Page 69 of False Evidence

Lee approached and placed a drink in her hand. She would hesitate to accept, but he was one person she knew she could trust. The mint garnish told her it was a mojito. “You, uh, might want this,” he whispered. Then he raised his voice and spoke to JT’s stepmom. “JT just texted that he’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Oh, good. His father wants to talk to him before dinner is served and he makes his speech.”

Alexandra took a sip of the drink as her nerves bubbled up again. Dinner involved speeches? Was JT making a speech, or was the speaker his father?

A handsome older man who bore a slight resemblance to JT approached. His skin was a tad darker and his hair streaked with gray, but the jawline was similar.

But that wasn’t what caused her to jolt, sloshing her drink. No, it was that sherecognizedhim. The senator from Maryland. The one who owned Talon & Drake.

Her mystery man was Senator Joseph Talon’s son.

And now she remembered Brent complaining about the CEO, who was far too young to run the company but had gotten the job because he was the senator’s only child.

ChapterTwenty-Five

JT knew the exact moment the truth became clear to Alexandra. It wasn’t when she nearly spilled her drink; it was a moment after, when the pieces must’ve come together in her mind.

Was she thinking about that first night, when she asked him if he’d met the senator? Or when he’d told her he knew she didn’t work for Talon & Drake becauseshehadn’t recognizedhim.

She’d probably thought he had a big ego, but he’d been stating a basic fact.

He stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her waist. “Alexandra, darling. I see you’ve met my dad and stepmom.”

Her smile was overly bright, but she’d recovered well enough. “We were just getting to that. It’s an honor to meet you, Senator Talon.” She held out a hand. “Alexandra Vargas.”

“A pleasure,” Joe said as he shook her hand. “JT has told us very little about you.”

“That’s my fault, really. I wasn’t sure if I could join you tonight, and I didn’t want him saying anything in case I failed to show.”

Smooth. Very smooth.

“We so appreciate you helping, but I hope we haven’t pulled you away from family this evening,” Lisa said.

“My parents are on a cruise celebrating my dad’s retirement. I was going to spend the holiday with my best friend, but that fell through, so here I am.”

Her best friend. The roommate who was dating Forbes. He was glad she’d made the decision to spend the holiday with him instead.

A server passed by with a tray of hors d’oeuvres, and Lex took a cracker topped with veggies and cheese. “I didn’t realize it would take so long to do the gift-giving, or I’d have eaten earlier.”

“Dinner will be served shortly,” Lisa said. “And really, JT should have warned you.” She gave him a look that conveyed her disappointment at his failure.

He slid his hand lower and cupped Lex’s hip, just shy of an ass grab. He’d have warned her if she’d told him she was coming. He would make her pay for throwing him under the bus later. They would both enjoy her punishment.

She turned to face him, licking crumbs from her lips with a wicked smile. Holy hell. She was here to play.

How many minutes until he could get her alone in his hotel room?

But first, Dad wanted to talk.

He kissed Lex’s cheek, then followed his father to the manager’s office. Once they were alone, Joe said, “I had an interesting call from Ed Drake tonight.”

“We both know if this is about Talon & Drake, we can’t be having this conversation.”

“No one will know.”

“Iknow. We agreed that when I was named CEO, you would not interfere. We could lose our government contracts if you’re found to be in violation of Senate Ethics Rules. Either that or you can be impeached.”

“We both know ethics rules are only as strong as the willingness to enforce them.”

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