Charmed: A Masters and Mercenar - Lexi Blake Page 0,20
his research, too.
After his brother stopped cussing.
Chapter Four
“All right, everything is ready and you’ve got all your new ID that identifies you as Nina Banks, but we’ve hit a snag and we’re probably going to have to redo it all under a new name,” Big Tag was saying. “Did you get the email I sent out?”
Nina sat in the conference room at McKay-Taggart. Unlike the London office, this one wasn’t set in a gorgeous botanical BDSM club like The Garden. The Dallas office was sleek and modern, reminding her this was all business and she shouldn’t be thinking about the gorgeous man next to her as anything but a client. JT Malone had shown up long before she’d thought he would, walking into the conference room with his twin, Michael. His identical twin, though it was easy to tell them apart. Michael was grave and serious, where JT’s smile lit up the room.
She forced herself to focus on the authority figure. “Yes, sir. I got it this morning. I don’t think it will be an issue and it won’t require a new name. I think the best cover would be going in as Mr. Malone’s friend. From what I understand, plus ones are perfectly acceptable at this retreat.”
Charlotte Taggart sat next to her husband and a single brow rose over her intelligent eyes. “Really? I was going to go with journalist. You’re a reporter writing a story about young business leaders and how they’re shaking up Wall Street. I can put it out there that you’ve interviewed Andrew Lawless from 4L and a man named Seth Stark. They’re both willing to back up the story if anyone asks.”
That was an excellent cover. Truly bloody excellent, and she couldn’t use it. And she couldn’t tell Charlotte why she couldn’t use it. What was she supposed to say now?
The silence lengthened, and Nina fought the urge to stand up and walk out. Her brain was blank. She was better than this. The man next to her was short-circuiting all her best instincts.
“That won’t work.” JT came to the rescue. “Everyone knows I don’t talk to reporters. I’ve got a thing about it. Right, Mike?”
Michael Malone frowned and sat back, giving his brother what could only be described as the evil eye. “You’ve got a thing about sleeping with the wrong people. You see, my brother slept with the reporter who was supposedly doing a story on the family business. After he slept with her it turned into an exposé of how our family was disintegrating and wealth had ruined us all.”
JT groaned. “I was twenty-two and I was upset because my brother had run off and joined the Navy and left me all alone. I get chatty when I have a couple of beers, and she used me. And I don’t sleep with the wrong people anymore. I sleep with the right ones, even if they seem like they’re the wrong ones.”
She could feel every inch of her skin going pink, but she fought through it. “Mr. Malone knows his people best. I think we can come up with a good cover where I go in as his companion.”
“Fiancée,” JT corrected.
Now it was Big Tag’s brow rising. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Nina prefers keeping a polite distance in these kinds of operations. If she’s your fiancée, she’ll have to stay in the same room with you. Unless we’re pretending like it’s 1820 and Sandra is guarding her virginity. That might require a different wardrobe. How do you feel about turtlenecks?”
She should have told him the truth. Or at least some facsimile of it. She should have known nothing got past Big Tag. “I met with Mr. Malone earlier. We ran into each other at the hotel. Unfortunately, we also were accosted by several of the members of his leadership team who were there looking for answers about the senior Mr. Malone’s illness. We were seen together, and Mr. Malone introduced me as his fiancée.”
“I panicked.” JT had the earnest thing down. “I’m sorry I put Ms. Blunt in this position, but honestly, it’s for the best. I wouldn’t bring a new girlfriend to this retreat.”
“He’s never brought a girlfriend at all,” Michael admitted.
“I brought Dana,” JT said quietly.
Michael turned his way, a sympathetic look crossing his face. “Dana wasn’t your girlfriend. She was a friend. She was a girl.”
Oh, now she very much wanted to know who Dana was. JT’s jaw had tightened, his eyes going down.