Guilty Pleasures (10 page)

Eva grinned. “See you in twenty minutes. I'm leaving now.”

“I'm ready.”

Eva turned off her computer, snatched up her purse, and darted out.

“Tara, I need to run out for a couple of hours. If any emergencies come up, call me on my cell.”

“Where are you going
Sebastian may ask.”

“Tell him I had some errands to run, and I'll be back.”

Sebastian Long was the owner of the company, the only person she answered to. Sebastian was probably the best absentee employer that any employee could want. Not to mention a brilliant designer. She'd done her apprenticeship under him. However, he did have a habit of calling in or popping up unannounced. But for the most part, he left the running of the day-to-day office activities to Eva. He said he trusted her implicitly, and trust was something that Sebastian didn't hand over easily. Eight years earlier, he'd nearly lost everything he'd begun to build by trusting his then live-in girlfriend, Traci Jennings. Eva never liked her.

Eva'd been with Sebastian when he was working out of his apartment in Greenwich Village. When Traci came along, Sebastian lost all his good sense. Traci was pretty and evil, seeing Sebastian as her meal ticket. He'd let her handle the books and the ordering of materials. Then one day, the orders stopped being delivered, checks started bouncing, and Traci was gone. She'd emptied his bank account, ruined his credit and reputation among his vendors.

It took him more than three years to get back out into the world again. It was Eva who was there, convincing him that he was too talented to let that conniving bitch beat him into submission. Together they pieced the business back together one step at a time. Now they could compete on an even playing field with the best of them.

At the moment, he was in negotiations with an architect to work on designs for a new location. He was expanding the business. If Eva had her way, she would be heading up the new office in SoHo. She smiled.

Sebastian Long was tall, dark-haired, and handsome, with royal blue eyes that were no less than mesmerizing. If she were into white guys, she'd get it on with Sebastian in a heartbeat.

A big knot of guilt tightened in her belly. The last thing she wanted to do was screw over Sebastian. They'd been through so much together. Whatever she needed to do to protect the business and save her neck she would have to do. Somehow she'd find a way to make it all up to Sebastian.

In the meantime, she planned to release this hot flash of desire in the arms of her husband.

*   *   *

Jake walked out onto the sales floor. He could still smell Eva's scent even though she'd been gone for more than an hour. His insides continued to hum as if she strummed him like the strings of a guitar.

No one else could ever understand the chemistry between the two of them. It was beyond explanation. Sometimes the sheer power of it would leave him dazed, bewildered. He would do anything in the world for Eva. Anything. And after this was over, he swore they were out. They'd find someplace to live, start over, have a real life.

He adjusted his tie as he approached a potential buyer. Running a high-end dealership had pretty much fallen into Jake's lap. Having dropped out of school at an early age and running around with his brother Jinx, he had to find a way to make money. He hopped around from one mechanic's shop to the next, learning the trade, but most of all learning about cars—luxury cars, in particular. He could take an engine apart with his eyes closed and put it back together. He could rattle off a car's attributes and faults just by listening to the motor kick on. He got his first job at sales during the summer of his seventeenth birthday. He was working for a used-car dealer, and he sold more heaps in one month than the owner sold in a year. He knew he had the gift. Being mechanically inclined, he had plenty of opportunity to practice picking the locks of cars, for starters. He worked his way up to doors, safes, alarm systems. There wasn't a security barrier that he couldn't crack. If he couldn't talk his way through a door, he simply broke in—carefully, of course.

“Nice-looking car.” He walked up to the middle-aged gentleman.

“I was looking for something for my wife.”

Jake relaxed his stance, put on his best smile. “Why don't you tell me a little bit about your wife, and I guarantee I can find the perfect car for her.” He patted him on the shoulder and lowered his voice. “And she'll love you for it.”

A little more than an hour later, Jake completed the paperwork on a red Mercedes-Benz convertible, two-seater, black leather interior, fully loaded, sleek and sexy. Jake grinned. From what the buyer told him about his wife, he had her beat in age by at least fifteen years. He wanted to keep her happy. That little baby would keep a smile on her face for months.

He filed the paperwork away after confirming with the warehouse that the car would be ready for delivery in seven business days.

Jake reached for the cold cup of coffee on his desk when his cell phone rang.

He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. It was Jinx.

“She's for real.”

Jake drew in a breath. “Then it's a go.”

“Later, bro.”

“Yeah, later.”

Jake slid the phone back into his pocket, looked pensively out the window. This was the most dangerous, complex sting they'd ever attempted. Nothing could be left to chance. They all had to walk away from this clean. He'd made a promise to his wife that he intended to keep, and not from behind bars.

Now that Lenora Ingram's identity had been confirmed, they were on the clock. He pulled out his cell and called Eva on hers, telling her about Jinx's confirmation.

“Fine. I already got things going on this end. Barring any holdups, the delivery should be here in the next two to three days.”

“Great. What about Rita
”

“I'll give her a call as soon as I get off with you.”

Jake puffed out a breath. “Babe, I'm really sorry about this. I should have listened to you.”

“Hmmm, you should have, but we won't dwell on it,” she said with a hint of humor in her voice. “Hey, there is no way you could have known, and neither could I. I went over everything in my head a zillion times, Jake, and there's nothing I would have done differently.”

“All we can do this time out is make sure there are no mistakes. There are too many moving parts.”

“Exactly.”

“I'll see you at home. I should be in around six.”

Eva listened to sewing machines, the barked out instructions, and the grunts of complaints coming from the design floor; then she picked out Sebastian's voice above the fray. “I may have to pull a late one, but I'll get in as soon as I can.”

“I'll keep dinner warm.”

“Thanks I—” She glanced up. Sebastian was standing in the doorway. “Gotta go, hon.” She hung up. “Bass.” She stood and came around her desk to greet him in a warm hug. “I didn't expect you today.”

Sebastian kissed her on the cheek. “That's one of the perks of being the boss.” He held her at arm's length. “You look tired. I've told you a million times to keep those legs of yours closed and get some rest at night.” He chuckled at their private joke.

She cocked her head to the side and made a face. “Thanks, Bass.” She poked him in the ribs.

“Honesty between friends. That's our motto.” He let her go and stepped around her, took a seat on the small sofa in the corner of her office. “So bring me up to date. It looks like Armageddon out there.”

Eva laughed. “It's not that bad. You know things are always crazy this time of year.” She plopped down next to him, patted his thigh. “How are things with you
How did it go with the architect
”

He tapped out a cigarette from his pack, put it between his lips, but didn't light up. He'd quit six months earlier, and this was all part of his rehab, he'd said. “Hmmm, I wish I could say things went well.”

“They didn't
”

“The kind of money he wants, I'll never get the space built in my lifetime.”

“Go with someone else.”

“I don't have much of a choice. I've already signed a lease for the space for ten years.” He ran his hand over his face. “I'll figure something out. I'm going to have to rearrange some funds, cut back on a few things to make it happen.”

Eva's insides jerked. “Cut back
 … Uh, now
We're right in the middle of preparing for Fashion Week.” She kept her expression even.