Double Deception Read online

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He grinned at her. “Maybe you could go in my place.”

  Rosalie snorted. “Yeah, right. Besides, you’re the one they want. I’d be a poor substitute. And anyway, you need to rub elbows with the people you’re now occupying Corporate Central with.”

  “Corporate Central?” He winked. “Do I get a badge and everything?”

  “You don’t need one,” she joked. “It’s written all over you. This is the big deal, Liam. The one that will put you at the top of the heap.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out to be the top of the trash pile. Okay, it’s this Sunday. That’s three days from now. Gives me time to tie up some loose ends.”

  Rosalie tapped her keyboard and brought up an email. “They’re sending the plane for you. Their executive assistant said it will be at Tampa Executive Airport and ready to go wheels up by nine o’clock. I believe the pilots will be here overnight Saturday.”

  “Okay. I’ll be sure to get there in plenty of time. There’s parking there, which works out great.”

  “Also, there will be two others on the flight with you. John Martino and an attorney, whose name I don’t have.”

  “Attorney?” He wrinkled his forehead. “Did she say who? I know Hank had to cancel because one of his high-ticket clients had a legal emergency.”

  Rosalie shook her head. “I’ll bet he’s pissed about that.

  “No kidding. He’s already sore from kicking himself.” Liam smiled. “But it’s great that John is going. I’ll have a chance to spend some time with him.”

  “I have a note here that you’ll be leaving to come back about six o’clock San Antonio time. They’re an hour behind us. Taylor Cantrell’s secretary said John and whoever the other person is requested to leave then, but if you wanted to spend the night, they’d accommodate you in one of their guest suites.”

  Liam lifted an eyebrow. “No kidding? That’s very nice of them, but I think I’ll leave when the others do. There’s still a lot to do here. Okay, what’s the latest on the move?”

  Rosalie had been coordinating everything for him with her usual quiet efficiency.

  “It’s all set,” she assured him. “You’ve checked that building out six ways to Sunday to make sure everything’s been done right. Besides, Arroyo’s got their people all over it. Really, you only had to tell them what you needed when you had that meeting and they were on top it.”

  “Two more weeks,” he reminded her.

  “And your meetings with the existing tenants went fine,” she added. “I’m sure it helped that one of them is a client.”

  He nodded. “No kidding. Okay, I have about another hour’s worth of work to do and then, surprise! I’m going to go home, order a pizza and watch the ball game on television.”

  “Surprise is right. Well, you certainly deserve it.” She winked at him. “Maybe a hot woman would make it even better. I could suggest one or two.”

  “Why, Rosalie, are you trying to fix me up?”

  She snorted. “If I thought it would do any good. One of these days, Liam Benedict, some woman will come along and you won’t know what hit you.”

  He wanted to tell her he’d already met that woman but that he was so obsessed with the business right now he couldn’t even manage a date with her. Anyway, she had her own obligations at the moment. He’d been following her trial online and on television and she was right, her client was a real pisser. He didn’t envy her the job.

  More than once, he’d thought about picking up the phone to call her. Then he’d realized what a dummy he was. He hadn’t even gotten her number. All he had was the one for the firm and he did not want to call her there. He’d checked for a home phone, but it was unlisted. Not a bad idea when a lawyer defended the kind of people she did. He also didn’t want to ask anyone for it and have to answer a million questions.

  So, he was going to do something that he’d deny no matter who asked. He knew how to do everything with computer programs and searches and everything in between.

  “Just let me know when you leave,” Liam told Rosalie.

  “I checked on the staff before. I think a few of them are working late tonight.” She shook her head. “Don’t you people know it’s Friday night? Why aren’t you all out on a date?”

  He chuckled. “I’m not sure any woman would have me in the middle of all this. And I’m guessing the others will make up for it over the weekend. Who’s staying?”

  She clicked her keyboard and pulled up a note. “Teri, Carl and Jason.” She looked up at him. “The newbies. Trying to earn extra points with the boss, I’d guess.”

  Liam chuckled. “Rosalie. They’ve been with us for three years. They’re hardly newbies anymore.”

  “I know, I know. I just keep thinking of them that way. Anyway, I told the guard downstairs and made sure they had their key cards with them.”

  Because of the nature of their work, all SBD employees had a specially coded card that had to be used to both enter and leave the offices. Because they shared the building with so many other tenants, Liam changed the codes for SBD every month, just as a precaution.

  “I’ll check on them before I leave, too. I don’t want them to burn themselves out.”

  “Good thing we’re hiring more people. Okay, I’ll let them know you’re still here.”

  Seated at his desk, Liam called up one of the search engines he used designed for this purpose. A few clicks of the keys gave him both Sydney Alfiore’s cell and home phone numbers and he programmed them into his own cell. Then he leaned back in his chair. Right after this barbecue at the Cantrell ranch, he was going to give her a call to at least see how she was. And maybe, if he was lucky, she might have time for a cup of coffee or a drink. His own social life had been abysmal for months, but if he was going to break the fast, he wanted it to be with Sydney.

  A rap on the doorway had him looking up to see Rosalie holding her purse and her key card.

  “I’m out of here, boss. You should go soon, too.”

  “I will. I have one thing to finish up. Then I want to check on the workers still here. And then, I promise cross-my-heart-hope-to-die that I will go home.”

  “Good.” She winked at him. “And don’t miss that plane Sunday morning.”

  “Word of honor.”

  “All right, then. Good night. See you Monday.”

  Liam spent the best part of an hour cleaning up some details on a presentation he was doing next week. One of their new clients was an identity protection firm, and the very last thing they could afford was for someone to hack their database. Eventually his brain began to tire, so he closed out the file, saved it to his very-well-protected hard drive then backed it up to his external hard drive. Satisfied he’d done what he could, he locked away the external drive and called it a night.

  After locking the door to his office suite, he headed down the hallway to where his three coders were working. At the moment, they were all sharing a large room, created by combining two existing offices. The lighting was dimmed and they all wore headsets as they focused on their computers. Not wanting to startle them, he flicked the lights on and off to capture their attention. As one person, they blanked their screens and turned to see who was in the room.

  “I’m leaving,” he told them. “You all should do the same. Burnout doesn’t do anyone any good.”

  They all nodded.

  Finally, Teri said, “I just want to finish this one particular section. I’ve had trouble getting the codes I want to work. Then I’m gone.”

  “Same here,” Jason echoed.

  “I’m leaving when they do,” Carl added.

  “Okay. Good night, then. See you all Monday.”

  As he let himself out of the offices and waited for the elevator, he wondered why he had a sudden itch between his shoulder blades. There was absolutely nothing happening here to give him that feeling. Still, it stayed with him all the way home and into his townhouse.

  Maybe he’d go in tomorrow and do a
check on their work, all three of them. He did that occasionally, just to make sure they were on the right track, and he didn’t expect his search to turn up anything. But Saturday he got sidetracked when an old friend showed up in town unexpectedly, then it was Sunday morning.

  Liam was up early to shower and shave and head for the airport, fueled only by a stop for his favorite coffee in a go-cup. He couldn’t help watching the traffic, looking for…what? Someone trailing him?

  Come on, Liam. Would you even know if someone was? What kind of car they were driving? Get real.

  Still, that nagging little itch along his spine just would not go away. He was spending so much time looking over his shoulder that he was getting a crick in his neck. He deliberately forced it out of his mind, however, when he reached the airport.

  At Tampa Executive Airport, he followed the directions Rosalie had texted him to reach the hangar. On the tarmac in front of it stood a gleaming Gulfstream corporate jet, cream colored with the Arroyo logo painted on the side. A man in pilot’s uniform was walking around the plane with a clipboard and, as Liam pulled up close to it, two more men came out of the hangar. He lowered his window as one of them walked up to his car.

  “Mr. Benedict?” When Liam nodded, he held out his hand through the open window. “Gary McGuire, Tampa Executive Airport. Mr. Cantrell told us to expect you. If you just leave your keys in your car, we’ll park it for you. When you return, one of us will fetch it for you.”

  “Thanks.” Liam climbed out of the car. “Are the others here yet?”

  “The gentleman has and the woman we’re expecting should be here with in the next fifteen minutes. She called to say she was running late. But, please, go on up into the plane and make yourself comfortable.”

  As Liam climbed the stairs, he wondered what kind of female would be late for this. He couldn’t see either of the Cantrells putting up with some of the privileged women he’d met at different events. They didn’t seem the type to suffer bullshit easily, but then, one never knew. It probably didn’t concern her that she was holding up the parade. Oh, well. He just hoped she didn’t make a pain in the ass of herself on the flight.

  John Martino was seated when he entered the cabin, and rose to come forward with his hand outstretched.

  “Good to see you again, Liam.”

  “Same here. I owe you a huge debt of gratitude, you know.”

  Martino lifted an eyebrow. “Because of Arroyo? Taylor’s been a friend of mine for a long time. I knew you’d be a good fit there. I seldom have clients rave about someone the way Reed Molloy did about you.”

  “Well, thanks for putting them on my trail. It’s a great opportunity.” Liam looked around. “Nice plane.”

  Martino laughed. “That’s an understatement. It belonged to Taylor’s father. They did some upgrades but basically it hasn’t changed. He was a man who liked his comfort.”

  “I understand we’re waiting for some woman to join us?”

  “Some woman?” Martino cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t know who she is?”

  Liam shrugged. “Taylor’s secretary didn’t leave a name. Between you and me, I hope it isn’t some privileged society female, although I don’t know who else would be rude enough to keep people waiting.”

  Martino leaned over to look out one of the windows. “Well, you’re about to find out. Here she is.”

  Liam heard the voice before she emerged into the cabin and the sound of it shocked him. He couldn’t help staring at Sydney Alfiore, whose eyes widened at the sight of him, apparently as stunned as he was that they were going together to the same place. That bolt of electricity he’d felt before shot through his body again and he sent a mental warning to his cock to behave.

  “So, you didn’t know we were both going to the Arroyo party,” he guessed.

  She shook her head. “Not a clue, although it should have occurred to me. I mean, now that you’re part of the Arroyo family. Of course, it’s not as if we’ve seen much of each other lately, right?”

  “Right. A situation I damn well hope to rectify as fast as possible.”

  “I can get on board with that.”

  She winked and just like that, he wanted her. Badly. He had to move so one of the seats blocked his body and kept him from embarrassing himself. He certainly hoped he got some private time with her before he self-destructed.

  “Hey, Sydney.” John moved forward to shake her hand. “Glad you could take a day off from your latest circus.”

  “Circus is right.” She snorted.

  “Excuse me.” They all turned to look at the man standing in the cockpit doorway. “I’m Dwayne Robertson, your pilot. Welcome aboard. If you could all take your seats, we’ll get ready for takeoff.”

  The cabin had a variety of seating arrangements. Liam sat on one of the couches and motioned to Sydney to join him. John sat across from them. The copilot came out to make sure they were buckled up and tell them they’d be in San Antonio in about two and a half hours.

  Liam stole a glance at Sydney. Today she was dressed in fancy jeans, Western boots and a blouse of some silky material that outlined her breasts too clearly for his comfort zone. He had to tamp down the urge to run his hands over her body, mapping each of her curves. Tell her how glad he was to see her, even though they weren’t even close to that stage in their hardly-a-relationship. But suddenly he felt like a tongue-tied teenager. And, shit, even his palms were sweating.

  What the hell?

  He was a grown man about to become a person of some magnitude in both the business and tech worlds and he felt like a teenager lusting after the head cheerleader.

  Smooth, Benedict.

  And, of course, there was John, sitting across from them, watching and doing his best to hide a smile. He should tell the man there was nothing going on with Sydney—damn it!—but whatever he said probably wouldn’t come out right. Then the noise of the revved-up jet engine as they hurtled down the runway precluded any conversation. At last, they reached cruising altitude and the noise throttled back.

  He looked at Sydney, then glanced at her boots. “I’m guessing you’ve been to one of these shindigs before.”

  “Taylor Cantrell and I are old friends. I don’t know if you’re aware that she grew up in Tampa, a member of a very old Tampa family, and was a successful financial analyst until she inherited Arroyo.”

  He shook his head. “I knew about her financial background, but other than that, I really don’t know much about her personal history except what I found on the corporate page and in Wikipedia. And what my attorney learned and related to me. That she inherited Arroyo and stepped into the role of as if she’d been born to it. That she makes sure to know what’s going on in every division at all times and is ruthless if she thinks someone is trying to screw her over.”

  John Martino burst out laughing. “I think I’ll pass that along to Taylor. She’ll want a T-shirt with that on it.” Then he sobered. “But there’s a lot more to the story than that.” He looked at Sydney. “I’m not sure…”

  “I think it’s safe to share with Liam,” she told him. “We can both vouch that he’s trustworthy.”

  Liam frowned. “Is there something about her background that I should be leery of?”

  Sydney shook her head. “Not at all. Taylor just doesn’t broadcast it.”

  At that moment the copilot came back into the cabin.

  “Just checking on y’all. We have a little more than two hours before we land. We aren’t carrying a steward on this flight, too short, so I’m doing double duty today. Anyone up for coffee? Breakfast rolls? Mrs. Cantrell keeps a fully stocked pantry on the plane.”

  “I think we could all use some coffee,” John Martino told him. “And if you’ll just plate some rolls and leave them out here, we’ll be good.”

  The copilot smiled. “Coming right up.”

  In scant minutes, everyone had a mug filled with the steaming, aromatic liquid and a basket holding a variety of rolls had been placed in easy reach of
all of them. When they were settled in their seats, Liam looked over at John.

  “You were about to give me Taylor Cantrell’s background,” he reminded the man. “Don’t let me stop you.”

  Martino and Sydney exchanged looks.

  “Okay, now my curiosity is really hot. If I’m going to be joined at the hip with Arroyo, I don’t want to be blindsided, so give.”

  Sydney took a healthy swallow of her coffee.

  “Okay. As long as you remember she doesn’t like to discuss it. Ever.”

  “He’s good, Syd,” Martino told her. “I’d trust him with anything.”

  “All right.” She exhaled slowly.

  And Liam listened carefully to the story about a runaway daughter of a high-society couple whose parents found her and dragged her home. Had the marriage annulled, but could not persuade her to have an abortion. How miserable Taylor’s mother had been all her life, so much so that the day after Taylor’s college graduation, she overdosed on sleeping pills. Then Taylor’s grandfather passed away and a couple of years ago her grandmother followed. Only she’d left a letter for Taylor explaining the whole thing.

  “Jesus.” Liam let out a soft whistle. “But then how—”

  “She went to San Antonio to meet her father, who thought she was a scam artist. Then, three months after that, he was murdered and it turned out he’d changed his will and left everything to Taylor.”

  “That must have been a shock.” He took a quick swallow of his coffee while his brain tried to sort out what he’d heard.

  John chuckled. “No shit. But she jumped in like she’d been born to it. That woman has quite the smarts.” He looked at Sydney. “Like you, Syd.”

  “Oh, please.” Sydney flapped a hand at him. “I can’t see myself running a worldwide empire the way she does.”

  “No, you just take impossible cases with extremely high-profile clients who no one else will touch and, against all odds, you win.”

  She laughed. “I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not.”

  “It is,” Liam told her. “Take it from me. I’m a long-time admirer of yours.”

  “Uh, thanks.”

  He was surprised to see her blush, then concentrate on her coffee.