High Stakes Seduction - Book 5 Read online

  "Are you there? We must talk, please!" read the text message on my phone. I'd just arrived at work, and apparently there were problems in Europe.

  "Priscilla, I'm sorry but the twins need to talk with me. Can someone cover while I take care of this?"

  She looked up from inspecting the display and waved me away. "Don't worry, it's early and there are no customers on the floor. Just let me know when you're back."

  I stepped away, heading to my office to talk in private.

  The time difference between here to Europe meant it was very early in the evening there. I was used to getting texts at all hours, this one seemed a bit more urgent than usual.

  Once inside, I dialed their number.

  "Hello," said a quiet voice.

  "Hi Poula, it’s Angela Tilson. I just got your message. Is everything okay?"

  "Oh Angela!" the young girl nearly cried with relief. "I’m so sorry. I have not messaged too early, have I?"

  "It's fine. I'm at work," I said soothingly. "What’s the matter?"

  "Our manager—he is crazy. Carlo will wring his neck if he cannot stop stressing us like this!"

  "What’s your manager doing?" I asked.

  "What is he not doing?" Poula replied with a touch of melodrama in her exasperated sigh. "Ever since we agree to work with you, he pushes us harder and harder. Always giving us crazy deadlines and way too big assignments. Like creativity can be timed down to the minute hand on the clock!"

  I smiled a little at that. "I know it’s stressful to be working on such a large project. I suspect your manager is feeling the pressure, too."

  "He only wants to look good, himself. And the meetings! He keeps us in too many meetings. We are supposed to design and oversee the manufacture, but then we are out of the studio half the day. We are not machines, you know."

  "I know. Would it help to have Mr. Mancini speak with him? Perhaps there’s a way we can take care of some of the details on our end, to make it a little easier on you until the designs are finished, or until we get there."

  "Oh thank you, Angela," she said, and I could hear the relief in her voice. "You would make us so happy. I will tell Carlo. Maybe now he can get some sleep."

  I ended the call and glanced at the clock. It was very quiet in my little office. I smiled. It felt like a sanctuary. I was glad to have a place where I could escape when necessary, instead of feeling like I was always on display.

  I knew I should get back on the floor. Priscilla would expect me to return as soon as I'd taken care of the call. But first, I picked up the phone again. After my conversation, I thought it wise to schedule a meeting to talk with Antonio.

  ***

  "So what is it, something about Carlo and Poula?" Antonio asked. "Are they having another meltdown?"

  I looked at him curiously. "How did you know that?"

  He laughed. "It comes with the territory. They're young. And creative. And probably don't like too much structure or details outside of their expertise. It wouldn't be the first time a designer has gone off the deep end with the stresses of an upcoming deadline."

  Well, the man knew his business. He hadn't gotten here by accident.

  "You're right. I received a frantic text from Poula this morning. So I called to talk with her in person."

  Antonio's eyebrows creased slightly. "Are they all right?"

  "Stressed out—just like you guessed," I said matter-of-factly. "It seems their manager is going a bit over board with the details for this project, and it’s really affecting the twins. Apparently there are conflicting demands that are interfering with their production and their sleep. I suggested you might have a chat with their manager to see if you can’t help calm things down a bit."

  Antonio leaned back in his leather chair and steepled his fingers. "I suspected this would be an issue. Carlo and Poula have indicated to me more than once they would prefer to work directly with you, but their manager is resistant to the idea, of course. I’ll see what I can do."

  Work directly with me? Given how volatile they could be, is that something I wanted? Or even, is it something I would be able to handle given we were half a world away?

  "Tony, do you think that's a good idea?" I bit my lip as I realized I had reverted to his nickname, something I hadn't used since the cruise.

  "What do you think, Angela? My main concern would be whether or not we could keep them on track without some local oversight. Are they mature enough to get the work finished on time, on their own?"

  "Maybe," I said. "I think the work itself—the designs and the initial production—are easy for them. I’m not so sure about the merchandising part, though. I mean, have they ever been responsible for that end before?"

  "Good point. Let me check with my contacts in Europe. Maybe there's a way to turn that part over to one of my existing accounts. Certainly, they won't have to worry about advertising or marketing since we carry their line exclusively here in the U.S."

  He got up, coming around the desk to stand before me. "Now, I hate to rush you out, but I do have some other things to take care of."

  "Business meeting?" I said half under my breath, but the little laugh that accompanied it was forced.

  I'm not sure why it bothered me so much, but for some reason I needed to warn him about Naomi. You'd think I'd be glad that she was seeing someone else, but something about it, the disloyalty or duplicity, bothered me too much to keep my mouth shut.

  "Is everything okay with you and Naomi?" I blurted.

  Antonio froze. "What do you mean?" he asked, his words slow and deliberate.

  "I-I know it’s none of my business," I began, letting the words tumble from my lips. "But I happened to see her the other night and… and she seemed to be getting awfully friendly with another gentleman—the District Attorney—and I just… I know things are… different between us, but still, I just don’t want to see you…"

  I finally stopped, breathless and apprehensive as Antonio watched me, a dark, unreadable expression covering his face.

  After a moment, he put a hand on my arm. The warmth of his skin against mine set off electric shocks, even while I was sure it was meant to be soothing. And it did nothing to calm my already rapidly beating heart.

  "Ange," he said softly, but with a strange edge to his voice. "I need you to stay out of this, okay? This is nothing you need to concern yourself with."

  Nothing to be concerned with? What the hell game were these two playing? I stared up at him, confused. Then anger broke in. "You don’t care that she’s flirting with another man? That doesn't bother you? Are the two of you together, or is she ‘just part of your past’ again?"

  "It’s far more complicated than that, Angela. I just need you to promise me that you will let this go."

  Let it go? Seriously? How could I just 'let it go'? "Fine," I managed, my face stiff. "If that's what you want. Then fine." I turned to leave.

  "Angela. Please just humor me on this."

  Humor was the last thing on my mind at the moment. Murder was a more likely candidate.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ANTONIO

  I didn't know if Naomi was getting sloppy, or if it was pure chance that Angela had seen her with Stephens. I had expected to be able to give the woman free reign, but perhaps I'd need to do a little counseling instead.

  I didn't want to see Angela hurt by any of this—well, not any more than had already happened. Or was absolutely necessary in the larger scheme of things. I could only hope she'd stay far enough away to not be in any physical danger until this whole dangerous business was wrapped up.

  The intercom buzzed. "Mr. Arnold from Lakeside Gallery, on line 2," came Hilary's cheerful voice.

  "Gregory," I said, picking up the line. "How's the fundraiser coming?"

  "Very well, Antonio. Your young artist is delightful. And you were correct, as always, very talented."

  "Was there any doubt?" I laughed. This was a running joke between us. I found him talented artists, he made good money re
presenting them. "So you've seen her work and everything's set?"

  "I think I'll give her the Poplar wing. That way she can show fifteen to twenty paintings and there's ample room for a nice small crowd. Shall I set up the full treatment? Music, hors d'oeuvres?"

  "Oh, something subtle, but a small chamber group or harpist might be nice to help draw people into the room. I'll leave that to you, of course."

  "As usual," Gregory laughed. "We do work well together, my friend. Thank you again for introducing me."

  "My pleasure, as always. Have you told Maria yet? I'm actually headed over there in a few minutes. I'd like to be the one to share it with her, if you don't mind."

  "Be my guest. Tell her I'll call later to coordinate the installation."

  "And be sure to send a copy of the invitation to Hilary so I can get it into my calendar."

  "Of course. See you there."

  I smiled. I was good at matching people with resources. Lord knew I had enough contacts. But this was something more. Something special. Something I hoped would benefit everyone involved—including me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ANGELA

  Damn it! It was getting harder and harder for me to simply ignore the underpinnings of whatever was going on with Antonio and Naomi… and Walker… and Stephens. Sometimes I felt like I was stuck in the middle of a damn soap opera. Those were the times when I wanted to go pull the covers over my head and ignore everything. But right now I was headed back onto the sales floor and I'd better do something to get rid of my upset or Priscilla would be on my case in an instant.

  On my way out of the elevator, my phone buzzed. I flipped it open. Conner. Well, it was about time I heard back from him.

  "Hello, Conner," I said into the phone without preamble. "Why are you calling the house? I specifically asked you not to say anything to Maria." I was still too angry with Mancini to realize I was being rude.

  "Hold on now, Angelina," he said in his smooth lawyerly voice. "I was only checking in on you two. I owe that much to your father."

  "I'm sorry," I said, his tone along with the use of my childhood nickname, left me feeling like a kid being scolded. "Something just came up here at work. It's not you."

  "Hm, yes. I was surprised when Maria told me you're working for Antonio Mancini."

  "Well, why not? He offered me a job. A good job. One that paid a whole lot better than the restaurant. And he's giving me the opportunity to work off the mortgage debt."

  "Okay, okay. You're an adult, you can certainly make your own decisions. But promise me you'll be careful. Mancini is not someone to be trifled with."

  God, didn't I know that. But for the moment I let the comment pass. I was in no mood to discuss Antonio Mancini—trifles or anything else.

  "So have you found out anything about Maria's birth certificate then?"

  Conner was quiet on the other end of the phone. "Actually, no. And that in itself is interesting. I don't seem to be able to access the original records. Generally births are recorded both at the hospital and with the county clerk. For some reason, these records are not available in either place. But I'm still digging."

  "Is there anything I can do to help?" I had to ask. "Do you need more money?"

  "No, that's not necessary. If there are expenses, I'll let you know later. It's just highly irregular that there are no records anywhere. But I'll keep looking."

  "Thanks for calling me back. And I'm sorry I was short a minute ago," I ended the call, returning my phone to my purse.

  Chapter Fifteen

  MARIA

  I was more than a bit surprised to discover Antonio knocking at the front door.

  "Hello, won't you come in?" This time I wasn't going to forget my manners. Especially since he'd been so good to me recently.

  "Good news, Maria. Gregory just called, and he's ready to set everything up for the showing."

  "Oh my, I can't tell you how excited I am! Thompson and I have been going through the paintings, trying to figure out which ones I should show in addition to the ones Mr. Arnold already saw."

  In some ways "excited" was an understatement. It had even been hard for me to sleep, I kept thinking about all the things I wanted to do or needed to do, and how I could get them done without giving the secret away to Angela.

  "Well, I hope you have at least fifteen picked out. Apparently you'll have room for up to twenty, depending on how you want to display them. I imagine you'll need some help getting them transported."

  "I've been wondering how to do that, and how to do it while Angela isn’t here."

  "That shouldn't be a problem, you can have Gregory send his folks over. They'll pack and deliver everything within about two hours. They're used to doing it. But it would be smart for you to be at the gallery, so you can tell them how you want the paintings displayed. Gregory said he would give you a call this afternoon to set all that up."

  "Antonio, I can't begin to thank you enough. This is way beyond anything I would've expected you to do for us. Especially since you and Angela seem to be, um…"

  He looked at me solemnly for a moment, as though he was gathering his thoughts. Then he shook his head.

  "It's complicated," he said simply. "I just wish Angela could be more patient."

  "Well, complicated or not, Angela cares for you. She doesn't talk a lot about it, but I'm her sister. I know she's hurt, and confused." I sighed. "Sometimes I think the only reason she's still working for you is because of me."

  "You know, I admire Angela. I admire her strength, and her determination, and her loyalty. But sometimes she's just too headstrong, which gets in the way. I'm serious when I say she needs to be more patient."

  I wasn't sure what was going on for him, and I had no idea what he was talking about. But I was glad to know he cared about Angela.

  "Once Angela gets something into her head," I told him, "it's not likely she's going to let go of it very easily. I don't want to tell you how to run your life, that's not my place. And believe me when I tell you I'm very grateful for what you've done for us. But it's also not fair for you to toy with my sister's affections. And it's not very nice."

  He stared at me, and I could see the indecision in his eyes. There was more he wanted to talk about, but something was holding him back.

  "There are things going on behind the scenes, Maria. Things I can't talk about yet. Not to Angela, or to you, or to anyone else."

  "Fair enough. Especially since it's not my business. But I should warn you, you need to make some amends with Angela, and pretty soon, if you have any interest in her at all."

  "Well, as much as I’m pleased to help set up this gallery showing for you, I'm also hoping it can be the start for making amends with her. Saying that out loud makes it sound rather selfish. But about now, I feel like I could use all the help I can get." He laughed. "At least when it comes to your sister."

  Chapter Sixteen

  ANGELA

  "Important event on Saturday-7pm. Keep the date open.-A"

  Great, I thought, looking down at the text. Now I'm at his beck and call again. Well, dammit, that's what he thinks! I was still angry with Antonio, especially after the conversation we had about Naomi. So now he was texting to invite me to an event? Ha! We’ll see about that.

  "Sorry, previous engagement," I texted back.

  "Break it.-A"

  I stared at the cell phone screen, trying to figure out what to text back, and knowing there were times when there was no reasoning with him.

  "I'm home!" I called as I walked through the door to the bungalow.

  "In here," came Maria's voice from the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I thought I'd make some stew."

  "Yum," I said. "With some of your cornbread, I hope?"

  "Sure. How was your day?"

  "Oh man, you really don't want to hear." I reached around her to grab a glass off the counter, taking it to the faucet and filling it with fresh water. "It started out with panic call from the twins. I got them kind of calmed down
, then I went to talk with Antonio about a couple of things I thought he should know about. I just don't get that man."

  "Well, that's nothing new," she laughed at my pathetic expression.

  "So, he basically tells me to mind my own business, even though I was trying to do him a favor. Then on the way home, he texts me and says I'm supposed to go to some event with him on Saturday."

  "Oh, that sounds like fun! Are you looking forward to it? You haven't really done a big event since you came back from the cruise."

  "Maria! You're supposed to be on my side! You know how I feel about this man. Now you're throwing me to the wolves."

  She laughed at me again. "Aren't we being a bit dramatic? He's only one wolf. Remember, you are still his employee. And you do have your agreement. Or have you forgotten that?"

  By now I was feeling ganged up on. First my run in with Antonio, and now my sister was giving me grief. Too bad I wasn't a drinking woman. I might head for the bottle.

  "I suppose you're right, and I guess there's not much I can do about it, but the man really irks me."

  "No surprises there!" Maria wheeled her chair over to the table. "Look, I know it might be sticky, but you are still working through the agreement. As they say, 'suck it up' girl. Now, why don't you help me by setting the table?"

  Chapter Seventeen

  ANGELA

  The morning had gone smoothly, no emergencies, no Carlo and Poula, and no Antonio. Priscilla was in her normal stoic mood, so everything was calm on the floor.

  It was just past noon, and I was heading out the door for lunch, when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

  "Angela."

  Ryan? I turned toward the voice, spotting him over by the lingerie.

  "Doing a little early Christmas shopping?" I couldn't help teasing.

  "Um, not really." His face turned crimson. "I came to see if you’d like to have lunch with me. I think you'll find it interesting."

  Interesting? That must mean he has some new information. "Sure, let me grab my purse. I'll just be a moment."