CardsNeverLie (14 page)

Melanie noticed her cousin was dressed almost identically to
herself. They both wore blue chino shorts and lemon-colored short sleeve
shirts. With the addition of matching braids, they could have been twins,
despite the two-year age difference and the minor height and weight variances.
“How about Southcenter?”

She wanted to pick up a sweater, but more importantly,
Victoria’s Secret was having a sale. Her intimate apparel looked a bit raggedy
and her favorite pair of panties had been sacrificed to the orgasm god back in
Vegas. If she could resurrect her career, she’d have to get her dainties into
shape for wild encounters like that night on the stairwell with Rob.

Brisa shrugged, which emphasized her full breasts. “It’s out
of our way but why not? Ethan is over at a friend’s house.” Melanie had always
thought the two-cup size difference between her and her cousin was evidence of
Brisa’s childbearing, but after having spent the last four days surrounded by
porn stars, she realized her cousin’s breasts were far too perky to be real.

This information set off a bell in the back of her mind, but
she ignored it and focused on the issue at hand. She wanted to discuss Brisa’s
job situation, not think about her week. Or Rob. Or adult stars. They got in
the car and headed for the I-5 entrance heading south to Tukwila. “The
Nordstrom at Southcenter has a fall sweater I want,” she said in explanation
for the long drive. Then she asked, “Have you heard from LeatherWorks at all?”

“Flowers and a note. Which I didn’t open.”

“That I heard. Anything else?”

Brisa frowned. “Who have you been talking to?”

“Rob Black. In Las Vegas.”

“No kidding.” She sounded surprised. “You ran into him
there?”

“I saw Tim and he introduced me. No. That’s not really true.
I met Rob the night before but didn’t know who he was.”

“Rob isn’t the Vegas type. It sounds like there’s a story in
there somewhere.”

“He was there to work. Do you care?”

“No, why? I already told you I don’t plan to go back.”

“For sure?”

“Not if I can get a hospital job. I’ve already applied to
the ones within a reasonable commute, but I haven’t gotten any calls. I guess I
may have to go crawling back if I don’t hear soon.”

Melanie merged to the left to avoid heading to I-90 as they
reached downtown Seattle. “You’re already out of options as far as LeatherWorks
goes,” she said grimly.

“Why do you say that? They’ve always hired me back. Whether
or not I want to go back is another issue. It doesn’t really suit me.” Brisa
fiddled with the radio until she found KMPS, a country station, which was
playing a Dixie Chicks tune that Melanie couldn’t stand.

She raised her voice over the chirpy music. “Listen to me,
Brisa. They’ve already replaced you.”

“You’re kidding.” Brisa didn’t sound terribly concerned.
“With whom?”

Melanie rotated her jaw to relieve the tightness that was
forming there. “A little bimbo named Tida. She’s a skinny, curvy little sex
machine who drapes herself all over Rob like some kind of lap dancer.”

“Sounds like you’re jealous.”

“I’m not! It’s just disgusting is all.”

“You’re sure you don’t have something to share with me?”
Brisa teased.

“Why aren’t you taking this seriously? Don’t focus on me,
focus on your financial situation. You have Ethan to worry about. I think you
should sue them for harassment.”

“What?”

“Think about it! You’ve got every right! You ought to be
treated like a professional, not some silly girl who can be wooed with flowers
and candy. That alone shows you how sexist they are.”

“It’s not that big a deal.”

“Yes it is. You can’t go back there now. Their bimbo-hiring
has lost you the chance to go back. You deserve something. You quit in the
first place because of their behavior.”

“If I go back I’m right where I started.”

“Don’t go back. Sue the bastards.”

“Mr. Black is dying already, Melanie. I’d feel like a
murderer if I filed a lawsuit.”

“You told me it wasn’t just him, but the guys at the plant.”

“What’s the point?”

“But you said—”

“Let’s talk about something else for a while, okay? Death
depresses me. I’d rather go work in the PACU like I told you on Monday.”

“I think you should get a lawyer. Call Stanley.”

“So you want me to lose this hypothetical lawsuit?” Stanley
was another cousin who was in his last year of law school at the University of
Washington. Sadly, no one in the family had much confidence in his abilities.

“Of course not, but maybe putting something on the
letterhead of the firm he is interning at would scare them into at least giving
you a severance package.”

Brisa sighed. “Okay, I’ll do it. But only if you explain
what you’ve got against LeatherWorks. Something must have happened between you
and Rob Black.”

“Vegas got a little complicated,” Melanie admitted, wishing
her cousin would focus on what was important. “Rob did ask me out.”

“No kidding. He asked me out a time or two over the years,
but he’s a little too clean-cut for me. Gorgeous, but unimaginative.”

Melanie opened her mouth to defend Rob, but Brisa’s
information deflated her. Maybe he asked out every woman he met. And really,
why had she thought she was special? Rob probably went down on women in
stairwells every second Thursday or something. “I guess he isn’t too picky.”

“Excuse me?”

Melanie patted her cousin on the knee. “You know what I
mean. Maybe he just flirts with everyone and asks them out.”

“I would have said he was pretty quiet, actually. But with
my history, even being a single mother, I still get asked out quite a bit.
Especially by guys at LeatherWorks. But I have a policy about that—you have to
if men find you intriguing, or think you’re easy.”

“What do you mean about your history?” Melanie pulled off
Southcenter Parkway and into the mall parking lot next to Nordstrom. She turned
off the ignition.

Brisa’s profile looked pained. “I had a brief career before
nursing.”

Melanie shut her eyes. “This doesn’t have anything to do
with Honey Luscious, does it?”

Brisa’s hand flew to her chest and she gave a little gasp.
“What do you know about that?”

Melanie drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “Only
that a bunch of people down in Vegas, especially some guy named Harvey Long and
another scary loser named Drew Huntley, thought I was a porn star named Honey
Luscious.”

Brisa inhaled sharply.

“What’s wrong?”

Brisa’s eyes were closed. “Let’s not discuss this, okay?”

“Rob thought I was her for a day or two, until Anita Press
straightened him out.”

“Anita?” Brisa shook her head, looking pained. “Enough
already!”

“Okay, okay,” Melanie said softly, afraid her usually
stalwart cousin would cry. “Let’s change the subject. How about some gossip?”

Brisa nodded and grabbed a tissue from the box on the
dashboard.

“Vegas does something to people. I had all the men I could
handle there, even though they were guys who live in Seattle. I had encounters
with my coworker Tommy Joe and Rob. There was even a night I kissed them both.
And did other things too, actually. Life in Vegas was quite a change from
Seattle.”

“You’re kidding!” Brisa said, startled out of her
depression.

Melanie shook her head. “Not at all. Tommy Joe scared me off
big time, but Rob, well, let’s just say he has his moments.”

“So you’re mad about him hiring this Tida chick because
you’re afraid he’s going to go after her now?”

“Of course not,” Melanie protested.

“Give me a break, cuz. I know you. Gerald’s philandering
drove you half crazy. I’d be surprised if you didn’t react negatively to any
man who acted like he was playing the field. But I find it hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“Rob is quiet, like I said. He’s pretty cool.”

“If he’s so cool, he’ll give you a severance package,”
Melanie said stubbornly.

“Fine,” Brisa said, “I’ll call Stanley. Happy?”

“For the moment.” Melanie knew they would have to talk
again. Drew Huntley could come calling since Rob had become involved. What if
he knew Brisa’s real name? Now that he knew about a LeatherWorks connection,
would he track her to Seattle? She shivered.

* * * * *

On Monday in his office, Rob finished up the last email in
his overstuffed inbox. He had gotten behind in Vegas. He glanced at the clock
and realized it was time for his nine a.m. meeting with the LeatherWorks
executive vice president.

Right on time, his door opened and Jack peered in, jet-black
hair flopping over his eyes. “Ready for me, buddy?”

Rob waved at him to come in. “I see the fort is still
holding.”

“You bet. We’re thrilled about the product you moved in
Vegas.”

Rob grunted. “Speaking of sales, what’s the latest on
Professional Massage?”

“About that,” Jack said.

“What?” Rob looked up from his computer.

“We have another offer.”

Rob took his hands off the keyboard. “You’re kidding.”

Jack shook his head. Rob noticed that not only did Jack’s
hair need a trim, but he had bags under his eyes. He wondered why his VP was
burning the midnight oil.

He stood up and came around his desk then perched on the
corner in front of Jack. “Does Grandfather know?”

“Of course. His assistant is too loyal to keep the news from
him until we can spin it properly.”

“Who made the offer?”

“Wicked Oil.”

“Another massage company? That’s odd. Who are they?”

Jack handled him a file folder. “They’re out of Odessa,
Texas. They’re pretty new and privately held, so it’s hard to get concrete
details.”

“Any idea where their money is coming from?”

“No. The CEO is Billy Joe Harriman. I don’t know who the
owner is.”

“I’ve never heard of Harriman.”

“Me either.”

“Okay, so what’s the offer? Bigger? Smaller?”

“Three point two million.”

“Smaller. So why do we care?” Rob opened the folder and
glanced at the sparse contents.

“How do they even know we’re for sale?” Jack asked.

“How did we end up for sale in the first place?” Rob
countered.

“Professional Massage made an offer. I don’t know where they
got the idea Mr. Black would be willing to sell, but your grandfather certainly
warmed to the idea once there was money on the table.”

“Not very quickly. I still think he can be dissuaded, if I
can come up with the right argument.”

“I’m not sure I agree.” Jack sat down in one of the black
leather chairs in front of Rob’s desk. “I think the delay has merely been a
matter of properly valuing the company and coming to terms with Professional
Massage.”

“So why do you think Wicked Oil would bother to put an offer
on the table when, to the best of our knowledge, they haven’t bothered to find
out what the company is worth or even to contact us?”

“It’s a placeholder. They expect us to open a dialog. And
their figure isn’t too far off, you know.”

Rob mentally ran through a few relevant spreadsheets. “It’s
almost as if they have the preliminary valuation and haven’t seen the final
report.”

“Yeah.” Jack warmed to the idea. “Like someone got their
hands on the analyst’s original report and gave it to these bastards. You
remember our Accounting director hadn’t fully accounted for outstanding
accounts before the preliminary evaluation was done. Maybe the preliminary
report got out. And all of a sudden a private deal becomes public.”

Melanie, Rob thought instantly. Who knew what she had access
to? But why would she want another company to buy LeatherWorks? She worked for
Professional Massage. He wondered what her connection could be to Wicked Oil.
“I’m willing to believe there’s some funny business going on,” he conceded.
“But someone I met last week gave me a reality check. She said, ‘No one cares
enough about any of our little businesses to spy on each other’. And you know what,
she has a point.”

“You’ve been talking about the deal to outsiders?” Jack
shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders.

Leave it to the excitable Jack to pick up on that. “No, but
I accused her of coming to Vegas to try to talk to me. Why would someone from
Professional Massage go there at such a coincidental time if not to try to get
to me?”

“Who was this?”

“Melanie Vanderpool. She said she’s the Product Design
manager at Professional Massage.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her,” Jack said in a dismissive
tone.

Rob took a long look at his VP. Jack reddened slightly under
his gaze and Rob wondered again what he was hiding behind his strung-out
exterior. “Why not?”

He watched Jack’s eyes roll up in their sockets as he
visibly cast about for an answer. “She works for Al Plowman. And he’s nobody.
He’s been in meetings about the sale, but the execs at Professional Massage
never let him talk. So she can’t be in a power position.”

Rob nodded. “Point taken.” He stood. “I guess I’d better go
speak to Grandfather and see what he wants to do.”

“Have you talked to him since you got back?”

“Of course, but not about the sale. It’s time though.”

“Get back to me. It doesn’t pay to leave me in the dark.”
Jack gave him a stern look.

Rob frowned. “What do you think I haven’t told you?”

“This is the first you’ve mentioned a potential corporate
spy.” Jack stuttered on his last words.

“I thought we just agreed I had no reason to worry. And I
did mention her. She’s Bombshell’s cousin.”

“Oh. New career for her?” Jack looked at him oddly, but Rob
couldn’t remember what he’d said about her.

“She mentioned she’d just had a promotion. So are we okay?”
he asked.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.” Jack rubbed at
his nose.