Authors: Nadia Lee
She followed him, her lips set. He shut the door and didn’t bother to offer her a seat. She remained standing and would’ve crossed her arms if she hadn’t been carrying the folder.
“When I ask you to do something, I mean exactly that.”
“I understand, but Danielle’s at the point in her career where she should—”
“Natalie, I know. But there’s a reason why I asked
you
to do it. We have to win this. Rodale International’s bidding too, and it’s going to be competitive. There can’t be any mistakes.”
She looked at her boss. He seemed tired and irritated, which somehow surprised her. Ethan was the sort of debonair, lazy-mannered man who was difficult to upset.
“Furthermore, security on the project is very tight. The folder contains several proprietary technology specs we own. Only you and I have seen what’s in that folder. Danielle is too junior, even if she has her security clearance. She’s just not right for this particular job.”
If he felt this strongly about it, there was nothing Natalie could do. Maybe he was being this controlling because of the way his predecessor had gotten fired. “Okay. Sorry.”
He relaxed a bit. “Thank you. Let me know if you have any questions.”
As she was walking back past Danielle’s cubicle, her assistant rose. “Natalie.”
“Yes?”
“I…I’m sorry.” Danielle dropped her gaze.
Natalie smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault, and there will be other projects.”
“Sure.” Danielle shot her a grateful look. “I appreciate the support.”
* * *
Alex collapsed on the king-size bed in his hotel room, loosening his tie and feeling the muscles in his back unkink. Thank God he was done for the day. Since his arrival in Hong Kong, he’d had nothing but endless conference calls and meetings. It was already eight p.m., and he hadn’t had a single break.
Natalie hadn’t contacted him. He wanted to talk to her, but he hadn’t been able to get a moment alone, especially with all those pesky business dinners to attend. They normally lasted until one or two in the morning and filled his belly with more alcohol than he would have liked. The Chinese drank like fish, especially the older men, their faces shining and laughing.
Given how they’d parted, Alex wanted to be one hundred percent sober when he spoke with Natalie again. He stared at his cell phone and thought about giving her a ring but gave up on the idea. Maybe she was still upset with the way he’d left…even though she was the one who had made it clear he’d better let her be alone for a while.
He sighed. Women.
Two white envelopes on the nightstand caught his eye. He rolled across the mattress and picked one up. The discreetly embossed logo of a famous Hong Kong jeweler was in the upper left corner. Bless the concierges of the world. He always asked them to select and send expensive trinkets to whichever woman he happened to be involved with at the time. Some men liked to travel with their lovers on business. Alex preferred to keep women and work separate.
Until Natalie. She was beginning to blur some of the internal lines that had always been very clear.
He opened the envelope. Inside, there was a bill and pictures of a gorgeous ruby choker. It would look spectacular on Natalie’s graceful neck, complement her vivid coloring.
Vaguely dissatisfied, he shoved everything back into the envelope and tossed it on the nightstand. Although the jewelry cost a fortune, it didn’t seem good enough for her. He’d thought this was an excellent idea when he’d talked to the concierge during check-in, but now he couldn’t remember why. It was too impersonal.
Still… She would probably like it. Once they saw the expensive, sparkly stones, none of his ex-lovers had complained that his gifts weren’t personal enough, well thought out enough.
Alex opened the second envelope and read the contents. At last! With the information contained in these investigative reports, he’d be able to squeeze Brian Hall so he’d stop giving the Rodales political support. Hall had helped the Rodales one too many times behind the scenes and spoiled several of Alex’s well-planned moves against them. The only way to stop him was to find something that would ruin him forever if anyone knew about it. And after several months of probing, Alex had what he wanted.
But mingled with his sense of triumph was one of outrage. The bastard had bought—no,
won
—Natalie! No wonder Louise and Belle treated her like dirt. Hard to respect something you won in a game of chance.
Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated. Alex answered it immediately. “Damon.”
“How’s Hong Kong treating you?” came Ethan’s familiar voice.
Disappointment deflated him. “It’s all right.”
“Just all right? I thought you liked it there.”
“Maybe I’m getting old.”
“Uh-huh. So it has nothing to do with our newly promoted senior lead analyst?” There was a pause, and Ethan laughed. “You don’t have to pretend. We all know it’s Natalie.”
“
We?
” He didn’t believe for a second she’d bragged about dating him. Most likely her sister had spread some vile rumor.
“It was in the papers. Gossip rags. They also had pictures of her with Charlie Rodale. Are they lovers?”
“No.” Alex could feel his mood darkening. “I don’t think so.” She’d said they were friends. If they’d been more, she wouldn’t have responded to him like that. Would she? Just thinking about it made his body stir. He shifted uncomfortably.
“They must have some history. At least it looks that way from the photos.”
“Why are you so interested in her?” Alex said, getting irritated. Ethan was supposed to be helping him take over Rodale International, not reading the scandal sheets.
“I think someone’s tipping Rodale off.”
“But what does this have to do with Natalie?”
“Because of what Charlie Rodale said to his investors last night. He specifically mentioned the Hong Kong consortium. How could he have got wind of it unless someone tipped him off about our plans?”
That was a blow. In order to start buying up Rodale stock without alerting the management, Alex had set up ten separate companies, all of them private, all of them small, spread out over seven different countries. They were unofficially coordinated through a Hong Kong consulting firm, but he’d paid a lot of money to make sure the companies’ activities were kept absolutely secret. But now it seemed the secret was out. “That’s not good. Still, it doesn’t have to be Natalie. As a matter of fact, nobody at DDE knows about it.”
“Natalie might. Her senator father and all. Besides, she worked for Goldreich in Hong Kong and more than half her MBA class went into consulting or investment banking. She’s got the connections to get whatever the Rodales need.”
Alex found he was holding his breath. “Is she the only one? There could be others—”
“She’s the only one besides me who has access to the information. And she’s close to the Rodales.” Ethan’s voice cooled. “If she’s the leak, we can’t let her get away with it.”
Alex gripped the phone. Natalie couldn’t be the betrayer. There were other people who were capable of accessing information about Alex’s plans. For all he knew, the Rodales could’ve hired someone to hack into his personal computer.
“Also, the Rodale BOD just approved a flip-in,” Ethan said, dragging Alex’s attention back to the conversation.
Alex swore. A flip-in was an effective poison pill. There wasn’t any good way to fight back unless he wanted to start a proxy battle and put his people on Rodale’s board of directors.
Ethan continued. “I know you want to get Rodale, but it doesn’t make sense to force it. It’s going to cost too much and take too long.”
Alex closed his eyes and thought. Finally, he said, “Agreed. I’ll have to come up with a countermove. Find out who the mole is, if you’re so sure it’s someone in DDE. And I don’t want you focusing your investigation just on Natalie. It could be anyone.”
There was a pause. Then Ethan said, “Will do.”
Now in a foul mood, Alex changed shirts and stalked out of the hotel. The weather was unusually hot and muggy. Still, the crowd bustled, merchants showing their wares to everyone who walked by. The smell of freshly baked bread drifted from a small shop packed with people. Garish neon signs flashed on tall buildings, and with each burst of light, shadows jumped out in the corners and alleys.
Natalie wasn’t like that conniving, family-rending bitch Emily Rodale. She wasn’t.
He stopped in front of a store display. In the window was a silk robe of the fieriest crimson. On its back a golden embroidered
fènhuáng
spread its wings. The workmanship was extraordinary. The mythical bird looked as if it would soar into the sky at any moment. It reminded him of how Natalie had seemed to soar when they were making love. Usually, she was somewhat guarded, but he had seen her spirit, joyous and giving, unleashed in bed.
A dragon and
fènhuáng
set represents a harmonious relationship between a man and a woman… I thought I would give the dragon to a man I lov—a worthy man.
But who would give Natalie a
fènhuáng?
Alex stood, gazing at the robe. After several moments, he walked inside. A clerk wearing metallic green eye shadow greeted him in British-accented English. He told her what he wanted.
The robe came in one size, and there was only one left. Each design on the back was one of a kind, handmade by a local artisan. The store didn’t give refunds or exchanges. Would he take it?
He nodded and handed over his credit card. The clerk wrapped the robe in gorgeous gold and red paper and tied a silk bow around it. The package was light but beautiful and somehow seemed like exactly the perfect gift for Natalie.
His mood vastly improved, Alex returned to his hotel.
* * *
It was already Thursday, and still there was no word. Natalie hadn’t asked Ethan directly again, but it looked like even he didn’t know when Alex would be back.
Fool, fool, fool!
Finished with work and back inside her condo, she kicked off her shoes and let her feet sink into the thick carpet. Matto came out to greet her—or, more accurately, to demand a fresh serving of his favorite treat.
“Not right now.” She tossed her purse on the couch and was heading to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Her heart leapt.
“Who is it?” she said, walking quickly to the door.
“FedEx.”
Her shoulders slumped at the chirpy voice. She opened the door and saw a delivery woman in a uniform.
“Natalie Hall?”
“Yes.”
Matto trotted out, stood between her feet and hissed at the woman. She glanced down and dismissed the cat. “Can you sign for this?”
Natalie scribbled her name on the delivery form and took the box. The address label didn’t indicate the sender, and she didn’t remember buying anything online recently. “Who sent it?”
“If it’s not on the label, I don’t know,” she said with an apologetic smile. “Thank you. Have a nice evening!”
Before Natalie could ask any more questions, the woman disappeared. Natalie sighed and shut the door.
Back in her living room, she shook the box. Something moved, but nothing rattled. Hmmm. She went to the kitchen, heated some water for tea, and grabbed a knife to cut the double layers of tape around the package…then encountered more tape and wrapping.
Just what was inside? A national secret?
The kettle started to whistle, and she poured the hot water into a small teapot. Dried tea leaves began to plump out, a few floating up to the surface. After placing a lid on the pot, she ripped the rest of the packing open. Inside was a beautifully wrapped oblong box. An elegant, dark navy ribbon with gold trim made a festive bow around it. She examined it from various angles, then went carefully through the wrapping paper. No card.
And the brown carton contained nothing inside except bubble wrap. Strange.
She unwrapped it and saw a dark navy velvet box. In the center, a gold emblem gleamed under the kitchen light.
Her hands stilled. It was a jeweler in Hong Kong. She’d seen the logo during her tenure at Goldreich. Her heartbeat accelerated.
She opened it and frowned at a row of exquisite rubies glittering like fat drops of blood. She picked up the choker. It felt icy against her hand. Finally, she found a small, heavy stock card engraved with an elaborate copperplate script:
To Natalie
From Alex
She stared at it for a moment, unbelieving. Then, taking a deep breath, she put the choker back in the box and snapped it shut.
Her hands shook so much she spilled tea on the counter as she poured it into her cup. She gripped the teapot, oblivious to its heat. How could he think that a string of rocks would make everything all right? And that card! Couldn’t he have said something little more personal than “To Natalie”? Obviously, he couldn’t even bother to write it himself. Who’d selected the choker and sent it? Natalie wondered if he’d even seen the gems.
Alex was just like her family, keeping her at arm’s length and sending her money and gifts to avoid having to deal with her. Brian was the only one who had ever occasionally spared an hour or two for her, but even he was usually too busy.
Her sense of betrayal and disappointment was so strong it was almost hallucinogenic. It was as though a strong wind had suddenly blown her off a high balcony, the support under her feet sliding away and disappearing in an instant.
Still, in the midst of her outrage, there was a small voice in the back of her mind asking why Alex’s cavalier treatment hurt so much more than it should.
“OH, HE DIDN’T!” Kerri said.
“He did,” Natalie said and leaned back in her office chair.
“At least they were expensive rubies.”
“I guess. But it’s not about that.” Was their weekend quantifiable, able to be reduced to a string of sparkly rocks?
Expensive
rubies, indeed. To someone like Alex, the price wouldn’t mean anything.
“Get a new boyfriend. He isn’t the only one around who can give you multiple Os.”
Natalie snorted.