Chapter Three

Right this way, Ms. Beaumont.”

The host was dressed impeccably, and why shouldn’t he be dressed that way here, in a nice restaurant located next to the historic Pike Place Market? When they bypassed the regular dining room, McKenzie’s stomach clenched just the slightest bit.

She knew this potential client had money. Or if she hadn’t known it, she knew it now. It wasn’t cheap or easy to get a last-minute private dining room anywhere in Seattle, let alone one with a view Elliott Bay, Mount Rainer, the Olympic Mountains, and the Port of Seattle — all in one.

Why would anyone with this kind of money be interested in her fledgling accounting firm? Who in the hell could the person be? The room she stepped into was large, but it had only one small table set up by the impressive windows looking onto the bay, and she knew right then that she had to have whoever it was for a client. This man — or woman — could bring her business out into the open.

“I’ll hang your coat for you,” the host said.

Excitement teamed up with nerves as he pulled out her chair and waited for her to hand over her coat and sit down. That accomplished, McKenzie wondered how long she would have to wait to meet this mystery person.

He — had to be a male — most likely knew that she would wait all day if that were what it took. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten away with putting the person off for three days. It had been a silly power play, and it could have cost her a big client. She’d have to be more careful in the future. Would she have to do some serious sucking up now?

“Might I offer you a drink while you wait?”

“Yes, an iced tea, please,” McKenzie replied.

The man vanished right away, zipped back in, and vanished again, leaving her alone in the room. This level of service was new to her. She’d made a lot of money over the years as the proprietor of a seriously upscale escort service, but the host’s behavior made it clear that the person she was about to meet had a whole new level of wealth, a wealth that only a few possessed. And though she’d made a lot of money, she’d had a lot of expenses. Luxurious meals weren’t one of them.

A few minutes later McKenzie knew she was no longer by herself. Her body tensed, and she had a feeling she wasn’t going to be happy when she looked up, but even knowing this, she had to find out who was draining the oxygen from the room.

And there walking toward her was none other than Byron Knight. She should have known, and maybe she even had known somewhere deep down inside, but she’d refused to even think he could be the man behind that phone call. Why? Because then she wouldn’t have come, and she desperately wanted this client’s business. Call it her competitive nature, or her will to survive, but all she knew for sure was that she had to make it in Seattle’s business world — in a business not involving sex — and Byron Knight had a lot of wealth that she wanted a piece of.

“I see you found the restaurant all right,” Byron said as he walked up beside her, pausing before he moved to the place across from her and sat down.

When his knees brushed hers under the table, she cursed the intimate setting and scooted back a couple of inches. Sure, it would make eating a bit more difficult, but if she were touching him during the entire meal, she wouldn’t be able to eat anything anyway.

She didn’t bother to respond to his remark about finding the place. It was in downtown Seattle. Even a tourist could find the restaurant. So she cut to the chase. “Why all the secrecy, Byron?”

He smiled before answering her question with one his own. “Would you have come had you known it was me?”

McKenzie lifted her glass and took a sip before looking him in the eyes. Never show weakness, she said to herself, and she made sure she had on her most businesslike mask. She rarely wore any other one, but she found herself struggling a bit this time. “Of course I would have,” she finally told him.

“Very good, McKenzie. I almost believe that.”

A waiter now spoke.

“Would you like the appetizers brought out, sir?”

“Yes, please. And I’ll have iced tea to drink, too,” Byron said, surprising her.

“What? No alcohol at high noon?” she said, only the slightest mockery in her voice. But she hoped he remembered his boozed-up condition the last time they met.

If he did, he didn’t show it. “I don’t want you to accuse me of being inebriated while we have a business discussion,” he fired back. “And didn’t you know that the three-martini lunch went out of style before you were even born?”

“Why am I here, Byron? Are you wasting my time?” Why not be blunt?

The waiter set down his tea before disappearing again, presumably to grab the first course, which Byron had clearly ordered in advance.

“Not at all, McKenzie,” came his easy reply. “Our head accountant has had an unfortunate accident and is out of the offices for the next thirty days — at a minimum. So I find myself in a pinch, and I’ve heard good things about your company.”

Several plates of food appeared magically on the table, and even though McKenzie was tense, she couldn’t help but appreciate the sweet aromas drifting up to her nose.

“And you want to hire us?” she asked.

“Don’t be afraid to have a little — it’s not as if you have to worry about calories,” he said. “We might as well eat to keep up our strength.”

The jerk thrust a plate toward her even though she could have easily reached it by herself. But a woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do. She took a little of the calamari misto, some of the fried cheddar curds, and a few mussels. With so many hors d’oeuvres, she wouldn’t have any room left in her stomach for anything else, but this meeting might not last long enough for her to reach the main course anyway. It all depended on what sort of game he was playing.

Byron filled a plate for himself and devoted a little time to nibbling before he spoke again. “I want to hire you, McKenzie.”

She didn’t miss the emphasis on you, but she chose to ignore it. Or to pretend to.

“Why don’t you tell me about the project? I can tell you then if I think our company would be a good fit,” she said. She was proud of herself, and of her composure. If she was bewitched, bothered, and bewildered, she knew she wasn’t showing it. The story of her life.

For the next few minutes, Byron explained the needs of this branch of the family business, and McKenzie’s mouth practically watered. This was the perfect sort of job. It was filled with challenges, and Knight Construction was so diversified — it had its hands in so many pieces of the corporate pie — that it wasn’t just run-of-the-mill accounting work. It would take a sharp mind to cut through everything, and she had that in spades.

“Our company is more than qualified to help you,” she told him. “It sounds as if these last few months have been…difficult…in some parts of the family firm.”

“Not at all. But my brothers and I tend to go out to a lot of the job sites, where we can swing a hammer and get back to the basics. We do it on the assumption that we’ve hired a responsible enough team to do their work, and when we come back into the offices, things sometimes haven’t gone as well as we’d hoped. That’s why I’m stuck at the desk for a while. It doesn’t help that our accountant had a boating accident. But that’s what your company is there for, correct? To come in and perform when needed?”

The way he said the words, she was sure there was a double meaning, but his tone stayed level and his expression didn’t change. She wanted to call him on it, but then she would look petty. Instead she sat there silently for a moment while she thought of a proper response.

“Yes, of course. We can come in when you need a temporary accountant while another goes on vacation, or we can solve problems, or we can come in more permanently. Whatever the needs are, my goal at Seattle Accounting is to ensure you will use us each time.” She nearly flinched at that last line, especially when his eyes twinkled. She really needed to be a lot more careful with what she said, and how she said it.

“Well, with all the challenges of new projects, and overseas operations, our accounting team has been working nonstop. Because the head of the department has been out for the past week, it’s gotten chaotic, but it’s been like that for a while anyway with the turnover I mentioned in the department. I really hate to say this, but at some of our operations we’re not even sure who we can trust.”

I know that feeling, McKenzie said to herself.

“So I need you to start on Monday,” Byron told her, “and it will be a very long week.”

“I know the perfect person to send over. He’s been able to solve problems that uncountable high-level clients deemed unsolvable, and he’s saved their businesses and their reputations.” This would be the answer! McKenzie actually felt excited about things. She would be helping behind scenes of course. There was no way she didn’t want to get her hands on this.

“That won’t work for me,” Byron said, and he took a bite of his salad. His voice didn’t change. It was firm, but not unkind.

“I haven’t even given you his résumé yet. I can fax it over right after lunch,” McKenzie said. What was going on here? How could he turn down her accountant without knowing the fellow’s qualifications?

“I said I want you, McKenzie.”

She paused as she heard what he was saying. “I don’t go to work sites, Byron. Of course I am involved in all operations, but I have my own business to run,” she told him. “That’s why I hire capable employees and place them where they’re needed.”

He just shrugged. “Then I guess I’ll have to go somewhere else.”

She paused before speaking, not wanting to sound desperate, but also not wanting to lose this job. “Why don’t you just look over Jim Dallinger’s dossier? I assure you, Byron, he’s as qualified as I am, if not more so.”

“I won’t argue this point. Either I get you or there’s no deal.”

The waiter could probably feel the tension rolling off of her in waves as he replaced her barely touched salad with a cup of clam chowder.

“Did you order the entire meal?” she asked. She expressed enough vexation in her voice to show him she wasn’t pleased, but she was always careful. She knew better than to become over-the-top rude. Always keep them guessing.

“Yes, I did,” he replied, a challenge in his tone.

“Luckily, I’ve enjoyed the meal…so far,” she said, and she took a spoonful of the soup. She’d lost her pleasure in the food, though, as her irritation levels grew.

The SOB’s appetite wasn’t ruined in the least. “I don’t think they serve anything that’s less than stellar here, McKenzie.” After throwing her an annoying grin, he dug into his own chowder.

“How long are you expecting me to be the one working in your offices?” McKenzie finally asked when it was obvious he wasn’t going to speak again until she did.

“Until the job is finished.”

“That isn’t telling me much. What if this emergency ends up going over a month? I can’t leave my business that long. I could possibly fill in for a couple of weeks, maybe even a month, but there’s no way I would be able to work past that,” she said. If he wanted more of her time, she’d just have to turn down this job. What good would her company’s reputation be if it fell apart because she was working for him and not herself?

“I think thirty days would be sufficient,” he said.

It was his first compromise of the day.

“And if your current head of accounting isn’t in better health by then?” she pushed. She needed him to agree to thirty days max, or she wasn’t going to go along with this.

“At that time, I suppose, I’ll consider having one of your employees come in.”

“Is there a chance that one of my employees could come in sooner than the thirty days?”

He paused for several moments as he looked at her. “Anything is possible, McKenzie,” he said before giving her a wicked smile. “If my goals have been accomplished sooner, we will discuss other employment options.”

What in the hell did that mean? She wanted to shout out, Then why not now? But again, a tantrum wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

Something in his expression really pissed her off, but she didn’t want to go there. So her voice dripped honey when she said, “Thank you.” If only she could attract the bees to come and sting him.

His smile widened as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Damn him.

“Now that the initial hard work is done, I will order some wine to go with our main course,” Byron said, holding up his hand. And the waiter practically appeared in a puff.

Their soup was taken away and placed before her was grilled Alaskan king salmon and a glass of fruity Pinot Noir.

With the possibility of gaining a big client but not being locked to Byron’s side for an unlimited time, her appetite returned, and she thanked the waiter. It was too much of a stretch to thank Byron. She hated presumptuous men like him. Where did the guy come off thinking she wasn’t intelligent enough to order her own meal? She happened to like salmon — wild salmon, of course — but what if she hadn’t been a seafood fan? Did he expect her to eat the meal anyway? Most likely. That was what men like Byron Knight always expected — for a woman just to give in to what they wanted.

The two of them filled the next little while with more precise questions and answers about his accounting problems, and then it was finally time to go. Even though the meal had been fantastic, the company hadn’t been exactly pleasant, and McKenzie had a whole heck of a lot to do the rest of the day and all weekend, for that matter, if she wanted to get any sleep at all while working in the Knight brothers’ building instead of her own.

She really should have turned him down, but having a client like Knight Construction would look very good in her advertisements. This would mean she could hire more employees, could make a lot more money, and could build a solid reputation in Seattle for being the best of the best. She’d been working toward that goal for seven years, and this time it would be in a respectable business.

She stood up, not caring if she should have waited for Byron to stand first. She was done with business and more than done with him as company. Byron didn’t take long to stand after she did. When he held up his hand again and had the waiter bring her coat over to him, she pushed back more irritation. But why was the man giving her coat to Byron instead of to her? Okay, the guy was just doing his job, so she chose not to snap at him.

“Thank you,” Byron said, dismissing the man. “We’re finished here.”

And McKenzie was left alone with the enemy.

“I appreciate it that you came to us for your needs,” McKenzie said, and she held out a hand.

“You know why I came to you, McKenzie.” His tone had changed, and his eyes were burning into hers.

“Because I’m the best at my job.”

She refused to play any games with this man. She considered herself worldly and experienced, but he made her feel like… Like what? Like a kitten? A little kitten with claws she didn’t know how to use yet.

“Yes, and because I have unfinished business with you,” Byron said.

“What unfinished business are you talking about?”

He stepped up close to her, his lips a firm line. He didn’t touch her, but he didn’t need to. This man commanded a room no matter where he was or who he was with — just as he was commanding her feet to stay firmly planted right there where they were.

She didn’t like it one little bit.

“You messed with my family,” he said. “Now it’s my turn to figure you out and find out if you have an ulterior motive for screwing with Blake.”

McKenzie gasped, too stunned for several moments to say a word. When she was finally able to speak, the words came out barely above a whisper. “Is this job fake?” She was finally able to take a step back.

“Not at all. If you please me in your work, I’ll back off. But I want to know what makes you tick. I don’t believe in lying and I’m not the easiest person to work for. So, if you can’t take the heat…” He left the sentence unfinished. He moved a step closer to match every step she took back until she found herself against the windows.

“Why should I take this job? From what you’ve said, it’s a losing battle, at least for me.” She sounded angry, but she was angriest at the slightly breathless quality in her tone.

“If you’re who I think you are, then, yes, you’ll lose.”

At least he was straightforward. But so was she.

“Then I shouldn’t take the job,” she said.

“The choice is yours.”

She firmed her shoulders. “I don’t play games, Byron,” she told him. Managing to step around him and free herself from his gaze, she looked out at the picturesque view over the bay.

“Neither do I,” he said. His hand came up to her shoulder and he turned her around to face him again.

Her heart was in her throat. She had no doubt that she should walk away, but the pay was great, and the reality was that she had nothing to hide, so there was no way for this man to hurt her. So, he would be the one losing this battle here, not her. If she backed down now, he would think she was up to something. Why was it that when a person looked at you as if you were guilty, it made you shift on your feet, even when you hadn’t committed the crime? She’d probably never have the answer to that.

Looking him in the eye, her back straight, she made her decision.

“Then we have an understanding.” Her voice was firm.

“I guess we do. Let’s seal the deal.”

McKenzie knew exactly how he planned on sealing the deal, and she was damned if she was going to let that happen. Stepping sideways, she managed to get away from his grasp, and after putting an appropriate distance between them, she stuck out her hand.

Byron smiled, though that smile certainly didn’t show up in his eyes, and finally he reached out and took her fingers. But instead of offering a handshake like a normal person did, he held tightly to them and then he was raising her hand to his lips and placing a kiss on her palm.

“I look forward to Monday,” he said, still holding her hand close to his mouth.

“You can release me now,” she said, her face blank, though she refused to break eye contact.

“Are you sure you want me to?”

“You’re an arrogant bastard, aren’t you?” she asked sweetly, her lips turning up in a mocking smile.

His eyes widened just the slightest at her remark, and then a true smile flitted to his glorious lips, shocking her more than anything else he’d done. “That I am, Ms. Beaumont; that I am,” he said.

He released her at last, and she fled the restaurant before he could say or do anything else. When she felt she was far enough away to breathe, she stopped and leaned against a wall.

What in the world had she just gotten herself into?

Betrayed is now available for purchase.  Click  to download.