Part 8 (1/2)

Problem was, the sleazy James Heck was her only compet.i.tion. And Heck already nursed a grudge that sheAEd stolen one of his clients. Amber leaned back in her chair and eyed the silent phone. Not even a message on her voice mail. Time had come to consider a new specialty, perhaps even go back to school. She sighed. She hadnAEt had the money for university before, sheAEd never raise it now with another business going under.

Beyond her office windows, the sun broke through the clouds, scattering bars of sunlight across the gray carpet. Where had this ugly mood come from? She had GraysonAEs kind offer of contract work. SheAEd make the rent this month. And the next would be better.

Nothing to do in the office and a long walk would clear her head. Amber glanced at the clock on her desk. Four p.m. SheAEd walk over to Barlow & Charles, where sheAEd left her car parked. The exercise would do her good. Grabbing her purse and coat, she locked up the offices of Fair Game and strolled lightly off down the hallway.

Amber jumped in surprise, finding someone in the customarily empty waiting room of Barlow & Charles.

oOh, excuse me.o oAmber?o She blinked, taking a second, much longer look at the man sitting on the beige couch. HeAEd found a better barber since sheAEd seen him last, and a better tailor, but there was no mistaking the profile of James Heck. In the flesh. And minus his horn-rimmed gla.s.ses. Think of the Devil and he appears. oJames, what are you doing here?o He shrugged. oDoing some work for Barlow. You?o oDoing some work for Charles,o she snapped without meaning to.

His eyes drifted the length of her body. oYou look great, Amber.o oThanks, James. You look ... better. Business must be good.o oCanAEt complain. You?o oCanAEt complain,o she repeated, nonchalantly. On the seat beside him was a bouquet of flowers and a card. Could it be that even a worm like James Heck had found love? That might explain the new suit and the much improved haircut.

Behind the closed door of BarlowAEs office, she heard the murmur of voices. Grayson and Barlow. They didnAEt sound angry with each other. Perhaps Grayson had been right. Maybe she was paranoid.

James got to his feet. Glancing at his watch, he paced slowly across the confines of the waiting room. oSay, Amber--o She turned, hoping he wouldnAEt come any closer. And then he froze, blinking furiously.

oI think IAEve lost my contact lens.o Contacts! He really must be in love.

oWhere?o Amber set her purse down. Tucking her skirt under her knees, she bent to scrutinize the carpet.

oI donAEt know. It couldnAEt have fallen too far away.o He knelt on the floor beside her, much closer than she ever wanted to get to James Heck. oThere!o He pointed to a spot behind the desk, Amber reached to test the spot of carpet he indicated. oCan you feel it? ItAEs extended wear. Feels like of like plastic wrap, only wet.o oMust have been the light,o she said tersely. oThereAEs nothing here except fluff.o oYou sure?o He put his hand on her shoulder, peering at the piece of carpet before her. Amber suppressed the urge to shudder.

oPositive--o The door to BarlowAEs office sprang open. As one, Amber and Heck jumped up from behind the desk. His hand, she noted, still rested on her back. It didnAEt feel like GraysonAEs hand, she reflected, not warm and wholesome. More like embracing a snake. Amber moved to shrug off his arm.

Instead, to her horror, HeckAEs face loomed suddenly before her. Amber shrank back, but the desk blocked her escape. Heck planted a cold, very wet kiss dead-center on her lips.

oThanks for the other day, Babe,o he said loudly.

Thrusting the bouquet of flowers into her arms, he disappeared with a grin through the door.

oYuck!o Amber let the carnations fall to the desktop. Wiping her hand reflexively across her mouth, she realized sheAEd just smeared lipstick across half her face. She looked up, meeting GraysonAEs dark gaze. The fury in his eyes was hot enough to burn through her and into the wall behind.

oYou want to tell me what that was all about?o oYou tell me.o She spat the taste of James from her mouth. oHe said he was working for Barlow.o Grayson turned his acid gaze on his partner. But the gray-haired Barlow only shrugged. oI know nothing about this. He certainly wasnAEt working for me.o Losing interest in their squabble, he turned back into his office and closed the door.

oArenAEt you going to open the card?o It was easier to focus her attention on the card, than GraysonAEs face. Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she slid her nail through the seal on the envelope. The card inside showed a piano keyboard sporting a blood-red rose. With a sick feeling, Amber flipped it open. Written in crimson ink were the words, oThanks Sweetheart, you were wonderful.o oGrayson, itAEs obvious somethingAEs--o oItAEs obvious we have nothing further to discuss,o Grayson said. He leveled a look full of dark pain at her, then whirled and strode down the hall to his office. The door slammed firmly shut behind him.

Chapter NINE.

oShe dumped you?o Grayson held the door open for Roger to walk through. He couldnAEt believe his brother had driven so far late at night. Roger hated the country.

oCindy dumped me. WeAEre finished, kaput.o He stopped just past the threshold and turned to look at Grayson who still held the door open in stunned silence. oDonAEt look so shocked. It was bound to happen once.o oIt was?o Grayson shook himself from his own thoughts. A very different Roger stood in his entrance way. He didnAEt know what had changed, but burning curiosity demanded he find out. oSorry, I had a bad day, myself.o For a moment he thought Roger would ask why, and then they could have brandy and commiserate jointly about the dangers of love and the mystifying creature known as woman. But Roger didnAEt ask, merely made his way uninvited to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a brandy, raising an empty snifter in question for Grayson.

Well, at least weAEll do the brandy thing, together. So much for male bonding. After the confusing events with Amber, he craved the straight!forward, hereAEs the goods, way that men talked to each other. The circuits of his brain practically smoked trying to unravel the intricacies of their relations.h.i.+p, trying to figure out where heAEd gone wrong, what vital clues heAEd overlooked. Like the fact that Amber was involved with another. So why did she want him so badly? And she did want him. l.u.s.t fell within the male domain. Physical desire he understood. She wanted him, no doubt about that. Or had she just wanted revenge?

Roger pressed the snifter into his hand. Grayson blinked, realizing Roger had been standing there for a few moments, while he stared gla.s.sy eyed into the fire.

oDonAEt you have anything to say?o oWell, this is a first,o Grayson blurted flabbergasted, then winced. That wasnAEt what heAEd meant to say at all.

oThanks a bunch Big Brother. I figured you might have some advice, some condolences for me.o Not the time to burden Roger with his own problems. oIAEm really sorry, Roger. oI--o Just broke up with Amber. No, he couldnAEt say that. Involved in the events of his own life, Roger couldnAEt have known heAEd gone to AmberAEs apartment Sat.u.r.day night and that theyAEd spent the past few days so caught up in each other, he hadnAEt had a thought to spare for his brother. Roger didnAEt know that the romance he thought was off, had in fact been just as suddenly on and then off again, while heAEd been none the wiser.

But Roger, in true Roger form, just grunted his acceptance of GraysonAEs condolences, certain his brotherAEs support would be forthcoming. oWhat should I do now?o oSurely, youAEre not asking me for advice in love!o The world just t.i.tled on its axis, Grayson thought. Nothing was quite as it had been. Nor as heAEd thought it was.

oYou donAEt have to sound so happy about it,o Roger snapped.

oIAEm not happy,o Grayson said earnestly, hoping his nose wouldnAEt grow. His brotherAEs misfortune saddened him. But misery loved company. Finally, something they could share. Except that in order to share in RogerAEs suffering, heAEd have to own up to the rest of it. AmberAEs betrayal cut so deeply, he couldnAEt even share the pain with his twin.

Roger flung himself down onto the couch opposite Grayson, his long legs stretching under the coffee table and well into GraysonAEs s.p.a.ce. Acting out of old habit, Grayson kicked his feet aside. Roger didnAEt seem to notice. He took a large swig of brandy and swallowed hard.

oShe said I was shallow, immature. You donAEt think sheAEs right, do you, Gray?o oRight about what? That youAEre immature?o Why was he having such a hard time keeping his mind on the conversation?

oNo, shallow,o Roger said, obviously annoyed that GraysonAEs thoughts kept wandering away from his emergency. oPay attention, Big Brother. IAEm spilling my guts here, just in case you hadnAEt noticed.o No safe answer to that question, Grayson thought. Did he think Roger was shallow, immature? Of course he did. And the answer was undeniably yes to most of the other crimes Roger had been accused of. But Roger was also his brother. Deep beneath the crusty exterior was a good heart. He might be the only person in the world who recognized that.

oI donAEt think you view love with the same importance as most of the women you date do,o he said carefully.

oSo, IAEm a cad. You might as well come out and say it.o oI didnAEt say that.o An argument with Roger was the last thing he needed tonight.

oItAEs the truth.o Roger swallowed the last of his brandy and rose to pour another. He reached for his brotherAEs gla.s.s, but Grayson shook his head. A hangover wouldnAEt improve the situation. It looked like Roger would be sleeping on his couch.

oIAEve really done it this time, havenAEt I?o Grayson grunted in the affirmative. The silence that followed was so uncharacteristic of Roger that he stared at his brother in dismay.

ShoulderAEs slumped, Roger still wore his black leather trench coat, even though heAEd been sitting on the couch for more than fifteen minutes. Hunched over his brandy, he stared into its amber depths, as if he liquid contained the hidden solution to his problems. oWhat should I do now, Gray?o Grayson wanted to grab Roger by the shoulders and shake him. How dare Roger march into his house and demand sympathy when Grayson intended on spending the evening wallowing in his own misery? But Roger looked so completely helpless, so strangely sincere for once. CindyAEs rejection shook him to the core. He could tell that much. And if Grayson didnAEt offer him any words of wisdom, not that he had any to spare, likely no one would. And Roger would go on being, well ... Roger.

oFigure out what youAEre doing wrong,o Grayson said tiredly. oAsk Cindy for another chance. If that doesnAEt work, start fresh with someone else whoAEll appreciate the new and improved you.o RogerAEs head came up. Sudden comprehension flickered in his dark eyes. He swirled the brandy in his gla.s.s and glanced shrewdly at Grayson. oWhy do I get the feeling it isnAEt Cindy and me weAEre discussing.o oOh, no you donAEt,o Grayson said. So much for philanthropy.

oI get the feeling thereAEs another woman entirely in this equation.o oThereAEs nothing left between Amber and me.o It felt strangely good to say it, to stomp on those lingering hopes. If only it didnAEt hurt so much.

oNo, I took care of that, didnAEt I? This time,o Roger said, softly oIAEve managed to mess up my relations.h.i.+p and yours! I ought to get a medal for stupidity.o oDonAEt worry about it, Little Brother. I messed it up myself quite nicely.o Deciding another brandy wouldnAEt be such a bad idea after all, Grayson reached for the bottle Roger had brought back to the coffee table with him. Moisture made a circle beneath the bottle, but he didnAEt bother himself to rummage for a coaster. Confession burned on the tip of his tongue. He couldnAEt leave Roger to think heAEd been responsible for the catastrophe between Amber and himself. oThe other person in the equation is a man, not a woman.o oAmberAEs seeing someone else!o Oh right, Roger, take a blunt instrument to my pain. Why did his brother have to be so dense? oAnother PI. A greasy wimp of a guy. Not what youAEd expect.o oThereAEs got to be a mistake. She wouldnAEt fall for that kind of guy.o A mistake all right. The mistake was opening my mouth. My worst mistake was trusting another woman after ... oHow would you know?o oSheAEs not the type.o oYeah, well thatAEs what I thought. Apparently, weAEre both wrong.o Roger set his snifter down on the coffee table and leaned forward. oI know you think IAEm a total washout when it comes to relations.h.i.+ps, but really, Grayson, somethingAEs not right here.o oWhatAEs not right is the small detail that sheAEs seeing someone else. Though why she didnAEt tell me that before wea.o He stopped suddenly. He didnAEt need any of RogerAEs salt in that wound.

His brother refused to listen to his protests. oI admit, IAEm not the best judge of character, but a woman with convictions as strong as Amber ShawAEs ... well, it just doesnAEt figure.o oHe brought her flowers. And a card that said, aeThanks, Babe, you were wonderful!AEo Acid churned in GraysonAEs stomach at the thought.

oThat could mean anything,o Roger insisted.

oShe admitted she knew him.o oSo she knows him. It doesnAEt mean she knows him in the Biblical sense.o oThatAEs not funny, Roger.o oAnd youAEve completely lost your sense of humor, Grayson.o oShe tried to tell me he was working for Barlow, can you believe it?o oMaybe sheAEs right.o oSure. And IAEm a complete fool.o oThink about it Gray. DidnAEt you say yourself not a couple of weeks ago that Barlow had been acting strange? Even for Barlow?o He leaned back into the cus.h.i.+ons. c.o.c.king his head to one side, he surveyed his brother and asked, oWhy are you so dead against suspecting Barlow instead of Amber?o Just when he thought a little sympathy might be forthcoming, Roger did an about face. oSince when are you her champion?o Grayson said, annoyed.

oSince you became blind,o Roger shot back.

oEnough!o Grayson set the snifter down on the coffee table with more force than he intended. Golden liquid sloshed against the sides. The crystal rang out a loud ping. Luckily it didnAEt shatter. oLook--o He wrapped the last shreds of his composure around his rapidly escaping temper. oI know losing Cindy really shook up your world, but this is simply too paranoid. YouAEre starting to sound like Amber.o oMaybe AmberAEs right,o Roger repeated and stubbornly set his jaw.

That was too scary to contemplate. Too frightening to admit that the man his father trusted, the man heAEd trusted enough to build a career with, might not be the man he thought he was. Too scary to forge ahead into uncharted territory with Amber after really getting burned last time. But Grayson didnAEt voice any of his thoughts. Roger already knew. Roger always did.

oNever mind my problems.o He deflected the conversation away from his brotherAEs prying mind. Roger came asking for advice. It was his failures in love they ought to be discussing. oWhat are you planning to do about Cindy?o Roger let his eyelids drift closed, making himself comfortable, as if the offer to stay the night had already been extended. His brotherAEs hospitality was a given. Roger believed in Grayson without question.

Why canAEt I believe in myself?

oIAEm going to call Sandy,o Roger said sleepily.