Years earlier Ace had given his word to his brother Hazard that the operation of the mines would never threaten the Double W land or animals. To that end the mines were located as far as possible from the range land, on the northernmost boundary between Wyoming and Montana, spanning almost twenty miles of once-isolated property. It made traveling to and from work a difficult venture for Ace, who often relied on the family helicopter for transportation. Without it he was forced to use up precious hours in drive time.
For the next three hours Ace gave Phillip Curtis the grand tour, determined to make up for his morning’s lapse.
“I’m really proud of this facility.” He pointed to the employees who continuously studied the series of wall-mounted monitors around the control room. “Our mines are lined with a system of video cameras that allow us to see everything as it happens. There isn’t a man or a machine that can’t be located at the push of a button.”
Curtis watched while one of the attendants carried on a conversation with a manager deep inside the mine. When the manager complained about the malfunction of a piece of equipment, the attendant was able to bring the image up on the screen, where the problem was quickly diagnosed, and the proper part dispatched.
Phillip Curtis turned to Ace. “Very impressive, Wilde.”
Pleased, Ace nodded. A short time later he was standing on the helicopter pad, shaking hands with a satisfied client.
“I’ll expect that amended contract to be on my desk when I arrive back in Washington.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll be there.” Ace kept his smile in place as Curtis stepped aboard and settled himself in his seat. “And I’m sorry again about the delay this morning.”
He waved as the copter lifted into the air. Then, desperately in need of aspirin, he turned and made his way back to his office where he sat down and punched a button on his desk.
“Cass.”
There was no response.
He swore and made his way out to her desk. It was empty. As was the outer office, where the receptionist usually sat. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a woman’s tan skirt as she rounded a corner on her way toward the women’s lounge.
He glanced around in frustration. Finding nobody to help, he began rummaging through the drawers of his assistant’s desk. He came up empty-handed and swore again.
Seeing one of the young women from the office just about to step onto the elevator he stopped her. “Where is everybody, Marla?”
She seemed surprised by the question. “They’re down in the cafeteria, Mr. Wilde. Saying goodbye to Cass. I figured you were already there. Aren’t you supposed to make the presentation of our gift?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He turned away, mentally cursing himself. How many more things could he forget in the course of a single day?
He stormed into his office and opened a cabinet. Inside was a beautifully wrapped package which the office staff had given him more than a week ago. Beside it was the card he’d chosen for Cass. Carrying both, he headed toward the cafeteria.
Inside, the noise level was deafening. The employees from accounting were making a presentation of their gift, along with a bawdy poem about Cass Kellerman and her husband-to-be. It brought down the house.
Cass, with her usual dimpled smile, accepted graciously, then made a few off-color comments of her own, which had them laughing even louder.
She looked up when she caught sight of Ace. “Well. Finally our boss is here. I was afraid he might have to accompany our Washington guest all the way back home on bended knee to save his…contract.”
Ace stepped forward. On his face was the famous Wilde grin. “It’s okay, Cass. You can tell the truth. It’s my hide I needed to save, along with the contract. And believe me, our Washington guest tore a couple of strips off my hide. But other than that, I’m still standing.”
She stared pointedly at the gift. “Is that mine? Or are you going to hog it?”
“It’s for you.” He continued holding it. “But before I hand it over, I have to read you the note that goes with it.”
In a loud voice he read the sentimental note written by the women in the office. When he was through, he saw Cass blink away a tear before tearing open the wrappings. Inside was a set of goblets, champagne flutes and water glasses, all bearing the imprint of elegant crystal.
Amid the oohs and aahs, Ace said dryly, “Now that’s what every ranch in Wyoming needs. Good crystal.”
“Don’t knock it.” Cass pursed her lips. “Or when you come by for a visit, I’ll serve you a drink in an old Mason jar.”
The others laughed, enjoying the easy banter between Cass and her boss.
“Oh.” As an afterthought, he handed her an envelope. “And this is from me.”
She read the handwritten card and her eyes misted again. Then she looked at the amount of the check enclosed and her jaw dropped. “Are you serious, Ace? Is this all for me?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “And if you’re smart, you won’t mention it to Larry. That’ll be your mad money in case it doesn’t work out.”
“Oh, you.” She slapped his arm good-naturedly, be fore taking a second look at the check and then hugging him fiercely.
Two of the women from the office came forward with a cake, and Cass admired it before cutting it into slices and passing it around.
When she offered one to Ace he shook his head.
“You’re passing up dessert?” She put a hand to his forehead in mock distress. “Are you sick?”
“Yeah. As a matter of fact…” He lowered his voice. “You wouldn’t happen to have any aspirin, would you?”
She shook her head. “Not on me. But I can get you some.”
She turned away and spoke with one of the women, who hurried from the room. Minutes later the woman returned and held out a bottle.
Cass shook a couple of tablets into Ace’s palm and handed him a glass of punch. “This ought to help.”
“Thanks, Cass.” He gulped the aspirin and drained the glass of punch, watching as the others gathered up the remains of their party and began heading back to their offices. “Want me to carry some of these gifts to your car?”
“Thanks.” She piled his arms with boxes, then picked up what was left and led the way.
Outside she opened the trunk of her car and carefully removed the boxes from his grasp. When she closed the lid of the trunk, she turned. “Well. I guess that’s it, then.”
“It?”
At his blank look she laughed. “I don’t know where you went last night, or who you were with, but that must have been some date.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about the fact that you haven’t managed to get one thing right today, Ace. Your nine o’clock appointment with Curtis. My goodbye lunch, which you almost missed completely. And now you’ve forgotten that I asked to end my last day right after the luncheon party, so Larry and I could fly up to my parents’ place in time for the rehearsal tonight.”
“Oh, yeah. Right. I haven’t forgotten.”
“Liar.” She shook her head in mock disgust.
“Wait a minute.” It suddenly dawned on him. “You can’t leave yet. You never even introduced me to your replacement.”
“I tried to do that this morning, remember? But you were too busy trying to dazzle old Curtis.”
“Come on, Cass.” He caught her hand and started dragging her toward the door. “At least handle the introductions before you go.”
“Okay.”
As they walked inside and rode the elevator, Ace asked, “Was she at your luncheon?”
Cass shook her head. “She volunteered to stay and man the telephones while we partied. I thought that was awfully sweet of her.”
They stepped off the elevator and Ace trailed Cass into his office.
As he walked to his desk, Cass reached over and pressed a button. “Allison?”
A voice as smooth as velvet answered. “Yes?”
“Could
you please step in here and meet your boss?”
A moment later the door opened and Ace looked up with a smile.
“Allison Brady, I’d like you to meet the guy who’ll be signing your paychecks. This is Ace Wilde. Ace, this is Allison. Although she asks that you call her Ally.”
Ace’s smile faded as he caught sight of the woman in the doorway. Despite the fact that her hair was pulled back into an elegant twist, nothing could hide the fact that it was the color of flame. And though she was wearing a trim tan suit and simple pumps, she could do nothing to camouflage the long legs and lush body.
His eyes turned to frost. And his voice, when he finally found it, was pure ice.
“Allison Brady.”
The voice he remembered from the night before said simply, “You’re…Ace Wilde?”
Cass turned from Ace to the woman who had remained motionless in the doorway. “Well, if you two will excuse me, I have a plane to catch.”
She hurried from the room. Leaving the two of them staring at each other in stunned surprise.
Ally knew she needed to say something. But she was convinced that nothing she said now could ever make things right between them.
How could she have possibly made such a stupid blunder? Of all the guys in the world to con, why did she have to pick this one?
Who would have expected the millionaire owner of WildeMining to dress like a cowboy and hang out in a run-down saloon in the middle of nowhere?
“Well I…” She started to back up. “I guess I’d better clean out my desk and head out of here.”
As she turned away she heard his voice, thick with anger. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She stopped. Glanced over her shoulder. He was still standing at his desk, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes as dark as thunderclouds. “You certainly don’t want me working for you. Not after…” She licked her lips. “Not after last night.”
“True enough. But it doesn’t look like I have any choice at the moment. Cass is gone. And I have some additions I need written into an important government contract right away.” He came around the desk and fixed her with a look. “You do know how to type, don’t you?”
She drew herself up stiffly. “If you have any question about my office skills, you can look over the evaluation Cass left. I believe it’s there on your desk.”
He turned and picked up the three-page document, reading quickly while the woman he was reading about stood perfectly still, watching him. It occurred to Ace that if he hadn’t seen her in action the previous night, he’d actually believe all these glowing tributes. The fact that the final page bore Cassidy Kellerman’s signature came as a jolt. He’d thought, for a moment, that he was reading a flattering self-analysis, written by Allison Brady herself.
“All right. According to this, you’ve mastered every office machine ever invented, can type a hundred words a minute, you’re a whiz at the computer, and you’ve all but sprouted wings.” He looked up in time to see the little sparks that flared in her eyes. But to her credit, she held her silence. “I already know that last is a lie. Let’s see if any of it is true.” He sat down and switched on his desktop computer. “I’m going to call up the last contract we signed with the government. I’ll make the necessary changes, then I’ll expect you to add them in some coherent manner and have them printed and ready for signature before you leave here at five o’clock,” and he added, “I’ll remind you that the government contracts are top secret. Nobody sees them except me, and those I designate. And since Cass is gone, that just leaves you. For the moment.”
“And when I finish with the contract, then what?” She hesitated in the doorway.
“And then, Red…” He emphasized the nickname in a tone of voice that left her no doubt of his feelings, “I’m sure we’d both be a whole lot more comfortable if you found employment somewhere else.”
She nodded stiffly before walking away.
Chapter 3
Ally turned on the computer and accessed the file. Despite the excessive number of pages, the contract between WildeMining and the government seemed to be pretty basic. It took only a matter of a few hours to clean up the changes, check for typos, and print out a final copy in triplicate. When it was printed, she took a deep breath before stepping into Ace’s office.
He was on the speakerphone with a client. He’d removed his suit jacket and tie and rolled the sleeves of his white shirt. Without the formal clothes, he looked more like the cowboy she’d encountered in Clancy’s.
The moment she entered, she saw his eyes narrow before he continued his conversation.
“It’s true that WildeMining has acquired an interest in Azure Mines. I’ve already sent one of my foremen, Hank Richards, and a crew to West Virginia to evaluate how much work is needed to get the mine up and run ning again. But we’re not ready at this time to make any promises.”
He watched as Ally crossed the room. Up close he caught the faintest whiff of something spicy and sexy as hell. Completely at odds with that business suit and sensible shoes. As she bent to place copies of the contract on his desk he found himself staring at the darkened cleft beneath the neckline of the plain white blouse. He could still remember the lush body she’d been so eager to display last night.
From this distance he could see that she wasn’t at all as cool as she’d first appeared. A little pulse-beat fluttered at her throat, indicating nerves. That discovery gave him a perverse sense of satisfaction.
He flicked a glance over her, then continued in that same tone. “But I will promise you this, Mr. Sex…” He paused. Cursed himself. “Mr. Saxton. When the mine is ready to run at full capacity, you’ll be the first one I contact.”
He disconnected, then stared at Ally’s retreating back. She was a distraction. A definite distraction. But it had nothing to do with the way she looked, all cool and efficient in proper business clothes. It was a purely gut reaction, because he couldn’t forget about the way she’d fleeced him at Clancy’s.
Without a word he picked up the contract and read it carefully. Satisfied, he buzzed her and waited until she paused in the doorway.
“Yes?”
That same voice. Smooth as aged bourbon. The kind of voice, he thought, that whispered over a man’s senses and had him thinking about things better left alone. “Okay, Red. I’ve proofed the contract and signed it.” He held out the pile of pages. “You can send two copies by overnight mail to Phillip Curtis in Washington. File the third copy in our government file.”
She accepted the documents from his hand and turned away. He watched the sway of her hips and remembered the way she’d looked in those skintight jeans and that little-bit-of-a-shirt. Seeing her now it was hard to believe she was the same woman.
But she was, he reminded himself. The same con artist. Only now she was posing as a cool and competent office assistant.
A short time later he paused in the doorway of his office, noting with satisfaction that his new ex-assistant was busy packing up her meager belongings. A photo. A notebook. A few pens. Not enough to fill the leather briefcase she lifted from the desktop.
She looked up, then away, avoiding his eyes. “The courier just left. The contracts are on their way.” She took a breath. “I expect to be paid for the work I did here this past week.”
“Don’t worry.” He gave a thin smile. “The check will be in the mail. As soon as I find someone to replace you.”
She turned away, pulling the strap over her shoulder. A minute later he heard the bell signaling the arrival of the elevator. And then there was only silence.
He returned to his office and walked to the window to watch as she emerged minutes later and walked toward her dusty truck in the employee parking area. It took several minutes before she drove away, and Ace realized she’d probably been forced to try the engine several times before it started.
He walked back to his desk and, seeing his handwritten notes, decided to file them along with the con tract. He walked to his assist
ant’s office and unlocked the government file cabinet. When he found the proper folder, he lifted it out of the drawer and began affixing the notes with a paper clip. As he did, his glance fell on the words of the second paragraph. What was this? He hadn’t authorized this change. Alarmed, he started reading more. Before he’d even completed the first page he found another glaring error. His annoyance was quickly becoming panic. He read further, and discovered several more. By the time he finished reading, he was rigid with fury. All in all he’d counted five errors. Each one would cost the company, not only in loss of prestige, but in millions of dollars.
With a string of oaths he dashed out of his office and stared around. The outer office was empty. All the employees had left for the day.
He returned to his office and began phoning overnight carriers, frantic to determine which one had picked up the contract. When he finally located the one that was delivering the documents, it took another series of calls to the carrier’s dispatcher before he could be assured that the mail would be returned to WildeMining by morning.
Phillip Curtis would be furious when the contracts weren’t on his desk in Washington. But that was the least of Ace’s worries at the moment.
He went through Cass’s desk until he located the address of Allison Brady. Then he phoned one of the mine managers.
“Kent. It’s Ace. Can you bring one of the mine trucks to my office right away?” He listened. Nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be out front waiting.”
Minutes later he got behind the wheel of the pickup truck and took off in a cloud of dust. There was a good chance that the address in the file was a phony, and that Allison Brady was probably long gone by now. She’d be a fool to stick around. Someone must have paid her handsomely to sabotage this deal. And since she had a good hour headstart, he’d be lucky to find more than her dust.
Still, he had to give it a try. If he found her, he’d personally throttle her within an inch of her life. Then he’d gladly turn her over to the authorities. Altering government documents ought to buy her a little time behind bars.
“Nobody deserves it more, Red,” he muttered as he turned onto the dusty one-lane road that seemed to lead to nowhere. She wasn’t guilty of a simple pool-hustle now. This was serious business.