Make Your Move (14 page)

Jodie opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

She couldn’t believe it.

At the café, with Ginger, she had been so sure that she could do this. She loved Dan. She loved him heart and soul. So why couldn’t she actually say the words?

Because it wasn’t about loving him. She’d loved him forever, but once she said those words, in the way he wanted to hear them, they were forever.

They’d been friends for years, but lovers only for a short time. What about when the passion faded? What if she fell short, or disappointed him or he changed his mind…what would she do then?

Her eyes drifted over the degrees and awards on the walls, his publications. The shelves of books, all of which he’d probably read. Would she be enough for him, forever? Would love be enough? She’d never been in a long-term relationship before, never thought about her future with a man—maybe marriage, a family—and all of these insecurities were new. She needed more time.

“Jodie?” Dan said, sounding more concerned. Cowardice claimed her once again, and she backed off her declaration. Maybe she would wait until they were more alone. When she could fix up her hair, make a nice dinner, turn the lights down low. This was no way to say the most important thing she ever had to say to Dan. What had she been thinking?

Searching wildly for something to say, her mind kicked up an idea. Why hadn’t it occurred to her before?

She smiled ruefully. “Sorry, I was just lost in thought. It’s about Jason.”

Dan’s brow furrowed, his expression darkening. “What did he do now?”

“Oh, no, nothing. It’s more what I think we can do. I think there’s a way I could get him to confess if you can still get that bug, or whatever it is. If you’re willing?”

Dan stepped away, walking farther from the door, back toward his desk, motioning to her to join him.

“I thought we were done with that? I passed his proposal up to the committee with an alternate suggestion this morning, and it will take some time to hear, but…”

“You know that will never be good enough for him. What if they refuse him, anyway? He’ll always hold this over our heads unless we do something to expose him. We need to get that leverage you were talking about, and I think I know how to do it.”

Dan pinched the bridge of his nose, and nodded. “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

“I’ll call him, ask him to meet me. I can tell him that I made a mistake, or that I’m willing to do anything for him to not hurt the business. Try to…well, you know, flirt a little and see if I can get him to confess. If he does, we’ll have what we need.”

Dan’s frown carved deeper into his expression. “No, I don’t like it. I don’t want you having to do that, to get that close to him.”

“Dan, I really want to. While he’s blackmailing you, he’s using me, and my business, to do it. You know me, Dan. You know I’m not one to sit on the sidelines,” she said, convincing herself of the plan she’d thought of only seconds before.

If she and Dan had a future together, she was going to start fighting for it now. They could handle Jason, together.

Dan paused, watching her closely, then nodded. “Okay, I guess I understand how you would want to do this. But I worry about you getting hurt.”

Jodie shook her head. “I don’t think he’s dangerous, not in the physical sense. He’s slimy, but he doesn’t seem like the violent type. Besides, you and your friend could be close by, anyway.”

“I think you’re right,” he said, and started to sound excited about her plan, too. “Let me talk to Kevin. It shouldn’t be difficult to set up. Meet Jason in a public place, though.”

“I’ll meet him at the bakery,” she agreed.

“That does have a certain poetic justice to it.”

She hugged him then, soaking up his scent, his warmth.

“This will work, I know it.”

“I hope so,” Dan said, his arms coming around and holding her close. “I really do.”

T
HINGS FELL INTO PLACE
more quickly than she imagined.

The next evening, Jodie took a deep breath, squaring her jaw and reminding herself that she was perfectly safe. She’d felt a bit braver in Dan’s office the day before, when this had been hypothetical, but now it was all real.

Dan and his friend Kevin were just a few yards down the street in a car, watching and listening, and they would be in the door quickly if there was a serious problem.

She’d called Jason from Dan’s office, asked him to meet her here at the bakery. It had taken all of her resolve to muster up a sexy enough tone to tempt him, but she’d just looked into Dan’s face and pretended she was talking to him, instead.

Now, it was actually happening.

She didn’t even feel the teensy listening device that Dan and Kevin had taped behind the barely-there bodice of her dress. It looked like a small mole, and wouldn’t
come off even if touched. Kevin assured her he had a special remover, like for nail polish, that would take it off easily, later.

It was hard to believe the little device would pick up everything said within fifteen feet in any direction—the marvels of modern technology.

Amazing, she thought, as she considered the things that happened in Dan’s world. He really did operate on a level that was different than everyone else’s. But to her, he was merely the man she loved. It was killing her that she hadn’t had the courage to tell him, and she wanted to remedy that very soon.

When all of this was over, she would get past this emotional block, and let him know how she felt. She made that promise to herself as she punched in the security code and then slid her key into the lock. She stepped inside, turning around to look back out at the street.

Resisting the temptation to tip her chin and speak into the bug, she said, “Can you guys hear me? Everything’s working?”

She saw the headlights flash and knew that was the signal for A-okay.

“Well, he’s not here yet…I guess I’ll bait the trap a bit,” she said, wishing Jason would show up so she could get this over with.

She took the tote bag she’d brought with her to the back, turned on one of the lights over the desk where she worked on the books, and set out a few candles, a small vase of flowers. A bottle of wine and two glasses were next, and she plucked a few of the Passionate Hearts
cookies from the refrigerator, arranging them on a plate. Not that she intended on taking one bite. No way.

It was as seductive as she was willing to be in the office space of her business, but it would help get her point across. While Jason was a jerk, he was a shrewd jerk, and she had to be as convincing as possible.

She slipped her coat off and felt strangely exposed in the flirty black dress she wore—a dress clearly meant to convey to any man that she wanted him to take it off. Normally such a thing didn’t bother her, but it did tonight. She wished sorely that Dan was the one she was setting the scene for, and that he would take the dress off.

Not that she had any intention of letting things go that far with Jason.

A soft knock at the front door made her jump, and she put a hand to her throat, steadying the real slamming of her pulse.

Jason waited by the door, his eyes raking up and down her body, taking in the dress, and she did her best to ignore the lascivious look. She smiled and welcomed him in, reminding herself that if she could get him to talk, she could end this all here and now. She was doing this for her and Dan, for their future, and that thought gave her confidence.

“Jason, I wasn’t sure you’d come,” she said, feigning relief. She closed the door behind them, only playing at locking it, and led him behind the counter, walking with a sexy sashay. She could almost feel his eyes on her backside as she did, and wrinkled her nose when he couldn’t see.

“I must admit, I was surprised by your call.” He held his distance. She could see in his face that while he couldn’t hide his lust, he was also suspicious. His eyes traveled around the room, taking in the scene as she intended him to.

“What’s this about?” he asked.

She sat on a wooden stool by the desk, and let the hem of the dress ride up higher.

“I bet you were surprised. But here’s the thing. I’m a practical girl. I know that you’re holding all of the cards. You could hurt the store, and frankly, I can’t let that happen.”

She took a breath, clenching her fingers to appear stressed and nervous—Dan told her Jason would notice such small physical cues, and they would convince him she was being sincere.

“Dan did pass your proposal to the committee, but there’s no guarantee that they will approve it, either,” she said, holding his look, making him believe her.

“So I decided to take things into my own hands. I…I want to make a deal with you. I’ll make good on our date—one night—if you’ll give back the formula and everything else you stole from the store that night of the break-in. And leave Dan alone.”

Jason’s eyebrows flew up. She really had surprised him, and she hoped that gave her an advantage.

“Are you saying you’d sleep with me to get that recipe?”

Jodie nodded. “Why not? I was going to sleep with you then, and we just never got around to it. Make no mistake, I’m with Dan, but I see this as helping us in
the long run. Everyone gets what they want,” she said huskily, leaning in as if to convince him, and letting the bodice of her dress dip provocatively.

“Dan’s doing all he can,” she continued, “but I need to know you won’t hurt him or the store. I know you want me, Jason,” she said. “And I know that having me while I’m with Dan will just make it better for you.”

He smiled, his eyes mean. “That’s true. But what’s to stop me from telling him?”

She shrugged. “It’s part of our deal that I hope you’ll stick to, but it’s also a risk I have to take. You were right before. Dan doesn’t put anything ahead of himself, not even me. So, I guess I figured I had to do the same.”

Jason nodded, stepping closer.

“I see. That’s a reasonable conclusion,” he said, reaching out to run his hand down her cheek, cupping her chin. “You know, if you dumped him altogether and agreed to be with me for an indefinite time, I’d make it very worth your while. Dan’s not the only one with money and influence.”

“Your research would never make it then.”

He smiled. “It would be worth it. I could find funding elsewhere,” he said dismissively.

“I never meant to put you in the middle, Jodie, but I’m also a practical person. In fact, I think you and I are a lot alike.”

Jodie wanted to shudder. She never wanted that to be true.

“As I told you, I was only trying to get Dan to be fair with departmental money.” He stopped, blowing out a breath. “And to be truthful, I guess I
was
jealous that
you went with him and dumped me. I thought you and I had some amazing chemistry, until he came along and messed it up.”

What an operator, she thought.

“Yes. I suppose.” She pouted enticingly. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. But all I can offer is the one night. You give me back what you took from the bakery that night, and stop blackmailing Dan, and me, and I’ll…do anything you want.”

“Anything?” he asked, lifting his eyes from her breasts to her face.

Sleaze. It was only one of the names she was silently calling him in her mind as she smiled.

She shivered with repulsion from the touch on her face, his finger drifting lightly down her throat, pausing above the edge of the dress. His eyes flared with desire. She knew his ego would fill in the blanks from here on in.

Suddenly, his arms were around her, his mouth on hers. She hadn’t seen that coming. She forced herself to relax, to kiss him back, but when his hand slid up her waist to her breast, she pushed him away gently, laughing, though she dearly wanted to break his fingers.

She also hoped Dan wasn’t going ballistic in the car, that he let her finish this.

“Hey, hold on. I didn’t hear you agreeing to my terms,” she told him, holding him off at a distance.

“I can’t wait for you any longer,” he said, pushing her a little too roughly up against the edge of the desk behind her.

“I love that dress. I want to see what’s under it.”

His mouth was on hers again, forceful and skilled, but leaving her not only cold, but slightly panicked as she realized he was stronger than she thought, and quite intent on getting what he wanted. His hands were everywhere they shouldn’t be, and Jodie made some play at kissing him while she figured out what to do.

She calmed herself with the thought that Dan and Kevin could be inside the shop very quickly. “I said
wait,
” she warned, pushing him with all the strength she could just as he was peeling the hem of her dress upward. “You aren’t getting any of the goodies until you promise me that you won’t send the information you stole from Just Eat It to any of my competitors, nor share it in any way.”

He frowned, then shrugged, his eyes on her mouth. “Sure, what the hell? I have you.” He smiled wickedly, adding, “And I plan to have you a lot tonight.”

He moved in, kissing her neck, and she knew she needed more of a confession from him.

“How did you break in, anyway? I had a good alarm system on the building,” she asked, sighing as he bit her ear though her hands were fists behind his back. “Not as good as what I have now, but—”

He moved backward, looking at her with glittering, lust-filled eyes. She saw it then—he wanted to brag. Perfect.

“That pathetic thing? A fourteen-year-old kid with basic computer-hacking skills could have broken in. It took me less than ten minutes to get in here. I’m surprised you hadn’t been broken into before, honestly,” he scoffed.

“But why not make it look like more of a robbery? You really messed the place up,” she said, pouting.

He kissed her bottom lip, making her want to gag. “Sorry about that, but I had to make it look convincing enough for the police. No way would I take your earnings, though,” he said, as if that was a saving grace. “I knew your insurance would handle the rest, and frankly the place needed some updating.”

So he figured he’d done her a favor. Jodie had to stifle a laugh.

“I should have figured you’d be smart enough for something like that. It’s kind of exciting,” she said with an admiring smile. “Dan would never break a law,” she added, baiting the trap.

“He is annoyingly strait-laced. I bet he bored you to death in bed,” Jason said, taking her wrists unexpectedly, planting her hands above her head.

“But I won’t,” he said, pressing his hardness into her thigh, leaning in for another kiss.

Jodie gasped, about to yell for help when Jason was pulled back roughly, and she saw Dan there, fierce and standing over Jason where he’d punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor.

“D
AN!
” J
ODIE SAID,
grabbing his arm as he pulled Jason up by the collar, ready to hit him again.

She’d never seen Dan so incredibly angry and rawly masculine. He was quite a sight, and it distracted the woman in her for a moment, before she stepped forward.

Her hands closed around Dan’s hard upper arm,
knowing that if the timing and situation were different, she’d be ripping his clothes off by now. She definitely would be later, she promised herself.

Jason laughed, watching them as Dan released him, letting him drop down to the floor. Dan’s arm closed around her tightly, his eyes dark and flashing as they met hers.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, really. But…thanks,” she said, shuddering and sneaking in closer. She hadn’t expected things to get quite as physical as they had become, and was more than glad for Dan’s interruption.

“You can’t be surprised, Dan…how long did you think a hellcat like her would stick with you?” Jason said, wiping blood away from his lip, obviously still not clueing in to what was going on. “Besides, it’s not what you think. I wasn’t attacking your woman. She invited me here. Offered herself to me. Whatever was happening here, she was willing.”

Jason stood, a malicious light in his eyes as he faced them.

Dan nodded. “I know.”

Jason stilled. He was obviously confused by Dan’s reaction.

“What do you mean, you know? How could you know?”

“We’re going to have a talk, Jason, just you and me. But first, I think you need to listen to something.”

“Ellison, what are you pulling? You’re severely going to regret—”

“No, I don’t think so. Listen.”

Dan placed his iPod on the desk and suddenly Jason and Jodie’s voices played clearly among them, silencing Jason as they all listened to a crystal-clear recording of the events that had happened since he’d come into the bakery.

Jodie felt renewed disgust as she listened, and stood closer to Dan, who hugged her in.

Jason’s sallow, angular face was accented with anger, and maybe a hint of fear.

“You bitch!” he said, glaring at Jodie again. “This was a setup. I should have known.”

Dan spoke up. “We have the whole thing, and in case voice isn’t enough, the time signatures on the films from the security cameras that Jodie had installed should match the ones on our video, proving it’s you who’s mauling Jodie and willing to trade sex to cover up your other crimes.”

They watched what little color was in Jason’s face drain away as his eyes took note of the camera in the corner, across from the desk. “That’s an intrusion of privacy. I’ll fight it. I’ll—”

“It’s over, Jason,” Dan said flatly. “The police would be very interested in this, concerning the break-in and, more important, I would be willing to let my good friend Dean Grandy have a listen. I have a feeling your academic ethics might be very deeply investigated at that point, and you might find it difficult to get any research done in the future. If you managed to stay out of jail.”

Jason stared, silently seething. He was smart enough to know that they had bested him.

“Fine. I shall not reveal your stupid cookie formula
to anyone. I will erase all files today. And I would like that recording in return,” he demanded.

“No problem,” Dan said agreeably. “Here, you can have this one. We have others.” He handed Jason the iPod.