He was intuitive enough to realize he couldn’t use bulldozer methods with Cassidy. With her he couldn’t plow straight ahead as he had today with his toy bulldozer, pushing all obstacles out of the way until he had found out what he wanted to know. Instead, he would have to circle her, picking up what he could on his own until she chose to give him more.
One way or the other, though, he would solve the puzzle. And this time he had a feeling the prize would be infinitely sweeter than any he had ever won before.
Cassidy found the seventh bench on the left and sat down. She glanced around her nervously. She hadn’t seen another person since she had entered the park. She rubbed a clammy hand down her jeans. The nearest light pole was two benches down, which left her bench in shadows.
Where was he? Who was he?
He had called her out of the blue a couple of days before and told her that he had read an investigative article she had done several months before on kickbacks a city councilman had received. The article had been her first and so far only important investigative piece, with her first and so far only by-line, and she was extremely proud of it. The city councilman was now awaiting trial. The caller had gone on to ask her a few questions, as if to assure himself he could trust her, then he had told her about overhearing a telephone conversation at Bennett Toys. Someone there was planning to steal the design for Bennett’s latest video game and sell it to a foreign buyer for ten million dollars. When they met, he had said, he would give her an almost verbatim transcript of the call and relate the circumstances under which he had heard it.
She had immediately leaped at the opportunity. Industrial espionage was big business these days, and though a video game wasn't exactly a state secret, the game was worth millions to someone. Maybe even more importantly, Bennett Toys was a local company employing over a thousand people. Anything that affected the livelihood of so many was bound to be a big story. Her editor had been skeptical, but in the end had said that if she could finish the assignments she already had, she could have a week to track down the story.
If he would just show up!
“Red really is my favorite color, you know. It wasn’t a line.”
She spun around on the bench so fast, she had to grab its back to steady herself. “Zach!”
Looking devastatingly attractive in black slacks and a cream-colored knit shirt, he dropped down onto the bench beside her and lightly brushed a finger over the cotton of her T-shirt. “Pretty.”
Bewildered she looked down and almost groaned. When she had changed out of her work clothes into her jeans this evening, she had grabbed a T-shirt at random. The T-shirt was red. She cast a quick glance around, hoping her contact hadn’t arrived yet and wouldn’t see Zach. “What are you doing here?”
“Following you.”
“You’re what?”
“I saw you leaving your house, I wanted to see you, so I followed you and here I am.” He shrugged, as if he had explained everything, but he understood her problem. He was interfering with her plans. But he had a problem too. He couldn’t leave her alone in a park at night to meet a man she obviously didn’t know. The set up had the potential to be very dangerous, and he wouldn’t leave any woman alone under the circumstances, much less Cassidy. She was not only a puzzle he wanted to solve, she was a woman he wanted to have.
“You’re got to leave. Now!”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” Anxiety made her voice higher than usual.
He stretched his long legs out in front of him, settling himself comfortably. “Because I want to see you, and this is where you are. What’s more, you’re as nervous as a cat. It makes me eager to stick around and find out what or who has affected your nerves so badly.”
How could a man be so laid back, she wondered, and at the same time emit so much magnetic energy? “Then look no further, Zach, because it’s you. And in my defense, most women would be nervous if they had a man following them.”
“Why? My intentions might have to go a ways before they’re one hundred percent honorable, but basically I only want to spend some more time with you, get to know you. You can’t be afraid of me. You were a guest in my home last night.”
“I wasn’t a guest,” she said through gritted teeth. “I paid for the privilege.”
“Come back with me now. and I’ll let you in free.”
“No. And that’s my final answer. Now will you please leave before you spoil everything?”
He smiled. “So you are waiting for the other man who likes red. I thought you might be when I saw that you’d come into the park. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”
It was getting worse and worse, she thought with despair. “You can’t meet him.”
“Why? We both like red. We probably have a lot of other things in common too.”
“Zach!”
“Yes, Cassidy?”
“You know my name?” she asked, shocked. He also knew where she lived, she realized suddenly, because he had said that he had seen her leaving her house.
“Last night I sent a waiter after you to copy down your license plate number for me, then used a contact I have down at the Department of Motor Vehicles to trace it.”
She groaned. “What’s it going to take to get you out of this park?”
“For you to come with me.”
“No.”
“Fine, then we’ll stay here, and you can tell me what this is all about.”
“No.”
“Okay. I’m flexible. We’ll neck. We were very good at it last night. Remember?” He reached over and placed his finger on her bottom lip.
God must have shorted ten men in the charm department when He made Zach, she thought, feeling herself quiver at his touch. “What time is it?”
He raised his arm and looked at his watch. “Seven forty-five.”
“Good heavens, Zach, is that really a Mickey Mouse watch?”
“I’ve had it ever since I was a boy,” he said, holding it closer to her so that she could see it better. “Do you like it?”
Her brain couldn’t even begin to cope with the idea of a Mickey Mouse watch on a man who could scorch her insides with a mere kiss, so she switched her thoughts to something she could cope with - the man she was supposed to meet here. In all likelihood, he had probably already shown up, taken one look at Zach, and run. Damn. Damn. Damn. She stood.
“Are we leaving?” Zach asked, also standing.
Without answering, she began walking toward the park exit.
He fell into step beside her. “Where are we going?”
“I’m going home.”
“Great,” he said with genuine enthusiasm. “I’ve seen the outside of your house, I’d like to see the inside.”
She stopped and looked up at him. They were standing beneath a light, making it easy for her to see the hard angle of his jaw, a remarkable contrast to the dreaminess of his eyes. “No.”
He sighed. She was going to take some convincing. “Cassidy - ” he began.
“Just listen to me. I’m sure you’re a very nice man, but I have no wish to become involved with you or with anyone. I admit that last night I overreacted somewhat to your kiss, but - ”
“Overreacted?”
“But,” she said, going on determinedly, “that was because you caught me off guard, and - ”
“Cassidy, Cassidy …” His tone was gentle as he laid his hand on her cheek.
She tensed, viewing the renewed twinkling of his eyes as extremely ominous.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wish I could tell you that if you continue with your explanation, it will make me go home alone, but I can’t. Because you see, not only am I wildly attracted to you, I can’t help but feel that whatever you're involved in has something to do with me. Maybe it’s because I keep showing up instead of the other man. Maybe it’s because I don’t like the idea of you meeting a stranger in a deserted place at night. Or maybe it’s just because I really do like the color red,
especially on you. But whatever the reason, I want another opportunity for you to overreact to my kisses.”
His touch on her face warmed her skin. The huskiness of his tone stirred something in her. But, she forcibly reminded herself, she honestly didn’t want a relationship with a man, any man, especially a man who played with toys. Besides which, she was hopefully about to become involved in something that concerned this man’s company, and she had a professional obligation to remain objective. The caller had told her that he didn’t know who he could trust in the company, and she had to surmise that that included the president too. And there was one other thing - something was troubling her, but she couldn’t seem to put her finger on what it was.
He smiled. “To show you what a nice guy I am, I won’t even try to talk you into letting me come to your house. You can follow me back to my house.”
“Zach - ”
He drew her closer to him and stared down into her eyes. “Apparently you’re used to men taking no for an answer, but I can’t. I want to get to know you better, Cassidy. I want to know what you do for a living. I want to know what you were like when you were a little girl. I want to know what brand of toothpaste you use. Now, I’m positive I'm making a lot of mistakes with you, but there doesn’t seem to be any help for it. As I said, I’m strongly attracted to you and have been ever since I first laid eyes on you. But I also know that I’m feeling something more than mere attraction. And whatever it is, it’s the reason I walked across my living room last night to meet you.”
Cassidy was silent for several long moments. “Has anyone ever told you that you don’t play fair?”
He seriously considered her question, then answered her as honestly as he could. “No.” She shook her head, amazed that there really was such a man as Zach Bennett walking around on the earth. A man with eyes that could befuddle a perfectly sane woman’s mind with their humor and their dreams. A man who wore a Mickey Mouse watch. “Will we be alone?”
“No, my housekeeper lives with me.”
She was going to go with him, she thought, surprised and disgusted at herself. But on the other hand, she rationalized, maybe it was a smart move to get him out of the park. The man who had contacted her might not have arrived yet. “All right, Zach, I’ll follow you in my car. But I can’t stay long.”
With a smile of satisfaction, he put his arm around her, and they started walking toward the exit.
And in the shrubs, behind the bench, there was a sneeze.
Three
“Be sure you rinse those mugs out when you get through with them.”
Cassidy stared transfixedly at the woman who had spoken. She held a tray with two mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of cookies. As she deposited it on the cocktail table, Cassidy realized she was the woman from the night before who had offered meatball hors d'oeuvres, the woman who had worn the leotard. Tonight she was wearing a floral housecoat, hoop earrings, and go-go boots. Zach had introduced the woman to her as Lily, his housekeeper.
She raised a warning finger to Zach. “I don't want to wake up in the morning and find chocolate glop in the bottom of the cups. You don’t pay me enough to clean chocolate glop, you know.”
“I’ll rinse the mugs, Lily.”
“You better.” She straightened and cast an interested gaze over Cassidy. “You’re really pretty, sugar, but you're way too pale. Some blusher, maybe a blend of two or three shades of eye shadow, the right color of lipstick, and you’d be a new woman.”
“I - I’m sure you’re right, but I thought I was going out for just a few minutes tonight. I didn’t expect to run into Zach.” The unexpected was becoming the norm since she had met Zach, she thought ruefully.
“I have a shade of lipstick guaranteed to frizz Zach’s hair. It’s called Scarlet Passion, and anytime you want to borrow it, just let me know.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you.”
Zach’s gaze met Lily’s. “Good night.”
“I’m going, I’m going. Now sugar, be sure and have your fill of the cookies. They’re Zach’s favorite. Chocolate chip with macadamia nuts. He goes into withdrawal if he doesn’t have them at least once a day.”
“Good night, Lily.”
She ignored him and continued addressing Cassidy. “Why don’t you stop by one afternoon, and I’ll do a complete make-over on you. I’ll give you a whole new look.”
“You do and I’ll feed your go-go boots into the disposal,” Zach said mildly.
Lily snorted. “Men! They don't understand that the only females who are natural beauties are those who are under five.” Those words delivered, she sashayed out of the room.
“She likes you,” Zach said. “I can tell.”
“She’s really your housekeeper?” she asked, thrown.
He smiled understandingly. “She’s my very own Auntie Mame with a vacuum cleaner. Sixteen years ago when I started my company, she was my first secretary. The thing was, she couldn’t type or take shorthand. I was having to do my own typing. But the plants flourished, and the files were always in perfect order. And she made hot cinnamon rolls from scratch which I became addicted to.” He shrugged. “I decided to bring her home with me. I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”
Cassidy nodded, while her mind raced. Lily might be eccentric, but she had acted as a buffer between Zach and herself. With Lily’s departure, Cassidy began to grow antsy. The room suddenly seemed smaller, the couch they were sitting on, shorter. She squirmed, shifting her position several times, trying to put a little more space between them.
“Have a cookie,” Zach said.
Humor ran like warm honey in his voice; it glided along her nerves, arousing, irritating. “Most men serve wine and fruit to a lady they’re trying to seduce - not hot chocolate and cookies.”
“Damn, I get that wrong every time.”
“I’m serious, Zach. Whatever plans you have, you can forget them.”
“Is that why you think I brought you here? To seduce you?”
She stared down at the tray. “Yes… No.” She sighed. “Maybe.” He could scramble her brain waves until there was no chance of intel- ligent, rational thought getting through. She rose and put some distance between them.
Watching her, he settled himself deeper into the couch and crossed his legs. “Whatever you decide, I’ll be glad to oblige. Just let me know.” Ignoring his offer, she found herself in front of a shelf display of O gage trains. A brass plaque below it read “circa 1911.”
“You must like trains. You have one set up in your bedroom.”
“I do like trains. I run the one in my bedroom practically every night. Its sound puts me to sleep.”
She glanced around at him, her forehead wrinkled. “Its sound?”
“If I’m having trouble sleeping, the sound of a train is better than any sleep machine I've ever heard. Anytime you’d like to try it with me…”
“I think that’s bizarre, and I’ve never had any trouble sleeping,” she said, lying. The minute she laid her head on the pillow, her mind came vividly awake with worries, real and imagined.
She bit at her lip and moved on around the room, stopping at another display. This display, marked 1881, held a set of mechanical circus toys. She stared at the acrobats, animals, and clowns, wondering what Zach wanted from her. It was part of her job to be suspicious and look for all the angles, and she couldn’t help but examine his reasons for following her. There was no doubt the attraction between them was powerful, and she supposed his reason could be that simple. On the other hand…
Suddenly she knew what had been troubling her. Zach had made the observation himself in the park. Twice he had shown up in the place of the man who had called her. Twice he had interfered with her plans to meet the man. As far as she was concerned, twice was more than a coincidence. It was time she remembered she was a reporter and did some probing of Mr. Zach Bennett.
She swiveled to face him and strove to keep her tone light. “So is tonight an example of the way you us
ually operate when you’re interested in a woman?”
“Tonight?”
“You know, follow her, badger her into coming home with you, then ply her with hot chocolate and cookies.”
He grinned. “Not really. It’s just that you're a more difficult case than most.”
She blinked. She had known he was confident. Now she added egocentric to his list of characteristics. “It sounds as if you’re used to having women throw themselves at you.”
His grin widened. “Yeah, but it’s never been a real problem. Their bodies pile up around here like cords of wood, and every so often, Lily sweeps them out. Those circus figures move, you know. All you have to do is use the hand crank - ”
“I can’t believe you’re so cavalier about the women who develop crushes on you,” she said, outraged.
He pushed himself up from the couch. “And I can’t believe you didn't know I was kidding. You need to learn to lighten up a little, Cassidy.”
Bobby said the same thing to her all the time.
Apparently it was true. Apparently it was also true that Zach could distract her with the ease of a con artist. She fixed her attention on the ringmaster who was standing on the center platform, his whip in his hand. “Tell me about your company. How deeply involved are you?”
“Deeply.”
She jumped at the sound of his husky voice. He had come up behind her without her knowing it. She edged away from him along the shelves. “What I mean is, do you actually create some of the toys, or are you involved more in the administrative side of the business?”
He followed her. “I’m involved in all aspects.”
“Well, for instance - ”
He brushed his fingers over her blond head. To her overwrought senses, it seemed as if he was comforting her.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, Cassidy, but first I’d like to know some things about you. For instance, what do you do for a living?”
It was a fair question, she thought, and not overly personal. She felt safe in answering it. “I’m a reporter for the city paper. I’ve worked there ever since I graduated from college.”
Lady In Red Page 3
