LITMIR.BIZ

       2

      THE FIRST FIVE BEATS of silence that followed his announcement allowed James McGuire a moment to study the young man sitting across from him. Dino Angelis looked perfectly at ease, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. McGuire had seen the same kind of seeming relaxation in jungle cats while they watched their prey. And like those cats, he wagered that Dino Angelis could move quickly enough when he was ready.

      He agreed with Bobby—Angelis was smart. So far, his questions had been perceptive and to the point, his comments insightful. The man didn’t believe in wasting words. For a split second, right after he’d said the word fiancé, he’d read surprise in the younger man’s eyes. Other than that Angelis hadn’t revealed much of anything he was thinking since he’d ambled into the room. He’d make a formidable opponent in a poker game.

      As the five beats stretched into ten, McGuire said, “Any questions?”

      Dino raised one finger. “Who’s going to believe in a fiancé who turns up out of the blue?”

      Once again he’d zeroed in on a key point. McGuire opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a manila envelope. “Got it covered. This is your complete history with my daughter—from first meet to secret weekends here in Manhattan at the Waldorf to the night that you popped the question on the skating rink at Rockefeller Center. Melted my little girl’s heart. She loves to skate—could have competed nationally if we hadn’t had to move around so much. Your relationship has been hush-hush so far, but Cat’s invited you here for Christmas to publicly announce the engagement and to meet her family. You have a two-week leave from the Pentagon.”

      “Where am I going to be staying? I can’t do a very good job of protecting your daughter if I go back to my hotel room every night.”

      McGuire opened the envelope and pulled out a key. “Cat’s apartment building is a co-op. A few months ago, the apartment next to hers became available, and I bought it for her as a surprise Christmas gift, figuring she could expand the space she has now. You can stay there. Both apartments overlook a courtyard that connects the building to the block the Cheshire Cat is on. As far as Cat’s employees are concerned, it will appear that you’re staying with her. You’ll have a day to memorize your background story before you drop in at the shop and surprise my little girl.”

      “How is your daughter going to react to all this? Won’t she want to know why you’ve hired me to act as her bodyguard?”

      “I’m not going to tell her that part.”

      “Then whywould she agree to this fake fiancé masquerade?”

      “I’m going to persuade her to cooperate over drinks this evening.”

      Dino’s eyes narrowed. “You think she’ll agree?”

      McGuire kept his smile easy, confident. There was still that little obstacle to overcome. Cat was her father’s daughter. She could be stubborn when she wanted to.

      “Cat has a weakness for wanting to please her father—especially at Christmastime. And the fake engagement is the onlyway to protectmywife and daughter from Lucia Merceri.”

      Dino inclined his head toward the portrait on the wall. “I’m not following. What part does your mother-in-law play in all of this?”

      “Nothing in the drug smuggling part. But the old battle-ax is the prime mover in the fake engagement scenario.” McGuire leaned back in his chair. “Just about the time I learned about the danger my daughter is in, my wife came to me in tears. It seems that over the past year, her mother has been asking for progress reports on what Gianna is doing to get Cat ‘settled.’ Turns out my wife has been placating her mother with stories, telling her that Cat has been seeing someone secretly. Gianna told Lucia she discovered the trysts by accident and she hasn’t wanted to get involved because she was afraid of jinxing it.”

      “An interesting story,” Dino commented.

      “Yeah. In my wife’s defense, I have to say that she’s been focused on her daughter Lucy’s pregnancy and didn’t have much time left over to run a campaign to get Cat a husband. So she made up a whopper. And Lucia’s been fascinated by it. Last week she announced that she was coming over here to celebrate Christmas with us, and she wants to meet the man Cat is seeing. My wife is in a panic about what her mother will do when she discovers the lie. It won’t take Cat long to figure out that if she goes along with this masquerade, she can bring some peace to the family during the holidays, and her stepmother will owe her. Christmas is a special time for Cat. She wants to make everyone happy. And Lucia is flying back to Rome on New Year’s Day. Crisis over.”

      Dino studied the colonel. “So the fake engagement is supposed to fool your mother-in-law until New Year’s Day?”

      “It could actually last a bit beyond that, depending on how the drug smuggling problem is resolved. I’m leaving the story about your eventual breakup in Gianna’s capable hands. Apparently my wife can lie like a trouper.”

      Dino unfolded himself from the chair and picked up the key and the envelope. “If that’s all, sir, I’ll take this back to my hotel room and go over the specifics.”

      McGuire rose and extended his hand. “Good, good. You’ll report for duty at the Cheshire Cat tomorrow no later than eleven hundred hours.”

      “Yes, sir.”

      McGuire waited until Dino had his hand on the doorknob. “One more thing.”

      Dino glanced back.

      “It’s not part of the job, but it would be great if you could get Cat to relax and have a little fun. The girl is so focused on her store that she doesn’t take time to smell the roses anymore.”

      “I’ll see what I can do.”

      McGuire managed to hold in his sigh of relief until he’d watched the elevator doors slide shut on Dino Angelis. That had gone almost too smoothly. Then he took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a familiar number at the Pentagon.

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