Travis didn’t want to raise his friend’s hopes. “I have to be honest here. I know a few people but I don’t have the kind of influence that’s going to get Bruce a deal.”
Martin leaned forward, his features hardening. “He doesn’t deserve a deal. He’s been lying to me for months and maybe even longer. No, I just don’t want this to end up on the front page of the newspapers. I’d like to avoid making a splash if only for Caro’s sake. As for what the authorities do with Bruce, well, as far as I’m concerned they can throw the book at him.”
“You’re not going to come out of this smelling like a rose either, my friend. People are going to think you were a part of this.”
“People can say whatever the hell they want.” Martin finally sat back, his shoulders relaxing. “I’ve already made more money than most people in a hundred lifetimes. I do what I do because it’s challenging but if I can’t do it anymore then I’ll find something new. Frankly I want to clean house and Bruce is going out with the trash. If he brings me down with him then so be it.”
“You’re saying you’d be fine if you had to close your fund?” Travis queried. “I find that hard to believe. You love what you do.”
“I can love something else just as much,” Martin countered, draining the whiskey from the highball glass. “I’m old enough to know that a career can’t be your whole damn life. You need family and friends too. It’s some advice you might want to embrace.”
Martin had never bothered with subtlety and today was no exception.
“I’m trying but the lady is hard to convince,” Travis laughed.
The anger and frustration had fallen away from Martin and now his eyes twinkled with mirth. “Since when have you had a problem with the female sex? Don’t tell me this one’s immune to the famous Anderson charm?”
Travis’s cheeks grew warm as Martin roared with laughter, turning a few heads in the bar. “Aubrey is…different. It’s not about sex. It’s more than that.”
Smiling widely, Martin signaled to the waitress for another round. “I was beginning to think I’d never see the day that you would fall but it’s finally here. You’re in love.”
For the first time in my life.
“I’m not sure Aubrey is in love with me. She’s several years younger than I am so I’m trying to take things slowly.”
Glacially.
Travis couldn’t remember the last time he’d waited as long to make love to a woman as he had with Aubrey but she was more than worth it. If she wanted to wait another month or two, or longer, he’d do it.
With blue balls.
“If she’s the one then you have the rest of your lives together. No sense rushing things,” Martin agreed, accepting a new whiskey from the waitress. “She seems like a lovely girl. How did you meet?”
Travis smiled grimly at the memory. “I saved her life. She was being held captive by her sister’s stalker. Luckily we got to both of them in time. Gigi, her sister, persuaded Aubrey to move to Montana so they could be close to one another. I hired her as my assistant six months ago. She’s damn good at her job.”
Quirking an eyebrow, Martin sipped at his drink. “You’re dating your assistant? What if this doesn’t work? Have you thought about that?”
Only every day.
Aubrey was running him around in circles, leading him by the nose.
It was actually funny when Travis thought about it. Older, wiser, more sophisticated women had tried to land him but one look at Aubrey and he’d fallen like a ton of bricks. She preferred blue jeans over silk, and beer to champagne. She liked riding horses instead of limousines, and baking cookies with his mother instead of tea with society friends. She could talk about country music, Beethoven, fine literature, and Monty Python.
They were perfect for each other.
She was more than just beautiful although by any standard she was gorgeous. With her long dark hair, golden skin, and generous curves she made Travis’s mouth water whenever they were together. But it was her kind heart and generous nature that had truly captured him. Unlike so many women of his acquaintance she cared about others as much as she did about herself.
“It took a couple of months just to get her to go out with me. I made a deal with her that if the relationship didn’t work out then I would find her a job at any of our offices all over the world. I assured her she wouldn’t lose out.”
“Smart. So she’s giving you a run for your money, huh? Well, don’t be too discouraged. All the best ones do. I could tell you a tale or two about when I was courting Donna.”
Travis had already heard a few stories. Martin had chased her until she finally let him catch her. They’d been together happily for decades until her death three years ago. Martin was now married to Alana, a woman in her late forties, who enjoyed the finer things in life.
“I just hope she has a good time this weekend.” Travis drained his whiskey and slapped the glass back onto the table. “We’ve been burning the candle at both ends on the new mine contracts so we both need a few days off to relax.”
“You’ll get it here.”
Out of the corner of Travis’s eye, he could see a smiling man making his way through the bar and to their table. Martin stood and grinned, slapping the newcomer on the back.
“Tom! When did you get in?”
Travis had met Tom Lovell several times and had always found the man friendly and easy to be around. He came from old money but now did mostly real estate and stock deals.
“Just a few minutes ago. I haven’t even checked in yet but I saw you two sitting here and had to come by and say hello. Happy birthday, Martin.”
“Another year older. Why don’t you join us for a drink?”
“Wish I could but I need to check in with the office. Travis, I haven’t seen you in months. How’s the family? I heard your brothers are getting married.”
“That’s true,” Travis chuckled. “Jason and West have been saddled. How about you, my friend?”
Tom smiled and rebuttoned his suit jacket, smoothing down the lapel. “Let’s just say I’m keeping my options open. I like my freedom. Just like you, Travis.”
“Are you sure you won’t join us?” Martin asked.
“I really can’t but I’ll see you at the party tonight. Tell Caroline to save a dance or two for me.”
“Will do.”
Tom exited the bar leaving Martin and Travis alone again. Martin settled back into his chair with a relaxed sigh.
“That’s the best part of the weekend. Spending time with friends I haven’t seen in too long.” Martin raised his glass. “To old friends.”
Travis lifted his whiskey in salute. “To old friends. I’m glad I could be here for the party and for your birthday.”
Martin glanced at his watch and grimaced. “I need to make a call to the West coast. Listen, I appreciate any help you can give me on that business matter. If you can’t, I understand that too. Either way, this shit is going to get cleared up one way or another.”
Both men stood and Martin tossed a hundred dollar bill on the table before Travis could even get his wallet open. Typical.
“When are you going to talk to Bruce?”
“Before the party tonight. I won’t put this off another day.”
All that animosity ought to make for an interesting atmosphere this evening. Travis made a mental note to give Bruce Livingston a wide berth tonight. After talking to Martin, the man’s mood wouldn’t be a positive one.
Martin strode out of the bar and headed for the elevators while Travis sauntered to the resort gift shop on the other side of the lobby. Aubrey had seemed so tense earlier perhaps a little gift might make her smile. Something funny that would make her laugh. These days making her happy was all he wanted to do. He could only hope and pray he was succeeding because women like Aubrey Grayson didn’t come around in a man’s life very often.
Losing at the game of love? Not an option.
Chapter Three
‡
The champagne flowed as the band played an old Gershwin tune, the music carrying all the way out onto the open terrace of the luxurious hotel ballroom where Aubrey was currently getting a breath of fresh air. The main room was sprawling with marble floors and crystal chandeliers but she’d still become overcome with the cloying aroma of perfume. After she’d sneezed several times Travis had insisted on bringing her out here for a lungful of unpolluted oxygen and she’d gratefully accepted.
“Is this better?” he asked, his brows pulled down in concern. “You were looking a little green in there.”
Aubrey took a slow, deep breath before answering. “Much. I don’t mind perfume but it was like a cloud hanging over our heads in there. I think it was the mixture of all the scents, frankly. Strong floral and musk shouldn’t be combined with apples and hay.”
Travis smiled, showing off that dimple in his right cheek. He looked devastatingly handsome in his well-cut black tuxedo, tailored to perfection. She preferred him in blue jeans and a flannel button-down thrown over a white t-shirt but there was definitely something about a man in a suit…something hot and sexy. But then Travis couldn’t have been unattractive if he tried. He had that undefinable something that drove women crazy whether they were eight or eighty. Maybe it was his charm, or his intelligence, or the way he filled out his torn blue jeans. Whatever it was he had it in spades.
“I like your perfume.” He leaned down and nudged his nose along her bare shoulder sending a frisson of awareness up her spine and down to her toes. She had to concentrate to keep her knees from shaking at his nearness. “Not heavy. Not sweet. Just perfect.”
Feeling the heat rise in her cheeks, she gave him a shaky laugh. “I’m not wearing any perfume. That’s just soap and lotion. I was afraid the bottle might break in my suitcase and make a stinky mess.”
“I doubt I’d ever describe you as stinky but you do smell good. Are you having any fun? I know my friends can be a little overwhelming when you first meet them.”
“Are they all your friends?”
She’d been introduced to some lovely people so far this evening but she’d also met a few that she couldn’t imagine Travis spending five minutes with.
“No, and I think you knew that before you asked the question,” Travis chuckled as he slid his hands around her middle and tugged her back to his front. Aubrey relaxed in his embrace letting the tension of the party fall away. Simply enjoying the peace, she listened to the hypnotic rhythm of the waves lapping at the sugar white sand. Moonbeams danced on the surface of the water but shrouded the homes and trees in shadow as if protecting a deep, dark secret. “In fact most of these people could only be called acquaintances. I’m here for Martin this weekend and he is a friend.”
“I liked him. He seems like a nice man.”
“He is a nice man, one of the best. He liked you too by the way. Said I was a lucky man but then I knew that.”
Pressing a kiss to her temple, Aubrey felt his warm breath on her cheek. She closed her eyes and savored the sensation of feeling completely and totally safe within his strong arms. It wasn’t smart to get used to this but every now and then she allowed herself to revel in the pure pleasure of just being close to him. His fingers spread over her abdomen heating the skin through the thin fabric.
His lips skimmed her temple, his warm breath a caress against her cheek. She was as helpless as a kitten when it came to this man’s advances. “This dress is fantastic. You’re amazingly talented. I wish you would let me help you, sweetheart. You could set up your own business.”
Tonight she was wearing a special gown she’d designed just for this occasion. At one point in her life she’d dreamed of becoming an apparel designer but quickly realized that being practical paid the rent. Luckily it was a handy skill for nights like this where she wanted to blend in with the wealthy elite.
The full-length white silk dress with skinny spaghetti straps holding up the bodice boasted a slit up the side to the top of Aubrey’s thigh showing a generous amount of leg. The gown made her feel a little glamorous and she desperately needed the ego boost this evening as women dripping in diamonds flirted with Travis hoping to simply get one of his special smiles. Most of them had looked her up and down dismissively before pressing closer to him in a ploy to show off their bountiful assets. She had managed to ignore most of their high school games but she couldn’t deny it was better when it was just the two of them.
Aubrey stiffened in his arms, hating that he’d brought up the sensitive subject again. They’d had this discussion before early in their working relationship. After only working with him for a few weeks she’d come into the office wearing a softly tailored pink skirt and jacket. He’d complimented her and then tried to guess the designer which had only made her laugh out loud. Assistants didn’t make enough money to buy fancy duds and she didn’t hesitate to point that out to Travis much to his chagrin. Eventually she’d admitted it was her own creation and he’d been impressed enough to want to discuss helping her get into the design business. She’d assumed he was simply being polite.
By the time he’d convinced her he was completely serious they’d begun seeing each other. There was no way she was going to let her boyfriend and soon to be lover shell out money to start her in business. It smacked of…payment for services rendered and she’d told him so straight out finally getting him to drop the idea.
Now he was doing it again.
“No,” she said firmly. “I told you why I can’t do it.”
She felt his heavy sigh and knew the conversation wasn’t over yet. “You shouldn’t care what people think. We’ll know the truth and that’s all that matters.”
“Bullshit.” The word popped out before she could stop it but she did know better. “People with money and power always say that what others think don’t matter because it doesn’t matter to them. To regular people? Those things matter, Travis. It matters what people think about me. Maybe I’m shallow but I don’t want to be known as a woman who slept her way into a job.”
Travis was a good man and he was always trying to help her or care for her in some way but she’d been standing on her own two feet for a long time now. She wasn’t a princess that needed rescuing.
“No one would ever say that about you.”
“Oh, really? Are you sure? From what I’ve seen of your friends and business partners in the last five months they’d love to rip me to shreds. They’re like coyotes that prey on the weakest antelope.”
“I sure as hell wouldn’t call you weak either. You scare the living shit out of me.”
Travis was laughing and even Aubrey had to relax and let her lips curve into a smile. The women he’d dated before her were as different as day to night. She often wondered what he saw in her.
Aubrey leaned against his chest, his heart beating under her cheek as her gaze scanned the crowd in the ballroom. “I think I’m going to run to the ladies’ room.”
“I’ll get you a fresh drink. Meet me at the bar.”
Aubrey tucked her tiny clutch purse under her arm and headed for the dim alcove just inside the entrance to the ballroom. Once inside the restroom she quickly repaired her makeup and applied a fresh coat of lip gloss before running her fingers through her long, thick hair that had a tendency to curl in the humidity. Sighing at her reflection, she shoved everything back in her purse and zipped it shut. The trip to the ladies’ room had only been a distraction anyway to keep the evening happy and light. She didn’t want to ruin the party by having a disagreement with Travis no matter how innocuous.
Pushing on the door, it swung open and in her haste to rejoin Travis she ran right into another body, dropping her purse onto the marble floor. She immediately apologized and reached down but a masculine hand beat her to it, holding it out. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to forcibly straighten her knees to keep them from giving out. She took the purse from him with nerveless fingers trying to make sense of what this man was doing standing in front of her. It had been years but n
ot nearly long enough.
Bruce Livingston.
A classmate from junior high and high school. She’d never liked him even then and now he was standing right in front of her with a triumphant smile.
Slightly paunchy around the middle and his hairline receding, his expression of sickly arrogance made her skin crawl in revulsion. He was the absolute worst person she could see tonight – or any other night for that matter.
Bruce knew all her secrets.
He knew who and what she really was.
Her fingers tightened on her clutch to keep her hands from visibly shaking as her stomach twisted violently in her abdomen. Her carefully constructed facade was about to crumble before her very eyes.
Before Travis’s eyes.
Her past, long dead and buried, had clawed its way out of the grave.
Chapter Four
‡
Aubrey never had a chance to flee.
Bruce’s hand snaked out and clamped down painfully on her arm. She’d have bruises tomorrow from his punishing grip.
“I thought it was you, Aubrey.” Bruce’s shark-like grin widened and a shudder of fear and revulsion ran down her spine. She was trapped. She didn’t want to make a scene among this well-heeled crowd but she didn’t want to stay here. “I hardly recognized you across the room. You’ve certainly moved up in the world hanging on Travis Anderson’s arm. Does he know what a little slut you are? Or is that part of the attraction?”
Aubrey’s palm itched to slap that nasty smile off of Bruce’s face but instead she fisted her fingers, the nails digging into her own flesh. The pain centered her anger and kept her from hauling off and punching him in the gut.
“Let me go, Bruce.”
The words came out surprisingly strong but the man didn’t bat an eyelash at her command.
Indecent Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 3) Page 2
