“I was worried about you, Charlotte. So was your brother. Where have you been?”
“For two people who were so worried, it’s odd neither of you tried to call and talk to me.”
He smoothed down his slightly mussed hair. “Well, I was wrapped up in a few things and—”
“I can’t work for you anymore,” she interrupted, not feeling one bit of worry as she said it. It was the absolute truth.
“Of course you can.” She saw it then, finally. The cold, hard stone of the man beneath the layers of innocuous warmth. The core that had made him so successful by forty-five. “I spoke with Nicole. She seems to be confused about a few things. She drinks. She gets reckless. She’s hot-tempered. She says things she doesn’t mean.”
“Like that you and my loving brother are using me to embezzle money out of your own resort?”
Keith offered an easy smile. “There’s your answer right there. Why would I embezzle money from my own place?”
“You have investors. And when Brad’s wife filed for divorce, she really screwed up that little deal you made with Nicole. You both needed the money, so Brad brought me in.”
His smile didn’t waver. “That land deal was totally aboveboard. It was well documented. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really? The real estate appraisers might have a different take on that.”
His smile finally broke. Apparently Nicole had left out a few things when she’d spoken to him. Charlie had interrogated people before, and she’d sat in on some pretty intense questioning in Las Vegas. Nicole had been a piece of cake.
Thanks to Nicole, Charlie knew all about the land deal. Nicole had wanted a secret stash of money so she could eventually leave her husband, so when her husband had started talks with Keith Taggert about the land sale, she and Keith had hatched a plan. Nicole would pay off the appraisers to low-ball the land value. Brad, who wasn’t known for having the best scruples, would be brought in as a middleman to buy the land, with the plan that he’d sell it to Keith at a much higher cost just a few months later. And then they’d all split the profit and live happily ever after. Keith would basically take money straight from his investors to line his own pockets, Nicole would slip her portion into a secret account, and Brad would make a nice little sum for his troubles.
But Brad’s wife had filed for divorce and frozen all the assets only two days after Brad had sold the land to the Taggerts’ resort. There was no way to slip 1.5 million dollars out of that sticky net. Keith Taggert had been counting on the money, and he hadn’t been willing to wait years for the divorce to be final, especially if the settlement meant there’d be less cash left to divvy up.
So Brad had offered up a temporary alternative to keep Keith happy: Charlie. Too bad she wasn’t interested in playing.
“I’m not going to be part of whatever plan you have, so you can drop it, Keith. I’m done here.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, you’re wrong.”
He watched her carefully, his eyes emotionless. “You’re under a noncompete for six months. But if you leave, it’ll take you a hell of a lot longer to find work than that. Your reputation is already shit. I’ll just make sure it’s fresh shit.”
“Oh, I don’t think you’ll risk that, Keith. Not with what I know.”
Now he leaned forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped loosely in front of him, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “No one will believe you.”
“No? What about Dawn? Will she believe it when I tell her about you and Nicole?”
He smiled. “Do you think Dawn is going to leave me over the possibility of an affair? What would she do with her life then? Be a coupon-clipping single mom watching all her old friends drive by in cars she can’t afford anymore? Please.”
“No wonder she feels so shitty and helpless,” Charlie snapped. “You’re an asshole. And I’m out of here.”
She stood and started to close the laptop, but Keith grabbed it before she could.
“I believe that’s my property.”
“Fine. Enjoy it.”
“You don’t have to do this, you know. I meant what I said about loyalty. You stay with me for a couple of years, and you’ll move up. It doesn’t have to be this way. I’m not some grasping hotel manager stealing from his employer like that guy in Tahoe. There’s no risk here, Charlotte. For you or for me. You just do your job, I do mine and everyone benefits.”
“On the backs of your investors.”
He shrugged. “They make their money, too.”
“Just a little less of it than they’ve earned.”
Keith smiled and held up an appeasing hand. “Look. I understand. This is a shock, and you’re feeling used. Your brother should have let you in on this. I told him to. Honestly. I told him to ask if you wanted in, and we’d all work out a deal. So let’s do that.”
When she didn’t answer right away, Keith nodded and dropped his voice. “Listen, Brad treated you like shit, and I shouldn’t have let him get away with it. He’s your brother, so I deferred to him, but I was wrong. I have no trouble admitting that to you. I’ll make it up to you, Charlotte. A little bonus when the resort opening goes off without a hitch. Ten thousand dollars. I know things have been tough for you since Tahoe. It doesn’t have to be that way anymore. We’re in this together, and you deserve your portion.”
She was tempted. For one awful moment she was tempted to just say yes. Just give in. Just stay. Take the easy way.
Because he was right about her prospects. She wouldn’t be able to work for another resort or hotel for six months, even before word got out that she’d left on bad terms. And if word did get out, no matter how it went down, her career would be over forever. She’d be forced to start over, with nothing but a pocketful of debt and an education that couldn’t be applied to another field.
If she said no, it’d be the biggest step she’d ever taken on the road toward living in a run-down trailer in Florida with a string of men who just needed a few bucks to get their lives back on track. She’d be unemployed. Again. Unemployable. Again. Hopeless. Again.
And she’d probably be under investigation. Again.
Damn it all to hell.
She stood and grabbed her purse. “Fuck you, Keith. I’m not a criminal, and I never have been, despite what everyone wants to think.”
His face twisted from a smile to a sneer so quickly that she stepped back despite the desk between them. “If you breathe a word about this to anyone, I’ll make sure you take the fall. Be very clear on that. You keep your damn mouth shut or this will all be on your head.”
“You can’t pin anything on me. All I’ve done is install a few cameras and train some security personnel. Unless you’re prepared to prove I’m a magician, you’re shit out of luck.”
“Wrong. You’ve already embezzled thirty thousand dollars. In just a few weeks’ time. That’s pretty impressive for a young woman like yourself, but then again, you do have experience.”
“What? That’s absurd.” She actually laughed. But Keith looked so pleased with himself...
And then it hit her. Nicole hadn’t known what Keith and Brad had planned, but Charlie could see it perfectly now. “The expense report. The budget.”
Keith didn’t even bother answering. He just smirked.
“I didn’t prepare those.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But you were the last one logged in to them. And somehow, amid all those new expenses and new hires, a few dozen payments made their way to an online account. Maybe it wasn’t you. Maybe it was. An investigation would take months to sort out. Just like that last one did. The police would be involved. You’d have to hire a lawyer. And of course, it would all end up in the papers for anyone to find with a quick search.”
“You asshole.”
“Hey. I’m not forcing this on you. That isn’t how it needs to go down. Like I said, keep quiet and there won’t be any hard feelings. It’s simple. All right?”
Charlie stuffed the few personal items on her desk into her purse and grabbed her phone. “Tell my brother I never want to speak to him again.”
“No problem. I’m sure he’ll be broken up.”
Her heart raced as she walked past him. It kept racing as she walked to the elevator and glanced fearfully up at the cameras. What else could they make up about her? What else would they claim? It wasn’t as if it was difficult to set people up. She’d heard of that happening in Vegas. A few grams of coke in someone’s bathroom, and suddenly the police were there and it was all being documented.
Jesus. There was nothing she could do about them. She just needed to get out of here and leave this behind.
Charlie wiped the sweat off her temple as she stepped off the elevator and rushed to her car. She glanced in the rearview mirror as she pulled away from the resort for the last time, half certain someone would be following her. But no. She drove away unmolested. If she’d left anything there, it could stay. It wasn’t as if she’d be welcomed back.
She’d expected to feel relieved at escaping, but she was scared. Really scared. This man was holding an axe over her head, and there was no telling if he’d drop it or not. Even if she kept quiet, he could still use that information. After all, he might not like the feeling of waiting for her axe to drop, either.
Charlie wanted to call someone. She wanted someone to meet her somewhere and hug her and tell her it would be fine. A friend. A lover. Anyone.
But she had no one. Everyone had left her, or she’d left them. Her brother, her mom, every boyfriend she’d ever had. Even every party-hopping friend. She wasn’t good at love. She never had been. She’d never wanted anything to do with it.
Her life was superficial. She’d set it up that way. And now her years of being young and successful and carefree were over, and she was alone. After all, if you didn’t believe in love, it wasn’t going to be waiting for you when you needed it.
She started to drive to her apartment, but what would she do there? Sit on her couch and worry? It had been a refuge from anxiety just a few days ago, but it couldn’t protect her from anything now.
For a moment, she considered finding her brother to confront him, but she’d meant what she said. She never wanted to speak to him again. What could he possibly say that could make it better? Maybe he’d expected nothing bad to happen to her, but there was no denying that the emergency parachute in this little plan had been blaming everything on Charlie. Because she was already vulnerable.
Her own brother had seen her down on her knees and instead of helping her up, he’d pulled his foot back to kick her. Hard.
What kind of person was he? Their childhood had taught Charlie not to believe in love, but it had apparently taught Brad not to give a damn about anyone except himself. A reasonable reaction, she supposed, but that didn’t mean she could ever forgive him.
Her last desperate thought was to turn to Walker. In fact, she actually took the turn that would lead her back to the Stud Farm and Walker’s apartment. She could knock on his door and throw herself into his arms so he’d have no choice but to hold her. And then explain that, yes, everything Nicole had told him was true, but Charlie really hadn’t known anything about it. Really. Again.
But how much would that matter? Even if she proved the truth to him, he was still right about her. That she’d treated him like a project. That she’d lied to him about herself. She couldn’t deny any of that.
Charlie pulled up to the curb and looked at his window. His arms would feel so good around her, and she knew she could get him to give in. He was too kind not to. But as good as it would feel in that one short moment, she’d rather die than know he was touching her out of coerced pity.
She sat there for a long time, thinking it through. Thinking of going to bed tonight, and every night, having to worry that she might wake up the next day to the police knocking on her door.
That had been the most terrifying experience of her life. Being brought in to the police station. Facing the hostile questions of a very blunt district attorney. Having no idea what was going on or even what they thought she’d done.
She’d cried there. In front of those people. She’d cried and apologized and begged them to tell her if she was going to jail. For weeks, she’d lived with that fear. It had paralyzed her. Defeated her. She hadn’t even had time to process the hurt and betrayal she’d felt about her lover. That had been so far secondary, she had barely cared at first.
And now she was here with those same fears. Keith wanted her to live like that again. Not just now, but forever. That was the whole point of his threat, after all. To make her afraid. To make her obey.
Her hands trembled against the steering wheel. With some of that fear, yes, but it was building into something else. Fury. Hate. Determination.
She wanted to call her cousin. Nate was a sheriff’s deputy. She could lean on him. Let him help.
But this was a small town. She’d heard all the stories about the kinds of deals that were made behind closed doors in Tahoe. It wouldn’t be any different here. It would go to the D.A. who would be best friends with someone with a lot of money invested in another deal Keith was doing, and... Yeah. She knew how that went. How it always went.
A few leaves drifted down to settle on the hood of her car. It was a beautiful day. A peaceful day. The world marched on around her. It didn’t care if she was scared or not. It didn’t care if she played it safe or took a chance.
Reaching into her purse, she took out the phone she’d used to record the conversation with Keith. That recording would protect her. And exonerate her. But only if people got a chance to hear it.
The rational part of her brain croaked to life again, telling her to think about it. Take her time. She could make that choice just as easily in a week as she could now. She should consult an attorney. Be careful. Think.
But look where that had gotten her before. Out of prison, yes, but still afraid to stand up to anyone. Afraid to walk away from being mistreated. Afraid to be herself. And lying to a good man like Walker Pearce.
Charlie pressed her forehead to the steering wheel. She knew what she needed to do. She knew exactly what she needed to do. And it was the thing that scared her the most.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
FAT FLAKES OF snow drifted through the air, weaving a lacy sheet that barely obscured his sight, even fifty feet out. Walker slipped off his hat and let the air cool his head for a moment as the latest herd of cattle milled about, confused by the half day’s push down the mountain.
Walker had been in the high country for a full week now, camping out and catching an extra few hours of work whenever he could. He’d finished up the roundup for his new boss, but there was plenty of work to be found. Hands got hurt or didn’t show up, and there were nearly a dozen ranchers who needed to get their cattle out of the national forest before the deadline hit.
He loved the beauty of these mountains, and the weather had been decent. Most of the days had been bright and crisp with groves of turning aspen blazing across the hills. The nights had been good, too, with the kind of camaraderie he’d missed since he’d left the ranch. He’d caught up with a few old friends and made some new ones. He’d shared beers and heard stories that had almost made him feel that his life was normal. Almost.
The only bad part about it had been all the time he’d had to think. Time for everything he’d heard and said to Charlie to eat at him.
He couldn’t help feeling bad now, for the words he’d thrown at her and the way he’d treated her. What if she’d been telling the truth? Granted, that was a little hard for him to imagine. A woman who’d do all those things would certainly have no qualms lying about it. But he shouldn’t have bothered throwing it all in her face if he wasn’t even going to listen to a response.
People had done that to him his whole life, and he’d always hated it. His dad, certainly, but even teachers in school who’d wanted to help him, lecturing him about all his problems and never wa
nting to hear his take. And women. Women always assumed the worst about him, even the ones who liked him, like Charlie. He wasn’t that damn bad. He knew how to keep his dick in his pants. Hell, most of the time, he didn’t mean a damn thing with his flirting. And he’d never messed around on anyone. Not once.
So yeah, he knew a thing or two about being yelled at by someone who just wanted to yell. He’d certainly given it his all with Charlie.
She was probably guilty. She’d halfway admitted it. But what if she wasn’t?
His horse shifted restlessly under him, and Walker stroked her neck. He had to hold his place and keep the cattle grouped up while the hands near the road started loading them up. Given a chance, the animals would start edging away from the road and the lowing of the cattle being loaded up. So Walker held his horse steady and whispered a promise of an apple when they were through.
He’d apologize to Charlie when he got home. If she’d made a mess of her life, that was her problem. And whatever she’d gotten caught up in, she’d meant nothing cruel when she’d dragged Walker out to the Ability Ranch. She’d done that out of the goodness of her heart. Her meddling, know-it-all heart. Charlie honestly thought he belonged at that place.
And the thing was...maybe she was right. Or she might have been right if Walker had been born just a little smarter. Because the Ability Ranch was another thing Walker couldn’t stop thinking about.
He wouldn’t mind helping out around there. He could maybe drop in and work with the folks teaching the classes every once in a while. Except then he’d have to explain why he couldn’t do more. Why he couldn’t work there full-time.
His face burned at the very thought. Out here, no one ever asked for a résumé or even an explanation. Even at the dude ranches, they only made you fill out some basic information for a background check and payroll. He could put down where he’d gone to school and they didn’t give a damn whether he’d graduated with honors or skipped every class.
So Tough to Tame Page 25
