The Groom's Revenge. Susan Crosby

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СКАЧАТЬ a game! Man, we destroyed ’em.” His gaze landed on Gray. “Hey, you’re that guy—”

      “Gray McGuire,” Mollie said instantly, moving to stand between them, putting her back to Gray.

      “Yeah, I know. He’s—”

      “In town,” she interrupted. “Say hello, then get to the deliveries, okay, Tony?”

      He knows who I am, too? Confused, Gray eyed the back of Mollie’s head. This was getting weird. Computers must be a passion of hers. Why else would she know of him?

      Tony frowned. “What about the stuff you wanted me to move?”

      “Later.” She grabbed his arm, pulling him along with her to a refrigerated case, housing cut flowers. “Those two boxes and the mixed bouquet there.”

      “Okay.” As he took the items from the refrigerator, he spoke over his shoulder to Gray. “I’ve been trying to convince her to get with the times, you know? Get a computer? Maybe you can talk her into it.”

      “I thought you liked working here,” Mollie said, exasperation in her voice.

      He grinned. “All bark,” he said to Gray, then he headed out the door, his arms full.

      Gray was more confused than ever. “Your business isn’t computerized?” he asked her when they were alone.

      “No.” She moved around the counter, leaving a trail of scent Something subtle. Elusive. A four-leaf clover—

      “Computers terrify me,” she said.

      “You’d get comfortable soon enough.”

      She crossed her arms. “They crash. They lose crucial information. They make people tear out their hair. Why would I put myself through that?”

      “Convenience.”

      Mollie smiled at his droll tone.

      “Top of the mornin’ to ye!”

      The leprechaun’s shriek brought a return of normalcy to Mollie’s afternoon. Yarg shouted a greeting every twenty minutes, which meant that Gray McGuire had been in her shop for that long, and she still didn’t know why.

      “I’m assuming Computerphobics Anonymous didn’t send you my way,” she said to him. “What brings you to Every Bloomin’ Thing?”

      “I have a proposition for you.”

      Mollie felt her face heat at the images his simple statement conjured up. A proposition? One involving getting naked? Her dreams about him were romantic, not sexual—declarations of his undying devotion and a chaste, pure love. Certainly nothing physical...even if he did have a body that made her take more than a second glance.

      “I hope I’m misunderstanding your meaning.” Shocked at herself, she felt a flush spread across her face Of all the stupid things to say to him. Of course he wasn’t interested in her—not in that way. How foolish could she be?

      “Strictly business,” he said gently, making her feel even worse. He must think her so naive.

      “Oh, Mollie, dear!”

      Mollie stifled a groan as a tiny, white-haired woman marched past the leprechaun doorman and into the shop, her heels clicking on the linoleum floor. She nodded at Gray.

      “Good afternoon, Mrs. Bauer,” Mollie said after sending an apologetic look in Gray’s direction. At this rate she would never find out why he was here. “What can I do for you?”

      “Reverend Kruger is ill.”

      “I hope it’s not too serious.”

      “Serious enough that we will have a substitute this week. Reverend Schmidt. He’s allergic to stock.”

      Gray listened to the exchange between the women as they discussed alternatives, deciding that “stock” was a flower that Mollie used in the floral arrangements she did for the church on Sunday. That revelation made him reconsider how much to involve her in his plans. He’d intended to align himself with her against Stuart Fortune. But the young woman who was afraid of computers, charged reasonable rates and made flower arrangements for Sunday morning worship, lived in a sheltered world that could not possibly have prepared her for launching a vendetta that would turn her into a media darling, especially one born of an old scandal he would bring to hght.

      Mollie Shaw was a crucial component of Gray’s plan to make Stuart Fortune’s indiscretions and thievery public. But now that Gray had met this innocent young woman, how could he involve her?

      How can you not? Justice must be rendered.

      “I’m sorry for the interruption,” Mollie said.

      He looked around. They were alone again.

      “You have a proposition for me?” she prompted him.

      He had to rethink this. “I have to go. I’m expected somewhere else in a few minutes,” he said, glancing at his watch, then heading for the door.

      “Will you be back?”

      Her words stopped him. There was something in her voice. A hopefulness he couldn’t ignore. He didn’t know what would happen next. He had to analyze—

      “Please do come again,” she said softly.

      He should resist the temptation of her vulnerability, which whispered to his conscience first, then somewhere deeper, bringing light into the darkness of his plans, his need for vengeance. Instead he said, “I’ll be in touch,” over his shoulder as he moved toward the door again.

      Not wanting his last image to be of the fairylike Mollie Shaw, he looked at the leprechaun instead. He knew it had to be his imagination, but the elf seemed to smile with approval.

      

      Stuart Fortune’s Twin Cities-based company, Knight Star Systems, occupied fifty acres of prime industrial property. The gated compound was ordinary—a large factory building with a parking lot to the west, receiving dock on the south and corporate offices attached to the north end. Knight Star Systems designed, manufactured and installed security systems for automobiles, homes, office buildings, hotels, airports, even sports arenas. Large commercial accounts made up more and more of their customer base each year.

      Gray parked where he could watch the office employees exit. He glanced at his watch. Just a few minutes more. Stuart followed an unvarying routine. On Mondays he worked in the Fortune Corporation offices. The rest of the workweek he spent here, always the last to leave the office each day, although the factory hummed through the night. Three times a year they shut down for plant-wide vacations, each lasting a week.

      It was a streamlined and successful operation—until recently. Small setbacks had compounded. Soon the struggle to keep their edge in the highly competitive market would impact the entire operation.

      No one would have guessed Gray had choreographed the shocking downfall. He had moved slowly toward his goal, letting Stuart wonder, then worry. Panic would follow before long.

      Gray СКАЧАТЬ