Lex pulled into the underground parking of Dublin Tower on Wilshire Boulevard, parked his bike, and speed dialed his secretary as he entered the elevator.She picked up before the doors closed.
“Did you get the file?”he asked.
“Yes.The studio e-mailed it, and I made copies,” she said.“Jillian Finnegan is a member of XS100, one of the top organizations for stuntwomen.They have a website with stats, pictures, and stunt reels.It might be easier to view her portfolio online.”
“Thanks.Bring the file upstairs and e-mail me the link.”
“The file is on your foyer desk.”There was reproach in her voice.“And I just sent the link.”Paula Watson had been with him for eighteen years and could anticipate his needs before he voiced them.She was also the only employee with access to the penthouse, his home away from home.
His phone flashed with a new e-mail message.“Got it.Anything on her agent?”
“Greg Underwood’s agency is in Glendale.”
“Get him on the phone.”
“I already tried.He’s meeting with a client outside the office and won’t be back for another hour.I told his people to return my call as soon as he gets back.”
Lex had no intention of waiting around for some agent to fit him into his schedule.“Can I get there in half an hour?”
“Not with the traffic, but Mathews is around and Rake’s people won’t mind if we use his helipad.Underwood Agency is only a block from Rake’s offices.”
He and Rake went way back to college, parties, and easy lays.Now they were into more serious stuff.“Tell Mathews we’re leaving in”—Lex checked his watch—“thirty minutes.”That would give him time to shower and change.“Tell Cavendish and his team to be ready, too.”His legal team was used to dropping everything at his command.“Where’s Douglas?”
“I just sent him out to pick up a few things.He should be back any minute.”
He wanted to remind her that Douglas was his employee, not her personal errand boy, but the two of them had a special relationship he never understood and her silence said she wasn’t done.Paula never did anything foolish or they wouldn’t still be together.
“I wasn’t going to ask, because you’d eventually tell me what was going on when you were ready, but I’m curious now.First you wanted information on the actresses, now a stuntwoman.What’s going on?”
“It’s business.”Paula had been with Fitz-Valdez Real Estate when he started working there while he was still in college.Ten years his senior and resourceful, she used to scare the hell out of him.Now he couldn’t imagine his business without her.Her loyalty was the one thing he could count on, but this business with Jillian was… different.
It was more than different.It was personal and private despite what he’d told Paula.He didn’t want anyone to know about his plans for Jillian.Lex’s eyes narrowed on the elevator numbers as he mentally went over their last meeting.
The protective instinct toward her surprised him.Maybe it was the vulnerability he’d glimpsed in her eyes the moment she’d placed her hand in his.Or the way she’d trembled when he’d kissed her hand.The woman was a contradiction.Gutsy, yet vulnerable.If things went according to plan, no one would ever know how their relationship began.
“Paula, cancel Cavendish.I won’t need him or his team after all.”
The silence this time was longer.He could hear the wheels in her head turning.He rarely made a move without covering his bases, which meant his lawyers going through the contract with a fine-tooth comb.This was a first.But like he’d said, the situation with Jillian was special.
“I don’t know what’s going on, Lex,” Paula said, speaking slowly as though choosing her words carefully, “but I hope you’re not doing something that would land us in jail.I took an oath to never testify against you.”
Lex chuckled as the doors opened.He stepped out of the elevator and into his foyer.“No, Paula.It’s nothing that dire.And I don’t recall asking you to take an oath.”
“No, you didn’t, but a woman a lot scarier than you did when she asked me to be your assistant.”
His mother could be overly protective and equally outrageous.“Then I release you from the oath.I’m still officially out of the office, unless—”
“Your family calls,” she finished.“Your mother called and wanted to make sure you will be making an appearance at her party on Saturday.To paraphrase her, you better be there or else she’ll bring the party to the penthouse.It’s big enough to accommodate her guests.She also doesn’t understand why you insist on staying in the city when you have a perfectly comfortable home and people to take care of you at the mansion.”
Home was really the family estate in Palos Verdes.His mother was attached to it and none of his siblings had wanted the headache of its upkeep, so Lex had done what he always did and stepped up.He’d added a wing and made a few changes, which had pleased his mother, before taking up permanent residence.
“I’ll call her.”He picked up the folder from the foyer desk and continued to the kitchen.
“Speaking of home, your refrigerator is empty again except for bottled water, some white wine I’m sure I left there last year, and a carton of milk that expired weeks ago.Douglas will be there in a few minutes with some groceries.I gave him a list.”
Lex rarely had meals at the penthouse, so Douglas rarely cooked except for an occasional breakfast.
“Thank you.”Lex studied the kitchen and frowned.Something was off.“Paula?What did you do?”
