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“Right.” She stuck her hand out to hail a cab even though she really had plenty of time to hoof it the nine blocks to her next appointment. Best she get away from him now. Tomorrow she’d be better composed. “We’ll settle up at the end of your stay.”
“Why, you’re mighty trusting.”
A cab pulled to the curb and she opened the door. “Yeah.” Too trusting. Stupidly naive, in fact. As a result, she’d made mistakes. Shameful ones she could barely stand to think about. “Must be my midwest upbringing,” she murmured as she slid into the safety of the cab. God, when was she ever going to learn?
AFTER EATING a late lunch in the hotel’s bistro-style restaurant, which to Chase meant small portions, large tab, he stopped at the front desk. He recognized the short, dark-haired front-desk clerk from this morning when he’d met Dana in the lobby.
He also recognized the name on the gold tag she wore. She was on his list. “Good afternoon, Amy.”
She smiled, looking prettier than at first glance. “Good afternoon, Mr. Culver. What can I do for you?”
For a moment, it took him aback that she knew his name. But this was one of those ritzy hotels that pampered guests with big fluffy bath towels and Godiva chocolates on the pillows, so maybe it wasn’t that odd. He’d never stayed in a place like this before. Doubted he ever would again unless he was on the job.
“Well, darlin’, you can tell me if you have a big safe in the back for me to keep some of my valuables.” He gave her one of the big smiles that had gotten him into the back rooms of high-stakes’ poker games and into more trouble than he cared to think about.
“Yes, of course.” She smiled back. “But you do know you have a private one in your room, as well?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He glanced over at the bellman standing at the end of the counter, and then Chase lowered his voice, “But I’ve heard rumors about a couple of thefts here in the past month.”
Amy blinked. “Um…”
“Now, I’m sure you’ve been instructed not to talk about it,” he said, leaning part way across the desk so that their faces were only inches apart. “And I don’t wanna get you in any trouble, but you see, I have this expensive diamond necklace I just purchased and I would be real unhappy if anything happened to it.”
She glanced around, opened her mouth to speak and then promptly shut it again. Their eyes met and she briefly pursed her lips. “If you’d like us to keep something in the hotel safe, that certainly can be arranged.”
Damn. He must be losing his touch. “But you think my room safe is sufficient?”
Her gaze narrowed and she bit indecisively at her lower lip. “I don’t have an opinion in that regard,” she said finally.
Chase smiled, wondering how hard he should push. “I’ll think on it.” He pushed away from the counter, at the same time noticing that no one manned the concierge desk. “Do you know when the concierge will be back?”
“I’ll page Kelly right away.”
Perfect. She was the assistant and just the woman he wanted to speak with. “No hurry,” he said. “Just looking for restaurant reservations. I’ll come back in an hour.”
He felt Amy’s gaze on him until he rounded the corner where he ended up near the double doors to the Crystal Ballroom. A member of the housekeeping staff was polishing an ornate brass lamp that sat on a table near the sign for the restrooms. She barely looked up and no one else was in sight so he pulled out the small notebook he kept in his inside breast pocket.
When his finger caught on something he looked down and realized he hadn’t yet removed the price tag from the new navy blue blazer he’d bought yesterday before getting on the plane to New York. He muttered a curse, glanced around to make sure no one had sneaked up on him, and then ripped out the tag.
He only owned one suit, which, unfortunately, had seen more funerals than weddings. His other sports jacket had gotten him through dozens of court appearances, but was slightly too worn for his role as Chase Culver, rich producer, son of an oilman. The snakeskin boots he wore he’d gladly forked over five hundred bucks for two years ago. There were some things a man just didn’t scrimp on.
After flipping through a couple of pages of his notebook, he found the name of the St. Martine’s head of security. Gil Wagoner was an ex-cop who had retired after twenty-one years on the job. Chase hadn’t managed to pull his jacket, but he did know that the man’s record hadn’t been particularly remarkable. Not a bad thing. Maybe no commendations decorated his walls, but he hadn’t been brought up on any charges, either. Probably one of those guys who showed up every day to eventually get that pension. No crime in that. A warm body in a uniform was all that was needed sometimes.
Chase exhaled and thought for a minute. He wasn’t quite ready to talk to the man yet. Better to get his own feel first. Let his gut point him in a direction before finding out who security or the cops thought looked good for the theft. They had to figure it was an inside job. Roscoe hadn’t been the only one who’d been ripped off. Chase knew of at least one other theft. Who knew how many more the hotel was keeping under wraps? No matter. Two was enough to make him think the perp was right here. Not another guest, but an employee.
Or someone like Dana.
Man, he hoped not. But she had means and opportunity and maybe a motive he didn’t know about yet, so he couldn’t rule her out. Wouldn’t be the first time a pretty face and great body had waylaid an investigation.
His cell phone rang, snagging the attention of the young woman polishing the lamp. He checked the caller ID and decided to let Buddy leave a message. Whatever his ex-partner had to say would be better discussed in the privacy of Chase’s room. He flipped the cell shut, briefly catching the eye of the maid. She smiled shyly and quickly looked away.
Chase tucked the small notebook and phone back into his pocket. Then he adjusted his collar and put his game face on. No use passing up an opportunity. The young woman slid him another look. He smiled and moved toward her. “Good morning, ma’am.”
WHEN Dana entered the lobby the next morning, Amy was busy helping a guest. Kelly was on the phone. Dana checked her watch. She still had fifteen minutes before she had to meet Chase and she’d hoped the girls could get away for a cup of coffee.
She really wanted to tell them about him. Naturally she wasn’t interested in his projects or what kind of talent he was scouting, but like her, Kelly and Amy had both come from small midwestern towns looking to break into show business. Unlike her, they hadn’t given up.
Kelly hung up the phone and motioned Dana over to her desk. “You have time for coffee?” Kelly asked, shooting a look toward the door to the executive offices.
“Absolutely. I purposely came early.”
“You have a client?” Kelly closed her appointment book and slipped her gold Cross pen into the top drawer of her black-lacquer-and-glass desk.
“Yep.”
“Same one as yesterday?”
Dana nodded. “Chase Culver. He’s the reason I wanted to talk to the two of you.”
“I’d like to do more than talk to him. The guy’s hot.”
She shrugged. “He’s okay.”
Kelly snorted. “Are we talking about the same man?”
Dana grinned. “So he’s a little more than okay.”
Kelly rolled her eyes and started to walk away.
“What about Amy?” Dana glanced over at their friend who looked more subdued than usual.
“She can’t take a break yet. She’s spent the last hour in the security office. Brenda is there now so there’s no one to cover for her.”
“An hour?” Dana fell into step beside Kelly as they passed the elevators and headed for the door that would lead them to what the employees affectionately called the dungeon, officially known as the back-of-the-house, where the cafeteria, housekeeping and lockers were located.
Technically, Dana wasn’t supposed to go back there since she wasn’t an employee, but no one had ever said a word and since the other two couldn’t leave the property for their breaks they’d always grabbed a quick cup of coffee in the cafeteria.
“Everyone who worked during the thefts has been scheduled to meet with security,” Kelly explained. “It’s a pain in the ass, but I can see management’s point.”
“I get that, but Amy was there for an hour?”
“I haven’t gotten the scoop from her yet.” Kelly entered the cafeteria first and went straight for the coffee station. She nodded to one of the engineers who looked up from the newspaper he was reading. “I heard that one of the room service waiters was questioned for nearly two hours.”
“Well, those guys are actually on the guest floors all the time so I can see why.” Dana poured herself half a cup, leaving out the cream and sugar. That was all she allowed herself before running. “Even if they aren’t suspects they might’ve seen something helpful.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” Kelly chose a secluded table in the corner, although only a few other people were taking their breaks. She took a hasty sip, muttered a curse and jerked away from the steaming cup. She exhaled sharply. “But Amy hardly ever goes up on the guest floors.”
Dana had taken the seat opposite her and faced the doorway. If Kyle showed up she was out of here. The man could hurt her business so she’d kept her mouth shut, but she wasn’t going to stick around and take any harassment. She looked at Kelly and noticed the strain around her mouth and eyes. “Are you worried about Amy?”
Kelly’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. She blinked and then waved a dismissive hand. “No. I got this letter from my mom…” Kelly rubbed her temples.
“Oh, that.” Dana’s light remark belied the sympathy that ran deep. Being disappointed in yourself was one thing, but letting everyone back home know what a failure you’d become…well that was hard to stomach. It didn’t help to keep up the lie. Contact with old friends and family just kept getting harder, more complicated, until you didn’t know which end was up. “I might have some good news.”
“Yeah?” Kelly braved another sip, a curious lack of interest in her face. “I could use some good news.”
Dana spotted Amy at the door of the cafeteria. “Amy’s here.”
“Good. I’d like to hear what security said to her.”
Their friend joined them at the table and the conversation immediately focused on her meeting with security.
“Man, those guys aren’t kidding.” Amy shook her head at Dana’s offer to get her coffee. “Daryl kept firing questions at me like I was some kind of criminal.”
Kelly frowned. “Didn’t he just ask you to go to the movies with him last week?”
“Yeah, the stupid jerk wanted me to go see one of those juvenile comedies. As if.”
Dana knew the security guard, but only by reputation. “Maybe he’s giving you a hard time because you turned him down.”
“No, I heard they’re coming down hard on everyone.” Kelly shook her head. “Still, they have no reason to be suspicious of the front-desk people.”
Amy sighed. “Except I made several housekeeping requests on the nights of two of the thefts. Apparently one of the guests involved denied calling the front desk for extra pillows and I was the one who’d logged the request.”
“So?” Dana didn’t get it. “You wouldn’t have been the one to take the pillows to the guest floor.”
Amy’s expression turned grim. “After the housekeeping runner goes home at eleven, depending on who’s available, either the supervisor or a desk person fills guests’ requests.”
Dana sank back in her chair. “And tag, you were it.”
“That’s what they say. I don’t remember.” Amy growled with frustration. “I only work two lousy nights a week. Why did the thefts have to happen during my shift?”
Kelly briefly touched her hand. “Ah, sweetie, don’t worry about it. Let them make their reports. They’re just doing their job. Nothing will come of this.”
“Still, it’s humiliating.”
Kelly looked at Dana. “Let’s talk about something more pleasant. You have good news for us?”
She checked her watch. Not much time. “Turns out my client is a producer. He’s here to meet with a playwright for a film he’s backing. He didn’t say it in so many words, but he might be looking for local talent that can take on the big screen.”
“Chase Culver?” Amy asked, and at the same time Kelly said, “The hottie?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s a producer?” Amy shook her head. “He doesn’t look like a producer. The guy’s yanking your chain.”
Kelly nodded. “I’m with Amy on that one. He’s a little on the rough side, don’t you think?”
“The family money comes from oil. He’s decided to dabble in the movie business.”
“Hmm.” Kelly chuckled. “Expensive way to get laid.”
“I don’t think it’s like that,” Dana said, surprised at her defensiveness. “I mean, the guy could walk into any Manhattan bar and find someone to help him pull off his boots.”
“True.” Amy glanced conspiratorially at Kelly.
“What?” Dana got defensive again. “I’m not interested, if that’s what you’re implying.”
Kelly laughed. “If you’ve got a pulse, you’re interested in the man.”
Dana pushed back from the table. “Here I thought I was doing you guys a favor.”
Kelly finished her coffee, her obvious indifference not quite computing. Of the three of them she was the most diversely talented, able to sing, act and dance. She’d also been the most ambitious, keeping up on every casting call and arranging her days off accordingly. “How?”
“Look, I don’t know what kind of film he’s looking at producing, but why not throw your hats into the ring? It’s not as if we haven’t all stood in line for hours and hours for a two-minute audition just to get thrown out on our rears.”
Oddly, it was Amy who seemed more excited. “Is he holding auditions?”
“Not yet. Not that I know of, anyway. He seems to be in the scouting stage.” Troubled by her attitude, Dana stared at Kelly. “I thought you’d be all over this opportunity.”
Kelly sighed. “I’m tired. This town is finally getting to me.”
Amy’s mouth dropped open. She briefly looked over at Dana, who understood the disbelief in Amy’s face. “You? Miss Insanely Optimistic? You’re giving up?”
“I think eight years of heartache is enough.” Kelly drove a frustrated hand through her curly hair. “I’ve got to get back to work.” She hesitated. “Look, I was going to wait and tell you guys once I made up my mind for sure, but my mom told me there’s an opening for an assistant manager at the local bank back home. The manager is an old family friend and the job is pretty much mine if I want it.”
“Shut up!” Amy’s face went pale.
Dana knew she didn’t look so hot herself. How could this be? Not gung-ho Kelly. She never ever lost hope. Anyone would’ve bet she’d be the last woman standing. “You’re going back to Wisconsin?”
Kelly shrugged. “The cost of living is lower and I might as well use my business degree…” She smiled sadly. “As much as it pains me to admit it, I’m going to be thirty next month.”
“Thirty?” Amy frowned. “That’s right. Wow.”
Kelly gave her a wry look. “I’ve got to face facts. Thirty is way too old for this town.”
“What about that new guy you’ve been seeing?” Dana asked when she found her voice again. She hated the thought of Kelly leaving. Foolishly, the idea had never occurred to her that their threesome would ever be broken up, and the concept was hard to grasp. “Is it over already?”
“No. Everything is good.” Kelly stood. “Look, I shouldn’t have brought this up yet. Miranda won’t be back from vacation for another two weeks and so obviously I wouldn’t give notice yet. And then again, I haven’t made a decision. I really have to get back to work before Kyle gets in my face.”
“But what about this guy Culver?” Amy got up, too, so abruptly she nearly knocked her chair over. “Don’t you want to know what that’s about?”
The two other employees remaining in the cafeteria looked up with avid interest. Kelly lowered her voice. “Maybe. But I’ve got to give the bank my answer soon. You guys break a leg.” She winked, and left without waiting for Amy or Dana.
Amy shook her head, still looking stunned. “That was scary.”
“Yeah.” Dana was feeling pretty shaken herself. She got rid of her unfinished coffee, afraid to look at her watch. She had to be late, but she couldn’t seem to make herself move toward the door. “Did you see this coming at all?”
“Hell, no.”
“Me neither.”
“Yeah.” Amy smoothed back her dark hair. “Wow. I’d like to go slam back a couple of shots, but I have to get back to the desk.”
Dana sighed, and walking side by side, they headed for the door. “I’ve got to meet Chase.”
Amy’s chin came up. “You think he’s legit?”
She shrugged. “I don’t have any reason not to.”
“You going for it?”
Dana swallowed. “I haven’t auditioned in three years.”
“So?” “So, I like what I’m doing.”
Amy snorted.
“Right.”
What Dana should’ve pointed out was that she’d quit three years ago. Moved on. No more pie-in-the-sky dreams for her. She had no business nurturing even the teensiest hope. Yet here she was, holding her breath.
3
CHASE BENT over to pull on his sweat socks, wincing with the effort. Yesterday’s run—his first with Dana—hadn’t tested his physical endurance as much as the hundred sit-ups he’d foolishly punished himself with last night. An equal amount of push-ups hadn’t fazed him, but then again, the recent double bullet wound near his ribs had made crunches a bitch.
He promised himself that tonight he was taking it easy. Just him and that king-size bed. Throw in some room service and the television remote, he’d be all set. And if Dana were to…
Shit. What the hell was wrong with him? He couldn’t be thinking like that. Yeah, she had legs that could wrap nicely around a man’s waist and a high firm backside that you could set a beer on, but she was still a possible suspect. Just like the rest of the people on his list. So he’d better remember to keep his fly up.
The phone rang and he knew it was her because they were supposed to have met in the lobby ten minutes ago. He pushed off the edge of the bed and made it to the console table before the third ring.
“Mr. Culver?”
“This must be Ms. McGuire.”
“Are we still on for this morning?” Her tone was all business.
“Yes, ma’am. I do apologize, but I’m running a little slow. How about you come up and have a cup of coffee while you wait? Room service brought up a fresh pot less than half an hour ago.”
“I don’t mind waiting here in the lobby.”
“I have a suite with a nice big parlor.”
“I don’t drink coffee before I run.”
“Some water then?”
She hesitated. “Frankly, I make it a policy not to go up to the guest rooms.”
“I see.” Chase smiled wryly. That was lie number one. “I’ll be down in about five minutes.”
“No problem.”
He heard a click, and then slowly replaced the receiver on the cradle. He expected more enthusiasm out of her. Maybe he’d pegged her wrong. Nah, he didn’t think so. She’d admitted she’d come to New York looking for a singing career. Looks like he had to bait the hook again.
He found his running shoes under the teak secretary where he’d kicked them off yesterday. Bending over to pull on the shoe hurt his ribs again and he cut loose a word his mama had literally washed his mouth out with soap for when he was twelve. He still remembered the day as if it were yesterday. Not just because of the nasty taste of the soap, but because of that first look of disappointment in his God-fearing mama’s eyes.
How many times before that had she begged him not to turn out like his daddy, and in that one second, to her mind, he’d taken that fork in the road. To some degree she’d been right. Chase had disappointed himself too many times to think about. He’d done things he regretted, made promises he hadn’t kept. The true irony was that two months ago, when all hell had broken loose, sending his career as a cop up in smoke, none of it had been his fault. But that hadn’t seemed to matter.
He pushed the thought from his mind, tucked it away in that dark corner that had already been too contaminated with hate and anger to make a difference. Today he had a job to do and it required all his concentration. The last thing he needed to do was screw up again.
Besides, this was going to be an interesting run. He hoped Dana didn’t have another appointment after his because he had every intention of hijacking her.
“LET’S TAKE another route,” Chase said once they entered the park. “A change of scenery.”
“Sure.” Dana waited until a family of four got off the path to follow a string of ducks toward the lake before she started to run. She couldn’t get Kelly out of her head. This morning’s timing had been awful. Dana had dozens of questions.
“You’re quiet, darlin’.”
“What?” She looked over at him. He hadn’t shaved yet. Dark stubble covered his chin and jaw, and she thought about what Kelly and Amy had said about him not looking like a producer. Silly, of course. There was no specific look.
“Is something wrong?” With his dark eyebrows drawn together, his gaze narrowed, his eyes looked more gray than blue.
“No. Nothing.” She had to stop thinking about Kelly. It wasn’t just about how much she’d miss her, which was a whole other issue, but about how much the defeat on her face had shaken Dana. Kelly giving up was kind of like signaling the end of an era. Which was really crazy because Dana had long ago removed herself from the fray. So why should it affect her?
She noticed he was lagging a bit and slowed down. One of the problems with guiding men was that they often wouldn’t speak up if she went too fast for them. “Five miles again?”
“That works.”
“Remember, you set the pace.”
He grinned. “If I keel over you should probably stop.”
“I promise to dial 911 promptly.”
“That would be mighty kind of you.”
“It’s the least I could do. After all, I do want to get paid.”
Chase laughed. “You have lived in this city too long. Ah.” Grimacing, he put a hand to his side.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just my ribs. Old injury.”
Right. She tried not to smile. “Want to slow down?”
“Just for a while.”
She immediately brought them down to a brisk walk. “What happened to your ribs?”
“I tell you that and I’ll have to admit to my sordid past.” He gave her one of his disarming smiles. “You’re the one who seems a bit off your feed today.”
She hadn’t heard that phrase in a while. Her dad must have used it a hundred times while she was growing up. Probably still did. “I just found out that one of my friends is thinking about leaving the city and getting a job back home.”
“Home being?”
“Wisconsin.”
He let out a low whistle. “Long ways off. How did she end up here?”
“Like the rest—” She stopped herself. Did she really want to open up that discussion? Actually she’d already admitted to him that she’d come to New York in search of a singing career. Bringing it up again could be a great lead-in to finding out about his meeting yesterday. “It seems like most of the friends I’ve made here I met standing in line for auditions.”
“I see. Is she working on Broadway?”
“No. That’s part of the problem.”
“So she works at the hotel?”
“She hasn’t decided for sure about leaving and obviously hasn’t given her notice yet, so I don’t feel comfortable talking about it.” Trying to sound casual, she asked, “How did your meeting with the mysterious playwright go?”
He made a sound of disgust. “It got postponed until tomorrow.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“That means I’ll need your services for an extra day.”
“I’ll check my appointment book, but that shouldn’t be a problem.” No, the real problem was the excitement that blossomed in her chest. She didn’t understand it. Certainly hadn’t expected the reaction. She’d had plenty of good-looking clients over the past couple of years. Even made the mistake of dating one of them. Which absolutely wouldn’t happen again.