A Murderous Game (3 page)

"We estimate a need for
roughly three hundred contract employees over the next two years," Gage
was saying. "Once the development is complete, ongoing staffing needs to
operate the various restaurants and shops, as well as a high-rise luxury hotel,
are upward of twenty-four hundred new jobs."

There was a round of applause. Gage
slipped his hands into his pockets, assuming a casual stance while he waited
for the clapping to stop.

"In addition to providing
jobs, River Place One has been designed as a living community. That means an
infusion of new residents for the city, which in turn means increased revenue
for local businesses."

"You paint a pretty picture,
but how does it help Philadelphia
when your contracts will go to out-of-state labor? And why should we believe
some Chicago
based company cares about the long-term impact on our city?"

Abby jerked to attention when she
heard the all too familiar voice. Locating the face in the crowd, she stared in
disbelief. What the hell was Dick doing at the press conference?

"Those are legitimate
concerns," Gage answered, looking unfazed by the taunts, "but Mayor
Phillips can verify GFI signed an agreement to award ninety percent of the work
to laborers from the Delaware
Valley. And although GFI
is headquartered in Chicago,
I was born and raised in South Philly. I still have family living there. So not
only do I understand the city and some of its needs, but since I've always
considered Philly home, I share your commitment to the area. In fact, GFI plans
to maintain ownership of River Place One after construction and manage the
property through a subsidiary leasing company." 

He turned away from Dick's
challenging expression. "We've invested heavily in this development. Its
profitability will have a direct impact on
GFI's
revenue, and most likely my future bonuses." Gage paused and smiled
broadly to the crowd. "So I can assure you I care about its long-term
success." 

Several people laughed. Gage nodded
to a short, balding man for another question, effectively cutting Dick off. To
her dismay, Abby could still see him on screen, and his narrowed stare sent a
chill down her spine. What was he up to?

As the press conference continued,
Gage seemed to win over the majority of people in attendance with his charm and
wit. Memories flooded her as she watched him play to the crowd. His hair was
still black as night, only shorter. She recalled how her knees went weak every
time she walked into his uncle's taffy shop and he'd be standing behind the
counter. She remembered the way her heart raced and seemed to trip over its own
beats whenever he smiled, just like now.

Someone must have made a funny
comment and Gage laughed. The camera zoomed in for a close-up. His eyes hadn't
changed, still the deep smoky grey rimmed by black she'd always thought were so
mysterious and romantic.

"We have time for one more
question," the mayor said, signaling the press conference was almost over.

Abby watched with apprehension as
Dick elbowed his way to stand in front of the platform. Gage pointed to a woman
reporter who had been waiving her notepad in the air. Before she could speak up
Dick called out, "What about allegations GFI gave kickbacks on contracts
last year?"

Abby gasped in horror. "What
the hell are you doing?" she shouted to the monitor and jerked her gaze
back to Gage to see his reaction. She would have been furious, but to her
amazement he didn't look the slightest bit ruffled.

She replayed the scene, listening
to Dick's words but keeping her eyes trained on Gage. She scanned back again.
He'd flinched. It was an almost imperceptible tightening of his shoulders. He
recovered so fast Abby doubted anyone without the advantage of instant replay would
have caught it, especially since the crowd's focus had shifted to Dick in that
moment.

Gage shook his head and chuckled.
"Sorry, I can't give you the juicy headline you're looking for. I
can
tell you GFI has never given kickbacks. I believe it's against the law,"
he joked, and then addressed the assemblage. "My associate just signaled
me we're out of time. Thank you all for coming. I look forward to talking to
you again as we move forward." As he turned from the microphone he waved,
gave another heart-stopping smile, and headed toward the side of the makeshift
stage.

"What about the probe by the
State's Attorney General's Office? Do you deny they're investigating you for
illegal business practices?" Abby's mouth dropped as Dick continued
spouting allegations.

Gage kept walking, as if he hadn't
heard the question. When he stepped off the platform, a tall blond man and an
attractive woman in a black pantsuit flanked his sides. He leaned toward the
man's ear. The guy glanced toward Dick and nodded.

A minute later Mayor Phillips
joined them and patted Gage on the back. He turned, spoke to the mayor, and
then the two of them strolled away, out of view of the camera which faded to a
scene of a lone jogger running along Penn's Landing.

Nothing good could come of Dick's
presence there. He'd never been able to accept defeat graciously, and Abby had
a horrible premonition he'd try to stir up more trouble. Maybe she should warn
Gage.

Yeah, right! Wouldn't that play out
great! She'd just call out of the blue.
Hi Gage, you probably don't remember
me.
Abby Sheridan, the gangly kid with the spiky hair?
You don't remember? You know—the stalker. So listen, about the guy who kept
harassing you at the press conference. That was my husband.

She dropped her head into her hands
and groaned. Maybe she was blowing things out of proportion. But how likely
would Gage be to trust positioning his company to the spouse of someone who had
accused him of corporate fraud?

It wouldn't matter that they were
separated. She already had one strike against her with her past. If Gage knew
Dick was her husband, it would kill any chance she had of getting
GFI's
account. She'd be wise to keep that damaging tidbit a
secret.

Gage leaned against the corner bar
in his office nursing a glass of
Balvenie
. He looked
out the large bank of windows that formed the back wall and framed incredible
views. In the distance, a tug boat chugged up the Delaware
River as the lights of the city began to flicker on and evening
descended in shades of pink and gray.

He turned at the sound of a knock
and hiked a brow when he saw Grace, his long-time secretary, standing in the
doorway.

"I thought you left
already."

"I wanted to finish those
proposals you gave me this afternoon, but I'm leaving now. Need anything before
I go?"

"No. Go home before Sam
wonders if we're having an affair."

Grace laughed, her blue eyes
twinkling. "Sam knows he doesn't have to worry about that, even with a
charmer like you."

Gage pushed away from the bar and
walked over to sit on the edge of his desk. "Thirty years with the same
woman." He blew out a low whistle. "I'm not sure whether to be
jealous or send Sam a sympathy card."

Grace put her hands on her hips and
narrowed her eyes.

He grinned. "You've known me
how long, and you're still not sure when I'm teasing? Go." He waved her
away. "And tell the lucky bastard I said hello."

"I will." Partway out the
door she turned back. "Why don't you call it a night, too? You look tired,
and you've still got two weeks worth of work scheduled into the rest of this
one."

"Yeah."
He reached up and pushed a hand through his hair, knowing she was right and
feeling it to his bones.

He never could have gotten this
office up and running without her. Not and stay on top of everything until
Brett could be brought up from Boca Raton to
handle things in Chicago
during the interim. Once things settled down he'd see about sending Grace and
Sam on an all expense paid vacation. Maybe a week in Hawaii, she always said she wanted to go
before one of them died or they were too old to enjoy it.

He could use some time off himself.
How could he slow down now though? With
Riv
One, as
they referred to the Philadelphia
project internally, about to take off, and rumors of fraud surfacing out of
nowhere. The demands on his time were getting worse, not better.

He swirled his glass to mix in the
ice that had begun to melt. If only he knew who was behind the rumors. Time
would vindicate him, he knew. But one thing he didn't have was excess time.

Damn
. Every time he thought
about that reporter spouting off about illegalities at the press conference it
pissed him off. How the hell had the bastard known about the inquiry when Legal
had only notified
him
they might have a problem two weeks ago?

Positioning
Riv
One would be more important than ever now. He intended it to be a showcase to
secure other waterfront deals. If successful, future earnings potential could
be in the billions. Hopefully, the firm he'd be meeting with Monday wouldn't be
another disappointment.

He'd been scenting trouble for
days. It made him uncomfortable, probably because his gut rarely steered him
wrong. Picking up the phone, he dialed Matt Silver, his Chief of Security, and
got a recording.

"Matt, it's Gage. We need to
cut out a chunk of time to review site security next week. Give Grace a call
and get on my calendar. I know your people are swamped, but have one of them
put together a report on that guy from the press conference. You can fill me in
when we get together. If he's going to be a problem, I want to know before he
can cause any real damage."

CHAPTER
TWO

A
bby tapped the right toe of
her three inch high brown suede heels against the highly polished lobby floor
as she watched the numbers above the elevator bank. She glanced at her watch.
She was an hour and a half late. They were meeting with Gage Faraday in fifteen
minutes.

"Come on, come on," she
chanted under her breath. Why did her electricity have to go out last night of
all nights?

"Damn," she cursed when
both descending elevators stopped again. When one finally arrived, she nodded
and smiled to the people filing off who nodded and smiled at her, and tried not
to let her impatience show.

Several minutes later when the
elevator doors opened to her floor, she poked her head out and glanced around.
Seeing no one but Madeline, Abby made a dash through the lobby toward the
offices beyond.

"Where have you been?"
Madeline asked in an urgent whisper as Abby half ran, half walked past the
woman's desk. "Norwell's been looking for you."

"Wonderful," Abby mumbled
and rolled her eyes. "Is Faraday here yet?"

"No, but he's expected any
minute."

Not wanting to run into Gage before
she could collect herself, Abby nodded then hurried into her office and closed
the door. She shucked out off her suit jacket and draped it over the desk
chair. As an afterthought, she smelled her armpits. Satisfied, she pulled the
mirror out of her lower desk drawer and checked her makeup.

Holding the mirror out behind her,
she looked over her shoulder to make sure nothing was sticking to the back of
her skirt. She had bought the dark chocolate linen suit that weekend and not
because of Gage. She'd just liked it.

She always tried to look her best
for work. It wasn't for him. She rummaged through her purse for a lipstick.
Norwell expected them to present a good image. It was a job requirement.

Her intercom buzzed. Abby caught
her lip between her teeth and pressed the button. "Yes?"

"Norwell's ready for
you," Madeline said.

Abby wiped her palms against the
sides of her skirt. She took her file on GFI and the four hard copies of her
PowerPoint presentation out of her briefcase. She reached for her jacket, drew
a shaky breath, and slipped it back on. She was as ready as she could be.
Picking up her laptop, she hurried out of her office and almost collided with
Harold Billings.

"You don't seriously think
Norwell's going to assign you this account," he goaded as they approached
the conference room.

"Why shouldn't he?" Abby
refused to let him see how nervous she felt. "I've got just as much of a
chance as you."

"Come on, you know you don't
have the experience to handle something this big."

She kept walking. He was trying to
shake her confidence. If she showed any doubt, he'd know he had her, that she
was vulnerable. She refused to give him that edge.

"Norwell wouldn't consider me
if he thought that, so why don't we let him decide?"

"Fine by
me."
Billings
's
smirk was smug, like he'd already bagged the account.
Maybe he had. Maybe he'd gone behind her back to sway Norwell's thinking.

Abby stopped outside the conference
room. She'd mentally prepared. She had watched the video of the press
conference over and over again, until Gage's face was imprinted on her brain.
She knew the sound of his voice, how he tilted his head when he listened, the
sensuous curve of his mouth when he smiled. She had drowned herself with him
until she was bloated with familiarity. Nothing about him could surprise or
affect her now.

She reached for the door handle. Billings grasped her wrist
and leaned forward, eyes mocking. He enjoyed his cruelties, she thought.

"I've heard Faraday's
brutal." His mouth hovered near her ear. "If he senses a weakness,
he'll go for the jugular."

Abby's breathing slowed. Had Gage
really become as ruthless as his reputation?

Billings leaned closer. Abby felt his breath
against the side of her face and realized just how close. She jerked back,
wrenching her wrist from his grip.