by Desiree Holt
She shook her head. “Not your fault. You did everything right. Shit happens.”
“I’ll be shocked if they see it that way.”
“I’ll make sure they do,” she insisted.
“You just take care of getting well.” He stood. “Let me go see what I can do about bringing Dana down here.”
* * * *
Trey stood in the doorway to the hospital room, studying the slender figure in the bed, weighted down by the huge cast. His heart ached for what she’d been through.
Two days ago, they had completed their mission, and the moment he had a connection he’d called her number. He’d been shocked when Mike Elliott had answered the phone, and had gone from shocked to furious when he got the details of what happened. Slade had gotten them back to base as quickly as he could, and Teo had picked them up in the chopper in a neighboring field. As soon as they’d landed, Slade had tossed him the keys to a truck and he’d driven hell bent for leather to the hospital.
Now he stood looking at the woman he had so unexpectedly fallen in love with and wondered what he’d ever do without her. The last thing he’d expected when they’d met at the Huttons’ party had been to lose his heart, but as Slade had pointed out to him, fate had a funny way of taking things out of people’s hands.
“Are you just going to stand in the doorway, or are you planning to come into the room?”
Her voice was hoarse, but it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. In seconds he was beside her, bending over to kiss her. He meant it to be a gentle peck, but she reached up and wove her fingers into his hair, holding his head in place, sliding her small tongue out to touch his lips. That did it for him. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, tasting every inch of her, his heart pounding as he realized how close he’d come to losing her. When he lifted his head, they were both breathless.
“If I wasn’t in this state,” she whispered, “I’d show you just how glad I am to see you.”
“If you weren’t in this state, I’d be showing you.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, holding her hand, unwilling to break the contact.
“Please don’t be made at Mike,” she begged. “They actually saved our lives.”
“Shit happens,” he agreed. “But that’s the end of situations that put you in jeopardy. Dana can do whatever the hell she wants, but no more run-ins with thugs for you.”
“You won’t hear me arguing. Anyway, I’ve got a ways to go before I hit the playing field again. And I have to look for a new job.”
“I have some ideas there,” he told her in a tentative voice that completely belied his Delta Force personality. “That is, if you’d like to listen.”
“I’m all ears.”
He cleared his throat. “My folks have a ranch very much like Slade’s, only theirs is in Montana. And I’ve told them about you.”
Her eyes widened. “You did? I thought you were Mister Footloose and Fancy Free.”
“So did I. So did everyone, including my family, to their despair.” He brushed the hair off her forehead. “But when I wasn’t looking, a feisty lawyer stole my heart. I’ve talked about you enough, told them about what happened when I was on my way here to see you.”
“And?”
“And they’d love it if I’d bring you to the ranch to heal. Now wait a minute,” he said, when she opened her mouth to protest. “Hear me out. My mother’s a registered nurse and my sister’s an attorney, so you’d have someone to talk shop with. Please.”
He watched the play of emotions across her face while she digested everything he’d said. God, he loved this woman. He’d never expected this, but now he wanted it more than he wanted to breathe.
“And where would you go, anyway?” he persisted. “Your dad’s an engineer on the other side of the world, your mother passed away years ago, and your sister is going to be busy healing herself and writing the biggest story of her life.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “I love you, Kenzi, and I want to marry you. Let me take you home to my family.”
“M-Marry?” she stuttered.
“Mm-hmm. That’s what people do when they’re in love, or so I’m told. And I do love you, more than I ever thought possible.”
She nibbled on her lower lip and Trey could see her thoughts chasing themselves across her face. When she smiled, he relaxed for the first time since he’d entered the room.
“Okay, soldier.” She grinned. “I’m convinced.”
And the last bit of tension left his body.
“You just wait,” he told her. “My family will love you and spoil you to death.” He bent his head lower. “And as soon as you’re able-bodied again, I’m going to take you to bed and fuck you senseless.”
She burst out laughing. “Now there’s the Trey McIntyre I know and love. Welcome home, soldier.”
And as he laid his head on her breast, he knew that was the truth—he was home. Finally.
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Corporate Heat: Masquerade
Desiree Holt
Excerpt
Lindsey turned over in bed and checked the time on her little clock. Five a.m. Holy hell. She was sure she hadn’t gotten more than an hour’s worth of sleep combined all night. Most of the time had been spent tossing and turning, trying to get the picture of Craig Wainwright’s dead body out of her mind. Seeing the man she’d worked with for the past four years lying in the morgue, battered and bruised, with all the life drained out of him, was painful and gut-wrenching. A sick feeling lodged inside her even as questions kept rattling around in her brain, bumping into one another.
She didn’t know which shocked her more—Craig’s death and the circumstances, or the fact that his ice-queen of a wife, Natalia, had chosen to contact her as opposed to one of her friends. Or intimate acquaintances, as she called them. After all, their relationship was distantly cordial at best. According to what the police had told them, he’d been killed in a one-car accident on a stretch of road that was not even close to the route to his house. What had he been doing there, anyway? And at that hour of the night?
She looked at the clock again. Five-fifteen. With a sigh, she gave up any attempt to get some sleep and pulled at the covers, which were now all twisted around her body. Disentangling her legs, she pushed herself to a sitting position and dragged herself out of bed.
Today it was important that she be alert and to have all the parts of her brain in maximum working order. As vice-president of Elite Marketing, she was expected to have her shit together all the time. No matter what. Taylor and Noah Cantrell were due at Elite at seven sharp, and that meant being alert and in charge.
When Taylor had brought Elite into the mega-structure of Arroyo Conglomerate four years ago, one condition of the arrangement had been to add another executive-level position to manage the fast-expanding business. Lindsey had been recommended by a business friend of Taylor’s. She was well-respected in the industry and had a great understanding when it came to marketing. Plus she had a well-honed business sense. A high-priced education at the University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School of Finance had seen to that.
She recalled worrying that Craig would think his toes were being stepped on, but he’d told her again and again how glad he was to have her there. He was smart enough to see he needed someone who could shoulder the load with him.
“Some of my clients are taking up more and more time,” he’d told her. “This will really help a lot, especially managing the staff.”
It was important that the Cantrells knew their faith was not misplaced. Besides, she owed it to Craig. Keeping the agency running and increasing revenue was the best tribute she could give him. She was sure the staff, when she told them, would be in upheaval, so she needed to be the steadying hand on the wheel.
She’d hated disturbing the Cantrells last night, and the late hour hadn’t helped. However, it was a standing rule with all executives in every Arroyo division that Taylor Cantrell was to be n
otified at once of anything out of the ordinary relating to her top people. This more than met that qualification.
Although she and Taylor had only had sporadic contact in person since Lindsey had joined Elite, they had a relationship so strong that video and phone calls handled any business without a problem. But the woman had a way of letting people know if they’d disappointed her, even while she was smiling and being polite. Lindsey wanted to make sure she was ready for anything today.
They’d have some decisions to make, and fast, the most important being about who would step into Craig’s position. Would Taylor look outside the agency again, and bring in someone new the way she had with Lindsey?
She wasn’t looking forward to gathering the staff when they arrived at the office. Giving them the sad news would be extra tough since she had no answers for them. She could visualize organized chaos while everyone absorbed the news and Taylor dug into Elite to make sure nothing was wrong. It wasn’t, after all, as if this was a normal auto accident, which in itself would have been bad enough. No, there’d be questions, the same ones she kept asking herself.
Lord, please don’t let me lose my shit today.
A hot shower washed away most of the cobwebs, and by the time she had dressed and applied makeup, she felt halfway to being human. By seven o’clock, she had the single serving brewers set up in both the break room and her office, the carousels stocked with a variety of flavors and trays of her favorite pastries set out beside them. The answering service was on notice to continue taking calls for an additional hour. That was all she could do to prepare for what was coming.
She had just taken a deep breath when she heard knocking on the glass doors to the suite of offices.
Here goes.
Stepping into the reception area, she saw the Cantrells standing in the hallway. They were a striking couple, the tall man whose Native American heritage gave him dark, exotic good looks and the woman, with her wavy auburn hair, ocean blue eyes and milky skin a direct contrast to him. They were the quintessential power couple, looking for all the world as if they’d had eight hours’ sleep and had nothing more to worry about than where to go for lunch.
How do they do it?
“Good morning.” She swung the door wide for them. “I’m sorry, I thought for sure you had keys to the office.”
Taylor smiled at her. “Only to be used in case of emergency. I don’t want people to think they have no privacy.”
And who else would consider that important?
“Please come into my office. I have coffee and pastries. I didn’t know if you’d have had a chance for anything on the plane or not.”
Taylor smiled. “Very thoughtful of you. Thanks.”
Lindsey made sure everyone was served before indicating they should sit in the arranged conversation grouping. She waited for them to take the lead.
Taylor took a swallow of her beverage and set her cup on the little table in front of the couch.
“Okay, Lindsey. Tell me everything you know about last night, starting with when you left the office. I’m assuming Craig was still here?”
Lindsey nodded. “I worked until a little past seven before packing it in. He was in his office, working on a project. Maybe more than one, considering the amount of material spread over his desk. I’m sorry I have no idea what it was, but it might have been photos for a couple of magazine layouts. Or he could have been deciding which models to use, since we had three scheduled for different clients.”
“Did he supervise all of them himself?” Taylor asked.
Lindsey wrinkled her forehead. “I don’t think so, but we operated independently so it was hard to tell. Jerry Ortiz worked on a lot with him and we met once a week to catch up. Last night I asked Craig if he needed any help and he said no, he was good. He just wanted to wrap up some details before he went home to spend the evening with his wife. I have no idea how he ended up where he was or why. Obviously, something changed.”
Why didn’t I press him harder? Ask more about what he was doing?
But she’d been tired and more than ready to get out of there. She’d remember that for a long time.
Taylor took another swallow of coffee. “Noah called the police station and had them fax a copy of the report to the house before we left.”
“And they did it just like that? I thought the police were cranky about doing things like that, especially for someone they don’t know.” Then she stopped and heat skimmed her cheeks. “Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to.”
Taylor laughed. “Sometimes being who we are has its advantages.”
Lindsey nibbled on her lips. “Did it show anything?”
“Not much, but it’s just the preliminary report. But at that location, he wasn’t even close to being on the way home when he had the accident. I haven’t spoken to Natalia, but did she have any idea where he might have been headed? Or why he ended up staying so late at the office?”
Lindsey shook her head. “None at all.”
“Had you noticed anything different about him lately?” Taylor asked. “Any change in habits or behavior?”
What could she really say? All she had were vague suspicions. Still…
“Anything you can share,” Taylor prompted, “no matter how small, could be helpful. You know I have a lot of confidence in your opinion.”
“I just want to make sure I’m not mistaking pressure nerves for something else.” She got up to brew another cup of coffee. She’d have to be careful not to drink herself into caffeine overload today. “Craig was smart and savvy, and knew what he was doing. But lately I got the feeling he was dealing with a lot of pressure. Maybe because of some of the large accounts he’d taken on. People who wanted more campaigns and bigger ones.”
Taylor frowned. “Do you think they were too much for him to manage?”
“No.” Lindsey shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to damage Craig’s reputation as a top marketing person in his field. “And you know yourself how good the money was.” She paused, choosing her words with care. “But if I’m truthful, the last couple of years he seemed, oh, antsy, I guess, is the best way to put it. Like he was walking some kind of fine line. I have no idea what it could have been, though. Elite is doing extremely well. We almost have more clients than we can handle, especially as we’re expanding our international market. In fact, we even discussed bringing another person on board to handle some of the smaller accounts.”
Taylor smiled. “An abundance of business is always good to hear. But…”
“Yes.” Lindsey nodded. “But. I kept getting the distinct feeling something was off. I was hoping to have something more concrete than just a feeling before I approached him about it.”
Noah leaned forward and placed his coffee mug on the table.
“Was it financial, Lindsey? If he was keeping things from you, that could be a problem.”
A tiny knot tightened in her stomach and she did her best to keep her voice even. “Truthfully, Mr. Cantrell—”
“Noah,” he interrupted. “I think it’s time we dispense with formalities.”
“Noah.” Can I express my reservations to him without being sure? The last thing she wanted was to create trouble where there was none.
“Lindsey.” Taylor’s voice was friendly but firm. This was, after all, business. “The president of a viable marketing company that is a component of Arroyo Enterprises has died both unexpectedly and in odd circumstances. It may turn out to be a sudden heart attack and he may have just been taking a drive to clear his head after a long workday. But I trust your instincts. If there is even a hint of something bothering you, then you need to share it with us. I have to know how we’re going to handle things going forward.”
The knot in her belly got a little tighter. “Going forward? Do you think you might close the agency?”
“No.” The other woman shook her head. “Not at all. Not even a consideration, unless we find something really dire. But we can’t have a vacuum here. You know y
ourself this agency is a moneymaker, and that looks good on the Arroyo balance sheet and to the board of directors. If we need to get in front of something, now is the time to do it.”
“And there may be nothing at all to worry about.” Lindsey cleared her throat. “Please keep in mind that this is just my impression.”
Taylor nodded. “Understood.”
“Okay. Like I said before, for the past two years or so, Craig has seemed edgy. Jumpy even, at times. As if he was wrestling with some kind of problem. He was traveling a lot for these photo shoots, much of it out of the country. That wasn’t a bad thing. We’ve expanded at a rapid rate in the global marketplace, which means customers with a wide variety of tastes. Plus, a lot of our clients like the tropical settings for layouts. I offered several times to help ease his load, but he was very proprietary about his clients and insisted on managing everything himself. I had little to do with the foreign trips. Now and then, Natalia went with him on the trips—I think to help corral the models.”
Noah lifted an eyebrow. “He didn’t ask you to go with him? Or one of the account managers?”
“Sometimes Jerry Ortiz, who worked closely with him, but he usually made it plain he preferred doing it himself.” Lindsey shook her head. “I was busy overseeing everything else when he was tied up with one of these projects, and the models were, well, a handful for one of the account managers to handle. They were strictly Craig’s baby.”
The Cantrells exchanged a glance.
“Would you say there was anything improper going on between Craig and any of the models?” Taylor asked.
“No, nothing like that.” Again, Lindsey shook her head. “Not at all. But something was on his mind.”
“All right.” Taylor leaned back in her chair and again something passed unspoken between her and her husband. “Here’s what I’d like to do. Noah’s heading to the police station to see if they’ve learned anything else. They’ll have gone over the car by now, to see if there were any mechanical problems.”
