Reese shoved back his chair and rose, paced a few feet away, then back. “I need to get out there. I want to talk to the foreman and some of the crew, get their opinion on what’s been happening and why.”
“Maybe it’s time to think about cutting our losses. I know we’d lose money, but taking over a rig with this many problems might end up being worse in the long run.”
“I’ve thought about it, believe me. I just don’t like the idea that someone might be playing us. This rig represents all kinds of opportunities. If Sea Titan wasn’t making some major internal changes, they never would have put it up for sale.”
“Yeah, and certainly not at that price.”
“We’ll hold awhile longer. I’ll have Kenzie set up the trip.”
“You want me to go with you?” Derek asked.
“I need you to stay in Houston, keep things running on your end.”
“I can handle that.” Derek was a navy vet, former jet fighter pilot. He was one of the company’s most valuable employees. The call ended and Reese sat back down in his chair.
“I want you to take me with you,” Kenzie said, catching him off guard.
“Why?”
“First, because I think I could be useful. Also because of this.” She set a folded copy of a newspaper on top of his desk and smoothed it open. The Spectator was a tabloid full of splashy headlines, candid photos, and gossip, most of it total BS.
On the cover of the weekly issue was a picture of him and Kenzie getting out of the stretch limo in front of the Adolphus the night of the benefit. “Dallas’s Most Eligible Bachelor, Reese Garrett, and His Executive Assistant, McKenzie Haines.”
In smaller print, “Sexual Favors Part of the Job at Garrett Resources?”
Reese cursed under his breath. “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen.”
“I can’t imagine what the papers will say when they find out I’m a suspect in my ex-husband’s murder—and you’re my alibi.”
“I don’t care what they say.” Rising, he rounded the desk, caught her shoulders, leaned down, and kissed her. For an instant, Kenzie stiffened. Then her mouth softened under his, and she returned the kiss, a small sigh of pleasure slipping from her throat.
“I want to see you,” he said. “I don’t care what the tabloids say. What about dinner tonight?”
“You have no idea how much I want to be with you. But you need to think about the consequences, Reese.”
He thought of his brothers and what they would say when they found out about the article. He thought about the people who worked for him, people he liked and respected. People who respected him.
“All right. We’ll leave town for a couple of days, fly back down to Houston, spend the night, and make that trip out to the rig the next day. You’re my assistant. You go where I need you. Fuck them if they don’t like it.”
Her mouth twitched. He wanted to kiss her again, feel the satiny glide of his tongue over those soft pink lips.
“I can’t leave tomorrow,” she said. “Lee’s funeral is tomorrow afternoon. I’m keeping Griff out of school. I can set up the trip for Friday and we can come back on Sunday.”
He thought about it. As much as he wanted to be with her, he knew it wouldn’t be fair to Griff. The boy needed his mom right now.
“Set it up for next week. We’ll fly down Tuesday morning, go out to the rig on Tuesday, come back Wednesday morning. That gives us a couple of days together, and you’ll still have the weekend with your son.”
He caught the flash of emotion in her eyes. He knew she was worried about Griff. From what she’d said, the boy had taken his father’s death harder than she’d expected. Lee’s murder had been all over the news. Griff was waiting for the police to find the killer. He wanted justice for his dad.
So far he didn’t know his mother was the number one suspect.
“I’ll set it up,” Kenzie said. “But until we can get out of the city, we need to be careful. You have your job to think of, and I have Griff.”
He nodded. She had a family to consider. Why the hell did everything have to be so complicated?
They worked till lunch, had a quick meal sent in to his office, then Kenzie returned to her desk to finish out the day. She was gone by the time he cleared his desk and left for home.
Reese was sitting in the back of the black SUV, Reggie Porter behind the wheel, when his cell phone rang. Chase’s name popped up on the screen. With a sigh of resignation, he pressed the phone against his ear.
“So I guess you saw the paper,” Reese said.
“I didn’t see it. Mindy did.” Chase’s receptionist. “Not a surprise. We knew it could happen. That’s not the reason I’m calling. I’ve got something for you. I’d rather talk in person. I’m at the office, but I can meet you wherever.”
“After the day I’ve had, I could use a drink. How about Clancy’s?” The Irish pub just down the block from Chase’s office, a place The Max crew hung out.
“That’ll work.”
“I was on my way home. I’ll have Reggie swing by and drop me off.” Fifteen minutes later, he walked past the old-fashioned etched glass windows and strode into Clancy’s. The interior of the pub was all dark wood, with wooden booths and tables in the dining area and a long oak bar with at least twenty different beers on tap.
Chase waved as he approached, a bottle of Lone Star already sitting in front of him. Reese took off his suit coat, hung it on the brass hook at the end of the booth, and slid onto the seat across from his brother. Seconds later, a waitress with short curly blond hair arrived to take his order.
“Jameson,” Reese said. “Neat.”
The blonde flashed him a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
Stretching his legs out in front of him, he leaned against the back of the booth. “What’s up?”
“Aside from your fame in the tabloids?”
He grunted. “Yeah.”
Chase took a drink of his beer. “So how are things going with you and Kenzie?”
“I have no idea. In the office, she’s all business, which is good because it keeps me focused. We haven’t been anywhere together except the police station since this began.”
“If you’re seriously interested in her, you need to fix that.”
He sighed. “I know.” Were his feelings for Kenzie serious? She already meant more to him than any woman he could recall, but until he spent more personal time with her, he couldn’t be sure.