Page 40 of Seductive Secrets

James shook his head. “No, not a bad company, honey. Just a company that has a few bad eggs.”

She still didn’t like it. “Right. Well, I guess we’ll pack up and I should…,” she glanced at James, “head home.” The last two words were spoken without much enthusiasm. She didn’t want to return to Chicago. She wanted to stay here with James. Or in Virginia where he worked. She didn’t care where she was, as long as she was with him.

“Stay in the house,” Dash suggested promptly. “You haven’t had a vacation in a while and I rented the house through the end of the week. So, it’s all yours.” He mumbled something, probably replying to someone’s inquiry before he came back. “I’m going to be here for a while, working with the DEA. I’ll brief them and they’ve agreed to keep me in the loop. I, in turn, will keepyouin the loop.”

“Okay. But what’s going to happen to Joe?” she asked apprehensively.

“The Chicago DEA team is going to his house now to question him. The Baltimore and Chicago offices will coordinate their information and efforts.” He paused. “I’m sorry, Ang. I wish I had better news.”

She shook her head, then remembered that Dash couldn’t see her. “It’s fine. You’ve been a huge help already. At least we’ve exposed the issue.”

“The FBI will be brought in as well. They’ll look into the disappearance of DuBreck and Abernathy. They’re still missing, which is a grave concern.”

“Maybe they just flew to some remote island to elope and are relaxing on a beach somewhere, completely unaware of what’s going on back here,” she offered as a potential explanation.

James grunted and Dash made a similar sound before he said, “I certainly hope that’s the case. We’ll find out.”

“Good.” She glanced over at James and he nodded. “Okay, well, thank you again for your help, Dash.”

“Not a problem, Ang,” he said. “You know I love mysteries!”

She laughed, then they ended the call with promises to meet up for their next poker game.

The silence in the room was deafening after she hung up. She finally managed to look at James and realized that he was waiting for her to remember that he was there.

He reached out and took her hand. “You okay?”

She shrugged with a frown. “I don’t know. It feels so…unresolved.” She stood up and paced towards one of the windows, gazing out for a moment, then turned to face him. “I don’t know what to do now,” she admitted.

James stretched out his arms along the back of the sofa. “What do you want to happen?” he asked.

James held his breath, wondering if she was ready to be honest with herself as well as with him. Was she brave enough yet? Did she trust him enough? Probably not. And yet, he still hoped.

“I guess…I need to find a new job.”

His eyebrows shot up. That wasn’t what he’d expected her to say. “Why do you need to find a new job?” he prompted, even though he had some excellent ideas regarding that aspect of her life. “Hazelton might not be completely corrupt. It might be just a few bad apples within the company.”

She shook her head, tucking her thick curls back behind her ears. “I can’t do it. My past…” she paused, taking in a breath slowly before she continued. “After what I experienced as a teenager, I vowed that I wouldn’t supportanythingwith corrupt people. I don’t have evidence of this, but I have a growing sense that the executive management at Hazelton was aware of the drug issue. It might be just Joe acting on his own, but I doubt it. He’s a good lawyer, but he’s just not…creative enough for something like this. I can’t see him working this up on his own.” She pressed her lips together and began pacing. “Joe is a doer, not a creator.”

“And you think someone higher up convinced him to figure out the details.”

She nodded.

James watched her, fascinated by the way her mind worked. He didn’t know her boss, so he had to take her word for it. But he also didn’t give a damn about Joe or the company she worked for. The issue as he saw it was, would she considerstaying with him? He loved her. He wanted a forever kind of relationship with her.

It all came down to trust, he realized.

“Marry me,” he blurted out. She froze for a long moment and slowly turned to stare at him. James tensed as he watched multiple expressions flit across her face. “Come work with me,” he continued. “Marry me and let’s grow the business together.”

If he hadn’t been watching her so intently, he might have missed the softening of her lips, the way her mouth fell open, as if she wanted to reach for the possibilities, but…trust.

“Don’t decide yet,” he urged and stood up. He took her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Think about it. Think about the possibilities. We could work together. Or I’ll build you an office on my property. My company has more than enough legal issues to keep you busy.”

“But…I live in Chicago,” she whispered through numb lips. He felt her trembling. He was getting through to her. She was considering his plan and that gave him hope.

“You don’thaveto live in Chicago,” he pointed out. “Or if you truly want to stay there, then I’ll move there too.”

She blinked, shaking her head. “You can’t leave your horses. They love Virginia. And Middleburg is beautiful! The rolling hills and your house…I love your house.”

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