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  Adam sauntered up to his desk. “How’s it going with the case? Anything new?”

  “No, not really. I’ve gone back five years and traced Powers’s movements. So far, I haven’t come up with anything of interest,” Jennings concluded.

  “I’ve been checking out that supplier in Philly, Plez Rhamin,” Adam said as he flipped through some papers he was holding in his hand. “Born here, parents born here. Took over his father’s lumber business three years ago when the dad passed away.”

  Jennings looked up at Adam with a sarcastic sneer on his face. “Very chilling information, Adam.” He shook his head. “We told those people that we had information on the supplier that was suspect. It was all a crock.”

  “Only a tactic to see if they were going to spill something,” Adam said.

  “Spill what? That they’re hardworking American citizens who are trying to make decent lives for themselves in the land of plenty? Damn, man what are we doing?”

  “What’s gotten into you? We’re doing our job, that’s what we’re doing,” Adam said.

  Jennings pushed up from his swivel chair, sending it spinning in a quick circle. “Yeah, but I ain’t gotta like it.” He brushed past Adam and walked out of the office.

  Sterling Chambers trotted down the steps of the courthouse. Handsome, always impeccably dressed and, with the charisma of a movie star, Sterling flourished in the profession he loved—the law. There was nothing more thrilling to him than standing in front of a room full of people and mesmerizing them, convincing them, changing their minds—with the power of his words.

  He’d just won a case for his client, who was being sued in the millions for copyright infringement for his music. They could have settled out of court, but the plaintiffs honestly believed they could win with lies and doctored records. Not on his watch.

  Just as he reached the sidewalk, his cell phone rang. He pressed the earpiece to listen as he headed to his car.

  “Hey, baby,” he said at the sound of Ann Marie’s voice.

  “I’m heading over there now. I just got out of court. Okay, I’ll see you when you get back. I guess I’ll have to fix my own dinner since you’ll be with the ladies tonight,” he teased. “Yeah, love you, too.” He disconnected the call.

  Their relationship had been an uphill battle, one that he didn’t think he would win, but he had. For a while, he’d really believed that Ann Marie would go back to her estranged husband, Terrance. It had been messy, but the divorce was finalized, much to his relief. That was all behind them now and he was ready to take the next step with her. He smiled as he opened the door to his Mercedes Benz and slid behind the wheel. Ann Marie had found a place in his soul that he didn’t know still existed and every day with her was an adventure.

  He pulled off into the early afternoon traffic and his mind immediately shifted to the task at hand. He’d done some preliminary research into the statutes authorizing the Homeland Security Act and it didn’t look good for Ron or the ladies. If the FBI came up with a warrant, they would be forced to turn over whatever documents were requested. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that and, if it did, he prayed that they wouldn’t find anything. He was not an advocate of a country that policed its own citizens, but he also understood that the government was under siege from inside and out. If you had the slightest blip of irregularity from a security standpoint, law-enforcement officials could make your life pure hell.

  Sterling arrived at the spa and was amazed at how busy it was in the middle of the day. Pause for Men was no regular exercise gym. It was an experience. And an experience that was nice and pricey. Which always made him wonder how did all these money-making men have so much free time on their hands.

  “Hey, Drew,” he said to the security guard. “Been a while. How are you?”

  Drew Hawkins had been hired several months ago when Stephanie was being stalked by her ex-boss and his crazy wife. And according to the pillow talk between him and Ann Marie, Drew was now seeing Ann Marie’s daughter, Raquel, although it was supposed to be top secret. Raquel had also been responsible for the interior design of the entire spa.

  “Not bad. And yourself?”

  “Can’t complain. Is Barbara or Elizabeth around?”

  “Yeah—” he pointed toward the café “—they’re having lunch.”

  “Thanks.” He headed toward the café, one of the highlights of the spa. The menu was stocked with scrumptious health food, courtesy of Elizabeth’s twin daughters, Dawne and Desiree, who owned their own restaurant Delectables. He had to give credit where it was due, the spa was brimming with talented women. “Good afternoon, ladies. Anyone care to buy me lunch?”

  Barbara and Ellie glanced up and smiled.

  “Sterling. Have a seat. For you, lunch is on the house,” Barbara said.

  “You have any news?” Elizabeth asked, her anxiety kicking up a notch upon seeing Sterling and knowing why he’d come.

  Sterling sat down on the chair next to Barbara and folded his hands atop the white table.

  “The bottom line is if they come back with a warrant, you will have to turn over to them whatever records they ask for. If that happens, I need you to call me immediately. But, before that happens, I want to take a look at all the documents you have relating to Ron. I’m going to have my assistant review them. I’m hoping that she can do the review here. The last thing we’d want is for the Feds to show up and the documents not be here. They’ll really sink their teeth into you, then.”

  “What if they find something?” Elizabeth asked.

  Ron pressed his lips together. “If they do, and I’m sure they won’t, the spa and the owners could be implicated, perhaps as accessories.”

  Elizabeth groaned.

  “But we didn’t do anything,” Barbara insisted.

  “I know that. But it’s just how things work.” He held up his hand. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves and possibly worrying for nothing. Did these guys leave you a card or anything?”

  “Yes. I have it at the front desk,” Elizabeth said.

  “Good. I’ll give them a call. Let them know that any further contact on this matter needs to come through me. You don’t have to answer any more questions.”

  “What if this gets out to our clients?” Barbara asked, her concern growing by the minute.

  “We’ll deal with that if and when the time comes.”

  Barbara and Elizabeth were silent for a moment.

  Elizabeth looked at Barbara. “I am so sorry for all this.”

  “Ellie, please, this isn’t your fault. If anything, this comes back to me. It was Michael who recommended Ron’s company for the renovations in the first place,” Barbara said.

  “Ladies, ladies, this isn’t about blaming anyone. I’m sure Ron is completely innocent of any wrongdoing and it will all come out in the wash. I’m sure he had no way of knowing of any possible dirty dealings through his supplier. It will all get cleared up, I assure you.” But even as he said it, he knew how tenacious the government could be, especially now, when everyone was pumped up with paranoia. Too often, innocent people were found guilty simply by virtue of association.

  “You’re right. We’re jumping the gun, blaming him, ourselves.” Barbara slowly shook her head with sadness. She looked at Elizabeth and then Sterling. “Is this what we’ve come to as a country, as a people?” she asked sadly.

  “Not if I have anything to do with it,” Sterling said. “But, first, before I can battle the big ‘dawgs,’ a brother needs some nourishment.”

  They shared a laugh and, for a moment, the mood lightened.

  “Pick whatever you want,” Barbara said, passing him the menu. “Besides, from what I gather from our girl, Ann Marie, you need your strength,” she said with a wink.

  Sterling feigned shock. “That woman can’t keep a secret.”

  Barbara checked her watch. “I have a client on the way. So you will have to excuse me.”

  “And I have to relieve Carmen,” Elizabeth said, wiping her
mouth with a paper napkin.

  Sterling looked up with a pained expression. “Is it something I said?”

  “Enjoy your meal. When you’re finished, you can take a look at our files. They are all downstairs in the office. Stephanie’s down there and she can show you where everything is.”

  “Great,” Sterling said.

  “I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone,” Elizabeth said as they walked away. “It’s all so unreal.”

  “I know. But we’ll just have to deal with it and move on. I’m going to prepare for my client. I’ll see you later.” Barbara headed off to the massage and steam rooms in the basement.

  Elizabeth returned to the front desk to relieve Carmen.

  “There was a message for you while you were at lunch,” Carmen said, handing her a slip of paper.

  Matthew had called and wanted to speak with her. She briefly shut her eyes. Frying pan, fire, frying pan, fire. Her life had suddenly turned into a series of hot spots and it seemed like no matter where she landed she was going to get burned.

  “Thanks, Carmen.” She shoved the note into her pants pocket. She’d call Matt later. “Anything I need to know before you leave?”

  “There are two new applications on the desk for review. And there are quite a few memberships that are coming up for renewal. I started checking the system to see which ones would be automatically deducted from their credit cards and those we have to contact. I made a list. It’s right next to the applications,” Carmen told Elizabeth.

  “Great. I’ll finish those up and start getting the letters out. Thanks,” Elizabeth said as she took Carmen’s place behind the desk.

  “Sure thing. See you tomorrow. Oh, Kayla called, she said she was running a little late, but she promised to be here by four to cover the desk,” Carmen said.

  “Okay. Now get going before you’re late for class.”

  Carmen waved and hurried out.

  Once Carmen was good and seasoned she would make an ideal manager. She had a little more than a year to go in school to get her undergraduate degree in business administration, but there was nothing compared to practical hands-on experience. She was actually getting credit for working at the spa. Kayla on the other hand was more than a work in progress. She had a good heart, but her mind was always elsewhere, specifically, her modeling career. The girl was drop-dead gorgeous, so much so, that she was almost a hazard at the spa. More than one client had gotten distracted by Kayla while lifting weights.

  Elizabeth settled down behind the desk to go over the applications. To date, they had more than two hundred local members and there were at least seventy-five more who came in from out of town on the weekends or dropped in when they came to New York City on business. She had just started the process of entering the new applicants’ information into the computer, when Dawne, one of her twin daughters, came breezing into the spa. She was pushing a cart full of supplies for the café.

  “Hey, Mom,” she beamed.

  “Hi, sweetheart.” Elizabeth came from around the counter to help.

  “I got this,” Dawne said as she kissed her mother’s cheek.

  “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

  “I know. But we’re catering a big corporate lunch tomorrow and we knew we wouldn’t have time to get over here.”

  “You two are simply blooming and growing every day,” Elizabeth said as she smiled with pride at her daughter.

  “We got it honestly from you and Dad; hard work, a good product and honesty pays off. Let me get this inside and reconfirm the inventory. I’m sorry I’m in such a rush, but I have to get back. It’s pretty crazy over there.”

  “I can imagine,” Elizabeth said.

  Dawne pushed the cart into the café and started unloading.

  At some point, she and Matt would have to tell the twins about their father. The last thing she wanted was for them to hear the bad news from someone other than their parents.

  Dawne returned to the desk. “Okay, Mom, I’m out of here.”

  “All right, sweetheart. Will I see you and your sister this weekend?”

  “Sure thing. We’ll cook.”

  “Good luck tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.” Dawne kissed Elizabeth’s cheek and darted for the door, running smack into Brian Jennings.

  Elizabeth’s knees got weak, but nothing could prepare her for the hug Dawne gave Brian before taking his hand and leading him over to a stunned Elizabeth. She couldn’t breathe.

  “Brian, this is my mom, Elizabeth Lewis, she’s one of the co-owners.”

  Elizabeth’s heart was racing out of control.

  “Mom?” Dawne looked at her mother quizzically.

  Elizabeth felt faint. She finally saw Brian’s hand extended toward her. She thought she shook it, but wasn’t sure until she felt his strong fingers wrap around hers.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lewis.”

  “Brian and I went to John Jay College together. He stopped in the restaurant a few weeks back. And—” she grinned “—we were planning our first date for tomorrow.” She turned to Brian. “What are you doing here?”

  Oh, my God, Elizabeth thought.

  “I heard great things about the place and wanted to check it out.” He patted his very flat stomach. “I could always use some exercise.”

  “Well, I’ve got to run. Desi is going to kill me,” she said to her mother. She looked up at Brian. “I will leave you in my mother’s very capable hands. Call me. We’ll decide about tomorrow?”

  “Tonight,” Brian said.

  She finger waved and ran out.

  Brian turned to Elizabeth. “I know what you’re thinking,” Brian began, “but I had no idea she was your daughter. We hadn’t gotten close enough to get into our family histories,” he explained.

  Elizabeth felt ill. She couldn’t speak. Slowly, she returned to the desk and sat down. She lifted her head to look at him. “You can’t continue to see her…Start to see her,” she stammered. “There has to be some kind of ethical violation or some code you’d be breaking or something…” Elizabeth said as she felt hysteria bubbling in her stomach.

  “I’m sure there is. But I have a problem and so do you. I like Dawne and I want to get to know her better. But, if I do get to know her, that might cause a conflict of interest if your business comes under investigation. And, if I continue to see her, that might mean that I would have to step away from this investigation. That’s where the trouble comes in. Whether you believe it or not, I’m your ally. If I’m out of the picture, I’m sure you are going to get someone whose main goal in life is to make Ron Powers’s and your lives miserable…someone like my partner, or someone worse.”

  Elizabeth blew out a ragged breath.

  “I came to tell you, off the record, that, for the time being, no warrant is being issued. It seems that they can’t find enough evidence to support one. And I also came to advise you to be sure that all of your papers and your documents are in order in the event that a warrant is issued.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  He looked directly at her. “I didn’t.” With that he turned and walked out of the spa.

  Chapter 12

  There was only one highlight to the day that Elizabeth could fathom and that was that Sterling had found nothing unusual in the documents. He was going to have his assistant come in and do a thorough read, but, at least, on the surface, everything appeared to be in order.

  She didn’t mention to anyone that Brian had come by and she certainly didn’t mention that he planned on dating her daughter. Every time she thought about that her stomach started spinning. What in the world had she done in a former life to get herself in this predicament?

  Elizabeth made the left turn onto Ron’s street. As much as she wanted to see him, she dreaded it at the same time. There was a lot that both of them were dealing with at the moment, they were vulnerable and tensions were high. She just hoped that neither of them said something they would regret later.

&nbs
p; Surprisingly, she found a parking space. Had she arrived an hour later she might have been circling the block like a buzzard. Fortunately for her, most folks were still on their way home from work.

  She locked the car door and walked up to his building. She used her key and let herself in the front door then headed for the elevator.

  As much as he’d told her it was okay to use the key to his apartment, she still felt awkward. She rang the bell. Ron opened the door moments later.

  “Hi. How come you didn’t use your key?”

  “Oh—” she screwed up her face “—I keep forgetting.”

  Ron stared at her. “No, you didn’t,” he said seeing right through her white lie. “Come on in.”

  She walked in front of him and into the apartment.

  “You know, Ell, you’re really beginning to scare me. If we can’t be honest with each other about the little things, what’s going to happen down the road?”

  The impromptu visit by Brian Jennings leaped to mind. She ignored his question. He shut the door.

  “Can I get you something?”

  “No, thanks. I’m fine.” She put her purse down on the couch and sat down.

  “I’ll get straight to it,” Ron began. “I know I shouldn’t have just walked out the other night without saying anything. But I really thought it was the best thing to do.”

  “Why? You were the one who said I should go to the hospital.”

  “I know. That was my gallant side, the humanitarian Ron, speaking. But then the man who’s in love with you spoke up.”

  She felt her face grow warm.

  “And I got scared,” he said.

  She searched his face with her eyes. “Of what?”

  “Of the fact that you feel you have to hide things and lie to me when it comes to him…that this illness may be the thing that brings you back to him. And that, if something was to go on between the two of you, you wouldn’t tell me.”