Kitabı oku: «Deception», sayfa 4

Could he dare tell her that he’d embarked on his own investigation? Good sense told him to hold off revealing his suspicions. He had to be absolutely positive, first. His years in business had honed his instincts. He was certain that something was amiss at her agency. Tentatively he put his arm around her. “What are you going to do now?”

“I have a few things in mind,” she said, enjoying the weight of his arm around her shoulders. But she wasn’t sure she should divulge her plan.

Clint moved a stray lock from her face and tucked it behind her ear, pleased with the silky quality of her hair.

She looked at him and felt her heart lurch.

With painful slowness, he lowered his head, his eyes holding hers. The flames from the fireplace appeared to dance in her eyes.

She knew her heart was going to explode into a million little pieces as his mouth slowly descended to meet her own.

The contact was incendiary, and Terri was certain that she heard fireworks erupt in the background.

The velvet warmth of his lips gently brushed over hers, taunting, tempting her with what was to come.

And it came.

The fire of his tongue played across her mouth as he spread his fingers through her twisted mane, pulling her completely against his hungry mouth.

Instinctively her lips parted and the tip of his tongue played teasing games, exploring her mouth, sending jolts of current surging through her.

He moaned against her lips, a deep carnal sound that vibrated to her center. Terri felt the heat race through her limbs as his fingers traced the pulse that pounded in her throat.

She wanted to scream when he pulled his mouth away from her lips, only to plant wet, hot kisses across her face, down her neck. Then he let his tongue play havoc in her ear, and every fiber of her body ignited.

“Clint…” She trembled against him.

A tingle of excitement ran through her as his hand trailed down the curve of her back, pulling her closer, caressing her, causing her body to arch, her rounded breasts to press against his chest, and he knew he would go out of his mind.

“I want you, Terri,” he groaned in her ear.

His mouth covered hers again, his tongue slashing against hers, demanding, urgent.

Her arms tightened around his hard muscular frame. She stroked the strong tendons of his neck, the outline of his chest. She felt as if she was falling, spinning weightless through space, and she never wanted the feeling to end. But she knew it had to stop. The door to her past was still ajar, and until she could empty it fully, no one else could enter.

His mind spun in a maelstrom of confusion. What was he doing? This was not part of the plan for his life. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way, to want her from the depth of his being. His body ached to be a part of hers. But he couldn’t do this to her. She was sure to think that he was just trying to romance her in order to get her to agree to the deal. He wanted her to want him for the right reasons, or not at all.

As if reading each other’s minds, slowly they pulled away—each trying to control the shudders that ripped through them.

“I…I’m sorry.” He stroked her cheek. “I didn’t—”

“It’s okay, Clint,” Terri stuttered, breathless and in awe of what had almost taken place.

He gently pulled her into his embrace, fighting back the desires that wrestled to engulf him.

“I won’t rush you, Terri,” he whispered in a ragged breath. “As much as I may want to,” he added with a soft smile.

She touched his lips with her own. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Reluctantly he rose from the couch. “I’d better go.” He smiled mischievously down at her, mimicking an old Western movie. “I cain’t guarantee your honor, m’am, if’n I stay.”

Terri released a shaky laugh and stood up in front of him. She slipped her arms around his waist, looking up into his eyes.

“Then I’d say you’d better mosey on outta here, mister,” she teased, matching his parody.

He held her for a long moment, burying his face in her hair, his confusion complete. Then he released her.

“I’ll get your coat,” she offered.

At the doorway Terri felt ridiculously like a teenager on her first date. Her nerves rattled, and her heart was pounding so loud she just knew Clint could hear every beat.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said.

“I’d like that.”

Clint leaned down and brushed her lips. The contact was too brief and he wanted more. Pulling her into his arms he kissed her fully, her own desire matching his every rhythm.

He eased away. “I’ve got to go,” he said, his voice thick with desire. He started to leave, then turned back. “You’ll be happy to know that I’ve found another advertising agency to do the work. So now there’s no more business to interfere.” His dark eyes bored into hers. “This is purely personal. The rest is up to you.” He turned away, never looking back to see the expression of astonished relief spread across her face.

As if on a cloud, Terri glided back into the living room, a smile of contentment lighting her face as she replayed his final words. This is purely personal.

She changed the CD, replacing Miles Davis with Kenny G. Crossing the living room, she walked down the narrow hallway to the bathroom. Mechanically she turned on the tub water, adding her favorite bubble bath. Soon the herbal aroma filled the room, and her weary body nearly screamed for relief. Piece by piece she stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the steamy water.

Terri sank into the tub, the bubbles coming up to her chin. She closed her eyes, letting the steam envelop her, and a picture of Clint sprang to life before her eyes—and she trembled.

His mouth seemed to caress every part of her body, kneading all of the aches away. A soft moan of remembrance filtered through her lips, and she silently wished that he was there with her.

She felt the slow, steady warming that spread through her body and knew that it had nothing to do with the steaming water. And she wondered what it would have been like making love with Clint. How soon, if ever, would she know?

After a fantasy-filled half hour, Terri finally curled up into bed, sinking into the comfort of the freshly washed sheets. She reached for the book of poetry she kept by her nightstand, determined to ease away the last vestiges of tension and images of Clint.

Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, the ringing of the phone jarred her back to consciousness.

Annoyance replaced curiosity as she drowsily reached for the intrusive instrument.

“Hello?” she mumbled.

“Terri, it’s me, Lisa.”

“Lisa,” she groaned. “It’s late.”

“I know. But I got the info you wanted. I thought you’d be interested.”

Terri sat straight up in her bed. Please let it be good.

“Your Mr. Steele is, anonymously, one of the biggest individual benefactors that the Gateway Foundation has.”

Chapter 5

The morning sun was barely up in the sky when Clint rose from his bed. He’d spent a torturous night, reliving what almost was. More times than he cared to count he’d reached for the phone to dial Terri’s number. Each time, halfway through dialing, he’d hung up. The next move was Terri’s. He’d put his cards on the table.

Pulling on a terry-cloth robe he padded across the bedroom and opened his dresser drawer. Rifling through his possessions, he pulled out a cutoff T-shirt and an old pair of shorts. Crossing to the closet, he selected a navy blue sweat suit and a pair of sneakers. Usually a brisk run around the park revitalized him and cleared his head.

An hour later he lay sprawled across his king-size bed, drenched in perspiration from his morning jog. His frustration was still alive and well.

Staring up at the stucco ceiling, his hands clasped behind his head, a slow smile of acceptance spread across his face. Terri was under his skin to stay, and no amount of jogging was going to change it.

Terri strode down the office corridor, looking neither left nor right. How could she have been so narrow-minded and gullible to be taken in by rumors and speculation? She should have gone along with her instincts in the first place. She smiled ruefully. There was no way that her senses could have been that far off base if they went into crisis every time she thought of Clint.

She closed her office door with a thud, tossing her briefcase on the desk, her coat shortly behind.

Her head ached from the hours of reading she had done after Lisa’s call. She’d forced herself to go through as many of the reports that she’d gotten from the library as she could before she’d fallen asleep. That, compounded with the company ledgers, was enough to keep her head spinning for weeks. But she had work to do, and it would begin with a process of elimination.

She reached for the phone and dialed Stacy’s extension.

Stacy picked up on the second ring.

“Stacy Williams, here.”

“Stacy, I need you in my office in an hour. In the meantime I want you to pull the accounting records for the past six months and compare them to the figures we came up with last night.”

“Sure. Anything else?”

“The sooner the better. I want to get that SOB out of here as soon as possible.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“Thanks.”

Terri hung up the phone, then proceeded to unlock the file cabinet, retrieving the files that she had examined the previous night. The pages in front of her seemed to laugh at her naïveté.

She shook her head in disbelief. Powers, Inc., was on the brink of deep financial trouble, and she had let it happen. Her trusting nature had overruled her business judgment, and it had cost her dearly. For the past year she’d felt like a failure as a wife and then as a mother. All she had left was her business, and now even that was threatened.

No more.

She quickly crossed the office and went out into the small reception area. Andrea was just taking her seat.

“Good morning, Ms. Powers,” she greeted cheerfully, then changed her tone when she saw the thunderclouds raging in Terri’s dark eyes. “Is something wrong?”

“Not for long,” she responded. “I need you to get Al Pierce, the accountant, on the phone. Tell him to stop whatever he’s doing. I want him here within the hour, along with all of the records that have anything to do with Powers, Inc. Make sure that he understands that this is not a request. This is a command performance. If he gives you the slightest bit of a problem, put me on the line and I’ll handle him.”

“Yes, Ms. Powers,” she said meekly.

“Thank you. Oh, and as soon as Mr. Andrews arrives, send him into my office.”

Terri turned back toward her office before Andrea had a chance to respond.

Andrea couldn’t remember ever seeing Terri this angry before. This must be serious, she thought, thankful that the boss’s rage was not directed at her. She flipped through her Rolodex and found the accountant’s number.

Clint stared pensively at the folders in front of him. He’d wrestled with what he had to do for several days. His decision was made. His friend Steve’s investigation of Mark had come up with some very damning information, and he felt compelled to tell Terri, whether she accepted his help or not.

The tapping on his office door snapped him to attention. Melissa strolled in.

“You wanted to see me, Clint?” she asked, beaming a brilliant smile.

“Yes. Have a seat.”

Melissa took a seat opposite Clint, seductively crossing her long legs. She regarded him thoughtfully, gaining a joyous satisfaction in studying his profile. Her strong admiration and loyalty for Clint bordered on the romantic, but she was always careful never to cross that line. She sighed silently, wishing that one day he’d see past her brains to the woman who could rock his world.

“You’ve been seeing Mark Andrews.” His question was more of a statement, and Melissa wasn’t sure if she should be angry or flattered by his interest.

“I won’t even begin to ask you how you know,” she stated candidly, the years of working together being enough of an answer. “Is there a problem that I should know about?”

Clint slowly crossed the room, sliding his hands into his pants pockets. He turned to face her.

“There could be. I got some bad vibes from him when the deal with Powers, Inc., fell through. Some things didn’t sit right with me. I’ve had someone do some investigating on our Mr. Andrews, and I don’t like what I’ve found out.”

Melissa’s heart tripped. The only man that had truly interested her in years had been Clint. There’d been others to fill the gaps, even Clint’s buddy Steve. When she met Mark, she thought that she had finally found someone to take her mind off of Clint—permanently. Or at least until Clint woke up and truly saw her. Now she had a bad feeling that she wasn’t going to like what she was going to hear.

Melissa returned to her office, slamming the door behind her, the vehemence of her tirade toward Clint reverberating in her head. Her hurt and anger were so intense that she shook with its force. She swung back toward the closed door, wanting desperately to throw something. Then feeling totally impotent, tears of frustration and defeat filled her hazel eyes.

Terri and Stacy sat in Terri’s office awaiting Mark and the accountant’s arrival.

Stacy took a sip of her coffee. “I just can’t believe that all of this was going on right under our noses.”

“Neither can I,” Terri replied, the soft lilt of her voice laden with regret.

Stacy shook her head just as Andrea peeked in the door.

“Ms. Powers, Mr. Pierce is here, and Mark just arrived. Should I buzz him?”

“Yes. But tell him to wait about ten minutes. Send Al in now.”

“Who gave you authorization to allocate all of this money, Al?” Terri demanded, tossing the stack of check releases across the conference table.

Al Pierce swallowed and adjusted his glasses. He made a small showing of reviewing the documents in front of him. “Why, you did,” he replied after several moments.

“In all of the years that we’ve been dealing with each other, when have I ever given you verbal instructions? Every transaction has been clearly written by me. Is that correct?”

“Yes. However, Mr. Andrews said that they were your instructions.” He fidgeted in his seat, uncomfortable under her steady gaze.

“How much was he paying you to maintain two sets of books, Mr. Pierce?” she quizzed, throwing him totally off guard.

“I…I don’t know what you mean,” he mumbled, raking a nervous hand through his thick gray hair. “Certainly you don’t think that—”

“Think what—that you and Mark were behind-the-scenes, undermining me for personal gain?” Her voice rose. “Is that what you think is on my mind?”

“Ms. Powers,” he stood abruptly. “I resent the implication.”

“Resent whatever you want, Al. You’re through! And if I have anything to do with it, the only things you’re ever going to add up again are cash-register receipts,” she spat. “Now get out of my sight and out of my office.”

Al Pierce gathered up his belongings. “If you think that I’m your only problem, then you have more of a problem than you can imagine.” He threw a cursory glance in Stacy’s direction and stalked out the door.

“What was that supposed to mean?” Stacy asked.

“I really don’t know. More than likely it was an idle comment.” But silently she wondered if it were that simple. She inhaled deeply. “Now for round two,” she said, her tone morose. “I think it would be best if I handled this one alone.” She crossed her arms with resolve.

“Are you sure?”

Terri nodded gloomily. “If I need you for anything, I’ll send Andrea for you.”

Stacy rose reluctantly and slowly approached Terri, who stood as if cast in stone. “Listen,” she began softly, “it all looks real bleak right now. But everything is going to work out.”

“Sure,” she whispered. “On your way out tell Andrea she can buzz Mark now.”

They stood facing each other like two gladiators waiting for the signal to attack.

“I’ve had the misfortune of going over your records,” Terri began, pacing her words evenly. “It’s amazing how yours are so different from mine,” she added with sarcasm. “You’ve tried to destroy me,” she said, her voice edged in granite. “No wonder you were so hell-bent on sealing the contract with Hightower. You needed the money to cover up what you’d done before I found out.”

“You brought it on yourself,” he tossed back in a malevolent tone that chilled her.

“What? You—with the help of Al Pierce—systematically set out to ruin this company. A company that I put together.” She counted off his misdeeds on her fingers. “You sabotaged contracts, made us lose potential deals, lined your own pockets and God knows what else. Then you have the gall to stand there and tell me that I brought it on myself! Do you hate me so much that you’d risk ruining this company and me as well as your own name in this industry?”

“Yes!” he shouted. “You’ll never know how much. You with your holier-than-thou attitude. The woman who could do no wrong. This is no more than what you deserve. I was the one left with the crumbs of your success.”

“Crumbs!” Her indignation came full circle. “You’ve always been a part of the success, Mark.”

He chuckled. “But it was always Terri this and Terri that,” he mimicked in a singsong voice. His face twisted into an ugly mask. “Terri Powers received the accolades, her name in the papers—not me.” He jabbed a finger at his chest, glowering at her.

“So that’s what it all boils down to, does it? You can’t stomach working with a woman who has made it.”

He looked away, clenching his jaw. “You’re not a woman. If you were, you could’ve kept your husband and your baby!”

His personal attack stabbed her. She fought for control as nausea threatened to overtake her. “Not the kind of woman you expected me to be,” she said smoothly, camouflaging her hurt. “I want you out of here within the hour. Security will oversee your departure.” She turned her back to him, her spine rigid.

Mark tossed her a hate-filled stare. “You’ve had your time to shine. I’ll guarantee you that I’ll have mine, as well.” He turned toward the door then stopped. “I was willing to risk anything to make you know how it feels to be forgotten. Now that you know everything,” he paused, “you won’t ever forget me again.” He stormed out of the office, leaving the door swinging on its hinges.

For several moments Terri stood in the tension-filled silence that permeated the air. Finally she let out a breath that she didn’t realize she’d held, and a tremor raced through her. She lowered her head, feeling weak and beaten.

She’d always prided herself on being fair to everyone. Or at least she’d thought so. How could she have not seen what was happening to Mark? She’d been so wrapped up in her own personal problems over the past months that she’d been blind to what was going on, allowing Mark free rein with the company. He’d used that trust against her.

His painful words rushed back at her, and her resentment and hurt resurfaced. No one could ever begin to imagine the pain and worthlessness that she’d felt. She’d shared her private hell with no one, and she wasn’t sure if she ever could.

But she could not let it immobilize her. She forced her body to move, her mind to work. She still had work to do. It was time that she reclaimed control of her life, for better or worse.

Snatching her coat from the rack and putting her purse under her arm, she walked purposefully out of the office, stopping briefly at Andrea’s desk.

“I’ll be away from the office for the balance of the day. Any problems, call Stacy. She’ll know what to do. Oh, and security will be escorting Mr. Andrews out of the building.”

“Yes, Ms. Powers.”

Terri stood in front of the elevator, her face resolute, her spirit determined. Her next stop was the offices of Hightower Enterprises.