must be for you. Iâll take whatever steps necessary to ensure that no one is hurt. You have my word.â
Mr. Everette glanced from her to his partners, looking conflicted. For a second she thought for sure he would refuse to cooperate, but he finally sighed and said, âOkay, lets do it.â
Jane breathed a silent sigh of relief. That was a close one.
Mr. Blair stood, which she took to mean that the meeting was over. She rose from her seat, her achy feet screaming in protest.
âIf you need anything from us, donât hesitate to ask,â he said. âWe would like this resolved as soon as possible.â
Nodding to each man, she said, âIt was a pleasure to meet you, gentlemen,â then she turned and walked to the door, praying she didnât trip on anything, and let herself out of the office, limp with relief. That had gone way better than she expected.
âWell?â Bren asked as Jane snapped the door shut behind her. She held up her thumb in an âokayâ gesture, startled when the door opened behind her and Mr. Everette stepped out. âMy office, now, â he told Jane, and her heart immediately sank. Oh hell. Maybe the worst of it wasnât over after all.
She followed him across the hall, knees knocking again. At this rate she was going to need a straightjacket before the day was over.
âLynn, hold my calls,â he told his secretary, who looked surprised to see him with his brotherâs secretary. Jane wondered if he realized that a move like this could very well blow her cover.
He gestured her into his office and stepped in behind her, closing the door. She actually flinched as it snapped shut. Was it possible that despite what heâd told his partners, he still wasnât okay with the investigation? Did he intend on giving her a hard time?
He crossed the room to his desk and sat down. âHave a seat, Miss Monroe.â
She did as he asked, sitting on the edge of the chair across from his desk.
âIn the interest of getting this investigation resolved as quickly as possible, there are a few things I should tell you about my brother.â
He wanted to help her? âYes, please. Anything you think would be helpful.â
âI can only assume the agency is aware of my brotherâs reputation as a womanizer, and thatâs why they sent you.â
âThat was the idea.â
âWell, Iâm sure youâve caught his attention. Youâre a very beautiful woman Miss Monroe, and please donât take this the wrong way, but itâs going to take more than a pretty face and a tight skirt to keep him interested.â
Take it the wrong way? A gorgeous billionaire just called her beautiful and he thought she would be offended? If her feet werenât so darned sore she might be turning cartwheels across his office.
âDo you have any advice as to what will keep him interested?â
âMy brother loves a challenge, so donât make it too easy for him. If youâre too aggressive, heâll lose interest. Make him work for it. Play hard to get.â
Considering her pathetic lack of experience chasing the opposite sex, she liked the idea of letting Mr. Everette come to her.
âAlso, heâll find you measurably more appealing if you make it clear that you have no interest in any sort of commitment.â
She could definitely do that.
âBut probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that my brother has a short attention span when it comes to the opposite sex. Heâll have expectations, and if they arenât met, heâll get bored pretty fast.â
Then she would have to work quickly. Because if he was talking about what she thought he was talking about,meeting those expectations was not even an option. She wanted to crack this case, but even she had limits. And even if she was that desperate, if her boss learned that she had slept with the subject of an investigation to get
Carol Wallace, Bill Wallance
Vic Ghidalia and Roger Elwood (editors)