Chapter Twenty-Four
Lola
He shuts the door behind us as we leave the storage room. No one pays any attention to us as we navigate our way back through the kitchen. How in the hell did they not hear me screaming? My shoulders tighten, and I suppress a shudder. Stop all the lusting after him.
Once we return to the foyer, I glide through the crowd toward the library without looking to see if he’s following. I don’t have to look to know he’s there. As I get closer to the meeting place, I grab a glass of bubbling champagne from a tray that one of the tuxedo-wearing caterers is holding. The drink is not for courage but to enhance the character I’m portraying. With Cade by my side, I feel invincible. Now to keep from having it bite me in the ass.
Patricia’s hand is on the arm of a distinguished gentleman who’s wearing an exquisite Italian suit. Randall Maitland is easy to recognize. Whether he’s on a screen or in person, he exudes class and good looks. Patricia’s hair is twisted and clasped at the base of her neck. She’s wearing a floor-length, black chiffon gown. The neckline of the dress plunges to her breasts, revealing a generous amount of cleavage.
From the doorway, I study the interaction between Randall and the guests surrounding him. Patricia hangs on his every word. The remaining group members appear to be as enthralled with the conversation as she is–when the guys aren’t gawking at her tits.
The man must have charisma to spare to keep most of the attention on himself because Patricia’s enhancements must have cost her a bundle. David Brown is one of the group’s members. Let’s kill two birds with one stone.
Patricia glances over and waves. “There you are. We’ve been waiting for you to show.”
“Patricia, you look lovely.” I clasp her hand with my empty one.
“You look extraordinary. Those jewels.” She tsks. “They’re to die for.”
Lord, keep me from that.I drop her hand and kiss her on both cheeks as she returns the greeting.
From the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Chad Atkinson, who’s several feet away, talking to a woman in killer heels and diamonds around her neck. In the corner is Leanne Bell, who’s chatting with Ava Barton and a young man. That must be Ava’s son. What’s the likelihood they’d all be in the same room? “You look fantastic as well. Have you vacationed recently?”
She frowns. “How did you know? I just got back from the Cayman Islands.”
“Well, you’re glowing. It’s so great to see you. We need to get together for a girl’s day. I could use a spa trip. Sorry for the late arrival. I got held up on the way over.” A tinge of heat covers my chest. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”
“No, not at all. Randall was keeping us all entertained with tales from the high seas. He’s just acquired a custom-built yacht, which I can’t wait to see.” Patricia stares up at Randall like he hangs the moon and stars.
I turn to the man in question. “This must be the man with the Midas touch.”
“Yes, it is. Lola, this is Randall Maitland. Randall, this is Lola Sutherland.”
Randall raises my hand to his lips and places a moist kiss on the back of my skin while staring into my eyes. Is that his tongue? I cringe. He slid the tip of his tongue across my hand. Disgusting.I inhale, and the scent of wood and citrus tickles my nose as Chad moves over to Leanne’s side. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“No, it’s my pleasure. You look stunning this evening.”
I pull back, releasing his grasp. The man is creepy with a capital ‘C.’ “My horoscope said money is coming my way, so I decided to enhance my chances by wearing emerald.” I glance at the other guests. David’s gaze is stuck to the jewel between my breasts. Or he likes gawking at women’s tits. “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something important?”
“Not at all.” Randall tips his head toward the group surrounding him. “Ladies. Gentleman. I must bid you farewell for now. Maybe we can reconvene later this evening.”
One of the guests, an overweight man with a receding hairline, frowns at my interruption. “Mr. Maitland, I would love the opportunity to speak with you later tonight. I was enthralled with your sailing anecdotes, but there was no time to ask you about your investment opportunities. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
“Absolutely.” Randall beams as the remaining individuals drift away.
David ambles over to Leanne and Chad’s group and strikes up a conversation with them. Are they all working together? That would change everything. “Why don’t we move to my father’s study? That way, we can have some privacy.”
I move forward without looking to see if they follow me–pampered princesses get their way. Once inside, I turn to watch Patricia and Randall file into the room and wait for Cade to join us.
The second the door snaps into place, Randall motions with his thumb toward Cade. “Who’s that?”
I caress the large ruby resting between my breasts. “I hope you don’t mind my bodyguard, Mr. Hughes. He works for Truman Security and was hired by my insurance agent to guard the jewels.” I lean forward and lower my voice. “I don’t know if you remember or not, but years ago, someone tried to steal these jewels.”
“Is it safe to speak in front of him?”
I wave my hand dismissively. “He’s only here to keep someone from making another attempt on the necklace.” I nod toward him. “He’s signed a non-disclosure agreement.”
Patricia gasps. “Was anyone hurt?”
“No, everyone was fine, and it was years ago. The alarm was tripped, signaling a problem to the security company. They managed to get there in time. He did time in prison years ago.” I shrug. “But we don’t want to take a chance on anything happening again. These are worth a fortune.”
Cade stands in front of the door with his arms crossed. He appears as interested as a man attending a baby shower.
“Fine.” I can tell Randall doesn’t like it, but he’s familiar with security. He pulls at the thigh of his pants and lowers into an oversized leather sofa.
When Patricia prepares to sit next to him, I clutch my chest. “Do you mind sitting over there?” I point toward one of the high-backed accent chairs. She stares at me like I’m crazy but does what I ask. “Thank you so much. It’s more Feng Shui that way. You know, positive energy and all.”
***
Cade
I raise my hand and cough to clear my throat. I’ve spent hours without making a sound while waiting for orders, and I’m about to lose my shit over Lola’s charade. Thankfully, no one looks in my direction.
Ripley and Sloane are on the other side of the door in discussion with the other group of suspects. The second I’d seen them; a weight had lifted off my shoulders. While I don’t know Ripley’s wife, I know he’d go down swinging before he’d let anything happen to her. And since we can’t be in two places at once, their presence will help me keep an eye on everyone if anything happens to go down while we’re in the study.
Patricia nods. “How interesting. Someday, you’ll have to tell me more of how that works.”
Lola’s face pales. Cute. She has no idea how Feng Shui works. As she slips into the seat next to Randall, my lips twitch.
“Tell me about your business.” Lola’s shoulders tense as if she’s hoping Maitland falls for her change in topics.
“I see you’re one that gets straight to the point.”
“There’s no time for small talk. My father needs me out there mingling. You know about impressions. It wouldn’t be appropriate for the daughter of the benefit’s namesake to fail to attend the event, especially since I look like her. The more I’m around, the deeper people will dig into their wallets.”
He nods, and his eyes dip to her chest. Yeah, man, I know they’re stunning, but they aren’t yours. Unless he’s plotting to take the jewels. Either way, I’m prepared to take him out. The weight of the gun rests against my back.
“Understood. It’s simple really. Clients deposit funds into an account, which I invest on their behalf. The money can be removed at any time. However, there’s a twenty-four-hour hold on any transaction.”
“Why twenty-four hours?”
“Well.” Randall’s face gets darker. I think. It’s hard to tell with his tan. “It has to do with banking requirements.”
“Oh.” She places her hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I didn’t mean for it to sound like I questioned your honor.”
“No, it’s fine.”
She drops her hand and wrings her fingers together in her lap. “I’m so nervous. I’ve never had this much money of my own, and I don’t know how to invest it.”
Randall’s face fills with a huge smile as excitement radiates off him. “I can help you with that.”
“Lola, he’s the best.” Patricia crosses her legs and leans forward.
The second Randall flinched over her question, she’d sensed it. And to think, when we’d first met, I questioned her capabilities. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.
Am I ready to tell her about my past? I don’t talk about it with anyone–even those closest to me don’t know the details of how I let one impulsive decision cause the complete destruction of a mission. A mission that was in the works for three months. I’d nearly been paralyzed and caused injury to several of my team members.
The complete faith those soldiers placed in me and how badly I’d let them down still makes my stomach churn. The only reason she hasn’t discovered my secret is that I’ve been careful not to show my scars.
Patricia uncrosses her legs. “But you won’t want to take any money out. Unless it’s the profits. Like Randall always says, ‘The more money you leave in, the more money you make.’”
I’m sure he does. It’s a good way to keep his clients from figuring out there’s no money in the account. If he only pays out earnings, he’ll keep most of the funds in the account to purchase expensive suits and yachts and enormous houses. The files Ripley sent prove he’s living large.
“Thank you, Patricia.”
“Who do you invest with?” Lola gapes at him in admiration.
“Mostly, Fortune 500 companies but a lot of startup businesses as well.”
“Do you send out quarterly reports? Not that I would know what to do with them.” She giggles. “Or what I was looking at.” She hops on the seat and claps her hands. “I’m so excited. I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”
Randall grins like the Mad Hatter. “It’s okay. I can explain to you what the reports mean. I don’t expect you to understand. If you did, you wouldn’t need me.”
I roll my eyes. Thank God I have these sunglasses on. His eagerness is embarrassing. He’s like a sixteen-year-old boy about to hump the leg of the homecoming queen.
“Speaking of that, how much would I have to pay to keep from worrying about this stuff. I’ll have better things to do with my time once I receive my trust fund. And I definitely won’t be working.” She shivers. “I’m a shopper, not a worker. I plan to be out of the country a lot, so I won’t be able to keep an eye on my financial situation. I don’t even know if I’ll have a forwarding address.”
Maitland moves to the edge of the sofa. His eyes are bright with enthusiasm, and he’s practically foaming at the mouth over Lola’s carelessness. She’s the perfect client. “Not a problem. We can set it up for you to call in once a month and go over your investments. My price is $500 an hour, with the first consultation being free of charge. Of course, if you want me to handle everything, that will be $1,500 per hour.”
Lola stands without blinking an eye. “Wonderful. Let me sleep on it, and we can meet at your office tomorrow, say 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon?”
Randall braces his hands on his thighs and prepares to stand. “What’re you looking to invest?”
“Somewhere in the mid-six figures. Maybe more. It all depends on how well we get along. The more I trust you, the more it’ll be.”
He falls back onto the sofa. “Two o’clock it is. Could you invest as soon as tomorrow? It would secure your spot. I have a lot of potential clients that I’ve held off bringing into the fold. I’m only taking you on because of Patricia.”
“I’m afraid not. I won’t have access to my money until January.”
“I see.” His face is full of disappointment, and he rubs the fabric of his pants. “Well….” He smiles and stands. “I’m sure we’ll work it out. I’ll have to juggle some people to make room for you.”
“Randall, it was nice to meet you, but I must go.” She stands. “I’m afraid I’ve neglected the guests. Patricia, thank you for introducing me to Randall. It was wonderful to see you. If I can ever return the favor, please let me know. Fashion, design, dating advice, gossip. You name it, you give me a call. Be sure to shut the door on your way out.” She walks toward me and nods. “Mr. Hughes, follow me.”
After we step out, I catch Ripley’s eye. He nods, letting me know everything has stayed quiet. If I had to guess, he’s not the only one here from Beck’s security team. I don’t have to acknowledge him to know he’ll keep his eyes glued to the different suspects.
Randall is part of this. I can feel it in my gut. And it scares the shit out of me that she’s offering herself up as bait. I’ve got to keep my head out of my ass so she stays safe. I can’t let history repeat itself.