The Marriage Agenda(21)

     



 

She needed a scoop.

After sending the document to her editor, she picked up the guest list  Knox had provided. Over a hundred people, and aside from Knox, his  mother, and his campaign manager, she personally knew exactly three of  them: her parents and Lila. Chloe was surprised her parents had agreed  to attend. Her mother had been livid about the marriage, but at least  she'd remained quiet. She hadn't admonished Chloe or berated the  Hamilton clan, but she hadn't needed to. When Chloe dated Knox the first  time, her mother had made it known how she felt about Rex's rumored  philandering. Though she hadn't been quick to judge Knox personally,  she'd offered plenty of warning via the whole  apple-doesn't-fall-far-from-the-tree spiel.

Chloe wanted now to defend Knox, but how? She was bound by the terms of  their contract, but even if she could talk, did it really sound that  much better to say he just wanted her in his bed for a little while? She  pushed the questions out of her mind. The clock was ticking.

She needed her story, and she wanted Rex. She had little to go on beyond  her gut, but she had reason enough to be suspicious. Pactron Energy  Corporation's proposal to put up a new power plant had gotten everyone's  panties in a knot. The location they'd chosen was at the edge of a  protected marshland, and the environmentalists had gone nuts over the  encroachment, to say nothing of the inevitable pollution. The community  was outraged, and the anger spread downstream to the affected  tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, then to supporters of the Bay itself.  Rex, ever the voice of his constituents, had led the charge against  Pactron, even landing a couple of national headlines in the process.

Convenient.

Despite the threat against her grandmother's land, Chloe had almost  relaxed. The odds were overwhelmingly against the energy plant's  approval. As part of the application process, three independent  environmental-impact studies were required. Because the site not only  sat directly adjacent to waterways that fed the bay, but also under a  migratory-bird flight path, the likelihood of passing any kind of study  was almost nonexistent … or so she'd thought.

All three commissions had approved.

Chloe had been stunned.

Pactron's only obstacle was in buying up enough of the land around the  site-land that included her grandmother's farm. Fortunately, family  farms were the cornerstone of the rural community and few landowners  were giving in without a fight. Those who had wouldn't close until deals  were secured on all the land. That was Chloe's saving grace … that, and a  couple of rather suspicious moves on Rex's part.

When he'd been paired with one of the Pactron board members in a charity  golf tournament-something that could have been coincidental-they'd  gotten on like old friends, despite their public feud. Chloe might have  chalked it up to letting bygones be bygones, but she'd been unable to  brush off the fact that the situation felt odd. On a hunch, she'd hunted  down the Tribune photographer assigned to the event and studied the  photos that hadn't made the paper.

The laughter hadn't been for the camera. In every shot, the men were relaxed. Candid. Smiling.

Chloe had dug deeper. She hadn't found anything earth-shattering, just  more casual meetings with no obvious official mandate. Her instincts  screamed something was off about Rex's playdates with Pactron board  members, but she'd hit a wall.

Until she'd accepted Knox's deal.

She had no idea if she'd ever be able to prove anything with her  suspicions, but now that she had insider access, she had a chance-one  she didn't want to ruin by keeping her search too narrowly focused on  Rex. She was still looking for a needle in a haystack, but at least she  knew which haystack … and there was no better place to start than with the  list for her reception. After searching each invitee, she ended up with  about twenty who were newsworthy enough to warrant further  investigation. She poked her head around and, assured Knox's car  remained absent from the garage, headed to his study to check the files.  Cross-referencing names proved tricky-most were labeled by corporation  or organization-so she worked back and forth between her laptop and the  paperwork.

Then she hit pay dirt.

Pactron Energy Corporation-a whole file dedicated to them.

She went to the website and clicked to the page listing the board  members-nothing she hadn't done a dozen times before-and focused on one.  Harold Levenworth, CFO. The chief financial officer was on her guest  list, but why? As far as the general public knew, he and Rex were bitter  enemies. Anyone who bothered to read up on local charity golf might  suspect otherwise, but Chloe was probably the only person on earth who  had given the unpublished photos more than a passing glance.         

     



 

Pactron's inch-thick file was more robust than the rest, but the  contents seemed standard. She skimmed over a number of financial  reports, unsure of their significance, before landing on a newspaper  clipping: "Environmental Impact Studies Clear Way for Carbon Energy  Plant."

There were a number of other clippings, but nothing stood out.

Chloe wondered briefly if Rex's vehement opposition to the site was the  reason there was so much information on the company. Perhaps he'd been  watching, waiting for a misstep-something, undoubtedly, to wave around  to prove he'd been right all along-but the documentation seemed  standard. Something like a shareholder might own? She didn't know if the  company was publicly traded, but even if it was, she didn't think Rex  would own shares. Not after the way he'd fought against them. That  information could be too easily traced, and she felt certain he wouldn't  draw such obvious scrutiny.

But Knox hadn't specifically said the files had come from Rex. Chloe had  assumed as much, since they detailed the family business and their  affiliations, but she would have to verify with Knox.

She had just lifted the pages and tapped them on the desk to neaten the  stack when a small card fell to the floor. It lacked personalization or  anything else to identify its author, save for a set of initials.

Thank you for pushing us through. H.L.

Harold Levenworth? She checked and found he had been on the Pactron  board from the beginning. Moreover, he was the only one there with the  initials HL.

Interesting. If the files were indeed Rex's, why would anyone with  Pactron thank him for anything? He'd fought them tooth and nail-a  scenario that stood in stark contrast to "pushing through." "Pushing  through" sounded like … assistance. She frowned and stared harder at the  card, as if her scrutiny would reveal anything more.

She thought about making a copy, but she didn't see anything in Knox's  study resembling a copier. Her all-in-one machine was still at her  apartment, but she had her cell phone. She took a quick picture of the  note for future reference, then tucked the paper back in the stack.  Carefully, she reassembled the file and returned it to the drawer.

She had a hunch she was on to something, and if she wanted to blow the  lid off a story Pactron would be a great vehicle for cementing her  career. Her spidey senses were going haywire, but first thing's first.

She had to get through her wedding reception.





Chapter Fourteen

Even through the limousine's tinted windows, the Wyndham Club glowed  white. Designed on the outside to mimic a sprawling Southern mansion, it  boasted a grand ballroom, a five-star dining experience, spa  facilities, and three full stories of covered verandas overlooking an  award-winning, eighteen-hole golf course … or at least that's what the  website said.

Until the night of her reception, Chloe had never been allowed past the gates.

The limo drew to a stop outside the front doors. Chloe halfway expected a  red carpet and throngs of people, but the privately owned club kept the  photographers away. That, and most of the attendees were probably as  loaded as Knox, albeit sans the fame and notoriety that came along with  the Hamilton name. They likely weren't prone to gawking.

As Knox predicted, his mother had managed to throw together an event  suitable for royalty, and in record time-probably not hard when every  vendor in town had surely fallen over themselves for the chance to  impress Katherine Hamilton and her blue-blooded friends. The whole thing  still felt surreal to Chloe. While she and Knox had been together  months in their previous relationship, to say it was low-key would be an  understatement. He didn't exactly loathe the press-wooing the press was  in the job description-but he had been quite open with her about his  wish for privacy. She'd respected that. Even preferred the casual  version of Knox, not that he wasn't something to look at now in his tux.  And his wedding ring. She still couldn't believe he'd married her. The  man could quite literally have his choice of gorgeous socialites who  could handle their stilettos, and he'd chosen the plainest one of them  all.

She, who hadn't a clue how to play the expected part. She hadn't grown  up in his realm and certainly hadn't known wealth. She was out of her  league, and the stakes were unbelievably high. Hanging out in the house  all week was one thing … performing in front of people was another.