Chapter 1
“Your fiancée is here to see you,” Marie announced, standing in the doorway while maintaining as much distance between the two of them as possible.
Phillip barely glanced up from whatever he was looking at on the computer screen and her fingers tightened angrily on the doorknob. The man was completely oblivious! If it didn’t have a number in it or didn’t have the potential to make a million dollars, Phillip didn’t acknowledge it.
Marie had known this from the beginning, so there was absolutely no reason she should feel jealous. She also knew that Phillip had no feelings, other than familial obligations when it came to his fiancée. But Lillian was a lovely woman, kind and generous, courteous and warm. She didn’t deserve this kind of negligence on the part of her fiancé.
“Phillip!” she snapped. When his hands froze on the keyboard and he looked over at her, she knew that she finally had his full attention.
“Yes, Marie?” he asked, his voice smooth and sexy.
She glared at him, furious that he was doing his “thing”. It was his way of making her feel silly, but a long time ago, she’d learned to counter that look. She suspected that her retaliation amused him, but she got her point across so that was positive.
Looking at him with raised eyebrows and her own “look” that told him he was being a jerk, she patiently repeated, “Your fiancée?” she repeated. “Lillian? The woman you’re going to marry in a few days?” she prompted sarcastically.
Another chuckle and she wanted to slap him, but she knew that she needed to stay far away from him. She’d learned her lesson and wasn’t stupid enough to ignore that lesson.
“I’m fully aware of my future wife’s name, Marie,” he pointed out, leaning back in his leather chair.
Marie glared at his sarcasm, wondering if he really did know who his fiancée was. Lifting her chin, she glared across the wide expanse of carpet at her boss. “She’s here and she wants to speak with you.”
He looked at his computer once again, typing something on the keyboard. “She doesn’t have an appointment.”
Marie rolled her eyes, furious that he would dare to say something so outrageous. Was the man even in love with Lillian? Sometimes, she doubted it. No way could he love Lillian the way that Marie…well, he didn’t act like a man in love. “Phillip! She’s your fiancée! She shouldn’t need an appointment. Lillian should be able to stop in any time she wants!” She took a deep breath, trying to calm her temper. “You’re just trying to rile me again, aren’t you?”
He laughed once more, nodding his head. “Yes. But you know I love it when you think you can boss me around.”
Stiffening, Marie refused to look at him. If she looked into those beautiful, chocolate eyes of his, she’d be lost. Again!
“I’ll tell her that you were…”
“Just open the door and let her come in, Marie. There’s no need to give her any explanation. She knows me pretty well.”
Marie stood there glaring at him for another long moment, but when he simply lifted a brown eyebrow in amusement, she knew that her anger wasn’t making an impact and she gave up.
Pulling the door open, she smiled at Lillian, and held the door open for her. When the sweet, beautiful blonde was inside Phillip’s office, Marie pulled the door closed, not wanting to see or hear anything that Phillip might say to Lillian.
Jealousy was not pretty and it wasn’t kind, she thought. She’d been working for Phillip for the past year and, over the months, she’d gotten to know the man. He might be completely focused on numbers and strategy, but he was good at it. Damn good! She never understood how he could anticipate market trends so perfectly, but he did and she was amazed. But even more than that, she listened to him, talked to him. She’d gotten to know him. He was funny and charming, his southern manners coming out in unexpected ways.
He might be oblivious to the subtle nuances of romancing a woman, but he always held the door for her, he was aware of her efforts assisting him during the day and never failed to thank her for her work, even though he paid her an extravagant salary. When she made a mistake, he rarely pointed it out to her and even admonished her for being too hard on herself for those mistakes.
Sitting at her desk, she pulled up the schedule for the rest of the day, her eyes immediately drawn to the evening. Breathing a sigh of relief, she was glad to see that there were no wedding events planned for tonight. In fact, there wasn’t anything else until Friday night when Phillip was scheduled for the rehearsal dinner.
Of course, his bachelor party wasn’t on her schedule. She was fairly sure that his college buddies would be taking him out. Her phone ringing at her elbow interrupted her thoughts, but she looked at the number and smiled. Speak of the devil, she thought.
“Good morning, Detective Shaw. How can I help you today?” she asked the devilishly handsome man. The hottie detective was one of Phillip’s best men and a sweetheart to boot. The man was an incorrigible flirt, but unlike when Phillip teased her, Tony’s efforts only made her laugh.
“You can tell me that one of my best friends has come to his senses and isn’t doing anything crazy next weekend, like getting married.”
She chuckled, knowing that the man was only half joking. “I’m sorry to say, Detective, but the wedding is still on his schedule.”
The man sighed and she could just picture the sparkle in the incorrigible man’s eye, even though he was miles away. “Poor guy. But that just means…”
“You’re not organizing the bachelor party, are you?” she asked, wary now. It would be one thing if one of the other men organized it. But if Tony Shaw was in charge…? This could be dangerous. Especially since Tony really did know all of the dangerous and decadent places in New Orleans.
His deep chuckle immediately banished all hope. “I am definitely organizing the bachelor party, my beauty. Are you joining us?” he teased.
“Not even if you could prevent me from being arrested, Detective.” Marie turned to her computer, ignoring his husky laughter. “When did you want to have this evening of debauchery?”
“Me and the guys are looking at tomorrow night.”
“Will he need that much time to recover?” she asked, clicking her mouse on that day to check his calendar.
“He definitely will!”
She smiled. “He’s free that day after six o’clock.”
“Got it!” He paused and she heard him typing something. “Okay, e-mail sent out. Don’t read his. You’ll blush.”
She laughed, but clicked on the message anyway when it appeared in Phillip’s in-box.
“You just read it, didn’t you?” Tony teased.
She didn’t bother to answer, too shocked by what she was reading. “Really? You’re taking Phillip out for cigars and a whisky night?”
“Hey, it’s what the old man wanted.”
She could sort of believe that. Phillip wasn’t one for a whole bunch of debauchery. “What about strip clubs and hookers?”
Tony laughed. “Seriously, Marie? Could you imagine Phillip in a strip club?”
She tried to picture her formal, staid boss in a strip club and shook her head. “Nope. You’re right. But then again, I can’t imagine him smoking a cigar either.”
Tony chuckled again. “Yeah, well, you might be right about that.”
Marie typed the time into Phillip’s calendar, shaking her head as she did it. “Still…I thought the traditional bachelor party was a night filled with sexy ladies and drinking until the groom can’t stand at the altar any longer?”
“Are you volunteering to join us after all?”
“I know you’re joking. Goodbye, Detective.”
“You’re going to have to call me Tony eventually, Marie. I’m breaking down all of those formal barricades you hide behind. You know that right?”
Marie smiled, relieved that he couldn’t see her. He really was a heart-breaker. “Goodbye, Detective,” she repeated with more emphasis and laughed when she heard his deep chuckle on the other end of the line. They both hung up though and she turned back to her computer with a smile.
As soon as she hung up, the phone rang again and she looked at the number. This was the call Phillip had been waiting for this morning. The man was an investigator. “Mr. Mathews. Do you have the information?”
“I’m here in the building now, coming up from the lobby. Does Phillip have time for me? He’s going to want to see this.”
Marie looked over her shoulder at the door behind her, cringing because she knew that Lillian was in there with Phillip. But she also knew that this information might be critical to Phillip’s next move. If he didn’t get this cleared up, he wouldn’t be able to relax on his honeymoon.
“I’ll get him for you.”
“I’ll be in the conference room.”
Marie nodded, even though the man couldn’t see her, then buzzed Phillip. “I’m sorry, Phillip, but Mr. Mathews is heading to the conference room and he says he has information that you need to hear immediately.”
“He’s here now?”
Marie mentally cringed at the surprise in his voice. “Yes. He said he wanted to give you this information in person.”
“Got it. Okay, I’ll be there in a moment.”
Marie hung up, then hurried over to the table where she kept all of the active files Phillip was working on. She pulled out the relevant documents and had them ready when he pulled open the door.
“Here’s the case file. I don’t know if Mr. Mathews will have information on this one as well, but I pulled it, just in case.”
“Thanks Marie. Hopefully, we’ll know which way to move after I talk with Dan.”