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“Late last night. I had some meetings that had been rescheduled. Sure, about the drink?”
“Yes.” She came in and closed the doors behind her.
“Uhm, how are you?”
“I’ve been better.” So civilized and polite, he thought viciously as he tossed back the rest of the drink. He went to his desk and gestured for her to sit. Instinct warned her that something was dreadfully wrong.
“How’s the writing coming along?”
“Writing?” She recovered quickly. “It’s um - it’s coming.”
“What is the plot about again?” He was staring at her in a way that had her shifting restlessly.
“Man meets woman and the usual drama.”
“I am sure it is much more than that. What is the conflict?”
“Conflict?”
“Yes. I am not much of a romance reading, it is not quite my thing, but I have been to several movies and there’s always conflict. What would you say yours is or rather theirs?”
She shifted slightly and had to force herself to appear nonchalant. “This sounds like an interrogation.”
He leaned back in his chair and tamped down the rage that was threatening to bubble to the surface.
“Interesting word. Interrogation. Sounds like cop talk.” His eyes bored into hers and she felt the fear blossoming. He knew. Oh God, he had found out about her. She should not have come.
“Look…”
He slapped open a thick folder in front of him. “Detective Margo Sullivan. A decorated cop with the prestigious Twenty-one Precinct. Decorated cop, shot in the line of duty. Undercover cop for over twenty years, went to the precinct straight out of the academy and spent little time on the streets before finding her niche as an undercover officer.”
He lifted his head and pinned her. His face was cold and stark as if carved from stone. “And the same precinct investigating my company for illegal drugs. Am I leaving anything out?”
Her hands were clammy, her heart racing. “I was doing my job.” She whispered hoarsely.
“I see.” He slammed the folder shut. “Was it your job to sleep with the suspect and I am a suspect, am I not?”
She rubbed her damp palms over her jeans and wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. “I have eliminated you as one.”
“Is that so?” His tone was dangerous, his eyes shooting fire. “How is that? And when did that happen? Was it when you were panting under me, begging me to take you, trembling from the aftermath of an explosive orgasm?
Or was it when we were snuggled in bed and I was pouring my heart out to you, telling you how much I love you and wanted to marry you?”
“Merrick, I want you to know I did not plan it…”
“Shut up!”
His voice cracked like a whip and had her jolting.
“You used me to get information on my company!” He fought to get his anger under control. The pain was lancing through him like a thousand swords, and he felt as if he was dying. “You had me fooled. I was about to give you everything, my heart…,” he surged to his feet and had her jumping to hers.
“You had me.” He fisted his hands. “I fell for you, hard and all you were doing was your damn job! You slept with me for what? To get details in order to ruin me. What kind of person are you? Who the hell does that?”
She was trembling, her heart pounding. “I never expected it to go that far…”
“You arranged the first meeting. At the gallery, that was planned?”
She nodded and felt her heart turned over at the flash of pain on his face.