Page 13 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

Rainer laughed again. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

This time, she joined him, snickering lightly. “Of course, I’m glad you’re safe. But I was so sure that those men were serious. I would never have gone to your office like that otherwise.”

“I believe you.” Rainer shifted to stand a bit straighter. “There’s nothing in your background to suggest you’re an attention seeker. Quite the opposite.”

Now Georgia was just weirded out. “Just how deep did Mr. Powell go snooping?”

Rainer bit his lip. “He’s pretty thorough. You got the full workup, I’m afraid,” he said, a slight trace of apology in his voice. “As did your foster parents.”

Georgia took a deep breath.Wow. He didn’t even try to hide digging into her past. But she reminded her she had asked for it.

“I guess you know all about Ephraim’s partner stealing from him,” she muttered. “That must have been a big red flag.”

Rainer nodded, but his face remained open, not unkind. “Powell did bring it up as a possible motive. He thought you concocted the story to try to get some reward money out of me. Maybe got some friends to playact that recording.”

Georgia’s heart skipped a beat. “Wow. That is…very plausible.”

He dismissed that with a wave of his hand. “It would have been, had you come back to try again. Also, you don’t appear to have any men in your life who would conspire to make that audio recording.”

She burst out laughing. “Ouch.”

It was Rainer’s turn to blush. He winced. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded—it’s just that the other mechanics at Elite have different voiceprints. We checked.”

The sheer effort that had gone into investigating her was staggering. “I do have other friends,” she blurted, a touch indignant.

“Girlfriends, yes. But the only real man in your life is your foster father.”

Georgia rocked back on her heels with an amused laugh. The man didn’t pull any punches.

Hey, your sad sack of a life is an actual bonus here, she chided herself. She wasn’t a suspect in his eyes. Powell was another story.

Speaking of…“I’m surprised your security people let you out on your own, sans bodyguard.”

The twitch in his cheek told her Powell had argued about letting him do just that. But Rainer was the boss. “We’re not at Defcon one anymore,” he said with a shrug. “I told him we could stand down.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

“I do think you heard something real,” Rainer added generously. “But like I said in my office, most people don’t carry out their threats.”

Georgia nodded. “Well, keep being careful just in case. Vigilance and all that…”

It was what her mother would have said, albeit more boldly and with greater confidence. Diamond would have convinced both Rainer and Powell that a threat existed on the first try.

“I will,” he said. “However, I didn’t come here to discuss the plot you overheard.”

“I know. But nothing has changed. I still can’t sell you the car.”

“Are youverysure?” The look that accompanied the question could have melted butter. Georgia had to resist the urge to fan herself.

“Ican’t.” She threw up her hands. “I spoke to my father after I saw you, floated the idea of selling… It didn’t go well.”

“What if I spoke with him?” Rainer’s gaze moved covetously over the Talbot. “I’m sure I could talk him around.”

The mental image of the ‘For Sale’ sign blazed across her mind. “Well…he technically gave it to me as a gift. But he wants it to stay in the family.”

Ephraim would forgive her for selling it, but if she tried to give him the cash to save the house, he might not take it.

Scenting blood, Rainer didn’t say a word. He simply waited, displaying a patient cunning that must have served him well during business negotiations.

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