Martinez, Mary - Classic Murder: Mr. Romance (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Mary Martinez

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t really like the CEO. He seemed like a shifty little bastard.” He looked over at her. “I need your opinion, would you mind joining me at the next meeting tomorrow morning?” Adam often asked her to accompany him when he needed a second opinion. The discussion following the meeting was the most interesting part of her career.

  “Sure, I’d love to. I was going to contact them to have one of their investors help me a couple of years ago. When I did some research on the company, I didn’t like what I found. I ended up learning to invest on my own.”

  “How well do you do? I mean, making investments on your own?”

  “I’m pretty good.” She gave him a wink. “I haven’t lost my shorts yet, knock on wood.” Katie looked around for some, reached out, and knocked on his desk.

  Adam’s deep chuckle curled her toes. It was a good thing she had on sandals. “We’ll have to discuss strategy. I’d be interested in hearing something of yours sometime.” Adam looked at his planner, then continued. “The meeting is in the morning at ten. I need to finalize a few things for this weekend. I’ll be getting in early tomorrow. You can ride with me.”

  She swallowed and ignored the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the mere mention of riding with him to the meeting. Brushing the hair behind her ear nearly dislodged her glasses. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

  “Okay, I’ll have all the reports on the company done by this afternoon for you to look over. I’m waiting for some of the background reports to come back before I can complete them. You’ll have time to study them this evening, unless you have other obligations.”

  “Great. I actually planned to do just that. It works out perfect. That’s settled then. I need to discuss some things about this weekend.” Adam shuffled through papers on his desk and missed the stricken look she was sure showed on her face. “I sent the plane back to New Orleans with some more supplies, but it should be back by Thursday.” He paused and looked up. “Why do people think that since Katrina was a few years ago, the disaster’s over? Is New Orleans going to rebuild itself? Sorry, I just get angry when I think about it. Now what have you found?”

  Katie felt the same way, but what would be solved by discussing the situation? Besides, Adam had been sending supplies since the hurricane hit in 2005. He was doing more than most people.

  Katie flipped the page to her notes she’d brought in with her and began to read her check-off list. “I checked on the travel time. It takes six hours and about twenty minutes to get to San Francisco from here. You are booked at a hotel for Friday night by the wharf overlooking the bay. The suite has a Jacuzzi, and two bedrooms as you requested. Then the limo will arrive at nine in the morning to take you to the Napa, Sonoma Valley. Breakfast will be served in your suite promptly at eight.” Katie took a breath.

  Making his travel arrangements was the worst. A fire burned in the pit of her stomach. No matter how many times she assured herself, it was as if she were his wife and had just discovered her husband having an affair. Of course, the thought was ridiculous, but as much as she tried there was no way to stop her feelings.

  “Did you get the private tours of the wineries arranged?”

  “You have two private tours, and a wine and food pairing lunch at the Sterling Winery in Calistoga. From the website, it looks fabulous. There is a long drive through a tunnel of trees. Then you take a tram that carries you to the winery on top where you can look over the entire valley. The view must be awesome.” She cringed when she heard the wistfulness in her voice. Clearing her throat, she carried on more business-like. She hoped.

  “They will close the winery to all guests and the owner himself will be conducting your dinner.” Katie shook off the fantasy that she would be the one on his arm. As always, she’d be home with Oscar watching movies that weekend.

  “Sounds great,” Adam, said breaking into her thoughts.

  Katie finished telling him about the arrangements.

  “Well, I’ll get out of your hair so you can finish getting ready for tomorrow’s meeting.” Katie stood, almost knocking the chair over in her haste. She managed not to slam the door and slipped into her desk chair. She wiped her sweaty palms down her mid-calf skirt and took a deep breath. What is wrong with you, Katie? Maybe it was time for her to look for other employment.

  She sighed at the thought. Though it was probably the best option, she couldn’t bring herself to get a new job. Working with Adam was better than never seeing Adam again. Okay, so she’d done the unthinkable and fallen in love with him not long after joining his company.

  Her mom was right. Her glasses were her protection against her love for Adam. If she ordered contacts and came out of hiding, what would she do if he didn’t find her attractive? If she never took the leap, she’d never know.

  Her transformation might get Adam’s attention. Would he want more than to take her on one of his famous dates? She didn’t give a damn about a date with the great Mr. Romance. Adam was more than a status symbol to her. He was the man she loved. He had all the qualities she looked for in a partner for life. On the other hand, did she just compare every man with Adam?

  She’d have to settle for Oscar, the street mutt who had adopted her, then regretted it the minute she gave him a bath. Yes, time to bring back the real Katie. Though she’d promised herself to dump her dowdy facade when she had landed the job, she’d procrastinated. All she’d done was postpone the inevitable.

  Chapter Two

  Adam watched Katie leave in a hurry, then frowned. Pushing away from his desk, he swiveled the desk chair to look out the window. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. She always seemed to be in a hurry to get away from him. He couldn’t find a better assistant—in fact, she could probably govern his company better than he could.

  Lately he’d been noticing little things about her. Like the way, when she turned just right, her loose skirt would reveal an outline of a slim hip, or her blouse would reveal the fact she had breasts that would fit perfectly in his hands. Her hair a beautiful shade of gold, though she always pulled it back from her face, either in a ponytail, or a braid left to drape down her back.

  Those god-awful glasses, where in the world did she find them? He couldn’t even tell what her face looked like. They were so distracting that he couldn’t see anything else. It was almost as if she wanted to appear ugly. Could that be the reason? After all, New York society had made such a big deal about Mr. Romance. He didn’t listen to that sort of thing, but it made hiring an assistant difficult. Maybe Katie had heard the rumors and thought in order to work with him she needed to protect herself.

  Although he’d never date anyone that he worked with, she didn’t know that. He could hardly ask her. He’d just have to try harder to look past the glasses. Why? An annoying voice asked in the back of his mind. What did it matter how she looked behind the glasses? Since the moment he had employed her, she’d proven what a wonderful, caring, and beautiful person she was on the inside. They worked wonderfully together. Besides, he might find what lay beneath them far more distracting.

  Swinging around in his chair, he looked at his favorite poster of Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh. He’d loved the movie Gone with the Wind.

  He sighed. What was wrong with him? He had the perfect life, one most men envied. Women fought for him to take them out. He traveled to exotic places. He never went out with the same woman twice—well mostly.

  He loved his career. Although he was in the business of taking over companies, he made sure they retained their employees. Money wasn’t a problem, which made it easier to feed his desire to help with disasters or give to charities. Yet, something was missing in his life and for the first time since leaving home, he was feeling restless.

  He’d never wanted to settle down. He remembered his high school days back in Detroit, when his father thought he was gay. He chuckled at the memory…

  * * * *

  His father, the macho car factory worker, couldn’t understand Adam’s fascina
tion with old, romantic movies. Adam spent hours watching Clark Gable seduce his women or Fred Astaire dance the night away. That’s what he wanted, to romance them all. He had never wanted to settle for just one woman.

  The morning he told his parents he was taking Heather, the head cheerleader, to the senior prom, his mother nearly dumped breakfast in his father’s lap.

  “I’ve saved enough money to rent a limo,” he’d said. “I’ve got all kinds of romantic plans.”

  He smiled when he remembered overhearing his dad’s comment. “Limo? Carla, that boy can’t be my son.”

  * * * *

  Adam had carefully planned every detail. He had stopped by the florist to pick up the single rose and he had written his poem to leave in Heather’s locker. Earlier that week, her locker mate had given him the combination so he could open the door. The top shelf was Heather’s so that’s where he arranged everything. Finished, he walked down the hall to wait and watch her reaction.

  Part of the fun was the planning and then the anticipation of the event. He hoped she would say yes. Not the millionaire he planned to be, yet, he had to pick and choose his date activities. He usually took a girl on a date once, and then moved on to the next. No emotional entanglements arose in just one date, so it was a lot easier to stay friends that way. And so far, he had had no complaints about his treatment.

  Oh, there she was. He sucked in his breath and tapped his toe with impatience. Her movements seemed to be in slow motion. By the time she had the door open, sweat beaded on his forehead. Anticipation caused a fluttering of butterflies in his stomach.

  Heather reached in, and her hand reappeared with the rose. She brought the petals to her nose, closing her eyes as she must have breathed in the fragrance. After a moment, she reopened her blue eyes. Though he couldn’t see them, he knew they were the color of cornflowers.

  She reached in with her other hand, brought the paper out, and read it. A slow smile spread across her lips. She looked up and down the hall until she spotted him. When their eyes met, he pushed away from the wall where he leaned and did his best to saunter nonchalantly toward her. He sighed. It had been worth all the planning.

  “Hello, Beautiful, will I have the pleasure of your company for the prom?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Heather’s voice was a breathless whisper.

  Adam smiled his pleasure. Because of his reputation, the entire female population of the school would envy her. Why, was a puzzle to him. What was the big deal?

  * * * *

  He sighed and brought his attention back to the present. He swiveled back toward his desk. He was afraid his mother had been right. She had told him that he’d grow bored with the variety of women and would long for one woman to share his life.

  Every night he went home alone and longed for someone to talk to. He had servants. But by the time he came home, the house was empty. Mrs. Jenkins left him food in the warmer when he was going to eat in, but mostly he ate out so he didn’t have to eat alone or to bother her.

  His women, as society liked to call them, were intelligent businesswomen, most of the time. They tended to be self-absorbed and he spent the evening listening to “it’s all about me.” In the beginning, he had set out to do that. Knowing all women—actually human beings in general—loved to have a chance to be the center of attention, he gave them his undivided attention, catered to their every whim. And filling that need had been wonderful, for a while. Watching the soft blush or the radiant expression cross their beautiful faces when they received his attention had never gotten old. Never having any of the women be interested in him enough to ask questions had gotten old.

  He wanted to have someone greet him in the evenings. Adam wanted someone to curl up with by the fire and play Scrabble. He wanted to wake up every morning snuggled up to a feminine body, not a woman whose name he had to try to remember. One he knew every inch of and wanted to explore even more. On top of that, Adam didn’t want to try to recall where he was whenever he woke up with a soft form. Why the hell was he thinking thoughts like this? He must be nuts to want to give up what he had.

  The truth was, he wasn’t even looking forward to his trip to Napa. He was taking Cynthia Westwood, a former Miss America, who owned her own company and was breathtakingly beautiful. Yet he just couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for the trip. For God’s sake, the only thing he looked forward to was trying some new wine.

  Okay, Russo, what is it that you want? He thought hard. What could one woman offer to make him want to settle down? There wasn’t one he could think of that he’d want to spend more than one evening with, let alone a lifetime. He pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper. He’d make a list and see if he knew anyone who fit the bill.

  Adam bit on the end of his pen, paused, smiled, and started to write. First, she’d have to be beautiful, that’s a no-brainer. He’d have to look at her every day, and what self-respecting bachelor would want to give up his life for a dumpy woman? A niggling thought crossed his mind that he could look at Katie with her god-awful glasses every day. He shook his head at the thought.

  Second, she’d have to be smart. Katie could run rings around him in the business world. Now where had that thought come from?

  Third, she’d have to have a good sense of humor. Katie, with her quick wit, made him laugh all the time.

  Fourth, she’d be a good conversationalist, on all topics other than herself. Did Katie ever talk about herself? He didn’t even know where she came from, but he knew everything else. When he didn’t have a meeting or other commitments, they’d had lengthy debates on all sorts of things.

  And last but not least, they’d need to have a lot of the same interests. Katie loved old movies, but he couldn’t list all the things they had in common since there were so many.

  He studied the list, racked his brain for one woman that fit all of his priorities, and he couldn’t think of one. “Katie,” that pesky little voice whispered. He shook his head again over the thought. No way. They worked together and he wasn’t about to risk the best working relationship he’d ever had.

  Time to shove the list in his desk and get to work. He had a meeting tomorrow with a company he was thinking of acquiring. He didn’t have time to daydream. He pulled out his file on the investment company and realized he still didn’t have the reports he needed. Standing, he walked around his desk and went to the door, intending to ask if Katie had them.

  He swung the door wide. Katie was on the other side about to knock. Caught off guard, she gave a little squeal as she lost her balance and fell. His arms automatically wrapped around her to steady her.

  “Whoa, sorry about that.” Adam only let go when he felt her straighten and regain her footing.

  The papers trapped between their bodies, she stepped back, awkwardly clutching them so they didn’t fall. The impact had knocked her glasses to the floor.

  Adam’s breath lodged in his throat. Her unexpected beauty was like a punch to his solar plexus. Before his mind could form a coherent thought, she bent down, grabbed the atrocious frames and plopped them on her nose. Katie was back.

  “Mr. Russo, you startled me. I’ve finished the reports and wanted to bring them to you.”

  “Katie, have you ever thought about wearing contacts? You have great cheekbones.” Adam blurted the first thing that came to mind. He still hadn’t recovered from the sight of her. Her eyes had been the deepest blue and she had the cutest little button nose. Again, he wondered if she purposely tried to make herself ugly.

  * * * *

  “Yes, but they bother my eyes. I’ll just get out of your way now so you can look at these.”

  She shoved the reports at him, reached for the knob, and pulled the door behind her, practically running from the office.

  Plopping herself down onto her chair, Katie rested her elbows on her desk and put her head in her hands. Jeez, he must think she was a fool, the way she had acted.

  Hadn’t she just been thinking about going back to contacts? Why didn’t she t
ell him, oh so nonchalantly, not to be surprised when she showed up wearing them? Wasn’t it natural for her to discuss her stupid glasses with her boss? At least the tattoo of her heart had slowed to normal.

  She sighed and looked up when she heard a sound. God, she’d been so engrossed with Adam she hadn’t even noticed the cleaning lady watering plants.

  “Oh, Mrs. Oakman, I didn’t see you. How are you today?”

  “I’m fine, dear. Are you okay? You came out of Mr. Russo’s office as if a demon were chasing you.” Mrs. Oakman pulled her water jug away from the greenery as she straightened up.

  “Yes, well.” Another sigh from Katie, then she continued. “Sometimes Mr. Russo flusters me, what can I say? He has such dark Italian good looks, just like you see in the movies.”

  “Yes, he does. I get flustered around him, even at my age. Does Mr. Russo have any exciting plans for the weekend?”

  “He’s going to Napa Valley, California, for some private wine tours. I’ve had such fun looking at all the wineries. Maybe someday I’ll take a vacation out there.” Katie smiled at the older woman. She loved telling Mrs. Oakman about his dates. The woman really seemed to get a kick out of Adam’s life.

  “So who is he taking this time?”

  “Cynthia Westwood. She owns her own design company and she’s a former Miss America. I think she even has a master’s in design.” Katie recited Cynthia’s qualifications.

  “Well she’s got all of Mr. Russo’s requirements. Brains, beauty, and money.”

  Katie thought to herself for the hundredth time that she had them all, also. If she’d just quit being so stubborn. As her mother liked to tell her, Just be yourself, honey.

  “Yes, she does.” Katie forced herself out of her own thoughts and back to the conversation.

  * * * *

  Adam stood looking at the door Katie had just closed in his face, trying to get the surprise out of his mind. She had the most incredible eyes. It should be against the law to hide them. After a moment, he decided he must have imagined it. He ignored the little voice in the back of his mind that told him Katie met all of his specifications. It would be too ironic that the woman meant to settle him down had been under his nose for years. No, he wouldn’t even consider it.