Bad Guys Don't Win (Janet Maple Series Book 4) (22 page)

“Fine, have it your way,” Maddie pouted.
“I’ll be right outside, praying that you come back to your senses and change
your mind.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Ally
threw over her shoulder as she shut the fitting room door behind her. She
wriggled out of her jeans and threw off her top. Taking extra care, she undid
the dress zipper and stepped into the gown. She pulled her arms through the
sleeves and was about to zip up the back when she heard Madison’s urgent
scream.

“Ally, you’d better come out here!”

Allyson shook her head. At times Madison
could be too persistent. “Maddie, I already told you that I’m going with the
black dress.” Allyson surveyed herself in the mirror in confirmation of
her choice. The dress looked perfect on her: the black color accentuated the
smooth alabaster of her skin and the dark color of her hair, and made her blue
eyes dazzle like sapphires.

She thought of a sapphire pendant her
father had given her for her twenty-first birthday; it would go perfectly
with the moderately low neckline of the dress. She was about to open the
fitting room door and put Madison’s impatience to rest when she heard
banging on the door.

“Ally, you have to see this!” Madison
burst into the fitting room just as Ally was about to come out.

“Admit it, this is a better choice—”
Allyson stopped short after seeing the expression on Madison’s face. “Madison,
what’s wrong? What is it?”

Madison handed Ally her smartphone. It
had a news article opened on the screen. “I think you’d better sit down.”

As Allyson read the headline her eyes
flew wide open, nearly popping out of her head. “Victor Roberts,
President and COO of Roberts Enterprises, has been arrested on charges of
fraud, negligence, and threat to national security,” the headline read.

“It’s got to be a mistake. It can’t be
real. Where’s my phone?” Ally rummaged through her purse. “Damn, I must’ve left
it at home.” She was heaving now, her heart racing like a hammer, and she felt
the world spinning around her. This couldn’t be happening. She needed to call
her father’s lawyer and find out exactly what was going on. Maybe her father
was trying to reach her this very minute and she wasn’t there to answer his
call. When was the last time she had spoken to her father? Easter, and now it
was the end of May. She was ashamed to admit that such breaks in their
communication weren’t out of the ordinary. Her father was a very busy man, and
she didn’t want to appear needy or interfere with his affairs. But now
something terrible had happened to him, and she had read about it on the
Internet like a complete stranger. She wanted to be with him, to know exactly
what was going on. She needed her father more now than she ever had. “I have to
go! I have to get to my phone.” Allyson thrust her feet into her shoes and
lunged for the door.

“I’m right behind you,” Madison
followed.

“Miss, excuse me!” A saleswoman stood in
Ally’s way.

Ally stopped dead in her tracks,
realizing that she was still wearing the dress she’d been trying on. She caught
a glimpse of herself in the mirror; her hair was disheveled and her face was
flushed red. She could already see the headlines: “On the heels of the news of
her father’s arrest, Allyson Roberts is caught shoplifting.”

“Leave her alone!” Madison snarled.
“I’ll pay for the damn dress. She has an emergency.” Maddie threw her credit
card at the sales person. She thrust her sunglasses at Ally. “Take these.
You’re gonna need them.”

“Why would I need those—” Ally stopped
short, understanding instantly. She hated wearing sunglasses, but she’d be
crazy to venture outside now without a pair on. Growing up, Allyson had
remained out of the spotlight—her father had made sure of that. The one time a
photographer had managed to get a picture of her—when she was about five years
old—her father had the man brought up on harassment charges, followed by a gag
order. But now her father was powerless to protect her and she was prime bait.
Every paparazzo on the street would be dying to take her picture. It was only a
matter of time until they would seek her out.

“Come on!” Madison grabbed Ally’s hand,
ushering her outside. Luckily, Madison had parked her car close to the store
and within moments they were on the road, driving.

Ten minutes later Madison pulled up in
front of Ally’s house. She helped Ally up the front stairs and opened the door
for her, as though Ally were an invalid. By now the shock of the news had taken
its toll, and although there was nothing physically the matter with her, Ally
found it hard to function, as though she were wrapped in a cocoon of numbness,
making even the simplest of movements extremely difficult.

Madison sat Ally on the couch. “Allyson,
listen to me. I know you’re in shock, but you have to pull yourself together.
There are a hundred calls you need to make, and you need to be one hundred
percent, do you hear me?”

Ally nodded, although she didn’t
understand why she needed to make a hundred calls. As far as she was concerned
she only needed to make one phone call: to her father.

Maddie squeezed Ally’s hand hard. “Ally,
listen to me. I know you’re scared, but you’ll be alright. It’s probably
nothing. Your father will get out of this mess. Trust me, these things happen.”

Allyson’s eyes flew wide open, but she
remained mute. What on earth was Maddie saying? These things didn’t happen, not
to her, not to her father.

“My father isn’t a lawyer for nothing.
You should hear about some of the messes his clients had gotten into. All old
money, so venerable and discreet. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. You’ve
just joined a very elite club.” Madison tried to bring Ally back to reality,
but there was a glazed-over look of shock in Ally’s eyes. “Allyson!” Maddie’s
hand slapped Ally’s face. Allyson clutched her cheek, staring at her friend.
“I’m sorry, but you have to get yourself together.”

The sharp stinging of her skin brought
clarity. With her now clear eyes, Ally saw the red blinking light on her
answering machine. On the reading table next to the couch was her cell phone
and it, too, was beeping angrily, bursting with tidings of bad news. No matter
how bad, it was the news she needed to hear. Her father didn’t bring her up to
be a babbling child; she was a grown woman now and she had to step up to the
plate. “I’m all right now. Thank you.”

“You’re not mad at me? I don’t know why
I hit you. I guess I panicked.” All of Madison’s toughness was evaporating as
she babbled guiltily.

“I deserved it. Now if you don’t mind
I’m going to need some privacy to sort through all of this . . . it’s not that
I don’t trust you, but I don’t want you to be in the position of overhearing
things that could be compromising,” Ally said firmly. She was fully in control
now.

“I understand. I’ll be home if you need
me. I’ll let myself out.” Madison rose from the couch and headed for the door.

Allyson reached for her cell phone and
hit the messages button. There were five messages, all from her father’s lawyer.

Download your
free copy of
Thirsty for Payback

Please read on for an excerpt from
Baiting
Trouble
(Book 2 of Sinful Business Series)

(Book 2 of
Sinful Business Series)

By

Marie Astor

Allyson Roberts has risen from the
ashes. She now has a career, a relationship, and a purpose in life. But as a
new assignment comes along, Jake Morrissey, the man who helped her rebuild her
life and has been her rock ever since might now become too dangerous for her to
love. Will Ally and Jake find a way to be together, or will their ties burn
them?

Delilah Jones has always been the odd
one out with a wayward past. Now, she has a chance to shine by completing an
undercover assignment that has her colleagues at a standstill. But what if
getting a lead will cost Delilah her only chance for true love? Will she have
to choose between her heart and career, or will she find a way to have both?

Chapter 1

Brad Weiss wanted to skip up the
corporate jet’s ladder, but instead he kept his stride measured as he
respectfully followed his boss, Peter Langman, to board Orion Inc.’s corporate
jet. As he made his way into the cabin, Brad was yet again impressed by the
lush accommodations of the jet. He had flown the company plane on many business
occasions before, but the luxury of private travel never ceased to please him.
Someday, hopefully someday soon, he was going to have his own jet that he would
use whenever it pleased him. Brad waited for Peter Langman to take a seat and
then took the opposite seat.

For the past eleven years Orion had been
Brad’s life. He was only thirty-three years old, but already the company’s
chief operating officer, the COO. His title elicited frowns and arched
eyebrows from many of the gray hairs at the company as well as those at their
competitors, but Brad remained as impervious to the old geezers’ scoffs as he
would to the buzzing noises made by flies.

“Are you comfortable, Brad?” Langman
asked.

“I’m fine. Thank you, sir,” Brad replied
deferentially. He owed his success to Peter Langman, the owner of Orion Inc. In
addition to being Brad’s boss Peter Langman was also his mentor.

Brad sank into the supple leather chair.
The flight to Hong Kong from Oregon was over fifteen hours long, so it was
comforting to know that the seats were expandable into perfectly horizontal
beds. This was going to be a very important business trip for Brad—a trip that
could make or break his career, and he wanted to look his best upon arrival.

A pretty stewardess greeted them.
“Gentlemen, may I get you anything to drink?” She was wearing a uniform with
Orion’s logo insignia. Brad noticed that her pencil skirt and form-fitting
jacket hugged her body rather suggestively. He wondered if the girl had a
tailor alter the uniform. Although most CEOs would gladly use a sexy stewardess
as a ploy to achieve an edge in business negotiations, Peter Langman was a
straight shooter and he would’ve never approved sexy uniforms for his corporate
jet flight attendants.

“Just some water for me, please,”
Langman asked.

“The same please,” Brad followed his
boss’s lead. There’d be plenty of opportunities for drinks later, but right now
he needed to have a fresh head for the negotiations they had ahead of them.

“I will be right back with your orders,
gentlemen.” The girl smiled and walked away, her hips swaying.

Peter Langman’s eyes trailed after the
girl’s figure. “Don’t you think her uniform is a little snug?” he
whispered disapprovingly.

Brad looked up from his papers
distractedly. “Oh, apologies, sir, I wasn’t looking.” He pointed at the papers.

Langman chuckled. “Never mind.”

Brad could barely keep a straight face.
Under a different set of circumstances he would’ve asked for the girl’s number.
Hell, he probably wouldn’t even need to go that far. He could see himself
getting down and dirty with her right there on the plane, and judging by the
way she was acting he wouldn’t be met with much resistance. Too bad that his
boss was right there.
Focus
, Brad thought,
focus
.

The girl returned with two bottles of
Perrier and poured them into glasses with slices of lemon in each. Brad took
his glass, keeping his eyes fixed on his papers the entire time. He
wanted Langman to see how dedicated he was.

Langman took a long drink of his water.
“Brad, you’ve been poring over this pitch nonstop since last week. You must
have it memorized by now.”

“You’re right, sir. I do, but practice
only makes perfect. Tomorrow is a big day for us and I wouldn’t want to
disappoint you.”

“Oh, I don’t think you could do that
even if you tried.”

“You’re very kind, sir.”

“I must admit I’m a little nervous.”

“Nervous, sir?”

Langman nodded. “Yes. Not nervous about
the deal, but nervous about what it will do to the company if the deal goes
through, which I’m pretty sure it will.”

Brad stared at him momentarily. “It will
undisputedly establish Orion’s position as a liquefied gas provider of
international importance.”

Langman nodded. “Precisely.”

“But isn’t that what we’ve been working
toward, sir?” Orion had recently completed building three gas pipelines in
China where it had contracts with three leading manufacturing companies.
Impressed by the deal Orion had struck with China, Hong Kong too wanted a piece
of the action. At first, Langman had been hesitant. He wanted to make
sure that Orion had the capacity to deliver on these obligations and wanted to
wait on the Hong Kong expansion, but Brad had done a detailed assessment of
Orion’s facilities proving that Orion was more than capable of meeting these
obligations. Now months of planning were going to come full circle. Brad and
his boss had two meetings planned during their trip. The first meeting was
going to be with a major Hong Kong bank to secure a loan Orion needed to build
a gas pipeline to transport gas to its newest client, a major utilities company
in Hong Kong. Once the loan terms were signed, they would then meet with the
client to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s.

“It is. But heavy is the head that wears
the crown.”

“You’re absolutely right there, sir,”
Brad replied solemnly. “High rewards bring high levels of responsibility.”

Langman nodded approvingly. “That’s
right, Brad. I’m glad you understand that.”

Brad pretended to busy himself with the
presentation. Beneath his cool, studious exterior he was filled with
excitement. Peter Langman, President and CEO of Orion, Inc. had been talking
about cutting down on his work for some time. The old man looked tired. There
were dark circles under his eyes and his skin seemed more lined than usual.
Langman had made it clear that he wasn’t ready to retire yet, but he’d been
talking about stepping down from his role as the CEO and only staying on as the
president. There had been speculations about Langman’s replacement for months.
The CEO role was the role that Brad coveted. If he got it, he would be one of the
youngest among his peers in the industry. When they had been going over the
presentation earlier, Langman had confused some of the figures and Brad
had discretely corrected his boss. “Take the lead on this, Brad,” Langman had
said, “you have my full authority.” That was exactly what Brad intended to do.
If he played his cards right, a few months from now he might be sitting in
Langman’s chair.

***

It was ten o’clock at night local time
and Brad was starting to feel the hard day’s work take its toll on him. Today
had felt like the longest, yet the most thrilling day of his life. Despite the
fatigue creeping in, he was still bursting with excitement. Both meetings had
gone off without a hitch. The bank had approved a massive loan for Orion with
very favorable terms. Additionally, the bank officials would personally
assist Orion in securing all the necessary permits from the local authorities
to build the pipeline. Orion’s newest Hong Kong client had been immensely
pleased with the news and signed all the paperwork, finalizing the details of
their contract.

Now Brad was seated in Peter Langman’s
suite, both of them ready to unwind after a very long day.

“How about a drink?” Langman asked. He
had briefly gone into the bedroom to change and had replaced his suit jacket
with a silk robe. He still had his shirt and tie on.

“Yes, please.” Brad was about to get up,
but Langman motioned for him to stay seated.

Langman poured himself a double scotch
and examined the bottle. “Twenty-five-year-old Glenlivet,” he observed, “not
too shabby if you ask me.” He poured Brad a drink and handed it to him.

“Thank you.” Brad took a long swallow,
savoring the smooth liquid trickling down his throat. “I thought it went well
today,” he prompted, impatient for Langman’s accolades.

Langman nodded. “You did a
terrific job today in both meetings. These contracts are going to be
revolutionary. Simply revolutionary. It’s about time Tian Wang stopped
controlling the gas supply. The amount of pollution that his plants are
generating is deathly. No one would put up the capital necessary for
production, but I knew it had to be done. Once the initial investment pays off
we’ll make a hefty profit, but most importantly we’ll keep the planet
safe for our children and grandchildren. I, for one, don’t want my
grandchildren to worry about a hurricane every week. And even if I never live
to become a grandfather,” he chuckled. “I’m glad to know that I’ve done
something to make a difference for the rest of the humanity.”

Brad stayed wisely silent at Langman’s
allusion to his free-spirited daughter whom Brad had dated at one point in his
life. “Yes, sir. That is a wonderful example of corporate citizenship, sir.”

“I didn’t do it alone. You’re largely
responsible for the plant expansion and ensuring the capacity for the increased
output. All those nights you were in the office, burning the midnight oil,
didn’t go unnoticed.”

“Thank you, sir.” Brad took a sip of his
scotch to conceal his excitement. Was the old man finally going to say
it? Today had been his test and Brad had passed it with flying colors.
Now it was time for his reward.

Langman stretched his legs out on the
ottoman. “Ah, this feels nice. I’ve got to admit today kicked my butt. I keep
forgetting that I’m not twenty-five anymore.” He raised his glass. “To
your success, Brad.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I suppose I should get right to it. I
know there’s been a lot of speculation about the CEO role,” Langman paused.

Brad felt his heart thump. Finally, he
was going to get what he wanted.

“I’ve decided that Orion will
benefit from new blood,” Langman continued. “After a careful
consideration I’ve hired Steven Wright as the new CEO.”

Brad merely stared back at his boss,
mute. At first he thought that he’d misheard things, but then it dawned
on him. He wasn’t getting the job.

“Steven Wright?” Brad asked in a hollow
voice. “I thought the whole reason behind the management change was to infuse
Orion with fresh blood.” Perhaps it wasn’t the best comment to make under the
circumstances, but he was boiling inside. Brad studied Langman’s face for signs
of irritation, but years spent in corporate boardrooms had given Langman the
perfect poker face.

“I’m sorry my decision took you by
surprise, Brad. That wasn’t my intention.” Langman rubbed his forehead.
Suddenly he looked tired. All those years of hard work were beginning to show.
He was now in his mid-sixties and he looked his age. His closely cut hair was
almost entirely white and thinning on top. His mustache was white too, but he
insisted on keeping it although a much shorter version that the one he wore in
his younger years. And even though he still spent an hour at the gym
religiously every morning, his body was starting to acquire a pear shape.
“Steven Wright brings a lot of experience, and I think you could learn a great
deal from him.”

Brad wanted to choke the old man. Learn
from Wright? Brad had been with Orion since he was twenty two, not counting the
three summers he’d interned there while in college. He knew Orion from the
inside out, and now he was supposed to learn from Steven Wright, who knew
nothing about the company and would most likely look to Brad to give him all
the essential facts and figures.

“This news may be frustrating to you
initially, but this is truly for the best. Once you think it over, you’ll see what
I mean,” Langman said.

“Frankly, sir, I don’t see how that
would happen.”
To hell with it
, Brad thought. For over ten years he’d
danced to the old man’s tune. He was going to speak his mind now, and if that
meant the end of his career at Orion then so be it. “I’m very grateful for all
the opportunities you’ve given me. I’ve worked hard to meet and exceed your
expectations. Orion is my life. I started as a college intern and was very
fortune to work my way up through the ranks. I know all the facets of the
business from corporate to production, and I don’t see how an outsider, granted
a very experienced executive, but an outsider nonetheless, can bring more to
the CEO role than what I have to offer.”