“Okay, Diana, here’s the deal. I know I’m impulsive and sometimes too passionate to see beyond what I think is best. While you’re wise beyond your years and I swear sometimes positively psychic. So if you tell me not to go tonight to talk to Connor, it will kill me but I’ll obey you.”
For an instant Diana narrowed her aquamarine eyes, so like their father’s and her own. Ever so slowly she uncurled from the sofa and seemed to float to the small cherrywood desk in the corner.
She wrote on a piece of paper and then handed it and a plastic keypad card to Venus.
“Here is my employee number and key card. They’ll get you into the private parking area next to the loading dock. When I go to Clayworth’s at 6:00 A.M. the guard is already on duty so I sign in. He won’t be there tonight. Employees rarely go to the store this late. Except Connor. If his Ferrari is there, he’ll be up in the executive offices.”
Overcome with relief, Venus engulfed her tiny sister in a hug that swallowed her. “Thank you, Diana. Helping me see Connor tonight is not a mistake.”
“I know or I wouldn’t be doing it.” Diana’s serene voice made Venus feel a rush of confidence.
Now if only she found his red Ferrari still parked in the garage she could at last end this night of painful revelations by moving forward with her plan to help them all.
His car sat alone in an area designated for the Clayworth family and select employees, Diana included. Venus pulled her blue Prius into her sister’s parking space.
The store looked surreal at night, as if she walked through a dream. The escalators motionless. The display cases ghostlike in the filtered pale moonlight from the glass dome several stories above.
All lay silent except for the thumping of her heart in her ears and the swoosh of the elevator carrying her to the ninth-floor executive offices.
This part of the store she knew well from the years when she came here with her mom and dad. She passed the offices of the Clayworth brothers, Greyson and Ric, off in Asia and Europe overseeing their far-flung empire.
On her right was her father’s old office. She stopped to peer inside. Seeing it emptied of any evidence of his life spent dedicated to Clayworth’s made her throat ache with unshed tears.
Taking a deep breath, she kept walking past the smaller office of Ed Mahoney, who used it the days he was at Clayworth’s rather than in his larger office on LaSalle where he saw other clients.
She knew the light falling out into the hall came from the twin offices of Drew and Connor, separated by a butler’s pantry, boardroom, and now, according to Gregori, a small gym.
A rhythmic high-speed sound led her to a small room crowded with a pull-up bar, dip stand, power rack, and crunch board. From the ceiling hung a large black bag that resembled a giant sausage, and a worn-out brown leather puffy ball rested on the floor.
These all look like instruments of torture to me.
Lost in his own world, Connor stood, stripped to black shorts and tank top, wearing some kind of thin black gloves and striking a tear-drop-shaped red bag with a rolling hand-over-hand motion between his forehead and chin. The rat-a-tat-tat sound was positively hypnotic.
“Connor,” she shouted, desperate to get his attention.
He looked up and Venus saw the shock and, yes, the newly recognized vulnerability before Connor narrowed his eyes.
“Which one helped you get in. Bridget or Diana?”
“Diana.” Defiant, Venus tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Is she in trouble?”
His mouth curled into his almost smile. “What do you think?”
“I think you know you’re lucky she decided to stay working for you despite what happened with Dad. And you want to keep having her award-winning décor and window displays in all twenty of your stores. So, no, she damn well better not be in trouble.”
“Come to put on the gloves, Venus?”
“No, Connor. I’ve come to take them off.”
Waiting for his answer, her heart pounded like a hammer against her ribs.
At last he nodded. “Wait in my office. I’ll shower and meet you there in a few minutes. And for the record, you don’t need to worry about Diana’s job.”
Excitement and fear roared through her in such a hot blast she couldn’t stand still.
It’s true the world has gone crazy. I was right the other day on the sidewalk outside of Sola’s. Connor and I are attracted to each other.
Confused beyond anything she’d ever known, she paced the Clayworth blue carpet from large window, to fireplace, to heavy walnut desk, which her artist eye recognized as a priceless antique.
Two files rested on its neat-as-a-pin surface.
Her stomach in one big knot, she stopped to stare down at the one labeled Eisenberg Brooch Robbery.
Is there a clue in there? Something that might help Tony?
This file appeared much thinner than the fat one marked Shoplifing and Robberies in Last Decade.
The urge to flip through both files, looking for answers, took every ounce of her willpower to resist.
Hearing Connor coming into the room, she twirled away from the desk and temptation.
His hair lay wet and slicked back on his perfectly shaped skull the way it had years ago when she’d watched him climb out of the NU swimming pool. Then, like now, despite her good intentions, she couldn’t ignore her powerful sexual attraction to him. Even though tonight his open-neck shirt and khakis hid his powerful physique, she still pictured him in the Speedo.
His vulnerability seemed hidden now, too.
He swept the files off his desk and into a locked drawer.
Curiosity got the best of her. “I thought everything was computerized these days.”
“At Clayworth’s we’re creatures of habit. We use both computers and hard copies. I was looking through the records of the heist when the brooch was stolen. Other fine pieces of jewelry were also taken that night.”
His narrow-eyed gaze, she decided, must be a lawyer’s trick to throw off the opposition. Tonight she knew what she needed to do.
She stared right back at him. “Tony didn’t do it.”
Although he tried to cover it, she saw him square his shoulders as if he had himself in a straitjacket, utterly in control.
“Venus, I’m an officer of the court. In the end the evidence will determine Tony’s guilt or innocence. Not me or my feelings.”
Frustration and raw disbelief at his matter-of-fact tone burned so bright she almost lost it. Remembering how high the stakes were in this for all of them, she took a deep breath and stepped closer to him.
“How can you stand here and pretend to be so calm? At Bridget’s I saw in your eyes how you want to come to Tony’s defense. Or have you rushed to judgment on Tony like you did with my dad? How could you, Connor, when Tony’s like a father to you?”
Connor’s face seemed to soften, yet his stare felt as intense and powerful as ever, still totally devoid of vulnerability. “Why can’t you understand that facts are facts with your father, Venus? You can’t change them. Like I can’t change what happened between Bridget and Tony. I can’t change the fact Tony had the stolen brooch in his possession.” A glimmer of vulnerability sparked in his eyes. “Even if I wish like hell I could.”
Seeing a chink in his armor urged her on. “Don’t wish it, Connor. Make it happen. Open yourself to the possibility you could be wrong. And the facts actually lead to another conclusion. There are so many different explanations for Tony’s actions.” She heard the hoarse plea in her voice and cleared her throat, fighting for control. “I know you can’t or won’t talk about what happened with my dad, but I know there must be just as many other explanations for his actions besides guilt.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Venus. I know that’s the story you want to believe, but the overwhelming evidence indicates otherwise.”
The sudden gentleness in his voice might have been her undoing if she wasn’t driven by feelings beyond her control. Her involvement had started with her fat
her’s troubles and her need to right that wrong. Now, with Tony under suspicion and Bridget miserable, her plan seemed to have a life of its own, drawing her and Connor closer and closer.
This is what I wanted.
She stepped so close she smelled the fresh lime scent of Connor’s soap. “Forget your damn vaunted logic. What about this, Connor?” She placed a hand over her heart. “What I know to be true no matter what the facts or the evidence may appear to be about my dad—and now I feel the same way about Tony.”
Slowly, fear a tiny flame in her chest, she placed her other hand over his heart and felt its beat beneath her fingers. “You must feel it, too. Tony is like a father to you. I know you love him as much as I do my dad.”
He tensed, the accelerated pace of his pulse telling her he felt the tension between them just as she did.
Their eyes clashed and she refused to be frightened into looking away.
“To live by your emotions leads to mayhem, Venus. Life has taught me that people are innocent or guilty by their actions. The world is black or white. Right or wrong. Why in the hell can’t you understand that life isn’t always fair and events don’t always turn out the way you want no matter how much you try to make it happen. You can’t change any of it, Venus. Leave this alone before you get hurt even more.”
Weak with her need to convince him, she swayed closer, placing both palms against his warm, hard chest. “I don’t believe the world is black and white. To me it’s a fabulous color of gray. Full of endless possibilities, if you’ll only let yourself go and not be afraid to think outside the box. Like now. A few days ago I would never have touched you. Now I am and you’re letting me. Please, Connor, let yourself go further and help me. Together I know we can find out the truth about Tony and my dad.”
Their gazes seemed to meld together, creating a wave pulling her toward him.
“Venus, don’t play this game. I can’t let go. It’s not who I am and you know it,” he said, his voice hoarse.
Every stinging instinct she possessed urged her on. “Yes, you can and I’m proving it to you right now.”
She slid her hands up to cup his face. Closing her eyes, she pressed a kiss on his mouth.
The feel and taste of his lips ran like liquid fire through her blood.
Burning with shock, she tried to pull away.
He stopped her, sliding his fingers into her hair, pulling her tight against his body to deepen their kiss.
As if lightning had struck between them, they both jerked back, but their eyes locked.
Desire pulsing through her, she stared up at him, terrified but determined.
“You see, anything is possible.” Her voice sounded so breathless, she took a deep strengthening breath to steady it. “We don’t even… like each other, yet we kissed as if we cared. We let go of our preconceived notions and look what happened. Please let go again, Connor. Work with me to prove Tony is innocent. And when we discover the truth isn’t what you believe it to be, then you’ll know logic doesn’t always work. Go with your feelings about my dad and Tony. Then anything is possible.
“I know Tony is innocent.” She pulled out the mermaid brooch from between her breasts. “And this is our bait to find out who is really guilty.”
Chapter 10
His gut clenched. What in the hell is wrong with me.
A night of pain and worry wasn’t excuse enough for his lack of control. He shut down his throbbing desire to pull Venus back into his arms and tried to act like a Clayworth should.
“This was a mistake, Venus. I apologize.”
“You’re apologizing for kissing me?”
At least he had the willpower not to smile at her guileless indignation or touch her soft, flushed cheek. Her hair had felt like silk, her skin warm velvet.
“Venus, often in intense emotional situations people act and think irrationally.” He needed to move away from this personal quicksand and back to the fact that she wanted to do something ill advised. “Like your idea of using the brooch as bait. Totally illogical.”
Her skin flushed even pinker, making her extraordinary eyes blaze brighter.
“No, it isn’t illogical. I didn’t see the connection at first either but now it makes perfect sense to me. On Rebecca’s TV show I mentioned this is a rare Eisenberg copy of the mermaid brooch made of real stones, stolen in the famous heist. I even said I recently found it forgotten in a Chicago closet.”
Again she stepped closer to him. He steeled himself not to react.
“Connor, don’t you see, only the thief would want to know if my brooch could possibly be the one made of precious gems he lost to the Saint of Taylor Street in a poker game.”
Why in the hell do I want to believe her far-fetched theory?
He shook his head, trying to clear it of her and the way she made him feel.
“The most logical explanation is a basic robbery.”
“The day after I wore the brooch on Rebecca’s show? Now who’s not being logical? I don’t believe in coincidences,” she taunted him.
Concentrating on convincing her to be reasonable, he focused his gaze on her face the way he did with witnesses in the courtroom. “No coincidence. It’s obvious the thieves targeted Pandora’s Box after they saw the quality vintage jewelry you carry in the store. You said they took all your most expensive pieces. They were pros.”
He saw defiance blaze in her eyes. Knew it meant trouble.
“You are so wrong, Connor. I’ve been wearing the mermaid on a chain hidden under my clothes all week. But now I’m going to wear it openly everywhere I go in public. If you’re right, I’ll be perfectly safe. If I’m right, we’ll capture the real thief and exonerate Tony.”
He’d never understood why she instilled such a need in him to protect her. Still didn’t understand. Did know no way would he allow her to turn herself into a target for any thug on the street. “Venus, that idea is criminally reckless. If you’re right you’re putting yourself in real danger.”
She lifted a strand of hair off her shoulder to wrap around two fingers. “I suppose I could hire bodyguards, but that might put off the thieves.”
Concerned, as any rational person would be under the circumstances, he broke the promise he made to himself, way back when he’d fought for her, to never do it again. “There is no way I will allow you to do this.”
Eyes wide in defiance, she laughed up at him. “Connor, I don’t believe you can stop me from going home and doing exactly what I please. After all, I paid for the brooch. Well, underpaid,” she admitted with a shrug. “But it’s mine to do with as I wish until I decide what I should do with it after we solve this mystery.”
Her eyes were aquamarine flames beckoning him to join in her game. No one frustrated or excited him more than Venus. The feelings welled up from his gut. “Listen to me. Whether I’m right or you’re right about the robbery, all your wandering around in public wearing a fortune will get you some small-time hit-and-run purse snatcher, not the guy you’re looking to find. It’s too dangerous for you to continue wearing a fortune in jewelry, and you know it.”
Smiling, she swayed closer so he smelled her sultry perfume, felt the warmth of her body.
“When your customers buy expensive pieces in your fine jewelry department, do you give them a disclaimer that they might be in danger if they actually wear their new jewels?”
Ignoring the jab of truth, he tried again to reason with her. “It isn’t the same and you know it.”
She twirled another curl around her fingers. “Well, if you’re so concerned that I’m in danger, then become my knight in shining armor and help me slay the real dragon. It’s what you really want to do and you know it. But if you’re afraid to admit it, I’ll have no choice but to do it on my own.”
Anger rolled through him at her reckless disregard for her own safety. “This isn’t a game, Venus,” he roared. “If you don’t come to your senses about this crazy plan to make yourself a target, I’m calling your father. He’ll stop
you.”
Their eyes clashed. All playfulness gone, she flashed him such a look of loathing it felt like a blow.
“I can’t believe you have the nerve to threaten me with my father like I’m a child. How dare you use him in such a way. But I shouldn’t be surprised considering how you’ve already trashed him.”
Once he would have called Alistair without hesitation to help protect Venus. The anguish over his betrayal burned fresh in Connor’s gut.
“Venus, you need to listen to me about your father and understand.”
“Never! I’m leaving. You’re an arrogant ass who thinks he is always right. I was a fool to hope you were capable of change or of actually lifting a finger to help me or your uncle!” She spun around on her towering heels and pushed past him to run down the hall into the waiting elevator before he could stop her.
Instead of following her, he sprinted over to the private executive elevator and took it down, knowing he’d arrive at the employee exit before she did.
Hell, she confused him more than any woman he’d ever known. Why couldn’t she be rational?
Because she feels so passionate about everything in her life and the people she loves. She’s addictive.
Breathless, eyes flashing, breasts heaving, she appeared like a vengeful goddess out of the dim store.
In that instant he knew he’d go along with her crazy plan. His flawed reasoning that he was doing it for his aunt and uncle he’d deal with later. The rational part of him believed if he went along with her he could convince her to not only give up the mermaid brooch for her own safety, but also finally come to grips with her father’s guilt.
“Get out of my way. I’m going home.” She tried to push past him.
He blocked the door with his arm, stopping her. “Leave your car. I’ll have it delivered to you tomorrow. I’m driving you home. We need to discuss our next move in your plan to exonerate Tony.”
She flung back her head and glared up at him. “Our next move? Are you insane? Why this sudden change of heart?”
“You,” he stated with blunt honesty. “Tonight you made me realize I feel as passionate about helping Tony and Bridget as you do about your dad. However, my wanting to go along with this plan doesn’t mean it will turn out the way either one of us want in the end. Can you let go and accept whatever happens, whatever we uncover?”
All I Want Is You Page 10
