Fair Game Inc Part 8

Problem was, the sleazy James Heck was her only compet.i.tion. And Heck already nursed a grudge that sheAEd stolen one of his clients. Amber leaned back in her chair and eyed the silent phone. Not even a message on her voice mail. Time had come to consider a new specialty, perhaps even go back to school. She sighed. She hadnAEt had the money for university before, sheAEd never raise it now with another business going under.

Beyond her office windows, the sun broke through the clouds, scattering bars of sunlight across the gray carpet. Where had this ugly mood come from? She had GraysonAEs kind offer of contract work. SheAEd make the rent this month. And the next would be better.

Nothing to do in the office and a long walk would clear her head. Amber glanced at the clock on her desk. Four p.m. SheAEd walk over to Barlow & Charles, where sheAEd left her car parked. The exercise would do her good. Grabbing her purse and coat, she locked up the offices of Fair Game and strolled lightly off down the hallway.

Amber jumped in surprise, finding someone in the customarily empty waiting room of Barlow & Charles.

oOh, excuse me.o oAmber?o She blinked, taking a second, much longer look at the man sitting on the beige couch. HeAEd found a better barber since sheAEd seen him last, and a better tailor, but there was no mistaking the profile of James Heck. In the flesh. And minus his horn-rimmed gla.s.ses. Think of the Devil and he appears. oJames, what are you doing here?o He shrugged. oDoing some work for Barlow. You?o oDoing some work for Charles,o she snapped without meaning to.

His eyes drifted the length of her body. oYou look great, Amber.o oThanks, James. You look ... better. Business must be good.o oCanAEt complain. You?o oCanAEt complain,o she repeated, nonchalantly. On the seat beside him was a bouquet of flowers and a card. Could it be that even a worm like James Heck had found love? That might explain the new suit and the much improved haircut.

Behind the closed door of BarlowAEs office, she heard the murmur of voices. Grayson and Barlow. They didnAEt sound angry with each other. Perhaps Grayson had been right. Maybe she was paranoid.

James got to his feet. Glancing at his watch, he paced slowly across the confines of the waiting room. oSay, Amber--o She turned, hoping he wouldnAEt come any closer. And then he froze, blinking furiously.

oI think IAEve lost my contact lens.o Contacts! He really must be in love.

oWhere?o Amber set her purse down. Tucking her skirt under her knees, she bent to scrutinize the carpet.

oI donAEt know. It couldnAEt have fallen too far away.o He knelt on the floor beside her, much closer than she ever wanted to get to James Heck. oThere!o He pointed to a spot behind the desk, Amber reached to test the spot of carpet he indicated. oCan you feel it? ItAEs extended wear. Feels like of like plastic wrap, only wet.o oMust have been the light,o she said tersely. oThereAEs nothing here except fluff.o oYou sure?o He put his hand on her shoulder, peering at the piece of carpet before her. Amber suppressed the urge to shudder.

oPositive--o The door to BarlowAEs office sprang open. As one, Amber and Heck jumped up from behind the desk. His hand, she noted, still rested on her back. It didnAEt feel like GraysonAEs hand, she reflected, not warm and wholesome. More like embracing a snake. Amber moved to shrug off his arm.

Instead, to her horror, HeckAEs face loomed suddenly before her. Amber shrank back, but the desk blocked her escape. Heck planted a cold, very wet kiss dead-center on her lips.

oThanks for the other day, Babe,o he said loudly.

Thrusting the bouquet of flowers into her arms, he disappeared with a grin through the door.

oYuck!o Amber let the carnations fall to the desktop. Wiping her hand reflexively across her mouth, she realized sheAEd just smeared lipstick across half her face. She looked up, meeting GraysonAEs dark gaze. The fury in his eyes was hot enough to burn through her and into the wall behind.

oYou want to tell me what that was all about?o oYou tell me.o She spat the taste of James from her mouth. oHe said he was working for Barlow.o Grayson turned his acid gaze on his partner. But the gray-haired Barlow only shrugged. oI know nothing about this. He certainly wasnAEt working for me.o Losing interest in their squabble, he turned back into his office and closed the door.

oArenAEt you going to open the card?o It was easier to focus her attention on the card, than GraysonAEs face. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she slid her nail through the seal on the envelope. The card inside showed a piano keyboard sporting a blood-red rose. With a sick feeling, Amber flipped it open. Written in crimson ink were the words, oThanks Sweetheart, you were wonderful.o oGrayson, itAEs obvious somethingAEs--o oItAEs obvious we have nothing further to discuss,o Grayson said. He leveled a look full of dark pain at her, then whirled and strode down the hall to his office. The door slammed firmly shut behind him.

Chapter NINE.

oShe dumped you?o Grayson held the door open for Roger to walk through. He couldnAEt believe his brother had driven so far late at night. Roger hated the country.

oCindy dumped me. WeAEre finished, kaput.o He stopped just past the threshold and turned to look at Grayson who still held the door open in stunned silence. oDonAEt look so shocked. It was bound to happen once.o oIt was?o Grayson shook himself from his own thoughts. A very different Roger stood in his entrance way. He didnAEt know what had changed, but burning curiosity demanded he find out. oSorry, I had a bad day, myself.o For a moment he thought Roger would ask why, and then they could have brandy and commiserate jointly about the dangers of love and the mystifying creature known as woman. But Roger didnAEt ask, merely made his way uninvited to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a brandy, raising an empty snifter in question for Grayson.

Well, at least weAEll do the brandy thing, together. So much for male bonding. After the confusing events with Amber, he craved the straight!forward, hereAEs the goods, way that men talked to each other. The circuits of his brain practically smoked trying to unravel the intricacies of their relations.h.i.+p, trying to figure out where heAEd gone wrong, what vital clues heAEd overlooked. Like the fact that Amber was involved with another. So why did she want him so badly? And she did want him. l.u.s.t fell within the male domain. Physical desire he understood. She wanted him, no doubt about that. Or had she just wanted revenge?

Roger pressed the snifter into his hand. Grayson blinked, realizing Roger had been standing there for a few moments, while he stared gla.s.sy eyed into the fire.

oDonAEt you have anything to say?o oWell, this is a first,o Grayson blurted flabbergasted, then winced. That wasnAEt what heAEd meant to say at all.

oThanks a bunch Big Brother. I figured you might have some advice, some condolences for me.o Not the time to burden Roger with his own problems. oIAEm really sorry, Roger. oI--o Just broke up with Amber. No, he couldnAEt say that. Involved in the events of his own life, Roger couldnAEt have known heAEd gone to AmberAEs apartment Sat.u.r.day night and that theyAEd spent the past few days so caught up in each other, he hadnAEt had a thought to spare for his brother. Roger didnAEt know that the romance he thought was off, had in fact been just as suddenly on and then off again, while heAEd been none the wiser.

But Roger, in true Roger form, just grunted his acceptance of GraysonAEs condolences, certain his brotherAEs support would be forthcoming. oWhat should I do now?o oSurely, youAEre not asking me for advice in love!o The world just t.i.tled on its axis, Grayson thought. Nothing was quite as it had been. Nor as heAEd thought it was.

oYou donAEt have to sound so happy about it,o Roger snapped.

oIAEm not happy,o Grayson said earnestly, hoping his nose wouldnAEt grow. His brotherAEs misfortune saddened him. But misery loved company. Finally, something they could share. Except that in order to share in RogerAEs suffering, heAEd have to own up to the rest of it. AmberAEs betrayal cut so deeply, he couldnAEt even share the pain with his twin.

Roger flung himself down onto the couch opposite Grayson, his long legs stretching under the coffee table and well into GraysonAEs s.p.a.ce. Acting out of old habit, Grayson kicked his feet aside. Roger didnAEt seem to notice. He took a large swig of brandy and swallowed hard.

oShe said I was shallow, immature. You donAEt think sheAEs right, do you, Gray?o oRight about what? That youAEre immature?o Why was he having such a hard time keeping his mind on the conversation?

oNo, shallow,o Roger said, obviously annoyed that GraysonAEs thoughts kept wandering away from his emergency. oPay attention, Big Brother. IAEm spilling my guts here, just in case you hadnAEt noticed.o No safe answer to that question, Grayson thought. Did he think Roger was shallow, immature? Of course he did. And the answer was undeniably yes to most of the other crimes Roger had been accused of. But Roger was also his brother. Deep beneath the crusty exterior was a good heart. He might be the only person in the world who recognized that.

oI donAEt think you view love with the same importance as most of the women you date do,o he said carefully.

oSo, IAEm a cad. You might as well come out and say it.o oI didnAEt say that.o An argument with Roger was the last thing he needed tonight.

oItAEs the truth.o Roger swallowed the last of his brandy and rose to pour another. He reached for his brotherAEs gla.s.s, but Grayson shook his head. A hangover wouldnAEt improve the situation. It looked like Roger would be sleeping on his couch.

oIAEve really done it this time, havenAEt I?o Grayson grunted in the affirmative. The silence that followed was so uncharacteristic of Roger that he stared at his brother in dismay.

ShoulderAEs slumped, Roger still wore his black leather trench coat, even though heAEd been sitting on the couch for more than fifteen minutes. Hunched over his brandy, he stared into its amber depths, as if he liquid contained the hidden solution to his problems. oWhat should I do now, Gray?o Grayson wanted to grab Roger by the shoulders and shake him. How dare Roger march into his house and demand sympathy when Grayson intended on spending the evening wallowing in his own misery? But Roger looked so completely helpless, so strangely sincere for once. CindyAEs rejection shook him to the core. He could tell that much. And if Grayson didnAEt offer him any words of wisdom, not that he had any to spare, likely no one would. And Roger would go on being, well ... Roger.

oFigure out what youAEre doing wrong,o Grayson said tiredly. oAsk Cindy for another chance. If that doesnAEt work, start fresh with someone else whoAEll appreciate the new and improved you.o RogerAEs head came up. Sudden comprehension flickered in his dark eyes. He swirled the brandy in his gla.s.s and glanced shrewdly at Grayson. oWhy do I get the feeling it isnAEt Cindy and me weAEre discussing.o oOh, no you donAEt,o Grayson said. So much for philanthropy.

oI get the feeling thereAEs another woman entirely in this equation.o oThereAEs nothing left between Amber and me.o It felt strangely good to say it, to stomp on those lingering hopes. If only it didnAEt hurt so much.

oNo, I took care of that, didnAEt I? This time,o Roger said, softly oIAEve managed to mess up my relations.h.i.+p and yours! I ought to get a medal for stupidity.o oDonAEt worry about it, Little Brother. I messed it up myself quite nicely.o Deciding another brandy wouldnAEt be such a bad idea after all, Grayson reached for the bottle Roger had brought back to the coffee table with him. Moisture made a circle beneath the bottle, but he didnAEt bother himself to rummage for a coaster. Confession burned on the tip of his tongue. He couldnAEt leave Roger to think heAEd been responsible for the catastrophe between Amber and himself. oThe other person in the equation is a man, not a woman.o oAmberAEs seeing someone else!o Oh right, Roger, take a blunt instrument to my pain. Why did his brother have to be so dense? oAnother PI. A greasy wimp of a guy. Not what youAEd expect.o oThereAEs got to be a mistake. She wouldnAEt fall for that kind of guy.o A mistake all right. The mistake was opening my mouth. My worst mistake was trusting another woman after ... oHow would you know?o oSheAEs not the type.o oYeah, well thatAEs what I thought. Apparently, weAEre both wrong.o Roger set his snifter down on the coffee table and leaned forward. oI know you think IAEm a total washout when it comes to relations.h.i.+ps, but really, Grayson, somethingAEs not right here.o oWhatAEs not right is the small detail that sheAEs seeing someone else. Though why she didnAEt tell me that before wea.o He stopped suddenly. He didnAEt need any of RogerAEs salt in that wound.

His brother refused to listen to his protests. oI admit, IAEm not the best judge of character, but a woman with convictions as strong as Amber ShawAEs ... well, it just doesnAEt figure.o oHe brought her flowers. And a card that said, aeThanks, Babe, you were wonderful!AEo Acid churned in GraysonAEs stomach at the thought.

oThat could mean anything,o Roger insisted.

oShe admitted she knew him.o oSo she knows him. It doesnAEt mean she knows him in the Biblical sense.o oThatAEs not funny, Roger.o oAnd youAEve completely lost your sense of humor, Grayson.o oShe tried to tell me he was working for Barlow, can you believe it?o oMaybe sheAEs right.o oSure. And IAEm a complete fool.o oThink about it Gray. DidnAEt you say yourself not a couple of weeks ago that Barlow had been acting strange? Even for Barlow?o He leaned back into the cus.h.i.+ons. c.o.c.king his head to one side, he surveyed his brother and asked, oWhy are you so dead against suspecting Barlow instead of Amber?o Just when he thought a little sympathy might be forthcoming, Roger did an about face. oSince when are you her champion?o Grayson said, annoyed.

oSince you became blind,o Roger shot back.

oEnough!o Grayson set the snifter down on the coffee table with more force than he intended. Golden liquid sloshed against the sides. The crystal rang out a loud ping. Luckily it didnAEt shatter. oLook--o He wrapped the last shreds of his composure around his rapidly escaping temper. oI know losing Cindy really shook up your world, but this is simply too paranoid. YouAEre starting to sound like Amber.o oMaybe AmberAEs right,o Roger repeated and stubbornly set his jaw.

That was too scary to contemplate. Too frightening to admit that the man his father trusted, the man heAEd trusted enough to build a career with, might not be the man he thought he was. Too scary to forge ahead into uncharted territory with Amber after really getting burned last time. But Grayson didnAEt voice any of his thoughts. Roger already knew. Roger always did.

oNever mind my problems.o He deflected the conversation away from his brotherAEs prying mind. Roger came asking for advice. It was his failures in love they ought to be discussing. oWhat are you planning to do about Cindy?o Roger let his eyelids drift closed, making himself comfortable, as if the offer to stay the night had already been extended. His brotherAEs hospitality was a given. Roger believed in Grayson without question.

Why canAEt I believe in myself?

oIAEm going to call Sandy,o Roger said sleepily.

James Heck would be a sorry man when she got hold of him. And John Barlow would regret he ever heard the name Amber Shaw when she was finished. Amber drummed her fingers on the desk. The office was empty, quiet as a tomb, her calendar a wasteland, except for those last few evenings at Barlow & Charles. Would Grayson even want her in the office after the stunt Barlow and Heck had pulled on her last night?

She ran the list of possible suspects through her mind. Barlow, instinct told her, the same intuition sheAEd relied on in so many other cases. She trusted it implicitly, and it never let her down. But intellect demanded a more objective review of the situation. And that left Grayson and Roger.

Could Grayson have hired Heck to get even with her? The idea lay like a bad taste in her mouth. But she had to admit it would be a fitting revenge for the incident with the ice. If it was revenge he wanted. She could have sworn what he wanted was love.

And that made her feel like one Heck of a fool.

So Grayson was a possibility, but not a possibility she liked much. And then there was Roger.

Roger certainly had reason to want to get even for what sheAEd come to think of as the ice incident. But Roger hadnAEt seemed angry. He found the whole event funny. In his back-handed complimenting kind of way, he was flattered that Sandy missed him enough to want revenge. Roger for all his irreverent, irresponsible ways, wasnAEt vindictive at heart.

No, the prank had BarlowAEs stamp all over it. Her revenge lay in finding the proof. Intuition told her the intertwining clues could be traced back to Barlow. No way would she let this one go. A dead mouse and a flat tire were unpleasant. But the scene in the office of Barlow & Charles had elevated things to a personal level. And James Heck just slid another notch lower in her estimation. Until last night she wouldnAEt have believed that possible.

A tap against the gla.s.s door wrenched her from her ruminations. A dark figure stood in silhouette against the gla.s.s. Amber got up cautiously. Last time someone appeared unannounced at her door he was bearing a subpoena to appear in court.

Pity the messenger this time, she thought darkly.

The man at the door was well dressed. Not ostentatiously so. A lock of sandy brown hair fell across his eyes. He brushed it out of the way, as she opened the door.

oMs. Shaw?o He wasnAEt carrying a registered letter. No briefcase or portfolio. DidnAEt look like he was selling anything, either. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of a voluminous wool overcoat. She caught a glimpse of ice blue eyes as his gaze drifted up to meet hers from where heAEd been staring at a patch of carpet on the floor.

oIAEm Amber Shaw.o Might as well admit to it. If he was carrying another court order, heAEd find her soon enough.

oIAEm sorry to drop by without an appointment. ItAEs not something I wanted to discuss on the phone, but I was wondering if I could have a few moments of your time.o He pulled a crumpled copy of her business card from his pocket. oSandy Wylde told me I could find you here.o Amber glanced at her name on the rumpled parchment, then back at the unexpected and unexpectedly male client. They were still standing in the doorway, she realized with a start. oCertainly, come in, Mr.--?o oMarchand.o He offered her his hand. oJean-Claude Marchand.o Hunched in the chrome and leather chair, he looked out of place in the sleek office. The chairs that made clients like Sandy Wylde appear all the more elegant were too small for a male frame. The thin arm rests werenAEt wide enough for muscular arms to rest upon comfortably. The width of the chair that allowed for a pair of female legs to be gracefully crossed was all wrong for traditional male posture. She watched Marchand fidget to get comfortable, then give up. He settled for hunching awkwardly in the chair and gazing across the desk at her looking every bit as uncomfortable as he undoubtedly felt.

Taking one of her preprinted forms from her top drawer, Amber steepled her fingers on the gla.s.s and gazed across her desk at him. oWhat can I do for you, Mr. Marchand?o oSandy tells me you have some rather unusual business practices that might be of use to me.o oI deal in revenge,o Amber said. oRevenge isnAEt an unusual phenomenon in itself. I merely make sure that justice is accomplished. And that no one gets hurt.o oJustice is what I came to discuss.o Amber reached for her pen. oAnd who exactly would you be seeking justice from?o oFrom my ex-fiancTe, Ruth.o Ruth, Amber scribbled in the appropriate box. oWhat crime has Ruth committed?o oShe left me!o Marchand said, suddenly becoming animated. oI gave her everything--the one-carat engagement ring she wanted so badly. Cost me two months pay. I bought her a house, leased a new car. I gave her everything and she left me for some slimy guy named Dave.o oIAEve witnessed this phenomenon before,o Amber said in her most soothing professional tone. And she had, first hand. But until now all the perpetrators had been male.

oShe stood me up at the altar.o Memories of pain keen as knife tore through her. Even after two years, she could still remember the pain-tinged shame of EricAEs abandonment. The loss of the dream hurt the most. The brutal reality that the man sheAEd given her love to her didnAEt love her at all. Eric left the month before their wedding date, leaving her with mounting debts for the non!refundable deposits to the banquet hall, the caterer and the photographer sheAEd retained. Not to mention the silk wedding dress that still hung in her closet.

oIAEm so sorry,o she said softly, losing for a moment the professional detachment sheAEd learned to rely on. What Marchand had gone through was so much worse. Glancing away from those pain-filled eyes, she jotted down a few more notes. oTell me a bit about RuthAEs habits so we can determine what kind of revenge would be fitting. She doesnAEt happen to have an identical twin, does she?o oNo....o Amber ignored his confusion. She wouldnAEt be caught on that technicality again. oA sister that might resemble her closely?o oShe has three brothers,o Marchand said.

oGood.o Amber leaned back in her chair. Schemes formed in her mind and were just as quickly rejected. Accepting a male client would require a major att.i.tude adjustment. Her entire repertoire of revenge was slanted towards the male of the species.

One shrewd look at Marchand convinced her. She recognized his pain. The shadows beneath his eyes from nights spent wondering what went wrong. Rejection of your intimate self caused the shoulders to slump, the eyes to s.h.i.+ne less bright, the whole world to lose some of its color and joy. Amber remembered when sheAEd looked that way. It wasnAEt that long ago. Only building up Fair Game had helped. Having one thing that was truly hers, that couldnAEt be lost on the whim of a man brought her soul back to her. She had to help Marchand bring closure to his pain, so he could have his life back as well.

Fidgeting in the under-sized chair, he waited. Amber let the momentum of her reclining desk chair swing her upright. oLetAEs talk about the details of your revenge.o ****

A battered Trans Am sat like a blemish before the offices of Barlow & Charles. Brown splotches of primer marred the paint job that had once been silver. Amber had to look carefully to tell what color the car had been in its distant youth. Someone had made a half-hearted effort at painting the car with a series of not-quite matching aerosol spray cans. Amber grit her teeth. It did figure that James HeckAEs car was a shabby as he was.

Probably inside collecting his check from Barlow at my expense. The thought rolled around in her mind and came up opportunity.

No mistaking the man who paced the narrow sc.r.a.p of carpet before the elevator. No one else wore that much gel in his hair. No one else couldnAEt wait the short moments it took the elevator to come. Steeling herself for another encounter with James, Amber sauntered up beside him and tapped him on the shoulder.

He jumped, whirling around as suddenly as if she had a gun pressed between his shoulder blades. oUh, hi, Amber.o oHi, James.o Heck coughed. The doors slid open and he jumped for the sanctuary of the elevator like a man fleeing a sinking s.h.i.+p. His salvation was short lived. Amber slid between the closing doors to take her place beside him.

A white piece of paper fluttered in his hand as he restrained himself from pacing in the narrow confines of the elevator. An invoice, Amber thought darkly. Hope heAEs getting well paid to make me miserable. She nodded at the paper in his hand.

oOn your way to get paid?o she asked pleasantly.

oYeah.o Heck folded the paper into quarters so she wouldnAEt see what was written on it. Silence stood like a third person between them, broken only by the whir of the elevatorAEs fan.

oSo, uh, Amber--o James fidgeted, coughed again. oNo hard feelings about last night?o he finally choked out.

oOf course not.o HeckAEs eyes widened. She hoped he wouldnAEt lose another contact. oWhy not?o AmberAEs fingers closed around his leather tie and pulled him closer. oBecause youAEre going to do me a favor, James.o oWhat kind of favor?o oYouAEre going to give me a copy of that invoice before you hand it in to Barlow.o oI canAEt do that!o oYou can do anything you want to, James.o oWell I donAEt--o oIAEd be willing to pay you for my ... grat.i.tude.o The thought made her ill, but it was the only foreseeable means to an end.

oSorry, but I canAEt--o Heck began, then, oHow much?o oAn even hundred.o oSorry, Amber, but I promised Barlow the details of this a.s.signment would be confidential.o IAEll bet you did. It was a generous offer. DonAEt tell me even James Heck has developed standards. She couldnAEt afford much more, but she wanted that invoice beyond the bounds of good sense. She wanted Grayson Charles.

oTwo hundred,o she said coolly.

For a moment, she thought heAEd refuse again. The elevator doors slid open.

oOkay, deal.o He held out his hand to shake. Amber plucked the invoice from his other fist.

oIAEll send you a check,o she said and strode off down the hallway to the offices of Barlow & Charles.

Amber froze, her hand on the door handle. Grayson Charles was on the other side of that door, along with everything else that meant. He hadnAEt called to cancel her last couple of nights at the firm. She took that to mean he intended for her to finish her sentence as ordered. Would he pretend nothing had happened and go back to the cool efficiency heAEd shown her a month ago. Beneath that crisp exterior lay a molten core of pa.s.sion. She knew that now. Would he turn that pa.s.sion to anger and focus it upon her?

Amber heard HeckAEs footsteps on the carpet behind her. Now was not the time for second thoughts. If she wanted a Xerox of that invoice, she had to get it now before Barlow intercepted Heck. She turned the handle.

The doors to both partnerAEs offices were mercifully closed. Amber unfolded HeckAEs invoice, laid it on the Xerox and watched distractedly as bars of light swept across the gla.s.s plate. She refolded the invoice, handed it back to Heck. He looked like a little boy presenting his mother with a well-graded homework a.s.signment. She suppressed the urge to laugh out loud.

s.n.a.t.c.hing the copy from the output tray, she stuffed it in her purse. Heck looked hesitantly around the corner, but the doors to both offices remained closed. Relieved he followed Amber back to reception where he milled about aimlessly as if he didnAEt know what to do now.

Taking pity on him, Amber crossed the carpet and rapped on BarlowAEs door. It flew open beneath her hand. Barlow looked infinitely displeased to see her. If I can put up with you for another day, you can certainly put up with me, J. B. But instead, she said coldly, oMr. Heck is here to see you, Mr. Barlow.o As if on cue, the door to GraysonAEs office opened. Pulling on his charcoal gray suit, he strode down the hallway towards them. He struggled into his overcoat and reached for his briefcase.

oGrayson?o He froze, one hand on the door. She caught the shadow of emotions playing across his face as he turned toward her.

oIAEm afraid IAEm running late for a meeting, Ms. Shaw. After that, IAEll be working at home this evening.o The set of his jaw formed a barrier between them, as impenetrable as a barbed wire fence. oIAEve left the things that need to be done on your desk.o oThis is my second last night here,o she said, conscious of Barlow and Heck hanging on their every word.

oIAEm aware of that,o Grayson said. The door closed behind him leaving her in the company of John Barlow and James Heck.

With one last anxious glance at Amber, Heck escaped into the hall, as soon as he was certain the elevator had deposited Grayson on the ground floor and he wouldnAEt be offered further companions.h.i.+p. Barlow disappeared behind the barrier of his door. Inside she heard paper ruffling. HeckAEs invoice no doubt. Instinct grabbed hold of her senses. Barlow was behind this turn of bad luck. No matter what happened with Grayson, sheAEd settle things between them. Barlow raised the stakes. What started as cool dislike had just become personal.

Leave! Amber threw the sum of her will at the shadowy figure behind his closed door. Leave, so I can get into that filing cabinet! But the door stayed stubbornly closed, and Amber turned her attention to the work Grayson had left for her.

Lost in thought, she didnAEt hear him approach until he was standing over her. John Barlow wasnAEt a handsome man. Neglect marred every aspect of his appearance. From the haircut that was at least a month overdue, to the haphazard tie and rumpled suit. Even his briefcase was battered and worn on the edges. He stared down at her with beady eyes set in a puffy face. The ant.i.thesis of Grayson Charles, she couldnAEt help thinking. No wonder he resented his younger, more handsome and more successful partner.

oGood evening, Ms. Shaw,o he said with a leering smile that lingered just a little too long.

oEvening,o she answered curtly.

oIAEm going to be having a meeting in my office shortly....o For a moment he looked uncomfortable as if there was a great deal more he wanted to say and none of it nice.