Manhattan Merger

“Dozens of companies throughout the world, but the ones on my shelves come mainly from the United States, England and Canada. Red Rose produces the most every year by quite a margin.”

“Have you seen my face on the covers of any romances other than Red Rose?”

“No.”

That was the only good news so far. He could hope Red Rose was a mom-and-pop outfit that probably didn’t have a large distribution base. “Do you have your romances sorted by publisher?”

“Yes.”

“Will you show me where the romance section is?”

She laughed. “It’s practically the whole shop except for the mysteries and science fiction here at the front.”

He tried hard not to reveal his shock. “Why don’t we try the Red Rose section first.”

“Follow me, Mr. Sterling.”

She led him a fourth of the way back. “It starts here and goes to the rear of the store.”

His eyes widened in incredulity. “These are all Red Rose Romances?”

“Yes. Their company has nine different lines depending on what kind of romance you’re looking for. Of course these are only the English versions. Their books are published in over a hundred languages. Something like that.”

A hundred! That meant—

“We keep a few copies in Italian and Russian for the occasional visitor,” she added.

He wondered how many times Catherine had been in here that her mother didn’t know about. Payne loved his sister Phyllis, but like their mother, she didn’t approve of a lot of things.

With her high-brow taste in the arts, music and literature, he doubted she’d ever had the curiosity to read a paperback romance. He couldn’t help but wonder if Diane disliked them on principle too.

Or maybe she’d read a few when she was a teenager and refused to admit to it. He’d like to know.

In Payne’s mind it would make Diane a more real person if she’d gone against her mother’s wishes the way Catherine had done, and could own up to it…

“How far do some of these books date back?”

“Red Rose has been in business at least forty years that I know of.”

Forty years?

He studied the voluminous amount of reading material. Evidently someone besides Nyla and Catherine had been gobbling these up by the thousands for at least four decades.

That was a long time… Too long not to be a reputable company.

“You’ll find their books listed under the separate headings hanging from the ceiling over each section. There’s something for every taste.”

“So I see,” Payne muttered.

A Touch of Romance, A Touch of Passion, A Touch of Espionage, A Touch of History, A Touch of Babies, A Touch of Royalty, A Touch of Sci-Fi/Paranormal, A Touch of Cowboy and A Touch of Humor.

“You’re welcome to browse as long as you like.”

“Thank you.”

Since she’d pulled all the books with his likeness from the shelves, there was no point in sifting through the mountains of romances. The mere thought staggered the imagination.

However he did take a book from each section to examine the covers. All of them had been done as a painting rather than a photograph. He carried them to the counter.

“I’m going to buy these nine books. The four you’re keeping I’d like to borrow for twenty-four hours.” He pulled a credit card from his wallet. “Add $20,000.00 to my bill. When the books are returned, you can credit it to my account.”

She shook her head. “I trust you to bring them back, Mr. Sterling. There’s no charge.”

“Thank you.”

He put his credit card away and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. “You’ve been very helpful,” he said, sliding it toward her. She started to make change but he told her not to bother.

“This is much too generous.”

“Humor me, please,” he said with a smile.

“If you insist. After all these years, it’s so exciting to meet the legendary member of the Sterling family!”

Payne had heard that comment one too many times in his life. However it would do no good to remind the woman that his place in the scheme of things had happened because of an accident of birth. Her place had been determined the same way.

Furthermore, he got up in the mornings, worked hard, suffered, agonized and bled before going to bed at night, just the way she and everyone else did on the planet.

Her gaze searched his. “I do hope this turns out to be an honest mistake for all concerned.”

“My sentiments exactly.” Otherwise another nightmare had begun.

She bagged the books and handed the sack to him. He tucked Manhattan Merger inside the opening.

“I promise you’ll get these back. Thanks again, Ms. Perry.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Let’s go,” he murmured to Mac.

Once they were ensconced in the limousine, he phoned Drew Wallace, his attorney, and explained what had happened. They planned to meet at Crag’s Head as soon as Drew could get away from an important dinner engagement.

Pleased Drew could come on such short notice no matter the hour, he told him he’d send the helicopter for him. This was one meeting that needed to take place tonight under strictest privacy.

When he returned to his sister’s house, he discovered Diane in the backyard looking through some wedding magazines. Catherine was using doggie treats to make their family’s golden retriever do tricks.

Though Payne loved all his nieces and nephews, he’d always had a special feeling for Catherine. Her heart melted for the less fortunates of this world whether they be animals or people.

Out of all his sister’s children, Catherine was the one who’d taken her brother Trevor’s death from leukemia the hardest. When she came into her inheritance, he had an idea she’d give it all to research in an effort to find a cure.