CHAPTER SIX
Greg sat down in the chair beside Olivia who turned and glared at him, her eyes sparkling, her skin flushed. He’d never seen a more attractive, intriguing woman. Veronica had said this had all the makings of one of his novels, and she wasn’t far off the mark, but he’d never have been able to create a character like Olivia. What he’d read about her earlier had sobered him, and he’d expected her to reject the assignment. Had he been the one to suffer through what she had, he would have, job or no job.
“You’re going to be on the clock twenty-four seven for the duration of the assignment, so you’ll have a huge overtime check waiting for you when it’s done,” Jack said. “I know it isn’t standard operating procedure, but this is a special case.”
“I’ll be covering all your other expenses while you’re my wife,” Greg added, surprised when her flush deepened.
“I’ll look after my own incidentals,” she said, and he could tell by the way she stared that she’d brook no argument to the contrary. “For appearance sake, you can pick up the tab when we’re together if you insist, but this is a job, Mr. Stuart, nothing more, nothing less.”
Jack frowned. “You’d better get used to calling him Greg. Sheena can’t suspect he isn’t who he says he is until he’s ready to tell her.”
“Don’t you think that’s cruel?” she accused, jumping to her feet and turning on him the way a she-bear might go after someone coming too close to her cub. “After everything she’s been through? She’s your daughter. She’s lost her mother, and you, her father, are abandoning her to strangers.”
Greg’s temper simmered with righteous indignation giving an edge to his voice. How dare she accuse him of being cruel, considering what he was doing to keep Sheena safe and protect the harpy’s reputation?
“I am not abandoning my daughter to strangers. Quite the opposite, in fact. She’s the one who wants none of me. I love my daughter, more than I would have thought possible since I’ve only been allowed to see her two weeks a year for the past eleven years, and not at all before that. Her mother and I didn’t have what you’d call an amicable arrangement. The only reason Nadia told me about her in the first place was because she wanted money. She blamed me for every bad thing that ever happened to her and poisoned Sheena against me. I want my daughter to learn to like me. When the time is right, I’ll tell her the truth. I hope by then she’ll understand the lengths I’m willing to go to for her.”
He saw her cheeks redden and his anger cooled. The mess Nadia had made of his life and his daughter’s wasn’t Olivia’s fault. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She turned back to Jack. “Please continue. I’ll shut up.”
Jack looked quizzically at her, seemed about to say something, and then shook his head. He reached for the folder on his desk, closed it, and handed it to her.
“The three of you will remain in Vermont until the training session is complete. Assuming the danger has passed, they’ll return to Scotland, and you’ll come back to Philadelphia. If not, you might be going on an extended European vacation. Maybe you can convince Greg to take you to Tenerife. I understand he has a house on the southern coast. You did say you wanted to go someplace warm.”
Greg chuckled at the face Olivia made. “The Canary Islands are beautiful at this time of year. Your passport’s up to date?”
“It is.” Jack answered for her, and she frowned. “Sorry, but I had to check in case this does go on. If it does, well, let’s just say I’m glad I’m not the one paying your salary.”
Greg laughed and smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Red. You’ll get your money. I may not be as rich as Tim, but I’m far from being a pauper.”
Olivia nodded. “I never thought you were.” She looked away and addressed Jack. “I’ll need ski equipment, ski clothes, and a few items from the armory.”
“Yes, take whatever you need. You’ve got carte blanche on this one,” he answered quickly, and Greg wondered if Jack thought she’d change her mind. “Ski Town is outfitting you tomorrow morning. Sheena got what she needed yesterday. She’s looking forward to meeting you, although, like you, she’s a bit apprehensive about skiing again. Think you can keep up with her, old lady?”
“Old lady?” Greg looked her up and down. “She’s not much older than Sheena.”
“I’m almost twenty-nine” Olivia retorted, and Jack coughed. “Okay, I’m twenty-eight,” she admitted grudgingly.
“It’s an in joke,” Jack added. “Olivia is my youngest operative, yet she can give anyone on the team a run for their money.”
“Don’t worry. I may be rusty, but I’ll keep up. Will you?” She looked directly at him, the challenge in her emerald eyes clear.
“My physical prowess may surprise you.”
Olivia grunted in an unladylike fashion, and he laughed. Despite everything going on, he hadn’t felt this lighthearted in years.
She turned away from him and focused on Jack. He got the impression he and his prowess had been dismissed.
“Why won’t whoever’s after Sheena just follow us from Philadelphia? If he’s watching her, it should be a piece of cake.”
“Because no one’s watching her. Sheena arrived on Boxing Day and has been staying at the loft. George Stanton flew from London to L.A. two weeks ago and apparently returned to Scotland yesterday. No one knows her alias and her new face. Tim’s lawyer arranged all the paperwork with the help of the British Secret Service. Since Sheena spent most of her time on location while her mother worked, she had tutors. Her accent is slight, and we’re passing it off as a Canadian one.” Greg was impressed by the attention to detail and how quickly Jack had pulled all this together—well, Jack and Tim. He knew money talked, but in this case, it must have screamed loudly.
“So, that’s it. What do you think?” Jack asked Olivia. “I know it’s expecting a lot of you, but what better cover can we give Sheena than a former Olympic skier helping her get ready to compete, and a doting husband who insists on being near his new bride?”
“You’re right. It’s the perfect cover. A man his age observing a teenage girl would attract attention, but no one will look twice at a besotted groom watching his new wife. And this was Veronica’s plan?”
Jack nodded.
Olivia smiled and her eyes sparkled with humor. “Then, boss man, I’d watch my job if I were you. I’d say your better half has a lot of potential in this business. Let’s hope we can pull it off.”
Greg chortled. “Don’t worry about me, honey. I’ll do my part.” He wiggled his eyebrows and winked.
“Seriously?” she commented and rolled her eyes. “I hate working with amateurs.”
“Assuming you don’t kill one another,” Jack said, looking as if he expected just that, “I think we’re good. Olivia, go get your gear. You’ll need to make those calls as soon as possible, and then you and Greg have to talk. The way you’re glaring at him, people will expect we’re announcing a divorce, not a marriage.”
Olivia turned to him, resignation loud in her voice this time. He understood the reason for part of it, but he’d swear she was more distressed about spending time with him than she was about skiing. That annoyed him. Lots of women would jump at the idea of being married to George Stanton. Yes, his conscience prodded, but how many of them would line up to be Mrs. Greg Stuart?
“I’ll meet you in my office on the ninth floor in an hour.”
“Okay. I’ll bring my coat with me, so we can leave directly from there and avoid any other pitfalls.” He hoped for a friendly smile or a nod, but she said nothing, turned on her heel, and left the office.
Jack stared at the closed door and shook his head. “That went well. I wish I felt more optimistic about this. I don’t know what Veronica was thinking. Actually, I don’t know how she convinced any of us to go along with this cockamamie plan.”
He crossed to the credenza, opened the mini fridge, took out two cans of soda, and handed one to Greg.
“Thank you.”
Jack popped open the can and too
k a drink. “Well, what do you think of Olivia Cummings?”
Greg laughed. “She’s not what I expected, that’s for sure.” He pulled the tab and raised his can. “Here’s to my future bride. She’s bonnie and proud. When I came up the elevator with her this morning, she fascinated me, and I might have been a bit rude staring at her, but you have to admit, she’s magnificent. The next few weeks won’t be dull. Between her temper and mine, we should have some dandy arguments.” He took a drink.
“There’s no denying her temper, but she’s the best operative I have. I’d trust her with my wife and daughter any day. She won’t let you down.”
Greg stared into the can as if he could see the future there. “If she puts as much passion into protecting my daughter as she did into skiing, I’ll be well-satisfied. She was one of the best. I saw her race in Europe when Sheena was nine. Olivia won the event. I don’t know why I didn’t put it together, but none of you called her Olivia, and I didn’t hear her last name.”
“Most of us call her Livy or Red. Remind me to tell you how I came to hire her someday.”
Greg frowned. “I looked her up on the Internet. There’s quite a bit about her before the accident, some about her injuries and her fiancé and cousin’s deaths, but nothing since—not even the fact she works for you. I assume you have more. What can you tell me? Since the day of the avalanche, Ms. Cumming’s life is a blank.”
Jack sighed. “I couldn’t learn much more myself. She went to school in California, but that’s all I know. We’re going with the idea that’s where you met. Apparently she has a boyfriend. That’s what her mother told me when I called Pine Mountain looking for her. I asked Veronica about him, but she hadn’t a clue.
Greg pursed his lips. The idea of his Olivia with another man didn’t sit well with him.
And since when is she your Olivia? his conscience prodded.
“Don’t worry. We’ll come up with something convincing. Actually, I’d be amazed if she didn’t have a boyfriend,” Greg added. “A woman like that isn’t likely to sit on the shelf.”
“Well, if you talk to the people around here, as far as they’re concerned she doesn’t date. We don’t refer to her former career, but I think most people feel she must have really loved that guy to give up everything the way she has.”
Envy stabbed Greg. He wondered if Erik had known how blessed he’d been to have that kind of love.
“Seriously, Greg,” Jack went on and tossed the empty soda can in the recycling bucket near the door. “Now that you’ve met her, if you want out, say so. I can send Sheena up there with a couple of male operatives who ski fairly well, but you’d have to stay away.”
“Having male operatives follow her would be a dead giveaway. It would scream that she was someone important—possibly someone in danger. It’s why we dismissed the idea in the first place. “
“So, what do we do?”
“Let’s go ahead as planned. Olivia and I will make this work.”