Fair Game Inc (2010) (16 page)

Grayson wanted to grab Roger by the shoulders and shake him. How dare Roger march into his house and demand sympathy when Grayson intended on spending the evening wallowing in his own misery? But Roger looked so completely helpless, so strangely sincere for once. CindyAEs rejection shook him to the core. He could tell that much. And if Grayson didnAEt offer him any words of wisdom, not that he had any to spare, likely no one would. And Roger would go on being, well ... Roger.

oFigure out what youAEre doing wrong,o Grayson said tiredly. oAsk Cindy for another chance. If that doesnAEt work, start fresh with someone else whoAEll appreciate the new and improved you.o

RogerAEs head came up. Sudden comprehension flickered in his dark eyes. He swirled the brandy in his glass and glanced shrewdly at Grayson. oWhy do I get the feeling it isnAEt Cindy and me weAEre discussing.o

oOh, no you donAEt,o Grayson said. So much for philanthropy.

oI get the feeling thereAEs another woman entirely in this equation.o

oThereAEs nothing left between Amber and me.o It felt strangely good to say it, to stomp on those lingering hopes. If only it didnAEt hurt so much.

oNo, I took care of that, didnAEt I? This time,o Roger said, softly oIAEve managed to mess up my relationship and yours! I ought to get a medal for stupidity.o

oDonAEt worry about it, Little Brother. I messed it up myself quite nicely.o Deciding another brandy wouldnAEt be such a bad idea after all, Grayson reached for the bottle Roger had brought back to the coffee table with him. Moisture made a circle beneath the bottle, but he didnAEt bother himself to rummage for a coaster. Confession burned on the tip of his tongue. He couldnAEt leave Roger to think heAEd been responsible for the catastrophe between Amber and himself. oThe other person in the equation is a man, not a woman.o

oAmberAEs seeing someone else!o

Oh right, Roger, take a blunt instrument to my pain. Why did his brother have to be so dense? oAnother PI. A greasy wimp of a guy. Not what youAEd expect.o

oThereAEs got to be a mistake. She wouldnAEt fall for that kind of guy.o

A mistake all right. The mistake was opening my mouth. My worst mistake was trusting another woman after ... oHow would you know?o

oSheAEs not the type.o

oYeah, well thatAEs what I thought. Apparently, weAEre both wrong.o

Roger set his snifter down on the coffee table and leaned forward. oI know you think IAEm a total washout when it comes to relationships, but really, Grayson, somethingAEs not right here.o

oWhatAEs not right is the small detail that sheAEs seeing someone else. Though why she didnAEt tell me that before wea.o He stopped suddenly. He didnAEt need any of RogerAEs salt in that wound.

His brother refused to listen to his protests. oI admit, IAEm not the best judge of character, but a woman with convictions as strong as Amber ShawAEs ... well, it just doesnAEt figure.o

oHe brought her flowers. And a card that said, aeThanks, Babe, you were wonderful!AEo Acid churned in GraysonAEs stomach at the thought.

oThat could mean anything,o Roger insisted.

oShe admitted she knew him.o

oSo she knows him. It doesnAEt mean she knows him in the Biblical sense.o

oThatAEs not funny, Roger.o

oAnd youAEve completely lost your sense of humor, Grayson.o

oShe tried to tell me he was working for Barlow, can you believe it?o

oMaybe sheAEs right.o

oSure. And IAEm a complete fool.o

oThink about it Gray. DidnAEt you say yourself not a couple of weeks ago that Barlow had been acting strange? Even for Barlow?o He leaned back into the cushions. Cocking his head to one side, he surveyed his brother and asked, oWhy are you so dead against suspecting Barlow instead of Amber?o

Just when he thought a little sympathy might be forthcoming, Roger did an about face. oSince when are you her champion?o Grayson said, annoyed.

oSince you became blind,o Roger shot back.

oEnough!o Grayson set the snifter down on the coffee table with more force than he intended. Golden liquid sloshed against the sides. The crystal rang out a loud ping. Luckily it didnAEt shatter. oLook--o He wrapped the last shreds of his composure around his rapidly escaping temper. oI know losing Cindy really shook up your world, but this is simply too paranoid. YouAEre starting to sound like Amber.o

oMaybe AmberAEs right,o Roger repeated and stubbornly set his jaw.

That was too scary to contemplate. Too frightening to admit that the man his father trusted, the man heAEd trusted enough to build a career with, might not be the man he thought he was. Too scary to forge ahead into uncharted territory with Amber after really getting burned last time. But Grayson didnAEt voice any of his thoughts. Roger already knew. Roger always did.

oNever mind my problems.o He deflected the conversation away from his brotherAEs prying mind. Roger came asking for advice. It was his failures in love they ought to be discussing. oWhat are you planning to do about Cindy?o

Roger let his eyelids drift closed, making himself comfortable, as if the offer to stay the night had already been extended. His brotherAEs hospitality was a given. Roger believed in Grayson without question.

Why canAEt I believe in myself?

oIAEm going to call Sandy,o Roger said sleepily.

****

James Heck would be a sorry man when she got hold of him. And John Barlow would regret he ever heard the name Amber Shaw when she was finished. Amber drummed her fingers on the desk. The office was empty, quiet as a tomb, her calendar a wasteland, except for those last few evenings at Barlow & Charles. Would Grayson even want her in the office after the stunt Barlow and Heck had pulled on her last night?

She ran the list of possible suspects through her mind. Barlow, instinct told her, the same intuition sheAEd relied on in so many other cases. She trusted it implicitly, and it never let her down. But intellect demanded a more objective review of the situation. And that left Grayson and Roger.

Could Grayson have hired Heck to get even with her? The idea lay like a bad taste in her mouth. But she had to admit it would be a fitting revenge for the incident with the ice. If it was revenge he wanted. She could have sworn what he wanted was love.

And that made her feel like one Heck of a fool.

So Grayson was a possibility, but not a possibility she liked much. And then there was Roger.

Roger certainly had reason to want to get even for what sheAEd come to think of as the ice incident. But Roger hadnAEt seemed angry. He found the whole event funny. In his back-handed complimenting kind of way, he was flattered that Sandy missed him enough to want revenge. Roger for all his irreverent, irresponsible ways, wasnAEt vindictive at heart.

No, the prank had BarlowAEs stamp all over it. Her revenge lay in finding the proof. Intuition told her the intertwining clues could be traced back to Barlow. No way would she let this one go. A dead mouse and a flat tire were unpleasant. But the scene in the office of Barlow & Charles had elevated things to a personal level. And James Heck just slid another notch lower in her estimation. Until last night she wouldnAEt have believed that possible.

A tap against the glass door wrenched her from her ruminations. A dark figure stood in silhouette against the glass. Amber got up cautiously. Last time someone appeared unannounced at her door he was bearing a subpoena to appear in court.

Pity the messenger this time, she thought darkly.

The man at the door was well dressed. Not ostentatiously so. A lock of sandy brown hair fell across his eyes. He brushed it out of the way, as she opened the door.

oMs. Shaw?o

He wasnAEt carrying a registered letter. No briefcase or portfolio. DidnAEt look like he was selling anything, either. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of a voluminous wool overcoat. She caught a glimpse of ice blue eyes as his gaze drifted up to meet hers from where heAEd been staring at a patch of carpet on the floor.

oIAEm Amber Shaw.o Might as well admit to it. If he was carrying another court order, heAEd find her soon enough.

oIAEm sorry to drop by without an appointment. ItAEs not something I wanted to discuss on the phone, but I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time.o He pulled a crumpled copy of her business card from his pocket. oSandy Wylde told me I could find you here.o

Amber glanced at her name on the rumpled parchment, then back at the unexpected and unexpectedly male client. They were still standing in the doorway, she realized with a start. oCertainly, come in, Mr.--?o

oMarchand.o He offered her his hand. oJean-Claude Marchand.o

Hunched in the chrome and leather chair, he looked out of place in the sleek office. The chairs that made clients like Sandy Wylde appear all the more elegant were too small for a male frame. The thin arm rests werenAEt wide enough for muscular arms to rest upon comfortably. The width of the chair that allowed for a pair of female legs to be gracefully crossed was all wrong for traditional male posture. She watched Marchand fidget to get comfortable, then give up. He settled for hunching awkwardly in the chair and gazing across the desk at her looking every bit as uncomfortable as he undoubtedly felt.

Taking one of her preprinted forms from her top drawer, Amber steepled her fingers on the glass and gazed across her desk at him. oWhat can I do for you, Mr. Marchand?o

oSandy tells me you have some rather unusual business practices that might be of use to me.o

oI deal in revenge,o Amber said. oRevenge isnAEt an unusual phenomenon in itself. I merely make sure that justice is accomplished. And that no one gets hurt.o

oJustice is what I came to discuss.o

Amber reached for her pen. oAnd who exactly would you be seeking justice from?o

oFrom my ex-fiancTe, Ruth.o

Ruth, Amber scribbled in the appropriate box. oWhat crime has Ruth committed?o

oShe left me!o Marchand said, suddenly becoming animated. oI gave her everything--the one-carat engagement ring she wanted so badly. Cost me two months pay. I bought her a house, leased a new car. I gave her everything and she left me for some slimy guy named Dave.o

oIAEve witnessed this phenomenon before,o Amber said in her most soothing professional tone. And she had, first hand. But until now all the perpetrators had been male.

oShe stood me up at the altar.o

Memories of pain keen as knife tore through her. Even after two years, she could still remember the pain-tinged shame of EricAEs abandonment. The loss of the dream hurt the most. The brutal reality that the man sheAEd given her love to her didnAEt love her at all. Eric left the month before their wedding date, leaving her with mounting debts for the non!refundable deposits to the banquet hall, the caterer and the photographer sheAEd retained. Not to mention the silk wedding dress that still hung in her closet.

oIAEm so sorry,o she said softly, losing for a moment the professional detachment sheAEd learned to rely on. What Marchand had gone through was so much worse. Glancing away from those pain-filled eyes, she jotted down a few more notes. oTell me a bit about RuthAEs habits so we can determine what kind of revenge would be fitting. She doesnAEt happen to have an identical twin, does she?o

oNo....o

Amber ignored his confusion. She wouldnAEt be caught on that technicality again. oA sister that might resemble her closely?o

oShe has three brothers,o Marchand said.

oGood.o Amber leaned back in her chair. Schemes formed in her mind and were just as quickly rejected. Accepting a male client would require a major attitude adjustment. Her entire repertoire of revenge was slanted towards the male of the species.

One shrewd look at Marchand convinced her. She recognized his pain. The shadows beneath his eyes from nights spent wondering what went wrong. Rejection of your intimate self caused the shoulders to slump, the eyes to shine less bright, the whole world to lose some of its color and joy. Amber remembered when sheAEd looked that way. It wasnAEt that long ago. Only building up Fair Game had helped. Having one thing that was truly hers, that couldnAEt be lost on the whim of a man brought her soul back to her. She had to help Marchand bring closure to his pain, so he could have his life back as well.

Fidgeting in the under-sized chair, he waited. Amber let the momentum of her reclining desk chair swing her upright. oLetAEs talk about the details of your revenge.o ****

A battered Trans Am sat like a blemish before the offices of Barlow & Charles. Brown splotches of primer marred the paint job that had once been silver. Amber had to look carefully to tell what color the car had been in its distant youth. Someone had made a half-hearted effort at painting the car with a series of not-quite matching aerosol spray cans. Amber grit her teeth. It did figure that James HeckAEs car was a shabby as he was.

Probably inside collecting his check from Barlow at my expense. The thought rolled around in her mind and came up opportunity.

No mistaking the man who paced the narrow scrap of carpet before the elevator. No one else wore that much gel in his hair. No one else couldnAEt wait the short moments it took the elevator to come. Steeling herself for another encounter with James, Amber sauntered up beside him and tapped him on the shoulder.