been taped to the bottom of a picture. The image shocked her.
It was that of an African American teenage girl. And by her skin coloring, she knew the girl had a mixed heritage. She was almost certain that one of the young girl’s parents was African American, the other Caucasian. Dumbfounded, she sank against the back of her chair. Most intriguing about her was the color of her eyes. They were the exact shade as Rhys’. Staring at the photo, Jade would bet anything that the girl was his daughter.
She looked at the note attached to the bottom.
Secrets can be deadly.
So many thoughts filtered through her mind. But before she could begin to process any of them, she heard laughter just as the door between her and Rhys’ office opened and Jackie walked out of it, arm in arm with Rhys.
She bristled as the green-eyed monster did a tap dance across her shoulder blades. Jade recovered quickly, slipped the picture and note back in the envelope and removed her gloves. She didn’t want to raise any suspicions, nor discuss the letter in front of Jackie.
“Good morning, Jade. How are you?”
She was so friendly it made Jade’s teeth itch. Plastering a smile on her face, she returned the greeting. “Good morning. Aren’t you two the happy couple? Enjoy your breakfast?”
Jackie’s brow rose as she looked from Rhys to Jade, then back to Rhys again. She released his arm and smiled. A knowing smile, as if she had a secret to savor. Jade didn’t need a meat cleaver pounded over her head to tell her the real deal. She knew it already. She wondered how Ms. Jackie would react if she knew two nights ago, before he came to her bed, he was pawing Jade in the middle of a damn hotel trying to work his way into hers. Again.
“Yes, breakfast was wonderful as always. Rhys knows exactly how to spoil a lady.”
“I’m sure he does,” she said dryly.
Jackie looked at her quizzically again, grabbed Rhys’ hand, and squeezed. “I’ll see you later.”
Never taking his eyes off Jade, he responded, “I’ll call you later about what we talked about.”
“I look forward to it.” She turned and smiled at Jade. “Have a nice day.”
Jade ignored her, let the envelope drop to her desk, and crossed the room to get a cup of coffee.
You idiot, she wanted to scream to herself. Rhys watched her with a half smirk on his face but didn’t say anything. Obviously, he was enjoying her show of jealousy. Why did she let herself succumb to it?
Why?
Well, if he didn’t say anything, she sure as hell wasn’t going to say anything about it either. Let him think what he wanted to think. Seeing him with Jackie today only solidified the good reason why she didn’t sleep with him the other night. Whether or not she actually remembered what that reason was or not was irrelevant.
Jade walked back to her desk, put one glove back on her hand, picked up the other one and the letter, and turned to him. “You got another letter.”
His eyes widened as he marched toward her and reached for it.
“Put this on first,” she ordered, handing him the glove.
Rhys stretched it over his large hand then took the envelope from her. She watched his reaction as he pulled the contents out. He glanced at her then back down to the picture. Lowering it to his side, he moved over to the large picture window in her office and rested his forehead against the glass.
“I take it this is Maya?” she asked.
He glanced at the picture again and nodded.
“She’s beautiful,” she whispered. And the young lady was. Curly chestnut brown hair, high cheekbones, and a smile that revealed straight, pretty white teeth. And the same silver gray eyes as Rhys.
Her father.
She tried to shake the thought from her head, but she couldn’t. What else could it be? What other secret could he be hiding after all this time if she wasn’t his daughter?
“I’ll take this one to my friend in the fingerprint lab as well, when I get the other ones back.”
He only nodded. “They’re threatening her,” he said quietly.
But underneath the veil of his voice, she heard the anger. Sensed the simmering rage.
“She’s only a child. She’s just entering the exciting time of her life.” He turned to her. “I won’t let anything happen to her. I can’t.” Rhys pointed a corner of the envelope at her. “You have to find out who’s doing this.”
The tightness in her neck and shoulders slowly ebbed away. No matter his secrets. No matter his refusal to acknowledge this child publicly, he loved her. Jade saw it in his eyes, heard it in his voice. The emotion mirrored in his face was undeniable. And for that, and only that, she’d do her damnedest to find out who was threatening them both.
Later at the library, with scores of newspapers scattered around her, Jade perused the high society section of every Sunday’s paper for the last year. She had stacks in front of her, beside her in chairs, below he
r on the floor. And on a yellow notepad, she’d listed four names. Including Jackie’s. What was curious, pictures of Rhys with Jackie came before, in between, and after the other three women. Was Jackie a sucker for punishment? Did she really think if she acted like she didn’t care about the other women, Rhys would eventually choose her? Marry her?
They were obviously close, and he appeared to enjoy her company made evident by the frequent visits to his office, the breakfast date they had this morning, and the many phone calls Jade had buzzed through to him throughout the day. If that were true, why didn’t he settle down with her and make her Mrs. Rhys Cunningham.
Something she didn’t want to define clinched in her stomach. She began to gather up all the papers and put them back in date order so the librarian could easily put them away in the archives. As she did so, her thoughts drifted back to Maya and the implications of the apparent relationship her birth resulted from. She wasn’t the first African American woman he’d been attracted to. Even one of the ladies listed on her paper, Cynthia, was African American.
And for some odd reason, a little flutter of joy seized her heart. Was there a chance for her in Rhys’ life after all? But as she glanced at the names on the list, Jackie’s name seemed to lift and hover over the page. This woman wasn’t going anywhere. That much was sure. Plus, all of those ladies were slim, athletic types. Jade glanced down. She was not. She wasn’t Winona the Whale, but her full hips and bosom didn’t look anything like what he was used to dating. Her mood soured at the thought. Why was she doing this to herself again?
However much she fantasized about being with Rhys, she wasn’t going to put herself in the position to be one of those women who enjoyed casual sex with him and went on about her merry way. She wouldn’t put herself in a position to be hurt. Unlike those other women, she was well aware of the power Rhys Cunningham had over her. He had the power to make her fall in love with him. Yes, admittedly, he was attracted to her as far as sex went. The huge erection that hummed in his pants the night of the fundraiser was proof of that. But she was sure that was all it was.
Back in her car, she dug inside her purse for her cell phone and zoomed through the names in her address book until she got to her contact at the telephone company. She dialed the number and waited for him to answer.
“Hey, Bill, this is Jade. Can you get some numbers for me?”
“Sure, beautiful. Who you got?”
“Hold on,” she said, unfolding the list she’d stuck inside her bag.
She read the names off and grabbed a pen while she waited for him to look them up.
“You want addresses too?”
“Yes, you might as well go ahead and give them to me. I’ll probably need them at some point.”
She jotted them all down, including Jackie’s, even though she saw her enough, and stuffed the piece of paper back in her purse. “Thanks, Bill. I owe you.”
“No problem, sweetheart. I’m still making up for what you did for me.”
“Bye,” she said, smiling as she ended the connection.
About two years ago, Bill had hired Private Jane Inc. to find out if his wife was cheating on him. She’d been very secretive the previous few months, going to non-existent appointments and coming home late from work. Bill was a six-foot-five country boy, so in love with his wife he’d been driving himself crazy and needed to know what she was doing.
Jade had found out what his wife was really up to; planning a twentieth year surprise wedding celebration for the both of them. After she reassured him, he told her to consider him her go-to guy for any information she needed.
In the drive-thru line at her favorite fast food restaurant, Jade decided to make a couple of calls. She dialed the first number on her list. Cynthia didn’t answer, so she left a call back number then dialed the next. This time, a woman picked up.
“May I speak with Summer?”
She heard panting on the other end. God, she hoped she hadn’t interrupted anything. “This is Summer.”
“Um… Hi, Summer, my name is…”
Damn, she hadn’t thought up a good cover story. She couldn’t very well say that she was Jade Conner, a private investigator looking for information about who was threatening Lieutenant Governor Rhys Cunningham.
“My name is Michelle Conner and I’m a reporter for the The Herald.”
Think of something.
Think of something.
“We’ve heard rumors that the lieutenant governor is about to announce his engagement this week, and I wanted to ask you about your relationship with him.”
That was terrible, Jade. Some private investigator you are.
But it was all she could think of.
She heard the woman huff again. “Sorry…I’m working out.”
“No problem,” Jade replied.
“Well, whoever she is, she’s one lucky woman.”
“You think so, huh?”
“Definitely.”
“So, you’re not still involved with the lieutenant governor?”
“Oh no, that was months ago and it was all in good fun. I wasn’t exactly what Rhys was looking for.”
“So, you two had an amicable break up.”
“There wasn’t anything really to break up.”
“So, you weren’t trying to become Mrs. Rhys Cunningham?”
“Oh no, honey. I would not make a good political wife. I’m positive Rhys will someday make it to Washington. That’s too much time in the spotlight for me. Too many people like you in my business. No thank you. We had fun, but marriage was not in the cards for us.”
“Well…okay. Thank you for your time.”
“No problem.” She breathed heavily into the phone before hanging up.
“Damn.” Scratch her name off the list. She sounded far from a woman holding a grudge.
Jade had an almost identical conversation with Misty before she made it back to the office. She said the same thing as Summer. They had a great time and, and Jade had to stop her from going on and on about the great sex.
But where Rhys was going, they had no desire to follow. So Misty made strike number two on her list. She still had to figure out how to corner Jackie and ask her about Rhys, but as much time as they spent together, and the way she looked at Rhys, Jade doubted Jackie was the mysterious person leaving the letters in Rhys’ office. However, she’d make the time to question Jackie anyway. She called, left another message for Cynthia, then climbed the stairs to her office.
Chapter Eight
When Jade walked in her office, Rhys was setting a stack of papers on her desk. He turned to her and smiled. “Have a nice lunch?”
“It was…informative.”
A quizzical look crossed his features as he leaned back against the edge of her desk. “I just had two very interesting phone calls.”
Not caring what those conversations were about, she walked around him and sat down. “That’s nice.”
“Two women I haven’t spoken to in several months just called to congratulate me on my engagement. They wanted to know who the lucky woman was.”
Jade focused on the papers on her desk, while butterflies zinged around in her stomach. She should have guessed something like this would happen.
He turned and leaned forward, placing both his hands flat on top of the table. “Both said some woman from the The Herald called and told them I would be announcing my engagement in the next few days.”
Still not looking at him, she nodded her head. “Uh huh.”
“A woman by the name of Michelle Conner.”
“Wow.” She picked up a note that had been left on her desk and scanned the print. What in the world had she been thinking? She should have come up with a better cover story before she picked up the phone and called those women.
Rhys took the paper she was holding. “Michelle Conner. Jade Conner. Coincidence, don’t you think? This reporter and you both have the same last name.”
“Definitely,” she said, nodding her head. “There ar
e probably a thousand and one people with the last name Conner.”
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
Her gaze snapped up to his. “Okay fine, it was me.”
He spread his hands wide before placing them back on the desk. “Why?”
“I’m a private investigator, Rhys. I’m conducting an investigation. I told you my theories this morning. It could be a former lover.”
“But why contact these women?” he queried.
She stood so her eyes were level with his. “Because they are the ones I’ve seen you with the most. Look, I can only come up with three possible motives, or people who have it out for you. Someone who wants revenge for something you did to them, someone who knew you and spent time around you when Maya was born, or an angry ex-lover.”
He looked at her incredulously. “So, you think one of them is threatening me?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Why not? It’s a possibility. Every red-blooded woman in Tennessee you’ve dumped probably wanted to be Mrs. Rhys Cunningham.”
“Neither one of those ladies were the least bit unhappy with our break up. If you would have told me who you were planning to talk to, I could have saved you the trouble.”
Jade rolled her eyes and sank back down into her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “So, I’ve heard. They were more than happy to tell me how wonderful you are, how much they enjoyed spending time with you, and how great you are in bed.” Okay they didn’t actually say that, but it was implied. She picked up a folder sitting on her desk, then slammed it back down again, got up and went to the coffee pot sitting in the corner and poured herself a cup. “And I still have two more to question on my list.”
“What? Who?”
“Cynthia and…Jackie.”
“It’s not Jackie.”
“Right, because she worships the ground you walk on? Because you know just how to spoil a woman?”
“It’s not Jackie…” He hesitated, as if he should say something but wasn’t sure he wanted to say it. “It’s not Jackie. And I doubt its Cynthia either.”