Debra Webb - Her Secret Alibi

“The decision wasn’t made until this morning,” he said quietly. “There was no reason to tell you last night. Last night,” he added, “was pleasure. This is business.”

“You should have told me anyway,” she said in a scathing tone, as upset with herself as she was with him. “You knew who I was. You took advantage of the situation.”

With slow, deliberate steps, Simon walked around her desk to stand directly in front of her. Too close. Her breath caught when he leaned even closer, but for the life of her she couldn’t move away.

“No,” he murmured, so near to her that she felt his warm breath on her lips. “I didn’t take advantage of the situation.” He looked at her lips as if he might just kiss her right then, right there. “I could have.” His gaze connected with hers once more, heat and challenge smoldering there. And something else—a knowing that made her nervous…restless. “But I didn’t.”

Jolie stumbled back, stopped by her desk. “My assistant will…will show you around,” she stammered. Unable, or maybe unwilling, to take her eyes off him, she fumbled across her desk until she found the right button and pressed it. “She’ll introduce you to the rest of the staff.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Renae’s voice resonated from the intercom.

If her life had depended upon it, Jolie couldn’t have said what exactly it was at that moment that held her speechless. Something about the way Simon looked at her made her want to eagerly submit to his wishes. But she couldn’t…wouldn’t. Her survival, personal as well as professional, depended on it. The silence stretched on, screaming between them for endless seconds.

“All right,” he finally said, the words somehow releasing her from that surreal hold.

“Renae, would you step down to my office, please,” Jolie instructed in a breathless tone that made her want to kick something.

Simon’s gaze held hers captive a moment longer before he turned and walked back around to the front of her desk to wait for her assistant. Relieved to have some space between them, Jolie attempted to focus on the matter at hand.

“How long will you be with us, Mr. Ruhl?” she asked with as much authority as she could dredge up.

He shrugged one broad shoulder. “That depends on you, Jolie.”

She shivered. He did that on purpose—said her name that way. “Mr. Ruhl—”

“Simon,” he insisted.

“I don’t think—”

“I do,” he challenged.

Where had that obstinate attitude been last night? Better yet, where was the charming, soft-spoken gentleman she’d met? She resisted the urge to squirm beneath the intensity of his continued gaze, and, to her credit, managed not to look away. Fortunately, Renae walked in just then and shattered the building tension.

“Renae—” Jolie cleared her throat “—this is Simon Ruhl.”

“Renae Martin.” She offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Simon.”

Jolie frowned. Renae had never once called her by her first name. When Simon took Renae’s hand, the woman all but melted into a puddle. Jolie rolled her eyes. Was no one immune to the man’s charm when he chose to turn it on?

“Renae,” Jolie said, drawing her assistant’s reluctant attention. “Mr. Ruhl is conducting a preliminary review in preparation for next month’s audit. I’d like you to introduce him to the department heads and see that he has whatever he needs to complete his work.”

Renae’s smile was wide and appreciative. “I’ll be happy to.” She turned to Simon. “Follow me, sir.”

Simon took one last, lingering look at Jolie, and this time she did squirm. He gave her a final curt nod, then walked out the door. Jolie had the distinct impression that she had just been warned.

SIMON RECEIVED THE GRAND tour of Atlanta’s First International Bank, not that he needed it. He had studied the blueprints already. He knew the place as well as the engineers who had designed and built it. The introductions hadn’t been necessary, either, but he had gone through the motions. He had conducted a thorough background investigation on every employee at the bank. Though Jolie and Boyer were his prime suspects, Simon left nothing to chance. The Bureau had trained him well in that regard. The Colby Agency expected nothing less.

He glanced at his watch. Two o’clock. Boyer was in a meeting with clients. Jolie had seemed pretty nervous an hour ago. Time to rattle her cage again, he decided. Simon strode down the long, carpeted corridor. All the offices, with the exception of the bank president’s, had glass walls facing the hall. He supposed that architectural design fostered an air of trust. Everything was out in the open. Even the conference room provided a full view from the hall as well as the lobby. The rear wall in each vice president’s office was solid glass as well, providing a noteworthy panorama of the Atlanta skyline, but leaving only the partitions between each office to provide any privacy.

Simon paused at Jolie’s open door. He thought about knocking, but decided against it. With her back to him, the telephone tucked between her ear and shoulder, she appeared deeply engrossed in her conversation. Simon walked slowly, soundlessly to her desk.

“No, no, that can’t be right,” she argued with the person on the other end of the line. Jolie sighed in obvious frustration. “Yes, I know that’s what it says. Okay, do you have the hard copy of the receipt?” There was a pause. “I’d like to see it. No, I’m not disputing the payment. I…I was considering going back and couldn’t remember the hotel I stayed in before.”

She was lying. He didn’t have to see her face; he could hear it in her voice. Subtle inflections that the average person wouldn’t notice gave her away.

“No, not for bank business…no.” Another long pause. “A copy will be fine,” she said with clear relief. “Yes, thank you.” Jolie turned around and hung up the phone. Worry was etched across the delicate features of her face. Simon’s gut clenched automatically at the pain he saw there. If he could only get her to come clean with him. It would save him a lot of trouble and quite possibly save her life. His presence finally penetrated her preoccupied state. Her head came up, surprise, then fear registering.

“Planning on taking a trip?” he asked pointedly, pressing her with the precise look he knew undid her composure. Her discomfort was immediate. The satisfaction Simon usually garnered when he knew he had hit his mark was not forthcoming. Yet he remained standing, adding to her mounting distress. He needed her off balance. He told himself repeatedly that last night’s performance had been necessary…but a part of him knew that it had been all too real. It wouldn’t happen again. Maintaining his perspective was far too important to risk any sort of slip.

She licked those full, pouty lips. “I…” She shook her head as if to clear it. “I was checking on a hotel for a friend.” She glanced at her desk, then back up at him. “Was there something you needed?” She frowned. “Renae will—”

“You,” he interrupted smoothly. “I would like to review your computer files now.”

Jolie shot to her feet so fast her chair banged against her credenza. “I haven’t had lunch yet. Could we do that around three?” She was gathering her purse before Simon had a chance to answer.

She was putting him off. He inventoried her posture once more. Putting him off, hell, she was ready to run. Time to move in for the kill, so to speak.

Simon shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Sure. I missed lunch, too. We can discuss your work history over lunch.”

Her hopes of ditching him dissolved like a sand castle in the evening tide. “We can do that,” she offered hesitantly. “As long as you don’t mind stopping by my place,” she added quickly, her eyes brightening with renewed inspiration. “I have to pick up a quarterly report I left at home.”

Simon smiled. She hoped—no, she prayed, he would bet—that her ruse would deter him. Jolie Randolph was not nearly good enough at playing this game. The stakes were far too high for him to give even one inch. “I’ll drive,” Simon offered, to her utter dismay.

A THOUSAND QUESTIONS flitted through Jolie’s dazed mind on the ride from the bank to her apartment. She had taken a trip to the Caymans. She closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. The proof was in her travel folder. She blinked furiously to stem the tears brimming. Oh, God, how was this possible? She had left on Friday morning and returned Monday afternoon. Her own files showed the time away from the office, and the signature on the travel voucher was hers. At least it looked like hers.

Oh God!

Nausea rose in Jolie’s throat. She fought to contain the emotions churning inside her. She felt more than certain that Simon would not appreciate her soiling the interior of his fancy sport utility vehicle. She swallowed, then breathed deeply and slowly. Calm, she had to stay calm. The travel clerk had acted as if it took an Act of Congress to pull Jolie’s three-month-old travel record. She needed to see the actual hotel receipt with her signature. She had apparently failed to keep a copy for the file in her office. The travel office wouldn’t provide her with a copy of the receipt until tomorrow.

And she had to know today.

Jolie had also spent twenty minutes on the telephone getting the details on the one purchase that appeared on her personal credit card during that lost weekend. According to their records, she had evidently purchased a T-shirt in a George Town tourist shop. If that were true, the garment had to be in her apartment somewhere. Jolie stole a glance at Simon. How could she do that with him dogging her every step? She plowed the fingers of one hand through her hair and tried to hang on to her vanishing composure. It wouldn’t do for her to come unglued in Simon’s presence. He knew too much already. And Jolie had the feeling that he suspected her of some wrongdoing, as well. Why else would he be watching her so closely? Trying to shake her up? She closed her eyes. God, what had she done?

“Here we are,” he announced as he parked the car.

Jolie looked from Simon to her building and back. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized she hadn’t given him directions or her address.

“How did you know where I live?” she demanded, trepidation taking all the sternness from her tone.

He gifted her with a little smile that altered only one side of his mouth, yet affected her entire being. “I know where everyone who works at the bank lives.”

“Why?” Her voice sounded strained.

“Because it’s my job,” he told her bluntly, as if that answer should not only be clear to her, but reasonable as well.

Stunned, she watched him get out of the car, walk around the hood and open her door. Who was this man? A suffocating panic tightened her chest. Did she really want to know? Maybe she should just go back to the office and do this later.

No. She had to know now. She couldn’t live a minute longer than necessary with the uncertainty.

The trip to the fourth floor was made without a word spoken and with only the echo of their footfalls in the building’s blandly painted stairwell to break the deafening silence. Forcing a calm she didn’t feel, Jolie unlocked the door to her apartment and pushed it open wide as she hurried inside. “Make yourself at home, Mr. Ruhl, I’ll only be a minute.”

“Nice place,” he remarked nonchalantly.

Jolie didn’t look back. She didn’t have to. Simon Ruhl’s tone might sound casual, but there was absolutely nothing casual about him. She knew that now. He was no doubt already thoroughly appraising the way she lived for inclusion in his report to the board of directors. Her decorating was very contemporary and Spartan, but her purchases were fine quality. Would he take one look at her choice in furnishings and decide she lived above her means? Did they suspect her already?