Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set (246 page)

“Yes, Mila, of course I remember. And I have no doubts that you’ll be able to grasp what I am about to tell you.”

“Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it,” Mila said flatly.

The matter-of-factness of Mila’s voice reminded David why he was so crazy about her. Mila might be one hot babe, but when it came to her brains she was more rational than any man. He could trust her.

“There are two business associates of mine who are about to supply me with very valuable information,” David began…

About twenty minutes later, after he had finished his story, David searched Mila’s face for signs of condemnation as he waited for her reply.

“Not to worry, David. Your information will be safe with me,” Mila said simply.

“I knew it would be,” he said, kissing her hand. “And when this is all over, we’ll be able to go anywhere we want. Anywhere in the world—pick a destination and that’s where we’ll go.”

“With you is the only place I ever want to be.”

He had expected her to shriek with delight, sputtering out places like Paris, London, or Milan. Instead, her steadfast response nearly brought him to tears. This was a woman he would get the moon and the stars for.

“Mila, I promise you that once this deal is done, I’m going to marry you.”

At eight o’clock sharp, David Muller approached the entrance to Keens steakhouse. Freshly showered and clad in his Zegna suit, he felt on top of the world. Finally, the deal he had been working on ever since his beneficial but highly onerous association with Finnegan began, was about to come to fruition.

“Good evening. I am here for the Smith party.” David barely resisted a smirk at Finnegan’s alias. One would think that a man occupying the position of the state attorney general should be a touch more inventive, but apparently Finnegan’s imagination ran thin. At least he varied his aliases.

The host nodded understandingly. “Of course.”

A few moments later, David was ushered into Finnegan’s favorite dining room.

Finnegan and Magee were already seated behind the table. In his usual fashion, Finnegan had already tucked a napkin into his shirt collar. He had taken off his suit jacket and hung it on the back of his chair, exposing the sweat spots under his arms.

“David, there you are!” Finnegan heaved his ginormous frame to his feet and extended his hand to David. The buttons on his shirt looked like they were about to pop off from the sudden movement.

“Good to you see, Cornelius.” David smiled. For once he was being honest, for tonight even Finnegan’s repulsive appearance was not enough to dampen his excitement about their meeting.

“David,” Magee greeted him laconically.

“Hello, Kevan,” David nodded back.

“Sit down, sit down.” Finnegan slapped the back of the chair next to him.

David did as he was told. His eyes darted from Finnegan to Magee in turn as he tried to rein in his anticipation. Come on, get on with it! He wanted to shout at the two idiots sitting on either side of him, but he knew better.

Finnegan cracked his knuckles. “Let’s get some chow first, and then we’ll talk.” He motioned to the waiter who had been hovering by the door. “We’ll have steak for six, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach. Oh, and a bottle of 18-year-old Macallan. And we’ll have smoked bacon to start with.”

David resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose. As if Finnegan needed to fatten up his ginormous belly any further, but then David was not here to supervise Finnegan’s diet. Come to think of, Finnegan dropping dead from a coronary would be a welcome outcome of events.

While they waited for their food, David raked his mind for possible conversation topics. It was not as though he had much in common with either Finnegan or Magee. David had tried his best to make both men like him, and while he was fairly certain about Finnegan’s favorable disposition toward him, David was not so sure about Magee—that one was a slippery sucker.

“So, David, when’s the wedding?” Finnegan’s tiny eyes glistened. “You’re not going to leave Aileen in the lurch, are you? The poor girl’s got her panties in a knot over you.”

David felt his stomach turn. How about never, he was tempted to answer, but instead he said, “Oh, no, sir. Aileen is the love of my life. I just want to make sure that everything is settled before we tie the knot.”

Finnegan patted his belly. “That’s what I liked to hear. It’s going to be a glorious wedding, and you don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll pay for everything.”

There was a knock on the door, and a waiter bearing a bottle of Macallan entered the room.

“Go on, pour it out,” Finnegan instructed. “Leave the bottle here,” he added after the waiter finished pouring the drinks.

A second waiter walked into the room. He was carrying a plate of steaming bacon. “Bring it over here,” Finnegan demanded, watching closely as the waiter heaved a giant serving onto Finnegan’s plate.

Magee’s turn was next.

The waiter approached David, and the greasy smell wafted over David’s nostrils. He contemplating declining, but after catching Finnegan’s watchful eyes, knew better. There were men who bonded through drinking and whoring in strip clubs; Finnegan was the kind of man who bonded through eating.

Sensing Finnegan’s eyes upon him, David cut off a large slice of bacon and shoved it into his mouth. He closed his eyes to prevent himself from vomiting. “Delicious,” he said after the slippery, greasy substance had made its way down his throat.

“Simply the best,” Finnegan confirmed. “How do you like it, Kevan?”

“Very nice indeed,” agreed Magee, while his bony hands dragged the knife over the meat on his plate.

“I tell you, there’s nothing like a good slice of bacon. Now, while we wait for that steak, let’s have a drink.” Finnegan raised his glass. “To joint success.”

“To joint success.” David lifted his glass to his lips and emptied it.

* * *

At the sound of the doorbell, Janet jumped up from the couch and headed for the door. Baxter followed suit and raced after her.

Without asking who it was, Janet flung open the door. Sure enough, Dennis Walker was standing in front of her. He was holding a box of pizza and a six pack of beer.

“Don’t you ask who it is before you open the door?” Dennis asked, making his way inside her apartment.

Before Janet could answer, Baxter pushed by her and started pawing at Dennis’s leg, barking excitedly.

“He remembers me,” Dennis observed with a note of smug satisfaction.

“I think it’s the pizza smell that’s getting him excited,” Janet countered, snatching the pizza box from Dennis.

“Don’t forget the beer.” Dennis handed her the six pack. “It’s going to be a long night, and the last thing we want is warm beer.”

Janet took the six pack from Dennis and headed into the kitchen. She placed the pizza box on the counter, took two bottles of beer and placed the rest of the beer into the fridge. She reached for plates and rolled her eyes: this was going to be a long night indeed.

Janet brought the pizza into the living room and saw that Dennis was busy tinkering with a gadget in his hands. “It’s the transmitter for the bug,” Dennis explained.

“Is it working?” Janet asked as she placed the food on the reading table.

Dennis adjusted the controls, and distant human voices erupted from the speaker. “It is now. Can you recognize Muller’s voice?”

Janet recognized Muller’s cocky inflection emanating through the receiver. “Yes, that’s him all right!” she exclaimed, straining her ears to make sense of the conversation that was taking place on the other end of the transmitter.

“Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for the evidence to glide right into our hands.” Dennis took a bite of pizza and chewed it with relish.

Janet resisted the urge to smack the man. “It would also help if we could actually make out what they are saying,” she added pointedly.

“Let them settle in first. They are just shooting the breeze for now.” Dennis took a swallow of his beer. He handed Janet her beer. “Here, let’s toast to success.”

“I don’t want to jinx it.” Janet took the beer bottle from Dennis’s hand and placed it on the table. “And I don’t drink on the job,” she added because that was all it was—a job. Even though it was Saturday night, and a handsome man was sprawled out on her couch, drinking beer, he was nothing more than a colleague. A colleague who also happened to kiss her earlier but, as Dennis had made clear, that too had been part of the job, and Janet had no intention of disappointing him.

“Fine, be boring.” Dennis shrugged, reaching for the beer. “I on the other hand think that there’s nothing wrong with combining business with a little bit of pleasure.”

Maybe it was the tone of Dennis’s voice, or maybe it was the way his lithe, muscular body lay stretched out on Janet’s couch only a few inches away from her, but she felt her face growing hot. Actually, she sensed her entire body temperature rising. This will not do, Janet thought, this will not do at all. There she was, on the brink of closing what could easily turn out to be the biggest case of her career, and all she could think about was the tantalizing scent of Dennis’s cologne and the sexy, although admittedly smug, smile on his face. She forced herself not to think about the glint in his blue eyes, the faint stubble on his cheeks, and the hollow of his throat that, along with a bit of clavicle bone, was peeking through the open collar of his shirt.

“I am not boring!” Janet snapped, still struggling to tame her disheveled thoughts. “I am professional.”

“Hang on a second.” Dennis raised his hand. “I think it’s starting.”

Janet focused her attention on the words coming from the transmitter. “We’ll have steak for six, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach. Oh, and a bottle of 18-year-old Macallan. And we’ll have smoked bacon to start with.”

Dennis whistled. “18-year-old Macallan. Someone’s got expensive taste.”

“Shhhh,” Janet hissed. “We’ll miss the whole thing.”

They listened intently for a few more minutes, but the conversation did not mention anything of substance. “I think we can relax for now,” said Dennis. “It sounds like Finnegan won’t be ready to talk business until he’s stuffed his gut.”

Janet wrinkled her nose. “Steak for six for four people. Can you imagine?”

“And I wouldn’t be surprised if Finnegan ended up eating most of it. He sounds like a man with a big appetite.”

“That figures,” Janet nodded.

For the next half an hour, Janet and Dennis ate pizza and nursed their beers while listening to Finnegan, Magee, and Muller indulge in their prime steak and 18-year-old Macallan. Finally, there was a sound of plates being carried away and coffee being brought in. “I bet it’s going to start now.” Dennis leaned closer to the transmitter.

Janet followed his cue, but she leaned in too quickly, brushing her knee against Dennis’s. “Sorry,” she blushed.

Dennis did not have time to accept her apology because at this very moment they heard Finnegan’s voice coming through the transmitter. “Gentlemen, I think now would be a good time for us to talk about why we gathered here tonight. As you know, I always enjoy your company, but I believe that tonight Kevan has some very interesting news that will make this gathering even more pleasant than it already is.”

A screeching voice that Janet and Dennis had identified as Kevan Magee’s carried through the transmitter. “Thank you, Cornelius. Yes, indeed, I do have some important news that could be very profitable for us all.” Magee coughed. “But before we proceed, I would like to stress the importance of absolute discretion. We have to be very careful in our conduct—”

“Yes, Kevan, we understand that,” Finnegan interjected. “That’s why we have David here. He’s a pro at what he does.”

“I just want to make sure that David here does not get us into the same mess that he went through when he ran Emperial.”

“With all due respect—” Muller began.

“Calm down, David,” Finnegan’s voice boomed. “Kevan, I know you’re worried, but that whole Emperial / Bostoff Securities mess happened before I knew David, and trust me, I’ve made sure that those snoops over at the Treasury have been muzzled. Nobody is going to mess in David’s affairs now.”

“Very well. The instructions are in this envelope,” said Magee. “David, please review them once you get home.”

“Give it to me,” Finnegan snapped with irritation. “Really, Kevan, what do you think this is, some crazy thriller movie?” There was the sound of paper being torn. “Ah, so we have our winners. Rover Enterprises is to acquire Valley Metals. David, I think you know what to do next. The acquisition decision will be announced Tuesday at noon, so be sure to act before then.”

“You can be sure of that, Cornelius. The payment will be delivered to the accounts that I have previously indicated. Same goes for you, Kevan.”

“Thank you, David,” Magee droned. “I suppose this concludes our meeting.”

“Not before we drink to our success,” said Finnegan.

There was a sound of clinking glasses, and the next thing Janet knew, Dennis’s face was only a few inches away from hers, and then he was kissing her with the same deep passion she remembered from a few hours ago.

“Shouldn’t we listen until it’s over?” she murmured.

“It is over. Besides, it’s all being recorded,” Dennis whispered as his lips travelled up Janet’s neck. “Finnegan should have listened to his friend Magee.” Dennis nibbled Janet’s earlobe. “Now we’ve got them all by their balls.”

“Yes.” Janet barely contained a groan. “We should tell Laskin to run market watch reports on Rover and Valley Metals.”

“I’m already on top of that.” Dennis began to undo the buttons of Janet’s shirt. “We’ll call him tomorrow morning.”

This was hardly erotic talk, but Janet felt a jolt of ecstasy rushing through her. Dennis Walker was in her apartment, about to make love to her, and he was going to stay until the morning. She had wanted this for so long that she thought it would never happen, and now that it was happening she could scarcely believe it was true. There was no need for false modesty. She wanted him right there and now. She had waited long enough, and she was not going to wait a moment longer.