Destiny Unleashed (13 page)

For some reason, his words made her pulse skip a beat. Or perhaps it was the heat in his eyes that caused her heart to race and her skin to flush. She hadn’t felt this way in years and never with any other man. She wondered if William had guessed that and intended to capitalize on it, not for pleasure, but for business.

As soon as the thought occurred to her, her anticipation dimmed. She reminded herself sharply that she was here in search of a potential backstabber, not to recapture a lost passion, especially not with a man whose own motives might not be beyond reproach.

William was right…again, dammit. She wasn’t ready to hear whatever he’d been about to say. There were too many unanswered questions yet to be resolved.

Suddenly she wanted to get them answered and over with quickly, so she could move on. Whether that meant moving toward something—or someone—or running away was yet to be determined.

William was struck by the fact that Destiny had gone quiet on him. Usually she wasn’t one to sit silent for long, but she was definitely brooding about something now.

“Are you worrying about Chester’s reaction to finding us chasing after him?” he asked.

She looked startled by the question. “I don’t give two figs whether he’s furious or not. If he’s innocent, he’ll be as indignant as we are about what’s gone on and ready to join in the hunt for the guilty party. If he’s the guilty one, he won’t be able to hide it.”

“Then if it’s not Chester on your mind, what has you looking so glum?”

She shrugged, idly pushing the last of her food around on the plate. She was barely aware of the pub’s music or the lively chatter around them.

“Destiny, if something’s bothering you, especially if it has to do with me, then by all means get it out in the open. Let’s deal with it.”

“I’m thinking what a muddle we made of things years ago,” she admitted at last.

William laughed. “Yes, we did. I think we should chalk it up to being young and foolish and start over.”

She regarded him incredulously. “Just like that?”

“Is there any reason we shouldn’t?”

“Dozens,” she said at once. “Possibly more.”

“Name one.”

“You’ve tried to destroy my family’s business,” she said at once.

He frowned at that. “I thought we’d established that I had my reasons,” he chided. “And, moreover, that I hadn’t done a very good job of it, anyway.”

She waved off the explanation. “I doubt that will wash with Richard. An attack is an attack. He’s furious enough that I’m even speaking to you. Anything more would bring him charging over here to save the day. I won’t do anything deliberately to upset my family.”

“Would it help if I swore that the competition, such as it was, is over?”

“Your credibility is a little low right now.”

“With you or your nephew?”

“Both of us, I suppose, especially with this Fortnum Travel deal in the works. I’m as determined as you to have it.”

William nodded. “So noted. As long as nothing
sneaky or underhanded is involved in the outcome, we should be able to live with whatever happens.”

“Why can’t you simply drop it?” she asked.

“Because I made a promise,” he said.

“To whom?”

“David Fortnum.”

She stared at him with obvious shock. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am. He wants a merger with Harcourt & Sons, not a hostile takeover by an American company.”

“I don’t believe you. This is just another of your annoying moves to challenge us.”

“I swear to you that it’s not. I would be doing the same thing if any other company were involved.”

“Ha!”

Her blatant disbelief irked him. He gave her a piercing look. “Look into my eyes and tell me that you don’t trust me on this,” he said.

She lifted her gaze and met his. “I don’t trust you,” she said flatly. “Not entirely, anyway.”

Her last comment offered a small spark of hope, but William’s spirits sank, anyway. Perhaps he’d gone a bit too far in his zeal to snag her attention. He hadn’t thought it through to the end, hadn’t considered how he was going to convince her he wasn’t out to steal her company’s business after working so hard to convince her of precisely the opposite. Walking away from the Fortnum Travel situation would do it, but that was impossible.

“Don’t spend too much time worrying about me being a threat to Carlton Industries,” he said eventu
ally. “There’s someone else who’s a far more serious threat.”

“You’re talking about Chester,” she said at once.

“Possibly. We don’t know that for sure yet. Frankly, I still have my doubts.”

“Who else could it be?” she demanded. “He has the most obvious motive.”

William thought for a moment before responding. “Sometimes it’s the person who appears to have the least motive,” he said slowly. “He tends to get overlooked and can get away with far more damage before he’s discovered.”

She seemed startled by his observation. Obviously, it wasn’t something she’d considered.

“Do you think we’re wasting our time here?” she asked.

“I didn’t say that. I merely said it’s important to keep an open mind. Why not try to call Chester again? You’ll sleep easier if you’ve spoken to him tonight and at least arranged a meeting.”

She handed him the list of numbers as she retrieved her cell phone. “Read me the number for his cell phone,” she said. “It’ll save me digging around for my reading glasses. They’re forever getting lost in the depths of my purse.”

“Reading glasses?” he echoed, amused. “You haven’t used them all day.”

She scowled at him. “I was being vain, dammit. And now my eyes are tired. Just stop chuckling and read the number.”

“Happy to,” he said at once, and reeled it off. Still scowling at him, she punched in the number rather
forcefully, then waited. Suddenly her expression brightened.

“Chester, is that you? I’ve been trying to reach you all day.”

Whatever Chester said in response must have included a lengthy explanation, because Destiny stayed silent, nodding from time to time.

“Yes, well, I’m sure you had a wonderful time, but I need to see you,” she said at last. “No, not in London. I’m here in Devon. It’s rather urgent, you see. It couldn’t wait for you to get back.”

William watched as her expression transformed into a look he’d never seen before. There was a glint of steely determination in her eyes.

“Yes, tonight,” she said flatly. “Tell me where you are or you can come to me.”

William jotted down the name of the inn where he’d made reservations for them and passed it to her.

“The Devonshire Arms,” she told Chester. “In an hour. We’ll meet in the lobby.”

She hung up slowly. “He’s in a state,” she told William.

“What do you mean?”

“I could hear the panic in his voice. I don’t like it. What if he runs?”

“Then you’ll know he’s both a traitor and a coward,” William told her. “If he’s any kind of a man, if there’s a shred of loyalty to you or Carlton Industries left in him, he’ll be at the hotel in an hour.”

“Then I suppose we should be getting there, as well,” she said, a bit more color rising in her cheeks.

“Destiny, you’re up to this,” William said. “I know you think you’re not—”

“I’ve never had to confront someone about betraying me before,” she said, her expression glum. “I don’t want to get it wrong. We need answers, not defensive evasions.”

William tucked a finger under her chin and waited until she met his gaze. “You had no qualms dealing with me, did you?”

“That was different.”

“How? Because you knew me? If anything, I would think that would have made it all the harder to accuse me of betraying you. Yet you didn’t hesitate.”

She nodded slowly, her expression brightening. “Of course you’re right. I can do this. I’m very good at reading people.” She gave him a wry look. “Most of the time, anyway.”

“Always, I suspect. It’s just that sometimes you don’t want to deal with what you’re finding.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “Meaning?”

“That you don’t really want to believe that Chester is a traitor, so it may take you a bit to accept it, even if the evidence is plain as day.” He grinned. “And you’re not ready to believe you can trust me, even though that evidence is as plain as day as well.”

“Maybe it’s plain to you,” she said tartly. “But you’re correct. As far as I’m concerned, the jury is definitely still out.”

“Maybe we should stick to Chester for the moment,” William suggested.

Destiny laughed. “Probably best,” she agreed. “At least from your point of view.”

“Best all around,” he said. “You can’t afford to be distracted going into a meeting as important as this one.” He gave her a deliberately long, lingering look
that brought some color into her cheeks. “Too bad, too, because right this second I would love to kiss you.”

She swallowed hard, and it took a long time for her to tear her gaze away. That told William all he needed to know and then some. Destiny might not entirely trust him, but the attraction simmering between them was about to reach a boiling point.

D
estiny chose a comfortable wing chair in a secluded corner of the hotel lobby and waited for Chester to appear. Then she braced herself for an explosion when she told William she intended to handle this entirely on her own, that it was a company matter.

“It’s not a company matter,” he retorted indignantly. “I was in that picture with you. I should be here. Besides, there’s no telling what Sandhurst might do if he’s cornered. You said he sounded panicked on the phone and that’s even before knowing what you want to see him about.”

“If he’s guilty, he knows precisely why I want to see him. Besides, he’s not going to murder me in cold blood in the hotel lobby,” Destiny responded. “I’ll be safe enough.” She looked into his turbulent eyes. “I need to do this, William, on my own. It’s my first real test at the helm and I need to prove I’m up to it. I’ve flung myself into what appears to be a shark tank. I need to see if I can swim.”

He regarded her with a troubled expression, but Destiny refused to back down.

“Fine,” he relented at last, “but I’ll be in the bar. If you need me, all you’ll have to do is call out.”

“Thank you,” she said, unable to deny him that. Besides, much as she hated to admit it, it was reas
suring to know that he was within earshot if something should go dreadfully awry. At this late hour, there were few people in the lobby who could rush in to help her.

William had been gone only a few moments when she looked up and spotted Chester striding across the lobby, his expression harried, his tie askew, his shirt buttoned so hastily, it was misaligned. It was that as much as anything that gave away his distress. In the few weeks she’d known him, he’d always been impeccably turned out for every occasion.

“Destiny, what on earth is this all about?” he asked, looking as though he might bolt at the first sign that he was under siege. “You’re carrying on as if there’s been some sort of calamity. Surely there’s nothing that couldn’t have waited until I get back next week.”

She bristled at the attempt to characterize her as some sort of hysterical female. “It might not be a calamity, but it’s close enough,” she said, barely managing to stay calm. “Sit down, Chester. I need your input on something that’s come up.”

“And it couldn’t have been discussed on the phone?”

“No, I needed you to see this.” She slowly pulled the newspaper from her purse. “And to see your reaction to it.”

She handed the paper to him, then watched closely as he opened it and saw the incriminating photograph, then finally sat down as if his knees had given way.

“Blast and hell, what is this?” he demanded with suitable indignation. “How did it happen? Who took it?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” she said mildly.

He blinked in confusion, but as understanding dawned, his complexion turned ruddy. “You honestly think I had something to do with this?” he demanded heatedly. “Do you truly think so little of me?”

“I think you might be able to point me in the right direction,” she corrected him mildly. It was a very tiny distinction, but to an innocent man it would be an important one.

His gaze narrowed. “Then you’re not actually accusing me?” he asked.

“I know you don’t believe I have what it takes to run this division,” Destiny told him. “You have to admit that something like this would bolster your opinion, especially if it’s seen by the right people.”

“Meaning Richard, I suppose,” he said, his expression grim. “Someone sent this to him? You think I’m devious enough to try to discredit you in such a way?”

“Someone is. Richard received it first thing this morning,” she confirmed. “Needless to say, he’s not very happy with me at the moment.”

“I imagine so,” Chester said, then regarded her earnestly. “But I wasn’t behind it. Not the picture and not sending it to your nephew. I could never do such a sleazy, traitorous thing.”

“Oh?”

“It has the potential to hurt not just you, but the company,” he explained. “I’ve spent my entire career with Carlton Industries in one capacity or another. I won’t betray it.”

“Even if you feel it’s betrayed you?”

He seemed startled by the question. “Because Richard sent you over here?”

Destiny nodded. “It was a slap in your face. Not that it was meant to be, but it would be understandable if you felt that way.”

Chester stayed silent for several minutes. “If I’m to be totally honest, yes. I wasn’t happy about this turn of events, but I’m a realist, Destiny. I can’t deny that the company needed someone else to take charge. We’re not growing the way we should be. In some measure that’s due to Harcourt, of course, but some of it was my own tendency toward caution. I never liked putting other people’s money at risk, which is what Harcourt was forcing us to do with his shenanigans. Richard convinced me that you were a person of great vision and that we would complement each other. You said much the same thing yourself.”

“And I meant it,” Destiny assured him.

“It’s only been a few weeks since your arrival, but I’ve come to believe that as well,” he said. “If I hadn’t hoped it would work out, I would have quit, not done something like this to get even. I’ve had other offers through the years, some quite recently, in fact. I could have taken any one of them. So you see, I have no reason to plant some ugly little photograph in a tabloid.”

To her surprise, Destiny believed him. She wasn’t sure why it was so easy to trust Chester and so difficult to trust William, but there it was. She believed everything Chester was saying.

“Any idea who might have been behind it?” she asked. “Someone inside the company?”

“Or Harcourt himself,” Chester suggested.

“Trust me, I’ve been over that ground,” Destiny assured him. “It wasn’t William.”

“How can you be so sure?”

She thought of William’s determination to get her to London and his desire to keep her there. Whatever else might be in doubt, she didn’t question his sincerity about that. It was, however, not an explanation she cared to share with Chester. He might view it as yet more evidence of her own divided loyalties.

“Instinct, I suppose,” she said eventually. “I know that must not be a very satisfactory answer to someone who prefers facts and figures, but it’s the best I can do. I’ve known him a very long time, and I believe I know what he is and isn’t capable of doing.”

Chester nodded slowly. “Then for now, we’ll work on the assumption that your instinct is to be trusted. I’ll come back to London first thing in the morning and we’ll do some digging inside Carlton Industries.”

Destiny viewed him with surprise. “Is there someone you suspect?”

“Several people were hoping to move up if Richard fired me,” he admitted. “None of them were overjoyed to hear not only that I was staying, but that you were taking charge in a newly created position above me. So, yes, there are resentments.” He patted her hand. “Don’t worry, though. We’ll narrow the field of possibilities down together. I think we can make quick work of it, in fact.”

To Destiny’s amazement, he sounded downright eager to get started. In fact, he sounded more energized than he had at any time since she’d arrived.

“You’re going to enjoy this hunt, aren’t you?” she asked, not even trying to disguise her surprise.

He looked vaguely chagrined at having been caught taking pleasure from a task born out of someone’s act of betrayal. “A very long time ago, I toyed with the notion of becoming a detective and trying to root out those engaged in corporate espionage. This will be a bit like that, don’t you think?”

“A bit,” she said, laughing. “If there’s one thing we both seem to be learning these days, it’s that it is never too late to go after an old dream.”

He gave her a worried look. “As long as that dream doesn’t include Harcourt,” he said. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Destiny said. “Leave William to me, Chester. You find whoever’s out to get me and the company.”

“I’m not convinced it’s not one and the same,” he said, suddenly dire again.

“Keep an open mind, Chester, or you’ll be defeated before you get started.”

“You do the same,” he advised. “I hate to think of the consequences if you’ve gotten it all wrong about Harcourt.”

Destiny sighed heavily. “So do I,” she murmured. “Given the stakes, so do I.”

“Thanks for leaping to my defense,” William said, startling Destiny when he appeared at her side within seconds of Chester’s departure.

“Is that what you heard me doing?” she asked irritably. “I thought I was merely leaving room for doubt.”

“I prefer to take a more optimistic view of your words,” he countered. “Now, shall we have a drink
and toast the success of your first confrontation with the old Carlton management?”

“It wasn’t a success. I still don’t know who was behind that photograph.”

“But you do know one person who wasn’t behind it, and it seems you’ve found a real ally in the process.”

She regarded William with surprise. “You felt that, too?”

He nodded. “Yes. I think Chester’s exactly what he claims to be, a man who’s a pragmatist, loyal to a fault and not quick to retaliate for hurt feelings.”

“That was my impression precisely,” Destiny admitted.

William’s expression turned oddly nostalgic. “Remember how we used to do this after every gathering we had in Provence? We’d stay up late, after everyone else had left or gone to bed, and compare notes. We always agreed, always had the same impressions of the newcomers.”

Destiny smiled at the memory. “So we did.” Sometimes those quiet, late-night postmortems on the parties had been the best part. They’d shared gossip they’d picked up, laughed at the often drunken foibles of some of their guests, and a time or two commented on the vibes they’d gotten about a marriage in trouble or an affair about to begin.

She glanced at him. “Have you ever been back?”

He shook his head, his expression sad. “Not since I closed up the house for you. Have you?”

“Never.”

“Why? Somehow I envisioned you taking your nephews there for summer vacations. I almost went in
August one year in hopes of running into you by chance.”

“I never took them,” she told him.

“Not even once?”

“Never.”

“But why? You loved it so.”

“I suppose I was afraid they’d see how sad it made me and blame themselves.”

William smiled. “Boys are rarely as intuitive as that.”

“You’re right, of course. But there was another reason,” she admitted.

“Oh?”

“I didn’t want to be there without you. I think that would have been the most painful thing of all. Even though I’d lived there on my own before we met, once you became a part of it, it would never have been the same. I would have felt your presence in every room, seen you every place I turned in town. I’ve actually thought of selling it in recent years just to avoid all those haunting memories.”

“But you haven’t?” he asked.

She gave him a rueful look. “No. I couldn’t bring myself to do that, either. I’ve paid for the upkeep on the house and for the gallery. It seemed important to me to know they’d be ready if I ever chose to go back.”

“Perhaps we can go back together one day,” he said. “I’d like that.”

Destiny hesitated, conditioned not to bare her soul, but at last she took the risk. “I’d like that, too,” she said softly. “Someday.”

Back in London, William considered the trip from every angle and pronounced it a success. Destiny’s attitude was softening, no question about it. And she now had an ally within Carlton to help in the hunt for whoever was intent on betraying her. He wanted her to succeed at that, to discover for herself that he was in no way involved. Perhaps then she could make the final leap of faith toward trusting him enough to let him back into her life in the intimate way he wanted.

Of course, he could not ignore the power of Richard Carlton’s objections, which would only become more strenuous once William succeeded in taking over Fortnum Travel as he intended to do. Destiny, he suspected would not be able to overlook those objections, even as she resented her nephew’s interference. William couldn’t help wondering if it wasn’t time he made some sort of overture in that direction.

He was still pondering that when Malcolm knocked on his door and came in, his expression glum.

“Not another photograph?” William asked.

“No, sir, nothing like that. But I met with my source inside Carlton Industries last night. There are some rumors about a more aggressive campaign to compete with us.”

William scowled. “Good grief, man. We’re no competition for them. It would be a waste of their time to bother with any more of our enterprises.”

“They’ve been making inquiries about haberdasheries for sale,” Malcolm said. “Why else would they do that, if not to challenge Harcourt & Sons?”

“Let them,” William said. “A little healthy competition never hurt anyone.”

Malcolm looked scandalized. “But, sir, you can’t
just give them the field and let them run all over it. Their resources are far greater than ours. They’ll bury us.”