Shelley Cooper - Laura And The Lawman

The words were an order, not a request. So much for his concern about Ruby’s love life. Laura should have known better than to believe that Joseph had an altruistic bone in his body, or that he was bothered by Ruby’s monastic lifestyle. Everything he did, he did with a what-was-in-it-for-him attitude. She’d be foolish to forget that.

“My break is almost over,” she said, swinging her feet off the chair. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go to the ladies’ room and put my face back together.”

“Not at all. I hope you’ll take into consideration what we were just speaking about.”

“Of course.”

Flashing him a brilliant smile, Laura walked away. Once safely in the ladies’ room, she sank back against a stall door and groaned out loud. There was nothing for it. She would have to flirt with Michael Corsi. She would have to find out something about the man to report to Joseph. If she didn’t, he would grow suspicious.

Her stomach clenched as a more disturbing thought occurred to her. What if Michael took her flirtation seriously? What if he wanted more than flirting from her? What would she do then? Joseph would surely encourage any such liaison.

She was Joseph Merrill’s lover, she reminded herself. At least, that’s what everyone believed. Michael Corsi, if he valued his job, would be careful about crossing that line. The thought reassured her.

She had to look at this as an opportunity. An opportunity to win Joseph’s confidence. Flirting with Michael Corsi—discreetly, of course—meant she was one step closer to ending the case, one step closer to going home. One step closer to her vacation.

And if, when that time came, she found herself slapping handcuffs on Joseph’s newest employee, she would do so gladly.

She arrived on a gentle cloud of perfume that made his head spin. Antonio didn’t have to glance up from the figures he was tallying to know who stood at his side. Only she could smell this good.

Patiently she waited for him to acknowledge her presence. When he finally did raise his gaze to her, he saw that, up close and personal, Ruby O’Toole looked even better than she did from a distance. And she smelled heavenly.

Damn. He was going to have a hell of a time maintaining his objectivity around her. Not to mention keeping his hands to himself.

“You did a nice job today,” she said. “Joseph is pleased.”

Her smile, though warm, didn’t quite reach her eyes. Because her face was so enchanting, he doubted most people even noticed. He probably wouldn’t have noticed himself, if he hadn’t been trained to do so, and if he hadn’t already been on guard against her.

On the other hand, her voice was like liquid smoke. It did things to his insides that should have been illegal.

“Thank you.” His voice came out raspy, and he cleared his throat. “Need a drink,” he lied, quickly raising the glass of water to his mouth.

When he replaced the drained receptacle on the podium, she extended her hand. “I’m Ruby O’Toole.”

The fingers she slid into his palm were soft and supple, her nails perfectly manicured and coated by a pale-pink polish the color of her suit. It was obvious that Ruby O’Toole had never toiled in the trenches like other mere mortals.

“I know who you are,” he said.

Her eyebrows arched delicately. “You do?”

“Your reputation precedes you.”

Again that arch. “My reputation?”

“For beauty. And charm.”

She looked pleased. “I thought it was time we met, since we’re going to be working closely together.”

Despite the recent drink, his mouth went dry. “We are?”

“Very closely. You have my word, Mr. Corsi, that before the week is over, you and I will be on exceedingly intimate terms.”

Antonio nearly did a double take. He stared at her, not quite ready to believe what his gut, and the uncontrollable pounding of his heart, were telling him. Was she coming on to him?

“What kind of intimate terms are those?” he asked carefully, ignoring the exceedingly intimate visions of entwined limbs and naked body parts dancing across the viewing screen of his mind. He wasn’t a man who jumped to conclusions. If time permitted, which sometimes it didn’t, he always made sure to weigh the necessary evidence before taking action.

Her eyes widened in mock innocence. “Why, business terms, of course. What other terms could they be? After all, I hardly know you, Mr. Corsi. We haven’t even been properly introduced.”

The woman was good. Damn good. He would give her that much.

“Call me Michael. After all, we are going to be on intimate business terms.”

“Michael,” she said slowly, as if savoring the feel of his name on her tongue. “And you must call me Ruby.”

“Very well, Ruby. Tell me, what exactly are these business terms we will be sharing so intimately?”

“Assessing the estates Joseph purchases. I valuate all the artwork and jewelry. Joseph plans on using you to valuate the furniture and glassware. We’ll be working side by side. I’m looking forward to it. Peter, the man you replaced, could be such a dull boy. I’m counting on you to liven things up.”

He glanced over to where Joseph stood, talking into his cell phone. A new thought occurred to him. Had his boss put Ruby up to this? An initial test of his loyalty, perhaps?

Antonio decided it was time to learn what this woman was really up to. And just how far she would go with Joseph standing so close by. Since she was eyeing him as if he was the main course on her menu, he decided he would return the favor.

She didn’t flinch. In fact, the longer and the harder he looked, the more she seemed to preen. And the faster his heart thundered.

“See enough?” she finally asked coyly.

“You wanted me to look,” he replied, glancing again at his boss, who was still deep in conversation with whomever he was speaking to on the phone.

Ruby had obviously seen him eyeing Joseph, because she said, “If you’re worried about him, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I promise. If you want to look again, at a later time, I won’t tell.”

Disgust washed through him. He couldn’t believe it. Her lover stood not ten feet away, and she’d all but invited Antonio to jump her bones. Was it just hours ago that he’d anticipated such a welcome from her? He didn’t need this. Not here. Not now. Not ever. He had more important things to occupy his mind than the unwanted advances of his boss’s mistress.

His own relationships might be fleeting. They might never have the altar as their ultimate goal. The nature of his work—erratic hours, multiple disguises and false identities—all but demanded it be that way. Still, he did practice fidelity when he was with a woman, and he expected the same respect from her.

Did Ruby O’Toole have no moral backbone? How had he ever thought he was attracted to her? Right now it was all he could do not to let his feelings show on his face.

He was behaving out of character—Michael Corsi could handle women like Ruby in his sleep—and that had to stop right now. Besides, he should be glad his personal feelings were no longer going to be a problem where she was concerned. He could concentrate solely on the job he was sent here to do, without the bother of unnecessary complications.

It was obvious he hadn’t hidden his feelings as well as he’d thought, because she said, “Perhaps, Michael, I’ve given you the wrong impression. Regardless of what you might be thinking right now about my dubious moral character, I’m not easy. What I am is an incorrigible flirt. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you. Ask Joseph. I don’t mean anything by it. And I never follow through, except with the man in my life.”

While it didn’t surprise him that she had resorted to damage control, especially if Joseph had ordered her actions, it did amaze him that she’d admitted so readily what she was. Despite that, he felt an uncontrollable urge to shake her up a bit. Turnabout was fair play, after all.

“Where I come from, we have another word for what you’re doing,” he murmured.

“What word is that?”

“Teasing. Didn’t anyone ever teach you what happens to teases?”

A defiant light lit her eyes. “No. What happens to them?”

“They often find themselves in sticky situations. The kind where they could easily get hurt.”

She gave a nonchalant shrug. “I’ve survived so far.”

He gritted his teeth. “I can see that you have. So tell me, Ruby, why are you an incorrigible flirt?”

“It’s simple, really.” She gave a delicate shrug. “I like having men look at me, and I like looking back.”

Antonio recalled the way her smile hadn’t quite reached her eyes. “Really?”

Her gaze grew watchful. “Yes, really. What other reason could there be?”

This time, he was the one who shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you flirt so blatantly with men because you want to keep them at arm’s length. Is there a reason you don’t want a man close?”

She looked taken aback. When she spoke, however, her voice was calm.

“You’re forgetting one thing. I’m very close to Joseph. And he’s very possessive of his belongings.”

How close was she, really? Close enough to possess the secrets Antonio needed to learn?

“So I’ve heard. Never fear, Ruby. You may be on display, but I have no intention of sampling the merchandise.”

Before she could comment, Joseph joined them. Behind him, standing at a respectful distance, was his shadow, Matthew Rogers. Antonio wondered if Ruby had to send the man out on made-up errands, just to get some time alone with Joseph. The irreverent thought cheered him.

Clasping Antonio’s hand, Joseph gave it an effusive shake. “Nice job, Michael. Very nice job.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Joseph turned to Ruby. “I just got off the phone with Howard Cabot. We got the Bickham estate.”

“That’s wonderful, darling,” she exclaimed, rushing into his arms. “You’ve been negotiating with the heirs for months now. All your hard work has finally paid off.”

“Yes, it has.” Joseph broke the embrace and stood back to survey the two of them. “I’m sure you’ll both understand that in this case, time is of the essence. I want the whole place catalogued, valued and auctioned off before the heirs have a chance to change their minds. Pack your bags, you two. You leave first thing Tuesday morning.”

A shout from the other side of the room claimed Joseph’s attention, which was a good thing, since it prevented him from seeing the look of dismay that crossed Antonio’s face.

“We’re having dinner together later?” he asked Ruby when he turned back.

“Of course.”

“I’ll see you then.” He nodded to Antonio. “I’ll leave it to the two of you to work out the fine details of the trip. Sorry to run, but as you can see, I’m needed elsewhere.”

Antonio stared after Joseph’s departing figure. He’d just started his job, and already Joseph was sending him out of town. Was something big going to happen while he was gone? Was that why Joseph was sending him away?

“Where’s the Bickham estate?” he asked.

“A tiny town in the extreme southeastern tip of West Virginia,” Ruby replied.

“How big is it?”

“In the ten-million-dollar range. Excluding the house and grounds, of course.” She sounded as disheartened by the whole thing as he was.

“So it’s not something we can value in a day and be home in time for dinner.”

“We’ll be lucky if we’ll be done in three days, and that’s working overtime.”