It disconcerted her. She could handle almost anything from Kane except tenderness. “Thanks,” she said gruffly.
“No problem.” He walked over to the window, extended a leg over the sill, then disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Chapter 7
Cassie slept ridiculously late the next morning, getting up after eleven. The first thing she did was go to the window and peer outside where the sun beat relentlessly on the pavement and the city market was in full Sunday morning swing. Good, her first plan of the day was to get some fresh fruit and veggies into the fridge.
Within thirty minutes she was showered and dressed and headed across the street to the market. For the next hour Cassie squeezed melons and picked through vegetables. She bartered with the vendors for the best price, then returned to her apartment arms full of fresh food for the refrigerator.
She fought an edge of impatience as she made herself a big salad for lunch. The club was closed today so nothing would happen. It was the kind of day in the middle of an assignment that agents hated.
When she’d finished her salad, she picked up the cell phone Kane had given her and called Max. “Cupcake,” he said the moment he heard her voice. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just wanted to call and touch base with you while I have the chance. They’ve got me in one dump of an apartment.”
Max chuckled. “You’ve lived in worse. Remember that box you slept in when I first met you?”
“Don’t remind me,” she replied. “You doing all right?”
“Fine…fine. Virginia is cooking dinner for me tonight. She’s a sweet woman.”
“She cooks for you fairly regularly. Is there a bit of romance in the air?” Cassie asked. There was nothing she’d love more than for Max to find a companion his own age in his life…a permanent companion who adored him as much as she did.
“Don’t get your hopes up. Virginia is nice and cooks a mean pot roast, but I could never consider getting serious with a woman who talks about her regularity every time I’m with her.”
Cassie laughed. Just hearing Max’s gruff voice made her feel more centered, stronger. “You feeling all right?”
“You know me, cupcake. I feel strong as a horse. If I could just trade in this bum back and weak legs of mine, I’d dance with you until dawn.”
“Don’t mention dancing until dawn,” she replied. “I worked last night waitressing tables and dodging dancers’ flailing arms and legs.”
“How are things going with you and Kane?”
She hesitated a moment. “Fine. Maybe a bit strained.”
“You didn’t expect anything different, did you? I mean, you walked away from the man five years ago without any explanations or discussion. Have the two of you had a chance to talk about that?”
“No, and I don’t intend to bring it up. He certainly hasn’t, so it’s obviously a nonissue.” She sighed. “I’d better go, but I just wanted to check in with you. I have no idea when I’ll be able to call again. It’s probably not a good idea for me to call too often.” The last thing she’d want to do was bring danger to Max’s door.
“Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine. You just take care of yourself. Don’t forget everything that I’ve taught you and if all else fails, tuck and roll.”
Tuck and roll. A few minutes later as she cleaned up her lunch mess, she thought about Max’s parting words. Tuck and roll was the last-ditch effort made by somebody when a stunt had gone wrong. You tucked your body to hopefully prevent internal damage, then rolled away from danger.
She wondered how well that would work if things got dicey with Adam Mercer. He might think it odd if she curled up like Lara Croft and spun to the nearest exit. But that’s exactly what she would do if it meant living another day.
By the time the next evening arrived and it was time for her to go back to work at the club she was more than ready. Tonight would be an earlier night than Saturday. On the weekend nights the place stayed open until three, but during the week closing time was 1:00 a.m. She hoped Mercer would show up again tonight. She also hoped her curbside rejection of the dinner offer Saturday night hadn’t messed things up.
The club was a lot less crowded tonight than it had been on Saturday night. Cassie worked her assigned ten tables, four of which were empty, and kept one eye on the door in hopes that Mercer would walk in.
The first two hours went by fairly quickly, although she had a table of rowdy young men, one who was going from rowdy to obnoxious.
She was just coming off her break and ready to head back to her station when the obnoxious drunk appeared in front of her. “There’s my sexy waitress. How about a little sex on the beach?” He stood too close to her, invading her personal space.
“I’ll get that drink to your table right away,” she said and attempted to step past him.
He thwarted her attempt by moving in front of her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t want the drink, honey. I just want sex on the beach with you.”
She looked for Jake or Sam, but didn’t see either of the bouncers nearby. Cassie grabbed his hand and pulled it from her shoulder. In one smooth move, she spun him around and pulled his arm up behind him. He yelped in surprise.
She leaned close to his ear from behind him. “If you go back to your table and be nice, then I won’t serve you a broken arm in a bar. Do we understand one another?” She kept her tone cool and pleasant.
He nodded rapidly and she released his arm. He scurried back to his table and Cassie went back to work. He and his pals left the bar soon after that. She hoped her boss hadn’t noticed the incident. Thankfully, none of the other waitresses seemed to have. She didn’t want to be seen chasing away customers. But the guy had it coming.
It was just a few minutes after eleven when Cassie saw Mercer and his two bodyguards entering the premises. Her heart stepped up in rhythm as he took a table in her section.
The two men sat on either side of him. As she approached the table Mercer’s gaze locked with hers. There was power in those cold blue eyes of his…an awesome power and intelligence that threatened to suck the breath right out of her.
She held the gaze for a long moment and in that breathless space of suspended time she recognized he would be a worthy adversary. The biggest mistake she could make was to forget that fact and underestimate him.
“Good evening, gentlemen. What can I get you?” she asked.
“Two beers and a scotch on the rocks. Tell the bartender to use the top shelf scotch.” Mercer’s voice was pleasant and deep. “And before you leave, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Adam Mercer and these are two of my associates.” He didn’t bother to give the names of the other two.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Mercer,” she said and gestured to her name tag. “I’m Jessica and I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
“Lucky you,” Dana said a moment later as Jessica waited for the bartender to fill her order.
“Lucky me?”
“Mr. Mercer is in your section. He’s a terrific tipper.”
“That’s always good to hear,” Cassie replied.
“He’s also a very nice man. For a while he was dating one of the other waitresses, Nicole.”
“Oh, does she still work here?”
“No. She quit soon after she met Mr. Mercer. I heard she moved in with him, then I heard they broke up, but I don’t know whatever happened to her. She didn’t come back to work here.”
The conversation halted as the bartender gave Cassie her drink order. She went back to the table to serve them. “Here we are,” she said. When the drinks were on the table, she smiled at Mercer. “You were in the car Saturday night that stopped, right?”
“Right, and I must apologize for that. I should have known better than to ask you to dinner without even a formal introduction taking place.”
A raw power emanated from him. He was a very attractive man. His features were sharply defined, strong nose, chiseled jaw an
d nice lips.
“I don’t have dinner with people I don’t know,” she replied.
“Ah, but now we’ve been introduced.” His eyes sparkled and his smile was charismatic. She could smell his scent, the odor of money…of expensive cologne and grooming supplies. “Perhaps you would consider having dinner with me after work this evening?”
She allowed her smile to waver with indecision. “But I don’t know you and you don’t know me.”
“Name me a better way of getting to know somebody besides talking over good food?” His voice was softly cajoling. He was obviously a man who didn’t take no for an answer easily. “I’m having dinner downstairs when the club closes. I’d love for you to join me. Think about it.”
She nodded, then gestured toward the other tables. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
She liked the fact that he didn’t intend to take her anyplace in his car, that she could be in control of when she decided to leave. Any woman would be a fool to accept a dinner date with a man she had just met at a place where she would not be in control.
The rest of the night passed quickly. At ten minutes until closing time she saw Adam and his two goons leave. When the club closed, she cashed out as quickly as possible, then hurried to the locker room to change.
Tonight she’d come prepared just in case Mercer showed up again with dinner on his mind. She pulled the overnight bag she’d brought to work with her out from the locker.
The bag contained a simple black dress, the nicest one she’d found in the closet in the apartment. She quickly changed from her waitress uniform into the skimpy—for her taste—black dress and black heels. The finishing touch was a spritz of light perfume and a pair of inexpensive silver hoop earrings.
As she viewed her reflection in the mirror she felt no nerves, but rather a cool focus on her goal. She had to be charming enough to bewitch Mr. Mercer, engaging enough that he’d find her addictive and smooth enough to figure out a way to find out the information she sought.
She left the dressing room and took the elevator down, mentally preparing herself for the game to come. She waved goodbye to several of the other waitresses who were heading out the door as she walked toward the entrance to the restaurant.
Although the lights were on in the restaurant, the door was locked. Cassie frowned, wondering if perhaps she’d misunderstood the invitation. Before she could turn to leave, a short, middle-aged Italian man appeared at the door to unlock it.
“You must be Jessica,” he said. “Welcome to Anthony’s. Mr. Mercer is waiting for you.”
She had to admit, she was impressed. It was obvious Mercer had made arrangements to eat after the place was closed for the night. She was led to a table in the back where Adam sat at one table and the two bodyguards sat at a nearby table.
Adam rose as they approached. “Jessica, I’m so pleased you decided to join me.”
She didn’t sit right away. She looked at the two men sitting near them then back at Adam with confusion. “I don’t understand…if those men are business associates, shouldn’t they be sitting with you?”
Adam smiled. “Please, join me and I’ll explain.” She slid into the chair opposite him, poised as if to run al-though she had no intention of going anywhere. “Anthony, we’ll have a bottle of Dom.”
Anthony nodded and scurried away. Adam turned his attention back to Cassie. “Those men aren’t exactly business associates. They’re employees of mine…bodyguards to be exact.”
“Bodyguards?” Cassie feigned a look of surprise. “Are you some kind of a celebrity or something? I don’t watch much television…”
Adam laughed, obviously delighted. “No, nothing like that. However, I am a successful businessman and I find it necessary to protect myself. I depend on Burt and Sebastian for my personal safety.”
So the bodyguard with no-neck and the Elvis sneer was Burt, and the bald bulldog was Sebastian. She filed this information away. She’d want Kane to do a full background check on each of the bodyguards.
“I hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of ordering already,” Adam said.
Cassie raised an eyebrow. “You ordered even before I’d agreed to have dinner with you? What would you have done if I’d declined your invitation?”
He smiled. “Then Burt and Sebastian and I would have had a big, delicious meal.”
It took several minutes for Anthony to serve them wine, leave a basket of warm bread, then serve salads. When they were left alone Adam turned his full attention to her. “So tell me about Jessica Sinclair.”
“There isn’t a lot to tell,” she said and took a sip of her wine. Sitting across from him at the table, with his total attention focused on her, she once again felt the aura of power that surrounded him. Not just power, she thought, but an innate curiosity as well.
She set her glass back down and continued. “I just moved to Kansas City from Des Moines. My plans are to work at the club until I get up enough money to go back to school and get my teaching degree.”
“Teaching…a noble profession.” He speared a cucumber from his salad and popped it into his mouth.
“I love working with kids. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.”
“So what made you leave Des Moines for Kansas City?” he asked.
She picked up her wineglass again and broke eye contact with him. “I just needed a new start.” She took a drink of the wine, returned the glass to the table, but kept her gaze downward.
“Because of your brother’s death.”
Her gaze shot up to his face. The sly fox had already checked into her background. “What do you know about my brother?” she asked, her voice radiating a coolness he couldn’t mistake for anything but distrust.
He smiled, a charming open smile that showed the perfect row of his white teeth. “I must confess, I did a little check into your background,” he said.
“For a simple dinner date? What planet are you from?” She dabbed her mouth with her napkin and started to rise.
“Jessica…please.” He placed a hand on her arm in order to stop her escape. He had no idea that she didn’t intend to go anywhere. “Please…sit down.” Those Paul Newman eyes of his pleaded with her and she eased back down into her chair as she shrugged off his hand.
“I should explain,” he said.
“Yeah, that would be nice.” She placed her napkin in her lap once again and glared at him.
“I don’t know how much you know about me,” he began.
“Nothing, except for what one of the other waitresses told me earlier tonight, that you were a nice man and a good tipper. I didn’t have a chance to run a background check on you.”
“And I apologize for the necessity I felt to do that,” he replied smoothly. “I’m a wealthy man, Jessica…extremely wealthy. Through my years as a businessman and a philanthropist I’ve made friends and, unfortunately, I’ve made some enemies. So now I live my life with bodyguards and background checks. I assure you it was nothing personal.”
Cassie pretended to soften a bit. “It just doesn’t seem quite fair. You know all about me, but I really don’t know anything about you.”
At that moment Anthony appeared at their table once again, bringing with him the dishes Adam had ordered as entrées. There were a total of three…a veal dish, a vegetable and linguini Alfredo and lasagna. He left them with empty plates so they could serve themselves.
When he’d left them alone once again, Adam served her a small portion of all three dishes, then served him self. He settled back in his chair and smiled at her. “What do you want to know about me?”
“I don’t know…I guess first things first…are you married?”
“Divorced. What if I was married? Would that make a difference to you?”
“Definitely,” she said without hesitation. “It would mean that this was our one and only dinner together.”
“So you don’t dally with married men?”
“I don’t dally at all, unless it’s a meaningful dall
y, emotionally speaking.” She could tell she was making points with him. She knew enough about him by reading his background material that the kind of women he liked weren’t cheap or loose.
They began to eat and in between bites she asked more questions. “So how long have you been divorced?”
“It will be three years in October. My ex-wife and I are still on civil terms. I’m kind of a silent partner in her business and we speak frequently.”
“That’s nice. Were you married a long time?”
“Almost twenty years.”
“Any children?”
It was as if the question caused a shroud of gray to embrace the space around them. A stark grief stole all the light from his eyes and he suddenly looked every day of his fifty-four years. “I had a daughter. She died.”
There was no way he could pretend the depth of emotion that racked his voice with those words, no way he could manufacture the utter despair in his eyes.
Even though Cassie knew this man’s sorrow had crossed the line into a form of madness and his plot for revenge was one of maniacal devastation, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for his loss.
And, in true character, she reached across the table and covered one of his hands with hers. “We have this in common…the loss of a beloved one,” she said softly.
He turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with hers, the darkness in his eyes lifting like strands of fog burned off by brilliant sunshine. “Yes, we have that in common, but tonight is not the time to dwell on unhappy things.” He released her hand and picked up his wineglass. “I’d like to make a toast…to more late dinners shared with you.”
She clinked her glass with his, recognizing that she had accomplished what she’d intended…he wanted to see her again and she hoped within a couple more days he’d feel as if he couldn’t exist without her.
Adam was enchanted. As they enjoyed their meal and played the courtship game of question and answer, discovery and digest, he felt a hope swell inside him. It was the hope that she was the woman he’d been waiting for…the one who would understand him, accept him and stand beside him as he ushered in a new world.
Get Blondie Page 8
