Baiting Trouble (Sinful Business Book 2)

by Marie Astor

  “Yeah, right.” Ally eyed her friend, wondering if she should bring up the question that was burning on her tongue. It was really none of her business, but now that she was happy she wanted everyone to be happy. “So what about Brad?”

  “Who?”

  “You know who—Brad Weiss.”

  “What about him? Last I heard he now has a job with Helion. I hope he likes Houston.”

  “He’s not in Houston. He’s in their New York headquarters. And if I know you at all, I’m pretty sure you already knew that.” She looked Delilah straight in the eyes. “And don’t you deny it.”

  “All right, I knew that—so what?”

  “What are you going to do about?”

  “What can I do about it? He was just a source we used for the investigation, nothing more.”

  “Come on, Delilah, don’t lie to me. I know you were crazy about that guy and you still are.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Oh, let’s see, the moping look on your face, you being miserable most of the time, spending your weekends all alone. I’d say these are pretty strong indicators.”

  Delilah’s chest heaved. “Fine, you’re right. I liked him a lot. Even though I didn’t want to, I felt that what happened between us was real. But it wasn’t—it was just my imagination. And anyway, you were the one always telling me to stay away from him.”

  “I was, but I was only saying it to protect you because I didn’t want you to fall in love with him. But you did and I think he felt the same way about you.”

  “Maybe he did, but I doubt he still feels the same way now that he knows that I’ve been lying to him the entire time. I never even told him my real name.”

  “The least you could do is see him and find out. What have you got to lose?”

  “My dignity. Whatever little is left of it.”

  “I’d say that’s a small price to pay for happiness. Plus, I don’t see how you’d be losing your dignity by simply going to check up on him. You could make it look like it’s agency business, like you’re just coming to see how he’s settling in.”

  “Oh no, I’m not going to risk losing my job in addition to losing my last shred of self-respect.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. It was just an idea. Just go and see him for crying out loud. So you’ll do it?”

  “All right.”

  “Promise me you’ll go and see him.”

  Delilah nodded. “I promise. Like you said, what have I got to lose?”

  ***

  On Tuesday morning Delilah walked into the lobby of Helion Inc. She was dressed in a black business suit, a white blouse, and black pumps. At least she fit in with the rest of the employees in the lobby, even though unlike them, she really had no business of being there. Her palms began to sweat in anticipation of what she was about to do, and she never got sweaty palms. Brad Weiss was a senior executive at Helion, and she was about to ask the security desk to let her go up into his office without a prior appointment. It was a downright ridiculous plan, but she’d promised Ally she’d do it, so here she was.

  Delilah approached the security desk.

  “Yes?” the security guard asked, without looking at her.

  “I’m here to see Brad Weiss.”

  “Your name?”

  “Katherine McGee,” she gave the only name by which Brad knew her.

  The security guard examined the ledger on his desk. “I don’t seem to have your name on here, Ms. McGee. Do you have an appointment?”

  “Oh no, I don’t. But I’m an old friend and I was in the neighborhood and I was hoping he could see me.”

  The guard frowned, eyeing her dubiously. “Let me call Mr. Weiss’s assistant.”

  Delilah stood back politely as the guard spoke on the phone. Her heart was beating like crazy. She hoped that Brad would refuse to see her and this idiotic, humiliating stunt Ally had put her up to would be over.

  “Ms. McGee?” The guard called her over. “Mr. Weiss is waiting for you in his office. Here’s your temporary pass. His office is on the thirtieth floor.”

  Shell-shocked, Delilah made her way to the elevator. She had no idea why Brad would agree to see her. She exited the elevator and made her way to the receptionist.

  “Ms. McGee?” the receptionist asked, already aware of her name.

  “Yes.” Delilah nodded.

  “Mr. Weiss is waiting for you. His office is the corner office down the hall to the right.”

  “Thank you.”

  Delilah’s legs felt so weak that they might as well have been made of cotton. She willed herself to walk down the corridor. I can turn around and leave right now, she thought, I don’t have to do this. She halted, about to turn around, but it was too late. Brad Weiss was standing at the end of the hallway, waiting for her.

  She’d forgotten how handsome he was. One look at his blue eyes and his broad, square shoulders left her speechless.

  “Katherine, how good of you to come see me. Please, come into my office,” he said, as though they were meeting for a business chit chat. He held the door open for her and she walked inside.

  Delilah sank into one the armchairs across from Brad’s huge mahogany desk. She could see a glimmer of the Hudson River through the window. Brad’s position at Helion might not be as senior as at Orion, but his office was certainly much more opulent.

  Brad closed the door behind them and sat down behind his desk. He looked at her questioningly. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

  “I just wanted to see how you are,” Delilah stammered. “I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

  “As you can see I’m doing quite well, thank you. And you? Forgive me for not addressing you by your name, as I don’t know what it is.”

  “It’s Delilah—my name is name Delilah Jones.”

  Brad’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. It’s too bad the rest of it doesn’t match.”

  “That’s harsh,” Delilah muttered. She felt like bolting out the door this very instant. She didn’t have to sit there and take his abuse.

  “It’s the truth.”

  “You don’t know anything about me to judge me. You don’t know how hard it’s been for me. I never even had a chance to explain it to you. You just shut me out.”

  “Funny, I remember things differently. I remember thinking that we had something real, something special only to wake to the realization that I was nothing more than a source to you.”

  “You thought that?”

  “That I was a source to you? Yes, I think it’s pretty obvious.”

  “No, I meant the part about us having something real . . .”

  “It’s irrelevant. I know the truth now.”

  “But you don’t know the truth!” Delilah exploded. The way she saw it, she had nothing to lose now. She was going to speak her mind and then let Brad throw her out of his office if he wanted to. “And you won’t even let me say it,” she continued. “And you know why? Because you’re afraid to hear it. You’re afraid to admit what happened between us was real. Yes, it happened in crazy circumstances but that doesn’t make it any less real. I wasn’t supposed to, but I liked you, Brad. I liked you a lot, and I still do. There, I said it. I thought that the weekend we spent together was the greatest time of my life. I’ve never felt so connected with anyone. And I felt that you felt it too. We have a chance to work things out, but if you’d rather sit here and hide behind your mask of cold pride, that’s your choice. I hope you have a wonderful career and a miserable, lonely life. Because that’s the only kind of life a coward like you deserves.”

  She rose from her chair and was about to reach for the door, but he was quicker. In an instant he was standing right before her.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he breathed, his broad chest inches away from her body.

  “Out. I’m getting out of here because you clearly don’t want me here.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that.”
<
br />   Before she could answer his lips were on hers, kissing her with such passion that she literally felt the breath go out of her. She tried to push back, not because she wanted to, but because she felt obligated to out of pride. He ignored her, his powerful arms holding her until she gave up all resistance.

  “Brad,” she muttered, barely able to speak after he pulled away from her. “Oh, Brad,” was all she was able to utter as she leaned against his chest. “I’m so sorry about everything.”

  He cupped her face with his hands, gently titling it up. “No more apologies, Delilah. The past is the past and I want to put it behind us. I’ve made mistakes and I’ve gotten myself into a terrible mess. I don’t know how I would’ve pulled out of it had it not been for you. And now I have a new life here in New York. A life that I would’ve never been able to have had it not been for you,” he paused. “And I’d like to start this new life with you. If, of course, that is what you want.” He looked at her expectantly, eager for her answer.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”

  He uttered a sigh of relief. “Good. You have no idea how glad I am to hear it. I’ve been going crazy without you.”

  “You were? Then why didn’t you call me?”

  “I didn’t know your name.”

  “I’m sure you could’ve gotten around that.”

  “No, I couldn’t. I was too proud, but you saved me. Saved me from my own pride.”

  “Yes, I did.” She slid up closer to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “I can’t believe this is actually happening. I’ve been dreaming about this moment ever since—”

  He pressed his finger against her lips. “No more talks about the past. Now is the only thing that matters. Now and the future.”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

  “What? Don’t you have work to do?”

  “It can wait. I’ll tell my assistant to cancel all of my meetings for today.”

  “But I only took the afternoon off. They’re expecting me back at the agency.”

  Brad arched an eyebrow. “I’m sure a woman as resourceful as yourself can come up with a sound excuse.”

  Delilah smiled. She hadn’t missed a day of work all year. One day of playing hooky wouldn’t be held against her. “All right. I just need to make a phone call. I’ll wait for you outside.”

  “I’ll meet you by the south side of the building in ten minutes,” Brad said.

  “I can’t wait.”

  After another long kiss, Delilah finally made her way out of his office. She made sure to keep her eyes fixed squarely on the floor as she passed by the receptionist’s desk.

  Once she was outside of the building, Delilah dialed Ally’s number.

  “Hey, Ally, it’s me. Can you let them know that I won’t make it to the office today? My doctor’s appointment ran late.”

  “So I see it went well?” Ally asked giddily. “I want all the details!”

  “And you’ll have them, but right now I gotta go.”

  “Have fun!”

  “Trust me, I will.”

  Delilah pushed the disconnect button and shoved the phone into her purse. She saw Brad turn the building corner, walking toward her in a long, easy stride—the kind of stride that could only belong to a man in love.

  ***

  After giving detailed instructions to his assistant, Brad grabbed his jacket and briefcase and walked out of his office. He didn’t feel even a bit remorseful about ditching work for a day. He’d been working like crazy ever since he’d assumed his new position with Helion and he could afford to take a day off. For the longest time work had been his life, but this was about to change.

  These past few months had been filled with hurt and anger, as Brad labored to rebuild his life from scratch. Peter Langman had apologized profusely and had offered him to stay on at Orion as the new CEO, but Brad didn’t want any of it. He wanted a fresh start, a clean slate. The agency had helped him get a position with Helion. It was a senior executive role, and while it wasn’t a COO or a CEO job, it was with a much larger company and he decided to go for it. It was time for a change. He threw himself into work and made new friends. But there was always something missing and deep down he knew exactly what, or to be more precise, who it was. Until today he refused to admit it, but now he could no longer deny it. Without Delilah Jones there would always be a void in his life.

  As he walked down the street he saw a gorgeous redhead waiting for him. He knew little about her—for crying out loud, he’d only just learned her real name. He was going to find out more, until he knew her utterly and completely. They had all the time in the world to learn about each other. For now, he knew all he needed to know and that was that she was as crazy about him as he was about her.

  About the Author

  Marie Astor is New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. Marie is a die-hard romantic, which is why she loves writing romantic suspense and contemporary romance. In her spare time, Marie enjoys being adventurous out-of-doors. She often gets new story ideas while she is hiking up a mountain or trying to avoid bumping into a tree while skiing.

  Marie loves hearing from readers and always answers all of her emails personally. Visit Marie at www.marieastor.com to learn more about Marie’s new book releases and events or join Marie’s newsletter here.

  Books by Marie:

  Sinful Business Series

  Thirsty for Payback

  Baiting Trouble

  Janet Maple Series

  To Catch a Bad Guy

  Catching the Bad Guy

  Bad Guys Get Caught

  Bad Guys Don’t Win

  Standalone Contemporary Romance Titles

  This Tangled Thing Called Love

  Lucky Charm

  Smitten at First Sight

  A Dress in a Window (a short story collection)

  More books by Marie:

  Over the Mountain and Back (a young adult fantasy adventure novel)

  Links:

  Website: www.marieastor.com

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection?ref=hl

  Twitter: @marieastor

  Please read on for an excerpt from Catching the Bad Guy, book two of the Janet Maple Series.

  Excerpt from Catching the Bad Guy

  (Book Two of the Janet Maple Series)

  By

  Marie Astor

  Janet Maple and Dennis Walker make a good team: she is a top-notch white collar crime investigator, and so is he. Both Janet and Dennis are thrown in for a loop when Janet’s treacherous snake of an ex-boyfriend, Alex Kingsley, is appointed as their new boss, and the case that was supposed to be the highlight of their careers is dismissed for lack of evidence.

  To make matters worse, Alex is asking Janet to get back together, and the one man she wishes would ask her out sees her as nothing more than a coworker. Janet’s love life soon becomes the least of her worries, as she begins to suspect that Alex’s rekindled interest in her is driven by ulterior motives. She is determined to get to the bottom of things, but she can't do it alone.

  Together, Janet and Dennis team up to solve a tangled white collar crime web that leads to powerful politicians and corporate executives. Armed with their keen instincts and skills, Janet and Dennis are bound to succeed. There is just one glitch: both are attracted to each other, and both refuse to admit it. Will Janet and Dennis solve the biggest case of their careers or will their attraction to each other get in the way?

  Chapter 1

  “There’s my favorite investigator.” Dennis Walker sauntered into Janet Maple’s office without bothering to knock. Dennis Walker never knocked. He simply barged in unannounced, the same way he had barged into Janet’s life a little over a year ago, turning it upside down.

  Her fingers tingling from furious typing, Janet looked up from her computer screen. “Today is the big day, huh?” Janet kept her voice cool, m
aking a mental effort not to ogle Dennis’s freshly tanned face. The man would look good even if he were pasty white, not that Dennis’s silky-smooth complexion had ever been pasty white, not even in the dead of winter. But now he looked dangerously handsome. “How was your vacation? Puerto Rico, was it?”

  “Turks and Caicos, and it was wonderful.”

  Janet nodded. She knew that. She had known the destination of Dennis’s getaway ever since he had posted his vacation schedule on the department calendar two months ago, and she had spent weeks visualizing his trip: Dennis stretched on a lounge chair, sipping one of those resort drinks from a coconut with a dark-eyed lanky brunette lying by his side, or perhaps a blue-eyed blonde. When it came to women, Dennis had only one requirement: they had to be drop-dead gorgeous. Apparently, Janet Maple was not gorgeous enough for Dennis Walker.

  “You look like you could use a break, Janet.” Dennis’s comment made Janet conscious of the dark circles under her eyes, which so far were her only reward for burning the midnight oil at work.

  “Not everyone has the luxury of taking a week off before the most important case hearing of one’s career.”

  Dennis’s eyes locked on Janet’s, his glance acknowledging their never-ending game of verbal tennis. “As I told my boss, I had scheduled my vacation months in advance; the case hearing had been moved three times. I have a life, you know, and I can’t be at the Enforcement Division’s beck and call.”

  “Can you believe the momentum the case has gained?” Janet steered the conversation away from the alarming subject of Dennis’s private life, the details of which, despite all the hours she had spent pondering the subject, she wanted to know as little as possible.

  “I know. We did all the groundwork and then every single regulator jumped on the bandwagon, including your former alma mater, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.”