Josh considered blowing her off, but if he had any hope of a long-term relationship with Megan, Blair was part of the package. “Okay.”
She led the way out the front door and sat down on a nearby concrete bench. Josh only realized she’d brought her large black leather purse with her when she pulled out a folder and set the bag on the ground next to her. She patted the concrete seat. “Sit down. Let’s take a look at what I have here.”
His heart leapt into his throat. What could she have in that folder?
“So you carried through with your threat,” he said as he sat next to her, trying to keep his tone light.
“Oh, you bet your fine ass I did.” She opened the folder.
There was a recent photo of him stapled to one side, a photo that had been in the Seattle Times two years ago, along with a small piece about Josh’s firm.
“Joshua Thomas McMillan.”
“You found my middle name. You really are a super sleuth.”
“I could list all the boring stuff,” Blair said, ignoring him, her tone breezy and casual. She actually sounded happy, which was surely a bad sign. “Like your birthdate, parents’ names, where you went to grade school . . .”
“But then you don’t seem like the type of woman who wastes time.”
She turned to him with a radiant smile. “You do get me.”
He shrugged, forcing himself to act lighthearted even though he felt like he was about to throw up. “Why don’t we just get to the good stuff?”
“Yes. Let’s.” She sounded like a giddy schoolgirl as she flipped through a stack of papers. “Does Megan know you’re an engineer?”
He could deny it, but what was the point? “No.”
“Hmm . . .” A twinkle lit up her eyes. “Now why is that?” But she didn’t give him a chance to answer, rummaging instead through several printouts of press releases and financial statements on his company letterhead.
He grabbed a page from the stack, his anger surfacing. “How did you get this stuff? It’s confidential.”
“I told you I’d find out everything.” Her gaze dropped to his crotch before returning to his face. “Circumcised,” she singsonged.
“You obviously think you found something important, so why don’t you spit it out?”
“Oh, Josh,” she pouted. “I could go for the clean, humane kill, but what fun would that be? I’d rather toy with you first.” Her eyes narrowed. “I like to watch the sleazeballs squirm.”
Josh jumped to his feet, trying to control his temper. “This is a game to you?”
She looked up at him, clearly unnerved. “Everything’s a game, Joshua. You, of all people, should know that.”
He shook his head, pointing to the restaurant. “Not her. Not this.”
She got to her feet, too, tilting her head slightly, her eyes icy cold with rage now. “Yes, this. Especially this. You’re using my best friend to gather information to steal her father’s patent.”
“Steal his patent!” Josh shouted. “He stole my design!”
She shook her head, glaring at him. “No, Josh. Protest all you want. He filed the patent first.”
Sick dread gave him a chill despite the warm night air.
“He came to me three years ago. He told me that he had a revolutionary design his firm wanted to patent. I couldn’t help him, but I had a friend who could, so I made the introductions. I met Tim in law school, and now he works for one of the best patent firms in the country, Haverty and Simmons in Boston.” She took a step toward him. “You filed your patent, but it was a week too late. So now you’re here trying to steal information that will paint Bart and his firm in a bad light.”
“If you know so much, then you must know my firm will be dead by Monday morning if I don’t get proof my design was stolen. Ten employees will lose their jobs.”
“Boohoo. They’ll find new ones.”
“These aren’t nameless people to me, Blair.” He held his hand out, pleading with her to understand. “Some of them were hired by my father when he first opened the doors thirty years ago. They have families to feed.”
“People lose their jobs all the time, McMillan,” she sneered. “They’ll live.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “How are you friends with that incredibly sweet and sensitive person in there?” He jabbed his finger toward the front door of the restaurant.
“You were counting on that, weren’t you?” she said. “You studied her, found out she’d broken off her engagement. You bought the seat next to her on the plane so you could use her.”
He shook his head again, his eyes wide in horror. “No. No.”
“Yes. You purposely sat by her and played her like a freaking fiddle.” Her face contorted with hate. “You took advantage of her vulnerability and used her.”
He took a step back, trying not to panic. What if she told Megan her twisted version of events? Worse, what if Megan believed her?
She shook her head in disgust. “I swear to God, if I had a gun right now, I’d be tempted to shoot you myself.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “I’m surprised you’re not inside right now, presenting your case to that room full of people. It seems to me you’d want to broadcast my imperfections to as many people as possible.”
“Imperfections? This reaches far beyond imperfections.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I actually care about Megan. I’m not telling anyone else but her. She’s been embarrassed enough over the last couple months.”
He breathed a silent prayer of relief.
She laughed, a bitter sound. “I think we can make a deal, Joshua McMillan.”
Fear seized his heart. “What kind of deal?”
She began to pace the sidewalk, her hands behind her back, the folder still clutched in her grasp. “I’m sure we can reach a compromise that’s satisfactory to us both.”
He highly doubted it. “Go on. You obviously have the terms worked out in your head.”
She released a haughty laugh. “In my head? Oh, no, Joshua, I’m an attorney. I’m the queen of paper.” She pulled another document out of the folder and handed it to him.
He took it with shaky hands. “What’s this?”
“Your agreement to slink away into the night and never speak to Megan again.”
“No.”
“Don’t be so hasty in your decision.” Something in her voice caught his attention.
“What am I supposed to get out of this?”
“Pride for doing the right thing?” Blair asked. “What? Not enough? I know you need money from your investor to keep your firm afloat.” She paused, her eyes piercing his. “I have the connections to find you another investor. One who will support you without the patent.”
He shook his head. “Bullshit.” He threw the offensive paper to the ground. “And even if you could, no deal.”
He turned to head back into the building, but she ran in front of him, blocking his path. “Don’t be so hasty, Josh. I thought you wanted to save those employees of yours.”
“No. Not like this. I love her, Blair. I can’t just walk away from her. Not like this.”