CardsNeverLie (20 page)

“He must have said something,” Melanie said, a hint of
sarcasm slipping in as she started to wake up.

“I don’t believe it.” He didn’t sound defensive, but
convinced.

Melanie remembered their old conversations in Vegas. “In
that case, maybe you were right about spies all along.”

She could hear a clunk as Rob shifted the phone to his other
ear. “There wasn’t anyone else listening. We were alone in his office.”

The last sentence had sounded more like a question than a
statement. “Rob?”

“Except Tida. Shit.”

“The new nurse?” Melanie asked, remembering the petite
beauty.

“Nursing assistant.”

“You think Professional Massage planted her? That sounds
crazy.” Where would they find a woman to masquerade as a wannabe porn queen and
spy for them?

“No crazier than you getting fired over something like this.
From my first day in Vegas, I remember thinking someone from Professional
Massage was going to show up there. Jack indicated that they really wanted to
talk to me. Maybe my paranoia wasn’t wrong, just mistakenly placed on you.”

“Maybe,” Melanie said, without much hope. Though she would
get a tiny kick out of the beauty she’d been so jealous of turning out to be a
baddie. It would serve Rob right, being so suspicious of her that he let the
real spy slip in right in under his nose. Of course, she was the one who got
hurt.

“Hang tight, okay? Go take a shower. I’ll bring breakfast
over in a little while.”

“Okay,” Melanie said listlessly, then rolled over and hung
up the phone. A second later, she sat straight up in bed. Time was passing and
she needed to update her resume!

Chapter Fourteen

Melanie dropped her computer on the green paisley cushion
and went to open the door as soon as she saw Rob pull up. She had been sitting
anxiously in her psychedelic window seat, part of her summer sewing project,
for forty minutes, staring at the screen of her laptop. She wondered how she
could have felt so good only a few short days ago. Tonight had been their scheduled
second date. At least everything in her life didn’t suck. Rob still liked her.

She pasted a smile on her face, but as soon as Rob came
close, the smile became genuine. She really did like him too.

“Hey you,” Rob said, moving his cardboard coffee tray and
bag to one hand and giving her a hug with his free arm. “You look a lot better
than you sounded earlier.”

“You woke me up.” She clasped her hands behind her and
arched into a stretch. “I’m glad you did. I’ve got so much to do today.”

“I can see that.” Rob held up the drinks tray, though his
eyes did momentarily rest upon the cheery yellow T-shirt-clad breasts she had
thrust his way, Melanie noticed.

“Take one. They’re both café au lait.”

“Fabulous. Thanks!” Melanie took the tray and walked into
the living room, but the coffee table lay covered in trash, spoons, empty ice
cream containers and wineglasses. How could she have ignored the mess? She must
be more upset than she realized. She hastily led Rob into the kitchen. Luckily,
it hadn’t been the scene of too much carnage the night before.

“Have a seat.” She gestured to one of the upholstered
benches alongside the table in the breakfast nook. Rob put down the bag and sat
as Melanie grabbed a couple of plates.

“Are you going to fight Professional Massage?” he asked.

“You certainly get right to the point, don’t you?” she
winced.

“You fought for Brisa,” he reminded her. “Will you do any
less for yourself?”

“No one was harassing me at Professional Massage. They were
just sabotaging my career.”

“But you can’t believe this is fair.” Rob stared into her
eyes until she turned away.

Melanie took a deep breath. She didn’t want his paranoia to
affect her and she didn’t want him to make any of her decisions. She had made a
mistake. Now she needed to find a way to get back on her feet as soon as
possible. “I did talk to you, Rob,” she pointed out as she put down the plates
and sat. “Even if management found out about it in a lowdown, sneaky way.”

“You’re right.” Rob scowled and pulled a croissant from the
bag. “I spoke to my grandfather. Your name never came up in his conversation
with Professional Massage’s CEO.”

“So it was Tida.” Figures.

Rob nodded. “She’s the only possibility. I expect she’ll be
fired today.”

“I wonder what her tie to Professional Massage is?” Melanie
wondered aloud.

“That much I can guess. Grandfather said she mentioned her
boyfriend’s name was Al.”

“Al Plowman?” Melanie laughed, unable to help herself. “That
beautiful girl is involved with Al?”

It made sense, oddly enough. He had dated Anita after all.
What did they see in him? Ninety thousand a year, she guessed. The money was
sexy enough.

“Is there any other Al at Professional Massage?”

“Not that I know of.” Melanie took a sip of the creamy
coffee. “It doesn’t matter anyway. They said I was incompetent, which I’m not.
If I were fired for that alone, I would fight. But I can’t fight Tida’s story,
even if she is a scheming snake.”

“At least she’s losing her job.” Rob clasped her hand for a
moment. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am for my error in judgment.”

Melanie felt the tiniest bit bad about this outcome. Now
that she knew Rob had never been interested in the beautiful girl, she could be
magnanimous. “And you were so pleased to give her a chance.”

“Obviously my efforts were misguided. But I’m not going to
give up trying to rescue damsels in distress.”

“What do you mean?”
There was another one? Where did he
find these people?

“I’m offering you a job.”

“What?” Melanie laughed. “I’ll never work for you.”
I’d
much rather sleep with you, as soon as I can get my act together.

Rob’s cheek clenched at her laugh. She felt sorry for
hurting his feelings, after he had been so nice about breakfast.

“I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I just mean you can’t have
a real job to offer me. I don’t have the right kind of experience for you.” She
clapped her hand over her mouth as she caught her double entendre. She had no
time for the consequences of double entendres.

“No, you’re wrong about that.” His lips quirked. “I’ve only
got a six-month reprieve on the sale. If we stay focused on S and M products,
my grandfather will never let the business stay in the family. But if we
diversify, maybe I can save us.”

“You think I can help you do that?” She held back a gasp as
his leg curled around hers under the table.

“I know you can. You’re a product design specialist, aren’t
you? Your skills are exactly what we need to save the business. When
Grandfather called Professional Massage, Dick Porter tried to gloss over the
cash flow issues by saying he had two great products about to go to
market—Midnight Oil and Magical Milk. He even messengered over samples to try
to persuade Grandfather that his company was about to be in the money.”

Melanie wondered if the scent of Midnight Oil had seemed
familiar to Rob. He rubbed his now bare toes across the top of her foot.

“I didn’t know they were offering samples of our product
yet,” Melanie mused aloud.

And she was supposedly incompetent. Liars! But she couldn’t
sue. She had signed away her right to do so in those crazy, scary minutes right
after the firing in order to get a couple of months of health insurance. They
wouldn’t give her any money other than cash out her vacation time. That was
only two weeks’ pay.

Melanie took a deep breath and sipped at her coffee. Did he
really have a job for her, or was he just trying to get her under his control?
His touch on her body, which had been so welcome until her bad news, made her
wonder. She had learned to be wary of the touches of men who had power. Look
what she had let Gerald do to her Olympic dreams and now Tida was losing her
job because of Al, while he hid safely behind his desk.

But she did need a solution quickly. She remembered her bank
balance and knew she couldn’t afford to be too cautious. Her next mortgage
payment was due in three weeks. As it was, her bank account fell three hundred
dollars short. She could borrow from her parents for a month or two, but then
what?

“In this case they obviously did. They are excellent
products, Melanie, and I know you designed them.” He took her hand. “Give LeatherWorks
a shot, for the six months at least. I can’t guarantee long-term employment,
but at least you’ll come out of this with good references.” He moved his foot
away from hers.

Melanie felt torn, like they were negotiating for her body
along with her mind. She didn’t like it. The two needed to be separate. Her job
had saved her sanity during her disastrous marriage, the job she had fought to
have after a crippling depression, which began when she was unable to cope with
sitting home alone while Gerald philandered. “I can keep paying my mortgage if
I worked for you,” she thought aloud.

“You could start next week,” he suggested, stroking her arm.

She pushed his hand away, wishing her shorts and T-shirt
provided more protection from his sultry moves. If she even considered his
offer, she wouldn’t be able to date him any longer. After Gerald, she had
promised to never again involve herself with an authority figure in her life.
And as CEO, Rob would control her very livelihood. She hated the idea of giving
up her chance for a sexy lover, but it would be very difficult to find another
job opportunity in her field. Those isolated days of crying and feeling
hopeless came back to her and she hated even the memory. Stiffening, she told
herself the memories were six years old. Melanie Vanderpool learned from her
mistakes and she wouldn’t falter again.

“What exactly did you have in mind?”

Rob grinned. “I have a meeting in half an hour, but I could
come back this afternoon and show you.” He nudged her knee under the table.

“I meant about the job,” she said sharply. “I don’t know
much about leather.”

“So do a little market research from your computer.” Rob
stood up. “I do have to get going, angel, what time should I come back?”

“Come back?”

“We have a date tonight.”

“No, not tonight,” Melanie said. “I have to think. But I’ll
call you.”

* * * * *

Melanie took a deep breath as she stood outside the lobby of
Professional Massage. Instead of spending her Tuesday morning in a product
review session, she was being allowed to clear out her desk under the stern eye
of a rented security guard. At least they hadn’t just tossed all her breakables
into a box and mailed it.

She followed the guard through the lobby, as if she didn’t
know where her old office was. As if she hadn’t spent six years of her life
here, working to make the company a success.

They walked down the hall past the box of Christmas
ornaments she’d never see hung again. Melanie straightened her spine. There
would be no tears.

Jill waited for her by her desk. She had dressed in
uncharacteristically somber fashion today, in a brown suit and cream blouse.

“Melanie!” she cried and flung her arms around her former
boss.

“Hi, sweetie,” Melanie said and hugged her with the arm that
didn’t hold an empty cardboard box before releasing her.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Jill wailed.

“Please don’t,” Melanie said in a low voice. Thankfully
everyone who sat nearby was still at the meeting.

Jill swallowed noisily and rubbed a sleeve across her eyes,
smearing makeup onto the brown fabric. “I’m sorry.” She glanced at the guard.
“You can watch us from here, through the glass door.”

Jill swept into Melanie’s office. Melanie felt guilty for
not worrying about what would happen to her assistant.

“Have you lost your job too?” Melanie asked.

Jill shook her head. “No.”

She looked so dreadful that something must have happened.
“I’m sorry if my actions have hurt your career, Jill.”

Jill sniffed and leaned against Melanie’s desk. Melanie
dropped her box on the table and started gathering the family photographs that
were framed on her desk and pinned to her bulletin board.

“Melanie?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know exactly why you were fired, but I bet I’ve
done worse things than you. What are we going to do?”

Melanie frowned. “I’ve already got a job offer so you don’t
need to worry. With LeatherWorks.”

Jill’s jaw dropped. “With them? You’re kidding!”

“No. Why? What do you know about them?”

“A lot.” Jill swallowed. “Could you take me with you?”

Melanie shook her head. “It’s probably going to be temporary,
Jill, and I doubt I’ll have an assistant. I’m sorry.”

“Temporary? You mean, just until they are sold?”

Melanie felt for the edge of her desk with her hands and
held on. “What do you know about that? It’s supposed to be a big secret.”

Jill worried at her lip with her teeth. “I’m not proud of
why I know.”

Melanie tugged Jill into one of the two guest chairs by the
desk. “What are you talking about?”

“He broke our date a couple of weeks ago and I haven’t seen
him since.”

“Who?” A tremor ran through Melanie. Jill couldn’t mean Rob,
could she? Melanie leaned forward.

“Jack O’Brien.”

Melanie felt dizzy, relieved not to hear the name she had
feared. She sat back in her chair. “Oh?”

“He’s the number two man at LeatherWorks. We’re lovers.” She
corrected herself with a sniff, curling into a ball on the chair. “At least we
were, until I wasn’t useful to him anymore.”

“Did you spy for him?” Melanie blurted, shocked to the
limit. Had she known anything about the business world a month ago?

“Huh?” Jill asked, dabbing at her eyes with an unpolished,
bitten nail.

“I’ve had my ideas robbed and my words stolen,” Melanie said
in a bitter voice she hardly recognized as coming from her own throat.

Jill shook her head. “I don’t know anything about that.”

“Then what? Did you steal office supplies? Slit tires?”
Melanie stopped herself. She wouldn’t become this sarcastic, nasty person.

“I’m the saboteur.”

Melanie had thought only a moment ago that she couldn’t be
shocked again. Her Jill, who had hardly a brain in her head but was as sweet as
a newborn kitten? It couldn’t be. “You were the one turning up the heat in the
storage bay?”

Jill nodded. “Jack persuaded me it was the only way to save
his job.”

“That doesn’t make sense to me.” It really didn’t. What did
his job have to do with anything here?

“He was going to lose his job when Professional Massage
bought LeatherWorks. He makes good money, Melanie.”

“So?” Now she understood everything. Another loser with a
bloated paycheck ruins a good woman. “What does that have to do with you? He
could have found another job.”

“No. He only had such a good job because his father was a
friend of Old Mr. Black. He’s never worked anywhere else. He was going to lose
everything.”

Melanie rested her chin on her hand. “You’re making no sense
to me. You have a good job. What were you risking it for? You did an awful
thing.”

“Wouldn’t you risk everything for love?”

“No,” Melanie said bluntly. “I wouldn’t.”

“Yes, you would,” Jill sniffed. “You gave up the Olympics
for your husband.”

“I was an eighteen-year-old idiot. You’re twenty-two years
old and I thought you were smarter than this. You broke the law. You could go
to jail.”