Dangerous Love (8 page)

For a moment, Ken frowned. The door to his office had been closed so they couldn’t have overheard him.

“What makes you think I was talking to her?”

Estelle chuckled. “Dear boy, you left with a thunderous expression and came back grinning like a well-fed Cheshire cat. Unless you were talking to another woman….”

“Which would be very bad for a budding relationship like yours and Faith’s,” Barbara added.

The others nodded and watched him with narrowed eyes.

He didn’t bother to respond. There was no way he was letting these women meddle in his personal life, too. They were already knee-deep in his investigation against his better judgment. Maybe if he made them feel cornered, they might back off and save him the worries that came with collaborating with amateurs. As for Rod, they needed to have a long talk about disclosing his personal life. Just because he told the Cuban that Faith was his didn’t give him the license to tell other people.

Ken pointed at Sly and Hailey. “You can leave now. Park as close to his building as you can and call me when you have everything set up. ”

Hailey slowly wheeled the wheelchair-bound Sly out the door, obviously reluctant to leave. Sissy raised a finger and asked, “Are they going to case O’Neal’s building?”

“Give me a moment before I answer that.” Ken went to Lucy and said in lowered tones, “The copies we discussed earlier.”

She shook her head, got up with the contracts and five pens, and distributed them to the women. When he arrived in the office this morning, he’d explained his plan for this pack of Hollywood insiders. She hadn’t approved, and going by the set of her lips, still didn’t. Too bad. When it came to business, he covered all the bases.

“This is a non-disclosure contract which states that what we’re about to discuss and do are confidential and cannot be disclosed to a third party or used in any form without my permission. I’ve listed you down as consultants, but if anyone has a problem with that or the wording, then feel free not to sign it. As consultants, you’re technically not employees of this firm, which means we’re not culpable if you get hurt, caught, or damage anything during this investigation. Again, if you have a problem with this, don’t sign the contract.”

Ken waited with anticipation as they each read the document. If one of them balked at signing without a lawyer present, the others were sure to follow. Who would go first? He didn’t care.

Any hope of the women backing out evaporated when each and every one of them signed the form and handed their copy to Lucy. She threw him a grin as if to say, ‘Told you it wouldn’t work.’

“You’re very thorough,” Monique said. She hadn’t said much since they arrived. “I can see why Faith chose you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. VanderMarck,” Ken said though he wasn’t sure whether she meant why Faith chose him as a P.I. or something else. But from her solemn expression and those of her friends, they were probably realizing the gravity of what they were about to do. “Okay, let’s begin. Hailey and Sly are our tech team for today. We’re out of range for our system to pick up the transmission, so they’ll monitor the audio signals from a van parked closer to O’Neal’s building. As for your team, Rod is still going to be in charge. He’ll take pictures with this.”

Ken lifted the sunglasses he’d used the day before, showed them the hidden micro-camera and explained how the remote button worked. “Try to take him with you to every room you enter. If that’s not possible, come up with an excuse for him to join you. One of you can fake sudden dizziness or something. If that doesn’t work, take the glasses from him in the guise of trying them on. We have the schematics of the floor but we need to know the arrangement in each room, including how many computers are in the offices. If possible, find out where he stores his finished stuff. Maybe you ladies can help with that.”

A few hands went up and Ken sighed.

“No need to raise hands to speak,” he said, “but I’d appreciate it if you could let me finish before you ask questions.” He waited for the nods then continued. “We plan to go back later to install video cameras. If he tries to destroy Faith, we’ll have everything we need to bury him. Rod will take pictures of everything because we’ll need to find a way to access his offices. Any questions?”

No one spoke.

He picked up a quarter-size crystal transmitter and explaining how it worked. “The 3V battery in each bug will last a week, which is all the time we need to wrap up this investigation. Last, only two of you will ask for the exact designs of the gowns Faith is making. Decide among yourself who those two will be. The remaining two go with whatever his people suggest. You don’t want to arouse the man’s suspicions by acting alike. Mrs. Fitzgerald, you—”

“Can’t go because I’m likely to hit him with my bag and blow our cover,” Estelle said, her brown eyes twinkling. “Don’t worry, I have errands to run and Barbs will call me later with the news.”

Ken nodded. “Good. Remember, ladies. You go in, get the job done, and get out. Keep your cool, and no heroic moves under any circumstances. That will land you all in jail.”

The women nodded without a single protest. Eliza Goldschmidt stood and shook his hand. “I’ll repeat what Monique said earlier, I’m impressed by how detailed you’ve planned this operation. Maybe you and I can have lunch sometime and discuss business. I could use your expertise in one of my movies.”

“Let’s talk later,” he answered.

“I wouldn’t mind doing a documentary about the work of a security consultant,” Sissy added with a wink.

He knew the kind of documentary she had in mind. “Thanks for the thought, Sissy, but that would put me out of business.” Unlike the others, she’d insisted Ken call her by her name. “In my line of work, anonymity is everything.” He looked at his watch. “It’s time to leave.”

Instead of feeling relieved that he’d prepared them, Ken’s worries shot up a notch as he watched the women and Rod leave. What if they made a mistake and O’Neal discovered he was being set up?

“Standing here and staring at the door is not going to ease your concerns,” Lucy said gently from behind him.

He glanced at her and frowned. “They’ll be okay, right?”

“Oh yeah. Those women have survived Hollywood. They can survive anything.”

He didn’t see how surviving Hollywood had anything to do with it. Their world was make-believe while his wasn’t. “I’ll be in the office if anyone calls. Meanwhile, e-mail me a copy of our standard client contract.”

Ken went to his desk and logged onto his e-mail account. As soon as he received the contract, he made a few changes then sent it to Faith. He tried to go through O’Neal’s phone calls and text messages, but they didn’t hold his interest for long. He was soon pacing the floor of his office. Through the opened door, he caught Lucy watching him. Despite her earlier reassurance, she looked concerned too.

When the phone rang, they both dove for the one on their desks.

“Can I talk to the boss?” Sly asked.

“I got it, Lucy. What’s going on, Sly? Where are you parked?”

Sly gave Ken their location before adding, “We just picked up transmission from the foyer. The noise is minimal, so the sound is really clear. Rod must have planted one in a phone line plug because we’re getting phone conversations, too.”

The relief that surged through him was short-lived. Ken needed to be out there, not here sweating and waiting for the phone to ring.

“Great. You guys are going to be there for a while, so how about I bring out some donuts and coffee?”

“Sounds good, Boss. Uh, could you make them caramel lattes?”

“No problem. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I have my cell phone if you need to contact me.” As though on cue, vibrations rattled the holder at his waist. He put the office phone back in its base, and brought the cell to his ear. “Yeah!?”

“Whoa, big brother. Easy on the eardrum. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Misa. Ken backpedalled, grinning. “Yes. Just one of those moments that comes with my work.”

“Oh no, you don’t. You’re not going to use work to bail out on me, Kenneth. You promised you’d be here for Mom and Dad’s anniversary.”

“I know. I’ll e-mail you my itinerary a.s.a.p.” He began an online search for airline tickets and waited for a list of links to pop up.

“You haven’t bought your ticket yet?” Misa asked, not masking her outrage.

“Have too.” He found the right link and clicked.

“No, you haven’t, you fibber. Seriously, Ken. It’s their fortieth anniversary. Have you any idea how important this is?”

“It is?” he teased her.

“Or how much I’ve already done to make this party happen?” she continued as though he hadn’t spoken.

“I helped too.”

“You tracked down the priest, big whoop.”

“The best man and maid of honor,” he reminded her.

She made an annoyed sound. “So give yourself a pat in the back already and move on. I’m not hanging up until you send me that itinerary.”

“Just a sec.” How his sister always managed to see through his half-baked lies had puzzled him for as far back as he could remember. When they were kids, she’d call him out in front of their parents or his friends. She’d tamed her attitude a little, but she still had no problem chewing his ass when it was just the two of them. Little sisters were a real pain.

He found a flight that worked for him and pulled out his credit card from his wallet. Once he completed his purchase, he sent an email confirmation to Misa. “I’ll be arriving at ten-fifteen. Think you can pick me up?”

“Sure. How’s business?”

“Couldn’t be better. And you?”

“Fun. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

Ken grinned. She was a lot subtler with her hints than their father, who considered Ken’s choice of career an embarrassment. “Sorry, sis. I’d rather crawl through sewers than become a money-making robot in one of your offices.”

“Ouch. Watch who you’re calling a robot. The e-mail just came through. Okay, see you Saturday morning. Don’t forget the presents.”

Presents? Damn. “I won’t.”

“You haven’t bought them yet, have you?”

“Good-bye, smarty pants.” Ken closed the cell phone. He scowled, mentally going through the Christmas, birthday, and anniversary presents he’d gotten his parents over the years. What could he get them without ticking off his father?

He and his old man had never seen eye-to-eye since the day Ken chose Quantico and a career as an FBI agent over Columbia, MBA, and joining Lambda Partners—the family’s venture capitalist firm. He found investing in high-profit, start-up companies boring. Worse, his father would have watched his every move, questioned his decisions, and expected him to follow orders.

What was it his mother liked to say? He and his old man were too much alike and that was why they butted heads so often. Ken shook his head, scenes from last Christmas rushing back to haunt him. He was nothing like his stubborn, cantankerous old man. His father loved to control people. His sister had caved in years ago, letting him choose her college, her major, and even where she lived once she went back home to San Diego.

Ken, on the other hand, was the hothead who refused to tow the line like a good son should. Becoming an agent had been an act of rebellion, but being a security consultant was his calling. His father refused to see it that way. How many times had Ken held out an olive branch only to have it slapped aside? He’d offered his services as the company security consultant, but his father refused. Ken was either a full-time employee or nothing.

Hopefully, the subject of work wouldn’t come up during this upcoming visit.
 
The constant disagreements made trips home unbearable.

Ken grabbed his car keys and left his office.

“I’m off to feed the van crew,” he told Lucy.

“Can’t stand being cooped in here when you could be over there listening, huh?”

Lucy knew him too well. He grinned. “Something like that. Could you do me a favor? I need to get gifts for my parents’ anniversary. Could you check what’s considered appropriate?”

Lucy’s jaw dropped. “You aren’t thinking of using the advice of some faceless blogger. They don’t know your parents.”

“I know what they’d like but then you’d be jobless,” Ken answered. When Lucy frowned, he shook his head. “All I need are suggestions. You know where to reach me.”

Twenty minutes later, Ken knocked on the van’s back door and Hailey opened it. He passed her the drinks and the donuts then climbed inside. Sly’s wheelchair took up quite a bit of space. “How’s it going?”

“Great. Listen to this.” Sly handed him headphones, then adjusted knobs on the trans-receiver/recorder case mounted on a shelf on Sly’s right. Ken settled on the bench on Sly’s left and smiled as he listened.

The women were good. Working with them might just be what they needed to pull this off faster and effortlessly. Fifteen minutes later, a snippet of a conversation between Barbara and O’Neal wiped the smile off Ken’s face.

What was Barbara up to now?

As he followed their exchange, it dawned on Ken that these women hadn’t just hijacked his investigation, they were running with it. In fact, they were doing a much better job than his people. There was no way he could get rid of them now. He caught the grins on Sly and Hailey’s faces.