anything?" She reacted to the taunting in his voice with brittle tartness.
"I'm crushed. You mean it wasn't me you were dying to talk to? You're only interested in the news I might have?"
"I can't afford to be interested in you," Talia retorted, a smile lifting her mouth.
"You proved that last night."
"You mean because I'm so damn sexy you might lose your head?"
"I mean because you drink ‘73 Cabernets, order clams Bordelaise and Chateaubriand and the most expensive dessert on the menu, and then make me pay for it!"
"Oh, that," he murmured nonchalantly. "I thought it best to start off as I mean to go on. I didn't want you getting the idea I'm a cheap date."
"Kane," Talia began warningly.
"Okay, okay. Don't get too excited. I haven't heard anything yet."
"Damn!" Talia muttered.
"But don't give up hope. I sent the cable to someone who used to work for us down there. He's probably doing some checking. Give it another day or two."
Talia frowned into the phone. "You think there's a chance of turning up a lead?"
"Who knows? The trail's a little cold, you'll have to admit. It was four years ago that Westbrook worked for Energy Interface and he was only on the payroll a few weeks. Look, it's almost lunchtime and if you've been sitting around that hotel room waiting for this call all morning you're probably stir-crazy."
"How did you guess?"
"Intuition. I'd be doing the same in your shoes. I'll be by in a few minutes to take you to lunch."
"Who's paying?" Talia demanded suspiciously.
"I'm feeling generous. I'll charge you off as a business expense. That reminds me, I'll have to check with my accountant to see if blackmail expenses are deductible…"
Talia didn't wait for him to finish. She hung up the phone in his ear.
Knowing Kane would arrive dressed for the office, Talia decided to wear the pleated skirt of her wheat-colored suit. She chose another blouse she had brought along, a silk crepe de chine print in cinnamon and gold paisley. After a long look at the suit jacket, she opted to leave it behind. It was just too warm and, besides, it was Kane who had to go back to an office environment, not her. That thought sparked others which were depressing. Once her whole wardrobe had been geared to the executive suite.
But even Kane, it seemed, made a few concessions to the heat of the September sun. He arrived at her door minus his jacket and without a tie. The white shirt was strictly tailored, but the collar was open and the contrast against his tanned skin gave ABC Amber Text Converter Trial v ersion, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.html
him a buccaneering quality which was not lost en Talia. She smiled up at him a little warily as she opened the door.
"Don't look at me like that, honey," he drawled, "I told you I'm paying for lunch."
"Sorry. Once burned…"
"You deserved it. Ready?"
"I'd go out with Attila the Hun if it meant getting out of this hotel room!"
"Careful, your flattery will go to my head," he growled, slanting a green, appraising glance down at her as she walked beside him toward the parking lot.
"Where are we going?"
"Old Sacramento. Remember it?"
Talia nodded, recalling the restoration work that had been going on in a twenty-eight-acre section near the river. The colorful atmosphere of Sacramento in the 1850s and 1860s had been re-created and the historic buildings now housed some of the city's most unique restaurants and shops.
"They've done a good job with it," Kane went on as he stopped beside a gleaming red Lotus and fitted a key into the lock. "Plank sidewalks, old-fashioned awnings, stagecoaches, and an occasional gunfight at the railroad depot. Great background."
Talia managed to wrench her eyes off the Lotus long enough to glance at him inquiringly. "Great background for what?"
"I'm not going to tell you or you might refuse to go out with me, even for a free lunch!"
It wasn't until the Lotus had been carefully wedged into a tiny slip of a parking space near the restaurant Kane
"I'm crushed. You mean it wasn't me you were dying to talk to? You're only interested in the news I might have?"
"I can't afford to be interested in you," Talia retorted, a smile lifting her mouth.
"You proved that last night."
"You mean because I'm so damn sexy you might lose your head?"
"I mean because you drink ‘73 Cabernets, order clams Bordelaise and Chateaubriand and the most expensive dessert on the menu, and then make me pay for it!"
"Oh, that," he murmured nonchalantly. "I thought it best to start off as I mean to go on. I didn't want you getting the idea I'm a cheap date."
"Kane," Talia began warningly.
"Okay, okay. Don't get too excited. I haven't heard anything yet."
"Damn!" Talia muttered.
"But don't give up hope. I sent the cable to someone who used to work for us down there. He's probably doing some checking. Give it another day or two."
Talia frowned into the phone. "You think there's a chance of turning up a lead?"
"Who knows? The trail's a little cold, you'll have to admit. It was four years ago that Westbrook worked for Energy Interface and he was only on the payroll a few weeks. Look, it's almost lunchtime and if you've been sitting around that hotel room waiting for this call all morning you're probably stir-crazy."
"How did you guess?"
"Intuition. I'd be doing the same in your shoes. I'll be by in a few minutes to take you to lunch."
"Who's paying?" Talia demanded suspiciously.
"I'm feeling generous. I'll charge you off as a business expense. That reminds me, I'll have to check with my accountant to see if blackmail expenses are deductible…"
Talia didn't wait for him to finish. She hung up the phone in his ear.
Knowing Kane would arrive dressed for the office, Talia decided to wear the pleated skirt of her wheat-colored suit. She chose another blouse she had brought along, a silk crepe de chine print in cinnamon and gold paisley. After a long look at the suit jacket, she opted to leave it behind. It was just too warm and, besides, it was Kane who had to go back to an office environment, not her. That thought sparked others which were depressing. Once her whole wardrobe had been geared to the executive suite.
But even Kane, it seemed, made a few concessions to the heat of the September sun. He arrived at her door minus his jacket and without a tie. The white shirt was strictly tailored, but the collar was open and the contrast against his tanned skin gave ABC Amber Text Converter Trial v ersion, http://www.processtext.com/abctxt.html
him a buccaneering quality which was not lost en Talia. She smiled up at him a little warily as she opened the door.
"Don't look at me like that, honey," he drawled, "I told you I'm paying for lunch."
"Sorry. Once burned…"
"You deserved it. Ready?"
"I'd go out with Attila the Hun if it meant getting out of this hotel room!"
"Careful, your flattery will go to my head," he growled, slanting a green, appraising glance down at her as she walked beside him toward the parking lot.
"Where are we going?"
"Old Sacramento. Remember it?"
Talia nodded, recalling the restoration work that had been going on in a twenty-eight-acre section near the river. The colorful atmosphere of Sacramento in the 1850s and 1860s had been re-created and the historic buildings now housed some of the city's most unique restaurants and shops.
"They've done a good job with it," Kane went on as he stopped beside a gleaming red Lotus and fitted a key into the lock. "Plank sidewalks, old-fashioned awnings, stagecoaches, and an occasional gunfight at the railroad depot. Great background."
Talia managed to wrench her eyes off the Lotus long enough to glance at him inquiringly. "Great background for what?"
"I'm not going to tell you or you might refuse to go out with me, even for a free lunch!"
It wasn't until the Lotus had been carefully wedged into a tiny slip of a parking space near the restaurant Kane
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