GRATIFICATION (Desire Never Dies) Page 7

  “Would you like something to drink?” she asked.

  “Have you got a beer?”

  “I have Guinness.”

  “That’ll work.”

  She could hardly believe her ears. He had always been a wine spritzer kind of guy. He was almost too obviously changed. Cynically, she wondered if this was some attempt to appease her until Ty-Ken was safe from the Clarkes. That had to be it.

  She got a couple of beers from the fridge and set them down on the kitchen table. Her kitchen was small. And while she had oak wood furniture, granite countertops and matching stainless steel appliances, she figured Preston would probably find the surroundings inadequate. She followed his gaze as he opened the beers and looked around. He only glanced around the room briefly. The cursory dismissal. Yeah, he found it beneath him.

  “Rod’s filing our complaint tomorrow,” he said. “So if you have any details you’d like to throw in, now would be the time to say so.”

  She shook her head. “No need to worry about the details now. There’ll be plenty of time for that later. What about the changes to the By-Laws?”

  “We’ll present them to the full Board tomorrow, along with our amendment to the Articles.”

  “And what about shareholder approval?”

  “Between our shares, my sister’s, plus a few key managers I’ve given some nice stock options to, I have twenty-seven percent approval. Another twenty-four percent shouldn’t be too hard to come by.”

  “I guess that will do it then. Now, what’s your real strategy to keep the company?”

  “I’ve got some dirt on our buddy, Andy. Found out he’s been banging the eighteen-year-old girl next-door.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” Her stomach turned at the thought of some poor young girl making love with a domineering old slob like Andy Clarke. She wondered if the girl was on drugs, or into other forms of self-mutilation. Personally, she thought the most correct course of action at this point would be to have a chat with the girl’s parents and suggest therapy. “I don’t even want to know how you found out about that,” she said.

  “It’s not important. Let’s just say I have a few inside sources.”

  She wondered who those inside sources were, then dismissed the thought, deciding she didn’t really want to know that either. “What about telling the girl’s parents and getting her some help. She obviously needs it.”

  “We can do that after Andy’s dropped his bid for the company.”

  Maggie sucked down a swig of her beer. It was cold and strong, and settled warmly in her stomach. “You might want to be careful about how you handle letting Andy know you’ve found out his secret. I think he can be pretty ruthless when he’s crossed.”

  “He’s already trying to take my company,” Preston said.

  His company? He sounded angry and defiant.

  “Once a person’s already gone for the jugular, there’s no point in trying to mitigate damages.”

  “True. But I’ve heard some pretty unsavory rumors about what happened to the man’s early business competitors. Didn’t his main investor turn up missing two years after his business started? And what about that competitor of his, Tom something-or-other? Didn’t he die of a suspicious drug overdose right after he refused to sell his business to Andy?”

  Preston gave her a dismissive look. “You shouldn’t put any stock in the rumor mill, Maggie. Honestly, I thought you of all people would know better than that.”

  “I don’t put any stock in the rumor mill. I just know that occasionally, they’re right.”

  A moment of silence passed between them. She swallowed another healthy portion of her beer and noted that Preston’s was half gone already. Apparently, he didn’t dislike beer as much as he used to. “By the way,” she said. “I’ve called in your Uncle Henry as co-counsel to our defense team.”

  Preston’s stare turned predictably hard. He’d never gotten along with his uncle any better than his father had. Henry had always held a degree of bitterness about not being included in the company, right down to not even being retained as corporate counsel. No matter how much Preston complained, however, Maggie was determined to fix the breach and at least have some good come out of this situation.

  “Maggie, I cannot believe you would butt your nose into my family business that way.”

  “What way, Preston? Are you trying to tell me I need your approval regarding whom I hire as my attorney? Let’s not forget you need my ten percent of the company to maintain your leverage with the rest of the shareholders.”

  He looked like he was choking, but backed down. “Fine. You can give Henry Rod’s number, and he can talk to him.”

  Citing the exact percentage of her stock ownership had to irritate him. In truth, she was the single largest shareholder. The ten percent Preston’s father had owned in the company had been split. Six percent to Preston and four percent to Janelle. No matter how much control he assumed at the helm, she would always outrank him.

  “So,” he said, practically snapping off the word. “Have you thought of any other bright ideas I should know about?”

  “Yes. I’m meeting with Nick Beck tomorrow. I’m going to pre-empt Taralynn’s little smear campaign before it gets started.”

  “Oh you are?” His sarcasm was hard to miss. “And just exactly how do you intend to do that?”

  “Well, not by sleeping with him, they way anyone else you know probably would.”

  He grimaced and she grinned. Score one for her. “By offering him a better story.” She continued, noticing his irritation had not eased up one bit. His hands were stilled balled into fists and his jaw tight. Obviously, her comment about sleeping with Nick had hit a little close to home.

  “What better story do you have to offer Nick? If you don’t mind my asking.”

  “Not at all. I’m going to offer Nick the chance for an exclusive on our charity ball in exchange for forgetting about any ugly rumors he might hear from Taralynn.”

  Much to her relief, Preston smiled, like he was glad she had given him a good explanation.

  “That’s a great idea. That might actually work.” Then he frowned. “What charity ball?”

  “The one we’re throwing in two weeks to kick off Ty-Ken Communications’ fund drive for the abused children’s shelter we’re going to build.”

  His dumbfounded expression was almost comical. “We are? We can’t have a charity ball in two weeks. It takes a lot more than two weeks to set up something like that.”

  She smiled. She’d bested him again. “You forget, Preston. I’m in the business. Now, invitations and press releases are being sent out tomorrow, so I’d suggest you go find yourself a nice tuxedo.”

  Chapter 16

  Andy stomped around the room. He’d waited all night for Chester to come back on duty. Carefully planned every question he wanted to ask. And so far the damn butler hadn’t said a single thing to implicate himself in speaking of his affair with the Mance girl. If Chester hadn’t spilled the beans, who the hell had?

  It was good if Chester wasn’t the leak though. A man needed to be able to trust the one man closest to him, and the results of his interrogation of Chester weren’t what angered Andy. What angered him, what really pissed him off, was that someone besides Chester knew about the girl. Worse still, somehow Taralynn had found out. Heaven help him if she ever told her mother. That would be the divorce settlement heaven Marianne had been dreaming of. The settlement she’d spent the last fifteen years patiently waiting for.

  Andy turned back around to face his butler. “Chester, who else besides you might have found out about Regina?”

  The butler looked almost confused at first. Or was it surprised? Andy noted the sudden furrow of his brow, and the flash of a moment when his gaze darted toward the floor. Now he was getting somewhere. “Speak up, man. What is it?”

  “I have taken every precaution possible regarding your schedule, Sir. I don’t see how anyone else could have found out. At least not from our e
nd.”

  The man brought up a point Andy hadn’t considered before. Chester could usually be counted on to come up with good ideas. Unusually mature for a man of only thirty-nine. If the guy weren’t big and strong and bedding down twice as many women as he was, Andy might even like him, as well as trust him.

  “You do have a point,” he admitted. “I haven’t said anything, but that doesn’t mean Regina’s kept her mouth shut. Christ! That’s the problem with these young girls. They don’t know a thing about discretion. It’s like no one teaches them anything anymore. Hell, she probably went off and told all her girlfriends, showing off the jewelry, clothes and money she’s gotten from me. Stupid, childish, little girl. I think it’s about time she went off to finishing school, or something. I know. Give her parents the money to send her off to that place in Switzerland where Taralynn went for her senior year. They’ve been wanting to do that, and due to their deteriorating financial position they’ve been unable to. It couldn’t hurt to have them thinking of me as their daughter’s benefactor right now.”

  Chester nodded. “I’ll take care of it, Sir.”

  “See that you do. Oh, and Chester?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Make sure the money can’t be traced back to me. Make it look like some sort of scholarship, or something.”

  “Of course, Sir.”

  Andy gestured a dismissal to his butler. He had an idea. One person had just come to mind that was connected to both Regina and him. Elise Chambers. She was the girl’s aunt. And he’d been seeing Elise on and off throughout his affair with the girl. Was it possible she had somehow found out?

  There was only one way to find out for sure, and that was to set out a trap for dear Elise.

  Chapter 17

  “Hey, Tracy.” Rod approached her with confidence, waving as he walked toward her. He’d camped out at the café across the street from her house, and had been waiting for her to emerge for over two hours already. He was still nervous about running into her the other night at the club and there was only one way he knew of to make sure she kept her mouth shut. Get her into bed with him.

  “Hey,” he said as he got close to her. “What are you doing keeping that hot bod of yours hidden in that sundress?”

  She glanced down at her below-the-knee dress and looked back up at him. “I think what I wear is my business.”

  She had sass. That surprised him. He initially had thought of her as being not much more than Maggie McKenzie’s lackey. He saw now she was definitely her own person, and one he wouldn’t mind spending a little more time with. He winked. “I’ll tell you what, I’d be willing to bet if you lost a foot off that dress you could have your way with me.”

  The instant the words left his mouth, he could tell they’d been the wrong ones. Tracy’s face turned an indignant shade of red.

  “What do you want? Or did you just come here to insult me”

  “Whoa!” He held his hands out in front of him. “I did not want to insult you. Sweetheart, I am really sorry. That was just my own stupid way of trying to pay you a compliment.”

  She looked up at him with huge, saucer-shaped eyes that were the sexiest shade of green he’d ever seen. Like sea foam or something. He let his gaze wander to her lips, and then to her chest. Man, she had some nice sized tits. Much bigger than Taralynn’s. Fucking Tracy into keeping quiet was an even better idea than he’d originally thought. “What were you doing in Miami last night?” he asked. “That’s kind of a long way for you, isn’t it?”

  She yawned, as if just hearing that fact made her tired. “Yeah, but a friend of mine owns that bar and he pays me to come in twice a month and do the payroll and bookkeeping.”

  “That sure sounds like a lot of work.”

  “It is. But, when you’ve got two kids to take care of, you don’t really have time to worry about anything but paying the bills.”

  “You have two kids?” Shit! That news floored him. If there was one thing he had spent his entire life avoiding, it was kids.

  His expression must have given his thoughts away, because Tracy stepped back and folded her arms over her chest. “Most men feel the way you do about kids. That’s why I don’t date much.”

  Another misstep. “What do you think I think? I’m just surprised because you are in such great shape. I hope you didn’t think I meant anything different.”

  He had always figured the best defense was a good offense, and that tactic certainly seemed to prove true with this woman. Just as he’d hoped, her gaze suddenly faltered. She’d backed down. He’d been pretty sure when he met her at Maggie’s bar the other day she wasn’t quite the crusader her boss was. No. Despite the tough face she put on, he guessed she was hiding some self-esteem issues. And he knew how to work that to his advantage. He’d also been sure she’d been checking him out as much as he’d been checking her out.

  “What do you want?” she finally asked. “You didn’t really seem to want to talk to me when I saw you last night.”

  “I am really sorry about that.” Rod put on his most sincere act. “Like I said last night, that was a client I was with, and she’s real uptight about maintaining confidentiality.”

  “You meet with your clients in goth bars late at night?”

  She didn’t sound like she was buying it. He needed to get the situation turned back to the sexual attraction between them. “Dealing with clients can sometimes be very demanding. For what’s she’s paying me though, if she wants to meet at a goth bar at ten o’clock on a Saturday night, then that’s how I do things.”

  Gaining confidence, he’d stepped forward and closed the gap she’d put between them. He was close enough now he could reach out and squeeze one of those great big jugs of hers. If he thought he could get away with it. He couldn’t though. Not with this one. She’d obviously been taking cynic lessons from her boss. Instead, he narrowed his gaze and stared directly at her. Conveying visually the sexual demands he wanted to make of her. He willed her to receive his thoughts and respond to them.

  Her lashes fluttered and her gaze dropped to her feet.

  “You’re a very unique person, Tracy. I’d like to get to know you better.”

  She cast him a doubtful glance. “Why? From what Maggie tells me, you don’t usually date women long enough to get to know them.”

  He’d gotten tantalizingly close to her. The temptation to reach out and grab her ass was so intense he could practically get off on it. She made him feel like a bad boy, and that was a very good thing in his book. He took the last step needed to bring him a breath away from her. “I’d like to know what makes Maggie McKenzie such an expert on me, considering the first time I ever met her was yesterday.”

  She took a step back. “Apparently, Preston’s known you a whole lot longer, and he already gave her the low-down on you.”

  He forced a laugh. Preston could be such a back-stabbing bastard. Of course he’d given Maggie the “low-down” on him. No doubt wanting to make sure he didn’t have any competition for his ex’s bedroom. “I wouldn’t put too much stock in Preston’s gossip,” he said. “He tells half the woman we meet those stories just to make sure they’ll go out with him instead of me.”

  “I see.”

  She didn’t question his explanation, but from her defensive posturing, Rod guessed she wasn’t buying it either. Time to up the ante. “Do you find me unattractive?”

  “N-no,” she stammered. “It’s not that.”

  “So, you do think I’m attractive?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “That’s good, because I think you are absolutely gorgeous.” He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back close to him. Without warning, he pressed a soft kiss on her lips, then pushed her back to stare into her eyes.

  She looked back up at him, doubt clouding her eyes. Perfect. He kissed her again, deeply this time, tasting her as deeply as an inhaled drag of a cigarette. She started squirming, and he knew he’d pushed things as far as he could. For now. He released her, but
only partially. He held her loosely by the arms and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “You stir my blood in a way I didn’t know was possible. Just let me know I can trust you, Tracy. That’s all I ask.”

  She remained tense in his arms. What do you mean?”

  “I mean, if you’re going to be my woman, all I ask is that I can trust you. Can I?”

  As expected, she appeared confused. “You want me to be your woman? You mean for the night, don’t you?”

  She tried to wiggle free, but he kept his hold tightly on her. “What’s mine, I don’t give away. I want you to be mine. And I mean forever. Just tell me I can trust you.”

  “I think you’re delusional,” she said and succeeded in freeing herself from his embrace. “And I don’t like men who are too aggressive.”

  “You liked that kiss though.”

  She tossed her head, looking away from him.

  Damn, but he had played her wrong again. Time for Plan B. “I am so sorry,” he said, and stroked his fingers down the side of her face. “I guess I was starting to come off like a cad, and I really don’t mean to. I am just really attracted to you. What do you say you at least do me the favor of dinner tonight? Give me the chance to prove to you I’m not all that bad?”

  She seemed to be turning the idea around in her mind as she gazed at some distant point beyond him. Then, finally, her eyes settled back to his. “Fine,” she said. “You can pick me up at eight.”

  Chapter 18

  Monday morning started early. Six a.m. to be exact. Last night’s sleep had been no better than the night before. Maggie sat on her couch. She’d pulled her comforter off the bed with her and now had it draped over her knees. That was the progress she’d made since shutting off her alarm clock. Right now she was working on getting enough energy to make a cup of coffee. God knew she needed one.