Page 50 of Cuckoo (Kindred)

That could be true, but she and Brodie had had a lot of sex since they’d been together. The comparison was stupid anyway because she planned to be with Brodie for a long time, so her odometer would tick past Cuckoo’s in due time. Zara also had the pleasure of falling asleep in Brodie’s bed in his house, and she could call out the name he was given at birth while doing it. Cuckoo was not going to succeed in belittling Zara into doubting the certainty of her future with her love.

“So, what do you want from me?” Zara asked.

“Game Time,” Cuckoo said, much as she had at the start of their conversation.

“I don’t have it.”

“Caine says different.”

“Caine thinks you’re some kind of goddess,” Zara said, mimicking Cuckoo’s earlier eye roll. “He has issues with reality.” Leaving her seat, she glanced at her watch, estimating the time it would take her to calm down and get coffee at Purdy’s. Kahlil would be there soon. She was in demand today. “Now if you excuse me, I have another meeting.”

“I’m going to keep pursuing this,” Cuckoo said, leaving her chair. “I will get my hands on it.”

“Yes,” Zara said, calling over her shoulder as she went to the door. “You will get your hands on Game Time on the same day Raven admits his love for you and dumps me.”

Turning full circle as she opened the door and swung around it to witness the European’s frustrated satisfaction, Zara made a beeline for the elevator, trying not to make eye contact with anyone who might bring her CI work.

She got to the lobby and out into the fresh air. After she gasped in a heaving breath, she panted out her amazement. Caine wasn’t who they thought he was. His motivation was almost the complete reverse of what they’d suspected, and now Cuckoo wanted Game Time. From Zara’s perspective, the reason Cuckoo coveted it was because other people did.

Cuckoo was immature, selfish, and crazy in love with Raven. Though Zara couldn’t fault her for the last one, she could fault her methods. Getting this meeting with Kahlil out the way was the next point on her agenda, and then she had to get back to Brodie because boy did she have news for him.

FIFTEEN

For the first time in a long time, she was relieved and relaxed when she went into Purdy’s. The time of day no doubt had an effect on her mood. It was lunchtime. The atmosphere was relaxed. Daylight still shone outside, lessening the likelihood that there would be a criminal attack or an amorous admirer trying to seduce her into revealing her secrets.

At least, that was what she thought.

“Zara!”

When she twisted in her chair to see who was calling for her, she wished she’d gotten something stronger than a coffee. “Julian,” she said in greeting, and he came over to sit at her table. “I’m waiting for somebody.”

“Oh,” he said. “A date in the middle of the day so close to work?” He didn’t quite nudge her and wink, but the shift of his brows was enough to make her force a smile.

“It’s not a date. It’s business. And I don’t work at CI anymore.”

He lost his cheer. “Yes, I heard you had a run-in with the new CEO, what a shame. She’s great.”

It wasn’t a surprise to her that Julian liked Cuckoo. He liked a woman who looked good in business wear. “It was time for me to move on.”

“Is that what you’re doing here? Do you have an interview?”

“No,” she said.

Julian took her hand from her cup. “I will be sorry not to see you at work. You’re capable and beautiful, and if there’s ever anything you need…”

This presented an opportunity, one that she hadn’t considered until he just made this fortuitous offer. Turning her body toward his, she tightened her grip on his hand. “There is one thing that I need, something you might be able to help me with… if you can keep a secret?”

He blinked, he hadn’t expected her to ask for something. “What do you need?”

“I need a list of Grant’s personal accounts.”

Julian was intrigued, which was a better reaction than suspicion. “His personal accounts? Why?”

“His personal accounts as they link to CI. I think he was funding a company project with personal funds.”

“That’s messy,” Julian said. “And would be frowned upon by the board and the IRS.”

“I know. That’s why we have to keep it a secret, to protect his memory,” she said. If Grant was a faultless party, she might feel guilty about suggesting altruistic motives. “But he was the CEO, he could do whatever he wanted. This was an important project for him, a bit of an obsession.”

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