Flash (19 page)

She eyed him warily. “Interesting?”

“Very.” He met her eyes. “I'm a sucker for interesting.”

“I see.”

“So, will you go out with me? A real date this time, not take-out?”

She tipped her head to one side and studied him intently. “You're not taking my sordid past real seriously, are you?”

He looked offended. “I didn't take the Crawford Lee Wilder article seriously, but I'm very serious about the date.”

“Are you?”

He winced. “So much for the snappy repartee. I've been told that my social skills are a little rusty. Like Madeline said, I don't get out much. I know my timing
isn't always the greatest when it comes to this kind of thing, but—”

“Your timing is just fine.” She suddenly felt lighter and happier than she had in a very long time. “In fact, it's great.”

A curious warmth appeared in his eyes. “You really think so?”

For a moment the silver-studded room seemed to slide away into another dimension. Olivia could still see the silvery decor around her. The mirrored balls continued to glitter. She could hear the music and the laughter of the crowd. But it was all happening in another, unimportant realm.

The only thing that was important at that moment was the look in Jasper's eyes.

The clarion call of the media shattered the spell. Typical, Olivia thought.

“Am I interrupting anything here?” Andy Andrews asked as he shoved a cracker heaped with salmon spread into his mouth.

“Yes,” Jasper said without looking away from Olivia. “But since you're here, let me introduce you to Olivia Chantry. Olivia, this is Andy Andrews. He'll be crushed if you tell him that you've never heard of him.”

Olivia reluctantly switched her attention to the rumpled-looking man who had come to a halt in front of her. Automatically she went into full business mode.

“Andy Andrews, with
Hard Currency?
How exciting. I always read your newsletter the instant it comes through my fax machine.”

Andrews was clearly unprepared for such a cordial greeting. He blinked and then grinned broadly around
the mouthful of cracker and salmon. “Glad to hear it. I do my best to keep the info moving through the pipeline.”

“I especially enjoyed the piece you did last month on the charitable foundations that have been established by our new wave of local techno-millionaires.” Out of the corner of her eye Olivia saw Jasper lift his gaze to the ceiling in silent supplication. She ignored him. He ought to know that a little judicious gushing worked wonders with the press.

“You liked that one?” Andy asked eagerly.

“It was not only extremely interesting, but useful as well,” Olivia assured him. “It gave me some background on prospective clients.”

“Always glad to be of service to the members of the business community. That's what I'm here for.” Andy cleared his throat. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Chantry.”

“Please call me Olivia.”

“Sure. Olivia.” Andy tossed back the last of the champagne in his glass. “I tried to get hold of you yesterday.”

“Unfortunately I was so busy with tonight's event that I didn't get your messages until very late in the day. I intended to return your calls first thing Monday morning. I didn't realize you would be here tonight.”

“Between you and me, I wasn't planning to attend.” Andy sidled closer to the bar and waved at the attendant. “I did Silver Galaxy Foods Night last year, and it was a dead bore. But when I heard that you were running the event this year, I decided to accept Silverthorne's invitation.”

Olivia smiled cautiously. “I'm flattered.”

“Big change from last year.” Andy surveyed the glittering scene while he waited for the bartender. “A lot more glitz and glamour, y'know?”

“Thank you,” Olivia murmured.

Andy eyed Jasper. “Didn't know you'd be on board tonight, Sloan. Got something going with Silver Galaxy Foods?”

“No.” Jasper gave Olivia a deliberate, intimate smile. “My interest here tonight is strictly personal.”

“Is that a fact?” Andy broke off as the bartender arrived. “S'cuse me a minute. Open bar, you know. Some first-class hooch on board tonight. Don't want to waste the opportunity.”

“I understand.” Olivia traded glances with Jasper while Andy ordered an expensive single-malt whiskey. “The Silverthornes pull out all the stops on Silver Galaxy Foods Night.”

“They sure did this year, I'll give 'em that.” Andy got his whiskey from the bartender. He turned and raised the glass in a small toast. Then he chugged a couple of swallows. When he was finished he let out a long, satisfied sigh.

“I'm glad you're enjoying yourself,” Olivia said.

Andy gave Olivia a bland smile that did not disguise the shrewd, if slightly inebriated, gleam in his eyes. “So, everything settled down now at Glow?”

“Yes,” Jasper said before Olivia could respond. “I told you yesterday that everything was under control.”

“Yeah, so you did.” Andy kept his attention on Olivia. “Losing Rollie Chantry must have been really rough on the firm.”

“It was rough on the family, too,” Olivia said pointedly.

“Oh, sure.” Andy bobbed his head several times. “Right. Big personal loss, too, of course.” He crinkled his brow in a vaguely bewildered fashion. “Sort of an unusual situation, I guess, having an outsider come in and take over the way Sloan is doing.”

Olivia widened her eyes. “We don't consider Jasper an outsider. He's part of the Glow team.”

“Yeah?” Andy glanced from Olivia to Jasper and back again. “I've heard a few rumors about Glow. Maybe you'd like to confirm or deny them? I'll be happy to set the record straight in print for you.”

“What rumors?” Olivia asked.

“Like I told Sloan, yesterday, there's talk about a sale or merger.”

Jasper put down his cognac very casually. “And like I told you, Andrews, that's a lot of hot air.” He gave Olivia another intimate smile. “I'm looking forward to a very long-term relationship with Glow.”

At that moment Olivia would have been willing to believe that Jasper had telepathic powers. She could actually feel him willing her to back him up. There was no need for him to waste all that mental energy, she thought. She obviously had no other option than to go along with his demand for a united front.

“I can assure you, Andy,” she said very smoothly, “that the Chantrys are delighted to have an executive as experienced and capable as Jasper Sloan at the helm.”

Cool satisfaction gleamed in Jasper's eyes. He reached out and took Olivia's hand with an unmistakably
proprietary air. “There's your story, Andrews. Now if you'll excuse us, I'm going to steal another dance before Olivia goes back to work.”

Olivia glanced inside the karaoke bar shortly after midnight. The crowd was clearly enjoying the entertainment. Charlie Silverthorne, himself, set the tone. In classic Las Vegas lounge lizard style, he made love to a microphone and crooned the lyrics to a 1940s torch song. His silver-sequined cummerbund and matching bow tie sparkled in the dim lights. His voice, augmented by the latest electronic gadgetry, oozed over the audience like thick, warm syrup.

It was amazing what technology could do, Olivia reflected. Earlier she had heard Charlie sing the Silver Galaxy Foods song without the aid of a karaoke machine. He had the voice of a healthy sea lion.

Things were under control, she concluded, turning away from the karaoke lounge. The late-night dessert buffet had opened a few minutes ago and was attracting an enthusiastic crowd. The dance band was still going strong. There were no serious disasters going on at the moment.

She had time to slip downstairs to her cabin and change her shoes, she decided. She always brought along a second pair when she expected to spend a long evening on her feet.

She went down two flights of stairs and walked along the narrow corridor. Her tiny cabin, together with the others that had been assigned to the crew and staff, was on the lowest passenger deck just above the waterline. The better rooms had all been allocated to guests.

At the end of the hallway she took her key out of the hidden pocket in her black and silver gown and slipped it into the lock.

She saw the envelope on the carpet as soon as she walked into the room. Someone had pushed it under the door.

She scooped up the note and switched on a lamp. She opened the sealed flap and unfolded the single sheet of paper.

Your punishment has been determined. The price for keeping the secret of Logan Dane's real Dark Muse is one thousand dollars. You will receive instructions for the first payment soon
.

For a few seconds Olivia could not grasp the meaning. And then the computer-generated message hit her with the force of a blow to the stomach.

Impossible. It could not be true.

She read the note a second time, but the words did not magically disappear. The secret she thought she had shredded three years ago had come back to haunt her.

The blackmailer knew about Nina.

He was lounging against the bar, a glass of the spring water he'd switched to an hour ago in his hand, when he saw her in the doorway. For a split second there was no one else in the room. At least, no one else who mattered.

Jasper wondered if he would gradually grow accustomed to the light-headed sensation that came over him whenever he saw her.

She stood there, unconsciously regal in silver and black, the never-ending mystery of her eyes enhanced by the upswept hairstyle. For an instant he simply stared while he absorbed the impact of her presence. She was looking for someone in the crowd. Probably a
member of her staff. But he could always indulge the hope that she had come to search for him, he thought. He watched her scan the room with a shadowed, searching gaze.

When she saw him, she started through the crowd. Satisfaction washed through Jasper. She
had
been looking for him. He had seen very little of her since their two dances in the lounge.

And then he saw the simmering fury in her eyes. Beneath the anger was something else. Something that could have been fear.

Something had gone very wrong.

When she came to a halt in front of him, he put the half-finished glass of spring water very carefully down on the bar.

“What is it?” he asked quietly.

“I have to talk to you. Immediately.”

He took her arm and escorted her through the darkened lounge toward the doors that opened onto the deck. A moment later they were outside.

The night was clear, the summer moon almost full. The silvery sheen on the black waters of the Sound was a perfect complement to all the glitter inside, Jasper thought. He wondered if the effect had been ordered up by Light Fantastic especially for the Silver Galaxy Foods Night event. If anyone could talk the supplier of moonlight into putting on a show, it would be Olivia.

Lord, he was waxing poetic, he thought, chagrined. Maybe he should have switched to the spring water earlier in the evening.

Only the barest hint of a wake disturbed the water
down below. There was a small background shudder from the engines. The
Private Island
was barely moving. The captain was conserving fuel. It was not as though they had a destination, Jasper thought. A party cruise to nowhere.

He felt the small shiver that went through Olivia's arm. It occurred to him that her gown offered little protection against the chill of the night air. He took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

She looked at him with a small frown. “You'll be cold.”

“I'm fine.” He put both hands on the teak rail and gazed out at the moonlit water. “You'd better tell me about it.”

She stood tensely beside him. “I got another message from the blackmailer.”

“Shit.” The last vestige of his poetic mood disintegrated. “Where? How?”

“It was shoved under the door of my cabin sometime this evening.”

Jasper absorbed the implications of that single statement. “What did it say?”

“Just that the price would be a thousand dollars and that instructions for the first payment would come soon.”

He thought quickly. “We won't tell your aunt that there's been another demand. Not yet, at any rate. She'll panic.”

“You don't understand, Jasper.”

“What do you mean? You just said the blackmailer had contacted you with his new demands.”

“He did not contact me to tell me what Zara must
pay for his silence regarding her secret.” Olivia's eyes were deep in shadow. “The note I got demands money for keeping
my
secret.”

A quiet rage unfurled inside him. He said nothing while he dealt with it.

“Do you realize what this means?” Olivia whispered. “The blackmailer is on board the
Private Island
tonight. He's here, somewhere, walking around on this boat.”