A Guilty Affair (6 page)

That's an understatement
, Noah thought darkly, remembering the veiled look of triumph in Riley's eyes as she'd accepted the job offer. He knew there was only one reason she wanted to work at Roarke Investigations, and it had nothing whatsoever to do with her interest in becoming a private detective. She planned to work him, wear down his defenses until he finally agreed to help her with her mission.

But she was soon to discover just how difficult it would be to penetrate Noah's ironclad will. Five long, torturous years of hiding and suppressing his feelings for her had been his proving ground.

No matter what tactics she resorted to, he wouldn't give an inch.

Because he knew that once he surrendered his will to Riley Kane, it was only a matter of time before his heart followed.

W
hen
Riley reported to Roarke Investigations the next morning, she was more nervous than she'd been on her first day at the
Washington Post
, although there'd been far more pressure to perform well at that job than the one she was now embarking upon.

She'd dressed with extra care that morning, donning a simple white shirt with flared cuffs over a pencil-slim khaki skirt and wedge sandals—an outfit she'd settled on after changing three times. As she left the house and climbed into her car, she tried not to examine too closely the reasons—or
reason
—behind the vicious tangle of nerves knotting her stomach.

When she arrived at the office at eight o'clock sharp and learned that Noah was out on a surveillance assignment, she didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Fortunately, she didn't have much time to dwell on it as Janie got right down to business, giving her a quick tour of the facilities before ushering her into a small, windowless room that served as Daniela Thorne's office.

As Janie explained to her over coffee and a mountain of paperwork, Roarke Investigations was a full-service detective agency that specialized in missing person searches, civil and criminal investigations, child custody and abuse cases, spousal surveillance, and background checks for business and individual clients, to name just a few. Although their hourly rates were comparable to many of their local counterparts, what gave the Roarke brothers an edge over the competition was their reputation in the community and their combined law enforcement experience. Prior to launching the detective agency, both had worked for the SanAntonio Police Department—Kenneth in Internal Affairs, Noah in Homicide.

Riley spent the morning reviewing open case files to bring herself up to speed and to identify areas where additional research would be needed.

By the time she looked up again, three hours had flown by.

“Hey, do you want to break for lunch?” Janie asked, appearing in the doorway.

Riley paused in the middle of scribbling notes onto a legal pad. “Lunch?”

“Yeah, that thing you do around noontime. Involves putting food into your mouth and swallowing?” Janie chuckled. “We're not slave drivers, you know.” She paused. “Well, maybe just a teensy-weensy bit.”

Riley smiled, setting down her pen. “Food sounds good.”

“Cool. I ordered some pasta salad and sandwiches from Jason's Deli,” Janie said as they left the office. “I was going to take you out to lunch to celebrate your first day with us, but I got really swamped.”

“Oh, don't worry about it.”

“Maybe we can go on Friday, when things are a little slower. Let's eat in here,” she said, leading Riley into a small, windowless room dominated by a large conference table, where she'd already set up the food. “Kenneth left for an appointment, but Noah should be on his way back to the office. Do you want chicken, turkey or roast beef?”

“Chicken's fine.”

As the two women settled at the table to eat, Janie asked, “How's it going so far? Are you already regretting your decision to come work with us?”

Riley laughed. “Not at all. The cases you guys handle are pretty interesting. I'm learning a lot.”

“Glad to hear it. We're very happy to have you on board, Riley.”

“Thanks.” A wry smile tipped the corner of Riley's mouth. “I guess two out of three ain't bad.”

Janie grimaced. “I'm really sorry about Noah. I don't know why he behaved like that yesterday.”

“That's all right,” Riley murmured, spearing a black olive from her pasta salad. “I'm used to it by now.”

“Really? From Noah?”

Riley nodded, then, seeking to change the subject, said, “I hope Daniela won't mind that I'm using her office.”

“Of course not. Even if she were that territorial—which she's not—it wouldn't matter in this case. Daniela's always been very fond of you.”

A warm smile curved Riley's mouth. “I've always liked her, too. I can't wait to see her again and offer my congratulations on her marriage.”

“Just wait until you meet Caleb. Hot—that's all I'm going to say.”

Riley grinned. “But not as hot as your husband, of course.”

Janie's dark eyes twinkled with mischief. “Of course.” Sobering after a moment, she bit into her sandwich and slowly chewed.

Riley could see the wheels spinning in her mind, and wasn't surprised when Janie returned to the topic of her brother-in-law. “Noah's always been pretty easygoing. In fact, I used to tease Kenneth all the time by telling him I'd married the wrong brother, the uptight one. In contrast to Noah, Kenny can come across so serious at times—too serious.”

“I've never really seen the easygoing side of Noah,” Riley admitted, nibbling on her sandwich. “He's always seemed so intense to me.”

“Oh, he is, believe me. Especially when he's focused on a big case or something he's really passionate about. But he definitely knows how to relax and have a good time. And you should see how good he is with his niece and nephew. They adore him.”

Riley could believe it. She'd seen Noah work his magic on others, from the cops he'd once worked with to a waitress serving him at a restaurant. She knew he could be charming, compassionate, and generous to a fault—even if she'd never been on the receiving end of those traits.

“Give him time,” Janie said gently. “He'll come around.”

Riley had her doubts, but she wasn't going to let those doubts discourage her. Thanks to Janie, she'd been given the perfect excuse to see and interact with Noah five days a week for the next two months. She was convinced that if he only got to know her better, he'd realize she wasn't crazy or malicious for wanting to investigate Trevor's death. If she couldn't persuade him to help her…well, she refused to consider that possibility. Failure, as far as she was concerned, wasn't an option.

As she and Janie finished their meals and cleared the table, Noah returned to the office. Today, instead of a double-breasted suit, he wore a black T-shirt, black jeans, and black boots that made him look decidedly menacing as he sauntered down the hallway toward them, his eyes concealed behind mirrored sunglasses.

“Hey, sunshine,” Janie greeted him cheerfully. “I left your sandwich and drink on your desk.”

“Thanks.” He inclined his head briefly toward Riley. “Afternoon.”

“Hey Noah,” she chirped, striving to sound normal when butterflies were fluttering wildly in her stomach. Those damned nerves again. “How's it going?”

“It's going,” he murmured, disappearing into his office.

Riley followed Janie to the reception desk to pick up a form she'd requested earlier. “By the way, I have some follow-up questions about one of the cases I was reading about this morning—the Gallagher case. I looked through the file, but didn't see who it had been assigned to.”

“Talk to Noah,” Janie answered. “That's his client.”

Nodding, Riley went back to her office to retrieve the case file before going in search of Noah. He'd just hung up the phone when she appeared in the doorway of his office.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, motioning toward the untouched sandwich on his desk, “but do you have a minute? I wanted to ask you a few questions about the Gallagher case. Janie gave me the file to review—”

He sent her a bemused look. “You're not seriously planning to go through with this, are you?”

Riley pretended not to understand. “Go through with what?”

“Don't insult my intelligence, Riley,” he drawled. “You know very well what I'm talking about. This whole charade. You, working here at the agency just to get what you want out of me. It's not going to work.”

“I'm here to do a job. I should think you'd welcome the extra help.”

He studied her for a long moment, those dark, fathomless eyes narrowed on her face. “So that's how it's going to be,” he said softly, a hint of challenge in his voice. “That's how you want to play this.”

Her pulse thudded, but she didn't back down. “What can I say, Noah? If you have a problem with me being here, take it up with your partners.”

The gauntlet had been thrown. Their eyes locked in a moment of shared understanding, two adversaries squaring off on the dueling field.

Without releasing her gaze, Noah reached for his roast beef sandwich and took a bite, chewing slowly and thoughtfully. “Forget the Gallagher case. I want you to work on background checks.”

“But Janie said—”

“Forget what Janie said. She reports to me, not the other way around. In fact, from now on, you'll receive your assignments from me. Do you have a problem with that?”

Riley mustered a smile etched in steel. “Not at all.”

“Good. When you're finished with those background checks, I have a stack of public documents I want you to read through. Nothing exciting, but then, you're not here for the thrill of it,” he said mockingly. “You're here to help.”

“Of course,” Riley said easily. “Do you have the files for me?”

“Get them from Janie.” He reached for his phone, dismissing her.

As Riley left the office and headed toward the reception area, she had flashbacks of being a recent college graduate reporting to her first day of work at the
Houston Chronicle
. Her managing editor had been a chain-smoking, cantankerous old relic who believed women didn't belong in the newsroom, and from the very beginning he'd set out to make her life a living hell, much as Noah had decided to do. But Riley wouldn't be deterred. Just as she'd stood up to her tyrannical editor and proved him wrong about her competency as a journalist, she would also stand up to Noah.

The way she saw it, there was nothing Noah or anyone else could do to make her life any more miserable than the past three years had already been.

By Friday, Riley was having serious doubts about the truth of that assessment.

Noah was doing everything in his power to make her life miserable at Roarke Investigations, and unfortunately for her, as a senior partner and co-founder of the agency, he had a
lot
of power.

Every time she completed an assignment, he handed her another, larger pile of work. And she wasn't just confined to the office. Noah also sent her on a number of errands that included delivering documents to the courthouse and serving papers to defendants. Once he'd even asked her to drive a client to and from a doctor's appointment. Though she hadn't minded helping out the elderly gentleman, she couldn't understand how such a task fell under her job description.

“Maybe it doesn't,” Noah had agreed when she approached him about it. “But then again, seeing that we never got around to creating a job description for you, we really don't have anything to go by, do we?”

What could she say? He was right, of course. And judging by the satisfied gleam in his eyes, he knew it, too.

On Friday morning, Riley was in the supply closet stocking up on manila folders when she overheard a conversation between Kenneth and Noah out in the hallway.

“…told me she's doing a great job,” Kenneth was saying. “She said she's picked up things really fast and gotten a lot of stuff done.”

“She has,” Noah said, and Riley couldn't help feeling a twinge of pleasure at the admission. It was the closest she'd ever come to receiving a compliment from Noah, secondhand or otherwise.

“Why don't you let her sit in on one of your appointments, to get a better feel for how we investigate our cases?” Kenneth suggested.

“She's been here less than a week. What's the rush?”

“She's leaving at the end of August.”

“I know that,” Noah said impatiently. “Which is why I don't think it's necessary to invest so much time in training her.”

“I disagree,” Kenneth countered. “I think she'd really benefit from seeing firsthand how we interact with our clients.”

As their voices drew nearer, Riley realized they were heading into the supply closet, where she stood near the entrance with an armful of file folders, shamelessly eavesdropping on their conversation.

Thinking fast, she dropped the stack of folders on the floor and bent to pick them up just as Noah stepped into the room.

“I'm so clumsy,” she muttered, feigning embarrassment as he crouched down to help her. “They slipped right out of my hands.”

Noah slid her a look that told her he knew better but was too polite to call her out in front of his brother.

As he passed her the folders he'd retrieved, their fingers brushed, sending frissons of heat through her body. Her lips parted in surprise, and for one charged moment they gazed at each other.

It was Noah who glanced away first.

In unison they rose to their feet and quickly stepped apart, while Kenneth looked on with un-disguised interest.