by M. Malone
“I take responsibility for torturing him with thoughts of you doing the horizontal mambo with another guy but I had nothing to do with the crazy stalker who blew up his truck.”
Kay grinned. “I’m sure he knows that. Logically.”
Mara excused herself and stopped off in the kitchen to get another soda. Just as she was about to take a sip, Eli stepped into the kitchen. She reached back into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He took it slowly, as if afraid it would detonate in his hands.
“This is for me?”
Mara ignored his look of shock. “Of course. You look thirsty.”
He popped the cap and took a long pull. “Thanks. This is exactly what I needed.”
“Long day?”
“No longer than any other.” He didn’t elaborate. Mara figured she’d have to draw him out. Eli wasn’t much of a conversationalist even when he was trying.
“It must be so hard, doing all that secretive investigative stuff and not being able to talk about it with anyone. Or maybe you talk about it with the other guys you work with, like Tank and Matt. Is that how you guys do it? Talk it over together or do you ever do stuff that you don’t share with the team?”
Eli clamped his lips together. He carried a usually stern expression most of the time so she wasn’t sure what to make of it. It almost looked like he was… laughing?
“No offense, Mara but you have no future in espionage. Now what is it that you want to investigate without your brother finding out?”
Busted, Mara dropped down on the kitchen stool next to him. “It’s Trent.”
Eli didn’t move or say anything in reaction but she could almost feel the air around them go still. “You want Trent investigated?”
“Yes,” she whispered, feeling like a complete traitor. Images flew through her mind. Trent had been a part of her life since college. Pretty much every major memory of her adult life, he was there. Matt considered him one of his best friends. What if she was wrong? She couldn’t take a chance at damaging their friendship without proof.
“I think something’s going on with him. He’s been on business trips every few weeks and he never used to travel this much. Also whenever I ask about what he did while he was gone, he’s so shifty. I know something isn’t right.”
Eli didn’t try to convince her that she was wrong or just imagining things. Mara wasn’t sure if she found that comforting or not.
“How far do you want me to go with this? There’s a chance that he’s not actually doing anything shady while on these trips. But if I start digging, I might find other stuff you didn’t know about. Should I just look into his travel over the last few weeks or should I dig into his entire life?”
Mara looked over her shoulder. The girls were all gathered around Ridley. Penny had a hand on her friend’s extended belly. Suddenly they all burst into laughter. Raina adjusted her daughter on her shoulder, holding her tight to her chest like the precious gift that she was.
That’s what I want, Mara thought. I want to raise my babies surrounded by friends and family. But only with a man I trust completely.
“Mara?”
She turned back to Eli who watched her with narrowed eyes. “Go all the way.”
He nodded once. “I’ll have a report for you in a few days.”
“So quickly?” It was stupid but the thought that she’d know one way or the other so soon was terrifying. Maybe it made her a coward but she’d like a little longer to wallow in the bliss of her ignorance.
Eli stood and patted her shoulder. “If he’s clean, it’ll be even quicker. The dirty ones always take a little longer.”
* * * * *
TRENT HAD IT on good authority that he was one lucky bastard. Of course, this wasn’t news to him but it was never more apparent than when coming home after a trip. He’d stayed an extra day to make sure Travis was doing better and then caught the first available flight home. The experience had only reminded him of why he shouldn’t have used his father’s private jet in the first place. After flying private again for the first time in years, it was extremely difficult to go back to flying commercial. He was exhausted and needed a drink. Something stronger than the cheap spirits he’d been served on board.
“How was your flight?”
Mara stood in the hallway leaning against the wall, her hand on a curvy hip in a seductive pose. “Did you make a lot of deals?”
His brain ground to an immediate halt, all thoughts of his father and the hassles of flying obliterated by the sight of his sexy-as-hell future wife wearing a sheer nightgown the color of peaches. In fact, it took him more than a few minutes for the appropriate area of his brain to translate the meaning of what she said at all. Then the words brought him back to reality with a crashing halt. Deals. The fake business trip she thought he’d been on.
Right.
“Everything went smoothly. I’ll probably get a promotion soon. Do you remember I told you about that?”
She tilted her head slightly and twirled a finger around one of the thick, shiny brown curls tumbling over her shoulder. “I think I vaguely remember something like that.” Her shoulder dipped and the strap of her gown slid down her arm until her entire shoulder was bare.
Trent gulped.
“I might have to be taking more trips to New York. Does that sound familiar?”
She sashayed forward, her gown slipping down even more until one of her plump breasts was in danger of popping out of the satin material. Her index finger wedged underneath his tie, tugging at the knot. After she loosened it enough to slip it over his head, her hands dropped to his belt buckle.
“I remember. At least then maybe you wouldn’t have to travel so much. Especially not during storm season. I was so worried you’d get stuck in Detroit.”
Her hands made quick work of his belt and she was stroking him in such a way that he could barely remember his own name. “Storms. What storms?”
Her hands stilled. “There have been crazy storms throughout most of Michigan for the past few days. There was even a period of time when the airport grounded all planes. Which you would know if you’d actually been there.”
Most of his blood still wasn’t in his brain but Trent had enough of his wits left to recognize the signs. And these signs were neon orange with DANGER AHEAD printed all over them.
“Mara, wait. Let me explain.”
All he got before she turned on her heels and stomped down the hallway was a brief glimpse of the stricken look on her face. The bedroom door slammed.
“Fuck!” He kicked his duffel bag. He connected with something hard inside and the pain lanced up his leg, so sharp he lost his breath.
Chapter Four
TRENT THREW HIS duffel bag down on the fluffy comforter of the hotel bed. He’d spent the past hour trying to convince Mara to talk to him and had finally given up when he heard the water start in her bathroom. She loved a good long soak in the tub. It could be hours before she came out. So he’d grabbed his things and left.
He’d contemplated going to Jackson or Nick’s house but they’d want to talk and he wasn’t in the mood. He’d eventually ended up at a hotel. His thoughts raced back over the events of the night trying to figure out where everything had gone so wrong.
He’d give Mara the night to cool off and then he’d come back and explain everything. Once she understood, not only about his background but also about his need to succeed on his own, she would understand. It would be an incredible weight off his shoulders for her to know the truth. Then he could finally start taking care of her the way he’d wanted to for years.
He hadn’t even had the chance to unpack, he thought bitterly.
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his brother’s number. James answered on the first ring.
“Miss me yet, brother?”
The smug attitude in his voice just grated on Trent’s already shredded nerves. “I’m waiting for you to come to your senses and get back here. You have a family to think about.”
“Dad can kiss my ass,” James drawled.
“Not him. Your family. Avery and your son. Travis needs you. He deserves to have a father around.”
“From what I hear, you’re taking care of that for me, too.”
“I can’t be there all the time. I have my own life. Or did that not occur to you? That my own fiancée might not appreciate me leaving her behind so much to clean up your messes.”
It was ridiculous that he’d actually thought that appealing to his brother’s sense of morality would work. He’d hoped that if James knew that helping him out was ruining Trent's life, then he'd come back. Unfortunately it seemed his older brother was tired of even attempting to play nice.
“Let's face it bro, this is your role, not mine. I was never cut out to be the heir. If fate had any sense of justice at all, you'd have been born first.” There was a bunch of noise in the background and James yelled something that Trent couldn’t make out.
“Where are you?”
“South Beach. If you get tired of dancing to our father’s tune, you should join me. Until then, I’ll be having fun for once.”
“Don’t hang up on me. James!” Trent cursed as the line went dead. He put his phone in his pocket to stop the urge to throw it across the room. Or to call Mara, which was what he really wanted to do. It sucked to be here in this damn hotel room when she was only a few miles away, her naked tempting body covered in suds. The only thing keeping them apart was one little conversation. Once she understood why he’d kept his family a secret, she’d understand. She’d forgive him. Then things could go back to the way they’d always been. Perfect.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. When he drew it out and saw the name on the display, his fingers tightened around the case. His father’s voice was the last thing Trent felt like hearing right now.
“This really isn’t a good time,” he said in lieu of a greeting. His cold reception didn’t seem to register with his father at all.
“It’s time for you to come home."
“We’ve had this discussion. I’m helping out while James is gone but that’s it. I’m going to talk to James again. Try to get him to see reason.”
“Your brother is an idiot. We don’t have time for this now. The board is circling and there are rumors that they’re trying to oust me.”
It shouldn’t have hurt. But the sudden realization of why his father was so determined to get him home cut him to the core. His father wasn’t trying to get him to come back out of sentimentality or a desire to bring their family together. He was trying to keep a figurehead in place that he could control. He was trying to keep a Townsend at the head of Townsend Industries. He was afraid.
“I’ll keep acting as interim CEO until either James comes back or your doctors say you’re okay to work again. But that’s it.”
“It’s time for you to stop messing around. Just bring the girl with you if that’s what the problem is.”
His father’s casual mention of Mara made his skin crawl. He didn’t want Mara anywhere near the moral cesspool of Townsend Industries.
"You've been spying on me again, I see."
There was no response.
“I can't come home yet. I need more time.” He hung up and lay back on the comforter.
But Trent had a feeling his time had run out.
* * * * *
MARA SLAMMED THE drawer of her desk. After a sleepless night, she'd awoken to find that Trent had sent her a text message that he would be back today so they could talk. No phone call, no voicemail. Nothing personal at all. Just a text as if she was an afterthought.
He couldn't even put in the effort to fight with her properly?
“Calls keep diverting to my phone!” Ethan’s voice roared from behind his closed office door.
Mara bit the inside of her cheek to repress a growl. Everyone had given her a wide berth today for which she was grateful. Everyone except the one person she needed to leave her alone the most. She wasn't in the mood to placate her boss today of all days.
Ethan had definitely picked up on her mood though because he wasn't making as many ridiculous demands as usual. He was still talking to her however, which meant that her scowl wasn't as effective as she'd hoped it would be.
The door in front of her desk opened. Ethan poked his head out. “Did you hear what I said?”
“I’m pretty sure the whole building heard you,” she replied as politely as possible.
Guilt kept her from snapping back. She'd been so disorganized today that several calls she normally would have answered slipped through. “I was away from my desk this morning checking on something. I meant to divert them to Ada's phone," she said, referring to his partner's administrative assistant who usually covered for her when she couldn't be at her desk.
“Your job is to answer the phones so I don’t have to talk to anyone!” His voice echoed up and down the hallway.
“I’m doing the best I can here." She could hear the defeat in her own voice and normally it would have mortified her.
The only reason she'd lasted as long as she had swimming with a shark like Ethan Westbrooke was by showing no fear. If he thought for even a moment that she couldn't handle the pressure, he'd probably fire her with no remorse. And getting fired and not having a way to pay her mortgage would just be the perfect capstone to her craptacular month. To her horror, tears sprang to her eyes. She quickly got busy looking at something on her desk, hoping that Ethan hadn't seen.
He didn't say anything at first but she could feel him still standing there. Finally he simply said, “Noted.” Then he walked back into his office.
Mara sniffled and decided to do some filing. That was at least one thing that she could do without screwing up.
Ethan opened the door of his office and strode out. “I asked for the contract changes days ago! Where are they?”
“They haven’t come back yet.”
He crossed his arms. “Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
Ethan reared back as if she’d slapped him. “You don’t know?”
Finally she couldn’t take it anymore. “No, I don’t know. Perhaps if you’d actually allow your underlings to question you without biting their heads off they could do their jobs properly. Instead they’re all terrified of you so they take ages to do every single thing for fear that they’ll be fired.”
“That’s it.” Ethan rounded the desk and pulled her up by the arm. He held her elbow only in a light grip so he wasn’t hurting her at all but she was so stunned that she didn’t even protest. She just allowed him to herd into the inner sanctum of his office. It wasn’t until the heavy door clicked shut with an ominous sound behind her that she spoke up.
“What the hell is going on?”
“That’s what I was going to ask you. You’ve always challenged me but you’ve never been rude. What’s happened?”
“I apologize. You’re right. Don’t I get to have a bad day?”
“No, you don’t get to have a bad day. I need you too much for that.”
“You don’t need anybody.”
Ethan sent her a dark look. He paced across the room, then stopped and stood with his hands clenched at his side. “Unfortunately I do. I’m a miserable, misanthropic bastard and apparently you are the only one who makes me feel human.” He didn’t sound even remotely happy about it. But the way he was looking at her was warm and completely at odds with the harsh statement. If Mara was hard pressed to put a definition to it, she would have to say affectionate. Ethan Westbrooke was looking at her with …. affection.
What in the world was she supposed to do with that?
“I’m truly sorry about today. I’ll do better. Things are just… I’m having some personal issues right now. But I promise there won’t be a repeat of what happened today.”
“Personal issues.” Ethan stood staring at a spot on the floor. He finally raised his eyes to hers. “Boyfriend trouble?”
“With all due respect sir, that’s none of your busin
ess.”
“You’re right it isn’t.” He stalked behind his desk and stood at the window gazing out over the city skyline. Norfolk wasn’t a major city like New York or L.A. but it was a bustling port of commerce. Mara had always liked the view from Ethan’s office. When she’d first been transferred to this floor, she’d used every opportunity she could to take a peek out of that window.
“It sounds like he doesn’t know what to do with a beautiful woman.”
“You think you’d do so much better, huh?
His smile was pained. “No, I don’t. I would hurt you far worse. But that doesn’t make it okay.” He pulled a card from his inner pocket and then scribbled something on the back. He held it out to her. Obviously he wasn’t going to walk over and give it to her but expected her to come take it. Mara sighed. Finally she rose and walked over to his desk.
“What is this?”
He pressed the card into her hand. “I want you to take this. If you ever need me, call.”
“I already know your number. I answer your phone line, remember?”
“My cell number is on the back.”
That got her attention. Although Ethan was a bone fide workaholic, he was notoriously private. When she’d worked for his partner, Daniel Lawson, she’d called him on his cell phone when he was out of the office with work related matters all the time. She’d come to Ethan expecting him to be the same way. It had been a shock to find out that he guarded his time away from the office ruthlessly and never gave out personal information.
And now she had his cell phone number.
“Thank you for trying to help. It’s really very kind of you.”
“I’m not doing this out of the goodness of my heart.” Ethan smirked but there was a certain sadness behind the expression. “There is no goodness in my heart. I’m doing this because for whatever reason, you make me feel things. I am simply using you for my own ends.”
Despite the harsh words, Mara smiled back at him. “Thanks for the warning. At least you’re honest.”