Sweet Reward (17 page)

Josette squealed with delight as she peeked at the contents of the envelope. Her supervisor had assured her that she would be rewarded for her discovery. Since the culprit had still not been found, she couldn’t share the information with anyone. She’d been told that Monsieur Ricard wanted to make sure she knew how grateful he was, and his gift of appreciation would be in her mailbox when she came in to work tonight. A two-day all-expenses-paid getaway at an exclusive spa just outside Paris.

Two whole days of not having to share a bathroom with six other people. She could eat when she wanted and sleep all day if she liked.

She bit her lip as she looked at the card again. The words were actually “you and one guest.” She and André had been seeing each other for over a year. Since neither of them had a lot of money or spare time, their dates were usually a meal with his or her family and the cinema once a week. But this? Two entire days. Could she issue the invitation? Dare she?

Recently, André had mentioned marriage. Was this the impetus he needed to finally ask? How romantic it would be to spend two days alone with him, making love. And then, maybe right before they left, he would take her into his arms and propose.

Determined to make her fantasy a reality, Josette picked up the phone. She was twenty-seven years old. André was a year older. She loved him; he loved her. It was time to start a new chapter in their lives. What better way to start it than with this romantic trip for two?

   Philippe leaned back in the sumptuous leather seat of the limo and stared hard at Garwood Kinsey. As an employee of the Ricard Foundation, he was adequate at best. As an employee of Philippe Ricard, he was exemplary. Or at least he had been, until this fiasco.

“And you’re very sure that Josette, André, and Paul Raymond are the only ones who know of this?”

“Absolutely sure.”

“You have ensured that they’ll never tell anyone again?”

“After this weekend, not a living soul will know.”

“I’m not happy about this.”

“I know that, sir. I’m sorry.”

“I would recommend that you not make mistakes again, Monsieur Kinsey. They have a tendency to come back and bite you in the ass. No?”

“Yes sir.”

“And I don’t like meeting with you like a criminal in the dark. What we do is important work. Those in the legal realm may frown upon it, but my heart tells me I’m doing the right thing. That’s why our computer communication has worked so well.”

“I wanted to tell you face-to-face, so you could see my sincerity.”

“I believe you. And I’m glad that you’ve arranged a solution already. Now, since we are together, why don’t you tell me about our latest acquisition? His new parents are beyond eager to meet him.”

“He’s three months old. Lives in squalor with his prostitute mother.”

“How do we know the child isn’t tainted with drugs or disease?”

“She goes to a free clinic for the baby. I obtained the health records. The child is a perfect, healthy boy. Blond hair and blue eyes, just like they specified.”

“Excellent. And when will this package arrive?”

“By the middle of next week.”

“You’ll alert me if there are any problems?”

“Immediately, sir.”

“Good.” Philippe checked his watch. “I’m running late for a dinner meeting. As I’m the guest of honor, it would be unseemly to be tardy.”

Kinsey opened the car door and got out. Philippe tapped on the privacy window, which shielded the backseat from the driver’s view and hearing. Immediately the engine started up and the car began to move. Philippe settled back into his seat with a tired sigh. The day had been a long one and the night would be, too. A normal man—one who didn’t possess his dedication or unyielding commitment—would go home. The average man would reject all the pomp and splendor that came with his job, see it as bothersome or not worth the time. Not so Philippe. But, of course, there was nothing average about him. He understood how important it was to let the masses see him. He appeared to be a normal human being who performed extraordinary work. Allowing the public to see him this way made them feel better about themselves and their contributions. He, Philippe Ricard, sacrificed much for the causes he believed in. How could they not give just a little of their money or time? Compared to what Philippe did, it was nothing.

Few people could accomplish what he had done in the short amount of time he’d been in charge of his family’s foundation. Many people had believed his cousin Jacques
should have been named CEO, but he had proven his naysayers wrong. With tenacity and skill, he’d brought millions into the coffers. Before he took over, the Ricard family had already been considered extraordinary, their generosity known and admired worldwide. Because of Philippe, they were now legendary. He wouldn’t be surprised if one day a statue was created in his image.

He had never intended to get into the baby-selling business. In fact, the terminology turned his stomach. But a one-time favor for a friend of a friend had made a nice little profit for him, and a family had been created because of his contribution. How could that not be a good thing?

He insisted that his people take only the children who desperately needed to be taken—the ones who weren’t wanted. When necessary, he paid the lowly creatures who’d given birth to them money to keep them quiet. He was doing them a favor, so paying wasn’t the norm, but he would do it if necessary.

A couple of months ago, he had made an unusual exception. He had attended a weekend party—a fund-raising event. While milling around, mingling, he’d overheard a young mother complaining about how her child wasn’t sleeping at night and how very tired she was. He’d stayed for almost ten minutes, pretending to listen to some man describe his last hunting safari, but instead, he had homed in on the conversation next to his. The woman was unhappy, unappreciative of the child.

Two weeks later, that child had been taken from the undeserving mother and given to a woman who would appreciate the gift. And Philippe had received a nice profit in exchange. A most worthwhile endeavor for all concerned.

He had heard later that the mother of the child was a doctor. That her husband was a doctor, too, and was on the board of directors for one of Ricard’s minor charities.
They’d both reportedly been very upset. Philippe refused to give that any concern. The woman was still young; she could have more children. Maybe she would appreciate the next child more.

Philippe hated the necessary messiness that sometimes went with the job. Having three employees lose their lives over Kinsey’s careless mistake was unfortunate. If Kinsey didn’t provide such a valuable service, Philippe would be happy to merely end their employment and have Kinsey terminated instead of these seemingly harmless people. They had been trying to do a good thing and, unfortunately, it was going to cost them their lives. Philippe didn’t take that lightly; his heart grieved for them.

The limousine pulled up in front of the Ritz, and Philippe checked his appearance once more. No, he didn’t take eliminating these people lightly at all. In fact, once it was over, he would have an event for them in their honor. Three of the Ricard Foundation’s family members were gone, and everyone mourned their loss. Perhaps it would be televised throughout the world. People would see it and send money in their memory. More good could be done with those donations than what those three employees had managed to do on their own. Their deaths would actually help people. How could that not be a good thing?

Emerging from the limo, Philippe nodded and waved his way through the throng of people applauding, snapping photographs, and shouting out their admiration for him. He tried to smile at as many of them as possible. They needed to see that he could relate to the common man. That though he was extraordinary in many ways, he was also just like them. Thus, inspired by him, people would turn around and try to do something extraordinary themselves.

Such was the nature of the human condition. People
needed role models to look up to and aspire to be like. And Philippe did his best to oblige.

   Waking in a man’s arms was a uniquely wonderful experience. She’d only done it with one other man, and that was years ago, with her ex-fiancé. Of course, that was before she’d learned that the nights he didn’t spend with her, he was spending with her sister.

Her parents didn’t know the real reason she’d broken her engagement to Lewis, and they would never hear it from her. Probably not Nadia, either. She and her sister had never been close or had that much in common. Turned out the only real thing they’d had in common was that they had both slept with the same man. That reality had an ick factor Mia had never been able to get over.

Walking in on them in the midst of the act itself was a memory she had successfully suppressed. The knowledge that her sister had set up the entire scenario so Mia would find out about their affair was less easy to forget. She had known that Nadia had little affection for her; she just hadn’t known how little.

Everything had ended abruptly. She’d broken her engagement to Lewis and broken ties with her sister all in one big blowup. Even though Nadia hadn’t created the incident to help her, Mia was still grateful that she’d learned what a cheating weasel Lewis was before she’d been stupid enough to marry him.

That night had been the last time she’d seen him. And though she still had to see Nadia on occasion, they kept their distance. Mia knew it bothered her parents that she and her sister disliked each other, but there was nothing she could do about that. That incident had been the final end to the old Mia’s personality. She had made a promise to herself to be who she was, not what other people
told her she should be. The Mia who was too structured, who pleased everyone but herself, had disappeared forever. In her place was a messier, wilder, but freer version. And she made no apologies for being herself.

Turning her back on her old life had been easy; disappointing her parents hadn’t. She was human enough to want their approval. And despite their differing opinions of how she lived her life, she loved them.

In large part, they blamed themselves. If they had led different lives, Mia never would have been the target of a kidnapper, and her resulting traumatic injury never would have occurred. And though Mia couldn’t say conclusively that she never would have made the life change if those events hadn’t taken place, something inside her had always rebelled against and resented the life she had to lead. Numerous surgeries and over a year of rehab had opened her eyes. She could never be grateful for what had happened, but she was exceedingly happy she had taken that opportunity to change her life.

Jared’s arms tightened around her as he blew out a soft snore. She smiled in contentment at the sound. He had been exhausted, and she was glad he’d stayed the night.

Falling into his arms and into bed wasn’t the wisest thing she’d ever done, but it was, by far, the most pleasurable. This wasn’t a relationship that would last. Jared had made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t looking for anything permanent. The self-protective part of Mia—part of the old Mia she’d never been able to kick completely—told her to back away now, before she got hurt. The other Mia told her to go for the beauty of the moment. And she had never experienced such spectacular beauty as she had in Jared’s arms.

Once the job was over, she would return to Chicago. Jared lived here in Paris. Long-distance relationships
were hard enough. With Jared’s determination to make this about nothing but sex, any semblance of a relationship was impossible. For right now, though, she would take what she could get.

With that in mind, Mia pulled aside the sheet covering them and gazed upon true beauty. Never had she thought herself to be the type to get all hot and bothered by a truly perfect body. Her own physical appearance had never been that big an issue for her. She knew she was attractive, but her body was certainly not drool-worthy. She’d dated good-looking men before; Jared was on a completely different plane.

“You just going to stare and not play?”

With a startled breath, Mia jerked her head up. Jared’s eyes glittered with need, and the slightest of smiles curved his sensuous mouth. That wicked mouth had given her such delight last night. Her eyes left his and roamed down his body again, then stopped abruptly. If she had just moved her gaze farther down seconds ago, she wouldn’t have been startled to learn that he was awake. His impressive morning erection was a clear indication that he was awake and most definitely ready.

Smiling her delight, Mia let her mouth answer his question without words. Trailing tender kisses down his chest, to his hard, flat stomach, she moved lower, to the part of him she was dying to taste. Wrapping both hands around him, Mia gave one slow lick down the long, hard length and then checked his expression. Oh yeah, he liked that … a lot.

With the goal of reciprocating last night’s extreme ecstasy and the need to make the man lose his iron control, Mia opened her mouth over him.

Oh yes, when one had goals, one could succeed in spectacular ways.

“Philippe? Hi, it’s Mia. I’m in town for a few days and wanted to see if we could get together. Call me back. Okay?”

Philippe leaned back in his chair and pressed the Message button on his phone again. He’d listened to the voice mail three times already. Mia Maxwell—how good to hear from her again. He’d always liked her voice; there was such a richness and vitality to it. He was pleased that she had called him, though not surprised. A few years back, they had dated. At that time, she hadn’t seemed that interested, and he hadn’t been looking for a serious relationship. Having several women who serviced him in various ways had suited him fine back then. Things were different now … much more complicated.

Mia’s family was well connected. She had all the education and poise to be an asset to him and the foundation. What he could do with her family’s connections boggled the mind.