“Why this sudden interest in my writing?”
“Maggie, love, I want to know everything there is to know about you. Besides, I’m curious to see whether or not I save Seaco Industries.”
“Whether or not you save it,” she gasped in outrage. “Rafe, don’t get any ideas about my having used you as a model for the hero in my book.”
Rafe paid no attention to that as he dug Ruthless out of the sack and put it down on the table in front of him. “Come on, Maggie, love. Light brown eyes, dark brown hair and a Western drawl? Who do you think you’re kidding?”
“I have news for you, Rafe. There are millions of men around who fit that description.”
“Yeah, but I’m the one you know,” he said complacently as he ordered two cups of coffee from a hovering waitress.
Margaret gave him an exasperated glare. “You want to know something? Most of my heroes look like Roarke Cody. And I wrote at least three of them long before I ever met you.”
“Is that right? No wonder you fell straight into my hands the day I met you. I was your favorite hero come to life. The man of your dreams.”
“Why you arrogant cowboy. Of all the …”
“Give me a hint,” Rafe said, interrupting her casually. “Does the heroine sleep with this Roarke guy in the hope that she can persuade him not to fire her and her staff?”
“Of course not.” Margaret was obviously scandalized at the suggestion. “That would be highly unethical. None of my heroines would do such a thing.”
“Hmm. But he tries to get her to do that, right?”
Margaret lifted her chin. “Roarke Cody is quite ruthless in the beginning. He tries all sorts of underhanded, sneaky maneuvers to get the heroine.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Do any of those underhanded, sneaky maneuvers work as well as the underhanded, sneaky maneuver I used to get you down here to Tucson?”
Margaret folded her arms on the table and leaned forward with a belligerent glare. “I am not going to tell you the plot.”
“Go shopping, Maggie, love. I’ll wait right here for you.” Rafe propped one booted heel on a conveniently empty chair, leaned back and picked up Ruthless.
MARGARET SPENT OVER AN HOUR in the colorful, Southwestern-style shops. The air-conditioned shopping mall was crowded with people seeking to escape the midday heat.
The clothes featured in the windows tended to be brighter and more casual in style than what she was accustomed to seeing in Seattle. It made for an interesting shopping experience that she deliberately lengthened in the hope of causing Rafe to grow bored and restless.
But when she returned to the indoor sidewalk café, several packages in hand, she saw to her dismay that he was still deep into Ruthless.
She told herself she ought to find his interest in her book gratifying or at the very least somewhat amusing. But the fact was, it made her uncomfortable. He had guessed the truth immediately. He was the hero of Ruthless and of every book she had ever written.
Margaret had been in the middle of writing Roarke and Anne’s story when she had met Rafe. She had finished it shortly after Rafe had turned on her and accused her of betraying him. It had not been easy to write a happy ending when her own love life was in shambles.
But a part of her had sought to work out in Ruthless the ending that had been denied to her in real life. Her own relationship might have gone on the rocks but she’d still had her dreams of what a good relationship could be. A woman had to have faith in the future.
“Not finished yet?” Margaret came to a halt in front of Rafe.
He looked up slowly. “Gettin’ there. Ready to go?”
She nodded. “I could use a swim.”
“Good idea.” Rafe got to his feet and dropped Ruthless back into the paper bag. “You know this Roarke guy started out okay in the beginning. He had the right idea about how to save Seaco. You’ve got to cut a lot of dead wood when you go into a situation like that. But I get the feeling he’s being set up for a fall.”
“He’s being set up for a happy ending,” Margaret muttered.
Rafe shook his head, looking surprisingly serious. “The problem is, he’s starting to let his hormones make his decisions. He’s getting soft.” Rafe chuckled. “Not in bed, I’ll grant you, he’s holding up just fine there. But when it comes to business, he’s falling apart. Going to shoot himself in the foot if he doesn’t get back on track.”
“He’s falling in love with the heroine and that love is causing him to change,” Margaret snapped.
“It’s causing him to act stupid.”
“Rafe, for pity’s sake, it’s just a story. Don’t take it so seriously.”
“Real-life business doesn’t work like that.”
“It’s a story, Rafe. A romance.”
“You know,” Rafe said, looking thoughtful as they walked out of the mall into the furnace of the parking lot, “your dad was right. It’s a good thing you got out of the business world, Maggie. You’re not tough enough for it.”
“My father said that? I’ll strangle him.”
“He said it during one of our early conversations and I agree.”
“You’re both a couple of turkeys.”
“Maybe women in general just aren’t hard enough to make it in the business world,” Rafe continued philosophically. “You’ve got to be willing to be ruthless, really ruthless or you’ll get eaten by the bigger sharks. Women, especially women like you, just don’t have that extra sharp edge, know what I mean?”
Margaret came to a full halt right in the middle of the blazing parking lot and planted herself squarely in front of a startled Rafe. She was hotter than the blacktop on which she stood, her anger suddenly lashed into a firestorm.
“Why you chauvinistic, pigheaded, redneck cowboy. I always had a feeling that deep down inside you didn’t approve of women in the business world and now at last the truth comes out. So you don’t think women can handle it, do you? You don’t think we’ll ever make it in big business? That we aren’t ruthless enough?”
“Now, honey, it was just an observation.”
“It’s a biased, prejudiced, masculine observation. I’ve got news for you, Rafe Cassidy, one of these days women are going to not only make it big in the business world, but we’re going to change the way it operates.”
Rafe blinked and reached up to pull the brim of his Stetson lower over his eyes. “Is that right?”
“Darn right. You men have been running it long enough and women are getting tired of playing by your rules. We’re getting tired of cutthroat business practices and vicious competition—tired of playing the game for the sake of some man’s ego.”
Rafe shrugged. “That’s the way it works, Maggie, love. It’s a jungle out there.”
“Only because men have made it into one. I suppose that after you got civilized and no longer had the thrill of the hunt for real, you had to create a new way to get your kicks. So you turned all your aggressive instincts into the way you do business. But that’s going to change as women take over.”
“Uh, Maggie, love, it’s kind of hot out here. What do you say we go back to the ranch and continue this fascinating discussion in the swimming pool?”
“Your sister is a good example of the new breed of female businessperson. And Sean Winters has shown the good sense to turn his stores over to her to manage. You could take a lesson from him.”
A small smile edged Rafe’s mouth. His eyes gleamed in the shadow of his hat. “You want me to turn Cassidy and Company over to you?”
“Of course not. I don’t want anything to do with that company. I’ve got my own career in writing and I like it. But I swear to God, Rafe, if we have a daughter and if she shows an interest in the family business, you’d darn well better let her have a hand in it.”
Rafe grinned slowly. “It’s a deal. Let’s go home and work on it.”
Margaret stared at him in frowning confusion as he took her arm and steered her towar
d the Mercedes. “What are you talking about?”
“Our daughter. Let’s go home and get busy making one. I want to see this brave new world of business once the women take over. The sooner we get started producing the new female executive, the sooner we’ll see if it’s going to work.”
Margaret felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She struggled for air. “A daughter? Rafe, are you talking about a baby?”
“Yeah. Any objections?”
She cleared her throat, still dazed by the abrupt change of topic. A baby—Rafe’s baby. A little girl to inherit his empire. Margaret recovered from her initial shock and began to smile gloriously.
“Why, no, Rafe. I don’t have any objections at all.”
RAFE WAS FEELING EXCEPTIONALLY good two days later when he walked down the hall to his study. He had no premonition of disaster at all.
But, then, he’d been feeling very good every day since Margaret had arrived. Now that they had the house to themselves he was indulging himself in the luxury of waking up beside her in the mornings. He loved that time at dawn when they lay together in tangled white sheets and watched the morning light pour over the mountains.
One of these days he really was going to have to start going back into the office on a regular basis, he told himself. But all in all, if the truth be known, he was slightly amazed at how well things were going with him on vacation.
He chuckled to himself at the thought that he might not be as indispensable at Cassidy and Company headquarters as he’d always assumed. Maggie wouldn’t hesitate to point that out to him if he gave her the chance.
He rounded the corner, glancing at his watch. Hatcher had gone back out to his car to get another file. They had been working for the past two hours before taking a break and now they were going to finish the business. Rafe was looking forward to joining Margaret out by the pool.
Rafe walked through the door of his study, frowning slightly as he realized he must have left it open. Perhaps Hatcher had already returned from the car.
But it wasn’t Doug Hatcher standing beside the desk staring at the open file and the computer printout lying alongside. It was Margaret. One look at her face and Rafe knew she had seen too much.
He sighed inwardly. He would much rather she hadn’t found out what was going on, but it wasn’t the end of the world, either. She loved him and this time around she was firmly in his camp.
“What are you doing in here, Maggie? I thought you were going swimming.”
She was staring at him with wide eyes. A storm was brewing rapidly in their aqua depths. “Doug said you were in here. I wanted to talk to you. But I found this instead.” She gestured angrily at the open file. “What in the world is going on, Rafe? What are you up to with this Ellington takeover? Why all these references to Moorcroft?”
“It’s just business, Maggie, love. I’ll be finished in another half hour or so. You told me you were willing to be reasonable about the amount of time I spent on work. Why don’t you go on out to the pool?”
“This is what you were working on that night I found you in here after the engagement party, isn’t it? This is why Hatcher comes here to see you every day. I demand to know what is going on.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because it’s clear Moorcroft is involved in some way and I know you have no liking for him.” Her eyes narrowed. “I also know that you’re quite capable of plotting revenge. Tell me the truth, Rafe. Are you in competition with Jack to take over Ellington?”
He shrugged and sat down behind the desk. “You could say that.”
“What do you mean by that? Are you or aren’t you?”
Rafe closed the damning file and regarded her consideringly. She was getting mad but she wasn’t going up in flames. “As I said, Maggie, this is just business. It doesn’t concern you.”
“Are you sure? If this really is just business as usual, you’re right. It doesn’t concern me. But if this is some sort of vengeance against Jack, I won’t have it.”
Rafe rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and steepled his fingers. His initial uneasiness was over and he was starting to get annoyed by her attitude. “You think you have to protect Moorcroft? The way you did last year?”
She flinched at that. “No, of course not. I don’t work for him any longer and I don’t owe him anything, but—”
“You’re right. You don’t owe him anything, especially not your loyalty. That should be crystal clear this time around. So let him take his chances out there in the jungle, Maggie. He’s been doing it a long time, same as me.”
“Rafe, I don’t like this. If you’re up to something, I think I should be told.”
“You’re a romance writer these days, not a business executive. You don’t need to know anything about this.”
“Damn you, Rafe, don’t you dare patronize me. I don’t trust you to treat Moorcroft the way you would any other business competitor. Not after what happened last year. I want to know—” She broke off abruptly, glancing at the open door.
Rafe followed her gaze and saw Hatcher standing on the threshold. He looked uncertain of what he should do next. “I’ll, uh, come back later, Rafe.”
“No,” Rafe said. “Maggie was just leaving. Come on in, Hatcher. I want to get this Ellington thing finished today. Sit down.”
Margaret hesitated a moment and then apparently thought better of making a scene in front of Hatcher. “We’ll discuss this later, Rafe.” She turned and stalked out the door, the elegant line of her spine rigidly straight with anger.
Hatcher stared after her, looking more uneasy than ever. “She knows about the Ellington deal?”
“She walked in here and saw the damned file lying on the desk.”
Hatcher paled. “Sorry. I know you didn’t want her to find out about it.”
Rafe bit off a curse. “It wasn’t your fault. Never mind, I’ll deal with Maggie later. I can sugarcoat the facts and calm her down. Let’s get back to work.”
Hatcher drew a deep breath. “Rafe, I think there’s something you should know.”
“What?” Rafe jabbed at a key on the computer console and narrowed his eyes as a familiar spreadsheet popped onto the screen.
“There’s been another leak of information.”
That caught Rafe’s attention. He swung his gaze back to his assistant. “Bad?”
“The latest set of offer figures. The ones we drew up this week. My inside information tells me Moorcroft has them.”
“This time around we were very, very careful, Hatcher,” Rafe said softly. “Only you and I knew those numbers and they existed only in this file. We wiped them out of the computer after we ran the calculations.”
Hatcher studied the desktop for a long moment before he looked up. There was a desperate expression in his eyes. “You’re going to have my head if I say what I have to say next, Rafe.”
Rafe looked at the man he had trusted for the past three years. “Just say it and get it over with.”
“There’s been someone else here in your house with access to these figures for over a week. I hate to be the one to point this out to you, but the fact is the really bad leaks began after she got here.”
Rafe was so stunned he couldn’t even think for a moment. The accusation against Margaret was the last thing he’d been expecting to hear. He had prepared himself for something else entirely.
For an instant he simply stared at Hatcher and then he came up out of the chair, grabbed his startled assistant by the collar of his immaculate shirt and yanked him halfway across the desk. “What the hell are you trying to tell me?”
Fear flashed in Hatcher’s eyes. “Rafe, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. But someone has to point it out to you. And as long as it’s gone this far, there’s more you should know.”
“More?” Rafe’s hand tightened.
Hatcher looked down at the corded muscles of Rafe’s forearms and then up again. “My sources tell me she saw him shortly before leaving Seattle t
o come down here.”
“Hatcher, I swear, I’ll break your neck if you’re lying to me.”
“It’s true,” Hatcher gasped. “I’ve known about the meeting for a couple of days but I’ve been afraid to tell you. But now you’re practically accusing me of being the leak and I’ve got my own reputation to consider. Ask her. Go on, ask her if she didn’t talk to Moorcroft before she flew to Tucson.”
“There’s no way she would have talked to that bastard.”
“Is that right? Ask her if Jack Moorcroft didn’t offer her a nice chunk of change to find out what she could about what we’re up to. You want to pinpoint the leak? Don’t look at me. I’ve been your man since the day I came to work for you. I’ve proven my loyalty a hundred times over. Try looking close to home, Rafe.”
“Damn it, Hatcher, you don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Yes, I do. I’ve just been afraid to say it out loud for several days because I knew you didn’t want to hear it. But you’ve never paid me to be a yes man, Rafe. You’ve always said you wanted me to speak my mind and tell you the facts as I saw them. All right, I’m doing just that. She betrayed you once and she’s betraying you again.”
Rafe felt himself hovering on the brink of his self-control. He hadn’t been this close to going over the edge since the day he’d found Margaret with Moorcroft.
He made himself release his grip on Hatcher. Doug inhaled deeply and stepped quickly back out of reach, smoothing his clothing.
“Get out of here, Hatcher.”
Hatcher glanced nervously at the file. “What about the Ellington deal? We need another set of numbers and we need them fast. We’ve got to make the final move within the next forty-eight hours.”
“I said, get out of here.”
Hatcher nodded quickly, picked up his briefcase and went to the door. There he paused briefly, his expression anguished. “Rafe, I’m sorry it turned out this way.”
“Just go, will you?”
Hatcher nodded and went out the door without a backward glance.
Rafe stared for a long while at the far wall before he yanked open the bottom desk drawer and pulled out a glass and a bottle of Scotch.
Very carefully he poured the liquor into the glass and then he propped his feet on the desktop and leaned back in the chair. He took a long swallow of the potent Scotch and forced his mind to go blank for a full minute.