by Cindi Myers
The sick feeling in his gut when Bonnie had suggested Erica had made that tape for her own gain.
His mind refused to believe Erica would do anything to hurt him, but the twist in his gut worried him. Was instinct trying to warn him of the dangers of putting too much trust in anyone?
The ringing doorbell startled him out of his brooding. He stared at the door, and thought about not answering it. He was getting tired of hanging up on reporters. But what if it was Carl? Or Erica?
He heaved himself off the sofa and strode to the door. A check at the peephole revealed Nick Cassidy squinting up at him, making an obscene gesture with one hand.
Adam jerked open the door. “Nick! What are you doing here?”
“I came to see if you were fighting off all your groupies. Thought I’d cut in on the action.” Nick limped into the living room. He was dressed in black jeans and boots, a black shirt and carried an ebony cane with a silver tip.
“What groupies?” As much as Nick annoyed him at times, Adam was touched he would stop by to see him.
Nick settled on the sofa facing Adam. “Now that you’re the talk of the town—the superstud whose prowess was demonstrated on the air waves—I would think you’d have women falling all over you.”
Adam sank into a chair. “Cut it out, Nick. It’s not funny.”
“Life is funny, my friend. Learn that and you’ll get through anything.”
“Is that why you stopped by—to give me a bunch of corny advice?”
Nick ignored the question. “How is Erica?”
“She’s okay, I guess.”
“You guess?” Nick studied him a long moment, then looked around the room. “I thought she might be here with you.”
“No. We thought it might be a good idea to lay low, with all the reporters and everything.” Adam half expected his nose to start growing after telling a whopper like that.
Nick’s gaze wandered around the room again. “So are we having fun, yet?”
Adam leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Right. I just lost my job, got embarrassed in front of the whole city. My ex-girlfriend says my current girlfriend did this on purpose and I’m not sure who to believe. I’m having a regular blast.”
“I heard the story Bonnie’s spreading around. Seems kind of far-fetched to me.”
“The whole thing is far-fetched. I can’t believe half the city heard me having sex on the air.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Nick’s mouth. “Sounded like you were having a good time, to me.” He shifted, and rested the cane across his knees. “I may be wrong, but Erica doesn’t strike me as the type to want to record her, um, exploits for posterity. Bonnie, however…” He grinned. “Bonnie probably makes home movies. And if I ever found them, I could make a small fortune.”
“I’ve learned you can never tell about people,” Adam said. “For instance, who would guess you had a decent bone in your body?”
“I never said I was an angel.” His gaze pinned Adam in his chair. “But I’ve learned a thing or two about relationships in my time. A lot of our business is about creating an illusion.”
“So?” Was Nick saying that Bonnie was right—that Erica had pretended to love him for her own gain? Or that Adam wasn’t seeing the real issue in this whole mess? Or something else?
“You strike me as a pretty smart guy,” Nick said. “You know Erica better than I do. What does your gut say about her?”
His gut said he loved her. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t hurt him.
“Look, you got your life back on track after your little vacation in the pen. You can get past this little dust-up, and come out on top again.” Nick stood, leaning heavily on the cane this time. “You need to step back from that and think about what’s real. Things aren’t always what they seem.”
Yeah, sometimes they’re worse. But Adam didn’t say it. He thanked Nick for stopping by and showed him to the door. And then Adam stood with his head pressed against the door frame, wishing he had a crystal ball that would show him the truth, and let him see what really mattered.
He straightened and rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. Maybe instead of accepting Erica’s story or Bonnie’s story or anyone else’s story, he should gather some facts and use them to help him make up his mind.
He hurried to the kitchen and dug the phone book out of the drawer. He’d start calling and asking questions, starting with the security guard on duty the night that tape was made. He wouldn’t stop talking to people until he got some answers.
BONNIE TUGGED on a pair of formfitting black leather pants and added a metal-studded belt. Leather halter top, leather jacket and stiletto boots completed the outfit. She studied herself in the full-length mirror on the back of her bedroom door.
“You look hot.” Doug came up behind her and put his hands on either side of her waist.
She shrugged him off. “The point is, do I look intimidating?” She looked around the room, hoping to spot some accessory that would add extra oomph to the outfit. “I wish I had a gun,” she said.
Doug looked alarmed. “Who are you going to shoot?”
“Nobody. But a gun could keep whoever this blackmailing nutcase is in line.”
“Want me to come with you?” Doug rubbed his hands together. “I’ll keep your blackmailer in line.”
She studied him in the mirror. She’d originally planned to handle this herself. After all, whoever had called her was a woman, and she was certain she could take any other female. But what if her caller brought along backup? “You can come with me,” she said, turning to him. “But don’t say anything. Just stand there and look menacing.”
“You’re the boss.” He nibbled the side of her neck.
“Don’t you forget it,” she murmured, even as the feel of his lips and his hand and his tongue made her weak in the knees. Reluctantly she pushed him away. “Come on. We’re going to be late. I want to get to the deli early and scope things out.”
“THANKS, PAT. I owe you one.” Adam tucked the padded envelope into his jacket and waved goodbye to the security guard at the KROK building. He checked his watch. He had just enough time to meet Erica at the deli. He couldn’t wait to show her what he’d found.
“Adam! Wait up!”
He turned and saw Carl hurrying toward him. Great. The last thing he’d wanted was to run into Carl. “What are you doing here?” Carl asked when he reached Adam’s side.
“I came by to talk to Pat. He had something of mine I needed.” That was more or less the truth. He wasn’t ready to share the rest yet. Not until he’d spoken to Erica.
Carl nodded. “You doing okay?” he asked.
“I’d rather be working.”
“To tell you the truth, I’d rather have you working. I thought Bonnie was a prima donna when I had her on weather and traffic, but now that she has her own show, the demands never stop. ‘Carl, I need a more comfortable chair.’ ‘Carl, we need a new billboard advertising the show.’ ‘Carl, my name should be bigger on the Web site.’” He pressed his hands to his head, as if trying to block out the memory.
“So let me come back,” Adam said. “Erica, too. We’ll pay the FCC fine. We’ll even apologize if we have to.”
Carl shook his head. “It’s out of my hands now. Corporate is up in arms and they don’t want either of you near a microphone until the FCC has finished its investigation and issued a report.”
“And after that?”
He frowned and refused to meet Adam’s eyes. “After that, we’ll see.”
“Right, well, see you around.” He turned away.
“I’m headed over to the Side Street Deli. Why don’t you come with me?”
Adam stared at Carl. “You’re going to the deli?”
“That’s what I just said. Actually, Erica invited me. Any idea what that’s about?”
Adam shook his head. “She asked me to meet her there, too. At seven-thirty. But she wouldn’t say what it was about. She said I had to trust her.”
&n
bsp; “Same here.” Carl clapped Adam on the back. “Guess we’d better get over there and find out what’s going on.”
“THERE’S BONNIE.” Tanisha jabbed her elbow into Erica’s ribs and nodded across the parking lot.
“I see her.” She rubbed the sore spot on her ribs and watched Bonnie stalk across the parking lot. The two friends were sitting in Tanisha’s Mustang, scoping out the deli before they made their move. “She looks like Catwoman in that outfit.”
“What does that make Doug? He looks like the Terminator.”
Dressed in fatigue pants and a tight black T-shirt, Doug did look ready to do battle. “I think Bonnie brought him along as a bodyguard,” Erica said. “Maybe she’s afraid of us.”
“She ought to be afraid of what we have that could ruin her career.”
“Yeah, except we don’t have anything.” Their plan was to have Tanisha say she’d seen Bonnie make the recording and put it in the computer. “Now that we’re here, I’m not sure she’s going to be worried about your word against hers.”
Tanisha checked her look in the visor mirror and fluffed her hair. “I can plant doubts in people’s minds. That should be enough to worry her.”
“But will it be enough to get her to admit she did it? Assuming she really did it.”
Tanisha gave her a sharp look. “I thought you said you were sure she did it.”
“Pretty sure.” Erica squirmed. “I mean, who else could have done it?”
Tanisha reached for the door handle. “Come on, let’s go.”
Once through the deli’s front door, they stopped to check things out. Erica spotted Adam and Carl right away, together in a booth near the back. Her heart hammered against her ribs. All of a sudden, this crazy plan seemed too real. What if she failed and made a fool of herself in front of him? The two men were deep in conversation and didn’t see her. She grabbed Tanisha and pulled her over until they were half-hidden by a display case filled with bowling and soccer trophies won by teams sponsored by the restaurant. “I don’t want Adam and Carl to see us yet,” she whispered.
“Gotcha.” Tanisha nodded to a table near the kitchen doors. “There’s Bonnie and Doug.” She looked at Erica. “What do we do now?”
“We have to get everybody together, so Adam and Carl hear Bonnie’s confession.”
“There’s a table near them. If we can get Bonnie to sit there, with her back to Adam and Carl, then they can hear what she says.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“I’ll go in first. She won’t notice me. I’ll go tell Adam and Carl that they need to watch and listen and not say anything. Then I’ll tell Bonnie that I need to talk to her privately at the table. You come up and join us when everything’s in place.”
“All right.” She stepped farther back into the shadows, hoping Tanisha didn’t notice how badly she was shaking. “Go for it.”
Tanisha crossed the restaurant, making a wide path around Bonnie’s table and ending up at Carl and Adam’s booth. The two men acted surprised to see her. She bent low, talking with them, then headed for Bonnie and Doug.
Bonnie didn’t look pleased to see Tanisha. She appeared to be arguing with her, but finally stood and followed her to the table near the booth.
Unfortunately, a young man and woman arrived at the table the same time Tanisha and Bonnie did. Tanisha scowled and said something to them. They looked Bonnie up and down and apparently thought better of arguing.
When both women were settled, Erica took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows. Here goes nothing, she thought.
“What are you doing here?” Bonnie snapped, before Erica was even halfway across the room.
“I came to talk to you.” She slipped into the chair across from Bonnie. She didn’t waste any time with small talk. “I know you made that recording of me and Adam. And I know you’re the one who put it in the computer and set it up to get us in trouble.”
Bonnie looked unmoved. She arched one painted-on eyebrow. “And you know this how?”
Erica looked at Tanisha, who shifted in her chair. “I—I saw you,” Tanisha said. She nodded. “I was there that night.”
Bonnie continued in ice queen mode. “What were you doing there? I didn’t see you.”
“I didn’t want you to see me,” Tanisha said. “I was waiting to meet Erica and Adam.”
“Why? So you could have a threesome?”
Tanisha’s cheeks darkened. “We were going to go out to dinner.”
Bonnie looked at Erica. “And you and the Hawk decided to have a little quickie while waiting for your friend? Weren’t you worried she’d walk in on you?” She smirked. “Or maybe that was the plan.”
Erica dug her fingernails into her palm, determined to hide her frustration, to remain as cool as her opponent. “Not everyone thinks like you do. The point is, we know you did it, and we’re prepared to go to Carl and tell him.”
Bonnie crossed her arms and sat back. “Getting your little friend to lie for you doesn’t amount to proof.”
Tanisha and Erica exchanged glances. This is what she’d been afraid of. She should have known Bonnie would be harder to break.
“That may not be proof, but this is.”
A brown padded envelope landed on the table between them. Adam stood beside the table, Carl next to him.
Bonnie stared at the envelope as if it was a live scorpion. “What is it?”
“It’s a videotape.” Adam picked up the envelope and shook out the contents. “The security tape from Friday night.”
“Planning to sell your exploits on the Internet?” Bonnie regained some of her composure.
“The library doesn’t have a security camera. But the sound booths do.”
“Corporate had them installed after your big bust-up,” Carl said. “They hoped it would help them defend charges of improper conduct by on-air personalities.”
“So Big Brother is watching while we work.” She made a face. “How disgusting.”
“Not just while we work,” Adam said. “All the time. The cameras were on while you recorded me and Erica and loaded the recording into the computer.”
Her makeup stood out harshly against her paper-white skin as Bonnie stared at them. “You’re lying.”
Adam tapped the tape case against his hand and shook his head. “I’m not.”
Carl took the case from him. “I’m sure corporate will be interested in seeing this.”
Bonnie slumped in her chair. Erica thought she might even faint. Doug rushed to her side. He put his arm around her and glared at them. “What have you done to her?”
“Relax.” Carl took command of the situation. “I’m going to go back to the office and take a look at this video. You’ll all be hearing from me.”
“I want to speak to my lawyer.” Bonnie straightened, but Doug’s arms stayed around her.
“Good idea,” Carl said. “I’ll have our lawyers call your lawyer.” He turned to leave.
“Carl?” Erica called. “What about the afternoon show? Who’s going to do it?”
“I’ll move Audra into that slot and put Davie on nights.”
“Oh.” She’d half hoped he’d say everything was all right now, that she and Adam could return to the air.
“The two of you aren’t out of hot water yet,” Carl said. “Not making the tape yourselves doesn’t negate the fact that there is a tape, and it was played on your show.”
“But we didn’t know—”
Adam’s hand on her shoulder interrupted her. “It’s okay,” he said. “Let everyone look at the evidence and sort things out. We can wait a little longer.”
She realized this was the first time he’d touched her since this all happened. His hand felt good. Warm and comforting. She reached up to lace her fingers with his. “All right,” she said. “I’ll wait.” Patience was a new virtue to her, but she was learning some things were worth waiting for. “We’ll wait. Together.”
17
THOUGH the confrontatio
n with Bonnie had brought Adam and Erica together again, the renewed closeness she’d envisioned didn’t materialize.
Her first clue came when she followed him to his house after they left the deli. She jumped out of her car and threw her arms around him, anticipating setting a new speed record for undressing and jumping into his bed. Instead his kiss was less than sizzling.
She drew her head back and looked into his eyes. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “That video proves I had nothing to do with that recording of us. That everything Bonnie said about me was a lie.”
“I know that.” He patted her shoulder and eased out of her arms. “I apologize. I never should have doubted you.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I did doubt you.” He took a step back and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Even when I knew I shouldn’t—that you’ve never given me a reason to—I doubted you.”
“We’ve established that. You said you’re sorry, I forgive you. Now why can’t we kiss and make up?”
He shook his head. “How can I say I love you, then doubt you? Maybe I’m not cut out for this serious relationship stuff.”
He looked so miserable, she probably should have been sympathetic. Instead her main emotion was one of annoyance. “I can’t believe you’re doing this,” she said.
“Doing what?”
Being an idiot. “Being so hard on yourself.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “You made a mistake. So what?”
His eyes met hers, the sadness in them heartbreaking. “I don’t want us to be a mistake.”
His words chilled her. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I need some more time to think. That we should cool things off a little.”
She took her hand from him and stepped back, somehow keeping her voice steady. “You want me to wait while you make up your mind how you really feel about me?”
“Yeah.”
He made it sound so reasonable. But there was nothing reasonable about the anger surging through her now. So much for her vows of patience. Why did he have to make this so difficult? “You said you loved me. I thought you meant it.”
