The Winner Takes It All (A Something New Novel) (36 page)

Penelope frowned. “From third grade?”

Maddie nodded solemnly.

Penelope sighed and turned her attention to Cecilia. “What do you need?”

Cecilia didn’t hesitate. “A meeting with the city planner tomorrow morning.”

Penelope instantly bristled, gaze narrowing. “Why?”

“Because I need to speak with him urgently.”

“What about?” Penelope crossed her arms. “Clearly there’s something going on here. I’m not letting you near Shane’s project without knowing.”

Cecilia understood the mistrust, but it still stung. “I can’t tell you now, but I will as soon as I can.”

Maddie put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Pen, it’s okay.”

Penelope’s jaw turned into a stubborn line. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know whatever fling you and Shane had is over. And it sure as hell didn’t end well. Do you honestly think I’m going to set up a meeting with the guy holding up a multimillion-dollar contract and a hard-on to screw over Shane, without knowing why?”

Well, when she put it like that, she had a point. Cecilia sighed. “There are people out there right now who are willing to crush the deal and damage Shane’s reputation. But when I walk out of that office tomorrow, you will get an e-mail saying Jackson agrees to the terms. I promise you.”

“How?”

“I prefer not to say. But I have Shane’s best interest at heart.”

Maddie nodded. “She’s telling the truth, Pen. I’m vouching for her.”

Penelope crossed her arms. “Why?”

Maddie looked at Cecilia and smiled. “Because she’s family.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

At eleven thirty sharp, Cecilia strode into David Jackson’s office.

The head of city planning was an older gentleman, in his midfifties, with salt-and-pepper hair and blue eyes. He was a nice-looking, distinguished man, but there was a hardness to his face. A meanness in his eyes. He nodded, not getting up from his desk to greet her.

“Mr. Jackson,” she said, her voice cool and professional. She gestured to a seat. “May I?”

Another nod. He leaned back in his leather chair, steepling his fingers. “How may I help you, Ms. Riley? Or should I say, how can I help your father?”

Keeping her expression impassive, she smiled. “Actually, this isn’t about him.”

“Then what is it about?”

Cecilia had had a lot of unpleasant conversations in her day, and she always thought it best to get straight to the point. “Your contract with The Donovan Corporation.”

“What does that have to do with your father?”

Nothing. But he didn’t need to know that. She tilted her head to the side. “Why don’t you let me worry about that? I understand you’ve had some contractual disagreements.”

His lips formed a thin, stubborn line. “I’m not at liberty to discuss them with you.”

“We’ll have to see about that.” She pulled out a manila envelope. Since he was caught in the crosshairs between her and her father, she should feel bad, but his actions were so despicable she couldn’t work up a lick of sympathy. She tossed the envelope on his desk. “Maybe this will change your mind.”

She thought she detected a hint of a tremble in his fingers as he reached for the package, but couldn’t be sure. He opened the sealed envelope, looked at the contents, then put the package back on the desk.

She smiled sweetly. “I never understood why, in this day and age, people are still taking pictures.”

She thought of the pictures Shane had taken of her. Pictures she never should have allowed, considering her background, but had allowed to be taken with abandon. Of course, she’d done that with the man she loved, not a barely legal prostitute wearing nothing but white stockings, pigtails, and Mary Janes.

He folded his hands on his desk. “What do you want?”

She leaned forward. “Only what’s right. Those contracts signed. I trust Shane and his legal team will receive an e-mail agreeing to the terms within the next hour?”

Before he could speak there was a knock on the door and it swung open.

The mayor of Chicago stood in the entry.

Well, she couldn’t have timed his entrance better herself. Cecilia stood, beaming at him, and opened her arms. “Teddy, it’s lovely to see you.”

“I heard you were in the building.” Theodore Lombardi looked like a cross between Tony Soprano and Santa Claus as he walked over and hugged her.

When she stood back, she said, “How’s Marion? Is she feeling better?”

“Yes, much,” he said, rubbing her arms. “Your mother’s visit cheered her considerably.” He looked past Cecilia to a pale-faced David. “I trust everything is okay here.”

She looked pointedly at the city planner. “Yes, I was just making some rounds. It’s been awhile since I visited.”

The mayor winked at her. “Getting ready for your wedding?”

“Something like that,” she said, noncommittal.

He smiled at Jackson. “I trust you’re taking good care of my girl.”

David swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

Teddy gave her a kiss on the cheek, patting her arm with affection. “Stop by after you’re done and we’ll catch up.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t leave without saying good-bye.” She picked up the envelope from David’s desk and smoothed her finger over the edge.

“Wonderful,” Teddy said, closing the door behind him.

With her best smile, Cecilia turned back to David. “I trust you have no further objections to the terms.”

He shook his head. “And all this will go away.”

“The handshake deal will certainly put you in my good graces, but nothing goes away until those contracts are signed. So I suggest you hurry.”

“How do I know you won’t renege on the deal?”

“You don’t.” She picked up her briefcase. “I’ll give you the pictures and the flash drive, but you and I know digital lasts forever. Rest assured, I have no interest in you or your extramarital activities. I just want those contracts signed and the deal put to bed. Understood?”

He nodded and she left.

Other than putting her one step closer to ensuring Shane’s safety, she wasn’t pleased with herself. She didn’t relish blackmail the way her father did.

Besides, there was still work to be done.

Shane sat in the farmhouse’s office staring blankly at his computer screen, while Penelope rattled off a list of pending action items he needed to take care of but couldn’t work up the energy for.

Cecilia was gone, again.

Where, he hadn’t a clue, but she’d left by herself in the wee hours of the morning and hadn’t been seen since.

“Are you even listening?” Penelope asked, startling him from his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he said, playing with the mouse sitting next to his laptop. “The Kramer project.”

Penelope put down her tablet and sighed. “That was five minutes ago.”

He shook his head, straightening in his chair. “Oh.”

She looked at him, her blue eyes steady and assessing. “You’ve really got it bad for her.”

He pointed to her iPad. “Your list.”

Someone knocked at the front door. It swung open and his brother Evan sauntered into the foyer like he owned the place.

Shane called to him, “Hey, in here.”

All six-foot-five-inch of gridiron badass, Evan glanced over at them. A cocky grin slid over his face, and he plopped his bag in the middle of the floor before strolling over to lean against the door frame.

“What’s up?” He glanced at Penelope. “Hey, little Penny, still working for the man?”

Penelope’s mouth curved into a disapproving frown. “Pen-el-oh-pee.” She drew out her name very slowly, like Evan might be too dense to understand.

Another shit-eating grin. “Where’s my baby sister?”

Shane sat back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “She’s out. Where’s Mom and Aunt Cathy?”

Evan tilted his chin toward the front door. “They stopped to talk to Soph.”

Penelope shifted in her chair and pointed to the bag. “Are you going to take care of that? There’s no maid here.”

Before Evan could answer, James walked in and clapped their youngest brother on the shoulder. “I thought I heard you. You finally made it. How was surfing off the Australian coast?”

Evan’s eyes hooded, taking on a lazy, droll expression. “Twelve-foot swells and hot girls. It was a good time.”

Penelope snorted, and Shane smiled. His brother was one of those guys who’d never really grown up. Not that he had to; as far as Shane could tell, the NFL was nothing but an extended frat party to Evan. Yeah, he worked his ass off for the game, but off the field he played equally hard.

Evan held out his hands. “What do you have against hot girls, Pen?”

“Nothing at all.” Her expression closed. “It’s just hard to believe you’re thirty-one.”

Shane raised a brow. “I trust you left the Playboy bunny at home this time.”

Evan rolled his eyes. “Dude, that was like, months ago.”

The last woman his little brother brought around sat on his uncle’s lap and posed for pictures with him in a minuscule dress that barely covered her ass. His aunt Marie had thrown a fit. One thing led to another, and Shane had spent an hour calming everyone the hell down. He didn’t have the stamina for that. He nodded. “Just checking. I don’t want Maddie’s day ruined.”

Evan’s gaze hardened and the laziness rolled off him. “I’m not going to ruin her day.”

“Just keep yourself in line.”

“I’m in line,
dad
.” The last word delivered with a healthy amount of sarcasm.

A muscle under Shane’s eye started to twitch.

James frowned and patted their youngest brother on the shoulder. “Let me show you where we’re staying.”

“We’re not at the house?”

“It’s a little crowded, so the Robertses are letting us crash in the apartment over their garage.”

Evan straightened. “Hmmm . . . Gracie Roberts. Now there’s a woman that I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on.”

James’s expression hardened, flashing with anger, his hands clenching into fists. In typical fashion, Evan was already heading into the foyer and didn’t notice. James’s face twisted before settling into his normal calm expression.

Then he slowly walked out of the room.

Shane turned to Penelope, who wore her own pinched expression. He raised a brow. “There’s going to be trouble.”

Penelope raised her eyes to the heavens. “With Evan, isn’t there always?”

“You’ve got a point.” He didn’t have the energy to deal with it right now. Not with Cecilia gone and out of his grasp. He woke his computer from sleep mode, scrolling through his e-mails. The top one was from the city planner, and he opened it with a sigh, steeling himself for whatever new obstacle the guy threw at him today.

When he read the e-mail, Shane frowned. “Huh, that’s interesting.”

“What?” Penelope asked.

“Jackson, from the mayor’s office. He agreed to the terms with no further changes.” Thank God something was going his way. Relief stole through him, making his shoulders slump. Only now did he allow himself to admit how terribly worried he’d been.

“I can’t believe she did it,” Penelope said.

Shane’s head shot up. “You can’t believe
who
did
what
?”

Behind her dark frames, Penelope blinked, straightening in her chair. “Huh? Nothing. That’s great. I’ll notify legal.”

His eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing.” She was a horrible liar. He was her boss, but they were also friends.

“Penelope,” he said in a warning tone.

She shifted in her chair, crossing her legs and uncrossing them. “Honestly, I don’t know anything.”

“This has something do with Cecilia, doesn’t it?”

“Why would you say that?” she countered, giving him the confirmation he needed.

He should push her and find out what she knew. Her first loyalty was to him. He could break her, but didn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t have an excuse to talk to Cecilia.

Cecilia left the building, got into a cab, and twenty minutes later sat in Logan Buchanan’s office. She shifted in her chair. The man was intimidating.

He looked like the ex-military man he was, dangerous and lethal, even in a custom-tailored navy suit. His eyes were a piercing ice blue that looked straight into her. She swallowed, nervous despite herself.

“How did it go?” His voice was low and deep, like maple syrup trickling down a tree.

“I showed him the pictures, and he agreed. Now we wait for confirmation.”

He smiled, and it was pure sin. “Can’t imagine he’d refuse with those pictures. His wife is a good Christian woman, real pillar-of-the-community type. He’ll do what needs to be done.”

She nodded. “I’ve been in politics a long time; people will do almost anything to cover their ass.”

“Amen to that,” he said, amused.

“And Miles, do you have anything on him yet?”

Expression inscrutable, he shook his head. “Nope, nothing.”

Dread pooled in her stomach. “What does that mean?”

He shrugged. “It’s only been a few days, but usually there’s a thread of something. When you know where to look, people aren’t very good at hiding. If I had to guess, he’s probably clean.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. She’d been so sure. So positive. She clutched her briefcase. “Everyone has something to hide.”

He raised a brow. “What are you hiding?”

She lowered her gaze and pressed her lips together. The only things that could be used against her were the things she’d been doing with Shane. But she’d been preparing for a public life since she was old enough to talk. Even as a teenager she’d never done anything that could come back and bite her.

“Some people are just clean,” he said, his voice soft.

“And you think this is one of those times?” It was what she’d feared. While she believed she’d secured Shane’s contract, she had no guarantees Miles and the senator wouldn’t publish the article anyway. They could still do considerable damage to Shane’s reputation. She couldn’t allow that. Which left her with only one option.

“I’ll keep looking, but yes. So far, there’s nothing.”

“Okay, thank you.” She stood.

He got to his feet and held out his hand. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”