Dangerous Love

by E. B. Walters

  He got up slowly, his eyes cold and assessing. “So you’d rather be struggling at the bottom with other designers than rise to the top.”

  She chuckled though amusement was the last thing on her mind. “I don’t consider myself at the bottom, but I’ll get to the top on my own.”

  “Give me a chance to take you there faster.” He started toward her. “With your creativity and my connections, we can conquer the fashion industry.”

  Did she have to put it in writing for him to get it? They were through. Done. Again, she smiled, striving to stay calm and cordial. “We can never work together again, Sean. Please, accept it and move on.”

  A spasm of anger twisted features. “If you can stop being so bitter and vindictive, you’d see that we could be much more.”

  Bitter and vindictive? He was clearly delusional, but she had no interest in correcting him. She stood her ground as Sean approached, her heart pounding with a mixture of dread and exasperation.

  “I think I’ve made my position very clear. I have no interest in you or whatever you’re offering me. I’d rather manage my career on my own.”

  “Come on, sweetheart. You’re still just angry with me. I can see that. The incident over the designs was just a misunderstanding. If you come back, whatever you design will have your name.”

  “But your logo,” she finished for him.

  “Ah, you understand now how these things work.” Before she guessed his intention, he grabbed her arms and pulled her toward him as though to seal the deal with a hug or a kiss.

  Faith leaned back. “Stop it, Sean. Before you do something you’ll regret.” She pushed against his chest, but he was bigger and stronger.

  “I have more to offer. Me.” He yanked her to his chest, his hot breath dousing her face. “I’ve missed us, and I’m sure you have, too.”

  “No…I haven’t. Let go.” Cursing him, she raised her knee and thrust it upward toward the joint between his legs.

  He let go of her, grasped his private parts and hunched low. “You, bitch!”

  “I warned you,” she said, her breathing hard. “Leave.”

  The words barely left her mouth when her office door flew open and Ken strode into room. He didn’t break his stride as he took in the scene and closed the gap between them.

  CHAPTER 4

  Rage surged through Ken. The self-defense blow Faith used had effectively stopped Sean, yet her expression wasn’t triumphant. Her eyes looked haunted, and her chest heaved. Taking her in his arms would make him feel better, but first he had to deal with pin-head.

  He grabbed O’Neal by the waist of his designer pants and his collar, and hauled him out of the office like a sack of rotten potatoes. Sean made gaggling sounds and struggled, his head hit a few mannequins, causing him to yelp like a Chihuahua, but Ken didn’t stop. Faith’s employees and customers watched them with wide eyes, and Hailey, who’d come with him, said something that he didn’t catch. By the time they reached the entrance, O’Neal had recovered and was trying to escape.

  Ken yanked the door open, spun Sean around, and punched him in the face. The force propelled him backward, making him lose his balance. He landed on the sidewalk.

  “Don’t ever touch her again,” Ken snarled.

  Sean struggled to his feet. One hand went to his nose and came away bloody. “You broke my nose, you bastard!”

  Ken raised a fisted hand and took a threatening step toward Sean.

  The designer scampered away, his hand covering his nose. “I’m going to sue you for this,” Sean hissed.

  “Be my guest.” Ken whipped around and cut a line across the store. Hailey waved to him. “Not now.”

  She blocked his path.

  “Damn it, Hailey!”

  “He dropped his phone,” she whispered.

  The phone represented an opportunity he couldn’t pass. “Take it back to the office and ask Sly to plant spyware in it. We’ll drop it off after we’re done here.”

  Hailey took off. Ken entered Faith’s office to find her pacing, her eyes flashing, the vulnerability he’d glimpsed in them earlier gone.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “What did he want?”

  “To show off and try to manipulate me,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Her pacing became erratic, like she wanted to vent but was holding everything in. If there was a time for her to let go, it was now. That bastard had tried to force himself on her. Ken stepped forward and gripped her arm, stopping her in mid-stride. She pulled back, but it was already too late. He felt the tremors shooting through her. He swore under his breath. He should have rearranged O’Neal’s face.

  Ken wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her close. Her body stayed rigid and unyielding. He rubbed her upper back and said whatever popped into his head.

  “I spent hours this morning trying to figure out the best way to bug pin-head’s offices, car and private line, but I didn’t expect to get anywhere near his cell phone without resorting to pick-pocketing. And what do you know? He accommodates us and leaves it behind. Although from the twinkle in Hailey’s eyes, she probably nabbed it. She’s good at that sort of thing. You should see what she can do with a nail file and a pin, or a stethoscope and….”

  Ken knew the moment Faith relaxed. A shaky breath rushed out of her lungs and she sagged against him, her chin dropping to his shoulder. He grinned. His mojo never failed him. His grin turned into a grimace when Faith’s soft exhales fanned his neck, reminding him of the taste of her. Holding her was bittersweet, so he kept jabbering.

  Faith leaned back and frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing important.” But it distracted her. He inhaled and wished he hadn’t. She smelled good, and she was so close. The slightest turn of his head and he could capture her lips in a kiss. His gaze lingered on her mouth. Time slowed to a halt.

  Scowling, she hastily stepped out of his arms and walked around the desk to her chair. When she refused to meet his gaze, he wondered whether she was regretting her little show of weakness or had read the desire in his eyes. Either case, it didn’t matter. She’d needed comfort and he would have been remiss not to provide it.

  Ken took the chair across from hers. “Talk to me.”

  She shook her head. “I’d rather just forget about it.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. What did he say?”

  She sighed, gave him a resigned look. “He told me that he forgave me and wanted us to pick up where we left. In his small twisted mind, he actually thinks we can have a relationship. Then he tried to use Fashion Week as an incentive to take him back.”

  “How?”

  She shrugged. “He implied he could fix things so I’d get more exposure. I turned him down.”

  “Good. You don’t need him. Your work speaks for itself.” Their gazes connected and the gratitude in her eyes felt like she’d reached inside his chest and squeezed his heart. He would accept gratitude for now. He cleared his throat. “If he ever comes here again—”

  “I’ll be polite and professional,” she finished in a firm voice. “But I’ve learned never to be alone with him again. Thank you for being here, Ken.”

  “I just took out the trash. You already bagged and tagged it.”

  Faith smiled, her gaze holding his for another indefinite moment. “You have a way with words, you know that? It’s surprising.”

  He grinned. “You want to know something?”

  Her smile deepened. “What?”

  “You’re full of surprises too.”

  Her cheeks grew pink. “So how do you want us to do this bug sweep thing?”

  The change in topic was smooth, and he let her get away with it. “Go with what we discussed last night. Explain to your people why I’m here without mentioning O’Neal. Sly’s system is up and running, so he can monitor any call they make after that.”

  “You said you have Sean’s cell phone?” she asked.

  �
�Yeah. Hailey, my young associate, took it back to the office to bug it, which will make it easy to log all of Sean’s calls and listen in on his conversations, record text messages and even track his whereabouts.” He stood. When she didn’t move, his eyes narrowed. “If you want me to talk to your people….”

  “No, that won’t be necessary. I just hate the idea that one of them could be working with him.”

  The past flashed in his head. “It would amaze you the lengths people go to get ahead. Just remember, don’t mention O’Neal’s name yet. We want to give whoever is working with him enough information to want to contact him, not spook her into silence.” He held out his hand. Faith got up and walked to his side.

  “Do you think Sean’s stunt has something to do with Barbs coming to see me?”

  “Barbs?”

  “Mrs. Higgins, the woman who saw the stolen design.”

  “Possibly, which means someone here told him she was here.” He had reached that conclusion as soon as he recognized O’Neal’s car from this morning’s stakeout. Sean’s mistake was thinking Faith would be vulnerable enough to accept his offer.

  They entered the store together to find one customer by the jewelry display, talking to her salesgirl. Faith spoke to one of the salesgirls, who disappeared through a door. She came back with three older women, two Vietnamese and a Hispanic. Faith introduced them. The young woman Ken had thought was a customer turned out to be Deidre, the jeweler.

  “Yesterday, I told you Barbs…Mrs. Higgins came to see me about her gown because she wasn’t happy with the colors and the fabric,” Faith told the five women. “That wasn’t the truth. Barbs had just learned that someone else had created the exact same gown for a friend of hers.”

  The women started talking at once.

  “Who?”

  “How did they get the design?”

  “What does this mean?”

  Faith raised her hand and silenced them. “Please, let me finish. I consulted Mr. Lambert,” she nodded toward Ken, “who’s promised to look into this. We believe the other designer stole my work though we don’t know how he did it. However, Mr. Lambert is here to check the store and rooms for bugs.”

  “Bugs?” one of the Vietnamese women asked.

  Faith indicted to Ken to take over. He explained how video and audio devices were used to spy on people. His gaze moved from face to face, studying body language. So far, he hadn’t seen any signs of unease or guilt. The women’s shocked expressions appeared genuine.

  “I want you to keep this to yourselves,” Faith continued, “because I don’t know how many designs were copied or how much work we’ll need to do to replace them.”

  “Does this mean we’re not going to Fashion Week?” Molly asked.

  “We are,” Faith quickly reassured her.

  “Do we have to make a new gown for Mrs. Higgins?” one of the seamstresses asked.

  “Yes. Give me a second and I’ll answer all your questions.” She glanced at Ken. “Where do you want to start?”

  “The fitting and sewing rooms first, then your office.”

  Faith opened the middle door and showed him around. Ken went to where Hailey had left the bag of gadgets and picked it up. Instead of leaving, he watched Faith allay the fears of her people. She was good, confident, and positive, yet he heard the underlying tension in her voice. He hoped he’d allay some of them after he swept her store.

  ***

  Faith was totaling the sales for a customer when a young girl in pigtails, a nose ring and tattoos entered the store. Dressed in all black, iPod headphones dangling from her multi-pierced ears, she was your typical Goth teenager. Most went straight to the jewelry display case to study the collection of rings and chokers. This one came to the counter and stared at Faith with an unnerving intensity.

  Faith finished with the customer she’d been helping then smiled at the Goth. “Yes, may I help you?”

  “I’m here with Ken,” she said.

  Realization dawned. “You’re Hailey?”

  She nodded, expression neutral.

  “This way.” Faith took her to the fitting room, but it was empty. Frowning, she crossed the room, pushed the slightly ajar connecting door, and entered the next room. As usual, the women had left gowns in various stages of creation on the long tables and the dress-forms. Ken crouched by the cupboards and shelves where fabric and other sewing accessories were stashed, a black instrument with an antenna, meter reader, and LED light in his hand.

  He smiled when he saw her, then his eyes narrowed on Hailey. “Is everything set?”

  “The bug is active.” Hailey placed a black cell phone by the leather case on top of the glass table, dug inside the bag, and came up with an instrument similar to the one Ken held. She fiddled with knobs. “Where do you want me to start, boss?” she asked.

  “Finish in here. I’ll move on to the office.”

  Faith was dying to ask if Ken had found anything in the fitting room, but she didn’t want to intrude. She turned to leave.

  “Just a second, Faith.”

  She paused by the doorway, kept an eye on the store and Ken. He grabbed his bag, said something to his partner, and joined her.

  “I noticed you have digital surveillance cameras. Are they in all the rooms?”

  “No, just on the store floor and in the sewing room. Why?”

  “It’s easier to tap into an existing security video feed when you bug a place. Can I see the system?”

  She led him to her office, walked to the cabinet housing the security equipment and unlocked it. The LCD monitor similar to the one mounted near the entrance of the store displayed four split screens covering every inch of her store, which was presently free of customers. The display shifted to the sewing room, where Hailey swept her bug-detecting instrument over surfaces. Ken pushed several buttons on the video recorder to change the angles of the cameras.

  He looked around the room. “Where’s your safe?”

  She pointed at the painting on the wall behind her desk. “Do you want me to open it?”

  “No. Later I’d like to see how easily it can be burglarized. Right now, I want to make sure the recorder wasn’t tempered with.” He removed an electric screw driver and started unscrewing the back of the digital video recorder.

  Faith stepped away from him, her gaze going to where her safe was hidden. She locked up all her work before she left in the evenings. The possibility that someone opened it and touched her things was downright scary. If all of her designs were compromised, she’d have to hire more seamstresses to create a whole new collection for Fashion Week. It would mean dipping into her personal savings and selling stocks instead of getting another loan, otherwise her sponsors might get wind of her predicament, dub her unreliable and bail on her.

  She went back to the store and spent the next thirty minutes glancing at her watch. After a while, Hailey left the sewing room and joined Ken. Minutes crawled past. When the others returned, she didn’t waste a moment before hurrying to her office, where Ken and his partner were putting their gizmos away.

  “Wait for me outside, Hailey,” he said and perched sat on the edge of Faith’s desk when they were done.

  Faith didn’t speak until the girl was gone. “So what’s the verdict?”

  “The rooms are clean.”

  Relief washed over her and she laughed. “That’s great. I couldn’t get anything done this morning because I kept imagining someone listening and watching my every move. Now I can get back to work.” She hurried around her desk and sat down.

  Ken straightened and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his pants. “It took Hailey ten minutes to break into your safe, so that’s good news.”

  Faith’s eyes widened. “She…what?”

  “To make sure it’s adequate,” he reassured her. “I thought you might want to know that it’s a good model.”

  “Uh-huh.” She was on her feet, rushing to the safe. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Ken. Her safe was supposed to be
burglar proof, damn it. She pushed aside the painting, punched in the code, and opened the safe. Then she closed it without peering inside. Her code still worked. “So your assistant is a glorified burglar and pick-pocketing urchin.”

  He chuckled. “Hailey is many things and none is glorified. Your surveillance system, on the other hand, could do with an upgrade.”

  She dismissed his comment with an eye roll. “I got it installed last year.”

  Ken chuckled. “It’s a great system for last year. All you probably need is software upgrade, which you can download through the USB port. Also, I’d like to go through your video recordings so I can study your people.”

  She knew he was right and was impressed by his thoroughness, but he was starting to get on her nerves. The morning had been very stressful and all she wanted to do now was release that tension in the only way she knew—by working.

  Faith opened a desk drawer, removed a memory stick, and offered it to him. “I transfer everything from the camera’s hard-drive into this every week and review the footages. I downloaded it last night because of everything that’s been happening, watched it over and over without noticing anything out of norm. Maybe you’ll see something I missed. Anything else?”

  He tossed the memory stick in the air and caught it. “No, I’m done for now.”

  “Good. I have a lot of catching up to do.” She picked up her phone and started punching numbers.

  “You’re not eating lunch?”

  “I have a salad in the fridge.” She covered the phone and cocked her brow. “Would you like some?”

  Ken shuddered. “No, but I could buy you real food.”

  “Ha, very funny. Maybe some other time.”

  “Breakfast, lunch, Chinese dinner…lots of rain checks. See you later.”

  Faith watched him saunter out the door, disappointment settling on her shoulders. She couldn’t explain her reaction. Perhaps it had something to do with the way she felt edgy whenever Ken was around or the fact that he hadn’t found any spying devices. She needed this problem of her stolen designs to go away. Maybe then she could figure out her ambiguous feelings toward Ken. For now, work beckoned.