Breath of Scandal (34 page)

Jade stood up, surprised to discover that her knees were unsteady. She didn't like police stations. They were too reminiscent of the night she had spent in the interrogation room at the Palmetto County courthouse. She hadn't been surprised to read that Hutch now occupied the office once held by his father.

"Mr. Burke?" she said as she approached him. "Will you come with me, please?"

When he quizzically tilted his head to one side, his long hair brushed his shoulder. "What for? Who the hell are you? 11

"My name is Jade Sperry. Please?" She gestured toward the door. Her blue eyes didn't flinch from his hard stare, though it was disconcerting. "As the sergeant said, they might change their minds and decide to keep you overnight. This way."

. She moved toward the entrance, giving the false impression that she was confident he would follow her. For all she knew, as soon as they cleared die door, he would bolt and she would never see him again. To her relief, he fell into step beside her.

She led him to the limousine parked at the curb. The chauffeur hastened to open the back door for them. She

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offered to let Burke precede her. He hesitated only a few seconds before getting into the plush backseat. The limo was an extravagance, she knew. But she wanted him flabbergasted and humbled by the good fortune that had miraculously befallen him. She wanted him to say yes to her proposition.

Jade reached for the electric button that raised the glass partition between the chauffeur and the backseat. Saying nothing, Burke followed her motions with watchful eyes.

The limo pulled into traffic and glided through it as soundlessly as a silver snake. Jade crossed her legs, then wished she hadn't. Her stockings made a silky-scratchy sound in the silence. Burke looked down at her legs, then raised an inquisitive gaze to her face.

To cover her nervousness, Jade opened her purse and took out a pack of cigarettes and a new lighter. "Cigarette?" "I don't smoke."

"Oh. " She laughed with self-derision as she set the cigarettes and lighter on the small built-in bar of the limo. "I've seen too many movies, I guess."

"Movies?" "Whenever a prisoner is brought out, the first thing he's offered is a cigarette. I bought some, thinking ... this is the first time I've gotten anybody out of jail."

With a cynical eye, he gazed around the lush interior of the limo. "This is a first for me, too."

"You've never been in jail before?"

He turned to her abruptly, startling her with the unexpected movement. "Have you?"

He seemed very large and very close, and suddenly she doubted the wisdom of her impulsiveness. She recalled how quickly he had attacked Matthias when the belt was removed from his hands. His sheer physicality frightened her, but she didn't recoil, for she supposed that that's what he wanted her to do. He was trying to intimidate her, probably because he felt intimidated himself.

"I've never been incarcerated, no," she answered evenly.

He subjected her to another slow, thorough once-over. -Somehow I didn't think so."

"Does the cut over your eye hurt?" It was no longer bleeding, but the wound still looked fresh.

"I'll live." He slouched in the seat, setting his eyes forward again toward the tinted pane of glass that separated them from the driver. "Where are we going?"

"I thought you might be hungry. Will you join me for dinner?"

"Dinner?" he asked with a mirthless smile. He looked down at his workclothes and boots. "I'm not exactly dressed for any place fancy."

"Will that bother you?"

"Hell no. Will it bother you?" "Not in the least."

They rode in silence for several minutes before his curiosity got the best of him again. "When are you going to tell me what the hell is going on? If Matthias sent you as a bribe or something, then-"

"I assure you, he didn't. You'll get a full explanation after dinner, Mr. Burke. Besides, we've arrived."

The limo rolled to a stop at a steak house. Jade had consulted with the hotel concierge before deciding on this restaurant and giving the address to the limo driver. The family-owned establishment advertised wholesome food at reasonable prices. The location wasn't elitist, and the interior looked like the set of a Gene Autry movie. The large dining room was dim, relieved only by pools of golden light cast by lanterns suspended from the ceiling.

Jade was pleased with her selection as they were escorted to a comer table by a hostess wearing a fringed leather skirt and western boots. Mr. Burke would feel less conspicuous here than in a more expensive restaurant.

He ordered a draft beer from the cocktail waitress. Jade asked for a soda and lime. He spoke a terse thanks when the drinks arrived. As he sipped his beer, Jade covertly watched him, wondering what he would look like without the beard. He neatly whisked specks of the beer's head off

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his mustache, which covered his upper lip and rode nicely above the fuller lower one.

His hands, she noticed, weren't soft. They were working hands with callused knuckles. The nails were clipped and clean, but they hadn't been buffed to a high gloss. Work gloves had left faint tan lines around his wrists. The strong arms that had impressed her through the binoculars appeared even stronger up close. Today he was wearing a plaid flannel shirt over his tank top. It had been left unbuttoned. The sleeves had been ripped out. His exposed chest had certainly impressed the cocktail waitress.

"When you're finished, do I get my turn?"

Jade lifted her eyes from his chest to his face.  "Pardon?" "Do I get my turn to scope you over as thoroughly as you're looking at me? It might get sloppy if we tried to ogle each other at the same time."

The arrival of the waitress kept Jade from having to reply. Briskly she placed their order. "My guest will have your largest steak cooked medium rare, french fries, and salad. I'll have the small filet mignon. We'll order dessert later. " She slapped the menus into the waitress's hand, then faced her companion.

He was gripping the beer mug so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. His voice vibrated with anger. "I'm a big boy, Miss whoever-the-hell-you-are. I can read a menu and order for myself."

She hadn't been scoping him out, at least not in the way he imagined, and his remark about her ogling him had made her mad. "I apologize for the rudeness. I sometimes do that without thinking. It's a bad habit of mine."

"Are you going to tell me what I'm doing here with you?"

"After dinner."

He muttered a word that wasn't in keeping with civilized dinner conversation. "In the meantime, may I have another beer?"

"Of course. " By the time he was finished with his second beer, their food arrived. He fell on it ravenously, leaving

lade to wonder when he had last eaten a good cut of beef. He used his utensils correctly, but quickly.

"Would you like another steak?" she inquired gently, leaning across the table toward him. The instant she adopted that compassionate tone of voice, she realized she had blundered.

He regarded her coldly. "No."

He was refusing more out of pride than because his hunger was appeased, but Jade let it drop. Their plates were removed. He curtly declined dessert and merely shrugged when she suggested coffee. "Two coffees," Jade told their waitress. Once they had been served, she began her explanation.

"I was at the construction site this afternoon when you were arrested, Mr. Burke." She watched his eyes for signs of reaction, but there were none. They remained steadily on her, registering nothing. A flicker of surprise or interest would have been expected. The lack of one was disturbing.

"I was impressed with several things. For one, you weren't afraid to speak out and hold your ground even though your opinion was unwelcome and unpopular, That demonstrates conviction and courage, which are attributes I'm looking for. I need someone tough."

A laugh originated as a low rumble deep in his chest. "Well, I'll he damned. You sure went to a lot of trouble." "Yes, I did."

Resting his forearms on the table, he leaned forward and spoke to her softly over two cups of forgotten, cooling coffee. "Now I get it. You're looking for adventure because your rich, successful husband is a workaholic who's too busy making a buck to pay attention to you. Or maybe you found out that he's banging a girl in the typing pool and you're out to get him back.

"You happened by today when all that excitement was going on and got wet over a hard-hat fantasy. So you had your chauffeur drive you down to city hall, and-being the rich, powerful, and bossy bitch you are-pulled a few strings that got me out of jail. Is that it?"

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Complacently, he eased back in his chair. "Okay, fine. I'd hate for you to be out that trouble for nothing. For a thousand dollars, I'll fuck you all night long."

CHAPTER

Nineteen

A small shudder passed through Jade. "How dare you?" Reaching across the table, he lightly encircled her wrist

in his large hand. "Okay, five hundred. I lost my job today. I'm in no position to bargain."

Jade yanked her arm free. Her first impulse was to dress him down as soundly as she had Matthias earlier in the day for sexist transgressions that had been far less offensive than Burke's. When compared to the man seated across the table from her, even the sleazy Matthias came out ahead-at least on the surface.

But Jade had a gut instinct that there was more to Dillon Burke than met the eye. The untrimmed beard, long hair, and rudeness were affectations. She didn't know how she knew this. She just knew. Rather than leaving him with a scathing reproof, she stayed, unwilling to give up on him. Why? she wondered. What quirk of coincidence had placed her at the site at the time of his arrest? For days she had been watching him through binoculars from her hotel window. It was as though fate had pointed him out to her.

He was still observing her with his guarded, hooded gaze. In his place, wouldn't she have been confused? In any event, the TexTile plant was worth giving him the benefit of the doubt.

She signaled their waitress. "Are you sure you won't have dessert, Mr. Burke?"

He stared at her with misgiving, then said brusquely, "Apple pie."

"Two," Jade told the waitress. "And we'll need fresh cups of coffee. Keep them coming. We'll probably be here for a while."

After the waitress withdrew, Jade stared into Dillon's unwavering hazel eyes. "I want something so badly that I taste it at night in my sleep. You can help me get it, but it has nothing to do with sex. Knowing that, are you still interested in hearing my proposition?"

His eyes remained on Jade even when he leaned back to give the waitress room to serve their pie and fresh coffees. Picking up his dessert fork, he said, "You've got from now until I finish my pie to interest me."

"Your allegations were right. Matthias was using substandard materials and bribing a city inspector to approve them. "

"Son of a bitch," he whispered beneath his breath. "I knew it! I saw things I couldn't believe were getting past, but with every inspection, Matthias got the city's stamp of approval. "

"He was charging his client the price of quality materials and skimming off the difference."

"I don't give a shit about the money. The goddamn building could have fallen down, especially if there was a quake. How'd you find out?"

"Through his secretary. She had a lot to say about him when I told her he had flirted with me during our luncheon meeting. "

"Oh, great," he muttered. "That puts me in a league with Matthias."

"Hardly, Mr. Burke."

"So who are you, an investigator? Did you do all this so I would testify against Matthias in court?"

"No. I'm no longer interested in what happens to Matthias. I made photocopies of his purchase orders and other incriminating documents, then called him on his cellular phone. I threatened to take my findings to the D.A. unless he declined to press charges against you."

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"You didn't have to personally escort me out of jail." "Yes, I did."

"Why?" "Because I'm about to offer you the job I had intended for Matthias. You're finished with your pie. Shall I keep talking?"

He didn't verbally encourage her to continue, but he scooted aside the empty dessert plate and picked up his coffee cup.

After allowing herself a smile, Jade told him who she represented. He was only vaguely familiar with GSS. "For almost thirteen months, our legal department has been quietly acquiring property in Palmetto, South Carolina. We're going to build a plant there."

"What kind of plant?"

"Textile. But in addition to the cloth being woven there, we'll manufacture moderately priced clothing. The economic climate in that area of the state is poor. Until the last decade or so, the developers of resorts along the coast discouraged industrial development.

"Because of the pollutants."

"Exactly. But after the formation of a pollution-control board, that's no longer an issue. The lobbyists have lost their muscle. The State Development Board wholeheartedly approves us because GSS is dedicated to protecting the environment. "

"I'll bet they're also ctedicated to making a buck," he said cynically.

"For everybody. We're bringing in some management and middle management, but the plant will employ hundreds of local people in as many specialized jobs. It will completely change the complexion of the economy."

"I've never heard of Palmetto."

"It's located near the coastline between Savannah and Charleston. The population of the town proper is just over ten thousand, but thpasands more live in a tri-county area. The entire region will benefit when GSS moves in." "What role do you play?"

"I'm the project supervisor."

He  arched one of his eyebrows. "You're the head honchoT

I in a manner of speaking."

"And you came all the way to Southern California to hire construction workers?" he asked skeptically.