Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen

Kennedi stepped off the elevator on the top floor, where Shaw Enterprise resided. She crossed the corridor to the vacant assistant’s desk that sat to the right of polished oak double doors.

The security guard downstairs had relayed Trenton’s instructions that she come up, but to wait at the receptionist desk. Screw that. She marched over and swung open the door, not bothering to knock. There he sat behind his desk.

Her gaze shifted to the young blonde woman stationed in the camel leather armchair before it. Both abruptly stood up. They gaped back at her for a long moment, then he smiled, an actual curve of his lips that matched the cheerful glint in his eyes. The fact that he would appear so damn happy to see her heightened her aggravation. She didn’t reciprocate.

“Kennedi, I was just filling Hollie in on my schedule as it pertains to Chase Investments. She’ll be taking over for my assistant, Carol, who phoned this morning to say she’s been put on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. If ever you can’t reach me, contact Hollie.”

“Hello, Miss Chase,” Hollie said warmly.

Kennedi came forward and stuck out her hand. At nearly five nine, she was a good head and a half taller than the attractive—in a homely sort of way—petite young woman. Add her five-inch heels, and she practically towered over her. “Pleased to meet you, Hollie. I’m here to have a word with Mr. Shaw.”

Hollie’s gaze darted to Trenton, uncertainty on how to handle this unexpected intrusion reflecting in her expression.

Settling the matter for her, Kennedi dropped her handbag upon the chair opposite Hollie, then directed her attention squarely at Trenton while doing her best not to show her irritation with him in front of his assistant. “Mr. Shaw, I need to speak to you.”

Trenton came from behind his desk. “Hollie, have you had lunch?”

“No, but I’m fine. Can I get you and Miss Chase anything to drink? Miss Chase, would you like a cup of coffee or tea? Bottled water, perhaps?”

“No, thank you, and please call me Kennedi.”

With a light hand on Hollie’s forearm, Trenton ushered her to the door. “How about you go get a bite to eat.”

At the threshold, Hollie gave a look at her across the room. “Miss Chase, ur, Kennedi it was nice meeting you.”

“You as well.” Kennedi moved to the windows behind Trenton’s desk.

As she looked out at the D.C. traffic and people going about the city, she heard his low voice telling Hollie to place the Do Not Disturb placard on her desk before she departed, then listened to his light footsteps advance across the floor toward her.

“You like them blonde, I see,” she said without turning around, not sure what possessed her to say that. Ugh. The poke at Hollie had been completely unnecessary. The man was turning her into an irritable and apparently jealous hen-wit.

His even stride stalled. “I beg your pardon?”

She rotated to face him, and he came up to the front of the desk. “Nothing.”

“I assume you’re referring to London the other night. If you recall, she won the auction, not the other way around. And as I explained, Hollie is filling in for my EA, Carol, who’s on maternity leave. Do you only live on assumptions, Miss Chase? I could say the same about you. Evidently you have a thing for dickhead blonds,” he bit back.

She scowled at the reference to her very purpose for being there. “Alan called and said you went to see him. What I want to know is who in the hell do you think you are, telling him not to see me? And why the damn hell did you tell him we were intimate?”

He rounded his desk and sat on the edge in front of her, arms folded at his chest. The posture accentuated the sinewy bulk of his upper body deftly defined in the nicely fitted white button-down. “First, trust me—you’d be wasting hours of your life that you wouldn’t get back if you choose to spend it with Lange. Second, I didn’t tell him we were intimate. The man’s a meddlesome pain in the ass. He made the presumption. To that end, how would you describe what we’ve done…twice?” He unfolded his arms and rested his palms on the edge of the desk, displaying the expanse of his broad chest. “Fucked? Screwed? Banged…? Made love?”

Her gaze darted appreciatively over his exceptional build, reminded of how it felt to have his big body pinning hers. “Call it whatever you like. I don’t need you to kiss and tell my business.” It was her only sensible response.

“Considering I’m a party to said business, I’m within my right to…as you say, kiss and tell. But I didn’t.”

“I—” Kennedi started to argue, but he cut in.

“In any case, Lange only wants to go out with you because he knows you and I have a history. For some reason, he’s in constant rivalry with me.”

Her stare narrowed. “Of course, because Alan couldn’t possibly see anything else appealing about me. He’s only interested in one-upping you.”

“I never said he didn’t appreciate your intellect or that he doesn’t find you attractive. You’re both of those things,” he said without pause as his haunting steely blues unapologetically roamed slowly over her face, on down her body and back up. “The man has had some ridiculous, competitive obsession with me for a long time. I will say that’s the underlying reason he wishes to date you.”

“Who said anything about dating? We’re simply having lunch. Well, since you told him Chase can’t do business with him.” She glared at that infuriating expression of his authority and planted a hand on her hip. “You don’t have the right.”

“Damn right, I do. You’re not to have any sort of business discussion with him, and especially not about our business arrangement. Don’t you divulge a word.”

“See, you’re doing it again. Trying to control me.”

“He wants to sleep with you, Kennedi, to get at me. I’m telling you, that’s his end game here.”

“Why would it matter to you?” A sudden need to hear him spout out words of romantic sentiment quivered in her belly, but none came. “You and I had sex, Trenton. What makes that any different than if I decide to sleep with Alan?”

His spine went pencil stiff, and eyes more gray than blue, like a roiling sky just before a hailstorm, stared back at her. “You just met the man, for one thing.” His expression darkened. A muscle ticked in his tight, smooth-shaven jaw. “Us having sex… We… It was different.”

“Different how? I don’t see a difference.” The distracting sound of a loud, drawn-out car horn pulled her attention to the window. As she peered out, she said, “Alan and I are two consenting adults. We can do—” Her breath hitched at his quick grab of her arm, as he twirled her to face him, pulling her in tight between his split legs.

“I said it’s different.” His voice dropped to a husky timbre. “Us together is far different.”

“Far different how?” Anticipation undercut with apprehension stalled her breath through several quick heartbeats, their stares holding steady. “How, Trent?” Say it, damn it.

His eyes dipped to her mouth, and he moistened his lips, then met her gaze again as warm, strong hands on her bare arms began a slow caress, thawing the chill. He circled her waist and eased her in closer within his formidable frame. His head lowered, so close that his warm breath caressed across her lips like a phantom kiss. “When we’re together, it… I…”

The buzz of his desk phone startled them. Abruptly releasing her, he got up off the edge of the desk and tapped the button after a clear of his throat.

“Yes, Hollie?”

“Mr. Balaska wanted me to let you know his appointment will be here in an hour.”

“Thanks.” He disconnected and turned back to her. “You should head over to Chase. I left several files on the desk for you to review. There’s a project I’m putting together that I may include Chase on in some small percentage. But it will depend on the profitability of both the Macau and Miami deals.”

Swallowing the pant in her throat, Kennedi waited for him to pick up where they’d left off before the poorly timed buzz from Hollie, but he took a seat behind his desk and started shuffling and stacking papers. Accepting the blunt conclusion, shuttering her anxiety and fear of how he felt about her behind a blank mask, she circled the desk to the chair for her handbag and headed for the door.

“Watch yourself with Lange. At the very least let him think you’re not that easy a catch.”

Her chest lurched at his callousness, but hardening her heart, raising her chin, she gave a look over her shoulder. “Stay out of my personal business, Mr. Shaw.”

“Duly noted.”

He hadn’t even bothered to look up from his papers. With a curse at him under her breath, she exited the office. Hollie sat at the desk, all smiles. “Sorry for interrupting your meeting,” Kennedi said.

“It’s fine. It gave me a moment to catch my bearings. I’m still trying to learn the lay of the land. Mr. Shaw’s assistant, Carol Muntag, handled quite a lot, even remotely from Nevada.”

Kennedi gave a glance over her shoulder at Trenton’s closed door. “His bark is worse than his bite.” She winked yet found herself stroking the area at her neck where he’d actually bitten her during sex. And she’d liked it. Thankfully, the mark had disappeared. “When he gets pushy, tell him to go take a seat.”

Hollie laughed. “You’re his girlfriend and can get away with that. I’m afraid that wouldn’t work for me.”

Kennedi’s face warmed all the way to her hairline. “I’m n—”

“Good afternoon.”

She turned and looked up into the most stunningly vivid, ice-blue eyes she’d ever seen, set in ridiculously handsome, sun-warmed features. The man’s smile was exceptionally bright and white. “Hello.”

“You must be Kennedi Chase. I’m Dominic Balaska, COO of Shaw Enterprise and Trent’s brother.”

“Nice to meet you, Dominic.” She shook his offered hand. Aside from his dark hair and tall, well-defined physique sculptured in that deftly fitted dark suit, she didn’t see a resemblance. And was he wearing colored contacts? “You’re Trenton’s brother?”

“Since age five and Trent age six, by marriage. My mother to his father. They’re divorced now. Trent and I didn’t feel a need to do the same.”

“Ah.” She nodded. So far, that was about the most she’d learned of Trenton, and she wondered how much of their involvement had been shared with his brother. If the two were as close as she, Tabitha and Evie, it meant Dominic would be privy to pretty much everything.

Uncomfortable much?

“I should get back over to Chase Investments to finish up Trenton’s list of to-dos.” She made air quotes.

He chuckled. “Ah, yes, I’m all too familiar with the list. When we were kids, he’d make lists of the games we’d play.”

Kennedi laughed with him. “I believe it.”

“Well, you have a good day.” He strode on and entered Trenton’s office, closing the door behind him.

Kennedi turned back to Hollie, who still bore an eager smile. “Great meeting you.”

“You as well. Before you go, I’ve added you to the access list as Mr. Shaw instructed. Here’s your elevator key card. It’ll give you entry to this floor. Whenever you visit, you no longer have to stop at the security desk. You can head right up. Mr. Shaw also said you can enter his office at your leisure.”

“Thanks.” Kennedi didn’t know what to make of that. The man confused the hell out of her.

Girlfriend?

Finishing up his call with Carol, Trenton looked across the room at Dom stepping in. He strode forward and half sat on the edge of the desk. “Carol says hello.”

“How is she?”

“Fat and bored, according to her. She’s been on bed rest for hardly a day and already complaining.”

Dom laughed. “I met your lady on her way out. I see why you have stars in your eyes over her.”

“She’s not my lady.” Trenton prickled because his brother chose to be an ass, but more due to the very fact that Kennedi Chase wasn’t his lady.

Being in lust with her he could handle, but treading in precarious emotional waters? It was the last thing he needed, and he’d sworn never to allow a woman that much power, that much of his soul again. The fact that he was still going through shit with his ex—why add to the problem by getting attached to another woman? Even still, he simply couldn’t shake these newfound feelings for Kennedi Avery Chase. It felt as though he’d forgotten how to breathe until he met her.

“Look, I see the attraction. She’s a beautiful woman. Ordinarily I’d say go for it. Shit, you more than deserve it. But bro, you need to be careful here.”

“We’re business partners. I told you she has a date with Alan Lange. The man’s main objective in going out with her is to get under my skin. When it comes to his hatred of me, he’ll stop at nothing. Even going so far as to sabotage my working relationship with Kennedi to get to me.”

“No doubt. You control the players on the Dubai deal. After the shit he caused with his bid protest against you last year, I say block his ass out of the partnership. He lost the fucking land bid but wouldn’t let up. Vincent was in court month after month over his bullshit. Block his bid and shut his ass out of every other potential opportunity that’s in the pipeline.”

Trenton rocked back leisurely in his chair. It all depended on Kennedi. She held Lange’s future in nothing more than a kiss.

The desk phone rang, and Trenton tapped the button. “Yes, Hollie?”

“Mr. Drexel is here to see you.”

“Send him in.” He was looking forward to an update.

They both looked over at William Drexel stepping into the office, his tall, bulky build outfitted in all black, except for those stone-gray cowboy boots. He looked every bit the enforcer. The smooth, clean-shaven dome of his walnut-brown head and neatly coiffed goatee only added to his tough-guy persona. Former special ops military turned private security entrepreneur, with a team carrying those same credentials, he had a validated record that showed he could back it up.

“Afternoon, Trenton. Dominic.”

They each shook his hand, and Trenton gestured at the twin chair next to Dom. “Please have a seat.”

William handed over a sealed, tan envelope pulled from his black leather jacket pocket. “My guy, Reese, provided those. I believe the subject, Alan Lange, might be involved in some shady goings-on.”

As Trenton tore into the envelope and took out a stack of pictures, he sat back, über-curious. “Go on.”

“Something about the guy got my senses tingling. Before I get into it, I recognized Lange’s driver first off but couldn’t put my finger on it. Then it hit me. Silas Gerety. He used to work for this outfit down in Honduras, tied to human trafficking. I think Gerety was more of a gofer back then.”

Trenton flipped through picture after picture of Alan meeting with the same man. He glanced across the desk at William. “Lange’s having meals with a guy, so what?”

“The man he’s with is Ayud Mangal, a real estate financier. At least that’s what he calls himself.” William pulled his iPhone from his front pants pocket, made a few taps, then turned it face out for Trenton to view. “He’s actually the go-between for this fellow. That there is—”

“Feliks Vasilyev.” Trenton knew of the Russian investor who had a dark reputation for unscrupulous business dealings and who was also on the government’s watchlist and had been denied entry into the US.

“Let me see that.” Dominic hunched forward from his chair to get a look at the picture, then sat back down. “That explains how Lange would be able to participate in the Dubai partnership. If Lange’s in business with Vasilyev, nothing good will come of it. Trent, we need to keep our distance from that shit.”

“I’m aware.” Trenton brought his attention back to William. “Do you have info on that other matter?”

William reached inside his jacket pocket once more and out came another smaller stack of pictures that he slid across the desk. “That’s one hardworking woman.”

The first picture showed Kennedi entering her store, and the second was of her leaving. Another had her exiting Chase Investments. Her actions repeated in several pictures. So far, Trenton wasn’t impressed. His only interest had been to discover if she’d been meeting up with any other party tied with her father’s embezzlement. Just as the thought surfaced, the next picture made him pause. He flipped two pictures outward. “Where were these taken?”

Again, William referred to his notes. “That’s Miss Chase entering and exiting Brighton Gardens. Her father, Kennedy Avery Chase—” He looked up from his phone and smiled. “They have the same name. That’s a new one.” He continued, “Mr. Chase resides there. Brighton Gardens is all private money. The facility is extremely exclusive. It’s owned by a woman named Ashley Brighton, a British heiress. Her mother suffered from a rare form of cancer and passed away some seventeen years ago. The daughter took her fortune and converted one of the family’s estates into a private living facility for those going through similar and debilitating ailments.” William came to the edge of his chair. “Get this, it costs six hundred and twenty-five grand a year to occupy one of the smaller suites there, and that’s if you can get off the waiting list. The larger ones could run double that. It has around-the-clock personal nurse and physician care, a fully state-of-the-art pharmaceutical facility, surgical staff, dietitian, chef, you name it. Mr. Chase must’ve had some pull or knew someone because you can’t just knock on the door and expect to call it home.”

“If it’s so hush-hush, how did you get info that Miss Chase’s father is a patient there?” Dom asked before Trenton could form the very same question.

“I have to admit it took some doing. I called in a favor to a buddy of mine over in the UK, who then called in a favor to a buddy of his, who also knows someone close to the Brighton family. He was supplied the admittance roster, which in turn was given to me. I’ll always find a way to get what I need. You can count on that.” Confidence bloomed in his features. “Like I said, the lady puts a lot of time in.” William looked at his notes on his phone. “She’s at her store around six a.m., then heads downtown to Chase Investments around ten, then off to Brighton Gardens between five or five thirty to approximately nine, and then back at her store until, say, midnight. Day after day.” He blew out a low breath. “Where does she get the energy? I admire her drive.”

“Yes,” Trenton murmured, surprised and heartened on multiple levels by all Kennedi tried to do and the enormous burden she carried. The reverence he had for her engulfed his heart, and he was consumed by his feelings for this woman.

A sick relative. No doubt she’d rushed off to her father the evening of the charity event.

“What’s her father’s illness?” Again, Dom asked the question on Trenton’s tongue.

“Dementia brought on by a brain tumor. That’s about all I was able to get.” William shook his head. “Poor soul. I don’t fear much, but to lose who I am? That I would find an agonizing way to go. As I said, Miss Chase is there night after night.”

“Did you trace where the payment for the facility came from?” Dom asked.

William frowned, looking perplexed. “I didn’t do a financial detail. It wasn’t part of the order. I assume both Mr. Chase and his daughter have the means. They both own businesses.”

“We’re going to need you to trace that payment,” Dom said.

“No.” Trenton read Dom’s questioning stare. He looked back at William. “That won’t be necessary. And you can have your guy stop reviewing those contract signatures.”

William nodded firmly. “Understood.”

Having to watch her father suffer? Trenton could only imagine what Kennedi must be going through. He wanted to reach out to her, be there for her, but knew his support wouldn’t be welcomed.

His desk phone buzzed, and he answered on speaker. “Yes, Hollie?”

“You wanted a reminder about your video conference call. It’s to start in ten minutes. I’ve set the conference room view screen. You’re ready to dial in.”

“Thank you. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay.” They disconnected.

Carol had in essence found a clone of herself in Hollie. So far, she was very efficient.

Trenton stood up. William followed suit, as did Dom. “You’ll find twenty-five K deposited in your account within the hour.”

“Sir, you know my fee is fifteen a week, which I’ve already received.”

“You’ve more than earned the extra. Thank you.” The man had indeed been thorough.

“Glad to be of service.” They shook hands. William’s head angled with a look toward the windows. “The wind’s picked up out there.”

Trenton gave a look. It’d been raining off and on all day. For a moment, he considered rescheduling the board meeting, heading over to Chase to prepare for the conference call tomorrow, and then heading home. But to do so would only cram his appointment calendar more than it was already.

He stuck the photos into his inside coat pocket, rounded his desk, and they all headed for the door. As William made his way to the elevator, Trenton, with Dom at his side, strode to the conference room.

At the door, Dom stepped in front of him, pausing his progress forward. “Look, I get that her father is sick, but you’re just going to let them get away with it? You heard William. Six twenty-five a year. Where do you think she’s getting that kind of money? I know where, and so do you.”

Trenton anticipated his brother’s reaction, and though the guy was likely spot-on in his suspicions, he said, “Dom, let it be.”

Reluctance blatantly colored Dom’s features. He threw open the door. “Fine, I’ll let it be, but if I was you, I’d steer clear of that woman outside of your business arrangement. After what Claudia—”

“Don’t,” Trenton warned, knocking into the guy’s shoulder on his stride into the room.

Filing in behind him, Dom closed the door, turned and faced him across the table. “I’m just looking out for my big bro, that’s all.”

“Not necessary.”