...TAYLOR...
...The office worker bees were...
...calling it a day. I still had hours...
...of work before I could rest....
...Being CEO didn't fit...
...comfortably into a nine-to-five...
...cycle....
...I was finishing up reviewing a...
...few prospectus reports when...
...there was a light knock on my...
...office door....
..."No one has to stick around for...
...me, have a good night," I said...
...without losing my place on the...
...page....
..."No one has to wait for you? I...
...know that's not true,...
...said an...
...alluring female voice. I...
...recognized it before I looked...
...up....
...Everly Grey. Yet again. "Tom...
...had a meeting, thought I'd...
...come by with him, say hello."...
...I waved her inside quickly....
..."Shut the door. We shouldn't be...
...seen together. What do you...
...Want???...
...She stepped inside, closing the...
...door....
..."I wanted to talk about...
...what happened last night."...
...Here she was, back in my orbit...
...again. The last woman I'd had...
...true feelings for....
...The last woman I'd allowed to...
...hurt me....
...I turned back to my report....
...trying to block her out....
..."There's nothing to talk about....
...It was a mistake....
...I wanted to be done talking, but...
...she was like a song stuck in my...
...head....
...She didn't move....
...I tossed aside the reports....
..."What do you want? Why did...
...you come here, why are you...
...with Tom?'...
..."He and I fell in love. It was...
...years ago between you and me,...
...Taylor. I didn'...
..."t think my being...
...here would tose...
...vou so much....
...I certainly didn...
...it expect last...
...night....
...99...
...She was unbelievable. Anger...
...welled up within me, and I had...
...to look away....
..."I missed you, Taylor!"...
...No word for years, and then she...
...shows back up, unannounced,...
...with a giant ring on her finger...
...from one of my most important...
...allies....
...I stood and crossed to the door...
...and opened it to allow her out....
..."If that was what you wanted to...
...tell me, you could have sent an...
...email"...
..."I forgot how harsh you are....
...99...
...She cleared her throat, getting down to business....
..."] the...
...woman who saw us last...
...night..?"...
..."I'm handling it already....
...Anything else?"...
...Relief washed over her. She put...
...a grateful hand on my arm for...
...handling the Kate Dawson...
...issue....
...But her hand lingered on my...
...arm. "I can't stay away from...
...you, Taylor."...
...I shook her off me....
..."Move on...
...with your life, marry Tom, and...
...just....
...99...
...I searched for words. How did...
...she not get this?...
...«It's over...
...between us. Let it be over. Tom...
...is my partner and my friend....
...Don't **** with his heart, and...
...don't **** with my company. Is...
...that clear?'...
..."Please don'...
...it be angry at me,...
...Taylor. You know my heart still...
...belongs to you."...
...My lips curled back in a snarl. I...
...was ready to pounce on her last...
...words, but a buzz came over...
...my intercom....
..."Taylor? That phone call you...
...were waiting for...?"...
...My stomach dropped...
...Dante Luciano....
...How long had that name been...
...an immediate stress trigger for me?...
...I didn't remember a time in my...
...life before I knew him, before I...
...wished I'd never heard his...
...name before....
...Everly saw the change in my...
...mood and seemed worried...
...about me. Before she could say...
...anything else, I put up a hand...
..."I have to take this. Go. Live...
...your life. Leave me alone....
...The door was closing before...
...she realized it. before she had a...
...chance to argue....
...For the second time, I'd gotten...
...rid of her....
...Now I had the real problem to...
...deal with…...
...KATE...
...Rick was always great at...
...helping me with the right idea...
...at the right moment. I knew I...
...could count on him to back me...
...up, even if that meant...
...disobeying an order from our...
...editor....
...He had a knack for helping to...
...pop the kernel of a story into...
...something bigger, and his...
...suggestion to check out what...
...was happening at Jameson...
...Enterprises was right on the...
...money....
...Their headquarters was...
...downtown, and there was a...
...park nearby. Lots of motion,...
...lots of activity....
...Their headquarters was...
...downtown, and there was a...
...park nearby. Lots of motion,...
...lots of activity....
...Easy for lingering around...
...without seeming suspicious....
...I was there the next morning,...
...parked in my old Jeep, at 6 a.m....
...If Taylor Price was going to...
...censor my newspaper, I wasn't...
...going to let him get the jump on...
...me by sleeping in....
...To kill the time. I wrote the trite...
...parade prep article Arthur put...
...me on. It was a joke and took...
...less than an hour to finish....
...Then I was back to the bored....
...uncomfortable waiting game that is investigative reporting....
...Fortunately, Taylor didn't make...
...me wait long....
...Around 9:00 a.m., he stepped...
...out of a limo in a form-hugging...
...black suit, white shirt, and...
...black tie. Perfect for attending...
...an awards ceremony.....
.....or celebrating a hostile...
...takeover...
...He was joined by a handful of...
...executives, all of whom filed...
...into the building....
...I spilled coffee on my backseat...
...in the scramble to grab my...
...binoculars....
...Taylor and his team approached...
...what I assumed was a group of...
...Jameson Enterprises'...
...executives waiting for them in...
...the lobby....
...After handshakes, they headed...
...for the elevator, but Taylor...
...stopped when an assistant...
...passed him a cell phone....
...His entire demeanor changed...
...when he saw who it was....
...He excused himself and exited...
...the lobby to take the call in...
...private....
...The rest of the group piled into...
...an elevator....
...Seeing the elevator doors close...
...sent a shiver up my spine at the...
...memory of my last experience...
...in an elevator....
...Taylor talked into the phone,...
...looking up and down the street,...
...possibly searching for the...
...person on the other end of the...
...call...
...An older man with white hair...
...approached him. He was on his...
...phone, and the two of them...
...hung up simultaneously before...
...the man spread his arms for...
...Taylor to give him a hug....
...He looked leisurely, perpetually...
...at ease. He carried a walking...
...stick he didn't seem to need but...
...enjoyed holding....
...Taylor glanced over his...
...shoulder-as if he was worried...
...to be seen with the man....
...It was hard to make out through...
...the binoculars, but Taylor didn't...
...look as happy to see the older...
...man as the older man looked to...
...see him....
...He glanced around, checking...
...that no one was looking....
...My hand shot through my...
...purse, spilling everywhere, and...
...I yanked my phone out and...
...tried to get a photo....
...But they both vanished around...
...the corner....
..."Shit!" I yelled in my car....
...I'd have given anything to...
...know who the man was and...
...what they were talking about....
...I needed to learn as much as I...
...could before Price got too firm...
...a grip over the management at...
...The Daily House....
...I was sure he had bought the...
...paper to silence us....
...And I was determined to find...
...out what he was hiding....
...But I wasn't going to get to the...
...truth of the story sitting in my...
...car while the characters went...
...for a walk....
...My curiosity won out over my...
...reasoning, so I slipped out of...
...my vehicle and crossed the...
...street on foot....
...You train yourself as an...
...investigator to find natural...
...ways to hide yourself. To...
...naturally be inconspicuous....
...There was a newsstand at the...
...corner, and I made my way...
...there. I flipped through the...
...titles, hidden by the stream of...
...pedestrians passing by....
...I quickly spotted Price and the...
...older man....
...Price looked uncomfortable and...
...defensive. It looked as if the...
...older man had backed him up against a wall....
...The Mystery Man held out his...
...hand for Price to shake, but...
...Price didn't accept it. Instead....
...he spoke quickly, seeming...
...agitated...
...If I had to guess, Price didn...
...want to say...
..."yes" to whatever...
...the Mystery Man was...
...proposing. But he was also...
...reluctant to refuse him....
...As innocuously as I could, I...
...brought out my phone and took...
...a photo of them, trying to...
...capture the Mystery Man's face...
...and Price's angst....
...I checked my shot. The...
...Mystery Man's face was hidden...
...by Taylor's muscular frame....
...Good lord, how did he find the...
...time to stay in such incredible...
...shape?...
...His shoulders were practically...
...stretching his shirt and jacket...
...apart-...
...Jesus, Kate, focus!...
...I looked back up. Price and the...
...Mystery Man were saying their...
...goodbyes....
...A hug, which ended when the...
...Mystery Man kissed Price on...
...the cheeks in an old-fashioned...
...kind of way....
...I snapped another photo on my...
...phone, and this time I captured...
...the stranger's face…but it was...
...granny at this distance. Damn itl...
...Mystery Man signaled and a car...
...pulled up beside him. A...
...bodyguard opened the door for...
...him....
...As the car drove away, Taylor...
...seemed to sag, rubbing his face...
...as he thought over the...
...conversation he just had....
...An offer?...
...A request?...
...A demand?...
...There was no telling....
......at least not yet....
...Taylor rounded the corner and I...
...quickly buried my face in a newspaper so he wouldn't spot...
...me....
...He went back into the building...
...and vanished...
...I put the newspaper away and...
...crossed the street back toward...
...my car....
...And just before I reached my...
...car and took out my keys, a...
...black SUV pulled over,...
...preventing me from being able...
...to leave....
...The driver's door opened, and I...
...was ready to get into a shouting...
...match....
..."If you give me a second, I'm...
...leaving the spot,...
...» I told...
...whoever was about to climb out...
...A handsome, stern-faced man...
...stepped out....
..."Are you Kate Dawson? As in,...
...writer for The Daily House?...
...he asked....
...Hesitant, I nodded. "Who are...
...you?'s...
...He leaned in and spoke in a...
...lowered voice....
...4T have some information you...
...might want."...
...I eyed him, doubtful. "Yeah?...
...Like what?'...
..."I can tell you in the car. It's...
...about that man over there....
...Taylor Price”...
...More than he wants me to...
...know,...
...» the man said. "I'm Ben....
...Hop in, I'll tell you...
...everything....
...He gestured for me to get in...
...back and climbed in the...
...driver?...
...'s seat again....
...The hair stood up on the back...
...of my neck....
...As a reporter, sometimes you...
...had to take a risk and follow a...
...story, even into dangerous...
...places....
...But everything was on the line:...
...my newspaper, my job, Nana....
...Discreetly, I snapped a photo of...
...the plate and sent it to Rick: a...
...little insurance belies-for myself in case anything went...
...wrong....
...I opened the back door of Ben...
...car and looked inside. Clean...
...and empty....
..."Hurry up, come...
...on,...
..." Ben said....
...With my keys poking out...
...between my fingers, I got in....
...Ready for either a story or a...
...fight....
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