“It’s a shame the top-level penthouse wasn’t available.” I interrupt her attempted retreat. “I was really hoping for the full Cypress experience. I wonder, is there a way I could get a tour of the?—”
Her shoulders stiffen again, along with her spine. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. The penthouse was booked by a VIP client. Sadly, a tour is out of the question.”
If the instant reply isn’t enough to tip me off, her rigid posture is.
I wonder what aspect of that suite is causing Maeve stress. A particularly demanding guest? Or maybe she’s lying. Perhaps the accommodations require an extensive repair.
I raise my palms in surrender. “I understand. Sorry I asked.”
Some of the tension bleeds out of her face. “I’ll see you at dinner, Kellin.”
She offers her hand. The skin-on-skin contact widens her eyes and causes her body to jolt, just like in the lobby earlier. I feel the spark, too, oddly enough, and I’m not sure what to think about it. When she beats a hasty retreat, I shake off the tingle in my fingers and lock the door.
I have work to do.
I grab my bag and pull out my tablet, plopping down on the cushy loveseat to hook up to the portable network Rory O’Connor gave me before I left.
He may be the Kings’ technology wiz, responsible for IT and electronics, but I’m the one with an actual degree in cybersecurity.
He shares the tech, and I handle the rest.
I click open our encrypted Port Kings’ files.
We don’t have much. Just basic demographics on Declan and his three children, some names of other higher-ups, and real estate and business holdings that Declan has stakes in.
Nothing all that useful.
As Declan’s biggest non-warehouse property, with countless people flowing in and out weekly, the Cypress is the perfect place to conduct business.
The best location to hide a secret is in plain sight. No one would suspect such a public place to be full of criminal undertakings.
Maeve’s face floats across my mind.
She doesn’tactlike a mafia daughter, but how peripheral is she really? Managing an expensive hotel on Daddy’s dime? She’s definitely involved. Has to be. Declan co-owns the Cypress, which means Maeve’s in the family fold one way or another.
And I’ll find out exactly how. Maybe at dinner I can get her to loosen up and spill any Port Kings-related secrets she has tucked away in her brain.
But that’s a secondary objective.
My primary mission is to gain access to Maeve’s office. It’s the nerve center of the hotel and, by extension, probably serves as a hub for Declan’s dealings. I need her files, her calendar, any info I can get on hotel finances. Her computer.
Hopefully, my search will lead me to Nolan Doyle and his encrypted files. After Declan stole our accountant, he called Finn and issued an ultimatum. If the New York Kings don’t add him as co-owner on a whole slew of businesses, including their three nightclubs and drug trade, he’ll force Doyle to release the records. Declan issued a two-week deadline.
In addition, Declan demanded that Finn’s branch of the Kings restore his side of the family’s prestige.
Finn shared enough info with me to convince me that, if the Port Kings released those files into the wild, we’d be in deep shit. Not only does Doyle possess records showing him cooking our books…he could also screw over our business partners.
Luckily, he’s a paranoid little twerp. If he weren’t, Declan probably would have the files already and Doyle would be dead. But since he encrypts everything, the documents are worthless without him to decipher them.
There must be a record regarding the stolen accountant somewhere, and Maeve is my treasure map.
Maeve has direct access to the entire hotel. I spent most of the flight to LA pondering how to gain her trust.
With so little information to go on, a plan never quite solidified. But I’m adaptable. I can work with what I’m given and switch strategies on a dime.
And the moment I first spotted the long-legged vision in her sexy pencil skirt and severe blazer, her expressive face at odds with her buckled-up posture, she captured one-hundred-percent of my attention. I immediately decided that seduction was the best course of action.
Partly because all the blood rushed to my dick the second those lush lips gasped and that pink tint crept down her neck. I wanted to know how far down her body that blush traveled. I burned with the sudden desire to trace the path with my tongue and see if the color matched her nipples.
