A HIGH STAKES SEDUCTION (12 page)

Constance pressed the button and gritted her teeth with impatience. She couldn’t remember a single occasion in her life before now that she’d needed to skulk about and conceal her shockingly inappropriate activities.

Naturally the elevator opened right into the elegant main lobby, which was unusually well populated for a weekday morning. Worse yet, she could see John giving a television interview in front of the decorative mural on the far side of the room. The cameraman with his bulky mike and the aggressively tanned male reporter almost blocked her way to the main exit, and she hesitated for a minute to plan her escape.

John hadn’t seen her yet and she wanted to make sure he didn’t. She didn’t want him to smile and wave or otherwise draw attention to her.

“...investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on suspicion of fraud...” The reporter’s words assaulted her ears as she got closer. Little did they know the BIA’s official investigator was trying to sneak past them wearing yesterday’s underwear, with John Fairweather’s DNA licked into its fabric.

John was talking now, looking directly at the reporter. She seized her chance to break for the door, avoiding his gaze as she strode across the lobby, heels clicking. Luckily the camera was facing the other way so she wouldn’t be caught on tape making her escape.

She burst out into blinding sunlight with her adrenaline pounding and fumbled for her car keys, desperate to escape before anyone saw her or tried to talk to her.

* * *

Back in her hotel room, after showering and washing away John’s passionate touch, Constance called the office. “Nicola Moore of the BIA called about six times for you,” Lynn whispered into the phone. “She’s getting hysterical. Where have you been? There’s been some kind of exposé article published about the New Dawn casino and she wants to know if it’s true.”

That would explain the TV reporter in the lobby. “What does it say?”

“The usual stuff, how they’ve grown too big too fast and it can’t be legit.”

“That’s hardly a news story.”

“There’s some stuff about his uncle. I forget the guy’s name but apparently he has a colorful past. Money laundering or something similar.”

Constance frowned. John’s uncle Don? She didn’t like the guy much. He gave off a sleazebag vibe. “Everything’s still checking out fine. They’re very profitable because there are people here throwing their money away twenty-four hours a day.”

“Are you sure you’re not blinded to iniquity by John Fairweather’s dazzling smile?”

“Of course I’m sure,” she retorted. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to sound so snappy.” What a shame she couldn’t explain why she hadn’t gotten too much sleep last night. “I’m starting to get annoyed with all the negative opinions that keep cropping up, when I can’t find any justification for them. I can’t help but think people are just jealous and resent the tribe’s success. Why shouldn’t they have some prosperity for a change? They’ve been kicked around since the 1600s. It’s about time they got to enjoy life a bit. I don’t know why people get so upset that they’re making money.”

“Maybe because they don’t pay taxes on it?”

“Actually, they do pay some taxes. It was built into their agreements with the state. And they provide employment in an otherwise depressed area. I’ve totally revised my opinion of the place and I wish everyone else would do the same.”

“You sound very passionate.”

Passionate? What an odd choice of word. She’d certainly experienced passion last night. It dwarfed her most ambitious daydreams. “Nonsense. I’m entirely practical. I can’t see why it’s okay for corporations to make money hand over fist and interpret laws to meet their needs, but not tribes. This is America. We love money and profits. You and I wouldn’t have a job without them!”

Lynn laughed. “So true. Anyway, you’d better call Ms. Moore. She’s getting on my nerves.”

“Will do. Hopefully I’ll be home in a day or two.” A twinge of sadness shot through her. Once she left she probably wouldn’t ever see John again. Which would make last night’s tryst a one-night stand. Shame swept over her in a hot tide. She’d fallen so easily into his arms. Worse yet, she craved the feel of his arms around her right now. Of his hot kisses claiming her mouth, the powerful sensation of him moving inside her.

“Are you still there?” Lynn asked.

“Yes. Yes. Just going over some notes.” Now she was lying. What next? If anyone found out that she’d had an affair with the man whose business she was supposed to be investigating, she’d be fired. She’d probably lose her accreditation and would never be able to find another job in the field.

“They must be pretty interesting notes. And you’re missing some exciting happenings here at Creighton Waterman. Someone walked in on Lacey, the new trainee, getting up close and personal with Aaron Whitlow.”

“What?” Mr. Whitlow was the straitlaced senior executive who gave them their annual reviews. “He must be twice her age. Maybe even three times!”

“I know. Everyone is freaking out. Worse yet, the person who saw them was Leah, the head of personnel.”

“Did Lacey get fired?”

“She did. It makes me mad. Why does she have to leave? Why not him?”

“He’s in a position of power.”

“That’s hardly fair. She should file a sexual harassment lawsuit. But she didn’t want to. She said it was consensual. She was so upset, crying and red faced. I think she really cared about him.”

Constance swallowed. “It is odd that relationships at work are so taboo. That is where most of us spend our time, after all.”

“It’s because we’re supposed to behave like robots who only care about doing our jobs. Not actual people with feelings. Whitlow’s acting more robotic than ever, of course. Muttering orders under his breath, looking down his snooty nose at people. It does make me laugh to picture him fooling around with a much younger woman. Apparently she was sitting on his desk with her skirt up around her waist!”

“Yikes.” Constance wanted to cringe. Desire. The same thing that had lured her irresistibly into John’s encouraging arms. When examined in the cold light of day, it was embarrassing and inappropriate. What would Lynn—or anyone—say if they could have seen her last night, writhing with pleasure in John’s bed?

“The scandal has certainly livened things up around here, let me tell you. You’re missing all the fun.”

“You know I hate gossip.” She tried to stay out of the petty squabbles around the watercooler.

“I’ll certainly never see Whitlow in the same light again, that’s for sure.”

“Isn’t he a widower? Maybe he was lonely.” Great. Now she was defending a man who’d fooled around with a much younger employee. Of course as a transgressor herself, she could sympathize with him in a way she’d never have been able to imagine even a week ago.

Maybe this whole experience was part of her journey toward greater compassion and understanding. It was pretty humbling, all right. “I have another call coming in.”

“All right. Call Nicola Moore at the BIA before she comes down there looking for you.”

“Will do.” She hung up and grabbed the other call, adrenaline firing because she could see it was John.

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

Heat rose up from her chest. “Good morning yourself. I can’t believe you let me sleep in like that. I’m so embarrassed.”

“You looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to disturb you. I had to get up for a media interview.”

“I saw you doing it.” She didn’t want to say what she’d heard about the accusations against his uncle. It didn’t seem appropriate given their professional relationship. Still, she wanted to hear how he’d describe it. “What were they asking you about?”

He paused for a moment. “Nothing very interesting. The usual stuff.”

So he was going to hide it from her. Surely he’d know she could see it on the news or read it on the internet? “I suppose they’re often hoping to stir up a story. Speaking of which, there’s a sex scandal going on at my office right now. If they had any idea what I was up to I’d be out on my ear.”

“I won’t tell them. It’s none of their business.”

“I suppose not. You’re not sleeping with me to cloud my judgment, are you?” She said it in jest, but once the words were out she realized she wasn’t entirely kidding.

He laughed. “If I was, would it be working?”

“Of course not. I have tremendous integrity.” She was trying to convince herself as much as him.

“Tremendous, huh? That is impressive. And I’d expect nothing less of you. Seriously, though, you should probably know that the media has got a wild hair about my uncle Don. I’m sure it will blow over soon, but they’re trying to find him guilty of something, so you may as well hear it from me and not from the BIA.”

“What do they think he’s done?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think they care. Anything they can cook up will do. Want to get together for lunch? It’s almost noon.”

“Noon?” She gulped. “I can’t. I’m not even at the casino. I’m still at my hotel getting changed. I need to focus completely on work for the rest of the day.”

“And the night?”

“And the night.” She blinked. No sense giving him a chance to make plans that were going to rope her even deeper into this impossible affair. One night with him had been intoxicating enough. Another and she might never regain her sanity. “I really need to concentrate on my work. Last night was...”

“Wonderful.”

“Yes, it was.” She had to admit it. “But I’m here to do a job.”
And we both know this is going nowhere.

“That’s true, but I want to make sure you don’t work too fast. I don’t want to lose you any sooner than I have to.”

So he could easily admit that their affair had a built-in end. The little pang of sorrow surprised her. “I do have other projects I need to get back to.”

“It’s a shame your office isn’t local. Why would they hire someone from Ohio to investigate a casino in Massachusetts?”

“I think they do that to encourage impartiality. Since I’m not local, I have no stake in building or maintaining a relationship with the New Dawn casino.”

“Just with its owner.” His voice was silky and seductive.

“That was an accident.”

“A very happy one.”

“As long as no one finds out about it.” And really, how happy could it be when she’d be home alone in a few days, lonely as ever?

“Concealment does not come naturally to me.” She heard frustration in his voice. “In fact, I’m hating this need for secrecy. I much prefer to be frank and up front in my dealings with everyone.”

“But you do understand that my job and my reputation depend on keeping this secret?” Panic gripped her quietly.

“Believe me. I do. And I hold myself entirely responsible for the delicate predicament we find ourselves in.” He paused, and the silence hummed for a moment. “Can I come over to your hotel?”

She sucked in a breath as visions of John’s large form in her tiny hotel room crowded her imagination. “No. I really have to work.”

“Bummer.” He sounded so disappointed that she had to smile.

“I have more calls to return. I’ll see you at the office.”

“I’ll make sure of it.” She could hear the smile in his voice, and it made her chest ache a little. She was really going to miss John. Which was ridiculous. She’d only known him a few days and in many ways he was the most infuriating man she’d ever met.

Yet she still liked him so much. And she liked that he’d told her about the suspicions regarding his uncle. As she dialed the number for Nicola Moore at the BIA, she was pretty sure she’d be hearing Don’s name again.

She was right. Nicola immediately launched into a tirade against him.

“Don Fairweather has been previously investigated for money laundering.”

“Was he convicted?” Constance glanced around her room to see if there was anything else she needed to bring to the office. It crossed her mind that she could bring a change of underwear. She told her mind to get back to business.

“No. It went to trial but the jury apparently didn’t find the prosecutor’s evidence convincing enough.”

“Oh. So he was found innocent.”

“Or they just didn’t look hard enough. I want you to make sure to look in places where no one would expect. There was a case recently at another casino where three of the workers managed to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars by creating fraudulent receipts from the slot machines to bring to the cashiers. One of them created the receipts, one was the runner between the slot machines and the tills, and the other was the cashier. As you can imagine, it was a neat little racket for a while.”

“How did the casino figure out what was going on?”

“Keen observation.”

“You do realize that I’m a forensic accountant and not a private detective?” She had been told she was doing a routine audit of their books. Now that she was here, it appeared that her contact had definite suspicions, or at least was trying to plant some in her mind. That didn’t sit too well with Constance when she needed to stay objective.

“Indeed, Ms. Allen, we’re well aware of that. We simply expect you to find whether the paperwork is truly reflective of the casino’s activities.”

“I understand. I’ll look into every avenue I can think of.”

She hung up and found herself glancing at her underwear drawer again. What if she packed a bag with extra panties and a whole new outfit so she didn’t have to come back to the hotel at all?

The blunt thought shocked her. What would her parents think if they knew what she was doing? They’d issued stern warnings about stepping foot inside such a den of iniquity, and now she was having a sexual affair with a man she wasn’t even in a relationship with.

She’d never have slept with her ex-boyfriend if she hadn’t been utterly convinced that one day—soon—they’d be man and wife. But Phil did not have the looks or the charm of John Fairweather.

No. She couldn’t bring a change of clothes. That would be admitting that she planned to do something inappropriate. If something happened spontaneously, that was different. Going into the New Dawn casino with a deliberate intention to have sex with the man she was investigating seemed far more dangerous and inappropriate. Premeditation, after all, was often the difference between manslaughter and murder.