Shana lifted her head from looking down at the document and drew in a deep breath. Why was she feeling so nauseated? She hoped she wasn’t coming down with something else. She had finished taking the antibiotics her doctor had prescribed for her a couple of weeks ago and had been feeling just fine until this morning.
Now was not the time to start feeling under the weather. She had a lot to do today, and she’d promised Jules she would meet her for lunch at noon. Standing, she decided to grab a pack of crackers from the vending machine. She had hoped to have heard from Jace by now. She knew he would be late coming into the office after he’d had that phone conversation with his father. She couldn’t wait to find out how it went.
She left her office and rounded the corner to head toward the break room when she stopped. Standing in front of Brandy’s desk was a woman who looked to be a model from the profile she presented. Tall, with a mass of luxurious black hair flowing down her shoulders, she was the perfect shape, size and height and was wearing an outfit that appeared designed just for her body. The dress looked fabulous on her. Even her shoes were perfect for the dress, and it was evident they cost a lot. Whoever the woman was, she had money and wore “classy” as if she rightly deserved the title.
Brandy glanced Shana’s way, saw her, and with what Shana read as a relieved smile on her face, she said quickly to the woman, “Like I said, none of the Grangers have arrived yet, but I expect them soon. But here’s Ms. Bradford. She works very closely with Mr. Jace Granger, and perhaps she can tell you more than I can as to when to expect him.”
The woman turned quickly and cut Shana a sharp glance while letting her eyes roam up and down her in displeasure. “And who are you?” the woman asked as if she had every right to know.
Shana gazed back, looking into what she thought was a perfect face to go along with everything else that was perfect about this woman. The one thing Shana immediately disliked was the woman’s attitude. She recognized downright snootiness when she heard it. And she was sure the woman’s eyes had been used for intimidation more than once, but she would soon discover that, when it came to Shana, those tactics didn’t work.
Walking over toward the woman, Shana extended her hand. “I’m Shana Bradford. And you are?”
Before answering, the woman moved her gaze up and down Shana once more, and without accepting Shana’s hand, she lifted her chin, looked Shana in the eye with a smirk on her face and said, “I’m Eve Granger. Jace’s wife.”
Shana suddenly felt dizzy and thought she would fall flat on her face when a sharp, loud voice behind her reeled her in and kept her standing.
“Ex-wife!”
Shana recognized Jace’s voice and turned to see the three Granger brothers, standing tall, each looking incredibly handsome with their feet braced apart, standing side by side with fierce expressions on their faces.
“Jace, I just had to come.” The woman rushed over to Jace and threw her arms around him in a display of dramatics that Shana found astounding.
Shana watched Jace stiffen, refusing to return the embrace. In fact, his arms remained stiffly by his side. Dalton rolled his eyes, and Caden remained expressionless.
Jace pried the woman’s arms from around him and stepped back. “What are you doing here, Eve?” And from his biting tone, it was obvious he wasn’t glad to see her.
“Oh, Jace, I told you. I just had to come. I couldn’t let you go through this alone.”
“What are we? Chopped liver? Last we looked, he wasn’t alone,” Dalton snapped.
Ignoring Dalton, Eve tilted her head up to gaze into Jace’s face. “The media is reporting about those horrid people who tried to ruin your company and betray you.”
“Betrayal is something you know a lot about, isn’t it?” Jace said with a hard tone.
“Oh, Jace,” the woman moaned as tears appeared in her eyes. “How can you be so unforgiving?”
Dalton chuckled, clapped his hands together and said, “Will someone please give this woman an Oscar?”
Just as quickly as the fake tears had started, they dried up when Eve snapped her head around and glared at Dalton. Jace threw his brother a warning glance before turning his attention back to Eve. “We’ll talk privately in my office.” Taking her arm, he ushered her inside his office and slammed the door shut behind him.
“Evil Eve strikes again,” Dalton said, shaking his head. He laughed all the way to his office and closed the door behind him.
Caden walked over to Shana. “My ex-sister-in-law can be quite a character at times.”
Shana glanced at the closed door. “Apparently.”
“I wouldn’t worry about her if I were you,” he said softly.
Shana raised a brow. “And why should I worry about her?”
Caden shrugged. “No reason, I guess.” He then walked off.
Shana glanced over at Brandy, who pretended to look busy. Drawing in a deep breath, Shana walked away to grab those crackers from the vending machine, and a part of her wished for once she could be a fly on the wall in Jace’s office.
* * *
“Please, Jace, be reasonable,” Eve implored.
Jace frowned from behind his desk. “The fact that I’m allowing you any of my time shows what a reasonable man I can be. There’s no way in hell you can stay at Sutton Hills for a week.”
“But I need a place to stay. I told you that I had to leave Los Angeles for a while.”
“Because some woman thinks you’re involved with her husband and hired a couple of goons to teach you a lesson.”
“Yes. Someone tried running me off the road a few days ago, my tires were slashed and my front door was egged.”
Jace had never heard anything so ridiculous. In fact, it was too ridiculous for even her to have made up. “Why didn’t you report it to the police?”
“I did, but they didn’t have enough proof to link it to that jealous bitch.”
“And what good will being here one week do?”
She nervously wrung her hands together. “It will give Maurice time to convince his wife that nothing is going on between us and that we’re just business associates.”
“Why not go to your parents, Eve?”
“I can’t do that. I’m not on good terms with them.”
He wondered what the reason for their tiff was this time. “Fine, stay a week, but not at Sutton Hills.” He could just imagine Hannah’s reaction if she did. Eve had worn out her welcome with Hannah the last time when Eve complained they treated Hannah more like a family member than the servant she was.
“I’ll put you up at a hotel. Long Meadows. And I want you gone in a week,” Jace said, standing to put on his jacket. He figured that Long Meadows would be to her liking since it was five-star.
“I will give the hotel permission to kick you out on your behind if you’re not checked out by Tuesday morning. And just so you don’t get any crazy ideas, I’m just paying for your hotel room. You are to cover your own incidentals.” He could just see her ordering a diamond tennis bracelet from one of the hotel’s jewelry stores and adding it to the hotel bill.
“I can’t believe you don’t trust me.”
“Believe it. I’ll call Long Meadows and make the arrangements.” Jace shoved his hands into his pockets, hoping he wasn’t making a mistake. He had a feeling there was more to her story than she claimed, but he had too many more important issues to worry about...like Freeman’s whereabouts for instance. He’d meant what he told Eve. After Tuesday she was on her own and her best bet would be on a plane back to California.
“Thanks, Jace. If there’s any way I can repay you, then—”
“There’s not, and you can’t,” he broke in to say. “However, what you can do is stop telling people you’re my wife, because you’re not.”
She frowned. “You’re replacing me already? I saw the way Ms. Bradford was looking at you.”
Jace rolled his eyes. She hadn’t seen a thing but was merely fishing. “First of all, you don’t have a place in my life to be replaced, Eve, and Ms. Bradford doesn’t concern you. In fact, nothing about me or this business concerns you.”
He looked at his watch. “I have a meeting, and you’re not welcome to stay in my office. I’ll call a car to take you over to the hotel. I suggest you go downstairs to the lobby and wait for it.”
He straightened his tie. “Come on and I’ll walk you down.” And while he was down there he planned to give security firm orders not to let her back in the building again.
* * *
“I like her.”
Shana glanced up from her toast and looked at her sister. “Who?” The two of them were enjoying lunch at a restaurant inside Long Meadows Hotel. They were known to have a wonderful lunch menu.
“Dad’s Mona. I met her Sunday morning. After spending a day on the beach with her on Saturday, he invited her to join us for breakfast at the Pancake House. He picked her up, and I met them there. I swear if I didn’t know she was blind, I could have been fooled. She is so independent. Once Dad told her where everything in front of her was located, she was on her own.”
Jules took a sip of her iced tea and then continued, “At first, I was nervous, thinking she was going to knock something over, but she didn’t. And then we got into a discussion of politics, and can you believe we have the same views about a lot of things?”
“That’s scary.”
“Oh, hush,” Jules said, chuckling. “And why are you eating just a piece of toast and drinking water?” She grinned. “If you’re tight on money, I could loan you a few dollars.”
Shana rolled her eyes. “I woke up this morning not feeling well. I ate a few crackers earlier, and I’m feeling better, but I don’t want to risk feeling nauseated again. So tell me, did you find that guy last weekend?”
Jules smiled. “Yes! You should have seen his expression when I handcuffed him to the hotel bed. He thought I was about to get kinky with him. Imagine his surprise when the police showed up and arrested his naked ass and hauled him off to jail.”
“If he was taking the women to a hotel, how was he able to pull things off?” Shana asked, biting into her toast.
“He would reserve the room in advance, have it set up the way he wanted it with the hidden cameras, and then when he got them to the hotel, he made it seem as if they were checking in for the first time. They were clueless that he’d already been there to get things ready. The police found everything, including the camera and footage he hadn’t put out on the internet yet.”
“Umm, sounds like you had a productive weekend.”
“I did.” A smile ruffled her lips when she said, “I also met this real cute guy at one of the clubs, but since I was working undercover, I couldn’t give him the time of day.” She then told Shana what happened Saturday night at that club and the mission she’d given the stranger.
“So he’s supposed to find you?” Shana asked.
“If he wants to see me again,” Jules replied, grinning. “If he does find me, it means he was truly interested. If not, it means he just wanted another notch on his bedpost. But I hope he finds me. He was such a hottie with the most gorgeous pair of brown eyes.”
Jules took another sip of her iced tea. “So how was your weekend with Jace Granger?”
Shana drew in a deep breath as memories washed over her. “It was absolutely fantastic.” She paused a moment and said softly, truthfully, “I think I’ve fallen in love with him, Jules. In fact, I know I have.”
Jules stared at her. “Goodness! Well, I hope he’s worth your love, Shana.”
Shana thought about the scene that had unfolded that morning in the office when his ex-wife had shown up. It was obvious that Jace had been upset about it, and she detected some animosity between the ex and his brothers. But still...Eve Granger was a beautiful woman, too beautiful for her own good. Shana could see a man doubting the wisdom of letting such a woman go.
“I believe he’s worth it,” Shana said easily.
Before leaving the office, she had checked in with Brandy to let her know she was leaving for lunch. Brandy mentioned Jace was in a meeting and his ex-wife had left, escorted out of the office by Jace himself. Shana hoped he would meet with her at some point to tell her about the conversation he’d had with his father.
Her brow furrowed when she recalled that Shelton Fields, the guy who’d been second-in-command under Arrington, had been at Brandy’s desk. As soon as she’d approached, he’d walked off rather quickly. She wondered what that was about. When she got back to the office, she would go back over Kent’s report on the man.
Jules didn’t say anything but continued to look at Shana and the toast she was nibbling on. She remembered a friend of hers having similar symptoms last year. She wondered. “You know there could be another reason why you woke up nauseated this morning.”
Shana glanced over at Jules as she took another sip of her water. “What reason is that?”
“You could be pregnant.”
Shana choked on her water and began coughing, causing a number of people to look over at their table. “Don’t say that,” Shana warned, leaning over the table and whispering in a snappish tone. “There’s no way I can be pregnant, because I’m on the pill.”
“Yes, but you were on antibiotics recently. Did you make sure you were doubly protected?”
It was probably quite evident from the “oops” look on Shana’s face that she hadn’t.
Jules lifted a brow. “Umm, looks like Dad has fallen in love and will find out he’s getting a grandchild in the same year.”
“Don’t say that! You’re wrong!”
“Am I? There’s a quick way to find out. The gift shop. I bet they sell pregnancy kits. We can find out the truth in no time.”
Shana lifted a brow. “We?”
“Yes,” Jules said, grinning from ear to ear. “If I’m going to be an aunt, I want to know about it. I can’t wait to see the look on Dad’s face when we tell him.”
Shana rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he would appreciate hearing about a wedding first, Jules.”
Jules continued grinning. “Not my problem. It’s yours and Jace Granger’s. So hurry up and finish eating. We have a pregnancy kit to buy.”