Courting Suspicion

She pointed, and he found it just one door down. The office lunchroom area was like a gourmet kitchen compared to the breakroom down at the police station. The refrigerator was stainless steel, as was the dishwasher. At the station, they used paper cups and plastic silverware. Here, a bowl of fresh fruit sat on the counter, along with a basket of power bars. He headed for the coffeemaker and found real coffee mugs. He poured himself a cup and had one waiting for Nina when she marched into the room.

‘What are you doing?’ she demanded.

‘You look about as good as I feel.’ He pointed at the coffee cup already on the table.

Her chin came up at that, and her hand lifted self-consciously to her face.

‘Oh, don’t give me that. You’re a knockout and you know it, but I can see how tired you are.’

She glared at him. ‘You’re such a sweet-talker, Detective.’

Wordlessly, he passed her a packet of creamer and two sugars – just how she took her coffee. He knew. He’d been paying attention. He gave her a spoon, too, a real one from a fancy silverware set in the first drawer he opened. No plastic stir straws for this place.

The stiffness in her jaw softened. At last, she took a chair, prepared her coffee and took an appreciative sip. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

‘You’re welcome.’ He sat down in the ladder-back chair at the end of the table. It put him right next to her, and he much preferred this set-up. There was no desk between them, no zoo of glass figurines watching. They were still on her turf, but not in her fortress. They could talk now.

‘So …’ he began. ‘Genieve dates a senator.’

‘Yes.’

‘How long has that been going on?’

‘I’m not sure. A month or so? I don’t follow my employees’ love lives that closely.’

‘Really?’ He grunted. ‘It seems we’ve had a front-row view of some of them.’

She considered that for a moment and shrugged.

Josh ran a hand through his hair. Even when she shrugged she was graceful. How could he ask the questions he needed to ask? What he’d seen in that hotel room hadn’t been nice and proper. If Luxxor really was what he worried it was, and Nina was its president, that also made her …

No. One step at a time. He couldn’t get ahead of himself.

‘How did they meet?’

‘Through business.’

‘Your company’s business?’

Her gaze met his over her coffee cup. ‘Yes. I introduced them. What does that have to do with the invasion of their hotel room?’

It took him a moment before he decided to answer truthfully. He had to see her reaction. He had to know. ‘The reporters claimed she was a prostitute. They thought the American people should know what their elected officials are doing. Or should I say, “whom”?’

Nina flinched hard enough to make her hair sway, and the fight came into her eyes. ‘So that gives them the right to break the law? They can enter a hotel room by force and film a couple during a moment of intimacy based on hearsay?’

‘No. That’s why I arrested them.’

The tension in the room ebbed.

‘Yes. Right. Thank you for doing that.’ She stared down into her coffee. ‘The video … can the part after the break-in be erased?’

‘No. That would be tampering with the evidence.’ And he wouldn’t do that – not even if she asked him to. His shoulders pulled tight as he waited to see if she would.

‘Even if it’s a terrible invasion of privacy?’ she asked.

‘The judge could rule that portion impermissible – for this crime.’

Her lips thinned, and she folded her hands tightly. ‘The accusation is offensive. Genieve’s been seeing the senator exclusively for a while. Do your homework, Morgan.’

Exclusive. There was that word again. It hit Josh’s ear wrong. He’d heard it before … from Genieve …

‘Interesting you should say that.’ He took a drink of his own coffee. It was the good stuff, but he’d long since passed the need for caffeine. When he set it on the table, he leaned in towards her. He gave her credit. He felt the electricity between them jump, but she didn’t pull back. ‘I did a quick Internet search on the senator. He seems to show up in lifestyle stories more than political ones.’

‘I’m shocked.’

‘There were photos of him at events with Genieve on his arm.’

Nina lifted her coffee cup and an eyebrow. ‘Don’t make me say I told you so.’

‘There were even more photos of her doing the same with other men. Rich men.’

She took her time sipping her coffee. When she set it back down, the cup didn’t even clink against the table. ‘She dates. That’s not a crime.’

‘Maybe. Not usually, but the senator had your business card in his pocket.’

He watched as her pretty eyes narrowed. ‘Probably because his girlfriend works here.’

‘And what, exactly, is it that Luxxor does, Nina? You’ve never really shared that with me.’

The muscle in her temple pulsed. ‘I don’t know what you’re implying, Detective, but Luxxor will not tolerate slander. From reporters or you. I thought this discussion was supposed to be about the crime that was committed – the break-in. Do I need to call my lawyer?’

Josh sat back in his chair and stretched out his legs. Their feet bumped, and she shifted. They were back to the magnetic push/pull dance they liked to do. Skirting around the subject … and each other … He’d always wondered at the cause behind it. Serious attraction had always been the pull, but the push had always been a mystery.

Was her job the reason why she’d told him they couldn’t be together?

He drummed his fingers against the table top. ‘Have you noticed anyone hanging around the place? Has this TMI website reached out to you in any way?’

‘No.’

‘Does Genieve have any enemies?’

‘Everyone likes her.’

Yeah, he’d seen proof of that. The boys in blue at the hotel room had liked her a lot. ‘How about the senator?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘He’s a politician – and he’s running for office.’

Point taken. Dumb question.