A Conflict of Interest Read Online Free PDF Page A

arm from his.
    “Max,” she commanded.
    He reluctantly stopped and turned to her.
    “You’re one of the guys I’m avoiding, remember?”
    “I’m not a reporter right now.”
    “You’re always a reporter.”
    “You don’t have to talk. Don’t say a word.” He paused. “But can I ask you one question?”
    She shot him an impatient look.
    He asked anyway. “Was it you? Did you leak tonight’s information to ANS?”
    “I’d never even heard of Eleanor Albert before tonight. And the pictures don’t prove a thing. I still don’t know for sure.”
    He recognized that she was in denial. “The rest of the world knows for sure,” he told her gently. “Let me take you to the White House.”
    “No!”
    “You’ll be safe there.” And maybe it would earn him some goodwill with the administration, maybe even with Cara.
    Wait a minute. Cara. Why was Cara letting Ariella leave her apartment all alone? Why hadn’t she called in reinforcements?
    “Did you talk to Cara up there?” It occurred to him that maybe Cara wasn’t home.
    “That’s two questions,” said Ariella.
    “Is she upstairs? She let you leave?”
    “I’m a grown woman, Max.”
    “And you’re the president’s daughter.”
    “Not until they prove it, I’m not.”
    A new thought occurred to Max. And, if he was right, it wasn’t a half bad idea. “Are you going into hiding?”
    Her silence confirmed his suspicions.
    “I can help. I can take you somewhere safe.”
    This time she rolled her eyes. “It won’t be hiding if an NCN reporter knows where I am. You’re already going to report this entire conversation.”
    Max was used to walking fine ethical lines. He couldn’t lie to his network, but he could choose the facts he shared and the order in which he disclosed them. “It’s up to me to decide how to frame my story.”
    Her expression was blatantly suspicious. “What does that mean?”
    “What do you want me to report?”
    She hesitated, then seemed to decide she had little to lose. “That I have no knowledge of my biological parents, and I’ve left the D.C. area.”
    “Done.”
    “You’d do that for me?”
    “Yes,” he told her with sincerity.
    But her guard was obviously still up. “Are you serious?”
    “I am serious.”
    After a moment, her expression softened. “Thank you, Max.”
    “At least let me take you to Potomac Airfield. You’ll be able to grab a private charter and take it anywhere you want to go. If you need money—”
    “I don’t need money.”
    “If you need anything, Ariella.”
    “How can you take me to Potomac and not report on it?”
    He put on his best broadcaster voice. “Sources close to Ariella Winthrop disclose that she has left the D.C. area, likely on a private plane out of Potomac. Nothing is known about the destination, the aircraft or the pilot.”
    He gave another glance around the dark street to make sure they were still alone. “You can put up your hair, Ariella. We’ll stop somewhere and buy you a pair of blue jeans, a baseball cap and dark glasses. Take a Learjet or something even better. Those guys don’t talk about their passengers.”
    He could feel her hesitation. Her teeth came down on her lower lip.
    “You got a better idea?” he asked.
    “What’s in it for you?”
    “Goodwill. Yours, eventually the White House’s and the president’s. Plus, I’m a nice guy.”
    “You’re with the press.”
    “I’m still a nice guy. And I’m a sucker for a maiden in distress.”
    That brought a reluctant smile to her lips.
    “My car’s across the street.” He nodded to the Mustang. “Every minute we stand out here, we risk someone recognizing you.”
    Just then, a taxi pulled up and stopped at the curb, its light on.
    Ariella glanced at it. But then she nodded to Max. “Take me to Potomac Airfield.”
    * * *
    “Two things,” Lynn said to Cara from behind her office desk.
    It was ten the next morning, and Lynn had just finished addressing reporters in the press room