him to get me out of what they considered trouble."
"When was the first time?" Diana asked.
Emily arched one brow behind her glasses, remembering. "The first time I ever encountered Jacob was five years ago. He had joined the company a year before that, but I hadn't run into him. No reason why I should have. RI is a big firm, and I rarely met many of the employees."
"So how did you happen to meet him when you did?"
Emily sighed. "I got myself kidnapped."
"Good God! You're joking?"
"Afraid not. A deranged employee who had recently been let go by RI decided to grab me and hold me for ransom. He somehow tracked me down at college and cornered me one night as I was walking back from the library. He had a gun."
Diane looked severely shaken. "How awful."
Emily made a face. "It sounds worse than it was. Oh, I was scared to death at first, but then I realized the man was more to be pitied than feared. He would never have used the gun. In fact, I later found out it was empty. But it looked real enough at the time, so I did what he said. He drove me to a cabin he had in the woods and started making ransom calls to my folks."
"How did Jacob get involved?"
"My parents called in Jacob and asked him to handle the payoff. They wanted someone they could trust completely. They didn't want the police involved at that point. They were terrified I'd get killed. Jacob talked to the man on the phone who gave him instructions where to deliver the money. Then I was allowed to talk to Jacob myself. Fortunately the guy holding me was half panicked and not thinking very straight. I managed to give Jacob enough clues that he was able to figure out where I was being held."
"So Jacob showed up with the payoff and you were set free?"
"Not exactly," Emily said. "Jacob located the cabin and came in through a back window. The guy who had grabbed me never knew what hit him."
Diane's eyes were very wide. "Jacob rescued you! How incredibly romantic."
"Not really. As far as everyone was concerned, it was just one more dumb mess I'd gotten myself into. Even Jacob yelled at me for being so stupid as to walk back through the campus alone at night and expose myself to risk. I was mortified and humiliated, as usual." And she had fallen madly in love with her rescuer, only to discover that Jacob Stone was married. At the time it had seemed like the end of the world.
"It's not unusual for people to yell at someone who's just given them a major fright. Parents yell at kids all the time for just that reason. Out of curiosity, what was the outcome of the investigation involving Damon Morrell? Or did your Mr. Stone find out anything really interesting other than the fact that Morrell's a competitor with RI?"
Emily paused and then decided there was no reason to be coy. "Jacob Stone could find something incriminating about an angel if someone assigned him the task."
Diane leaned on the counter, her coffee cup cradled in both hands.
"Okay, let's have it. What did he find out about Damon?"
"It's embarrassing, Diane."
"That's what friends are for."
Emily's mouth curved. "To embarrass myself in front of?"
"Come on. We have no secrets from each other. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
"You may be right." Emily sighed. "Jacob turned up evidence that Damon Morrell intended to marry me in order to gain control of my shares in Ravenscroft International."
"Evidence? Stone found actual proof? How?"
"There was a nasty little tape recording he made at a restaurant. On it is a conversation between Damon and a woman named Marcia."
"Who's Marcia?"
"Damon's mistress, apparently. He took her to lunch and explained to her that she wasn't to be jealous of what he was planning to do. He intended to marry me long enough to gain control of my RI shares and then he intended to get divorced and marry Marcia. In addition to the tape, there were also a couple of incriminating memos Damon sent a couple of years ago vowing vengeance on Ravenscroft, regardless of what it
"When was the first time?" Diana asked.
Emily arched one brow behind her glasses, remembering. "The first time I ever encountered Jacob was five years ago. He had joined the company a year before that, but I hadn't run into him. No reason why I should have. RI is a big firm, and I rarely met many of the employees."
"So how did you happen to meet him when you did?"
Emily sighed. "I got myself kidnapped."
"Good God! You're joking?"
"Afraid not. A deranged employee who had recently been let go by RI decided to grab me and hold me for ransom. He somehow tracked me down at college and cornered me one night as I was walking back from the library. He had a gun."
Diane looked severely shaken. "How awful."
Emily made a face. "It sounds worse than it was. Oh, I was scared to death at first, but then I realized the man was more to be pitied than feared. He would never have used the gun. In fact, I later found out it was empty. But it looked real enough at the time, so I did what he said. He drove me to a cabin he had in the woods and started making ransom calls to my folks."
"How did Jacob get involved?"
"My parents called in Jacob and asked him to handle the payoff. They wanted someone they could trust completely. They didn't want the police involved at that point. They were terrified I'd get killed. Jacob talked to the man on the phone who gave him instructions where to deliver the money. Then I was allowed to talk to Jacob myself. Fortunately the guy holding me was half panicked and not thinking very straight. I managed to give Jacob enough clues that he was able to figure out where I was being held."
"So Jacob showed up with the payoff and you were set free?"
"Not exactly," Emily said. "Jacob located the cabin and came in through a back window. The guy who had grabbed me never knew what hit him."
Diane's eyes were very wide. "Jacob rescued you! How incredibly romantic."
"Not really. As far as everyone was concerned, it was just one more dumb mess I'd gotten myself into. Even Jacob yelled at me for being so stupid as to walk back through the campus alone at night and expose myself to risk. I was mortified and humiliated, as usual." And she had fallen madly in love with her rescuer, only to discover that Jacob Stone was married. At the time it had seemed like the end of the world.
"It's not unusual for people to yell at someone who's just given them a major fright. Parents yell at kids all the time for just that reason. Out of curiosity, what was the outcome of the investigation involving Damon Morrell? Or did your Mr. Stone find out anything really interesting other than the fact that Morrell's a competitor with RI?"
Emily paused and then decided there was no reason to be coy. "Jacob Stone could find something incriminating about an angel if someone assigned him the task."
Diane leaned on the counter, her coffee cup cradled in both hands.
"Okay, let's have it. What did he find out about Damon?"
"It's embarrassing, Diane."
"That's what friends are for."
Emily's mouth curved. "To embarrass myself in front of?"
"Come on. We have no secrets from each other. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
"You may be right." Emily sighed. "Jacob turned up evidence that Damon Morrell intended to marry me in order to gain control of my shares in Ravenscroft International."
"Evidence? Stone found actual proof? How?"
"There was a nasty little tape recording he made at a restaurant. On it is a conversation between Damon and a woman named Marcia."
"Who's Marcia?"
"Damon's mistress, apparently. He took her to lunch and explained to her that she wasn't to be jealous of what he was planning to do. He intended to marry me long enough to gain control of my RI shares and then he intended to get divorced and marry Marcia. In addition to the tape, there were also a couple of incriminating memos Damon sent a couple of years ago vowing vengeance on Ravenscroft, regardless of what it
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