The CEO's Dilemma ; Undeniable Passion

by Lindsay Evans

  “Mr. Hunter?”

  Cedric and Lorenzo turned at the sound of a man’s voice. “Yes,” they both answered.

  The man divided a glance between the two. “Which one of you is Cedric Hunter?”

  “I am.” Cedric stuck out his hand.

  “I’m Detective Warner,” the man said, shaking the proffered hand.

  “Can you tell me what happened? Who did this?”

  “We don’t know. We’ve canvassed the neighborhood, but so far no one has seen anything. Have you had any problems on the site recently?”

  “None.”

  “Any disgruntled employees?”

  “No. You think someone working for us did this?”

  “I’m just covering all the bases.” The detective asked several more questions. “It looks like whoever did this cut through the fence over there.” He pointed.

  That answered the how question, but still not the who. “Any idea how long it’ll be before we can start cleaning up after they put out the fire? This is going to set us back and I’d like to avoid further delay.”

  “You’ll have to take that up with the fire investigator.”

  “Any way I can talk to him now?”

  A slight smile tilted the corner of Detective Warner’s mouth. “I’ll see what I can find out from Randi.”

  “Thanks.” The detective ducked under the yellow tape bordering the site and walked over to the opposite side of the building where he spoke with someone writing on a notepad. After a few minutes, he came back.

  “Randi will be with you in a few minutes.” He handed Cedric a card. “If you think of anything that might give us a lead, give me a call.”

  Cedric nodded and pocketed the card. He paced back and forth. “This is insane. Who would do this?” He didn’t have a clue as to whom or why someone would torch the site. They’d been in business for nearly thirty years and this had never happened before. He stared as the firefighters went around with the hoses battling the blaze. Because the roof hadn’t yet been constructed, the fire was fought from the ground.

  “I wish I knew,” Lorenzo said grimly. “I just hope it doesn’t take long for the investigator to release the site. I’m thinking we might need to pull a few people off the other projects to help with the cleanup in order to make up time.” As a civil engineer, Lorenzo oversaw the planning, budgeting and scheduling and made sure the sidewalks, parking lots and other roadways associated with each project were intact. Cedric, with his construction engineering degree, took care of site staffing, materials and making sure the buildings went up on time.

  He mentally went down the list of current projects. “I’ll have to see. I don’t want to put any of the others behind schedule, either. I may end up hiring a few temporary workers.” They continued to mull over options. After several minutes, Cedric glanced over his shoulder and, although his view was partially blocked, saw that the fire investigator still hadn’t moved. “What is he doing?” he mumbled.

  “Who?”

  “The fire investigator.” He checked his watch. It was almost five, nearly an hour after he’d received the call. “We’ve been waiting for almost fifteen minutes.”

  Lorenzo shrugged. “Looks like he’s still making notes.”

  “Well, I wish he’d hurry up.” Patience had never been one of Cedric’s strong points.

  “I’m sure he’ll be over when he’s done.”

  Cedric hoped so. He needed to know something...anything. After another forty minutes, Randi still hadn’t so much as looked their way and Cedric felt his patience slipping. “I’ve had about enough of this. I’m going over there.” He threw up his hands. “He knows we’re waiting.” He took a step and Lorenzo placed a staying hand on his arm.

  “No you’re not.”

  Cedric lifted a brow. “And who’s going to stop me?”

  Lorenzo blew out a long breath. “Look Ced, I know you’re anxious. So am I. But I don’t think charging over there demanding answers is going to win you any brownie points. You don’t want to piss the investigator off and risk us not getting any answers.”

  “I know, I know.” He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He opened them and gasped as the fire investigator approached.

  “I’m Randi Nichols. I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I wanted to document as much of the scene as I could before it got dark.”

  Cedric couldn’t utter a word.

  Lorenzo cleared his throat. “Hello, Ms. Nichols. I’m Lorenzo Hunter.”

  Between her sultry voice, arresting green eyes and shapely body, every gorgeous inch of her had Cedric’s attention. She wore jeans, a zipped-up black jacket, work boots and a baseball cap. He finally found his voice and extended his hand. “Cedric Hunter.”

  Randi reached out, then paused. “Sorry.” She removed her latex gloves. “Let’s try this again,” she said with a little laugh, shaking his hand.

  Lorenzo chuckled and said for Cedric’s ears only, “Looks like I might be getting that two hundred dollars sooner than I thought.”

  Cedric disregarded his cousin’s comment, but he couldn’t ignore the instant attraction he felt toward the very sexy fire investigator.

  * * *

  Randi Nichols had sensed the site owner’s eyes on her as she sketched the perimeter of the building. She wouldn’t be able to get inside the building until it had been vented and the fire chief determined it was structurally safe. But the incident commander had assured her they would preserve the evidence as best they could. She’d interviewed the first officer on the scene and would interview and do a walkthrough with the first-in firefighter once they’d extinguished the fire. She made her way over to where the two owners stood and introduced herself. A slight smile curved her lips at their reactions. She got the same shocked stare from men nearly every time. Randi just hoped they wouldn’t behave like some others she encountered who seemed to think the only thing a woman could do on the job was get coffee. She studied the two of them. Both were good-looking and stood a few inches over six feet. They looked enough alike to be brothers. Cedric had slightly more muscle on his chiseled frame than Lorenzo. And his interest in her seemed to go beyond surprise. His dark brown eyes bore into hers and for a fleeting moment something inside her reacted. Randi quickly shook off the crazy feeling.

  “We’ve been waiting for over an hour,” Cedric said.

  She chalked up the impatience in his voice to his worksite being burned and tried to keep her voice calm and even. “I know and I appreciate you waiting. There isn’t much I can tell you until the investigation is concluded, but I will need to set up a time to talk with you.”

  “Do you have any idea how long it’ll take before we can get back to work? I smell gasoline, so I know it wasn’t an accident.”

  “I don’t know. And you could be correct.” Even though she could almost guarantee the fire was the result of arson she refrained from saying so. She’d always been cautioned not to make assumptions without all the evidence. “I understand how frustrated you must be and we’ll do everything we can to get you back on your site as soon as possible.”

  “No, I don’t think you have any idea how frustrated I am right now.” Cedric sighed heavily and ran a hand over his head. “I don’t have time for this.”

  Randi conceded him that point. No one ever had time for a fire that disrupted workflow and destroyed lives. “Is there a time we can meet on Monday?”

  “Yes.” He handed her a business card. “I’ll be at another site in the morning but should be back around three.”

  His hand brushed against hers during the exchange, and she was surprised by the softness. She’d noticed it when they shook hands, too. With him being in construction, she’d have expected them to be roughened by calluses. “Will four o’clock work?”

  “Fine,” he responded tersely.

  “Thanks
for your time,” Lorenzo said and frowned at Cedric.

  “You’re welcome. I’ll see you on Monday at four.” She handed him one of her cards. “If you need to reschedule, just give me a call.”

  Cedric nodded, his eyes locked on hers. “Thanks.” He pivoted on his heel and strode off.

  Randi watched him as he and Lorenzo took up a position several feet away, near the area where the firefighters worked. Fortunately, no other structures had been damaged and no lives lost. Turning her attention back to where it needed to be, Randi made her rounds and interviewed the few people who had been standing around. No one had seen anyone near the building. More than once as she went about her tasks, she caught Cedric staring her way. It took another three hours before the firefighters had the fire completely out.

  “Hey, Randi.”

  She spun around at the sound of Detective Brian Warner’s voice. “Hey. Anybody see anything?”

  “Not one person.” Brian shook his head. “You know as well as I do, people are real hesitant to give up information these days.”

  “Tell me about it,” she murmured.

  “You heard about the task force?” When she nodded, he said, “The mayor wants to nip this in the bud before it gets out of control. Not sure how he heard about this one or the fact that it’s suspected arson, but...” He shrugged.

  Randi lifted a brow. “He thinks they’re connected?”

  “I’ve no idea, but apparently he’s good friends with the construction company owner from the first fire and if there’s a connection, he said he wants to be on top of it.” That fire had been two weeks ago and they still had no leads.

  “Always politics. I wish he’d get more involved when it comes to our budgets.”

  Brian laughed. “Tell me about it. The first meeting is tomorrow at eight.”

  There goes my Sunday. “Hopefully, it won’t last too long.”

  “Hopefully. See you later.”

  After he left, Randi went to find the fire chief. She spotted him talking to Cedric and Lorenzo and decided to wait until they finished their conversation. She didn’t want another round with Mr. Personality. She wasn’t fond of Cedric’s attitude, but she couldn’t deny his good looks. She also sensed his attraction to her beneath the gruff exterior and briefly wondered what his smile would be like. She immediately dismissed the thought. I need to be focused on finding an arsonist, not worrying about the man’s smile. She’d always been able to hold her own in any situation and had worked to prove herself in a male-dominated profession, but something about the way Cedric stared at her had her off balance or something. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt a tug of attraction toward him.

  Copyright © 2019 by Sheryl Lister

  ISBN-13: 9781488034466

  The CEO’s Dilemma & Undeniable Passion

  Copyright © 2019 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

  The CEO’s Dilemma

  Copyright © 2019 by Lindsay Evans

  Undeniable Passion

  Copyright © 2019 by Kayla Perrin

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