Now You See Her Linda Howard(31)

On the other hand, neither did he tend to repeat his mistakes. Accidents happened, but he would be doubly careful now.

No, more than likely he was interested in another woman. Candra thought of someone taking her place, sleeping in her bed, waking up with Richard, eating breakfast with him, and she wanted to scream. She would have done anything to be able to turn back the clock, undo this past year, but she couldn't and she had to stop wasting time with useless regrets. She had to think.

Sweeney. Of course!

A flash of intuition told her she was right. She hadn't been wrong about that flare of attraction, or the way Richard had stared at Sweeney. Maybe Sweeney was oblivious to Richard—if any woman could be, Sweeney was that woman—but that didn't mean he was oblivious to her. On the contrary, he would enjoy the challenge of enticing her into a relationship.

Candra could work this to her advantage. She knew she could.

"You're plotting something," Kai said, coming into her office without knocking. She frowned; he was becoming entirely too cocky. She would have to trim his wings soon.

On the other hand, at least she could talk to him. "I think I was right about Richard and Sweeney. All of a sudden he's in a hurry to finalize the divorce."

"He's agreed to your terms?" Kai's eyes glittered. The thought of money did that to him.

"No, he's still playing hardball, but now I think I can at least get in the game."

"You're playing with fire," he warned. "Richard won't tolerate threats."

"Then he shouldn't make them," she snapped.

"Oh? What threats has he made?"

"Never mind." Kai didn't know Richard owned the gallery. If he did, he might well quit on the spot and leave her in the lurch. She had no illusions about his loyalty. He was, however, a valuable asset; many of her female clientele were blunt about his attractions and abilities.

"What are you going to do?"



"Talk to him." Rising, Candra. picked up her expensive leather tote that doubled as briefcase and purse. Luckily she hadn't gone home to change; she was still wearing the conservative suit she had worn to D.C. that morning. She would take any edge she could get, no matter how tiny.

"Why not just call?" K ai suggested.

"I'd rather talk to him in person." If she called, Kai wasn't above listening in, and he would find out about the gallery.

"What makes you think he'll see you?"

A couple of times Richard had refused to let her in, to Kai's malicious amusement and Candra's fury.

"Oh, I think he's expecting me this time

Richard's gaze flickered immediately over the suit. "Trying out for a part on Broadway?" he asked, letting her know he saw through the little subterfuge. She controlled her irritation. She should have remembered how detail-oriented he was, noticing everything.

"I had a business appointment this morning," she said, which wasn't a lie.

Rather than take her upstairs to the living area, he led her to his bottom-floor office, telling her without words she no longer belonged here, if the notion needed to be reinforced. To him, she was nothing more than unfinished business—unpleasant business, at that.

She was always surprised at how small and spartan his office was, though of course he had been limited in space by the size of the town house. He could have done more with the furnishings or let her do more. Everything in the office was utilitarian, even his big, custom-made leather chair.

"I see your lawyer told you about my new terms," he said coolly, taking a seat and leaning back, hooking his hands behind his head. His dark eyes were unreadable.

She took a seat across the desk from him and cut right to the chase. "Sweeney's been having problems with her painting for quite a while now," she said. "She finally brought some of her new work in yesterday, but she's very uncertain about it. I told her it was wonderful, of course, but the truth is, I may have a difficult time selling any of it."

His expression didn't so much as flicker. "And you're telling me this because… ?"

Damn him, could she have been wrong? No, she couldn't have been, and she hated him for making her feel uncertain.

"I know you, darling. I saw how you were looking at her. " As if he wanted to fuck her right then, right in front of everyone, Candra thought with sudden viciousness. Jealousy seared her, and she pushed it away.

"With my eyes?" he suggested mildly.

"Don't be witty, please. I can destroy her career. I wouldn't enjoy doing it—I really like Sweeney—but if it's necessary…" She shrugged.



"And I can replace you at the gallery tomorrow, if necessary." Eyes narrowed, he leaned forward. His expression wasn't impassive now; it was so grim she found herself drawing back from him. "If you do the slightest thing to harm Sweeney's career, hell will freeze over before you get a dime from me."

"So I was right," she managed to say, but inwardly she was alarmed. Somehow, she hadn't expected him to counter her threats with more of his own.

"Are you?"

"Why else would you care?"

"I can think of several reasons why I wouldn't give in to blackmail," he said.

She wished he hadn't used that word. She paled slightly. "I wouldn't call it that."