The Perfect Solitaire. Carmen Green

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      “What? Why?” She laughed, but heard how grating it sounded and stopped. “There is no you and me.”

      “While we’re working together, this relationship has to remain professional at all times. I can’t and won’t sleep with you.”

      She sat down then. “That’s a little presumptuous since I didn’t ask you the first time. But that’s fine. Agreed.”

      “Good. Since that’s out of the way, I’ll have to know about all your lovers. You could be a target because of one of them. Or one of them could be using you. Names, addresses and phone numbers. If you’d be more comfortable, you can write it down yourself. But I’ll have to check them out. Personally.”

      Chapter 3

      “I have half a mind to take my check and walk out of here.”

      Zoe’s portfolio hit the table and her no-nonsense glare reminded him that she was a successful businesswoman for a reason. He’d more than struck a nerve. He’d plowed into the circuit board. Her eyebrows were raised and she looked as if she was about to ball up her fists and take the first swing.

      Ben rolled the pen through his fingers. “I’m not making any judgments.” Though he was. He wanted to know all of her business. Why she hadn’t called? Why hadn’t she returned his calls? If there was someone else keeping her warm at night. Life had an explanation for everything, and he could accept the explanation of being busy, but not another man. Not after their night together.

      “Ben, don’t lie. You’re definitely making judgments. I don’t sleep around, and the implication that I can’t control myself around you is ludicrous.”

      “I’m sorry I offended you.” The check was still between them on the table. Rob would kill him if Zoe’s check didn’t clear the bank because he’d allowed a personal matter to interfere with business. “It’s just that we have history. A short history, but it’s there, so I thought we should talk about it.”

      “There’s nothing between us, Ben. Not that I didn’t want it to be, but I need to get my new stores launched and established. And I don’t have time for a personal life right now.”

      Maybe he just had to accept that sex was all it had been to her. Glancing over the fuchsia dress that hugged her curves, he forced his mind back to winning the account he was presently losing. “I just didn’t want there to be a problem between us because I didn’t call you back.”

      “Hold on one second. I didn’t call you back.” Her eyes narrowed. “I get the reverse game going on here.” She shifted her hands from side to side. “I remember what you said that night at the party. ‘I allow the woman to set the pace of the relationship because I don’t want her to feel as if she’s being rushed into anything. She can call me after the first date,’ and I didn’t!”

      “You’re right, I did say that. I’m saying from this moment on, everything between us has to remain strictly business. At some point, I may be trying to save your life and I don’t want you second guessing me because of some history—like now.”

      Ben put the check in the folder and typed on a keyboard installed beneath the table where he sat. “You made the right decision calling us. We’re going to find out who’s robbing you and we’ll put an end to it.”

      The lights in the room dimmed.

      “There are six members of the Hood team. You need to know who they are by sight. There’s Rob and me. There is Hugh, my first cousin. He’s the camera-and-computer specialist. Zachary is my younger brother and the security expert. Then there is Amelia, known as Mel, and she’s part of Hood Trap Team and Alexandria, known as Xan, the head of Hood Trap Team.”

      Zoe looked at the presentation of the photos and it faded and the lights automatically came on in the room. “Will they all be working on my case?”

      “Possibly, but only as needed. Right away, I’m going to have Hugh go in and work on installing our cameras in the stores.”

      “What does Trap Team do?”

      “Whatever is necessary to get the job done. They’re specialists at catching liars and cheaters.”

      Zoe nodded. “I can see how that may be beneficial.” After her morning conversation with Faye, Zoe felt the need to be thorough and not leave any ambiguity regarding her position on what happened between them. “I hope you understand, Ben.”

      “What?” He walked over to the station and pulled off a sheet of paper, read it and handed it to her.

      “My reasons for everything.”

      “I said I did and I do. Here’s your receipt. We need to get started. Go back to your store and I’ll see you there in about an hour. Don’t acknowledge me when I come in. I’d like to see how far I can get away with things. Are the rules regarding employee conduct and store policies on the flash drive, as well?”

      “Yes, it’s all there.” He was all business and that made her want him to slow things down a bit and talk things through. Zoe recognized she couldn’t have it both ways.

      “Good. We’ll see if I can spot anything unusual going on. I may have some of the team with me or I may be alone. Try not to be on the floor if that’s not where you’d normally be.”

      “Okay. Anything else?”

      “You’ll have to give me a complete schedule of every place you’re going to be every second of your day until this is solved. No secrets. No surprises. You and I are going to be tighter than conjoined twins.”

      “That close?” she asked with a small laugh.

      “Like skin and deodorant.”

      Zoe rubbed her neck. “Do you suspect anyone, Zoe? That could save us a lot of time.”

      “A former manager, Tori Brunelle. She wanted more money than I was willing to pay, and before she left, things started disappearing. I let her go and changed the locks, but I believe she still has influence over some of the staff. I’ve even replaced some of them, but you never know how people know one another.”

      “I’ll add her to the list of the current staff to do checks on. Anybody else?”

      “Not that I can think of.” Zoe shouldered her bag and walked to the door. “Ben, we have to keep this confidential because if my sister gets wind that we had a thing, well, my family gets nosy.”

      “They won’t hear about us from me. You and I will have a code if you’re in trouble. I’ll be the doctor calling with your test results. You’ll tell me it’s a bad time to talk. If there’s one bad guy, say the baby is kicking a lot today. Two bad guys, the twins. Three, the triplets. Do you understand, Zoe?”

      She nodded. “Is all this necessary?”

      Ben spread his hands. “You never know what you’re going to need to know.”

      The door opened, and the male receptionist that initially greeted her poked his head inside. “Excuse me, Ben, Ms. McKnight? The police were on the phone for you, but we got disconnected.”

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