Playing Mr. Right. Kat Cantrell

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СКАЧАТЬ doing nothing of the kind. I hired you to be invisible and ensure that I never have to think about the operations of this place.”

      Oh. That was not going to work. Laurel leaned forward and laced her own hands together near the edge of the desk, mirroring his pose. “See, that’s exactly that sort of thing that Adelaide could never convey. She showed me where departments are and introduced me to people. But I need the mind of Xavier LeBlanc to mesh with mine so we’re in sync. Tell me what you’d do. That’s the best way to ensure you don’t have to think about things, because I will instantly know how you’d want something handled.”

      And that philosophy had the added bonus of filling in the gaps of her skill set, not to mention allowing her to grill him on how much he knew about the fraud. Her sources had been volunteers in the food pantry and they had given her several credible tips about substitutions that didn’t make it into the books, among other things. What she already knew was likely the tip of the iceberg. In her line of work, there was always more to discover.

      But she needed to know how high up it went, if Xavier knew about it or if this strange and unexplained switch between the brothers had removed the real culprit from LBC.

      Maybe the mysterious switch had its roots in the fraud. She had to know.

      At the same time, she couldn’t make mistakes. If Xavier’s brother had spearheaded or approved the fraud, she had to find proof. Of course, it could have started with Xavier’s reign, which added to the complexity of the investigation. It was a wrinkle she hadn’t seen coming but adhering to Xavier’s directive to be “invisible” wasn’t going to reveal even a tiny slice of what she needed to uncover.

      Xavier’s gaze skittered over hers again and she had the distinct impression he didn’t quite know what to do with her. Good. An off-kilter man spilled secrets he meant to keep close to the vest. She relaxed a smidgen. This undercover business couldn’t be too hard. Or, rather, she couldn’t allow it to be. This story was too important to the people LBC should be serving instead of cheating. The story was too important to her career.

      “Here’s what I want, Ms. Dixon.” His low voice snaked through her and she tried really hard not to react, but she didn’t have his ability to be stone-faced. Neither did he miss her reaction, absorbing it with a long, slow pause laden with things unsaid. “I want you to ensure LBC operates smoothly enough that I can focus on fundraising. Outside of that, I don’t care what you do.”

      She blinked. “Sure you do. You’re in charge. Everything flows uphill, right?”

      That was the core of an investigative reporter’s philosophy, the one they taught in Digging for Facts 101. Follow the money. The guy in the corner office was always the place to start because he made all the decisions. If anything illegal was going on, it usually went all the way to the top.

      Of course, this situation had the added layer of the guy at the top not being the normal guy. All at once, she hoped Xavier would be in the clear and she’d instead be taking down his brother. Which would be a shame, because she’d genuinely liked Val.

      She couldn’t let her personal feelings compromise the investigation, as they had in her last story. She couldn’t afford to like anyone in this situation.

      “Indeed it does,” Xavier finally said.

      His gaze still hadn’t left hers, and if she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought he might be fighting some of the same attraction she was. Surely he had his pick of women. He wasn’t trying to be sexy as a come-on; it was just a natural part of who he was and she didn’t for a second think he’d turned it on specifically for her.

      “Great, then we’re on the same page. You’re in charge and I’m here to execute your orders. What would you like me to do first?”

      “Explain why it seems like you’re flirting with me.”

      Laurel’s lungs seized and she choked on a breath. Tears leaked from her eyes as she coughed, and if she was really lucky, mascara streaks were even now forming below her lashes.

      “What?” she asked when she recovered. “I’m not flirting with you.”

      If anything, he was the one exuding all the come-hither vibes. At times, it was so strong, she was barely hanging on by the fingernails.

      His implacable expression didn’t change. “Good. It would be a bad idea to get involved.”

      Oh, well, that was a telling statement. Not “You’re not my type.” Not “You’ve mistaken me for a heterosexual.” Bad idea to get involved. That meant he felt all the sizzle, too.

      Interesting.

      How much closer could she get to Xavier LeBlanc and would that benefit her story? Or simply benefit her? The man knew his way around an orgasm—she could tell. And while this exposé lay at the pinnacle of her personal goals, she couldn’t help but want to investigate her reaction to Xavier as a man.

      She had a core-deep desire to know things, and at this moment, Xavier topped the list.

      “A bad, bad idea,” she repeated and crossed her fingers behind her back. “I solemnly swear that I will refrain from all double entendres, loaded statements and anything that could be construed as flirting while you and I are working so closely together.”

      “I didn’t say we’d be working closely together,” he corrected, and all at once she wondered what it would take to get him well and truly rattled to the point of revealing something unintended.

      If she hoped to dig up enough dirt for an exposé, she’d have to figure it out. Everyone had their tipping point and people had spilled secrets to her in the past, often before realizing it. Usually that happened after she’d gained a measure of their trust, though.

      How ethical was it to seduce it out of someone? She’d never tried that particular method before and there was no way to deny the idea excited her. Which meant it really was a bad idea. But still viable. She needed more information before fully committing.

      “Oh, come on. We just hashed that out. You’re in charge, I’m here to do exactly what you say but not sexually and we’re both going to ignore the chemistry. Where, exactly, did I lose you, Mr. LeBlanc?”

      At that, he actually laughed, and the heavy, rich sound did flippy things to her insides. His deep blue eyes speared her and she got all caught up in him in a very nonprofessional way. Yeah, there might not be a whole lot of choice in the matter and she might not be the one doing the seducing. It was delicious to contemplate, either way.

      “I’m not lost. Just...reassessing,” he said.

      “That sounds promising. Why don’t you share your vision with me, at least, and we’ll take it from there?”

      “Vision for what?”

      He’d leaned into the space between them and she was having a hard time concentrating. Xavier had a very potent presence that had latched onto her skin in a wholly disturbing way. “For, um, LBC. As a charity. What’s the vision? Mission statement? That kind of thing.”

      “Feed people,” he stated bluntly. “What more is there?”

      “A lot. At the shelter, our goal was to give women back some control in their lives. Provide them with choices. The shelter СКАЧАТЬ