“What is a tiny charity like Living Ruff doing connecting with a top-range, high-class collectibles factory in China in the first place? How on earth would those two organizations have found each other? You’d have expected Living Ruff to get their bulk merchandise cheap from Alibaba like everyone else.”
“I’ll take your word for that. I’m clueless as to where anyone shops around for their made-in-China merch.”
“Trust me, it’s weird. Thomas just told me that Charles Stone runs a sporting goods store, and he’s known for high-quality collectibles of baseball players.”
“You think he buys his stuff from Shenzhen Industries, too?”
“I do. Think about it: Harvey’s a cautious, conservative guy with a vague dream to do merchandising for Living Ruff. Suddenly, thanks to Elena’s donation, he has the means to go for it. So who would he turn to for advice? The person he knows already selling collectibles. I’m betting Charles is who connected Harvey with Shenzhen Industries. Probably helped him place his order, too.”
“Makes sense.”
“I’ll pay Charles a visit tomorrow and see if I’m right.”
“That might be interesting. I’ve met him. He’s quite the character.”
“How so?” Felicity asked.
“He’s as memorable as his sister but in a very different way. He’s got this whole laid-back, charming rogue thing going on. He loves hanging out at fancy clubs and making a splash. Like one New Year’s Eve, he bought drinks for five hundred women—who had to kiss him on the cheek to get their drink. It was so out there, it made the papers.”
“So he’s a player. And also, ew.” Felicity scrunched up her face.
“Right? His charms were wasted on me, of course, but he gave it a crack at one office party.”
“Arrogance like that turns me right off,” Felicity said with feeling. “I think it’s an occupational hazard—being around cocky lawyers too often makes me dislike overconfident men in my downtime. Especially ones who try to talk all over me or, worse, talk down to me.”
“I can see how that’d end badly.” Cooper grinned.
“Oh yes. Very much so.” Felicity’s expression turned evil at the reminder. “Now, can you send Mrs. Brooks a thank you while I order us in lunch?” She gave Brittany a quick scratch, then gently pushed her aside to rise.
She made her way to the fridge and the assorted menus clinging to its face. “What are you in the mood for?” she called out.
“Don’t care. Not that hungry right now.” Cooper’s phone made a whooshing noise—probably her thank-you message being sent.
“Would you like to skip lunch, then? Go for the next item on the agenda instead?” She poked her head out of the kitchen to gauge Cooper’s reaction.
“Are you tempting me with sex?” Cooper arched an eyebrow as her phone beeped. She glanced down and suddenly went still. “Mrs. Brooks said she didn’t send you anything and wants to know what we’re smoking over here.”
“Then who did?” Felicity stared in astonishment. “What’s going on?”
“No clue.”
“Well,” Felicity said, “I seriously don’t know what’s happening, even more than before. That disconcerts me. Someone leaking exactly what I need to help my investigation exactly when I need it is weird enough. But how many people would have access to that document I just received?”
Cooper opened her mouth.
“And before you begin listing the board members from Rosalind down plus the independent accountant and some random IT guy, of those people, how many know my direct email address, which, I should point out, I rarely share?”
“Not a clue.”
“I can already tell you how many.” Felicity barreled on. “One: Mrs. Brooks, who is the only person at Living Ruff I’ve given my card to. Even you don’t have my email address.”
“But Mrs. Brooks says she didn’t do this.”
“Right. So…” Felicity gave Cooper a baffled look. “I’m really out of my depth here.”
“I can see that.” Cooper rose from the couch and came to stand in front of her. “I see an intervention is in order. Figuring out this mystery can wait.”
“What did you have in mind instead?”
“You were right. Let’s move to the next item on the agenda and take our mind off things. Then maybe the answer will come to us. Besides, given you’re only going to be around for a short time, I don’t want to waste a second.”
She kissed Felicity, her powerful arms wrapping around her.
When they came up for air, a dazed Felicity said, “Right. Yes. Next item on the agenda it is.”
* * *
Sex wasn’t something Felicity had had an enormous amount of in her life, but what she’d experienced she’d categorize as ranging from acceptable to good—especially since she’d added women to her repertoire. She still liked men well enough; it wasn’t a competition. But there was something to be said for how well a woman knew a body so much like her own.
That was a fleeting thought as she hunted through her wardrobe for her most kick-ass power suit. She was determined to make this the best fucking sex of her life, or at least the most memorable, given her lover was right. Time was running out.
Ten minutes later, Felicity assumed her bossiest pose and gave Cooper—stark naked on the bed—her most withering look. “I have thousands of employees,” she declared. She dramatically wrenched off her jacket, tossing it behind her. “Thousands of people all across the world who answer to me.” She snapped the suspenders that tramlined up her breasts that were covered only in a starched white high-collar shirt, then winced. Oh fuck. OW!
Cooper snorted with laughter.
Not quite the reaction she was going for. She pressed on. “I’m allowing you this. I trust you appreciate having what my employees never get to see.”
With a small smile, Cooper said, “Um, hey, Felicity, I love this, I really do, especially how much thought you’ve put into it. But I don’t care about the size of your staff. It’s the size of your sass that gets my motor purring.”
