LITMIR.BIZ

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her cell out of her purse and flipped through it to find the message. Locating it, she handed the phone over to Cecelia. The message was short and blessedly vague. It read: Someone in the Texas Cattleman’s Club is not who they say they are.

      Cecelia shrugged it off and handed the mobile back to Simone, feigning disinterest. “That’s hardly big news. I’d say half the people there aren’t who they pretend to be.”

      Simone returned her phone to her bag. “And to think that folks still believe we’re the ones behind the attacks!”

      “I have to say I’m thankful this last message went out when I couldn’t possibly have sent it. I’ve got a room full of witnesses.”

      Simone just shrugged. “That doesn’t mean they don’t still think Naomi and I are the culprits, that we’re all in on it together. If I had the time, I just might be the kind to do it. You’ve got to give the guy credit. Royal has been pretty dull lately. Maverick has brought more excitement to town in the last few months than we’ve had since the tornados hit.”

      Excitement? Cecelia certainly wouldn’t consider extortion or extreme weather exciting. They were both terrifying in their own right. “You know, you might not want to act so excited when that stuff comes out. It makes us look guilty.”

      “Hey, I thought you would enjoy this more. What’s wrong with you today? You don’t seem like your usual self.”

      Cecelia wanted to shout, “Because the real Maverick is blackmailing me! That message was about me!” But she wouldn’t. Instead she said, “I’m just stressed out and tired. I had that big presentation today at The Bellamy.”

      Simone perked up again. “So, how did it go? Did you dazzle Shane with your designs? Is he going to dump Brandee and run away with you? Please tell me that at the very least he wasn’t rude.”

      “He was fine. And Brandee didn’t even come up. You could say that I dazzled him, since they offered me the contract. It seems I also dazzled his silent partner, Deacon Chase.”

      Simone’s nose wrinkled in thought as she tried to place the name. “Deacon Chase. Why do I know that name?”

      “Because,” Cecelia explained, “that was my first boyfriend in high school.”

      Simone’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “Are you kidding me? Is that Deacon Chase Shane’s silent partner? Didn’t you lose your virginity to him?”

      Cecelia looked around nervously to make sure that none of her employees overheard their discussion. Getting up from her chair, she ran to her office door and shut it. “Say it a little louder, Simone. Yes, Deacon was my first.” Those weren’t exactly helpful memories considering he was in town at the moment, but they were true. Deacon had been the first boy she ever loved. The last boy she’d ever loved.

      “Does Chip know he’s in town?”

      “Does that matter?” Cecelia asked. “Chip and I didn’t date in high school. We didn’t even date in college. He’s got no reason to worry about Deacon.”

      Simone wasn’t convinced. “Yeah, but he knows you two dated and were pretty serious. You don’t think it’s going to bother him that Deacon is back in Royal?”

      If there was only one thing that Cecelia knew about Chip, it was that his ego was bigger than the state of Texas. In his opinion, Deacon was from a lower class of people. He wasn’t competition in Chip’s eyes, and never would be. “I don’t think it would bother Chip. I mean, I agreed to marry Chip. I broke it off with Deacon after graduation, so I don’t know why he would feel threatened by him.”

      Simone shook her head. “Chip may not have been threatened by the Deacon we knew back in high school, but if he is Shane’s partner in the hotel, he’s done well for himself. That may change things.”

      Cecelia wasn’t sure about that, but she didn’t really have time to worry. “Well, I’m sure that Deacon won’t stay. He will be long gone once the hotel is finished. Speaking of Chip, I’ve got to get out of here. He and I are meeting for dinner tonight at the club. We’re celebrating my new contract with the hotel.”

      “Excellent. I’ve really got to get out of here, too. I just stopped by on my way out of town to share the latest gossip. I’m meeting Naomi at the airport. We’re flying out tonight to that fashion show in LA. We’ll be there for a couple of days. You be sure to keep us posted if anything new happens with Maverick.”

      “I will, although I’m not sure you’d be so excited about his next attack if he were blackmailing you.” Cecelia certainly didn’t feel that way now that she was his latest victim.

      “Oh, I’m sure he’ll get to me eventually. He’ll get to all of us eventually.”

      Simone practically skipped out of Cecelia’s office as if Maverick’s threats didn’t bother her. Cecelia hadn’t been bothered, either, until a few days ago. Now the worry was front and center.

      He had to be alluding to her in his latest message. She had wired the money the way her dad had instructed her to, and yet he hadn’t backed off. It was exactly what she was afraid of. Once you stepped into the cycle of blackmail, there was no good way to get out of it. She wouldn’t be surprised to see another message tonight asking for more money. Despite what her father had told her, Cecelia knew she had to use a different tact with Maverick.

      Her parents didn’t want her to tell Chip the truth, but that might be her only option if Maverick didn’t back down. Chip’s family was not only wealthy, but they had connections. If she confided her secret in him perhaps he could help to protect her. The Ashfords could crush Maverick like a bug...if they wanted to. She hoped they would, because she didn’t know who else to turn to. She would have to tell him tonight at dinner before things got worse.

      She was counting on him to be her savior.

      * * *

      Cecelia was a ball of nerves as she pulled her BMW into the parking lot of the Texas Cattleman’s Club.

      The club wasn’t where she would’ve chosen to have this important discussion with Chip, but he had made the arrangements without asking her. Inside, she found Chip seated in the far corner booth of the dining room. She let the host escort her back to the table. Chip got up as she approached and gave her a short embrace and a chaste kiss on the cheek. “There you are, kitten. You’re late. I was starting to worry.”

      Cecelia looked at her watch as she sat down and it was exactly five thirty. She wasn’t about to argue with him, though. To Chip, if you didn’t arrive five minutes early, you were late. “I’m sorry. I got hung up with Simone. She wanted to talk to me before she left for California with Naomi.”

      Chip settled into the booth across from her and smiled. “And what did the lovely Simone have to tell you today?”

      Cecelia considered her words. “Well, I wanted to wait to talk to you about this until after we ordered.”

      “I already ordered for us both,” Chip interjected. “I got you the grilled mahimahi since you’re watching your weight for the wedding.”

      Cecelia tried to swallow her irritation. She hated when Chip made decisions for her. Especially when those decisions were based on imaginary weight she had no intention of losing, thankyouverymuch. It was a portent of her future with him that she tried hard to ignore. She feared she would be going from spending all her time trying to please her parents, to trying to please her husband.

      “Then I suppose I don’t have to wait,” she said, ignoring his comments. “Simone told me that Maverick is blackmailing somebody new.”

      Chip nodded thoughtfully and accepted the gin and tonic the waiter brought him before placing a glass of white wine in front of Cecelia. “I saw something come up this afternoon, but I was too busy to pay much attention to it. What does that have to do with Simone? Is she his latest victim? I wouldn’t be surprised if she got into some trouble.”

      Cecelia steeled

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