The Fidelity Files (Jennifer Hunter #1)(4)

"Nice to meet you, Ashlyn. I'm Raymond."

But I already knew his name. That's one of the basics. In fact, I knew a lot more about the man sitting next to me than what was written on his little white business card.

Raymond Jacobs. CEO of Kelen Industries, the second-largest manufacturer of automobile engines in North America. Just shy of thirty-eight years old, he lives in Newport Beach, California, with his wife, Anne, and their three children. His hobbies include sailing, golf, downhill skiing, and wine tasting, although he hardly gets to do any of them because of his hectic work schedule. He likes sushi, but only if it's expensive, the blue fin tuna stuff (he's suspicious of cheap, uncooked fish). He watches hockey and basketball whenever a Texas team is playing, because that's where he grew up. He graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in engineering, a college sweetheart who he proposed to a year later, and a lifetime allegiance to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

I always do my research. It makes my job much easier.

"Yes, I know," I said with a faint smile that left my mouth half open so he could see my tongue playfully massaging the back of my teeth.

As soon as he began to stare, however, I quickly shut it and pressed my lips together tightly. Because tonight, with Raymond Jacobs, CEO of Kelen Industries, I am embarrassed at being caught doing anything overly sexual. Especially when people are watching. I practice the tongue-against-the-teeth maneuver in front of the mirror at least twice a week... when no one else is around. But when it comes time to actually use it on someone, I am slightly less courageous.

"Raymond Jacobs." I pronounced his name fully and with importance.

"How do you know that?" he asked, suddenly paranoid, as he remembers that he hasn't yet told me his full name.

I coyly pointed to his business card in my hand.

"Right." He laughed at himself, seemingly relieved. Because for the very slightest moment, there was just a small flash of panic that I might not be exactly who I say I am.

And the truth is...I'm not.

But the mind sees what it wants to see.

"So what are you in town for?" Raymond asked quickly, steering the conversation back down its steady path to, well, exactly where he hoped it would go. "Business or pleasure?" Raymond's emphasis on the word pleasure was far from discreet. He wasn't about to waste a perfectly good opportunity to insinuate.

Ashlyn may have been shy, but she certainly wasn't stupid. I caught his suggestion and laughed nervously at what it implied. He watched my mouth intently, waiting for the laugh to turn from one of uneasiness to one of reciprocated flirtation.

And what do you know?

It did.

"Business," I said with a flitting sigh, as if to suggest the dullness of my trip and the burning desire to make it a bit more interesting.

"What do you do?"

I tucked my hair behind my ear. "I'm a research manager for a law firm."

Ashlyn has had so many jobs. Tonight, however, her job had to be interesting and important. Not overly flashy, but one that required a significant amount of brains. With some subjects, Ashlyn's job is an important component of the mission. But tonight it was becoming increasingly clear that with legs like that, Raymond Jacobs could care less what she did during the rest of the day. As long as her nocturnal activities included a space for him.

"Wow, that must be exciting," he said with an earnest attempt at sincerity.

He wanted this. And he knew what it was going to take to get it: interest and attention. Because from experience, that's what it normally takes to win over girls like Ashlyn.

I flashed the kind of smile that radiates from someone who enjoys her job. "Yes, it's pretty exciting," I began. "Always something different... lots of travel. I get to meet new people all the time. And the research I do is usually pretty interesting and informative. The best part is, I learn about things I would never have chosen to learn about on my own."

I laughed to myself as I realized that the whole speech was actually fairly accurate. I did get to travel a lot. I did get to meet new people. Not necessarily the most upstanding kinds of people, but still people. And sometimes the research required for this job can be pretty fascinating. For instance: Over the past two years, I've learned how to speak French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German, Russian, and some Arabic. It doesn't really bother me that the only conversations I can have in those languages are all for the purpose of seeing if men will ask me back to their hotel rooms.

But I can't complain.

Grunt work is part of any job. My grunt work is just a bit more... literal.

The more I spoke with Raymond Jacobs, the more confident I became that he was what I call a "channel changer." Someone who doesn't feel guilt. These are the ones who keep me awake at night. The ones who go through with it so easily, as if they're just casually changing the TV channel during a commercial break, just to see what else might be on. It's a good test for any man. Can he sit through an entire commercial break without changing the channel? If he can he might have potential. If he can't, toss him out right away. Of course, with the advent of TiVo and DVR, testing capabilities have become somewhat limited.

But the one thing I was fairly confident he would feel was remorse. Regret. Although it probably would not come in the form of "How could I do something like this?" but rather as "How could I let myself get caught?" Successful men don't really like getting caught with their pants down...so to speak.