Susan Mallery - Under Her Skin

Cruz had been careful to drive slowly so no one would guess what he had under the hood. He’d won easily, taking the Ford Ranger as his own. Fortunately that driver hadn’t been lying about ownership. Cruz’s pink slip-required to get in the race-had been faked.

Later that night, he’d returned the Corolla and had gone to work on the truck. Two weeks later he was back, racing to win and winning often.

“…transmission left,” Manny was saying. “Are you listening to me?”

Cruz shrugged. “Sorry, no.”

Manny, ten years older and always the wiser, cooler head in the partnership, looked at him. “What’s your problem?”

“I’m engaged to Lexi Titan.”

Manny grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into his private office.

“What?” Manny demanded. “Tell me you’re kidding. What the hell have you done?”

“Don’t sweat it. We have a deal. Nothing more.” He explained about Lexi’s need for a fast two million dollars. “It gives me what I’ve always wanted.”

Manny stared at him. “You already have everything.”

“Not quite. She’ll be my ticket to that world.”

“You don’t really care about high society. Those women bore you.”

“It’s not about the women,” Cruz said, remembering how the senator had dismissed him.

Manny shook his head. “So some guy shakes your hand and that changes everything? You don’t need this, Cruz.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Manny didn’t understand. He’d never wanted more than he had-a good job he enjoyed. He went home to a wife and family every night. Cruz wanted…more.

He wanted something more than he had. There was a nagging emptiness inside that he was determined to fill. Being part of a world that had always ignored him was a start. Finding the right woman with the right breeding and connections would cement his place there.

“This has nothing to do with Lexi,” he told his friend. “She’s a means to an end.”

“She’s a lot more than that and this is the wrong way to get her,” Manny told him. “She sounds more like the one you couldn’t have.”

Not in the way Manny meant, Cruz told himself. “Well, now I can get her out of my system. In six months, I’ll move on.”

“You’re making a big mistake. This is going to come back and bite you in the ass.”

Cruz grinned. “It won’t be the first time.”

Manny shook his head. “You don’t get it. You’re going to have to learn this the hard way. Good luck with that.”

“TWO MILLION DOLLARS,” Lexi said, passing the check across the desk to her banker.

John looked surprised. “That was fast.”

“I want this finished as quickly as possible. How long will it take until the paperwork is signed?”

“I’ll get it delivered today. You should have your copy by tomorrow.”

“Good.” Then she would be free of her mysterious and potentially devastating investor.

She still wanted to know who had tried to shut down her business, but that information would come. She knew Cruz would get to the bottom of it. Of course, that knowledge and the money had come with a price. She had six days until she had to move into his house, and more importantly, his bed.

And then what?

Not something she needed to think about today.

“Should I ask where you got this?” John asked, waving the check.

“You can ask, but I won’t be answering.”

“Fair enough. I’m glad you were able to come up with the money.”

“Me, too. Thanks, John.”

“You’re welcome.” He rose and they shook hands. “I’m sorry the investor was such a problem. He’s funded quite a few businesses through the bank and there’s never been an issue before. I’m not sure what happened this time.”

“It’s fine,” she said, knowing none of this was about John. Whoever the mysterious investor was, he’d wanted to take her down. Or at least scare her. But it didn’t answer the question of who or why.

THE CORPORATE offices for Titan World Enterprises took up a full city block in the Dallas financial district. The main lobby had been done in dark wood and marble, with huge murals depicting historic Texas events on the three-story high walls. Security guards protected those within and kept out the unworthy.

As a child, visiting Jed’s office had been a rare treat, one which Lexi had treasured. She’d enjoyed how everyone knew her daddy and, by association, knew her. She liked feeling like a princess. For those few, precious hours, her father acted as if she mattered. There was pride in his voice when he said she was his daughter. Strangers smiled at her, thinking she had to be someone special.

Once home, Jed returned her to the care of the current nanny and disappeared into his study. But while in the tall, impressive building, she was more than a child her father seemed to forget.

After college Lexi had come to work here-parking in her space, riding the elevator up to the junior management level, bypassing the main level. But every now and then she’d had reason to walk through the lobby and she’d remembered what it had been like to walk in when she’d been a little girl.

Now she moved to the security checkpoint and prepared to show her driver’s license. One of the guards there waved her through.

“Thanks,” she said, thinking that her father wouldn’t be pleased to know that family was treated differently. In his empire, privilege had to be earned. It wasn’t supposed to be a birthright.

She took the elevator to the top floor, where she was again waved through by the receptionist. The big desk in front of the double doors leading to her father’s office was empty, so she knocked once, then let herself in.

Jed Titan turned when the door opened. “You won’t believe it,” he growled. “I don’t believe it. Goddamn sonofabitch.”

At sixty-three, Jed was still a handsome man. Tall, commanding and powerfully built, he dominated any room, even one the size of a basketball court.

“What happened?” she asked.

He picked up a file from his desk and tossed it back down. “Doping. Doping! It’s beyond insulting. It’s a goddamn impossibility. Do they think I’m that stupid?”

Lexi didn’t understand. “Are you talking about your race horses?”

Jed stalked the length of the floor-to-ceiling windows, then turned back. “Damn straight. Who cheats to win? I want to win outright.”

It wasn’t possible, Lexi thought. Jed took good care of his horses. They lived like kings in their fancy stables, with the best of everything. He would never cheat or allow someone else to cheat. He wouldn’t want the win tainted with the possibility. He would fire anyone who did differently. First he’d probably beat the crap out of him.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Some random testing came back yesterday.” He jerked his head toward the folder on his desk. “When I find out who did this, I’m going to rip him apart with my bare hands. Then I’m going to make him sorry he was born.” He faced her. “You know what’s the worst of it? I had some Chinese business folks visiting me. I took ’em out to the stables to show them what it’s like here in Texas. I wanted to impress them with my fancy horses and what we’re doing there with the breeding program. And right in the middle of that, I got the news.”

He swore again. “Ruined everything. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but I knew what they meant. They’re not interested in doing business with someone who cheats. I wouldn’t be, either. I lost the deal. Lost it right there.”

Lexi didn’t like the sound of that. The timing was too perfect. It was as if someone was trying to screw up the meeting for her father. Or was that her looking for trouble where it didn’t exist?