Much More Than a Mistress

She squared her shoulders and tried to sound as if she knew what she was talking about. “If Mr. Everette is involved in a conspiracy, chances are slim he would be foolish enough to keep any incriminating evidence at work. More than likely I’ll need access to his home.”

“And you’ll do that how?” Mr. Suarez asked. He didn’t outwardly suggest impropriety, but the implication was there. She tried not to take it personally. Actually, she felt sort of sorry for them. They were clearly distressed by what they had to do.

“It’s against agency policy to engage in activity that is illegal or unethical,” she told him.

Mr. Everette rubbed his forehead, looking pained. “I don’t like it.”

“Two weeks ago you and Jordan weren’t on speaking terms,” Mr. Suarez said.

Mr. Everette shot him a look. “It just seems so … underhanded. That doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course it bothers me. And if it were one of my brothers being investigated I would probably be just as hesitant. But, Nathan, we don’t have a choice. We need to know, and we agreed this was the best way to handle the situation.”

“You all seem to respect Mr. Everette,” she said. “Why is it that you think he could have been the saboteur?”

“As you probably already know, a week before the explosion someone wired two hundred thousand dollars into Jordan’s account, and a few days later he wired thirty thousand dollars out. But we don’t know where the money came from, or who it went to.”

“So you think that someone paid him, and he paid someone else to tamper with the equipment.”

“That’s one possibility,” Adam said.

“Why? I’ve seen his financials. He’s not hurting for money.”

“Jordan is ambitious,” Adam said. “This happened before everyone learned the CEO position was opening up. Maybe he felt he’d hit a ceiling. Maybe someone made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, but expected something in return first.”

“And you believe he would put people’s lives in danger to further his career?” she asked.

“Maybe no one was meant to get hurt, but something went wrong,” Emilio suggested.

“If you’re right, and he got a better offer, why is he still here?”

“To avoid suspicion? Or maybe now that the CEO position is opening up, he has a reason to stay.”

“Or maybe,” Emilio offered, “since there were injuries, it killed the deal.”

All plausible scenarios. Especially if he was as ambitious as they all seemed to believe.

“That’s what we need you to find out,” Mr. Blair said, looking to Mr Everette. “And either we’re all in, or this stops today.”

Jane held her breath. Would her first undercover assignment be over before it started? If she blew this on the very first day, would her boss blame her? They might never give her another chance to work undercover. She needed to take the bull by the horns.

“Mr. Everette,” she said, reaching out to touch his arm, hoping he couldn’t sense her desperation. “I have three siblings myself, so I understand how difficult this must be for you. I’ll take whatever steps necessary to ensure that no one is hurt. You have my word.”

Mr. Everette glanced from her to his partners, looking conflicted. For a second she thought for sure he would refuse to cooperate, but he finally sighed and said, “Okay, lets do it.”

Jane breathed a silent sigh of relief. That was a close one.

Mr. Blair stood, which she took to mean that the meeting was over. She rose from her seat, her achy feet screaming in protest.

“If you need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask,” he said. “We would like this resolved as soon as possible.”

Nodding to each man, she said, “It was a pleasure to meet you, gentlemen,” then she turned and walked to the door, praying she didn’t trip on anything, and let herself out of the office, limp with relief. That had gone way better than she expected.

“Well?” Bren asked as Jane snapped the door shut behind her. She held up her thumb in an “okay” gesture, startled when the door opened behind her and Mr. Everette stepped out.

“My office, now,” he told Jane, and her heart immediately sank. Oh hell. Maybe the worst of it wasn’t over after all.

She followed him across the hall, knees knocking again. At this rate she was going to need a straightjacket before the day was over.

“Lynn, hold my calls,” he told his secretary, who looked surprised to see him with his brother’s secretary. Jane wondered if he realized that a move like this could very well blow her cover.

He gestured her into his office and stepped in behind her, closing the door. She actually flinched as it snapped shut. Was it possible that despite what he’d told his partners, he still wasn’t okay with the investigation? Did he intend on giving her a hard time?

He crossed the room to his desk and sat down. “Have a seat, Miss Monroe.”

She did as he asked, sitting on the edge of the chair across from his desk.

“In the interest of getting this investigation resolved as quickly as possible, there are a few things I should tell you about my brother.”

He wanted to help her? “Yes, please. Anything you think would be helpful.”

“I can only assume the agency is aware of my brother’s reputation as a womanizer, and that’s why they sent you.”

“That was the idea.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve caught his attention. You’re a very beautiful woman Miss Monroe, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s going to take more than a pretty face and a tight skirt to keep him interested.”

Take it the wrong way? A gorgeous billionaire just called her beautiful and he thought she would be offended? If her feet weren’t so darned sore she might be turning cartwheels across his office.

“Do you have any advice as to what will keep him interested?”

“My brother loves a challenge, so don’t make it too easy for him. If you’re too aggressive, he’ll lose interest. Make him work for it. Play hard to get.”

Considering her pathetic lack of experience chasing the opposite sex, she liked the idea of letting Mr. Everette come to her.

“Also, he’ll find you measurably more appealing if you make it clear that you have no interest in any sort of commitment.”

She could definitely do that.

“But probably the most important thing to keep in mind is that my brother has a short attention span when it comes to the opposite sex. He’ll have expectations, and if they aren’t met, he’ll get bored pretty fast.”

Then she would have to work quickly. Because if he was talking about what she thought he was talking about, meeting those expectations was not even an option. She wanted to crack this case, but even she had limits. And even if she was that desperate, if her boss learned that she had slept with the subject of an investigation to get information, her career would be over.

“I’ll be honest, Miss Monroe. My brother and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on most things. The truth is, he can be an arrogant ass, but he’s not a bad person.”

“You protect him.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “For the life of me I don’t know why.”