Carnal Vengeance (7 page)

She despised the way Bobbi had just sat there instead of supporting Rachel's opinions. Tim Ziegler
should
be castrated. Or at least brought down a few notches. Next to cutting his balls off, what she really wanted to do was step forward and add her accusations to Cheryl's but she had promised Bobbi not to do that.

Suddenly an idea came to her and immediately made itself at home in her mind. She might have agreed not to confront Ziegler publicly, but she had made no such promise about privately. It would take some planning, but she thought it might be fun to pay him a visit before he left town, and Bobbi and her friends would never be the wiser.

Chapter 3

Holly felt some of her confidence return the moment she stepped into the old office building that housed Earth Guard on its fifth floor. When Philip first set up the nonprofit organization devoted to political lobbying for environmental concerns, he had told Holly it was only a temporary location, but they were still there eighteen years later, and that suited her just fine. She felt grounded there, knew where everything was, and what was expected of her. Changes were uncomfortable.

She paused outside the door of the Earth Guard offices to make sure her smile was cheerful enough to fool Evelyn, her eagle-eyed secretary and self-appointed surrogate mother. Evelyn was one of those women who had aged not only gracefully but beautifully, with attractively coiffed white hair and a dignified appearance that tended to demand instant respect from total strangers.

"Any calls?" Holly asked as she pushed open the door, intent on avoiding an interrogation about why her lunch appointment had run so long.

"Philip took care of all but these two," Evelyn replied, handing her the message slips. "One's from
Time
magazine and the other is a reporter for a newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. Sounded like they just had a question or two about the new EPA bill. As usual, the boss left the press to you. How did your appointment go?" she asked before Holly could slip into her office.

Holly shrugged, recalling the explanation she had given. "They were a very
small
small interest group; nothing we could work with. On the way back I stopped in at that new dress shop you told me about." As expected, Evelyn's eyes lit up with hope. "I think I found a gown for Saturday night but I can't make up my mind."

"Is it black and slinky?"

Holly laughed. "Yes. In fact, it was so slinky, I decided I'd better keep looking."

Evelyn clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "I swear, sometimes I think you act more matronly than I do. How about if I call the store right now and have them set it aside for you?"

"No," Holly replied quickly. "I mean, there's no need to call. I asked them to hold it until I can stop by again after work." She was certain the store must have something black and slinky that would meet with Evelyn's approval. She just had to remember where Evelyn had said the store was and go by there before going home. Nodding at the closed door to Philip's office, she asked, "Is someone with him?"

"The barracuda," Evelyn whispered behind her hand.

Holly knew she was referring to the woman from the Environmental Protection Agency who kept coming up with reasons to meet with Philip. She whispered back, "Who closed the door?"

Evelyn smiled. "I did."

Shaking her head, Holly went into her office. After years of failing to get Philip and Holly married to each other, Evelyn had started pushing both of them toward other eligible people. She simply couldn't accept the idea that the two of them might be content with the way things were.

Twenty minutes later, Holly had returned the two calls and moved all the papers on her desk around without actually accomplishing anything. There were several other calls she needed to make that afternoon, but each time she lifted the receiver, she realized her conversation with Evelyn had used up her reserve of false confidence.

Her mind kept drifting back to the folder in her briefcase, even though the office was not the place to look at it.
If
she decided to read the contents, it would have to be at home, in private, when there was no possibility of Evelyn or Philip walking in on her.

As if thinking his name conjured up the man, Philip's trim figure appeared in the doorway. Threading his fingers through his neatly styled, ash-blond hair, he asked, "Have you got a minute?"

She forced a smile. "Considering how you probably spent the last hour, I can give you all the time you need. What excuse did she have this time?"

Philip's fair cheeks flushed as he sat down across the desk from her. "She wanted to know if we'd heard anything about a new laser incineration plant the Chinese are designing. She asked me—as an independent lobbyist—to put some feelers out so that it wouldn't sound like the EPA was playing catch-up again. I promised to get back to her. So, how did
your
meeting go?"

She shrugged. "They talked, I listened, smiled and politely put them off."

"What was it again? Otters?"

"Beavers," she corrected, recalling the fabricated reason she had given him before she left for lunch. "But it turned out to be two of them in a small creek on someone's private property."

Philip arched one light eyebrow. "And they talked about that for three hours?"

Holly thought it was probably her guilty conscience that made her hear the note of suspicion in his voice. "I also stopped at a dress shop Evelyn recommended. Which reminds me, how long did it take your friend to switch from incinerators to Saturday night's benefit dinner?"

That got her a chuckle. "Is that a good guess or was Evelyn eavesdropping at my door?"

"Now, Philip, you know Evelyn never
eavesdrops.
That would be unladylike. She was probably just passing by. At any rate, are we still on or should I step aside to make way for true love?"

He leaned forward and crooked a finger at her to come within whispering range. "The only true love you're standing in the way of is ours."

"Philip..." she warned with a glance at the open door, then eased back in her chair.

"You know what Saturday is, don't you?"

Her glance at the calendar was unnecessary but it gave her a valid excuse to look away from the solemn expression in his gray eyes.

"All I ask is that you consider it, Holly." He reached out his hand, but stopped short of touching hers until she met his gaze. As soon as she gave him a soft smile, he enclosed her hand in his and whispered, "I love you."

She raised his hand and brushed her cheek against his knuckles. "I'll consider it, but—"

Swiftly, he touched her lips to silence her. "No buts until Saturday night and this time, I'll have an answer for every
but
you can come up with." He rose with a closed-mouth grin that didn't quite reach his eyes and left her office before she could object further.

At least she hadn't had to tell another lie about where she had been for the last three hours.

Holly had hoped August 15 would pass this year without Philip realizing it. Of course, she had known that wasn't going to happen any more than he had let the last seven "anniversaries" pass.

Though she had formally met Philip when she was in high school, she hadn't really gotten to know him or his wife, Cora, until she left Dominion and moved back to Butler, Pennsylvania.

The memory of that time still had the power to knot her stomach. Angry, hurt, and numb with shock, she had shown up at her parents' door with all her belongings in her car and the simple statement that she would not be returning to college.

As the only survivor of three children, Holly had always been treated like a princess and, in return, had never given her parents a moment of difficulty. They had been willing to give her time to adjust to whatever had happened to her. They never insisted she tell them what had happened to drive her into the solitude of her bedroom, although they concluded a broken heart was involved. Instead, they stood by her, even when she inflicted on them her depression, crying bouts, and temper tantrums.

When months of patience failed, however, her father demanded she either return to school or go to work in the family's German-style restaurant. She chose to put on a waitress uniform.

Philip and Cora Sinkiewicz started out as customers of the Kaufman Haus restaurant but quickly graduated to being personal friends of Bernie and Vivian Kaufman. At that time, Holly had thought Philip was much younger than her father, but she realized later that Philip worked at that appearance.

Where Bernie's waistline showed the results of too much of his own good cooking, Philip maintained a slim physique perfectly proportioned to his medium height through diet and exercise. Where Bernie's hair was now all but gone, Philip had been blessed with a natural thickness and kept it light blond with the help of an over-the-counter product for women. Overall, Philip looked very good for a man who'd passed his sixtieth birthday some years ago.

It was Philip who had given Holly the final shove back into the real world one evening at the restaurant by drawing her into a conversation about his work. He had finally secured the funding he had been seeking to establish Earth Guard, and delighted in telling Holly his plans to help save the environment. For the first time in months, she had found herself really interested in something.

Philip had informed her that the fledgling lobbying organization would be needing all the help it could get from intelligent, young people, and that they would have a place for her if she would like to move to Washington, D.C. Within a week she had decided to take him up on his offer.

They spent a great deal of time together setting up Earth Guard. His zealousness about saving Earth's resources was contagious, and she was soon caught up in his interests as well as the fast-paced life of the capital. He encouraged her to develop her untapped talents and convinced her to finish college in order to gain every advantage in the competitive city. She chose Georgetown University, as it was in the D.C. area and allowed her to continue working with him.

It wasn't long before she sensed his feelings for her went beyond that of a close friend and employer, but he never acted upon his obvious attraction. He was a man who took his wedding vows seriously, regardless of how difficult that marriage was for him—and Holly had been around him and Cora enough to know that they had a multitude of problems.

Even if he had not been married, however, Holly never wanted another man in her bed.

The change in their relationship began when Philip's wife was diagnosed with cancer of the brain. For five years he suffered along with her as she underwent surgery and treatments, unspeakable pain and forgetfulness. As his closest friend, Holly was always there for him and shared his every frustration.

When Cora finally died eight years ago, Holly cared too much to deny him the comfort he sought in her arms. Setting aside her vow of celibacy, she spent the night with him, but learned that compassion and friendship were not sufficient motivation for physical lovemaking. Either that or her ability to enjoy the experience had been forever crippled before it had had the chance to fully develop.

She had allowed Philip into her bed twice more after that, mainly because she felt he deserved a fair chance to arouse her passion. Unlike other men, his touch did not repulse her; she just felt nothing at all. To her surprise and relief, he didn't seem to mind when she turned down his gentle hints to continue the intimacy.

They settled into an easy companionship, except for each August 15, the anniversary of their first, and only, full night together. Saturday would mark the eighth time he asked her to marry him, and the eighth time she would decline.

Always respectful and attentive, he was devoted to her and no other woman and she was clearly uninterested in any other man. He could never understand her refusal to formalize their relationship, but he knew better than to push more than once a year.

Holly repeatedly explained her need for independence and privacy, though she admitted he filled other needs for her. In him, she had a good friend, an escort when she needed one, as well as a buffer between her and all others.

For a while, Holly had felt guilty about using Philip, but he convinced her that he would take whatever she could give him rather than nothing at all. He swore he was satisfied knowing he was the only man that received attention from her, limited as it was.