He wasn’t surprised to see an email at the top of the list from his company’s investor. It was Friday morning, and his deadline was Monday. Sure enough, the investor wanted an update. Josh could snowball him and tell him the situation was close to being resolved—and for all he knew, Noah was making great headway at Bart’s office—but instead he found himself answering that the situation was the same. While he had a promising lead that might change the patent ownership, he couldn’t be sure it would pan out. He’d send an update as soon as he could.
The investor wouldn’t be happy. He was a man of action as well, which Josh respected and could appreciate.
His breath caught when he saw an email from Angie, his business manager, which had been sent at four a.m. The title read “URGENT,” and Josh felt sick to his stomach as he read it.
Josh,
I know you’re out of town, although Noah won’t tell me where . . . or why he flew off too. I also knew that you’d answer your phone if I called so late at night, and since there’s nothing you can do, there’s no sense in that. Still, I wanted to let you know as soon as I could.
Ted Murray’s had a heart attack.
His wife called and said they took him to Harborview. He needs a quadruple bypass and will be off work for at least a month or more. Marilyn cried and said to thank you for covering the insurance premiums after the rate increase last year. If you hadn’t increased the company contribution, he wouldn’t have coverage. When things settle down, she plans to bake you a batch of her famous cinnamon rolls.
I know I’m old enough to be your mother, and although I’ve never acted like one to you, tonight I’m going to make an exception. I’m proud of you, Josh. You stepped up when your brother wouldn’t. I know you’ve made sacrifices, even if no one else noticed. You could have easily given up, but you hung on instead. We both know how hard it would be for a fifty-seven-year-old man to start over in his career. Poor Ted would probably be jobless and destitute if you hadn’t gone above and beyond to keep this place afloat. I just wanted you to know it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Angie
A lump burned in Josh’s throat and he blinked back tears. He’d known Ted since he was a kid. The guy was like an uncle to Josh and Noah. Part of him wanted to say screw it all, hop on a plane, and go check on him. But the email was also a sharp reminder of the original purpose of his trip. He would do Ted more good here. His father’s business wasn’t something he could drop in the dust behind him just because he was considering a life with Megan Vandemeer. Hell, there was a good chance her father had played a part in the subterfuge that might well lead to Ted Murray’s future joblessness.
He’d spent almost half his life sacrificing his personal life to keep the business from floundering. Now was not the time to change course. Lives hung in the balance. With newfound determination, he pulled up the document folders and began to search for any titles that could lead to evidence incriminating Bart Vandemeer. While he suspected the man wasn’t devious enough to pull something like this off on his own, he could very well be part of the scheme. And moreover, he might be the weakest link. Josh couldn’t ignore the phone call he’d overheard two nights ago.
Bart had more folders on his hard drive than Josh had expected, but most bore clients’ names and contained reports. After several minutes of searching, he decided his time would be better spent searching Bart’s emails.
Turned out he had two email accounts open—one business, one personal. He checked the business account first. He started his search by reviewing the emails sent and received around the time his firm would have gotten ahold of the plans for the part, then moved on to the time frame during which they would have applied for the patent. When he didn’t discover anything significant, he moved to Wednesday and the days preceding. There were in-house congratulatory emails regarding the notification that the patent had been approved, and a few about Megan’s upcoming wedding, but everything else was client-related.
So what was up with the phone call?
Noah had said he suspected the perpetrator still had the plans but wouldn’t keep them at the office in case someone came across the incriminating evidence. What if the same principle could be applied to his emails? If he wanted to hide evidence from the firm, it would be safer to use his personal account.
The search took more time than he’d planned. Twenty minutes had passed, and Megan would be ready to go any minute. Josh switched over to the personal account, and he was thankful to see Bart had fewer emails in this one. That made one stand out all the more. The sender was Herman, Moore, and Snyder, Attorneys at Law. He clicked to open it and started reading.
Mr. Vandemeer,
After examination of the paperwork you’ve provided, we feel you are safe from litigation—
“Josh?” Megan said softly.
His head jerked up, and though he tried to hide the fact that he was startled, the grin on her face let him know he wasn’t off the hook. He sucked in a breath, overcome anew by her beauty. She wore another dress, a pale pink that contrasted with her dark hair.
Focus, Josh.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said, entering the room.
He clicked over to his own email tab, trying to keep the action smooth so she wouldn’t notice.
“You must be intent on your work. Did you get an answer to your problem?”
He swallowed as she moved next to him, her hand resting on his shoulder.
“Actually, I got a little more clarity.”
Her fingertips moved to his neck, massaging the tense muscles at the base of his neck. “That’s a good thing, right?” she asked sweetly.
His eyes sunk closed as he fought an inner battle. Could he continue carrying on with her this way, knowing full well that he and Noah were doing everything in their power to bring her father’s firm down? Up until now, everything had been circumstantial. He had no idea what else that email might say, but he had a feeling it was their first piece of hard evidence.
“Yeah,” he murmured, unable to make eye contact. “It’s a good thing.”
“Then why do you sound so glum?”
He looked up at her, trying to keep his voice from breaking. “Sometimes the answer we get isn’t always the one we want.”
Talk about the understatement of his life.
Chapter Twenty-Two
On the way to the tux rental shop, Gram talked nonstop about her drawing of Josh’s backside, her research into nudist colonies in Belize, and the dress Megan’s mother was making her wear—a very conservative pink suit paired with pearls. Knickers had seen the Queen Mother of England wear something similar and insisted it fit perfectly with the scheme.
“I’d rather strip down to the pearls before I walk down the aisle,” Gram said. “But I’m afraid it would give your mother a heart attack, and that would ruin your wedding.”
Megan’s eyed bugged out.
“That’s what would ruin this wedding?” Josh murmured without his usual humor. He looked behind him to make sure Gram hadn’t heard him, but she’d moved on to the cake Knickers had ordered.
Megan nodded and uh-huhed every so often, but most of her attention was fixed on Josh. Something had happened while he was reading his emails in her father’s office. He was withdrawn and distant. Did he regret what they’d done? But surely that wasn’t it. There was no way he could fake so much happiness and playfulness. She reminded herself that their fake engagement wasn’t his only concern. In fact, it was probably a small fry compared to whatever impending decision he faced. He’d told her someone would be hurt no matter what he decided, so if he’d received information leading him toward one of the options, it was bound to bring him down. Josh McMillan was a good man. Hurting people wouldn’t sit well with his soul.
She reached over and slipped her right hand under his, lacing their fingers. He didn’t respond at first and she almost pulled away, but then his fingers curled over hers, squeezing tight.
He was still silent when she parked
outside the store, though he helped Gram out of the back. She shook him off as soon as she was on her feet. “I can walk on my own.”
“I wouldn’t dream of helping you,” Josh laughed, but it sounded forced to Megan’s ears. “You could probably run laps around me, Gram.”
“Damn straight,” she muttered as she made her way to the door.
Josh started to follow her, but Megan snagged his hand and pulled him back.
She looked down at their linked hands, then up into his troubled eyes. “Josh, I know you have bigger issues than my stupid wedding. I want you to know that if you need to bail to take care of your business, you’re free to go. Don’t let me stop you.”
He studied her for a moment before pulling her into his arms and crushing her lips with his. One arm encircled her back while the other dug into her hair, holding her firmly against his mouth.
The intensity of his kiss scared her. Was he telling her goodbye?
But he pulled back and slid his hand down to her cheek, the corners of his lips turning up with a hint of a smile. “I have a job to do here first. Let’s go get a tux.”
Josh put an arm around her back and led her into the shop. Gram had already wandered in and found a chair to sink into.
As if Megan were a heat-seeking missile, she instantly spotted her mother in the back of the store. Kevin and Noah were with her, and they looked like two bucks ready to butt antlers. Apparently Kevin held the same animosity for both of the brothers McMillan. But Noah was holding his own. Megan figured Noah was the type of guy who could be dropped into a camp of cannibalistic pygmies and come out of the incident revered as a god.
Her mother gave her a disapproving frown as she approached. “Megan, I’m glad to see that you could manage enough responsibility to bring Josh to pick up his tux for your wedding tomorrow.” She puckered her mouth. “Let’s hope you can show up for your own wedding. I didn’t spend fifty-six thousand dollars just to throw it all away.”
Fifty-six thousand dollars? It had snowballed even more than Megan had realized. Her irritation grew, heat burning her cheeks. Josh had more important things to attend to than this sham wedding, and she was through with pretending. “Miss my wedding? Funny you should mention it, Mother—”
Josh’s hand tightened, snugging her firm against his side. “Megan wouldn’t dream of missing the wedding. Isn’t that right, Meggie?”
“Meggie?” Kevin snorted. “She lets you call her that? She tried to beat the shit out of me every time I said it.”
“Tried,” Megan sneered, lifting an eyebrow. “You still can’t admit that I beat you up almost every time!”
“I didn’t fight that hard, Meggie,” Kevin said. “You’re a girl, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“I can still take you, Kevio!”
Noah watched their exchange with an amused grin. “Kevio?”
Megan’s mother rolled her eyes, clearly irritated. “Kevin always attracted a lot of interest from girls in high school and had quite a few girlfriends. Megan compared him to Fabio one day, then started calling him Kevio.” She shot them both a reprimanding look. “You two are too old to be bickering like children.” She turned her back to them in dismissal of the subject. “Now we need to pick out a tux for Noah. He has to match because he’s going to be in the wedding.”
Ignoring her mother, Megan stuck her tongue out at her brother, and he flipped her off. It was a shame that Gram had nodded off. She loved when Megan and Kevin pushed Knickers’ buttons.
Josh’s arm was still around her waist, and she was surprised when his chest shook from a suppressed chuckle.
“How is Noah going to be in the wedding?” Megan asked her mother. “I thought you had the bridesmaids-to-groomsmen ratio perfectly figured out.”
“I’m making your cousin Vince an usher now.”
Noah shifted his weight. “I’m good with just sitting in the audience.”
“I was tempted,” Megan’s mother said, giving her attention to a shoe display. “Especially since Josh’s side is shockingly bare. But I think it’s more important to have his brother standing beside him. Oh, here’s the salesperson now.”
A man emerged from the back room holding a black tuxedo.
Noah grimaced, clearly not impressed.
“I think this will fit you,” the man said, handing the suit to Josh’s brother. “I have the groom’s tux out already.” He eyed Josh up and down. “Are you the groom?”
Josh hesitated before nodding. “Yeah.”
Megan tried to hide her surprise that Jay hadn’t canceled his order. That type of slip-up was totally out of character. Still, she wasn’t sure what good it did them. Josh was taller and broader than Jay, so there was no way the tux was going to fit him. She supposed it didn’t really matter since he wasn’t going to wear it anyway.
Unfortunately, the salesman shook his head. “They must have really screwed up your measurements in Seattle. I’m not sure the tux I pulled is going to fit you.”
Megan’s mother jolted. “What are you talking about?”
“I can tell the pants aren’t long enough, and I don’t think the jacket will fit his broad shoulders.”
“Please tell me you have something that will fit.”
The man looked worried. “It’s June, Mrs. Vandemeer. We were lucky to have a tux for the groom’s brother. I’ll check, but I can’t make any promises.”
“You better take care of this, or heads will roll!” her mother shouted.
Gram jerked upright in her chair. “We’re having dinner rolls?” she asked, looking excited. “I’m hungry.”
Kevin laughed, not a friendly sound, and his gaze landed squarely on Josh. “No one’s head is going to roll . . . yet.”
The clerk still looked nervous. “I also pulled the tux for the bride’s brother.” He turned to Kevin. “If you could go back and try it on to make sure it fits. Especially after this . . . situation.” He nodded to Noah. “You can go back with him to try yours on, too.”
Noah looked even less thrilled than the other men did.
The clerk turned to Josh. “I’ll need to re-measure you to see what we have.” He grabbed the tape measure and quickly took Josh’s measurements. “They were definitely off,” he said quietly. “As I suspected, the tux we have won’t fit.”
“How could you people be so incompetent?” Knickers’ voice took an icy tone. “It’s such a simple thing. You just write down numbers.”
The anxious clerk started to twitch, and guilt ate at Megan’s resolve. The poor man had Jay’s measurements, not Josh’s. And he was right. Josh was taller and broader than her ex-fiancé. There was no way the tux would fit. “Mom. Stop. It’s not his fault the measurements are wrong.”
She put her hand on her hip. “What on earth does that mean?”
Megan started to answer, but Josh’s grip tightened on her side, and he cleared his throat. “Mrs. Vandemeer, what she means is that we suspect the salesperson in Seattle was dyslexic.”
“What?” she asked in disbelief. “Why on earth would they put a dyslexic person in charge of taking measurements?”
“That’s what I said,” Josh said in exasperation. “In fact, I told Megan I didn’t trust him, but she insisted I was overreacting.” He looked down at Megan, his mouth pinched in disapproval.
Megan gasped in surprise. What on earth was he doing throwing her under the bus like that? Then she realized he was paving the way for their breakup. The thought made her heart beat faster, but in a way that was strangely close to panic.
Still, if Josh expected her mother to take her side, he was wrong. “Josh, I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that math isn’t Megan’s strong suit.”
His arm stiffened and Megan was sure he was going to say something, but the clerk emerged from the back. “Good news, Mrs. Vandemeer! We have a tuxedo that will fit him.”
She held her hand to her chest, fingering the pearls at the base of her throat. “Thank goodness.”
“We’ll n
eed you to try it on to make sure it fits.”
Josh snuck a glance at Megan. For the first time since they’d started this charade, he looked uncertain.
Fear twisted in her stomach. Was he going to break up with her now? She knew it had to be done, but even after what she’d said in the parking lot, she wasn’t ready to let him go yet. She lifted up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. “I want to see you wearing it.”
“Yes,” Megan’s mother said. “I need to see it on.”
“Okay . . .” He still sounded unsure, but he followed the salesman to the back.
Megan pulled back her shoulders, waiting for her mother to attack now that they were alone with Gram, who had closed her eyes again after realizing they weren’t about to eat.
“It pains me to see that you’re still so irresponsible, Megan,” her mother said. “I had hoped the fact you’re getting married tomorrow would help you mature.”
Megan considered responding, but what was the point?
Her tone softened. “Honestly, Megan. I was very worried after you and Josh disappeared last night. I understand why you left, but the least you could have done was call and let me know you were okay.”
Megan met her mother’s eyes and saw unexpected sincerity there. This was the first time she could remember her mother ever putting her concern for Megan’s safety over the need to look good in front of other people. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Her mother’s eyes widened in surprise. Megan knew why she was startled—she had never so willing volunteered an apology to her mother.
Maybe they were both growing up.
Kevin and Noah walked out of the dressing rooms, both wearing black tuxedos. Her mother’s attention turned to the men, fussing over seams and hem lengths. But Josh was the one who stole her breath away when he emerged from the dressing rooms a moment later.
He wore a black tuxedo with shiny black lapels. His shirt was white and it was paired with a white bow tie. He stood in the doorway, the uncertainty on his face more pronounced than before. He was a handsome man. She’d recognized that the first moment she saw him, but it was what was in his heart that had drawn her to him.
The Wedding Pact Box Set Page 23
