Under His Cover-nook (7 page)

Now, he wasn’t so sure. The first time he saw Jade at his best friend’s engagement party, he knew he had to have her. Then after their night together he found out she worked for Karyn’s P.I. firm and it seemed like the perfect solution. She could help him find out who was sending the notes, and it would provide a way for him to get closer to her.

At first, he thought it was just sex.

Not anymore. It went much deeper, and somehow he had to find a way to make her understand that. Then he could tell her his torrid family history.

“Any new developments with the mysterious letter writer?” he asked.

“Oh…um…no.” She backed away from him and fumbled inside a folder tucked between the pages of the calendar. “Last night I jotted down all my thoughts about who could be sending you the letters.”

Rhys would bet money she stayed up late thinking about the same thing he’d been torturing himself about. He still didn’t know what came over him and made him shove her into that alcove and kiss her. It had taken everything in him to pull back. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Ignoring his question, she continued. “The three possibilities I came up with so far…” She hesitated. “An old lover seeking revenge, someone from your past holding a grudge, or someone from your childhood who knew you when the mother was pregnant, maybe even a relative of the mother of the child.” She tapped her pen to her bottom lip. “It also could have something to do with your work here.” 

“What baffles me is they haven’t asked for any money. I’ve received two letters, a threat, but no request for money to keep their mouth shut. There’s something strange about that. They have a hidden agenda. They wouldn’t be sending the letters if they didn’t want some kind of payment in return. I just can’t figure out what it is.”

Whatever they wanted from him was going to be something he wouldn’t be able to deliver.

She closed the folder and strode toward the door to her office. “Who knows why people do the things they do. I’m going to start gathering some more clues today while you’re out of the office.”

“What are your plans?”

Before Jade could answer him, she heard a voice coming from her office. Being the dutiful
executive assistant
, she pasted a smile on her face and opened the door. But she stopped in her tracks when she crossed over the threshold and saw who it was.

The blonde from the newspaper.

The woman dressed professionally in a navy blue pinstriped pantsuit with a long jacket that stopped at her knees. Her white shirt peeked from beneath the lapels and Jade could see her black lace bra underneath.

Something flashed inside Jade before she tamped it down. This was bound to happen. Hadn’t she reminded Rhys she was ‘just the flavor of the night?’ Even though she’d known the truth, seeing it so close and fresh…and so soon…didn’t make her stomach squeeze any less.

The woman smiled. “You must be Jade.” She approached, her hand offered up in introduction.

Jade shook it and gritted her teeth in a smile. “Yes, I am. How are you?”

She flung her hair over her shoulder, looked around her to Rhys. “Wonderful. Your boss invited me to breakfast tomorrow. He knows how much I love it.”

I bet he does.

“I’m Jackie, by the way,” she said as she breezed by Jade and enveloped Rhys into a hug and kissed him on the lips.

“That’s nice.” The pain in Jade’s jaw threatened to dislocate her teeth. “Would you, or your guest, like some coffee?”

“No, I can get it myself. Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Well, if you need me, I’ll be in my office.”

He nodded his head but didn’t say anything, so she turned and fled into her office, shutting them out. She didn’t want to hear any professions of love, or how wonderful their night had been together. God. Since she hadn’t welcomed him into her bed last night, he’d quickly found someone to replace her. Tears prickled behind her eyelids.
The jerk
.

At eight fifty-five, the secretary of state walked into her office.

“Well, well, well. The pretty lady from last night. Jade, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Good morning, sir. How are you?”

He sat on the edge of Jade’s desk, and she scooted back just a bit. She wasn’t going to dare give him easy access or an opportunity to look down her shirt.

“So, how long are you going to be with us?”

“For about six weeks. Until his regular assistant gets back from maternity leave.”

He rose and walked toward her small inset. “You mind if I get a cup of coffee?” Before she could even answer, he was already pouring himself a cup. “Thanks.” He took a sip and strode back in front of her desk and sat down. “So, you ever work in a state office before?”

“No, I haven’t.”

His eyes didn’t move from the center of her chest. “Well, you be sure to let me know if you need anything. Behind Rhys, I’m next in command.”

That got her attention. “Really?”

“Yes. Of course, there’s the governor, then the lieutenant governor. Then me, the secretary of state.”

Maybe he was sending Rhys the threatening letters. Did he want Rhys’ job? Is that the reason he hadn’t asked for money. He just wanted Rhys out of the way. She made a mental note to check out the hierarchy of the governor’s office a little more closely.

“I guess that means you have a pretty important job around here then?”

“You bet it does, sugar.”

Ice slithered through her veins. She didn’t want to be in this man’s company any longer. “I’ll see if the lieutenant governor is ready for you now.” She rose and walked to the door she’d closed earlier. Even though she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head, she had no doubt his gaze zeroed in on her butt. She quietly knocked on the door and opened it after she heard Rhys say, “Come on in, Jade. Look, about last night.”

She shook her head and stopped him. “The secretary of state is here for your meeting.”

A muscle clenched along his jaw line as he glanced down at his watch. “Already. Well, this is a first. He’s never on time. Send him on in.”

“Okay.”

Just as she imagined, she saw that his eyes never rose above breast level when she turned back into her office. “He’ll see you now.”

“Thank you, sugar.”

God, if he called her sugar one more time, she was going to puke.

As she was sitting down, a young auburn haired woman rushed into her office. “Crap, I missed him.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry. “ She walked toward Jade’s desk and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Cecily.” She nodded in the direction of the closed door. “I’m the secretary’s administrative assistant. He forgot his notes for the meeting. As usual.”

Jade motioned that way. “Oh, they just started. I’m sure you can go on in.”

She sat in one of the guest chairs. “Oh, that’s okay. If he needs them, believe me, he’ll call. I don’t know why he needs them anyway. The man has a photographic memory. He doesn’t forget anything.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes. It’s amazing really. He can memorize a speech or the details of a legislative recommendation after one read.”

Jade didn’t know if that information was important or not, but she was sure going to write it down so she’d remember.

“So, you’re filling in for his Kathy until she gets back?”

“Yes.”

“Well, good luck,” she said and smiled. “Next to the governor’s office, this one is the busiest. Then mine of course. But I’m sure you can handle it.”

“I hope so,” Jade replied.

“If you need any help finding your way around or help looking for files, just yell at me. I’m extension 224.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

Jade smiled as Cecily walked out and made another mental note to make friendly with her and question her about the goings on in the office. As the third in command’s secretary, surely she knew everything that went on in this place.

The rest of Jade’s day was filled with phone calls, relaying messages, setting up appointments and meetings, typing letters, and running errands and dropping off files from one end of the building to the next. Later that evening she sat on her couch massaging her feet. Cecily had been correct about the office being busy. The conversation Rhys had tried to have with her before his meeting with the secretary of state never happened. She’d barely seen him the rest of the day. She never even had a chance to do any investigating around the office.

The only thing she did remotely related to the case was running over to her friend’s office to drop off the letters and get them checked for fingerprints. He promised to let her know something by the end of the week.  From the coffee table, she picked up her notes and settled back into the cushions. The first topic on her list was an old lover.

Rhys definitely fit the bill to have a scorned lover or two. Every woman who got involved with him didn’t just see a handsome face. They knew he came from money, and each and every one of them probably expected to be Mrs. Rhys Cunningham. She was sure some of them walked away with broken hearts and probably carried a grudge. Maybe he’d even fallen in love with one or two of them and confided in them his deep, dark, illegitimate baby secret.

Tomorrow, she was going to spend her lunch in the newspaper archives at the library. Specifically, the high-profile section. She needed names.

The next morning, Jade walked into her office to find a letter for Rhys sitting right in the middle of her desk. Just like the other ones. She glanced back at the door. It had been locked when she walked in. That meant it was definitely someone working from the inside. At the very least, they had help from someone who worked within this building. There were guards at each entrance, plus anyone who came in the building had to sign in. She made a mental note to see if any of the names she gathered from her afternoon library trip had friends or socialized with anyone in any of these offices.

She quickly sat down, pulled a pair of gloves out of her bag, and began to open the letter. It was bigger than the last, but the block lettering on the front was exactly the same. She used a letter opener and carefully slid it between the folds. When she emptied the contents onto her desk, she saw a slip of paper had been taped to the bottom of a picture. The image shocked her.

It was that of an African American teenage girl. And by her skin coloring, she knew the girl had a mixed heritage. She was almost certain that one of the young girl’s parents was African American, the other Caucasian. Dumbfounded, she sank against the back of her chair. Most intriguing about her was the color of her eyes. They were the exact shade as Rhys’. Staring at the photo, Jade would bet anything that the girl was his daughter.

She looked at the note attached to the bottom.

Secrets can be deadly.

So many thoughts filtered through her mind. But before she could begin to process any of them, she heard laughter just as the door between her and Rhys’ office opened and
Jackie
walked out of it, arm in arm with Rhys.

She bristled as the green-eyed monster did a tap dance across her shoulder blades. Jade recovered quickly, slipped the picture and note back in the envelope and removed her gloves. She didn’t want to raise any suspicions, nor discuss the letter in front of Jackie.

“Good morning, Jade. How are you?”

She was so friendly it made Jade’s teeth itch. Plastering a smile on her face, she returned the greeting. “Good morning. Aren’t you two the happy couple? Enjoy your
breakfast
?”

Jackie’s brow rose as she looked from Rhys to Jade, then back to Rhys again. She released his arm and smiled. A knowing smile, as if she had a secret to savor. Jade didn’t need a meat cleaver pounded over her head to tell her the real deal. She knew it already. She wondered how Ms. Jackie would react if she knew two nights ago, before he came to her bed, he was pawing Jade in the middle of a damn hotel trying to work his way into hers. Again.

“Yes, breakfast was wonderful as always. Rhys knows exactly how to spoil a lady.”

“I’m sure he does,” she said dryly.

Jackie looked at her quizzically again, grabbed Rhys’ hand, and squeezed. “I’ll see you later.”

Never taking his eyes off Jade, he responded, “I’ll call you later about what we talked about.”

“I look forward to it.” She turned and smiled at Jade. “Have a nice day.”

Jade ignored her, let the envelope drop to her desk, and crossed the room to get a cup of coffee.

You idiot
, she wanted to scream to herself. Rhys watched her with a half smirk on his face but didn’t say anything. Obviously, he was enjoying her show of jealousy. Why did she let herself succumb to it?

Why
?

Well, if he didn’t say anything, she sure as hell wasn’t going to say anything about it either. Let him think what he wanted to think. Seeing him with Jackie today only solidified the good reason why she didn’t sleep with him the other night. Whether or not she actually
remembered
what that reason was or not was irrelevant.

Jade walked back to her desk, put one glove back on her hand, picked up the other one and the letter, and turned to him. “You got another letter.”

His eyes widened as he marched toward her and reached for it.

“Put this on first,” she ordered, handing him the glove.

Rhys stretched it over his large hand then took the envelope from her. She watched his reaction as he pulled the contents out. He glanced at her then back down to the picture. Lowering it to his side, he moved over to the large picture window in her office and rested his forehead against the glass.

“I take it this is Maya?” she asked.

He glanced at the picture again and nodded.

“She’s beautiful,” she whispered. And the young lady was. Curly chestnut brown hair, high cheekbones, and a smile that revealed straight, pretty white teeth. And the same silver gray eyes as Rhys.

Her father.

She tried to shake the thought from her head, but she couldn’t. What else could it be? What
other
secret could he be hiding after all this time if she wasn’t his daughter?