Eclipse of the Heart (14 page)

They started toward the exit. "Don't worry about
it," he said. "I only come to these events so they'll come to mine.
It's all a revolving door."

"I'm surprised you have charities you feel that
strongly about supporting."

He made a show of feeling around in his pockets for the coat
check, even though he knew exactly where it was. He didn't want to look at her.

"I have a few causes that are near and dear." His
tone wasn't as light as he'd been aiming for, but it would have to do.

He would never, ever, talk about the Juilliard music scholarship
fund he'd established in his sister's name.

They walked out into a light rain. His black limo idled at
the curb. Felipe exited the car to open the door. But before they reached him,
a man walking along the sidewalk, his head down to avoid the rain, cut them
off.

Logan put an arm around Amanda to steer her out of the way.
He felt her stiffen. "Jamie?" she said.

The man looked up and broke into a huge smile. "Amanda
Thompson, what are you doing here?"

"We've just been to the exhibit." She waved at the
doors behind them. "But what are you doing in New York? Last I heard you
were living in London."

"Got transferred back."
His eyes slid over toward Logan, as if wondering who he was.

"Sorry." Amanda laughed. "Jamie, this is my
boss, Logan Winter. Logan, Jamie Boudreau."

They shook hands, and Logan tried to ignore the annoyance he
felt at being introduced as her boss. Really, that's exactly what he was.

"Amanda and I were just leaving," he said.
"Nice to meet you."

Amanda hesitated, and then rushed into speech. "Are you
free to get a cup of coffee, Jamie?"

"Sure! Love to catch up."

"That's good." She turned to Logan with a bright
smile. "There's no need for you to take me home, then. But thanks for the
networking opportunity tonight."

Logan knew he could turn this around in a heartbeat. But he
saw the anger in the back of her eyes and, he had to admit, she was entitled to
feel it. He had nothing to gain by forcing the issue, and plenty to lose if he
overplayed his hand.

"Good night, then." He couldn't resist pulling her
close with one arm and placing a quick kiss on her forehead. Let Jamie make of
that what he would.

When he let her go, Amanda's eyes snapped at him. But she
wouldn't make a scene over something so small. The best she could do was to
tuck her hand through Jamie's arm and stroll off with him.

Logan was surprised how much the sight annoyed him.

"Rosie." Amanda flipped through a rack of
beautiful dresses at an exclusive Madison Avenue boutique. "I don't want
to be indebted to Logan."

"Don't think of it like that." Rosie picked up a
silver stiletto and looked it over. "You're doing this for me. Logan said
so."

Amanda eyed her doubtfully. Today Rosie wore lime green
leggings, black combat boots and an ivory lace dress. She looked adorable, and
had announced that the entire outfit cost only twenty-five bucks.

But Amanda needed more sophisticated clothes, and the price
tags Rosie steered her to were eye-popping.

"I thought you were going to make my clothes."

"I'm working on that." Rosie yanked out a gold,
silk crepe dress with a narrow band of blonde lace decorating a deep, scalloped
neck. "This is it.
Perfect for you."

When Amanda reluctantly tried on the dress, she had to stare
at herself. The crepe hugged her breasts, with the open neckline pointing
subtly to them. The bias cut flattered her midsection, and the skirt flared
gently around her knees, swishing when she moved.

"You can't pass this up," the saleslady said
happily. "The dress was made for you."

"It's too expensive," Amanda said quickly. She
didn't want to disappoint the saleslady, but there was no point in raising her
hopes either.

"She'll take it," Rosie said.

The clerk glanced from Rosie to Amanda and back.

"I pay the bills," Rosie said. "And my reputation
is at stake. Logan will love this."

The saleslady raised her eyebrows. "I see."

"Rosie," Amanda hissed when the dress was borne
off. "You made her think I'm a mistress or something."

"Who cares?" Rosie handed over another dress.
"You don't know her."

"This is exactly what happened when I went to that
fundraiser at the
Spensor
Museum." Amanda's
cheeks flushed at the memory. "Everyone thought I was his paid
escort."

"That blue dress did make you look hot," Rosie
said, giggling.

"I don't want to be hot!" Well, that was a little
white lie, but whatever. She didn't want to be viewed as a hooker.

"Amanda." Rosie tapped her foot on the carpet.
"Every woman wants to be hot for the right man."

"Logan is not the right man. I'm going out with Josh
this Friday." Damn, she hadn't meant to say that. On the other hand, the
sooner the office gossip mill got hold of the fact, the better.

"Excellent," Rosie said cheerfully. "You can
wear the gold dress for that date, also. See how economical we're being?"

Amanda had to laugh. "You do know how to look on the
bright side of everything."

"Exactly."
Rosie leaned
down to straighten the hem on a black cocktail dress. "You stick with me,
and you'll go places."

"Into the unemployment line, when Logan sees how much
you're spending."

Rosie frowned. "I think black is too severe for
you." She waved a hand. "Take it off." She plucked another dress
off its hanger. "As for Logan, he has so much money that no clothing
wardrobe could make a dent in it."

"You don't know that."

Rosie tilted her head to view the new dress at an angle.
"I may not have the facts and figures, but he owns all of Winter
Enterprises. He
ain't
poor."

"He has some partners. We don't know what stakes they
each have."

"The man has a private jet, for God's sake. He has an
oceanfront estate on Cape Cod."

"He does?" That was one of the first facts Amanda
had ever heard about his private life. She couldn't resist prying for more
information. "How do you know that?"

"Well, the caretaker has been
buggin
'
me about some upkeep for the house. I had to send a contractor over
there." Rosie grinned. "So, once I had the address, I looked it up on
Zillow
."

"I wonder who lives there. Does he have family?"

Rosie moved in a little closer and lowered her voice.
"My aunt warned me never, on pain of death, to ask about family."

"Strange."

"So of course, that's exactly what I want to
know." Rosie flashed her leprechaun smile, a pointy triangle offset by red
hair and sparkling eyes. "I've tried to ask around the company, but if
anyone knows anything, they're
keepin
' it to
themselves."

"It's really not our business." Amanda glanced in
the mirror. Wow, this was another knockout dress. Rosie did have a knack for
choosing clothes.

"But nothing's more fun than finding out what we're not
supposed to know, right?" Rosie narrowed her eyes.
"Perfect
dress.
Try on the matching coat."

Amanda was glad to change the subject. She really shouldn't
be gossiping about her boss. As much fun as it might be, gossip could only lead
to trouble.

She added the blue dress and coat to her order. It would be
perfect for the lung association gala she was attending with Josh. Her twinge
of guilt was banished with a reminder that Logan had authorized these purchases
to help Rosie. Plus, he would never know she was using his money to dress for
another man.

***

Josh's eyes lit up when she opened the door on Friday night.
"You look beautiful," he said. "You've been hiding your
light."

"Thanks." Amanda smiled. "I think."

He laughed. "I guess you do need to look professional
at work. Sorry if my comment was tactless."

Amanda lifted the matching coat out of her tiny closet.
"No need to apologize. You're right. But I do like to dress up when I have
the opportunity." Even though she felt like she was lying by omission, she
could hardly tell Josh that Logan was buying her a wardrobe to help Rosie get a
design business off the ground.

He helped her on with the coat and then crooked his elbow
for her hand. "Ready?"

Downstairs, he hailed a taxi and, when they reached their
destination, they had a brief tussle over who would pay for the cab.

"You got the tickets," Josh said. "So I
should pay for everything else."

"But this isn't a date," Amanda argued.
"Remember? Even if it was, I asked you so I should pay." It was hard
to be so noble when she was budgeting every penny, but right was right.

"If I asked you out, would you expect me to pay for
everything?"

She looked up at him, nonplused.

"Exactly."
He laughed,
and by then, the cab driver had been paid.

Inside, they circled the tables that offered silent auction
items. Amanda put her name down for a few things that wouldn't go too high. A
spa afternoon had a one year expiration date. It would make a nice gift for her
sister when she returned from Denver.

"Do you do a lot of these charity events?" Josh
said.

"No." The single word sounded too abrupt, and she
liked Josh. "My sister, Julie, is sick with a serious lung problem,"
she said.
"Interstitial lung disease, to be
precise."

"Hey." Josh put an arm around her shoulders and
squeezed lightly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks. She's in Denver for some specialized
treatment."

"That's rough," Josh said. "I hope her
treatment plan works out."

"Amanda!" An older couple waved her over, and
Amanda was grateful for the interruption.

"Josh, this is Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien. They're the
chairpersons for this gala."

After the introductions had been completed, Mrs. O'Brien
smiled at Amanda. "I've heard that Julie is progressing well under her new
treatment plan."

"Yes, we're very hopeful that she's turning a
corner."

"I hope we can get together for lunch soon," the
older woman said. "I'd love to get all the details."

Amanda nodded. "I'll be going to Denver for Christmas,
and meeting with her doctors. I'll take good notes for you."

"Smile!"
A photographer
with a huge camera aimed it at them.

"Sorry." Mr. O'Brien grimaced in Josh's direction.
"This is part of the drill."

"No problem." Josh slung his arm around Amanda and
smiled gamely into the flashing lights. Flashbulbs popped, once, twice, three
times.

Noah Blankenship sat in Logan's office early on Monday
morning, his enormous frame dwarfing the office chair. The broad smile that
usually dominated his face was absent. Logan had hired the big black man as much
for his easy manner as for his sharp mind and military experience. So when that
affability was missing, something was wrong. Aside from all that, Logan knew
his head of security wouldn't have requested a meeting if they didn't have a
major problem.

The two men exchanged pleasantries, and then Logan said,
"Give me the unvarnished truth."

Noah shifted in his chair. "It's not pretty."

Logan frowned. It wasn't like Noah to stall or shift his
eyes away. "I can deal with the
unpretty
,"
he said.

"I don't know if this is something that will concern
you," Noah said. He wiped a handkerchief over his forehead. "But I
had to report it. It involves the company's reputation."

Was Noah going to accuse him of behaving improperly with
Amanda? A flash of anger whipped through Logan. He crushed it. Noah was not
stupid.

"Blankenship."
Logan
leaned forward. "Why are you chasing something around the mulberry bush?
Spit it out."

"I don't like this, boss." Noah placed his laptop
on the desk and punched a few keys. He turned the monitor to face Logan. The
words "Adam and Eve Playground" danced across the screen in a heated
red font.

Logan saw red. Shit. Why did every single thing he'd ever
done in his life have to be paid for? He knew instantly what the website stood
for. What he didn't know was how it affected his company.

"Why are you showing me this?" he asked. At least
he could be grateful he wasn't looking at the name of the escort service he'd
used himself.

"Uh, it's nothing personal," Noah responded, his
voice carefully neutral. "But one of your employees is running this
service out of the company offices."

Logan leaned back in his chair, hoping to trick his body
into remaining calm, even though fury was rushing through him.
"Who?"

"Phoebe Cattus."

"Shit." Logan's chair crashed to the ground.
"Get rid of her."

Noah spoke into a small microphone attached to his shirt.
"Send an escort to the office of Phoebe Cattus and have him wait for her
there."

Logan rolled his chair around and stared out the window. His
brain whirred. Noah wouldn't be here without definitive proof. Although Logan
would check it out anyway, he knew he'd find everything in order. Noah was very
good at what he did.

But if the press found out, they'd have a field day. He
could survive the mud-slinging, although he wouldn't enjoy it. But his public
offering was scheduled for next week. In this environment, where everyone was
jittery about initial public offerings, he couldn't afford to have negative
publicity. If the share prices were driven too low, the underwriters might want
to postpone the offering.

Worse than all that, the press would start digging and it
was only a matter of time before they'd ferret out the fact that Logan himself
used an escort service. That would only compound his problems.