Kay’s blond eyebrows hitched when Rowan handed her a visitor log to sign. “You get enough traffic to warrant this kind of recordkeeping?”
Rowan smiled. Her teeth were brilliantly white against her tanned face. “It’s not about traffic. It’s about knowing which employees come and go. If a proprietary idea ends up in the hands of one of our competitors, the company investigates.”
Oliver nodded, thinking of the confidentiality clause in his hiring contract. “They do some really cutting edge stuff out here. It’s not like nuclear weapons or anything, but every niche of the market has its competition, and top-rated botany projects are no different.”
Rowan took the signed log from Kay and hung the clipboard on a peg near a counter littered with paperwork. She handed them their visitor tags, which were premade labels. Each employee had one, even the receptionist, Brit. “He’s right. We had a rare modified tree stolen. The idea is they get the sample, then break it down to see how it was created in a lab setting. Other greenhouses are able to repeat the effects, and we lose exclusivity. Tallulah was livid about the tree. She’s the one who petitioned for more rigorous security measures.”
Oliver tried to hide his frown. Kay kept throwing narrow-eyed glances his way, as if trying to put together a puzzle with only half the pieces. Last year, security had been tightened. He’d assumed he’d tipped them off somehow, and Cappy Don had drawn back, forced Oliver to dial back on his investigative measures. But if it had all been over a damn tree, he could easily convince the captain to loosen the reins.
“It wasn’t a tree.” A low female voice snarled behind Oliver. Tallulah stood in the doorway, a sour expression ruining the effects of her nearly perfect face. He’d only met her a few times. Either she was always in a snit, or he just chose bad times to visit. “It was a flowering bush, and it put anything Amos has done in the last three years to shame. I still think the theft was an inside job.”
Rowan rolled her eyes, but Oliver noticed her smile had turned brittle. “So we’ve all heard. Kay, meet Tallulah, our resident arborist. She and Amos have a hell of a rivalry going, as you might’ve gathered. Tallulah, Kay is the new head designer.”
Kay handled the abrasive Tallulah with the same easy manner she’d used to earn Merit’s esteem. She stuck out a hand. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
Tallulah took Kay’s hand but immediately crossed her arms after a terse shake. The sunlight from outside slanted inside the small security building and hit the wavy ringlets of Tallulah’s hair. A honey-blond halo framed her face. “That right? Isn’t the next big project some fancy spa? I hear fountains are all the rage.”
Kay’s mouth twisted into a half-grin, half-sneer combo that was stupidly adorable. “I don’t think Merit hired me to roll with the tide.”
“Merit didn’t hire you,” Oliver couldn’t help pointing out. “Easton did.”
Kay shrugged as if he hadn’t just announced the director of the entire company had handpicked her résumé out of hundreds from all over the state. She kept her attention on Tallulah. “All the more reason to do something outrageous. I’d love to see your latest and greatest.”
Tallulah gave Kay’s small form a considering once-over. “Sure. Find me after your tour with Pattie.”
If there was one thing Oliver didn’t want, it was a guided tour with Pattie. Pattie was great. A nice lady with a real zest for the outdoors. She handled Capital Acres with the easy efficiency of someone in love with her job. But he needed some one-on-one time with the greenhouses.
Without meaning to, Tallulah came to his rescue. She hooked a thumb over her shoulder, toward the exit, and dropped a withering stare on Rowan. “Speaking of the old bat, she was looking for you. Something she wanted to tie down before guests arrived, but I guess it’s too late for that.” Finally, she spared Oliver a glance. It wasn’t the kind of look he’d normally hope to get from a good-looking girl, but in this case, he didn’t mind missing out on the attention. Tallulah wasn’t the fun kind of scary. She was the scary kind of scary.
Rowan paused a beat to consider, her brows drawn as she wrestled with uncertainty. “Um. Well, I should probably go see what she wanted. You guys sit tight for a sec, okay?”
Kay mirrored the expression and angled it at Oliver.
He shrugged. “I told you security is tight.”
Tallulah rolled her eyes, then turned to watch Rowan scamper away. “I’m sure as hell not babysitting you.” She turned to go, and shot a parting glance at Kay. “Don’t forget to find me. I have something I think you’ll like.”
They were alone in the small shed, and Oliver could smell Kay’s coconut body spray. He had a sudden desire to visit the beach.
Kay let out a breath. “I guess we’re stuck here.” She leaned against the counter, settling in.
He hitched his chin at the doorway. “Door’s open. I say we go peek around a little. We’re not five-year-old children on a field trip. Don’t you find it a little curious we need an escort?”
“No.” Her stare was flat, probably meant to be scathing, but her eyes were alight with eager interest. “But I’m curious as to why it makes you curious.”
His job required a certain degree of courage. Sometimes, even foolish bravery. It took all he had to grab Kay’s hand, smile daringly, and tug her toward the door. “You’ll have to come with me to find out.”
* * * *
Oliver’s hand was like a branding iron enveloping Kay’s. She swallowed and let him keep possession. That way, she couldn’t lose him as they weaved through the massive compound. She swore to herself repeatedly it had nothing to do with the heat of skin touching skin, or the languid way he moved around buildings and through greenhouses bursting with a veritable carnival of colorful flowers, or the sudden thrill of sneaking around shooting through her body, quickening her pulse.
“What are we looking for?” She put her best effort into the demand. She hoped he thought she was half as annoyed as she tried to sound, and not struggling to decide if her skin was on fire because she was excited, or merely excited by his heated touch.
Oliver didn’t slow down, nor did his lightly jovial tone cease, though he pitched his voice low and quiet. Intimate. “One of these things is not like the others.” He tightened his grip. “My God, your hands are tiny.”
“Be a tad weird if they were large,” she responded drily. “You owe me a hell of an explanation when this is over.”
“Yep.” He led her to a long narrow greenhouse with a thick metal painted door. “This is the only greenhouse with a padlock this close to the main office.”
Kay bit her lip. “Sure, but the door’s wide open.”
“Probably not for long. Pattie wanted to see Rowan before we arrived. We must’ve caught someone off guard.”
“Well, then explain proximity. There are a hundred acres in this compound. Why would this particular greenhouse be so special?”
“You answered the question before you asked it.” His whisper betrayed a trace of impatience. “Proximity. If you were hiding something, you’d keep it close. Easy to dispose of in an emergency. Now, let’s go.”
Oliver tugged once, and Kay followed.
The air inside the greenhouse had the earthy smell of rich, damp soil. Old dirt on the concrete underfoot sounded a gravelly whisper Kay was convinced the governor could hear from his mansion downtown.
Oliver stopped abruptly when they reached the exit on the far side to peek through the cracked open door. “Look, do you see that?”
Kay peered around his shoulder and outside. He pointed to a small cottage. It seemed centrally located, with differently shaped greenhouses surrounding it and spreading outward like a game of Tetris. “The tiny house?”
“Yeah. That’s Pattie’s office. She and Rowan just stepped inside. We’ll wait until they leave, then we’ll try the lock.”
Kay almost wrenched her hand from his. Sneaking around, that was one thing. Looking for
hidden stuff, well, that was another. But breaking and entering had to be where she drew the line.
Or did it? Her heart pounded in her chest, her breathing was a roar in her ears. She hadn’t been this fired up since she’d aim a loaded, cocked pistol at a man’s head last year. Only this time, she wasn’t in control. The plan wasn’t hers, and the goal was fuzzy.
While they waited, and Oliver kept eyes on the cottage, Kay surveyed the contents of the low-slung greenhouse. Trailing ice plants, known to the common gardener as pink carpet, ran the length of the far side, tucked into beds along a low bench. Yellow wormwood buds sprouted from tall green stalks along the center aisle. Kay narrowed her eyes at the plants growing closest to her, along the wall. A spread of small, delicately veined leaves took up half of the benches on this side. Fittonia, she recognized, reaching back to her days in her aunt’s shop. Not rare, but difficult to keep alive.
Kay assessed a plant she didn’t recognize, growing at the other end of the greenhouse near where they’d entered. She wished she’d have noticed them right away, because they were the only plant she couldn’t name. The flowers started as teensy little buds, with long thin filaments shooting out like a cluster of little antennae. They ranged in color from pale lavender to daffodil yellow.
Oliver tugged her hand again. She crept up beside him and peered over his shoulder. Her pulse jumped. Rowan stood next to a short old lady with a crown of fluffy white hair, like a cotton ball. “That’s Pattie?”
“Yeah.” Oliver snorted. “Don’t let the granny visage fool you. The only difference between Merit and Pattie is one of them doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty.”
He spoke with such derision Kay swiveled to stare at him, realizing suddenly how close she’d sidled up to him in an attempt to stay hidden from view. His gaze met hers, and the lack of amusement made her skin prickle with unease. “What do you mean by that?”
Oliver licked his teeth and stared out at the cottage. “She runs this place. If there’s anything underhanded happening out here, she knows about it. And I’m ninety-two percent sure something is going on in these greenhouses. Something unethical and illegal. But I need proof.”
Kay blinked, her mind trying to wrap around the implications. “Are you a cop?”
Oliver glanced at her. “We need to move. They’re leaving.” After a hushed conference, the two women walked out of sight, past the corner of another far off greenhouse.
Kay experienced a sudden sharp jab of uncertainty. Did she need a thrill so bad she was willing to sacrifice her job? She could get fired over this. Oliver could definitely get fired over this.
“Why get me involved?” Her hand was clammy inside his. Some of the excitement had worn off, and she was left with humming nerves and common sense knocking around inside her head, begging to know just what in the hell she was doing.
He looked over his shoulder for a split second, one eyebrow arched. “You dropped a bomb in the car, Kay. This is the blowback.”
“You mean payback.”
His grip tightened as they approached the cottage. He stopped, wheeled around, and pulled Kay in close. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as their bodies brushed together. His gaze met hers, then dropped to her mouth. “Wrong. I want you on my team. Why would I want to punish you?” His voice dropped to a low murmur. “Besides, why would I tell you when I could show you?”
Oliver’s words said one thing, but his body implied a dual meaning that hers responded to without consent. The air was trapped in her lungs while she waited for what he’d do next, anticipating his mouth coming down on hers.
The kiss never came. Oliver clamped his jaw shut and whirled away. Disappointment came fast, relief quick on its heels. Was it too much to ask for one job that didn’t offer an opportunity for her to prove she was a craven floozy? Together they stepped up to the door of Pattie’s office cottage. Oliver’s light mood returned, just as Kay’s sank even lower. This was insanity. Once they broke into the cottage, there’d be no turning back. Oliver gripped the knob.
Kay leaned down, and covered his hand with her own. “You’re sure about this?”
He shook his head. “If we don’t find anything, you’re probably going to fire me again, and with just cause.” He didn’t wait for a reply, but turned the knob. He scowled. “Locked. Goddamn it.” He ran a hand through his hair. His lips formed a grim, unforgiving line as he turned his back to the door and stared at the ground.
Kay was intrigued by his anger, and the hardness peeking through his lighthearted veneer. She decided he was probably a far more serious person than he let on, and the whole helpful assistant routine was nothing more than a carefully crafted disguise. “Are you really surprised? Makes sense she’d lock up her office, given the security in this place.”
He looked up and over her shoulder. His voice was low when he spoke. “Just disappointed. We stumbled onto one unlocked door. Couldn’t help but hope my luck would hold. That makes three bad decisions I’ve made since we got here, and one of them is bound to blow up in my face.”
Kay snorted. “Only three?”
He nodded, his gaze still hovering on a point over her shoulder. “Just three.”
She counted two. First, dragging her away from the front gate, where they’d been told to stay. They’d have a fun time coming up with an excuse for that one. Second, if she had to wager, would be telling Kay more than he’d intended to tell her. “One and two have been duly noted, but what’s three? If you plan on breaking a window, I want nothing—”
“They’re coming.”
Then the kiss happened. Delayed but inevitable. His lips sent chills racing up her spine as they slid slow and promising over hers. Her skin came alive at his touch on her waist as he pulled her into him. It began a harsh and hungry thing. Then his tense body softened against hers. His fingers pressed into her hips, and she came up on her toes to deepen the kiss. It was as if a long sigh escaped from her body. She melted into him, and tentatively opened her mouth, allowing him to fill her.
A gasp from nearby startled Kay into her senses. They’d been caught. She pulled away, covered her mouth, and glared at Oliver. She expected triumph, even gloating. He’d used her to hide what they’d really been up to. She wasn’t sure if she was pissed off or not.
Instead, she was met with the same uncertainty pounding away in her chest. Oliver trailed his thumb along her bottom lip. “Three.”
* * * *
Oliver pasted on his best easygoing smile. It had never before been so difficult, as unease roiled inside him. “Hi, ladies. We were looking for you.”
Kay didn’t turn around immediately. A scarlet blush rose from her collar and claimed her face in an adorable flush. If he were the type to blush, they’d be nearly identical, in both color and expression. Stunned. That was the word for her face, and he’d felt it as surely as she had. He just happened to have more experience with a quick recovery. They’d finally gotten a small taste of the heat that flared between them.
Kay swallowed hard, closed her eyes briefly, and bent her lips into a pinched smile before turning around. “Pattie. I’m Kay.” She held out her hand.
Pattie’s shrewd hazel eyes assessed them in taut silence for a beat too long. Finally, she accepted Kay’s hand.
Oliver’s mind was elsewhere during their short interview and the following tour. He’d been here before, although he noticed they weren’t shown the greenhouse he and Kay had slipped through in order to sneak up on the cottage. A subtle hint that they’d been watched? Perhaps, but he knew there were no cameras in the greenhouses, only posted at the entrances of the compound. He didn’t follow Kay when she sauntered away to find Tallulah with hardly a glance in his direction.
He turned his attention to Pattie. “Again, I apologize about earlier. We got caught up in looking at all the plants and wandered further than we realized.” He gave her his most doltish grin. He didn’t like dumbing down, but what else would the manager of Capital Acr
es expect from a mere assistant?
Pattie’s hard gaze delivered an unnerving reply before her lips ever parted. “It’s but one of your unfortunate missteps. I’m undecided on whether your little liaison deserves a strongly worded e-mail to Easton Arnell himself.”
Oliver’s stomach fell. He wouldn’t get in nearly as much trouble as Kay. He dropped all pretenses of acting and leveled a pleading stare at Pattie. “What’s the harm? We didn’t mess with any of the plants. Kay’s new, and I should definitely know better. We could both lose our jobs.”
“Maybe you should.”
He licked his lips nervously. “Maybe. But at least give us a fighting chance. Tell Merit instead of Mr. Arnell.” He didn’t know if he was doing them any favors. But Kay had earned Merit’s respect, and Merit seemed to have an inexplicable soft spot for Oliver.
Pattie studied Oliver another long minute. “We’ll see.”
A fluffy-haired granny shouldn’t strike such an intimidating figure, but he found himself shuffling his feet and fidgeting.
Back in the small security building, Oliver signed them out while he waited for Kay to finish her hushed conversation with Tallulah. The time for head games had passed. He’d irrevocably brought Kay into his investigation, and even though he could argue she had sandblasted her way in, no one told him to drag her around Capital Acres, or use the fact that they were physically compatible to escape getting caught snooping. He could’ve said they’d gotten turned around, claimed ignorance instead of Kay’s perfectly perky mouth.
But she’d been so close, he could count the faint freckles across her nose and the lashes spanning her indiscernible eyes. A smitten fool had taken advantage of the opportunity, even as Oliver recognized the huge mistake as it happened. That kiss could ruin everything, yet he couldn’t deny it had been worth it. At least for the smitten fool. Professionally, Oliver wanted his own head on a platter. He ran a hand over his face. He was so screwed. And it was too late to do anything but go further down the rabbit hole.
Love on the Vine Page 7
