Lethal Exposure (14 page)

In spite of the older woman’s defiant attitude, Julie could see a glimmer of tears in her eyes. “Because,” Maxine said, “you forced my hand.”

“What are you talking about?” Butler frowned.

Maxine’s chin quivered. “Earlier this year I got a letter, signed by you, I might add. It said I had to take mandatory retirement when I turned seventy. You were putting me out to pasture. It’s not fair. I still have plenty of good years left in me and look how well I’ve kept up with technology. Yet when I came to you and asked if you could make an exception in my case, you told me that I’d earned a rest and you were sending me on a Caribbean cruise for a retirement present.”

Butler looked confused. “Most people would love a Caribbean cruise.”

“Floating funeral parlors! That’s all they are,” she scoffed. “So I figured if I couldn’t stay here, I’d bring you down with me.”

“The tabloid leaks, the kitchen fire, the thefts, the transformer and generator outages, the sliced tires in the employee parting lot?”

“All me.” She proudly chuffed out her chest. “How’s that for too old? I’ve been getting away with it for months and none of you ever suspected me.”

“And Chloe?” Tanner asked about the scrub nurse who’d stabbed him. “Did you set her off?”

“Please.” Maxine waved a hand. “That girl was a keg of dynamite. All I had to do was light the match and watch her explode. I had no idea she was going to stab you, though. I am sorry about that. I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to ruin the hospital’s reputation. Let you all see what it was like to have the thing you loved most destroyed.”

“That was pretty selfish of you,” Sebastian said.

She glowered at him. “Please, like you’re Mr. Altruistic. If you hadn’t been so good at lying, I could have finished off this place with Colin Cruz. But you…” She shook her head. “You’re too damned slick.”

Tanner looked at Dr. Butler. “You want me to call the police?”

Dr. Butler shook his head. “No. Just escort her off the premises. Losing her job will be punishment enough.”

“WHAT HAPPENS NOW?” Julie asked Sebastian as they left the hospital together.

“About Maxine?”

“About our picture on the front page of the tabloid.”

“I’ll find a way to spin this so you’re not left embarrassed by that Inquisitive Tattler story,” he said. “Maybe I can say we were trying to trap Maxine and we went with it, knowing all along we were being photographed.”

“Don’t lie on my account.”

“It’s not lying it’s…” He broke off. “It is lying, isn’t it?”

She nodded.

It crushed down on him all at once. He’d made a profession out of bending the truth and telling people what they wanted to hear whether it was honest or not. Looking into Julie’s eyes he suddenly felt like the world’s biggest fraud.

“When are you going back to L.A.?” she asked.

“Not until Monday,” he said. “My brother’s engagement party is this coming Saturday.”

“Oh.”

“You could come to the party with me,” he said. “I need a date.”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. After last night maybe we should just make a clean break.”

He stared at her lips and had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. “I’d like you to meet my brother.”

“For what purpose?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re going back to L.A. I live here and we both know you’re a confirmed bachelor. What would be the point?”

“I’d like one last night with you, Julie,” he said. “Is that so wrong?”

She blew out a breath.

His gaze tracked to the pale, snowy scope of skin between her diamond-studded earlobes and her slender collarbone. He’d never known a collarbone could be so sexy.

“They’re having the engagement party in the ballroom of the hotel Shangri-La. It’s formal. They’re pulling out all the stops. We could get a room for the night. Soak in the hot tub. Have breakfast in bed. Our last tango so to speak.”

She said nothing.

Sebastian shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Just a thought. I’m sure you don’t want to dress up fancy and dance the night away like Cinderella.”

Julie canted her head and looked at him. Was the woman ever going to say anything?

“You probably wouldn’t feel comfortable meeting my brother and his fiancée and my secretary, Blanche, and my nutty Aunt Bunnie and her friends from the commune, I understand. Engagement parties and weddings make me nervous, too.”

“Sebastian…I…” She licked out her tongue to moisten her lip and it was all he could do to keep from groaning.

“So this is goodbye then?” He forced himself to smile, unable to decipher why his chest felt so damn tight. He couldn’t get any air. Why couldn’t he get some air?

It’s just because she’s so hot and sexy. Julie is the best you’ve ever had. That’s all it is. This feeling will pass and you’ll be on to the next woman.

He reached up to loosen his tie.

Okay, so she was more special than most, but what did he have to offer her really beyond a good time?

She was a forever kind of woman and he was a freedom-loving guy. She deserved far more than he had the capacity to give. She was right, going with him to the engagement party was a bad idea. He didn’t know why he’d even suggested it.

He had to get out of here. If she was ready to call it quits then the sooner he left, the better. “I gotta go, Jules….” He cleared his throat. “Julie.”

“Sebastian.” Her eyes were fixed on his.

He couldn’t fricking breathe. He snatched off his tie. “Yes?”

“I’ll go.”

JULIE DRESSED FOR the engagement party with much thought and attention to detail. She knew this was her last hoorah with Sebastian and she wanted to make it a night to remember.

Plus, she had an ulterior motive for attending. Sebastian’s brother was engaged to Keeley Marshall, the daughter of her ex-lover. This was the perfect opportunity to show Roger how much she’d grown. Prove to him and herself that he hadn’t destroyed her. She was going to that party and holding her head high. The trick was to keep Sebastian from finding out that Roger was her ex-lover.

She’d spent a small fortune on a new outfit for the event, shopping at Neiman Marcus for a black-and-white strapless cocktail dress that hugged her hourglass figure and exposed her shoulders and the top of her breasts. Plus, she’d splurged on designer stilettos and a black-and-white beaded handbag. She also spritzed on a fresh, new cologne called Sassy. It smelled of cinnamon, ginger and licorice. The frisky scent underscored her adventuresome mood. She completed the ensemble with a black-and-white bracelet and matching earrings. Finally, she twisted her hair up in an Audrey Hepburn–style French twist, anchoring it in place with a black-and-white butterfly hairpin.

She stared at herself in the mirror, unable to believe the change in her appearance. She hadn’t been this elegantly attired since her high school prom. Come to think of it, her neon pink prom dress hadn’t exactly been haute couture.

The look in Sebastian’s eyes when he came to pick her up told her that she’d scored big. “Wow,” he said. “I’m going to have the best-looking date in the place.”

They arrived at the hotel Shangri-La at seven and Sebastian tossed the keys to the valet, then hurried around to the passenger side of the car to offer her his arm.

He escorted her over to one side. “Before we go in…” He took a white oblong box from his jacket pocket. “I wanted to give you a small memento of our time together.”

Julie’s heart skipped a beat. “Is this what you do for all your conquests?” she teased, even though she was feeling anything but jovial. “Buy them a parting gift?”

His eyes darkened. “You’re not a conquest.”

With one finger, she plucked at the red ribbon, untying it and then lifted the lid. Inside, nestled on tissue paper, lay a platinum medallion on a matching chain.

“Oh, Sebastian.” She inhaled and took the necklace from the box. The medallion was an eagle in flight. Just like the regal bird on his shoulder tattoo. “It’s beautiful.”

He shrugged and looked adorably embarrassed. “Turn around and I’ll put it on for you.”

She handed him the medallion, turned, lifted her hair. His warm fingers went around, the medallion lay cool against her bare skin.

After he hooked the clasp, he pressed his mouth to her ear and whispered, “Fly free, Jules, fly free.”

She was here to face Roger and put her past to rest, but the minute she saw him in the ballroom, icy fingers of fear gripped her. She wanted to turn and run, but Sebastian held fast to her elbow as he tugged her toward the tall blond man in a tuxedo standing beside Roger. She couldn’t bear the shame if Sebastian learned Roger was her ex-lover.

“Julie, I want you to meet my brother, Lincoln Holt. Linc, this is my date, Julie DeMarco.”

Julie shook hands with Sebastian’s brother. Then Sebastian introduced her to his secretary. Blanche Santini had kind eyes and a wise face. She was dressed in a two-piece suit reminiscent of Jacqueline Kennedy.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” Blanche said.

“Really?” Julie shot a glance at Sebastian.

“Julie,” Lincoln said, “I want you to meet my fiancée, Keeley.”

Keeley. Roger’s daughter.

It was all Julie could do to smile and look the dark-haired girl in the eye. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thank you.” Keeley returned her smile.

She felt like the biggest Benedict Arnold on the planet. She’d slept with this girl’s father. Shame burned her.

Keeley rested an arm on the woman beside her. “This is my mother, Margery.”

Roger’s wife.

Guilt gripped her. Without meaning to do so, she’d wronged this woman. She shouldn’t have come here. She should have thought this thing through. She’d wanted to face down Roger, she hadn’t expected to have to face his wife as well.

Margery said, “I’m pleased to meet you.”

Julie could only nod. Keep up the facade. Don’t let anyone know. Especially Sebastian.

Keeley touched Roger’s shoulder. “And this is my father, Roger Marshall.”

“Mr. Marshall,” she said tightly.

Roger reached out and took her hand. Julie stared at his bow tie, not wanting to look him in the face. He pressed his lips to the back of her hand, essentially flirting with her right in front of his wife and daughter. How had she ever thought she cared for this man? “It’s a pleasure.”

She stiffened and pulled her hand away as discreetly as she could. She longed to tell Roger to go straight to hell, but of course she couldn’t do that.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she said. “I think I’ve got something in my eye.”

Without another word, she turned and fled to the ladies’ room. She plunked onto the sofa in the lounge area, sucking in big gulps of air and trying to calm herself.

A few minutes later, Blanche wandered in and sat down beside her. “Are you all right?”

“No.”

Blanche slipped an arm around her. “Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

“I had an affair with Keeley’s father,” she blurted. “I didn’t know he was married, I swear I didn’t, but I feel so wretched. What have I done?”

“You made a mistake.”

“I didn’t even know I was making one.”

Blanche took a clean tissue from her pocket and passed it to her, and it was only then Julie realized she was crying. “I keep making horrible mistakes when it comes to men.”

“Is Sebastian one of those mistakes?”

Julie nodded and dabbed at the tears.

“I don’t think Sebastian is a mistake.”

“What?” Sniffling, Julie looked at the older woman.

“I’ve seen the women come and the women go in his life and Sebastian has never looked at a single one of them the way he looks at you.”

“Really?” A stupid surge of hope took hold of her.

“He’s smitten.”

“He’s not. He’s told me repeatedly he’s a confirmed bachelor.”

“The man’s terrified of getting hurt. His mother died when he was a kid and his father never recognized him. Sebastian won’t admit it, but it’s had an impact on who he is. He’s scared of loving, terrified of losing someone he cares about. He thinks if he keeps his emotions out of it, that he won’t fall.” Blanche laughed a knowing laugh. “As if you can control love.”

Love?

Julie’s heart lurched. Could it be true? Did she dare hope that she meant more to Sebastian than a short-term affair? And what if he did care? Did she really want to be with a man who had trouble with commitment? She’d had enough of dead-end romances. She didn’t want to go down that road again.

“You could be the one to bring him to his knees.” Blanche shifted on the seat beside her.

“How do you know that?”

“Because when he called me every night to check in on the business, he talked about you. He’s never, ever talked to me about his girlfriends.”

“I’m not his girlfriend.”

“If you say so.” She shrugged.

“He talked about me? Every night?”

Blanche nodded. “And he invited you to his brother’s engagement party. A man doesn’t invite just anyone to meet his family and friends.”

She wanted to believe Blanche, she really did, but the medallion at her throat was sending a completely different message.

“Come on.” Blanche got to her feet and extended her hand to help Julie up. “They’ll be serving dinner soon and we don’t want to miss out.”

“YOU’RE DIFFERENT,” Linc told Sebastian.

“Huh?” Sebastian’s gaze was fixed on the door of the ladies’ room. What was taking Blanche so long? Was something wrong with Julie? Anxiety knotted his stomach.

“Yeah.” Linc canted his head. “You look…”

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. “Like what?”

“Like the rest of us.”

He met his brother’s eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You look humbled.”

“Getting caught in a compromising position on the front page of the Inquisitive Tattler will do that to you.”

“Nope.” Lincoln shook his head. “That’s not it.”

“No?”

“I think it’s got more to do with who you got caught on the cover with.”

“Julie?” He tried to sound casual, but damn if his voice didn’t rise when he said her name.

“She’s changed you.”

“No way. I’ve only known her three weeks.”

“Love has no time limit.”

Love?

Just the mention of the word had his heart thumping and his palms sweating and his throat tightening. “I’m not in love.”

“You can run, but you can’t hide.”

“You’re just besotted with Keeley and you think everyone should couple up.”

“Actually I do, but that’s because I want you to feel what I feel, brother. You deserve love.”

Sebastian snorted, but his throat constricted tighter and his nose burned. Not in love, I’m not in love.

And then he saw Julie emerging from the bathroom with Blanche and his heart leapt. He felt a silly grin eat up his face and he started across the room toward her.

But before Sebastian could reach her, Roger Marshall stepped up to her, leaned in close and whispered something in her ear. Julie’s eyes widened at whatever it was he’d said to her. She nodded, waved at Blanche and then turned to follow Roger out into the corridor.

Where were they going? Why was she leaving the ballroom with him?

He hadn’t liked the way Roger Marshall had looked at her from the minute they were introduced. And that hand-kissing thing. What the hell had that been about?

Jealousy sent him after them.

“Seb?” Lincoln called, but he didn’t turn around.

He slipped out into the hallway, the doors automatically closing behind him drowning out strains of the band playing party music. He looked up and down the plush, carpeted corridor and heard murmured voices coming from an alcove. Blood pounding through his veins, he approached the alcove, intent on eavesdropping.

“I’ve missed you so much, Julie,” Roger was saying.

“You’re married, Roger, I have no interest in taking up where we left off.”

Sebastian felt as if he’d been kicked in the heart by an elephant. Roger Marshall was the married man Julie had had an affair with? He gasped, unable to pull in air. He couldn’t believe it.

“I’m leaving Margery,” Roger declared.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want you. You lied to me. You cheated on your wife. You’re not a man worth having.”

“It’s that Sebastian Black, isn’t it? Well, you’re kidding yourself if you think a guy like him would ever want you.”

“Please take your hands off me, Roger.” Julie’s voice was sharp enough to cut steel.

“Come on, baby, give me a kiss. I’ve been burning up for you since the minute you walked through the door.”

“Let go of me, you bastard!”

One second Sebastian was standing outside the alcove and the next he was charging around the corner. Roger Marshall had Julie pinned up against the wall and he was trying to run his hand up under her skirt.

Sebastian heard someone bellow and it was only when his fist connected with Roger’s face that he knew the noise had spilled from his own mouth.

Roger yelped and fell to his knees, raising both arms up to shield his face. “Don’t hit me again,” he whimpered.

“I ought to smash your teeth down your throat for the way you treated this woman.” Sebastian stood over him, fists clenched, breathing like an enraged bull.

“Sebastian!” Linc called from behind him. “What are you doing?”

“Daddy?” Keeley warbled.

Sebastian closed his eyes when he recognized Keeley’s voice. Ah, shit. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Roger?”

At the sound of Margery Marshall’s voice, Sebastian turned to see her standing beside Linc and Keeley. His gaze swung back to find Julie. She was struggling to look composed. He couldn’t begin to imagine what she was feeling. He hurt for her and all she was suffering.

Margery started toward them.

Sebastian’s eyes met Julie’s. She looked utterly terrified. He stepped between Julie and Roger. The only way anyone was going to get to her was through his dead body.

Roger’s lip was bleeding and he had a smear of what looked to be lipstick on his chin. “Call security, Margery. This man assaulted me.”

But Margery Marshall was not a stupid woman. She walked right up to her husband, drew back her hand and slapped him hard across the face. “That’s for cheating on me with a girl young enough to be your daughter.”

Roger’s hand went to his cheek.

“And as for you—” Margery glowered at Julie “—you should be ashamed of yourself, sleeping with a married man.”

“I didn’t know he was married. I swear. Please forgive me, Mrs. Marshall. I broke it off as soon as I found out.”

“Daddy, how could you!” Keeley burst into tears and fled.

Linc glared at Sebastian. “I knew you were jealous of my happiness, Sebastian, but I never believed you could stoop to something this low.”

Then his brother turned and went after his bride.

Margery pointed a finger at her husband. “I want you out of the house. Tonight. This marriage is over.”

Roger staggered to his feet, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re going to pay for this,” he told Julie. “I’ll have your job.”

Sebastian pulled back his fist. “You want me to smack you again? I’m happy to do it.”

Roger spat a curse, but shambled off leaving only Sebastian and Julie in the alcove.

She wouldn’t look at him and when he reached out a hand to touch her, she pulled away. “Please, Sebastian,” she said. “Please, just leave me alone.”

JULIE HAD THOUGHT getting her picture plastered on the front cover of the Inquisitive Tattler making love to Sebastian was humiliating, but until this moment, she hadn’t known the true meaning of the word.

Mortified, she turned away from Sebastian, wobbling on her high-heeled shoes. She’d been a fool to come here. How stupid she’d been to think she could handle Roger. All she’d wanted to do was prove he no longer had a hold over her.

“Julie.” Sebastian stood between her and the exit and he wasn’t moving.

“Please go.” She raised a hand to shield her face. “I’ve degraded myself enough for one evening.”

“You have nothing to be ashamed of.” He leaned in closer, rested his forearm on the wall above her head.

“You should go. See if you can smooth things over with your brother and Keeley.”

“You’re my date, I’m not going off and leaving you.”

She didn’t want him here, seeing her disgrace. “Go back to your party.”

“The party’s ruined.”

“And it’s all my fault,” she wailed.

“Julie,” he commanded, “look at me.”

She raised her head and met his gaze. “What do you want from me, Sebastian?”

His eyes darkened. He looked as if he wanted to kiss her, to brand her as his own. But of course that was nonsense. She knew he wasn’t interested in commitment. He’d told her so himself. More than once. She was foolish if she thought she could change him.

She’d been even more foolish to think she could change herself. Having a fling hadn’t taken any of the stars from her eyes. She was just as wretchedly romantic as she’d ever been. Her grand experiment was a huge failure on all fronts.