The Naughty Nine: Where Danger and Passion Collide

by Nina Bruhns

  The next years of his life were a blur. He and Mitch spent all their time building their ad agency, Kovich & Edwards Agency, into a multimillion-dollar business. He’d stayed focused and every time he’d seen Eve, he’d tried not to think about that perfect kiss one hot summer day in Maine.

  But when Carter had walked into his office a few years later to see Eve crying and sitting next to Mitch, he’d realized he had one more chance at happiness.

  “I caught Steve cheating on me,” she blurted out and he could see she was on the verge of tears.

  “Carter, I've just saved our butts. I hired Eve to take over the Johnson contract. Actually, she's going to be taking half your clients, so you can have some more time in the office to straighten out the mess.” Mitch smiled at Eve and patted her hand as she sniffled into a Kleenex.

  “What?” Carter just stood there, and if his mind hadn't been so focused on how beautiful Eve was, even red-eyed, he probably could have pieced together what his friend was saying.

  “You don't have to hire me,” Eve said as she wiped her eyes.

  Carter's mind jumped into gear. Eve was single. For the first time in almost eight years, she was single again. There was no way he was going to let this opportunity slip by him again.

  He slowly walked over and sat across from her, really taking in how she looked. He could no longer see her red swollen eyes, but only how she'd looked that day in his grandparents’ bedroom: wet, half-naked, and in his arms. Not to mention the feel of her skin under his hands or the taste of her lips. “No, it's fine. Welcome aboard.” He smiled and knew it was going to be the hardest thing in the world working with the woman he desired so much.

  Secret Identity: Chapter One

  She could hear talking, but every time she tried to focus, she would slip back into the darkness. One voice stood out, however; it was constantly there. Its richness warmed her. She felt hands on her, cold hands. They came and went, lifting her, moving her, but she didn't respond. It was almost as if her mind was locked in a room, unable to respond to anything.

  Finally, it was quiet and she slept. Then there was a bright light and she squinted as she raised her arms up to shield her eyes from the light.

  “Eve?” The deep voice said just above her.

  “Eve?” She opened her eyes and saw a dark-haired man leaning over her. She blinked a few times, trying to get his face into better focus. Her eyes refused to focus at first; she looked up at him as if seeing him through a haze. Finally, he came into focus and she noticed his chocolate eyes hovered just above hers. There was a thick covering of stubble on his chin, and it was obvious that he hadn't shaved in a while. She ran her eyes slowly over the nice shape of his jaw and wondered how it would feel if she reached up and ran her fingers over it. His hair was messed up, like he'd run his hands through it. Would it be as soft as it looked? His shirt buttons were open and she saw dried blood spots around the neck.

  She went to move, to try and wipe her eyes. “No, sweetie,” he said in the rich voice she'd come to know. “Don't move. Your wrist is sprained.” He held her other hand and for the first time, she noticed a dull pain radiating from her left wrist.

  Someone else spoke from across the room. He looked up, away from her, to answer them. When he looked back down at her, he smiled. “Mitchell and Sandi are here. Sandi's going to go find a doctor.” She watched a tear slip down his cheek. Raising her good hand, she wiped it from his face. The wetness on her fingertips felt warm.

  “Hey there.” Another head leaned over her. This one was blond and the man had sea green eyes. He too looked like he could use a shave. The worry in both their eyes matched.

  “I…” Her throat felt sore. She cleared it and tried to talk again, but just as she opened her mouth this time, the doctor walked in.

  “Hi, good morning. I hear our patient is up.”

  “Yes,” the men said in unison.

  “Good.” An older, gray-haired man leaned over her now. His face was wrinkled and he had kind, blue eyes. “How are you feeling? Mrs. Taylor?”

  She blinked a few times and fear crept into her mind. “I…Where am I?” She didn't know what to say. She had so many questions, but this one seemed to be the most important at the moment.

  “You're at University Hospital in Chicago.” Then the older man looked up, away from her. “If you don't mind, I'd like to examine her. Maybe you can run downstairs for a cup of coffee?” She heard people leaving the room and the click of the door being shut.

  A young, blonde nurse leaned over her now. “Here, would you like to sit up?” The bed began moving and soon she was looking at a small, empty hospital room. She could see her feet tucked under a large green blanket. She wiggled her toes and saw the blanket move.

  “Good. I see you moving your feet.” The nurse smiled at her.

  “Can you tell me, what's the last thing you remember?” The doctor flashed a light at her face and her head exploded. She shut her eyes and grabbed her head with her good hand. Pain spread from her left temple down her jaw, through her neck, and into her entire body.

  “I'm sorry, dear. I know your eyes are sensitive to the light, but I have to check your pupils. Can you open your eyes for me?”

  She shook her head slightly. The pain was almost too much to bear.

  “Okay, we can try again later. Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?” She slowly opened her eyes and looked. It was blurry, but she could see three fingers.

  “Three.”

  “Good. How's your vision? Can you see the clock on the wall there?” He pointed across the room. She could just make out a dark circle, but wouldn't have known it was a clock. She shook her head.

  “Okay, that's okay. Sometimes a bump on the head like the one you took will play havoc with your sight. It may take a few days until everything is back in focus.” She watched him write something down. “Can you tell me the last thing you remember?”

  She thought about it. The last thing she remembered. Everything was blurry. She was in a hospital room in Chicago. There was a dark-haired man whose voice was familiar to her, a blond man named Mitchell and someone named Sandi. Looking up at the doctor, she shook her head, no.

  “No? No, you can't tell me what happened? Or no, you don't remember what happened to you?”

  “I don't remember anything.” She felt the bedspread under her fingers and gripped the cotton. She felt short of breath and found it difficult to swallow. “I can't remember anything. Who I am. Who those people were. Why I'm in Chicago. I can't even remember what I look like or my name.”

  * * *

  Two days earlier

  Eve couldn't believe her eyes. For the millionth time in her life, Carter Edwards was on her nerves. She watched him sprint towards her with a small black bag in hand, his usual smile pasted on his face. Most women would swoon over his dashing personality and rugged good looks. She, however, found it hard not to grind her teeth in frustration.

  “Good,” he said as he stopped right in front of her. “I made it.” He stowed his bag in the overhead compartment and sat next to her in the aisle seat. Instantly the large plane felt smaller.

  “What are you doing here?” She tried not to talk between clenched teeth. Relaxing her jaw, she took a deep breath as she waited for him to answer her.

  “There, all ready.” He nodded to the fight attendant who blushed a little and turned to start her pre-flight tasks. “I decided to join you in Chicago. Tom Russell can be quite overbearing. I thought I'd tag along to help out.”

  He leaned back in his seat and crossed his long legs, looking rather comfortable in such a small space. She knew exactly how to handle Tom Russell—the same way she handled all her other clients and, on occasion, her boss. She squinted at him and wished he would just go away.

  “How did you get the seat next to mine? This flight was booked.” She looked around.

  He smiled and looked at her. “I have my ways. Aww, now, don't give me that look. You won't even know I'm here.”r />
  How could she not know he was there? He seemed to suck up all the air in the compartment and she swore the walls of the plane had just moved in three feet.

  She tried to relax, knowing it was going to be a long flight and trip. A few hours sitting next to Carter seemed like nothing compared to four days in Chicago with him. As the plane started to taxi, she tried not to think about how close his knee was to hers.

  For years, she'd tried not to think about Carter in that way. Even when she'd been engaged to that lying, cheating…No—she interrupted her thoughts. Negative thoughts produced negative actions. She started doing her breathing exercises.

  “Thinking about the scumball again?” She heard the humor in Carter's voice and tried not to lash out at him.

  “It's really none of your concern.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

  “It is when it gets in the way of you doing your job.” She heard him chuckle.

  She could feel him leaning closer to her, could feel his breath on her hair. Opening her eyes, she saw how close he was to her and wanted to lean back, but she didn't. She wasn't going to give him an inch. “In case you've missed it, we are not in the office, or sitting in front of a client. What I do, or think about, on my own personal time is my business.”

  “Come on, Eve, we're friends, right?” He looked at her with his dark eyes and she lost all the pent-up frustration. Why did he always seem to be able to do that?

  “Yes, we're friends.” She smiled slightly at him.

  “Good, why don't you tell your good friend Carter what's bothering you?” He turned his shoulders a little so that his body was facing her. She had always liked his shoulders and the one time she'd actually gotten her hands on them, she hadn't wanted to let go. Her mind flashed to the party he'd thrown for their graduation at his grandparents’ place in Maine. She'd been wearing her favorite black bikini, and he'd been in his red swim shorts and no shirt. He'd been wet, like he'd just come out of the water, and she'd wanted nothing more than to lick the water drops from every inch of him.

  Then Susan had taken that picture of them kissing. It had taken almost three months for Eve to wrangle the negatives out of her. Her only regret was not getting it before Carter had gotten a copy. Knowing he had a copy of that photo only ate her up more. They never spoke of the kiss, or the photo. The negative and picture sat in a box in her closet. But the fact that it was there, looming between them, did something to her.

  “What?” He looked at her and she watched the small crease creep between his eyebrows. He had nice eyebrows, too. Actually, he had nice everything. His dark hair was always cut short, and his skin was always dark and tan due to his Greek heritage. He was tall and lean with just the amount of muscle tone that made a girl's mouth water. His dark eyes usually told his emotions before his face did. His lips were intoxicating. Her eyes traveled over him as they sat there. Then, with a jerk, the plane started rushing towards the end of the runway and she faced forward and gripped the armrests.

  “Still get nervous when you fly?” He chuckled a little.

  “Shut up.” She closed her eyes and ran through her prayers, ending on a Hail Mary when she felt the vessel level off in the air.

  “You've gotten better.” When she looked, he was smiling at her. “You used to pray the entire flight.”

  “Well, I've been flying a lot more lately.” She leaned over and removed her tablet and pulled her seat tray down. When she pulled out the small keyboard, she heard Carter sigh.

  “What?” She looked at him.

  “You don't have to work all the time, you know.” He was frowning at her computer.

  “I know. I just had a few emails I needed to send before we land.” She clicked a few buttons and waited for the screen to pop up.

  “They can wait. It's not like your boss is going to fire you, you know.” He smiled again and this time, she smiled back.

  “I've been meaning to ask you…” She turned towards him, a new plan firmly in her mind. For the past three weeks since Mitchell had announced he was getting married, she'd been trying to convince them to bring her on as partner. She'd saved enough money in the last five years to buy into the business and wanted nothing more than to be full partner. But every time she brought it up, Mitch would tell her to talk to Carter, since he was the business head and Mitchell was just the talent scout. Or so he claimed. When she tried to talk to Carter about it, somehow he always found a way out of the conversations.

  Looking around the plane, she doubted he could fake a last minute business meeting here. Since he was cornered, she decided it was an excellent place to ask about buying in.

  “Have you thought about me buying in to K&E? Did you look over the business plan I gave you?” She waited for his answer.

  “Umm,” he looked around, no doubt trying to find the nearest escape.

  “Here,” she leaned over and pulled a black folder from her bag and handed it to him. “I brought a copy of my proposal with me.”

  He looked at the folder in her hands and closed his eyes, faking a snore.

  “You can't get away from me this time.” She laughed. “Just look over it. It's not like I'm asking much. You know very well that I deserve this chance.” She tossed the folder into his lap and watched him pick it up.

  “I've already looked it over.” He tried to hand it back to her.

  “And?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “And it's a solid business plan.” He set the folder on top of her tablet on the tray in front of her.

  “That's it?” She held up the folder again. “Solid?”

  “Okay, it's a very solid business plan.” He smiled at her and crossed his arms, mocking her.

  “Carter, just tell me if you don't want me to be partner. I won't be offended.” She set the folder down.

  “That's not it.” He frowned at her.

  “What is it, then? Is my offer too low?” She opened the folder and started looking through her proposal.

  “No, if anything it's too much.” He looked away.

  “What is it, then?” She punched out each word between gritted teeth.

  He closed his eyes and sighed. “Listen, how about we grab some dinner tonight and talk about it. I know this great pizza place downtown.”

  She looked at him. They'd had plenty of dinners together over the years. After all, wining and dining someone was a big part of winning a potential client over. But never had he asked her to dinner, just her, and in such a casual way.

  “Why can't you just talk about it now? It's not like we're going anywhere.” She motioned around the almost full plane. She was trying to keep her patience in check. He really could be annoying at times. Ever since she'd first met him in middle school, he'd always had to have his way.

  Actually, it was due to their friendship and her friendship with Mitchell, that she’d chosen the career path she had. If it wasn't for them, she doubted she would be living in her large apartment overlooking Central Park. She owed the two of them more than she could repay. But that didn't stop her from wanting to become partner in their ad agency. She'd worked harder than she'd ever dreamed in the last few years, building their clientele to such a high standard and number that they'd hired on several more employees just to manage all the work.

  She watched as Carter leaned his head back. “I was hoping to catch some sleep. I was working until early this morning and wanted to shut down for a while.” He closed his eyes and she could see a slight smile on his lips. He was avoiding her again. The question was, was she going to allow him to manipulate her so easily.

  “That's fine. But I can't do dinner tonight. I am meeting Simon Thomas for dinner.” She leaned back and sighed a little, watching Carter's reaction out of the corner of her eye.

  “Simon?” Carter sat up a little. “Why are you meeting Simon Thomas for dinner?” She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her face. Closing her eyes a little, it took everything she had not to smile.

  “I suppose
he wants to talk to me about my proposal.” She said easily.

  “Proposal?” She heard the anger in his voice and laughed as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

  “Really, Carter. Why is it so hard to believe that another ad agency isn't willing to snatch me up? I have a solid proposal. I've proven myself worthy of being partner. My client lists are impressive, and everyone is happy with my performance. Why are you having such a hard time bringing me in? Even Mitch was on board with my proposal.” She glared at him.

  He leaned back and looked at her. “Do you really have a meeting with Simon tonight?”

  She nodded her head and watched his eyes heat. She knew she'd struck a chord by mentioning Carter's nemesis. But the fact was, Simon had called her up when he'd found out that she'd be in Chicago, and had asked her for a meeting. She hadn't sent him a proposal to him, but if Carter didn't give her an answer before they landed, she was seriously thinking about making Simon an offer.

  He sat there, silently, and she could tell he was boiling hot. Maybe she had crossed the line a little. But the little cat and mouse game he'd been playing over the last few weeks was tiring. She knew it was time to change who was chasing whom.

  Carter stood up and reached into the overhead bin, pulling out his bag. When he sat back down, she could tell he wasn't going to give her an answer.

  “Here.” He set a large envelope in front of her. “One of the reasons I wanted to do dinner tonight.” He set his bag on the ground and leaned back again, closing his eyes.

  When she opened the large envelope, she realized she'd misjudged him. There in front of her was all the legal paperwork for her to become full partner in Kovich & Edwards Agency. All she had to do was sign her name.

  She stole a glance at Carter. He was watching her with a large smile on his face. “How about canceling that dinner with Simon Thomas and we'll celebrate with pizza and beer?”

  She laughed and smiled at him. “Sounds like a plan, partner.”