Double Dealing (39 page)

“You can do the dishes, Eric. I’ve got to get ready.”

“Hey, Gabe…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Eric said very seriously. “She’s a
good one to have in your corner sometimes. I know she’s kind of small and she’s
a female and all, but she’ll go to the wall for you now, believe me.”

Gabriel groaned. “I do not particularly want her up against
the wall! I’m trying to make s-s-sure s-she’s going to be safe in the future,
not-out in the line of fire,
goddam
it!”

“She’s just as anxious to protect you,” Eric explained, trying
to pacify the older man.

“We shall probably strangle each other in the process!” Gabriel
exploded and stalked out of the kitchen. But he knew he wasn’t going to keep
Samantha off that plane to Miami, and other than the fact that the scene with Buchanan
was liable to be vicious, there was no real reason to forcibly prevent her from
being present, and he knew it. She was his business partner, as she had been
reminding him all morning, and she had a right to be in at the kill.

He just hoped she wouldn’t faint at the sight of blood, he
told himself furiously. Then he remembered how she’d sunk that little paring
knife into
Tony’s
arm that night Kirby’s men had
intruded. No, she wasn’t likely to faint at the sight of blood. Damned
amazon
.

Samantha had almost forgotten the bright glare and the
pervasive warmth of Miami. It inundated her as soon as she and Gabriel got off
the plane and it followed them into the cab. The cab’s air conditioner was not sufficient
to deal with the humidity, and by the time the Buchanan building came in sight
on a palm-lined street, Samantha’s turquoise blouse was starting to stick to
her body. She didn’t think it was noticeable beneath the summer white suit she
was wearing. It had been a long time since she’d dressed like this, she
reflected as Gabriel escorted her into the lobby of the building. Her hair was
pinned neatly at the nape of her neck, her suit was elegantly tailored, and her
expensive leather pumps added an extra two inches to her height. Even Gabriel had
felt obliged to comment on the outfit.

“Hell, lady, you’re rather formidable in your battle dress,
aren’t you?” he’d growled as he’d driven to the airport in Seattle. “I hadn’t
realized how very professional you could look.”

“This is the way I had planned to look for our first meeting
at the spa,” she retorted. “It’s not my fault that the first time you saw me I
was only wearing a towel!”

That drew a reluctant smile from him. The first smile he’d
managed all morning. “Personally, I s-s-shall always have some fond memories of
that first meeting.”

“I’ll bet if I’d been wearing this suit instead of that massage
table, you’d have had a much better impression of my business ability!”

“Maybe. But I’m pretty s-s-sure that I’d still have noticed
that cute little ass, suit and all.”

“Gabriel!”

The chiding humor which had sprung up briefly between them
on the drive to the airport, however, had vanished completely en route to
Miami. Gabriel was solid business by the time they reached the Buchanan building.

In spite of herself, Samantha found she was looking around
the steel and glass high-rise with a certain professional interest.

“Is this where you used to work?” Gabriel asked evenly,
seeing her attention to the building.

“No, it wasn’t completed by the time I left Miami. I was the
one in charge of getting the land, though. Used to be an old three-story
apartment building on this spot. A lot of the tenants didn’t want to move,” she
murmured, remembering. A lot of memories were crowding back, and she didn’t
particularly care for any of them.

“You had to kick the tenants out?” Gabriel asked perceptively,

“I managed to relocate each of them. It wasn’t easy.” She
sighed.

“I’m surprised Buchanan cared enough to worry about relocating
people.”

“Somehow I managed to prove it was a cost-effective procedure,”
Samantha explained dryly.

“Was it?”

“No. I scrambled the facts and figures a bit before I handed
in my final report. Lied through my teeth, to tell you the truth,” she admitted
ruefully. “But the papers got hold of the story, and they loved it. Buchanan came
out looking like a real corporate hero. Since then, as tenants have become more
informed about their rights, the procedure has become genuinely cost-effective
in many cases. Cheaper than going to court with each and every tenant you want
to remove.”

The elevator they were riding purred to a stop at the top
floor and opened with a hushed whisper. Across an expanse of plush silver
carpet a poised receptionist glanced up in polite inquiry.

“Miss Maitland and Gabriel Sinclair to see Mr. Buchanan,”
Gabriel murmured politely.

“Is he expecting you?”

“No, but I think he’ll see us.”

“If you’ll have a seat, I’ll check,” the woman began austerely,
only to be interrupted as a rather harried-looking young man emerged from the
inner office.

“Alice, can you get me Daniels down in Accounting? We’ve got
a problem with the paperwork on that damned restaurant in Phoenix,” he began
intently and then halted as Gabriel said evenly, “No rush, Alice. There are one
or two more problems which are going to crop up on that damned restaurant.”

“Who the hell are you?” Jeff Ingram demanded, frowning.

“Buchanan’s problems.” Gabriel smiled.

Ingram glanced from his face to Samantha’s. “Don’t tell me,”
he muttered. “I’ll bet you’re Samantha Maitland. And this is Sinclair, right?”

“How did you guess?” she said brightly.

Ingram closed his eyes in despair. “Never mind. Alice, call
me when these two have gone, will you? That is, if I’ve still got a job left.”
He left without a backward glance.

“Poor man,” Samantha said sympathetically. “How well I know
that look.”

Alice was already using the intercom to contact her boss.
She had been a secretary long enough to know when to delay and when not to
delay. Whoever these two were, they weren’t salespeople.

A moment later Samantha and Gabriel were ushered into Drew
Buchanan’s panoramic office. He looked up with mocking resignation as Samantha
dropped lightly into the seat across from him.

“Jesus, Sam. Aren’t I ever going to be rid of you?”

“You’ll be rid of me just as soon as we conclude negotiations
on the restaurant,” she informed him with a bland smile as Gabriel took the
chair beside her. “But there seems to be some question about the price. We thought
we’d come to Miami and clear it up in person.”

“You and I have already agreed on a price.” Buchanan leaned
back in his chair, eyes watchful.

“Unfortunately she neglected to consult me before agreeing
on that price,” Gabriel broke in placidly. “And since the two of us are
partners, it’s necessary that we both agree before signing any papers.”

“We’ve discussed the matter and decided that, under the
circumstances, we’re willing to be reasonable,” Samantha announced easily. “Four
hundred thousand is our final figure.”

“Like hell.”

“Take it or leave it, Buchanan.” Gabriel drawled.

Buchanan studied the other man’s quiet, unyielding features
for a moment and then switched his gaze to the one he perceived as the weaker
member of the “partnership.”

“Sam,” he said very softly. “You know I’ll go through with
it, don’t you? You worked for me long enough to know I don’t bluff.”

“Which was probably why I caved in so easily the other
morning when you called,” she responded smoothly. “I have since learned,
however, that you do bluff on occasion.”

“You think I won’t ruin him? And you, too, while I’m at it?”
Buchanan smiled with indulgent amusement.

“You can’t touch me without involving yourself,” Gabriel told
him. “That was something Samantha didn’t realize immediately. I will admit,
however, that you do have some potential for hurting her business at some point
in the future.”

“I’m glad you see that,” Drew responded coolly. “I was
counting on you figuring that out if she did go to you and tell you about my
little bluff. You’re absolutely right, Sinclair. I can crush her fledgling
little business with no more effort than it takes to swat a fly. Get in my way
one more time and I’ll do it. You know goddamn well do it!”

“Which brings us to the reason Gabriel and I are here in
person, Drew,” Samantha interrupted calmly. “As he has pointed out, you are an
armed and dangerous man. We’re here to disarm you so that we can all continue
to do business together with a certain amount of integrity.”

“Should I laugh now or later?”

“Save it for later,” Gabriel suggested. “Let us explain to
you exactly why Samantha and I now expect you to do business in good faith. I
think you’ll be interested.”

“You call holding me up for several hundred grand dealing in
good faith?”

“Come on, Buchanan, s-she outmaneuvered you. But s-she did
it by the book. There was no intimidation, no questionable business methods on
her part, no illegal moves. Samantha used good research and sound business sense
to corner you on that restaurant deal. Admit it. S-she’s good.” Gabriel didn’t
regret the stammer this time. Let Buchanan interpret it as weakness. It would set
him up for the fall.

“So tell me why I’m not going to be in a position to crush
her when this is all over,” Buchanan invited, his eyes on Samantha’s composed
face. Hell, both of them looked so damned sure of themselves this time, he thought
uneasily. What were they up to now?

“Because,” warned Samantha conversationally, “make one move
toward either of us, and we’ll make sure you never leave Miami for Washington,
D.C.
Its
that simple.”

Buchanan froze, but the cool smile on his lips stayed firmly
in place. “And just how would you go about stopping me?”

“With this.” Gabriel reached into the small case he had
brought with him and handed a set of papers across the desk. “Look familiar?”

Buchanan glanced down at the records of payoffs which went
back five years, and a cold sensation settled into the bottom of his stomach.
Who the hell had talked? Who knew all of these facts and figures? He had been
so careful. Only he knew where that information was stashed away in the computer.
Damn it, there was no one who could have talked! Not to this extent. No one
else knew this much. Only the computer… Jesus Christ. If this stuff got
into the papers, Galloway would desert him with no questions asked. It wasn’t
that Galloway’s methods had been any cleaner down through the years, but he’d
done a pretty fair job of hiding the bodies. He would expect any man he
sponsored to be equally good at hiding the remains.

Samantha read the still, shuttered expression on her ex-boss’s
face with the unerring accuracy of someone who had once worked for the man. The
accuracy of a woman who had once believed herself in love with him. Drew knew
he was beaten.

“It goes into a safety-deposit box, Drew,” she said quietly.

He looked up, eyes savage and frustrated. “You really think
you’d have the guts to use this stuff? Come on, Sam. I know you too well.”

She smiled at him, and Gabriel, who was intently watching
her face, saw the
amazon
make her appearance. He had
been about to interrupt, but the sight of that smile made him close his teeth
around the words. There were times when his woman could definitely take care of
herself

“A man like you has a tendency to mistake principles in an
opponent for weakness,” Samantha commented musingly. “A mistake that can be
quite costly at times.” She paused. “Quite frankly, smearing your name across the
Miami papers wouldn’t faze me in the least.”

Buchanan stared at her, frustrated fury beginning to fray
the edges of his outward calm. Who the hell did these two think they were to
get in the way of Drew Buchanan. “I’ve worked long and hard to get where I’m going,
Sam,” he hissed. “Do you think let you stop me?”

“I’m not trying to stop you,” she said with a little laugh. “Just
trim your sails a bit. Free-ranging capitalists sometimes need a few controls placed
on them, just like my mother once said.”

Buchanan shot to his feet, eyes blazing. “Six months from
now you won’t have Sinclair to protect you, Sam!”

“Gabriel will be around six months from now,” Samantha
announced calmly, aware of Gabriel’s small, certain smile. “The partnership
will exist six years from now. It will exist indefinitely. It’s for life.”

“And what if something happens to your precious partner,
Sam? What if something very unpleasant happens to him? I’ve got friends, bitch.
Friends who will handle little matters like getting rid of people who are in
the way!”

Samantha blinked, appalled in spite of herself. Murder? Was
Drew Buchanan actually talking about murder? He was enraged, she realized. More
frustrated and enraged than she had ever seen him. A small chill went down her
spine, and then Gabriel was calmly interrupting.

“Now, now, Buchanan. First of all, if you haven’t learned by
now, the lady can take care of herself. However, just in case your temper has
gotten the better of you, it might be a good idea to consider that a couple of
other people will know the location of the safety-deposit box which will
contain copies of the information we have on you.”

After a moment of deafening silence Samantha said, “I think
we’ve cleared up all the loose ends.” She rose to her feet, preparing to leave,
as Gabriel quietly rose to stand beside her. “Try to block us again, Drew, and I’ll
use that information to destroy you without a second thought. Shall we go,
Gabriel?”

White-faced with impotent rage, Buchanan stared at his
uninvited visitors. “You bastards.”

Gabriel sighed. “And here Samantha made me promise I’d try
to keep the language above the level of the locker room. Sorry, darling.”