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“Moriah says you did a wonderful job with her parent’s cabin,” Lenore said, her cultured voice smooth and perfectly pitched. “Br
ian and I were interested in discussing a project with you, once you’ve completed the Sinclair mansion. ”
Interesting.
The Zimmers were easily as powerful as the Robertses within the Alexandria-D. C. area, and if they weren’t, then Brian Zimmer’s father definitely was.
“I’d be happy to talk to you about it, Lenore,” Jaci answered, and she opened her purse and withdrew a business card. “Contact me whenever you have a chance, and we’ll set up a time to talk. ”
Lenore’s aristocratic features relaxed marginally and her smile became less polite and a bit warmer.
“Courtney is raving about the designs you’ve shown her so far for the mansion,” she said. “There was talk, though, that you had no intentions of lingering in Alexandria once you were finished with the Sinclair home. ”
“Really?” Jaci asked. “I haven’t made any decisions regarding projects in the area, but I’m a businesswoman, Lenore, as I’m certain you understand. My plans often hinge on the projects available in an area. ”
She was aware of Cam and Brian Zimmer talking quietly at the side. Lenore’s gaze flickered to her husband. She turned slightly, the shimmering blue-and-smoke shade of her evening gown darkening her gray eyes.
“I wanted to be certain to catch you before others could arrange your schedule for you. ” She lowered her head and glanced back at Jaci through lowered lashes. “I’m sure you’re aware there are those who are eager to see you leave town as quickly as possible. ”
Jaci’s brows arched curiously. “Some people will have to live with the inconvenience, then. ”
Lenore’s lips twitched in amusement, before her expression smoothed once again.
“I look forward to discussing the project with you, then. ” Lenore nodded firmly, the sleek, dark hair feathering around her sharply defined face, as a smile curled at her lips. She turned back to her husband. “Are you ready, Brian?”
He frowned, though his hazel-brown eyes gleamed with laughter. “But Lenore, she hasn’t come on to me yet. Do we have to leave before she has the chance?”
Jaci froze, then blinked at Brian in shock, as Cam seemed to growl at her side.
“Brian, it’s the wrong time for your jokes,” Cam warned him.
“Hit him, Cam. He’s only getting worse. ” Lenore was obviously hiding her laughter. “I can’t take him out in public at all anymore. ”
“Brian, I catch you in the sparring ring again, and I’m going to hurt you,” Cam warned him, though amusement lurked in his voice.
Jaci glanced up at him, saw the laughter lurking in his gaze, despite his cool expression.
“Hell, you two won’t let me have any fun anymore. ” Brian shrugged his shoulders and flashed Jaci a subtle wink. “Maybe you can teach him how to enjoy life some. ”
“You’re looking at the wrong girl,” she told him. “I was hoping he could teach me how to have fun. ”
Cam tensed beside her, the obvious sexual vibes rising between them were thick enough to cut with a knife. She couldn’t push Cam away, she couldn’t push him back; that left distracting him. It wouldn’t take long, she assured herself. She and Moriah would have things ready soon. She just had to push Richard and Annalee a little bit further. Just enough to make them stupid enough to contact her, to say the wrong thing. Just enough to set them up and neutralize them.
She glanced around the ballroom as Brian and Cam returned to a business discussion, her gaze meeting Annalee Roberts’s.
Shoulder-length black hair framed her porcelain face and long, slender neck. Tonight she was dressed in a soft, cream-colored silk. Hell, she looked almost virginal. Her blue eyes were full of fury, though—narrowed, glittering with rage, as her ruby-red lips thinned in displeasure.
She might be dressed in the color of almost-purity right now, but Jaci knew what she looked like in black leather and with a whip in her hand. The scar across Jaci’s hip was evidence that the woman liked to use a whip and loved to leave lasting reminders of her sadism.
Jaci ignored the nerves in her stomach, let a smile touch her lips as she accepted a glass of champagne from the waiter and lifted it in a subtle toast to the other woman.
Then she turned back to Cam, deliberately assuring Annalee how little her anger meant.
Oh yes, she just needed to push her a little bit further.
12
“Would you like to tell me what the hell you were up to at the Brockheim party?”
