High-Society Seduction

by Maxine Sullivan

  Jenna began to chew her lip. “I think she might have phoned me once. It was the evening we came back from their vacation home.”

  “What!”

  “When I answered, no one spoke. It was quiet for a few seconds, then they hung up. I still think it was Chelsea. I suspect she was trying to see if you were with me.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

  “It was nothing. Not really. And I had no proof.” She sighed. “Poor Chelsea.”

  He took a calming breath. “Yes.” Chelsea’s grief had made her look foolish, that was all.

  “I guess you were just a distraction from her losing the baby.” There was compassion in Jenna’s voice. She considered him. “I don’t think she’ll be after you anymore, do you?”

  She was right. “No, I don’t think so, either.” And that was a great relief. “But she probably still needs to see us together for a while longer. At least until she gets her head in a good place.”

  “Good idea.”

  He suddenly felt the need to say more. “Anyway, I don’t plan on giving you up just yet, Jenna.” And she’d better not think otherwise. To make sure, he reminded her, “This isn’t only about Chelsea. We need to get the money sorted out with your brother.” There was no escaping that fact. “That’s the reason we came together in the first place.”

  Her gaze faltered. “True.” She moistened her mouth. “So, this means I owe you two more weeks of my time. While you find the money for Stewart, that is.”

  His jaw clenched and he wanted to say that as far as he was concerned, finding the money wasn’t for Stewart. It was to clear his own brother’s name, if he could.

  And one of them was going to lose big-time.

  Just then, he caught sight of the waiter coming their way. “Let’s have some lunch.”

  She hesitated. “Actually, Adam, I’m not very hungry right now. I hope you don’t mind.”

  He realized he’d lost his appetite, too. “I’m not hungry, either.” He pushed to his feet and helped her out of her chair. “Come on. I’ll walk you back to work.”

  As they left the restaurant he noticed his cell phone had a couple of messages from the private investigator. He didn’t mention it to Jenna, but his heart had just slammed right into his ribs.

  At Vicki’s place that evening, once they’d had dinner and the children had gone to bed, Jenna relayed the information she’d learned from the bank. To make herself feel better about deceiving her sister-in-law, she’d phoned the bank this afternoon, and as suspected had been told they would only deal with their customer. Jenna had mentioned that Vicki would call tomorrow then, and was told that the account was in Stewart’s name and only Stewart could discuss the account with them.

  “Really?” Vicki said with dismay. “They won’t talk to me about it? It’s my house, for goodness’ sake!”

  “Yes, but the account is in Stewart’s name only.”

  Vicki frowned. “We never realized it would be a problem.”

  Jenna wondered if Stewart had done that deliberately. Of course, he really couldn’t have known he would lose his money. No person in their right mind would put their house up as collateral if they thought they were going to lose it.

  Vicki nodded, still clearly worried, but trying not to show it. “Thanks for checking for me, sweetie. I appreciate it.”

  “That’s okay. I’m glad to help.”

  “I’ll email Stewart tonight and tell him there’s a problem with the account,” Vicki said. “He can email the bank himself and give them permission to talk to me while he’s out of the country. Once he’s back we’ll have to see about putting the house in both names.”

  “Sounds good,” Jenna said, though she suspected Stewart’s first action would be to call or email her about it. He didn’t know she had forced Adam to help sort this out, and he would be frantic when he received Vicki’s email in case his wife discovered the truth about the money.

  No doubt he would come up with a plan for delaying the inevitable. Knowing her brother, he’d soon realize he only had to pretend to Vicki about putting her name down as a contact. Once he returned to Australia, he’d be hoping to replace most of the money himself, though he had no idea the money might still be repaid out of Liam’s account—and she wouldn’t tell him. She didn’t want him to get his hopes up on something that may not come to be.

  And why the heck was she being so considerate of Stewart at the moment? She didn’t feel too kindly toward him right now. Either way he’d have covered his own butt.

  “So you’re telling me you can’t find any trace of the money?” Adam ground out. Today had been one shock after another. First Todd and Chelsea at lunch, now the forensic accountant was meeting him here in his penthouse before dinner rather than risk him coming to the office. He wanted his family knowing nothing about this.

  “That’s right, Mr. Roth. And believe me, I’ve had my people check thoroughly. They know all the tricks and all the places money can be hidden in secret accounts, and there’s nothing to be found. Absolutely nothing.”

  It was as he’d suspected. “So Stewart Branson didn’t give any money to my brother?”

  “No.”

  “So it’s a con job,” he said, his lips flattening with anger. And Jenna was in on it, along with her brother. He should have listened to his gut instinct from the beginning.

  “It certainly looks like it. I have some pretty damning evidence.”

  Adam scowled. “Evidence? But I thought you just said you couldn’t find anything?”

  “I didn’t. But I have discovered something very interesting. Did you know that Stewart Branson…”

  By the time Adam finished listening, he was more than angry. He was ice-cold furious. He latched on to the feeling, taking pleasure in the pain, knowing it was far better than thinking about any other matter with Jenna that might be totally out of his control. Nothing was going to be out of his control again where she was concerned. Not ever again.

  Ten

  Jenna left Vicki’s house fairly early with the excuse that she had to work tomorrow. There had been no calls on her cell phone, and she wanted to get home now to see if there were any messages from Adam on her answering machine. After what had happened at the restaurant today, she thought he might have contacted her to talk more about Todd and Chelsea.

  Adam was waiting at her apartment door when she stepped out from the elevator. Joy swept through her.

  She smiled as she came toward him. “Have you been waiting long?”

  “Long enough,” was the curt reply.

  She looked at his set face, and her smile slipped. Perhaps she’d heard wrong? It could have merely been the acoustics here in the hallway. Or maybe something else had cropped up with his friends?

  She smiled again. A smaller one this time. “I didn’t know you were coming. I’ve been out to dinner.”

  His mouth tightened, but up closer she could see something flicker in eyes that had a definite hardness to them. “Just open the door,” he said in a clipped tone.

  She did.

  Something was seriously wrong. Was he angry because she hadn’t been home waiting for his arrival? That made her even angrier with herself now for hurrying home. She wasn’t going to pander to him, she decided, going over and putting her handbag on the couch.

  “So, what’s up?” She angled her chin as she turned to face him. She might be his mistress, but she wasn’t about to take the brunt of his bad mood.

  “You are,” he snapped. “You’re a real piece of work, lady.”

  Air rushed into her lungs. “Wh-what do you mean?”

  His top lip curled. “So innocent. You play the part well.”

  She stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

  “Remember how I met with that business acquaintance last Saturday?”

  “Yes.”

  “It was about the money.”

  A light dimmed inside her. He’d said his appointment was business, and she supposed it was…b
ut to not mention it had been about the money was deceiving.

  She drew herself up. “Tell me.”

  “That guy had been through everything and checked everywhere to see if your brother had given Liam any money. Up until last Saturday there was still no trace of any transaction, but we decided to keep on trying. By this afternoon he’d exhausted all avenues and concluded no such transaction had ever taken place.”

  Her brain stumbled. “That can’t be,” she whispered.

  “Can’t it?”

  She thought for a moment, then something occurred to her. “Just because you found nothing doesn’t prove a thing.”

  “No, but I found out something very interesting in the meantime. Your brother has a gambling problem.”

  She could only blink. Her mouth tried to work but wouldn’t.

  His lips twisted. “You’re surprised? Or surprised that I know?”

  “Wh-what?”

  “You and your brother have been caught out, Jenna. Admit it. Your brother lost the money gambling, and you both concocted this scheme to get me to give you money so that he can put it back in his bank account for the mortgage. It was brilliant. A dead man can’t talk, can he? Liam can’t deny the charges and I can’t prove conclusively that the money didn’t change hands. Not yet anyway.”

  She was trying to get her head around this. He was saying that Stewart had gambled the money away and hadn’t given any money to Liam to invest at all? That he had made up all this to get the grief-stricken Roth family to replace the money? And worst of all that she’d planned this with her brother?

  “You’re not serious,” was all she could manage.

  “Dead serious, my sweet.”

  And he was.

  She shook her head. “Apart from knowing I’ve done nothing wrong, I don’t believe what you’re saying about Stewart. You’re just trying to get out of paying. You’re making it all up.”

  He ripped some papers from his jacket pocket and thrust them at her. “I have it all in writing. Read it and see. You can’t dispute it.”

  Her hands shook as she took the paperwork and began to read. She could feel the blood drain from every cell in her body. It was all there in black and white.

  “Your brother has been gambling under an assumed name so that no one would trace it back to him. He’s been living another life. Stewart Branson is as clean as a whistle and that’s why it took so long to discover this.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t believe it,” she muttered, more to try and convince herself that the paperwork in front of her was a bunch of lies. How could it not be?

  “I’m sure,” he said sarcastically. “Hell, you probably increased the amount and asked for more money than he needed, intending to put the money back in his account and pay off this fancy new apartment you’ve bought yourself.”

  That last bit brought her up short. “I took out a mortgage on this apartment.” She was proud of buying this place from her earnings. It was all aboveboard and honestly earned.

  “Which you could still have paid off early and no one would be the wiser.” A second ticked by. “You’ve been caught out, Jenna. Admit it.”

  How could she admit to something she hadn’t done?

  “What if I told you I didn’t know anything about Stewart’s gambling? What if I believed he was telling me the truth?”

  “I’d say you were lying.”

  “You want to believe that, Adam.”

  “No, I have to believe it. This scam is serious business. Three hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

  “I don’t want any money that doesn’t belong to Stewart, Adam.”

  “You’ve suddenly found some principles, have you?”

  “Obviously you’ll think what you want.” She steadied her breathing, then considered him. “You believe I lied to you, but you lied to me too, Adam.”

  That brought him up short. “When?”

  “When I asked you last night you said you didn’t know anything further about the money. You didn’t mention what the appointment last Saturday was about, nor that there were further questions about not being able to trace anything.”

  Nothing on his face relented. “Rule Number One. Don’t tell your enemy your game plan.”

  Hurt sliced through her. “So I’m your enemy now, am I?”

  “Were you ever anything else?”

  She gave a soft gasp. “Thanks very much.”

  For a split second he looked pained, then he glared at her. “You used me, Jenna. You used me to try and get money out of me to help your brother, and probably some for yourself, as well. So don’t try and make it sound like I’m the one who did anything wrong.”

  This man in front of her was a stranger, his face hard, his eyes like steel. He wasn’t about to relent. He was totally convinced of Stewart’s guilt.

  Of her guilt.

  “Are you going to the police about this?” she asked, not in fear for herself, but for Stewart. If he really did have a gambling problem…if she’d inadvertently made demands of Adam Roth on his behalf…where would it lead?

  A light of triumph entered his eyes. He thought she was guilty and running scared. He gave a sharp shake of his head. “No, I want to spare my family any further pain.”

  Her shoulders sagged with relief.

  “But if I’m pushed, then I will go to the police,” he warned. “Don’t doubt that. So I suggest your brother gets some help. He’s been dealing with some unsavory types and next time he may not be able to pay them off. If he lands in debt with them again, they’ll no doubt sort him out.”

  “Oh, my God.” Her voice quavered from deep inside. This was getting worse every minute. It sounded as if Stewart’s life could be in danger in future.

  There was a pause, and Adam almost looked sorry for her. “He needs help with his addiction, Jenna.”

  “I know,” she murmured, finally admitting out loud that it must be true about Stewart.

  “And you need help, too. You can’t go around conning money from people.”

  She thrust out her chin. “I only wanted repaid what I thought belonged to Stewart.”

  “So you say,” he mocked. “By the way, I said I’d merely look into the money. I didn’t say I’d pay it back. Ever.” A vein pulsed near his temple. “I owe you nothing.”

  “And I don’t know you at all, do I?”

  “No, you don’t.” He twisted away and slammed out the door.

  Jenna sank onto the couch, a sense of pain so intense, so acute she could feel it like a very real punch in her heart. And there was only one reason for it. For the first time she knew.

  She loved Adam Roth.

  Bile sat in Adam’s throat as he drove home. He should have known Jenna was too good to be true. All that pretending to be concerned about her brother losing his home. And her concern for her sister-in-law and nieces. It had all been lies. Sure, she’d been concerned, but only because she was in on it with her brother. Her sister-in-law might even be a part of it, too. How many others had the Bransons tried to scam?

  God, what a fool he’d been. He’d actually thought she was like his mother and Cassandra. He’d actually thought Jenna had integrity, even if it had been misplaced with her brother.

  He’d been wrong.

  Totally.

  It would never happen again, he decided, hardening what was left of his pride. No woman was ever going to get the slightest chance to make a fool of him again. He was a playboy through and through, and that’s the way it was going to stay.

  And whenever he thought of Jenna Branson in the future, he’d imagine a mere notch on his bedpost…even if it killed him.

  Jenna wasn’t sure how long she sat there after Adam had gone. Time didn’t matter. Not when her heart was breaking. How could Adam think this of her? How could he believe she would have anything to do with deceiving anyone, let alone him? It hurt to think about it.

  And then there was Stewart.

  No wonder her brother had told her to let thin
gs be when she’d first suggested approaching the Roths. He’d known he hadn’t given Liam Roth any money. How fortuitous for him that Liam’s funeral had been on the television the day he’d come to her apartment. It had given him the excuse he’d needed to justify both his wan appearance and his newly increased mortgage. He’d put on a thoroughly convincing act.

  The only good thing now was that Stewart must have used the mortgage money to repay his gambling debts. Otherwise they’d be after him…perhaps even Vicki and the children. The thought made her feel sick.

  God, Adam had been right that it would happen again if Stewart didn’t get help. Gambling was an addiction. She hadn’t had personal experience of it until now, and she wasn’t exactly sure what it all meant, but she suspected he wouldn’t be able to control it without some sort of outside assistance and support. Knowing Stewart, he probably wasn’t about to do that unless pushed.

  Her mouth firmed with determination as she jumped to her feet and went to turn on her computer. Her brother was going to get one hell of an email from her right now. She wasn’t going to mention her affair, but she would tell him everything else that had occurred since the day she’d met Adam at the races. It seemed another lifetime ago now instead of mere weeks.

  And then she wanted answers.

  She did that, then changed into more comfortable clothes before making herself a cup of coffee. She waited. An hour later her telephone rang.

  It was Stewart.

  “Jenna, what the hell have you done?” he demanded down the line, sounding as if he was in the room with her and not in the Middle East.

  She wished he was. She’d box his ears, as well as give him an earful. “Me? Good God, Stewart! You’re the one who lied and cheated. Why on earth did you concoct such a story?”

  She heard him curse. “It would have been okay if you hadn’t confronted Adam Roth. I had it all worked out. I’ve made some money, and I was about to bank a lump sum, but now you’ve got us implicated in some sort of elaborate swindle.”