Penthouse Suite (16 page)

“Hello, darling. I’ve waited all day for this.” Smoky eyes gazed at her hungrily before possessive lips captured her mouth with such passion that she moaned.

“Max,” Kate finally whispered, gulping in a breath of air, “you’re overwhelming. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. You’re making me crazy.” She unwound herself with weak-kneed uncertainty and moved to the balcony rail.

“You’re coming to me, exactly where you should be, Kate,” Max whispered, standing directly behind her. He reached out and circled her body, folding his arms beneath her breasts. She could feel the steady thud of his heart against her back and his breath against her hair.

“We have to talk, Max. I’ve made up my mind not to fight you anymore. I do want you. I don’t know how this will work out, but if you trust me to fit in. I’ll trust you to be right.”

“Trust. That’s an odd word to choose, Kate. I’ve never trusted a woman before. But I’m opening myself up to you, unequivocally. Be gentle, darling.
I’m fragile.” He nuzzled her ear. “Want to tell me why I have a basket of lemons in my entrance hall? I thought nectarines were the fruit of the gods.”

Hands that had been content to hold now cupped her breasts, which peaked in immediate response. Max murmured in her hair and pressed his body against her, and Kate knew that she was lost.

“Nectarines? Only on Mount Olympus,” she said with a moan and pressed her body wickedly against the man holding her.

Max gasped and continued to caress her breasts while his lips drew little circles on her shoulder and the back of her neck. Finally he drew back and said in a ragged voice, “As much as I want you, we have to leave now. We’re expected at Red Garden’s party in half an hour, and I have to be there.”

His hands slid reluctantly from her throbbing breasts, and Kate took a deep breath before turning to face Max. She wanted to say something to let him know how she felt, but she couldn’t. Not yet sure enough of her feelings, she walked away and he followed, not talking, not touching.

Max paused at the elevator, lifted Kate’s hand, and lightly kissed her fingertips. “I dare not touch you again, Kate, though I want to kiss every part of you. I just want you to know that later, when we return, we have some serious decisions to make. And this time we aren’t parting in the courtyard.”

“Yes.” Kate’s voice had tightened so that a simple yes was all she could manage. The sound of the elevator door opening broke the intense silence. Max moved inside and turned to her expectantly. Kate reached down and picked up one lemon
from the basket. She dropped it in her purse and stepped into the elevator and Max’s waiting arms.

“Where are we going?” she managed to ask.

“We’re going to meet the man who’s buying the Showboat. The Showboat is the first piece of property that the Association has lost to an outsider.”

Kate kept silent, waiting for him to continue. She knew he was disturbed about the sale. It would be like Max to assume full responsibility for the loss. She already knew how he feared for the purity of the strip.

“The buyer seemed to know exactly how we operate and how far we were able to go. Of course, the committee knew that we’d lose one sooner or later, but this man paid just enough more than we could afford to bid. There’s something wrong about the timing and how he worked it all out.”

“Maybe he’s just a good businessman,” Kate commented.

“Maybe, but the entire deal has been much too smooth for that. Still, the papers aren’t actually final yet. The mortgage holder has to agree. But that’s purely a formality. Red already has his check, pending approval by the lender. I guess that I feel as though some piece of the puzzle is missing, and I’m afraid that the failure might be my fault.”

“You mean because of me?”

“You? Certainly not. Why would you think that?”

“You said you couldn’t concentrate because you were …” her voice trailed off.

“Believe me, Kate, you had nothing to do with this. The man was just better prepared than we’d expected.”

The Showboat loomed up before them like a Mississippi River boat, all brick red, gold, and
lacy white. It was breathtaking. Kate couldn’t hold back a gasp.

“It’s something to see, isn’t it? That’s another thing that bothers me. Everybody knows that Red has no taste. Who would buy something that looks like a million-dollar brothel?” Max stopped the car and handed over the keys to the attendant.

“Well, it is very different,” Kate agreed. The glass walls and rich velvet decor made her uneasy somehow, and she patted the lemon in her bag comfortingly as they walked through the lobby and took the elevator to the penthouse suite.

“We were just about to give up on you, Max.” A bald, portly man with a huge unlit cigar said as he came toward them. “The others are in the library.”

“I was unavoidably detained,” Max answered with a serious face and a side wink for Kate. “Kate, this is Red Garden. Red, Kate.”

Red nodded to Kate and continued to move toward an open doorway in the back of the room. “I’d like you to meet the new hotel owner, Max, and then stick around later for dinner.”

Red stopped at the door, looked at Kate, and back at the party guests clustered around the bar. “Perhaps you’d like me to introduce your lady to some of the others while you go on in.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Kate said. “I see Matthew Blue heading this way. I’ll talk with him until you’re free.”

Max released Kate reluctantly, touching his lips to her cheek gently. “This won’t take too long, darling.”

Matthew’s bushy hair was more unruly than the first time Kate had seen him. She was glad to
see his friendly face, and his smile widened appreciably when Kate met him halfway.

“Matthew, I’m so glad you’re here.”

Behind Matthew, Kate saw a tall, striking woman bearing down on them with a directness that was definitely not indicative of cocktail party circulating. Smooth, fawn-color hair cascaded down a body elegantly encased in a bronze gown.

“So, you’re Kate. I’m Lucy Pierce,” the woman said with a half-knowing smirk. “You’re my replacement in the room at the top, I’ve been told. Fast work. But then, Max has always made it a point to look after his aunt’s protégées.”

“Oh, you’re Lucy. I’m so glad to meet you,” Kate said innocently. Lucy’s welcome was as genuine as a thirty-dollar bill, and they both knew it. “Did you come with Mrs. Jarrett?”

“Why, no. Actually, I’m turning in my resignation. I’ve accepted another job, more prestige, more money. A girl has to look after her future. You certainly know about that,” Lucy said sharply, quickly excusing herself when someone called from across the room.

Matt gave Kate’s elbow a squeeze. “Don’t let her get to you, Kate. Lucy Pierce is just blowing air bubbles. Max may have played around with her, but she’s not even in the running.”

“I know, Matthew,” Kate assured the dear man. And she did. Lucy was obviously accustomed to receiving the attention of every man around, and Kate could understand why.

“What will you have to drink, Kate?” Matthew and Kate walked across a gold and black Oriental rug and stood near the piano where a handsome young man with a faraway look in his eyes played blues tunes.

“Just fruit juice, thanks,” Kate said, glad to be somewhat isolated from the animated discussions taking place behind them. She knew that she was being observed discreetly, and the knowledge was disquieting.

As Matthew went to the bar, Kate looked at the guests. They were laughing, talking. Shades of J.R. and
Dallas
, she thought. The room was too bright and gay. Kate suddenly felt uncomfortable. Learning to fit in with Max’s friends might be more nerve-racking than she’d imagined. She glanced around and quietly slipped through the sliding glass doors and out onto the terrace. She’d be more comfortable facing them with Max at her side.

Standing in the darkness, she looked at the ground below. The hotel was built on a piece of land that jutted out into the Gulf. The riverboat design of the building set it apart from it’s neighbors.

Kate heard the terrace door opening behind her. “I’ll step out here for a smoke while you talk about it, gentlemen,” a masculine voice said, “but it won’t change anything. I’ve outbid you, and Red has my check.”

There was a sound of footsteps on the terracotta tile floor. A man moved through the shadows toward the corner where Kate was standing. He paused in a patch of light, pulled a silver cigarette case from his pocket, and snapped it open.

The scene was straight out of a Cary Grant movie. She watched, spellbound, as he touched a thin silver flame from an ebony lighter to the cigarette. A lazy puff of smoke floated across the air.

“Hello.” The man moved toward her, replacing
the cigarette case. “Fellow refugee from the lion’s den?”

“I suppose. It’s a bit loud in there.” Kate turned back to gaze at the sea.

“You prefer the solitude of the night? So do I.” He walked up beside her.

She didn’t answer.

“Are you one of Red Garden’s friends, or one of the Hotel Association ladies?”

“Neither. I’m here with … someone.” Kate didn’t know why it was so hard for her to say Max’s name.

“Too bad,” the stranger commented with just the right amount of despair in his voice. “I thought you might like to join me later, for a drink.”

“Thank you, but I think I’d better look for my friend.”

“Please don’t go on my account. After all, I’m the intruder. I promise I won’t annoy you any more.”

Behind them, inside the room, the piano player started to play a slow romantic tune.

“Quite a place, isn’t this?” The stranger turned his back to the Gulf, resting his elbows on the rail as he looked into the room. “Like something out of the Gay ’Nineties, complete with the madam.”

Madam? Kate followed his line of sight to Lucy Pierce glancing around with a look of irritation on her face. When she appeared to be heading in their direction, the stranger took Kate’s shoulder and pulled her back into the shadows. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to kidnap you. But that woman is someone we’re both better off avoiding.”

At that moment, Kate saw Max appear at Lucy’s side. Lucy was motioning toward the balcony, and anger flashed across Max’s face.

The sliding doors flew open, and Max crossed the terrace in four steps, jerking Kate away from the startled man at her side.

“Kate, how could you bring the very thing I’ve fought hardest against right into my own hotel? Dorothea was right. You’ve been working for
Maverick
magazine all along.”

“That’s absurd. I don’t know anything about
Maverick
magazine? I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is that your editor, J.M. Houston, is the mysterious buyer, Kate. And I find you standing out here in the dark in his arms. You must be very happy.”

J.M. Houston? Kate looked from Max to the dark stranger she’d been talking to. J.M. Houston?

This was
Vertigo
. She was Kim Novak and Alfred Hitchcock was directing her fall through space into a black void of nothingness.

“Max, no …” Kate whispered.

“I trusted you, Kate. I left myself wide open. I’ll have to hand it to you, lady, you’re brilliant, a professional from the word go. You had me fooled, and that doesn’t happen very often.”

Kate couldn’t believe what was happening. Max was livid. Not only was he stern and unforgiving, but she could feel the heat of his anger in the fingers holding her arm in an iron grip.

“Just a minute, Max, aren’t you being unreasonable?” Matthew Blue had moved to the edge of the circle. “I, for one, don’t believe a word of it. Let’s hear what Kate has to say.”

“I didn’t believe it either,” Max said, desperation in his voice. “I told the committee that they were wrong. Kate couldn’t work for him. Making Kate a writer for
Maverick
magazine was just one of Dorothea’s little jokes.”

Max saw the stricken look on Kate’s face. Confusion gave way to hurt, then total disbelief. She jerked her arm from his grasp.

“Max,” she said softly, “I don’t even know J.M. Houston, and I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t know him? Then how do you explain my finding you here with him at the very moment we’re trying desperately to save the future of the Carnival Strip?”

“You’re J.M. Houston of
Maverick
magazine?” Kate asked the man next to her. He nodded. “Then tell him the truth, Mr. Houston,” Kate whispered raggedly. “Tell him that I had nothing to do with this.”

“I did,” he answered. “He didn’t believe me either.”

Kate felt the floor tilt. She wanted to disappear.

“Isn’t it obvious, Max?” Lucy Pierce trilled. “J.M. sent her here to keep him informed while he made the arrangements. You fell for her, didn’t you, Max? She probably spent a lot of time in your suite. It would have been easy for her to wait until you were gone, get the necessary figures, and pass them on to her boss.”

Kate could tell that Lucy’s words were hitting home. She’d had a key. Max knew that she had access to his office. And he believed that Mr. Houston had inside information. He thought she was guilty. Nothing she could say was going to change his mind.

“That’s how he knew exactly how much to bid,” someone volunteered from the crowd. “He had a mole. Isn’t that right, Mr. Houston?”

The stranger blinked his eyes lazily and smiled. “Surely you gentlemen don’t think I’d do anything illegal, do you? And I’d never reveal my sources. Let’s just say that I do find this lovely lady very appealing.”

“Kate,” Max continued, “Kate, J.M. Houston, and the Showboat. Later, when he’s been able to grease enough palms to swing votes in his direction, we’ll have gambling on the Strip. All perfectly legal, thanks to his inside source. Thanks to you, Kate.”

Matthew Blue caught Kate as her legs began to buckle, half supporting her as she tried to speak. “I swear, Max, I’ve never seen this man before in my life. I don’t work for him, and I never have.”

“She’s right,” Matthew snapped. “Kate working for
Maverick
magazine was just something your aunt cooked up. Tell him the truth, Houston. It can’t matter to you now.”