Josh shook his head. “Claudia isn’t well liked enough to have a partner in crime.”
“And Riley?” Reggie asked.
Josh’s protective urges surged forward. He reminded himself that Reggie was only doing his job—a job he was hiring him to do.
“Not that I’m aware of,” he said, meeting Reggie’s stare.
“I was planning to take a few days off for R & R before the holiday, but it sounds like this might be a good time to get a jump on investigating while your employees aren’t in the office. What’s your time frame?”
“Now,” Josh answered. “The media’s following my every move. I came here directly from the airport, so they have yet to link us together, and I’d rather they didn’t get wind of my hiring you.”
“I’m very good at being discreet. I’ll keep you abreast of critical findings, and until then, I’ll need access to your security files, the desks of the employees in question, their personnel files, and of course, access to their computers.”
“How long do you expect this will take?”
Reggie shrugged. “I won’t know until I get started. We could get lucky and find something in an hour, or it might take weeks.”
“I’ll go with you to the office,” Josh said.
“Don’t you want to know my rates?” Reggie asked.
“Savannah says you’re the best. I trust my sister’s judgment. I’ll pay whatever it takes to get this shit over with as fast as possible. Just do something so you don’t look so much like a PI.” Josh smiled.
Reggie looked down at his jeans and T-shirt and smiled. “Shall I wear an Armani suit?”
“I was kidding,” Josh said. “I’m heading to the office now.”
Reggie tossed a folder toward Josh. “I’ll need you to complete these forms, and I’ll be right behind you,” Reggie said.
Josh called Claudia from the car.
“Yes, Mr. B.?” she said.
The sound of her too-perky-for-the-situation voice addled his nerves. “I’m sending Jay to pick up your key to the office.”
“What? Why?” Claudia snapped.
“Because you’re on administrative leave, and all employees on administrative leave lose their free-office privileges. He’ll be there within the hour. And, Claudia, I need your password.”
She sighed. “Fine. It’s winners take all, all one word, no caps.”
The next call he made was to Riley. When her voicemail picked up, he left a message. “Hey, babe, just wanted to be sure you arrived safely. Call me when you get a second. I’ve met with the PI and I think we’re in good hands.” He ended the call and hoped he was making the right choice by hiring the PI—and putting his career on the line by supporting Riley.
When his phone rang, the last person he expected it to be was his youngest brother, Hugh.
“Hey, Hugh, how are you?” Josh asked.
Hugh spent his days racing Ferraris and his nights bedding women.
“I’m great. Working my way down the West Coast at the moment. I hear you’ve been working your way into a new employee,” Hugh joked.
“Hugh.”
“Sorry. I saw the bullshit on Yahoo! News. What’s going on? You’re sleeping with an old schoolmate and she’s a design thief? Fill me in. I don’t know Riley very well, but she seems pretty much like the rest of the Weston women. Not exactly the conniving type.” Hugh was usually the last to reach out to a family member in crisis, and this time he’d beaten his brothers Rex and Dane to the punch.
“She’s not,” Josh said flatly. “I’m dealing with it. It’s a mess, but we’ll figure it out.”
“You need anything? Want me to come run someone over?” Hugh laughed.
Yes. Josh smiled at the thought. Hugh looked like a taller, more muscular Patrick Dempsey, and he pictured his brother’s wide smile, his eyes alit with laughter. Josh was only a year older than Hugh, but the way Hugh lived his life—like it was one big party—made the age difference seem much greater.
“Nah, I think I can handle it, but I appreciate the offer.”
“When are you arriving at Dad’s?” Hugh asked.
“Wednesday. You?”
“Tomorrow. I’ll see you then, and if you need anything, I’m your guy,” Hugh said.
What Josh needed could come only from Riley’s innocence. “Thanks, Hugh. Love you, man.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
THE SECOND RILEY stepped out of the airport and breathed in the crisp Colorado air, she felt better. She dropped her bags on the pavement, opened her arms wide, and looked up at the sky. Then she closed her eyes and inhaled.
“Have you turned all New Agey on me?”
Riley screamed at the sound of Jade’s voice and ran into her arms. “I’m so glad to see you! Thank you for picking me up.”
“Who else would do it?” Jade teased.
“Shut up.” She hugged her again and retrieved her bags. “It feels so good to be home. I didn’t realize how much I missed seeing the grass and the mountains. I didn’t realize how much I missed smelling something other than perfume, electric heat, subway steam, and garbage.” She laughed.
“Come on. Are you hungry? Want to grab a bite?” Jade wore jeans, cowgirl boots, and a dark T-shirt beneath a flannel shirt, and it made Riley long to wear the same comfortably familiar ensemble.
Riley tugged playfully on Jade’s waist-length black hair. “I thought you were going to cut your hair. I see you went with the fuck-me length so Sexy Rexy could grab hold and tug,” she teased.
“God, yes. What else would I do? You’ve seen my man.”
“Oh yes, I have,” she said, thinking not of Rex, but of Josh. She missed him already. She’d gone over and over their situation, and no matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t get around the selfishness of it. She loved him so much her heart ached when she wasn’t with him, but did that mean that it was fair of her to drag him through the mud with her? She threw her bags into Jade’s car and tried not to let the weight of her situation spoil her time with Jade.
Hunter Hayes was on the radio, and they both hummed along.
“Fingers okay?” Jade asked.
It took a moment of staring at her hands for Riley to realize that Jade was asking if she’d like to go to Fingers Bar and Grill, in Allure, a town just outside of Weston and on their way home.
“Sure, perfect,” Riley said.
They rode in silence. Riley laid her head back on the headrest and promptly fell asleep.
RILEY BLINKED AWAKE when Jade pulled into the parking lot of Fingers Bar and Grill. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t slept much lately.”
Jade wiggled her eyebrows up and down with a wide smile.
“That’s not why.” Riley swung her arm around Jade as they entered the restaurant. “I missed you,” she said.
“I missed you, too,” Jade said.
They sat at a corner booth and ordered lunch, and then Jade folded her hands on the table. Her vibrant blue eyes burned a path to Riley.
“What?” Riley asked.
“Nothing,” Jade said.
“Liar.”
“Okay, I’m waiting for you to spill your guts. When I went online to get my email, I saw all the pictures of you and Josh and the whole awful story. You must be ready to die inside, Ri.” She reached across the table and took Riley’s hand in her own. “Don’t you want to talk about it?”
Riley blinked away the rush of emotions that was becoming all too familiar. “It’s all so…wrong. I mean, one minute Josh and I are happy as can be, and the next minute, I’m being accused of stealing Max’s wedding dress design and I can’t prove it’s mine. It’s such bullshit. That woman is evil, truly evil.” Riley pursed her lips. “She’s…God, you know I don’t hate people easily, but she’s really awful, and she made moves on Josh, too.”
Jade’s eyes opened wide. “No way.”
“Way. And now all of my other original designs are gone, too. There’s no record of my drawing, and of course, no one ever saw me drawing at work. That’s what I get for trying to keep my extracurricular designing a secret, I guess.”
The food came, and Riley pushed her salad away. She couldn’t eat if she had a gun to her head.
“What about the faxes you sent me?” Jade asked. “That has to prove something.”
“Josh said that won’t prove they were my original designs. I don’t know…I’ve been thinking about it the whole way home. I’m not sure I should go back. I mean, look at what Josh is being dragged through, and it’s all because of me. He was this well-respected, successful designer, at the top of his game, and suddenly I waltz in and he’s being seen as a man who’s sleeping with the enemy.” Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Riley turned away, swiping at them.
Jade grabbed her hand across the table. “Riley, honey, you’re not the enemy.”
“I know,” Riley cried. “Damned tears.” She wiped her eyes with a napkin. “I just feel like I want to hide in a cave. I don’t ever want to go back.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” Jade said.