“We need to eat something,” Reese said. “See if you can find us a place close by.”
Kenzie took out her cell and brought up restaurants in the area. “There’s a place called The Galley. It’s on Sea Wolf Parkway. Nothing fancy but the reviews look good.”
“Let’s go.”
The Galley turned out to be a locals’ joint with corrugated tin booths and music playing a little too loud. They both ordered catfish po’boys and iced tea.
As they finished the sandwiches, Reese checked the time on his phone. “We need to go to the sheriff’s office, but it’s getting late. We’ll have a better chance of getting the info we want if we go tomorrow morning instead of the end of a long, hot day.”
She nodded. It had been a long day, and she was exhausted. She took a drink of iced tea. “I think we made a good start, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. Ferdie was right. Nobody put the break-in together with the crash because everyone thought it was an accident. Now that they know the crash was intentional, the FBI is going to be very interested in finding the intruder.”
“Maybe you should leave it to them.”
“Maybe. Let’s see what Tabby comes up with. Until we know why that particular helicopter was targeted—”
“Until we know for sure it wasn’t you they wanted to kill—”
He nodded. “We need to keep going.” He paid the bill and slid out of the booth. “Come on, let’s go. It’s still a ways back to Houston.”
After an hour and half of winding his way through traffic, Reese parked the Rover and walked Kenzie to the door of the apartment next to his.
“I’ve got plans for the evening,” he said. “You going to be okay on your own?”
He had plans. Of course he did. “I’ll be fine.” Aside from the night of the benefit, the only time she had spent an evening with Reese was when he was meeting business associates and needed her there as his assistant. “Actually, I made a note on your calendar that you had blocked out the time. I assumed you had a date.”
Something shifted in his features. “That’s right. An old friend. I’ll knock on your door at nine in the morning. That should give us plenty of time to drive back down to Galveston and talk to the sheriff.”
She nodded, but her mind had skipped ahead to the evening he would be spending with another woman—and the night. His delayed departure in the morning said it all. Kenzie even knew the name of his “old friend.” Arial Kaplan. She had put it on his schedule. Some masochistic demon had goaded her into looking up the woman’s Facebook page. A gorgeous redhead, an attorney who had graduated from Texas A&M.
It shouldn’t have bothered her. Reese was single, one of the most eligible bachelors in Dallas. Until the benefit, she had been able to block thoughts of him as anything more than her employer. She’d been able to ignore the attraction and her secret wish that he would notice her as a woman.
It was unrealistic, given who he was, and impossible, considering her highly paid job as his executive assistant.
But lately, after his kindness and concern the day he had driven her to the hospital, combined with the support he had provided in her battle with Lee, her feelings had finally surfaced.
Like a jack-in-the-box springing up from a tightly sealed container, there was no way to push those feelings back down. Now she was forced to examine them.
And what she saw was terrifying.
She realized she was still standing in the hallway staring up at him. “So I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” she said, though the words seemed to stick in her throat. “Have a nice evening.” She walked into the apartment and closed the door, leaned back against it.
Reese was a healthy, extremely virile male. He had needs, she told herself, just like any other man. For the first time it occurred to her that she had needs of her own. She had just buried them when she had divorced Lee.
Since then, she hadn’t been with another man, hadn’t had the least interest in dating. Now she realized her mistake. She should have made an effort to get her life back on track, should have gone out and socialized, maybe even had an affair.
She closed her eyes and tried to think of a man she might be interested in, someone she at least found attractive. But the only image that came to mind was a tall man with wavy black hair, a brilliant business mind, an amazing body, and the bluest eyes she had ever seen.
She blinked against the sting of tears.
Dear God, what was she going to do?
TEN
Reese showered and dressed in slacks, a crisp white shirt and a navy blue blazer. He was ready but found himself reluctant to leave. He thought of Arial Kaplan and the evening ahead, supper at Chez Julienne, then back to Arial’s apartment for an after-dinner drink, a brief seduction, and sex.
Arial was beautiful, with the deep red hair and pale complexion of a true redhead, marred not even by a single freckle. She was an attorney, smart, if a little self-absorbed. He told himself the only reason he was hesitant was the work he needed to do. He’d been out of the office all day. He didn’t want to get too far behind.
Pulling out his cell, he phoned Arial and postponed their date until tomorrow night, then phoned Derek Stiles, his acquisitions VP, and asked if he was free for dinner.
“Matter of fact, I am,” Derek said. “My lady’s out of town. Give us a chance to catch up on a few things.”
“Fleming’s?” Reese suggested, a place not far away they both enjoyed.
“Great, I’ll see you there.”
Reese hung up the phone, thinking of Arial, wishing he didn’t feel such a sense of relief. He just had too much on his mind, he told himself as he stripped off his blazer and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, looking forward to a more casual evening.
Tomorrow night he’d be ready for a little diversion and Arial was just the woman to provide it. Reese left the apartment and headed for Fleming’s Steakhouse.
Unfortunately, the evening didn’t go the way he planned. Derek remained concerned about the incidents plaguing the Poseidon. When Reese told him the NTSB had concluded the crash was intentional, Derek went ballistic.
“Dammit, Reese, you realize what that means? That crash has to be connected to the other accidents. If it is, someone wants to destroy this deal bad enough to commit murder.”
Reese ignored the unease filtering through him. “Maybe. Or maybe it was about something else altogether, and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Until we get some answers, we can’t afford to jump to conclusions.”
He went on to fill Derek in on the actions he was taking, what he’d learned so far, and his appointment at the sheriff’s office in the morning.