Page 38 of Evidence of Deceit

“Time to leave. I have a meeting in the morning.”

Grumbling, she got out of bed, found her clothes and put them on. Gathered her purse, looked around, then picked upthe blue box and put it in her purse. She slammed the door as she was leaving.Good riddance.Keith lay there for a few minutes, feeling claustrophobic in the smaller room, got up, showered, dressed and closed the door. Got into the elevator and pushed the button to his condo.

The soothing ocean vista hit him the minute he opened the penthouse door. He needed a drink. As he crossed over to the mahogany bar, he saw a figure lounging on the sofa in the living room. He stepped back.What the hell?

“Hello, Keith.” That sultry voice. Hillary.

“Hillary, what the hell are you doing here? Better yet, how did you know where to find me?”

She sat back in the chair and smiled at him. She patted the space next to her.

“Come sit down, love. And we’ll talk.”

Damn. Talking wasn’t good—ever, especially with Hillary.Keith walked over and sat in a chair across from her.

“Explain.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Hillary wore a Cheshire cat smile that indicated she was up to something. And what was going on with her hair? She’d dyed it and cut it shorter. She also had an outfit on that looked eerily like one Claire owned. In fact, she looked a lot like Claire. Why?

How did Hillary even know he was in Florida? He hadn’t mentioned where he was going, just that he would be away on business for a couple of days. And how did she know about this particular hotel? She’d never been here. He got this hotel condominium a couple of years ago. Never told anyone, he thought. Better yet, how did she get in? He was going to have a serious talk with management after he sent her packing.

“Keith, it’s no mystery that I love you. I want you.” She hesitated. “As to how I knew you were here, I see the maintenance bills and put two and two together. Beautiful place, by the way.” She gave him a wide grin. “Plus, the air chartercalled, something about a discrepancy on the bill. Tim and I had a nice conversation.”

Keith shook his head. It was his own fault for allowing Hillary to take care of the bills, although she must have had access to his computer to find this hotel. And the next time he saw Tim, well, he wouldn’t be feeling too good. The immediate problem was Hillary. She was too smart for her own good, and it was time to let her go. Permanently.

“So how did you get in?”

She gave him a look that said,Man, you are a dummy. Well, maybe he was.

“That was a no-brainer. I simply said I was your wife.”

“You still have to show identification.”

“Again, no problem. Claire left her purse at the office one day, and I borrowed her license.” She cackled. “Remember, she thought she lost it?”

This conversation was getting weird. Keith remembered that day when Claire said she lost her license. Not that Claire drove anywhere, but she needed it for identification. He had punished her for her forgetfulness.

Hillary patted her hair, oblivious to the fact he hadn’t answered. “Do you like it? Claire doesn’t know it, probably doesn’t care, but I also borrowed a few pieces of her wardrobe.” She shrugged. “With the hair and clothes, I just added sunglasses, and voila, I’m Claire Willis.”

Keith tried to process all that Hillary was telling him, but none of it made sense.

“Why?”

“Because I love you. We’ve been together for three years. You’ve made love to me in your penthouse, you bought me a condo, clothes, took vacations with me. I help you with your ‘special projects,’” she air-quoted. “I know about most of your dealings and work you do. Basically, I do everything for you. I do it because I love you.”

She gave him a harsh squint, her lower lip quivering. “Now, I want to know if you’re going to divorce Claire and marry me. It’s time to make a decision.”

Marry Hillary? Ah. No.

Hillary was fun. A distraction. A conquest. She was almost as devious as he was. She was gorgeous and killer in bed, but his heart was with Claire. Claire, who didn’t want him anymore. But he would change her mind. Claire would come back to him.

“Hillary,” he said softly. “You knew the score when we started our relationship. Why now?”

“I want more. I want to be the woman on your arm at events, the woman you’re proud to be with, the woman you come home to.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “The woman you love.”

Think.Hillary knew too much. She could blow up everything he was involved in. The legal and not so legal. He needed to be smart. And he wished that he’d seen the crazy in her eyes before. He needed to handle her with kid gloves.

He got up to sit next to her, rubbed her arm and purred in her ear. “Baby, you know I love you. Seeing you tonight was a surprise, but let’s talk in the morning and figure out where we’re going. I promise to make everything right.”

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