I nodded. I was sitting in front of his big desk. I had a tablet out, with all the information on Dutch Schultz and his treasure.
“You really think this treasure is sitting in a rotten warehouse in the Bronx?” I asked.
Liam moved in front of me, and leaned back on the desk. I let my gaze run up his body. The man was sexy enough already, but the suit made him even more so.
“Doyle must believe it,” Liam said.
“Everything I can find says it’s hidden upstate, in the woods, by a river. That’s what Schultz rambled about on his deathbed.”
“Maybe it isn’t. Maybe that’s why it’s never been found.”
“Look.” I rose and sat on the desk beside him. “This is what’s in the lockbox.”
Liam whistled. “I can see why Nexus wants it.” He reached out and touched my cheek. “I like your outfit.”
When he’d taken me to my place, I’d made him stay outside in the car. I’d quickly changed into a long, blue skirt and scoop-necked, black top with long sleeves.
“A-hem, we’re working.”
“And I’m the boss, so I make the rules.”
“You weren’t the boss when I was riding you a few hours ago.”
He smiled. “Yes, I was.” He leaned closer. “And I’m having all kinds of ideas inspired by you, darling, and my desk, and that skirt rucked up around your hips.”
“You shouldn’t get involved with your employees, Mr. Kensington,” I said primly.
He snorted. “You’re not my employee. We’re working together.”
His perfectly shaped lips were a whisper from mine. I wanted to close the distance between us. Desire was hot and churning in my belly.
I leaned closer.
Suddenly, the office door was flung open. Liam jerked back.
I scrambled off the desk, sending the tablet to sleep to hide the information on the screen.
A suit-clad Rupert Kensington strode in and smirked at us.
Eleanor hovered in the doorway, a harried look on her face. “I’m so sorry, Liam.”
“It’s okay, Eleanor.”
The assistant shot Liam’s father an acidic look, then closed the door behind her.
He eyed me up and down, an ugly smile on his face. I didn’t think he recognized me from the event at Gotham Hall.
“You’re fucking an employee.” Rupert shook his head. “Such a hypocrite, Liam. You lord that holier-than-thou attitude over me, but you’re just like the rest of us.”
Liam stepped forward, but I grabbed his arm. “He’s riling you.”
Liam stopped and sucked in a breath. “What are you doing here, Father?”
“I wanted to see my son.”
“What are you doing here?” Liam repeated.
“I have a business deal that I want—”
“Not interested.”
Rupert’s face twisted. “You think you’re better than me. The perfect Liam Kensington.”
I saw Liam’s jaw harden.
“You aren’t better than me. It’s my blood running in your veins.”
“I know.” A muscle ticked in Liam’s jaw.
What? Did he really believe that bullshit? He was nothing like his father.
“Hey, he is nothing like you,” I snapped. “You are nothing like him.”
Both men’s heads spun to face me. They looked alike—gold hair, cut jaws, clean cheekbones—and I wondered how much that had messed with Liam’s head over the years.
I pinned Rupert with a stare. “You’re an asshole with the predilection for shady deals and young girls.”
I saw the rage flare. He took a step forward.
Liam stepped in front of me.
Rupert’s face twisted. “You’re just cheap pussy. You don’t know me.”
I laughed. “You have no idea who I am. You’re one of those men who sees what he wants to see. Him—” I pointed at Liam. “He sees everything. Stuff I don’t even want him to.” Our eyes met. “He sees beyond the surface, to what matters. He’s a good man, doing good things. You’ll never be able to say that. Your blood might be in his veins, but he is his own man.”
Liam grabbed me, giving me a searing look that made my chest hitch.
Then he kissed me.
I drank him in and kissed him back.
“I really, really like you,” he said.
“I like you, too,” I murmured.
“This is outrageous,” Rupert spat. “I won’t let this piece of trash talk to me like this.”
“I’ve seen the pictures, Father,” Liam said.
His icy voice made me shiver.
Rupert frowned. “Pictures?”
“Of you with four underage girls. They took pictures, Father.”
All the color drained from Rupert’s face. “I have no idea—”
“Don’t even try to deny it. They’re threatening to release them.”
Rupert scraped a hand over his mouth. I could see his brain working overtime.
“What do they want? Money?”
“It’s more complicated than that,” Liam said.
Rupert lifted his chin. “I suppose you’ll enjoy watching me go down.”
Liam sighed. “No. And I’m doing what I can to stop them.”
Hope flared. “Liam…I—”
“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for Mom, and Annabelle, and for your children. For those girls you molested. You think that this only affects you?”
I could see that Rupert hadn’t thought of anyone but himself.
“It’s best you leave, Father.”
Rupert sniffed. “I’m leaving. You won’t see me again.” He sailed out of the office.
“I wish that was true,” Liam murmured. “He’s said that to me so many times before.”
“Screw him. And if you think that you are anything like him, you’re not as smart as I thought.”
A faint smile touched his mouth. “You’re a little overprotective. I like it.”
“Do you really think you have anything in common with that man?”
“I see him in my face. My mother likes to tell me that I’m cut from the same cloth as him. I think she’s waiting for me to get caught in a sex scandal.”
“Bullshit,” I spat.
Liam nipped my lips. “Yes, I like everything about you, Aspen Chandler.”
“I can’t cook.”
“Luckily, I can.”
“I’m messy sometimes.”
“I have a housekeeper.”
“I can be abrupt—”
“I like that.”
“Liam…”
The phone on his desk pinged. Eleanor’s voice came through the intercom. “Liam, you have a video call from Denver. A Special Agent Alastair Burke.”
Liam touched my chin and straightened. “Please put him through.”
15
Shades of Gray
Liam
Liam sat behind his desk, and Aspen pulled up a chair beside him.
The laptop screen blinked to life.
Three people appeared on screen—two men, and an attractive brunette with dark hair cut in a bob style, and blue-gray eyes that twinkled with intelligence.