The Chilling Deception Read Free

What the hell kind of peace of mind am I supposed to provide him? Is he afraid his wife will find out he’s run off to some resort with his new temp secretary? Gwen, you’re not making a whole lot of sense."
    "I am talking about his peace of mind regarding his proposal documents." Infuriated by his deliberate obtuseness, Guinevere set down her spoon with a snap. "Mr. Vandyke has several things preying on his mind at the moment. I am suggesting that he hire you to take at least some of the pressure off."
    "You’re going to tell him he should hire me to baby-sit his precious documents? Forget it, Gwen. I’m in the security consulting business, remember? I’m not a file clerk."
    "For someone who’s not going to see another consulting fee until January you’re being rather uppity about this, aren’t you?"
    "I’m not starving to death. If I find myself in danger of it I’ll ring your doorbell and beg for a handout."
    "You’d rather beg from me than work for a living?"
    A rare, wicked grin spread across Zac’s face. "A tantalizing thought, isn’t it? What would you give me if I came begging, Gwen?"
    "A meal ticket down at the mission! Zac, stop making a joke out of this. I am genuinely worried about my client, and I think I’ve found a way to take some of the pressure off him and at the same time throw a little business your way."
    "A perfect Guinevere Jones solution."
    She gave him a challenging look. "Well, isn’t it?"
    "What do you envision me doing, Gwen? Running around for three days with a briefcase chained to my wrist? Who’s going to steal the documents from him at the resort anyway? He’s going there to meet the potential client, isn’t he?"
    "Yes, but he’s not the only developer who will be presenting his bids to Sheldon Washburn. There will be two other companies represented. Those executives will undoubtedly be bringing along assistants or secretaries too. Any one of which might be a spy."
    "The plot thickens."
    Guinevere regarded him with lofty disdain. "Are you interested or not?"
    "Not."
    She was startled more than anything else. It hadn’t occurred to her that Zac would refuse the offer of a job. It was Guinevere’s turn to blink. "You mean that? You really don’t want to pick up a nice check for three days’ easy work?"
    "I’m not sure it’s good for the image," he said consideringly as their soup bowls were removed and replaced with plates of spiced noodles and chicken. "Briefcases chained to the wrist and all that. Kind of tacky. Smacks of courier boy or something. Low-class."
    "I never said the briefcase would have to be chained to your wrist," she muttered. "And since when did you become so concerned with status?"
    "You’ve been teaching me how important image is lately. It’s all your fault." He spun a fork around in the noodles, expertly winding them neatly onto it.
    Guinevere paused, thrown more off balance by his refusal than she wanted to admit. She’d had plans, she realized. The long weekend at the resort would have provided an opportunity to find some peace of mind for herself. "Well, I suppose if you feel that strongly about it I’ll just have to think of something else."
    "I not only doubt Vandyke needs a document babysitter on this jaunt, I also doubt he needs a private secretary," Zac went on coolly. "I see no reason for him to drag you along. Tell him your agency does not provide j twenty-four-hour secretarial service."
    Guinevere’s eyes narrowed, resentment beginning to simmer in her. "I run Camelot Services, Zac. I’ll decide what jobs to accept."
    "Hadn’t you better be concerned with your own image?" he shot back too smoothly. "If you get a reputation for taking out-of-town trips with businessmen you might find yourself swamped with more work than you can j handle."
    Resentment turned to fury, effectively killing her appetite. It took a fierce effort of will to control the angrytrembling in her fingers as Guinevere carefully folded her napkin and got to her