Elly thought it over. “Yeah, I guess so. One’s lying and the other is called a conspiracy of silence.”
Jada laughed. “Oh, that’s a good one. She’s onto you, Marina. Give the girl some credit.”
“I like to read thrillers,” Elly said, brightening.
“Fine,” Marina snapped. “Look, Elly. You, me and Jada, we’re not like these rich people. We are working peeps and should stick together. We’re the ninety-nine percenters, right? We can’t be throwing each other under the wheels of our overlords’ Rolls Royces. Right? So we keep each other’s secrets.”
“I don’t know. Maybe ... I don’t think Mr. Ian has a Rolls Royce, though,” Elly said.
“Marina did make a good argument, Elly,” Jada said. “Not that you should feel any pressure. It’s clear we can’t keep a secret, anyway, so what’s the point in trying?”
“Come on, we can do this. The three of us, together. Solving the mystery,” Marina said.
Elly’s gaze ping-ponged between the sisters. “I don’t really care about solving the mystery, no offense, Miss Jada.”
“None taken. Leave her alone, Marina.”
“Come on Elly. Just for a day. Keep our secret for a single day,” Marina said, her tone walking the line between pleading and whining. “Trust me. Jada will spill everything to Ian tomorrow because she’s like that. You can do this, Elly. You can. Be a loyal ninety-nine percenter.”
Elly took a deep breath then released it slowly. Her bobbed brown hair swayed when she nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll try. If he asks me what I know, though, I’m telling him.”
“Of course. But he won’t ask anything because he has no reason to, right?” Marina asked.
“I guess.” Elly smoothed down her rumpled apron and stood up. “I should get down to the kitchen and help Mrs. Best with dinner. I’ll finish up your dress before I leave, though, Miss Marina.”
Marina was all ingratiating kindness. “Oh, don’t you worry about that dress. I can take care of that no problem. Off you go then, to help Mrs. Best. Not saying anything to anyone about what you heard in here today, right?”
“Don’t push it,” Jada warned.
Elly scampered to the bedroom door. “I’ll try my best not to let you down, Miss Marina.”
After the door closed behind Elly, Marina blew out a loud breath. “Whew! That was a close one.”
“This will never work.”
“It will. She’ll keep our secret better than you will, I bet.”
Jada shrugged. “If you say so. But I predict this will go badly. And I’m pretty sure I’m an idiot for going along with it.”
“It’ll be fine. I’m going to see if I can find that masseuse. I need some pampering and relaxation right away. This has been seriously stressful.” Marina headed to the door.
“Aren’t you taking your dress?”
“I’ll come back for it later.”
“One last thing before you go.”
Marina turned at the door. “What?”
“We haven’t asked an important question. How, exactly, did my name get dragged into all of this?”
“Maybe Syl can tell us that.”
“I hope so.”
“Me too,” Marina said. “Because I’m betting the answer to that question will be the key to solving this whole affair.”
Jada wasn’t so sure.
IAN COULDN’T REMEMBER THE LAST time he had so many guests staying at the lake cabin. He knew the staff was thrilled with the opportunity to do what they did so well.
As he sat in the smaller formal dining room and surveyed his guests, everyone chatting and eating with obvious pleasure, he couldn’t keep from lingering on Jada. She’d worn her hair down tonight for the first time. It cascaded around her face and over her shoulders in dark, shiny ringlets. He longed to tug on those springy curls and watch them bounce back into place, to tangle his fingers in the thick locks.
When she walked into the room, her hair like an angel’s halo, wearing a simple white dress that hugged her curves and showed off her slim arms and shapely legs, Ian forgot to breathe. Jada’s beauty had literally stolen his breath. He’d never believed such a thing was possible, but now it had happened to him.
What did it mean?
If ever there was a man who believed he knew himself, Ian was that man. He had utter confidence in his ability to handle any situation. He had innate faith that even if he got nervous, or if he wasn’t one hundred percent certain of success, he’d pull out a victory anyway, regardless of the odds.
It was this confidence which assured him the win. Most people couldn’t fight Ian’s kind of inner strength, having too many self doubts which made them falter in the face of certainty. Ian’s sheer force of will and drive sent even his most formidable opponents scrambling in retreat.
But the situation with Jada was different. He’d never had feelings like these before. All he could think about was getting this woman alone and doing all sorts of naughty things to her demurely sexy person. Was he obsessed?
This wasn’t Ian Buckley, the man whose iron fist ruled over one of the largest economic empires on the planet. He’d turned into this other Ian Buckley, a greedy horn-dog who couldn’t keep his dirty thoughts and hands off the sweet girl next door.
Jada laughed at something Sullivan said, and Ian experienced a flash of irritation at his old friend. Who was Sullivan to make her laugh?
Oh, great. This wasn’t good. Now Ian was turning into a jealous asshole, too. He was disgusted with himself.
Nonetheless, when dinner was finally over and everyone retreated to the game room for after-dinner drinks and games of billiards and cards, Ian spent his time daydreaming of what he’d do with Jada when he finally got her alone. He wasn’t just a greedy horn-dog, but an unrepentant one, too.
When the party broke up, Ian caught Jada’s eye and she lingered near him.
Ian kept his voice low so he wouldn’t be overheard. “Meet me in twenty minutes in the pool room. I thought we might enjoy a dip in the jacuzzi.”
Jada smiled. “I definitely would enjoy that.”
“Good. Do you have a swimsuit?”
“Yep. Your assistant thought of everything.”
“Damn. She’s too efficient by half. This jacuzzi is suit optional, just so you know.”
Jada laughed lightly, a flirtatious sound.
“Don’t let anyone see you go,” Ian warned.
He himself headed straight to his dressing room, changed into swim trunks and a robe and was back downstairs in under five minutes. He mixed a few drinks, lowered the lighting and found some soft, sexy music to set the mood.
Jada arrived on time, swathed in a thick white bathrobe, her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
He met her with a smile and after a quick check down the hall to make sure no one had followed her, closed the double doors.
“Did anyone see you?” he asked.
“Marina wanted to hang out, but I told her I was turning in early. Other than that, nope. I think we’re safe.”
He led her to the bar, handed her the cocktail he’d mixed. She took only a few sips. Ian could tell she was nervous.
“It’s beautiful in here at night,” Jada said, looking up at the stars twinkling beyond the big glass skylights. “And kind of dark.”
He grinned. It was true. The room was mostly illuminated by the lights under the water in the pool and jacuzzi, and the thin glowing bands that highlighted the lines of the bar. “All the better to seduce you, little wife.”
“Well, it’s working.”
He moved in closer, reached for the ties of her robe. “Shall we get in the jacuzzi?”
She nodded, and swallowed hard.
Her eyes were so big and trusting, Ian felt proud to have inspired such feelings. He pulled the tie and opened her robe.
Now it was his turn to swallow hard. She wore a very tiny, very snug pink string bikini. All the fabric combined in the suit would have fit in the palms of one of his ha
nds. Ian silently blessed his assistant Cathy for her superb fashion sense.
He slipped the robe off Jada’s shoulders and tossed it on a barstool. He shucked off his own and tossed it after hers. Jada checked him out quickly before turning away.
He nabbed their drinks, gestured to the jacuzzi in the corner of the room, and let her lead the way. Damn. That was one fine rear view, too. She was perfect, he thought, rounded in all the right places, sashaying slow and sexy.
When they settled in the jacuzzi, Ian kept the jets on low so they could talk easily.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Ian said, “but would you let your hair down again? It’s beautiful.”
“It’ll get wet.”
“Only on the ends.”