High-Society Seduction (14 page)

She smiled as she came toward him. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Long enough,” was the curt reply.

She looked at his set face, and her smile slipped. Perhaps she’d heard wrong? It could have merely been the acoustics here in the hallway. Or maybe something else had cropped up with his friends?

She smiled again. A smaller one this time. “I didn’t know you were coming. I’ve been out to dinner.”

His mouth tightened, but up closer she could see something flicker in eyes that had a definite hardness to them. “Just open the door,” he said in a clipped tone.

She did.

Something was seriously wrong. Was he angry because she hadn’t been home waiting for his arrival? That made her even angrier with herself now for hurrying home. She wasn’t going to pander to him, she decided, going over and putting her handbag on the couch.

“So, what’s up?” She angled her chin as she turned to face him. She might be his mistress, but she wasn’t about to take the brunt of his bad mood.

“You are,” he snapped. “You’re a real piece of work, lady.”

Air rushed into her lungs. “Wh-what do you mean?”

His top lip curled. “So innocent. You play the part well.”

She stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

“Remember how I met with that business acquaintance last Saturday?”

“Yes.”

“It was about the money.”

A light dimmed inside her. He’d said his appointment was business, and she supposed it was…but to not mention it had been about the money was deceiving.

She drew herself up. “Tell me.”

“That guy had been through everything and checked everywhere to see if your brother had given Liam any money. Up until last Saturday there was still no trace of any transaction, but we decided to keep on trying. By this afternoon he’d exhausted all avenues and concluded no such transaction had ever taken place.”

Her brain stumbled. “That can’t be,” she whispered.

“Can’t it?”

She thought for a moment, then something occurred to her. “Just because you found nothing doesn’t prove a thing.”

“No, but I found out something very interesting in the meantime. Your brother has a gambling problem.”

She could only blink. Her mouth tried to work but wouldn’t.

His lips twisted. “You’re surprised? Or surprised that I know?”

“Wh-what?”

“You and your brother have been caught out, Jenna. Admit it. Your brother lost the money gambling, and you both concocted this scheme to get me to give you money so that he can put it back in his bank account for the mortgage. It was brilliant. A dead man can’t talk, can he? Liam can’t deny the charges and I can’t prove conclusively that the money
didn’t
change hands. Not yet anyway.”

She was trying to get her head around this. He was saying that Stewart had gambled the money away and hadn’t given any money to Liam to invest at all? That he had made up all this to get the grief-stricken Roth family to replace the money? And worst of all that
she’d
planned this with her brother?

“You’re not serious,” was all she could manage.

“Dead serious, my sweet.”

And he was.

She shook her head. “Apart from knowing I’ve done nothing wrong, I don’t believe what you’re saying about Stewart. You’re just trying to get out of paying. You’re making it all up.”

He ripped some papers from his jacket pocket and thrust them at her. “I have it all in writing. Read it and see. You can’t dispute it.”

Her hands shook as she took the paperwork and began to read. She could feel the blood drain from every cell in her body. It was all there in black and white.

“Your brother has been gambling under an assumed name so that no one would trace it back to him. He’s been living another life. Stewart Branson is as clean as a whistle and that’s why it took so long to discover this.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe it,” she muttered, more to try and convince herself that the paperwork in front of her was a bunch of lies. How could it
not
be?

“I’m sure,” he said sarcastically. “Hell, you probably increased the amount and asked for more money than he needed, intending to put the money back in his account
and
pay off this fancy new apartment you’ve bought yourself.”

That last bit brought her up short. “I took out a mortgage on this apartment.” She was proud of buying this place from her earnings. It was all aboveboard and honestly earned.

“Which you could still have paid off early and no one would be the wiser.” A second ticked by. “You’ve been caught out, Jenna. Admit it.”

How could she admit to something she hadn’t done?

“What if I told you I didn’t know anything about Stewart’s gambling? What if I believed he was telling me the truth?”

“I’d say you were lying.”

“You
want
to believe that, Adam.”

“No, I
have
to believe it. This scam is serious business. Three hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

“I don’t want any money that doesn’t belong to Stewart, Adam.”

“You’ve suddenly found some principles, have you?”

“Obviously you’ll think what you want.” She steadied her breathing, then considered him. “You believe I lied to you, but you lied to me too, Adam.”

That brought him up short. “When?”

“When I asked you last night you said you didn’t know anything further about the money. You didn’t mention what the appointment last Saturday was about, nor that there were further questions about not being able to trace anything.”

Nothing on his face relented. “Rule Number One. Don’t tell your enemy your game plan.”

Hurt sliced through her. “So I’m your enemy now, am I?”

“Were you ever anything else?”

She gave a soft gasp. “Thanks very much.”

For a split second he looked pained, then he glared at her. “You used me, Jenna. You used me to try and get money out of me to help your brother, and probably some for yourself, as well. So don’t try and make it sound like
I’m
the one who did anything wrong.”

This man in front of her was a stranger, his face hard, his eyes like steel. He wasn’t about to relent. He was totally convinced of Stewart’s guilt.

Of
her
guilt.

“Are you going to the police about this?” she asked, not in fear for herself, but for Stewart. If he really did have a gambling problem…if she’d inadvertently made demands of Adam Roth on his behalf…where would it lead?

A light of triumph entered his eyes. He thought she was guilty and running scared. He gave a sharp shake of his head. “No, I want to spare my family any further pain.”

Her shoulders sagged with relief.

“But if I’m pushed, then I
will
go to the police,” he warned. “Don’t doubt that. So I suggest your brother gets some help. He’s been dealing with some unsavory types and next time he may not be able to pay them off. If he lands in debt with them again, they’ll no doubt sort him out.”

“Oh, my God.” Her voice quavered from deep inside. This was getting worse every minute. It sounded as if Stewart’s life could be in danger in future.

There was a pause, and Adam almost looked sorry for her. “He needs help with his addiction, Jenna.”

“I know,” she murmured, finally admitting out loud that it must be true about Stewart.

“And you need help, too. You can’t go around conning money from people.”

She thrust out her chin. “I only wanted repaid what I thought belonged to Stewart.”

“So you say,” he mocked. “By the way, I said I’d merely look into the money. I didn’t say I’d pay it back. Ever.” A vein pulsed near his temple. “I owe you nothing.”

“And I don’t know you at all, do I?”

“No, you don’t.” He twisted away and slammed out the door.

Jenna sank onto the couch, a sense of pain so intense, so acute she could feel it like a very real punch in her heart. And there was only one reason for it. For the first time she knew.

She loved Adam Roth.

God, what a fool he’d been. He’d actually thought she was like his mother and Cassandra. He’d actually thought Jenna had integrity, even if it had been misplaced with her brother.

He’d been wrong.

Totally.

It would never happen again, he decided, hardening what was left of his pride. No woman was ever going to get the slightest chance to make a fool of him again. He was a playboy through and through, and that’s the way it was going to stay.

And whenever he thought of Jenna Branson in the future, he’d imagine a mere notch on his bedpost…even if it killed him.

And then there was Stewart.

No wonder her brother had told her to let things be when she’d first suggested approaching the Roths. He’d known he hadn’t given Liam Roth any money. How fortuitous for him that Liam’s funeral had been on the television the day he’d come to her apartment. It had given him the excuse he’d needed to justify both his wan appearance and his newly increased mortgage. He’d put on a thoroughly convincing act.

The only good thing now was that Stewart must have used the mortgage money to repay his gambling debts. Otherwise they’d be after him…perhaps even Vicki and the children. The thought made her feel sick.

God, Adam had been right that it would happen again if Stewart didn’t get help. Gambling was an addiction. She hadn’t had personal experience of it until now, and she wasn’t exactly sure what it all meant, but she suspected he wouldn’t be able to control it without some sort of outside assistance and support. Knowing Stewart, he probably wasn’t about to do that unless pushed.

Her mouth firmed with determination as she jumped to her feet and went to turn on her computer. Her brother was going to get one hell of an email from her right now. She wasn’t going to mention her affair, but she would tell him everything else that had occurred since the day she’d met Adam at the races. It seemed another lifetime ago now instead of mere weeks.

And then she wanted answers.

She did that, then changed into more comfortable clothes before making herself a cup of coffee. She waited. An hour later her telephone rang.

It was Stewart.

“Jenna, what the hell have you done?” he demanded down the line, sounding as if he was in the room with her and not in the Middle East.

She wished he was. She’d box his ears, as well as give him an earful. “Me? Good God, Stewart! You’re the one who lied and cheated. Why on earth did you concoct such a story?”

She heard him curse. “It would have been okay if you hadn’t confronted Adam Roth. I had it all worked out. I’ve made some money, and I was about to bank a lump sum, but now you’ve got us implicated in some sort of elaborate swindle.”

She couldn’t believe he was blaming
her.
“Maybe you should have been honest with me in the first place,” she said through gritted teeth.

“And what about Vicki?” he said, ignoring her comment. “Did you tell her anything about this? Is that how come she got her hands on the bank statement?” he demanded, his words telling her Vicki must have already emailed him tonight about him making it a joint account.

This so wasn’t fair.
She
was getting blamed from all angles. “The bank sent the quarterly statement to the house because
you
forgot all about it.”

There was a pause. “I can’t be expected to think of everything, you know.”

“Well, you should have preempted that and had the statement sent to the Middle East, or even to me. It’s fortunate for you that the account isn’t in joint names, or Vicki would be frantic by now. And no, she doesn’t know about any of this. I’ve only just found out myself.” And she wasn’t over the shock of it.

“You’re not going to tell her, are you?”

“No.
You
are.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jenna. It’s sorted out now. You said in your email that Roth wasn’t going to press charges. I’ll be making enough money over the next few months to put it all back on the mortgage. Vicki doesn’t need to hear about this. Let it rest.”

It was tempting to let things ride, but she knew she couldn’t do that to her brother. She loved him too much.

“You’re fooling yourself, Stewart. You’ve got a gambling addiction and it isn’t going away. Eventually you’ll get the urge to gamble again and who knows what will happen next time? Some of those people might decide to play dirty if you don’t pay up.”

He gave a hard laugh. “You’ve been watching too many gangster movies.”

“Have I?”

There was dead silence.

“It’ll be fine, Jenna,” he said tightly. “Trust me.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t. Next time you might lose the house. And you might lose Vicki and the girls. They deserve better.”

The words hung in the air.

He made a sound like a groan. “I can’t tell her, Jenna.”

“You don’t have a choice,” she pointed out, then heard herself say, “If you don’t tell her, then
I
will.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Yes, I would.” But surely he wouldn’t let her. When it all came down to it, if Vicki had to know, then he had to be the one to tell his wife.

“Okay, you win, sis.
You
do it.”

“Wh-what!” Jenna almost dropped the phone.

“Look, I’m thousands of miles away, and telling Vicki this in a phone call isn’t the way to go. You’re absolutely right that she deserves better. She deserves to hear this directly. If you do this, you can answer any questions she has and judge how she is taking it. I don’t want her to do anything silly.”

She blanched. He’d well and truly called her bluff…and yet she wasn’t beyond a bit of manipulation herself. “Okay, I’ll do it. But only if you promise to get help for your addiction as soon as you get home.” She took a moment to let that sink in. “And I’m going to tell Mum and Dad, as well.”

“You can’t do that!”

“They deserve to know, Stewart,” she said, making sure her tone held no nonsense. She wouldn’t relent on this. “I tell them as well, or I don’t say anything and I let
you
sort it out when you get back, and by then you’ll probably have Vicki frantic with worry. She might even hop on a plane and come and see you.”

He swore. “Okay. Do it.” He paused, then muttered, “I never knew you were such a hard person, sis.”

Not hard enough apparently, she decided as they finished the call and hung up. A thank-you would have been nice.