Masquerade

by Desiree Holt

  Noah pushed his chair back from the table and walked away, holding his cell phone to his ear.

  “All set,” he told them when he returned to his seat. “He’s tied up this afternoon, but he can be here for a late dinner. I arranged to send the plane for him.”

  “Good.”

  “I’m picking him up at the airport myself and I reserved a suite for him at our hotel. I’ll order a second car for you, so I don’t leave you stranded.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Lindsey told him. “I have my car here. I can take Taylor any place she needs to go before tonight or she can just borrow my car. We’re all meeting for dinner, anyway.”

  Taylor nodded. “That works. Okay, back to the office and the client files.”

  “Nothing jumped out when you went through things this morning?” Noah asked.

  “No.” Taylor shook her head. “I checked them carefully, both the paper files and the electronic ones.”

  Noah looked from one to the other. “Why don’t the two of you take another crack at them this afternoon?”

  “I was going to suggest that exact thing,” Lindsey said. “I want to go over the client files and ledgers one by one with you. Between the two of us we should catch anything out of the ordinary. Or just something that looks or sounds hinky.”

  “Let’s do it,” Taylor agreed. “After that phone call, I want to see if we missed something. Lindsey, I’d like a half-hour with each of the account managers to see where they are after this morning. Then I’m all yours.”

  Lindsey took a sip of water. “If Craig was into something I knew nothing about, I damn well want to find out what it is. And how it is I never even got a sniff of it. The two of us met every Monday morning to review the previous week and make sure everyone had their ducks in a row for the coming week.”

  “And he never acted weird?” Taylor asked. “You know, as if he had something on his mind? Although I don’t know why I’m even asking. You’re sharp enough you would have spotted it.”

  “I hope.” Lindsey blew out a breath. “I’m sorry if I missed something—”

  Taylor held up a hand. “Please. Don’t apologize. Some people are masters at hiding things. You’re far from stupid, Lindsey. Believe me, I had both Craig and Elite checked thoroughly before approaching him with the offer, so he had to be an expert at this. But now, I’m damned determined to find out.”

  “As am I,” Noah added.

  She looked at Noah. “I’d be very happy if we could get the autopsy results sooner rather than later. Who did you connect with at the police station?”

  “Ron Vacca. He’s the traffic-homicide detective in charge of the case. He seems like a straight-up guy. No bullshit. We got along okay.”

  “Is he going to see if he can move things along?”

  Noah gave her a lopsided grin. “As much as possible. Some of this stuff takes a certain amount of time. You know that.”

  “I know. I just have this itchy feeling that if we had the autopsy results, we might have some answers about the accident.”

  “Of course,” Lindsey pointed out, “it still doesn’t tell us why he was where he was. He told me he was going directly home after he finished up what he was doing.”

  “And what exactly was he doing?” Noah asked. “Did he mention it to you?”

  She shook her head. “He may have been working on last-minute stuff for a couple of shoots coming up in the Caribbean. He had some pictures of models on his desk and they looked like his usual type for these.”

  Noah lifted an eyebrow. “Usual type?”

  “The clients that ordered these particular layouts—usually fashion designers—had specific types they wanted. No redheads, for example. No light-brown hair.”

  “What?” Taylor smoothed her hand over her auburn hair in an exaggerated gesture and grinned. “I think I’m insulted.”

  Noah laughed. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t want you posing for anyone other than me.”

  Lindsey looked from one to the other. She had always been fascinated by the chemistry and silent communication between these two. It wasn’t that they shut other people out. In Taylor’s situation, she had to be able to establish instant rapport with people. No, it was more the feeling that their chemistry went way beyond the physical. She wondered if she’d ever meet anyone she could have that with. And why the hell was she thinking of this in the middle of a building crisis?

  “Maybe I should have taken a closer look at the schedule for them.” She shook her head. “But, truthfully, there didn’t seem to be any problems.”

  “And I may be creating something where there’s nothing,” Taylor pointed out. “That would make me feel a lot better. But right now, with that phone call and the unanswered questions about Craig’s death, I think we need to be suspicious of everything.”

  “Then we should meet with Jerry Ortiz this afternoon,” Lindsey told her. “Sooner rather than later is best, since he worked closely with Craig on a lot of his clients.”

  “We’ll do it right after the staff briefing. Noah, we may need to bring in some experts to take this thing apart.”

  “You may be right. This could be nothing, or it could be one of those things where if there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

  “There may be nothing,” she began, “but…”

  “But you have good instincts. We should talk about it at dinner.” He looked at his watch. “I want to take a look at that scene myself and talk to the cop who took the accident call. Taylor, I’ll touch base with you when I have our expert in hand.”

  “Go ahead,” she told him. “I’ll get the check. Then we’ll be at the office.”

  Lindsey tried to ignore the knots in her stomach as they took the elevator back up to the offices. What could have been going on at Elite that she knew nothing about? And why didn’t she know? She’d been in this profession a long time and with Elite for four years. She wasn’t a novice, either in marketing or in the business world at large. Whatever this turned out to be, she was going to fix it. She couldn’t live with herself if there was something illegal going on at the agency and she’d missed it, and let the Cantrells down.

  If only she could get rid of that uneasy feeling rippling through her.

  The atmosphere in the meeting with the staff was subdued.

  “I’ll make this short,” Taylor said. “Lindsey will be taking over the running of Elite Marketing, so everything goes through her.”

  “This morning our focus was on letting clients know what had happened and assuring them that they would still be taken care of. Taylor also needed the time to go through all the files, but I really need an in-depth study if we’re going to move on smoothly. Please take time before you get involved in anything this afternoon to write a brief report listing your clients, and what you have going on with them.”

  Jerry Ortiz leaned forward.

  “Do you have a plan for how to handle Craig’s clients? Most of them were pretty high-dollar.”

  Lindsey bit back her retort. Jerry had always irritated her, but he had worked well with Craig and produced for Elite, so she swallowed her personal dislike.

  “Taylor and I have some ideas, but we’ll want to meet with you sometime today to go over everything, as soon as we get everything lined up the way it should be. If I’m going to take over Craig’s responsibilities, I have to be sure I know what I’m stepping into.”

  He studied her for a moment before he dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Fine. I’m ready whenever you are.”

  Lindsey hoped the slight prickle of unease she got only had to do with the fact Jerry had a slight chip on his shoulder, and not that he might be hiding something.

  “Give us an hour,” Taylor told him. “We should be ready by then.”

  Chapter Five

  They had just settled into Craig’s office and were waiting for Jerry when Taylor’s cell phone rang.

  “Noah? We just left each other. What’s up? Good. Will you take care of all the arrangements? Tha
nks. See you at eight.” She disconnected and looked at Lindsey. “We’re all set with John Martino. He’ll be here later today, as a matter of fact. The plane will pick him up in Atlanta, where he just wrapped up a case. Then a stop in Tampa for Liam’s man and both of them will arrive here in time for a late dinner. Thank the lord he’s available.”

  So he’s definitely coming here. It would take every bit of Lindsey’s self-control not to give away her feelings, including her anger and sense of betrayal.

  “Lindsey?”

  She jerked herself out of her unexpected reverie to see Taylor giving her a searching look.

  “Lindsey, did I lose you? Everything okay? Is there a problem with John?”

  She unstuck her tongue from the roof of her mouth and pulled herself together.

  “Not at all. This is a good idea. It will be nice working with him again. I’d like to be sure myself that everything’s okay in that area, before I take full control. If there’s anything to be found, John’s the one to find it. I think we’ll both feel better when John tells us whatever’s going on has nothing to do with company finances.” She took out her tablet and pulled up a file. “I’m ready.”

  They had just begun when a tap on the door frame had her looking up. Jerry Ortiz stood there, a half-smile on his face.

  “You’re busy. Should I come back later?”

  “No.” Lindsey put her work aside. “Please come in.”

  “Yes.” Taylor smiled. “No problem.”

  Jerry settled himself in one of the chairs, his tablet on his lap.

  “I brought information in case you need it,” he told them. “I’m glad we’re meeting, because I want to be sure everything is okay with the accounts I worked with Craig.”

  “Good.” Taylor wore her best CEO smile. “I like the direct approach. And I don’t know if everything’s okay until I ask you.”

  “The first thing I’d like to know,” Lindsey told him, “since I’ll be taking over for Craig, is why the large number of offshore location shoots.”

  Jerry’s mouth turned up in what Lindsey thought of as his patented public relations smile. “That’s easy. The clients ate it up and we have a good place to use for it.”

  “A good place.” Lindsey looked at her notes. “Was this Ruben Madea a close friend of Craig’s? He didn’t charge that much for using his island, but there were still costs involved, including transportation.”

  “We have a helicopter charter service that we do marketing for. We worked out a deal with them, so the trips cost next to nothing.”

  Lindsey had more questions, and Taylor inserted a couple of hers, until at last Lindsey called a halt.

  “Okay. I think I’ve got what I need. We’ll talk about this again, after I’ve had a chance to study it more.”

  “It’s a good thing, Lindsey. Really. I’d hate to see it canceled. Señor Madea really enjoys them.”

  “That’s nice, but we really aren’t doing this for his pleasure. As I said, I need to go over it in detail. I promise I won’t keep you waiting too long.”

  “There’s something screwy there,” Taylor said the minute the man walked out of the office.”

  Lindsey nodded. “I agree. Ruben Madea is an extremely generous host. Why? I think we need to look into him.”

  “Agreed.” She made a note on her tablet. “I’ll get with Noah on it. We use a firm in Tampa that’s the best of the best.”

  * * * *

  If the morning had been chaotic, the afternoon was even more so. She and Taylor spent the afternoon together, going over all the accounts with the account managers, then digging into Craig’s. Once again they held brief review meetings with the account managers, but now they were fishing for other things. Too bad we don’t know exactly what we’re looking for. Most of the conversations had been straightforward, even the one with Jerry Ortiz. Still, both Lindsey and Taylor had a feeling someone was hiding something. If only they could figure out who and what.

  She was glad of the activity, though. It gave her little time to think about seeing John Martino face-to-face again. She’d need all her wits about her to make sure he had no idea of the emotions she was doing her best to control.

  At six o’clock, people began filtering out, checking with Lindsey to make sure it was okay to leave. She knew everyone suspected things were bubbling beneath the surface, filling the air with a sense of unease. She herself had an unsettled feeling, and was doing her best to remain calm for the staff.

  By the time the last person had left the office, she had a dull headache and a gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. She leaned back in her chair, stretched and rubbed her temples.

  “Taylor, I’m sure I owe you and Noah an apology, but I haven’t figured out for what yet. We’ve gone over everything here and it looks one hundred percent clean. Maybe I should have paid more attention to Craig’s accounts, but damn! He was the head honcho. There was no reason to suspect him of anything. So why do I think we’re missing something?”

  “You don’t owe me anything. I’m damn sure the excellent quarterly reports we got were your doing. Along, of course, with the fact that things seemed to be running smoothly. Craig was a rainmaker. We needed someone who could juggle all the balls and keep everything on an even keel, which is where you came in.”

  “Maybe I’m edgy because of the nature of Craig’s accident, and that strange phone call didn’t help, but I keep having the feeling I missed something.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up, Lindsey. I had Craig checked out from top to bottom before we made him the offer to join Arroyo. If anyone missed something, it was me.” She frowned at her notes. “Accident aside, if it hadn’t been for that damn call today, and on a hidden phone no less, we probably wouldn’t be questioning ourselves. That’s enough to make anyone have second thoughts.”

  “Well, where do we go from here? I’ve taken Craig’s high-profile accounts for myself, to Jerry Ortiz’s irritation. This has nothing to do with him, but I don’t trust anyone with them at this point except me.”

  “Good decision.” Taylor looked at her watch. “I didn’t realize how late it is. We need to get going.”

  “Give me a minute to freshen up and we’ll be on our way.”

  Lindsey took a long moment to check herself out in the restroom mirror, determined that John Martino wouldn’t find any indication of the emotions seething beneath the surface. She’d never had this reaction to a man before. Any man. What was the matter with her? She needed to pull herself together.

  As she drove them to the hotel where the Cantrells were staying, she couldn’t help wondering what John’s reaction would be when he saw her. She did her best to maintain an outward calm, determined to keep this professional no matter what. This was business, and she would do well to remember it. Craig’s death, the manner of it, the phone call, everything, meant she needed to be at the top of her game if the Cantrells were to continue to have faith in her. There was no room for a schoolgirl crush or wacky hormones.

  She just hoped Taylor didn’t sense anything.

  By the time they pulled up to the hotel and headed inside, she was sure she had control of herself.

  “We’re having dinner in the suite,” Taylor said as they stepped into the elevator. “I much prefer the privacy there over the public exposure of restaurants. Besides.” She grinned. “If you remember, Noah is addicted to steaks, especially the ones from the cattle we raise. We always bring a freezer stocked with them to hand over to the hotel kitchen. Then we can order dinner whenever we want to.”

  Lindsey knew Arroyo Ranch, which Taylor had inherited from her father, was one of the largest in Texas and ran a very big herd of cattle. And she knew the bare bones of the story regarding the inheritance. She was still amazed at the way Taylor had stepped from her job as a financial adviser to head up one of the world’s largest conglomerates.

  “I remember. And they’re excellent steaks.”

  “Everyone should alrea
dy be here, so we can call down our order as soon as we get to the suite.”

  With a tiny bump, the elevator car stopped on the penthouse floor and the doors slid open. Lindsey followed Taylor down the hall to the suite at the end. The hum of conversation she heard as Taylor opened the door was a signal that Noah and the two men were indeed here. As she stepped into the living room of the suite, she spotted Noah in a large armchair talking to a man she didn’t know who was sitting on the couch, fiddling with a cell phone.

  But it was the man lounging against the bar who pulled her attention as if drawn by a homing beacon. In an instant every silent order she’d given herself, every vow not to be affected by the sight of him, disappeared like smoke. Her breath caught in her throat, her pulse suddenly throbbed between her thighs and her nipples popped to rigid attention. She was glad she’d worn a black dress today that concealed much of her body’s reaction.

  He was just as tall and lean as she remembered, with broad shoulders and long legs. Thick, coal-black hair that she’d run her fingers through, feeling the silkiness. A strong, masculine face highlighted by high cheekbones and a square jaw. Lips that could do wicked things to her body. Muscles that she itched to run her hands over and a broad chest she wanted to caress with her palms. Eyes the color of ebony looked out at her from beneath unexpectedly thick black lashes. Eyes that flashed with heat and desire and hunger.

  Oh, hell.

  She felt like a horny teenager instead of an intelligent, polished executive.

  “Lindsey?”

  She blinked at the sound of Taylor’s voice, happy as it broke into her forbidden thoughts.

  “Yes? Sorry, must be desk fatigue.”

  “I understand. Meet Aiden Colby, our excellent forensic data analyst.”

  Lindsey dug out her best professional smile and held out her hand. “Happy to meet you. Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

  He chuckled. “Thank Liam. He knows how much I love a challenge like this.” He shook her hand, his grip firm. “Pleased to meet you.”