Lip Service. Susan Mallery

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СКАЧАТЬ I shouldn’t.”

      Glenna had short dark hair, sensibly cut, and an easy smile. Only she wasn’t smiling today.

      “We have a problem,” she said, sitting on the opposite side of Skye’s desk. “Another one. And it’s big.”

      Skye didn’t like the sound of that. A couple of months ago someone had gone to the district attorney, claiming that the foundation was a front for money laundering. Skye and her people had been cleared of all charges, but too much time and money had been spent proving they were innocent.

      Glenna passed over several newspaper articles. “I downloaded these from the Internet. Two of them will appear in print over the next few days. They say that our executives are being paid excessive salaries and bonuses. Money that should be going to feed children is funding vacations, cars and parties. Supposedly you make over a million dollars.”

      Skye wanted to scream. “I don’t get a salary at all,” she said, deliberately keeping her voice quiet.

      “I know, as does everyone who works here. We also don’t pay bonuses of any kind. These are all lies. I’ve contacted the reporters and will be meeting with each of them. I’ll try to find out who gave this information and why they wrote about it without checking with us first. One of them claimed he did speak with someone from the foundation.”

      Skye felt as if someone had hit her on the back of the head with a tire iron. “This is insane.”

      “I’ll take care of it,” Glenna said. “I just wanted you to know what was going on.”

      “I appreciate that. Let me know what happens.”

      Glenna nodded and left.

      Skye reached for the phone and dialed a familiar cell number. “Where are you?” she asked when her sister answered.

      “About five minutes away. Why?”

      “Can you stop by? I need to talk to you about something.”

      Lexi Titan was as good as her word. Less than five minutes later she walked into Skye’s office.

      “What’s up?” she asked. Lexi was the cool, blond beauty of the sisters. She owned a day spa and could easily be their spokesmodel. Her clothes were elegant, her skin perfect, her hair a shimmering cascade of ice-blond. Despite being nearly three months’ pregnant, she didn’t show at all. If they hadn’t been sisters, Skye would have found it fairly easy to dislike someone as perfect as Lexi.

      But none of that mattered now. Skye stood and hugged her, then led the way to a sofa against the far wall.

      “I heard from Garth again,” she said.

      “Our evil half brother came acalling?”

      “In a manner of speaking. Apparently the tip to the D.A. about the foundation laundering money was only the first part of his attack. Now he’s got someone telling reporters that we pay excessive salaries and bonuses, not to mention fund staff vacations.”

      Lexi took the papers Skye held out but didn’t read them. “We knew something like this was going to happen. We knew his campaign was just beginning.”

      A few months ago the sisters had received their first threat from Garth Duncan. At the beginning they couldn’t figure out why the successful businessman would care about them. A little digging had produced an unbelievable fact. He was their half brother, and Jed Titan’s bastard.

      Although Jed claimed Garth and his mother had been given a generous trust fund that should have taken care of them for life, Garth was out for blood. Or at the very least, the destruction of the Titans. He’d waged business and personal attacks on Lexi and Skye, along with Jed. And the hits kept on coming.

      “Glenna is looking into this,” Skye said. “But these reporters aren’t stupid. They would check their facts. Which meant Garth was able to give them the information in such a way that they believed it.” She felt sick to her stomach. “Can’t he go pick on someone else? Does it have to be us?”

      “We’re the family he never had,” Lexi reminded her. “He’s angry. I just wish I knew what had triggered all this. Why now? Why wait so long to start?”

      “He’s certainly moving forward with whatever plan he has. This one is especially good. The D.A. won’t get involved, but the IRS will. His claims put our nonprofit status at risk. Worse, who will want to donate? Being bad is always front-page news, but the retraction comes much later and on the back page. No one remembers that. They just remember the charges.”

      Frustration flared inside of her. “I will accept that for some reason Garth hates us. But children will go hungry because of his actions. Doesn’t that matter?”

      Lexi shook her head. “Not to him.”

      Skye stood and crossed to the window. “This is beyond frustrating. I have worked my butt off here. I wanted to make a difference and I have. When the rest of my life is in the toilet, the foundation reminds me of what is important. That at the end of the day, I can count the meals we served and the lives we made better. I won’t let him take that from me or from those kids.”

      Lexi stood and moved toward her. “He’s not going to win. We won’t let him.” She hugged Skye. “We’re the Titan girls. Nobody screws with us.”

      “Garth didn’t get the memo.”

      “Then we’ll send another one.”

      “Okay. Just give me a minute and I’ll be feisty again.”

      “We’ll get him. One way or another.”

      “I know.”

      They returned to the sofas. Lexi sat across from Skye.

      “Is there anything else you want to tell me?” she asked. “You don’t usually let things get to you. You’re as much a fighter as any of us.”

      Skye leaned back in the cushions. “There’s a lot going on right now. I’m a little distracted. It’ll get better.” She hesitated. “Mitch is back. I’ve seen him.”

      Lexi stared at her. “Oh my God! What happened. How is he?”

      “I’m not sure. He’s different. I know it’s been years and he’s been through a lot. But I didn’t think…” That he would turn mean, she thought, knowing she couldn’t say that. She loved her sister and trusted her completely, but she wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened.

      “He’s someone I used to know, right? Just a guy from my past.”

      “You keep saying that,” Lexi said, her voice gentle. “As if you’re trying to convince us he doesn’t matter. But the fact that he has you rattled means that he does matter. At least a little.”

      “I don’t want him to.”

      “Maybe you don’t get a choice.” Lexi smiled. “Look, he was your first love, your first lover. The relationship didn’t end on its own. It was emotionally violent for both of you. You were wrenched apart.”

      “Because of me,” СКАЧАТЬ