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“Hanna said I looked sexy.”
He grinned. “Just how drunk are you?”
She giggled. Then she tilted her chin in determination. “I am getting a job.”
“We’ll talk about that in the morning.”
Her expression changed, and she reached out to him. “Please, make me pregnant tonight.” And then her arms went limp, slinking down to the bed, and her body relaxed into sleep.
“Not like this,” he whispered, smoothing back her hair and kissing her on the forehead. “Never like this.”
He gently removed the rest of her clothes, and tucked her under the covers, stepping back to gaze at her beauty and vulnerability. His cell phone rang, and he quickly opened it, afraid of disturbing her. But she didn’t even stir.
Still, he kept his voice low and moved out of the room. “Hello?”
“It’s Collin. Selina’s at my place.”
Reed glanced at his watch. Nine-thirty. “Is anything wrong?”
“Can you come down?”
“Why don’t you come up here. Elizabeth’s asleep.” For some reason, Reed didn’t want to leave her alone right now.
“Good enough. Be right up,” said Collin, signing off.
Reed pocketed his cell phone then pulled the bedroom door closed. Odds were, they’d completely missed their window of opportunity for this month. Because, he expected it to be twenty-four hours before Elizabeth was feeling remotely romantic again.
And she’d be upset about that.
Well, he was upset, too.
In fact, he was beginning to feel bone weary. The blackmail, the murder, the SEC, all the usual problems at Wellington International. Added to that, his father’s values and the persistent infertility trouble were wearing him down. He needed to fix something, anything. But he was operating on every front and, so far, it was to no avail.
For the first time in Reed’s life, he wondered if hard work and ingenuity would be enough.
There was a light knock on the front door, and he crossed the foyer to answer it, escorting Collin and Selina to his home office where they took seats around a polished black table.
Reed directed the conversation. “I thought you had somebody on Elizabeth,” he told Selina.
She looked startled. “I do.”
“She went downtown today. I need a report on things like that.”
She jotted down a note in her book. “Sure.”
Collin looked at him strangely. “Did something happen while Elizabeth was downtown?” he asked.
“She visited a friend. But I didn’t know where she was.”
“Just to be clear,” Selina added. “Do you want a report on Mrs. Wellington’s daily activities or on potential threats?”
Reed took in the expressions on their faces. “I’m not spying on my wife,” he protested. But neither did he want her wandering around drunk downtown when there might be a murderer on the loose.
“Perhaps if we changed the nature of the operation,” suggested Selina. “Put Joe a little closer to Mrs. Wellington. Say, as her driver? That way, he doesn’t have to stay concealed, and he can report to you at intervals.”
“I like it,” said Reed. “What else do you have?”
“Kendrick,” said Collin.
“You found him?”
Collin shook his head. “He’s still in Washington, elusive as ever. But some more information has come to light.”
“Does it help us?”
Collin and Selina glanced at each other.
“Unfortunately,” said Collin, “Hammond and Pysanski also invested in Ellias and made a bundle.”
“But, they’re—”
“Kendrick’s former business partners.”
Reed rocked back in his chair.
“It does look pretty bad,” said Selina.
Reed couldn’t help but defend himself. “Do you honestly think that if I were going to put together a conspiracy to insider trade, that this would be my master plan? A senator giving a heads up on a contract award to four of his closest associates, hoping nobody would notice? It’s lame-ass. It’s beyond stupid.”
Collin leaned forward, eyes hard as he mimicked Reed. “‘I’m a smarter criminal than that, Your Honor.’ Is that really going to be the cornerstone of your defense?”
“You got a better one?”
“Not at the moment. But if I don’t come up with something better than that, Harvard Law School wasted a lot of time and money on me.”
“I want this behind me,” Reed growled. “There are problems cropping up in the Irish merger, and Germany is talking about changing their safety standards. I don’t have time for distractions.”
“I’m meeting with the SEC tomorrow,” said Selina.
“Take Collin with you.”
Something twitched in her expression.
“What?” asked Reed.
She hesitated. “Sometimes Collin cramps my style.”
Reed felt his hands curl involuntarily into fists. “There are problems between you two?”
“Stylistic differences,” said Collin.
“I take a tough stance. He undermines it.”
Reed glanced from one to the other. “You’re kidding me?” With all they were facing, these two couldn’t get together on their interview techniques?
“Work it out. I want you both in that meeting.”
Selina’s gaze slid to Collin. He nodded, then so did she.
“Have Joe stop at the office in the morning,” said Reed, wrapping things up. “I’ll bring him by and introduce him to Elizabeth.”
Morning was not kind to Elizabeth.
Rain spattered on the penthouse roof, tapping against her bedroom balcony doors, pounding its way into her fragile skull. She pulled the comforter over her head, praying her housekeeper, Rena, wasn’t planning to vacuum today.
Slamming back margaritas on an empty stomach had obviously been a bad idea. It had been a few years since Elizabeth had gotten drunk. And, right now, she was sure it would be many more years before she indulged in more than two drinks in an evening. She blinked open one bleary eye, squinting at the alarm clock. Nine-fifty-two.
She spotted a large glass of water on the nightstand. Sitting next to it were two aspirin tablets. Bless Reed.
She wiggled herself into a sitting position and took the pills. If she could sleep until they kicked in, she’d have a fighting chance of surviving this hangover.
Bless Reed, she thought again. She could forgive him anything at the moment. Well, almost anything.
Though, in the cold light of day, she realized it was unlikely he was having an affair. It wasn’t so much her confidence in the strength of their relationship. It was more her knowledge of his core values and principles.
Reed wouldn’t cheat.
Even if he wanted to cheat, his honor and principles wouldn’t let him.
The rain pulsed harder on the window. She pressed her fingers into her ears and buried her face in the feather pillow, conjuring images of the night before.
Hanna had blended up some fine margaritas, and she’d handed out some sage and practical advice. Plus, it had felt just plain good for Elizabeth to get her anxiety off her chest.
But then Reed had called and annoyed her. Still, when he’d helped her to bed, she’d remembered all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him in the first place. So she’d propositioned him, because time was running out.
Now, she groaned. Time really was running out, and she had no memory past asking to make love last night. She was pretty sure she’d remember it if it had happened.
So, she wasn’t pregnant. And it was day three of ovulation. But she didn’t think she could even drag herself out of bed at the moment, never mind seduce her husband.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the downpour turned torrential. But slowly, ever so slowly, the sound of the raindrops stopped hurting her brain. They became soothing, and the pain went from sharp to dull.
She drifted in and out for an hour, then forced herself to throw off the covers, pulling gingerly into a sitting position. She was tired, but at least she was mobile.
She showered and dressed, and applied a little concealer to disguise the dark circles under her eyes.
She wasn’t quite ready for a workout at the gym, but she needed to get the blood flowing somehow. The rain was steady, so a walk was out of the question. She needed to find something to do inside.
The penthouse was empty. Rena was likely out running errands and would be home soon. She didn’t like it when Elizabeth cleaned. Baking was acceptable, but baking would fill the suite with aromas.
Not good.
Elizabeth glanced around for inspiration. She caught sight of the living room bookshelf. There was an idea. She could sort through her books, maybe donate some of the older ones to the library. And Reed had hundreds shelved in his office. She’d call Rena on her cell and get her to pick up some cardboard boxes on her way home.
Perfect.
After gathering a sizable pile in the living room, she moved to the office.
Reed liked the occasional mystery or thriller, the kind of book that you didn’t reread once you knew the ending. She tugged a couple of his volumes from the eye level shelves and carried them to the black meeting table.
There she paused, wrinkling her nose, trying to identify an unusual smell. It wasn’t dust, not leather, not furniture polish. Where had she …
Coconut.
She staggered back in shock.
That woman in Reed’s office had smelled of coconut.
“Elizabeth?” Reed called from the entry hall.
The coconut woman had been in the penthouse? Her penthouse? Her home?
“What’s with the books?”
She could hear his footsteps starting down the hall.
What did she do? Ignore it? Confront him? Look for more evidence?
Was this why he hadn’t made love with her last night? Or yesterday? Or last week?
“There you are.” He came around the corner and smiled. “Feeling okay?”
She stared at him in silence, trying to reconcile the man she knew with such reprehensible behavior. While she was desperately trying to save their marriage, had he already ended it?
“There’s somebody I want you to meet,” said Reed, coming fully into the room.
Not her. Good grief, not her.
“This is Joe Germain.”
A man came into view in the doorway, and Reed motioned him into the office.
“Joe, this is my wife, Elizabeth Wellington.”
The man stepped forward. He was at least six foot three, with broad shoulders, a burly chest, and very little in the way of a neck. His hair was cropped close, and he wore a dark, neat suit with a dress shirt and tie.
“A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wellington.” The man held out a strong, callused hand.
“Hello,” Elizabeth managed, giving a brief shake, catching a glimpse of a leather holster beneath his suit jacket. Then she met gray eyes, intelligent eyes, some might even say cunning.
