Carla Fredd - The Perfect Man

What she needed was a plan, she thought. Renee shifted into Reverse and backed out of the parking spot. She maneuvered her way into the afternoon traffic. By the time she got on I-459, she had a sketchy outline of a plan. If she could avoid telling her great-aunt that the necklace was missing, she would. She was going to find the necklace. It was her fault it was gone in the first place. If she’d never married Marc, this wouldn’t have happened. Since his death, she’d had nothing but heartache and one unpleasant surprise after another. She realized she didn’t know the man she’d married but she did know her aunt Gert. Renee knew what that necklace meant to her. Marc had known it, too.

Renee pressed her lips together. Marc had hurt her but she wasn’t going to let him hurt her aunt. She was going to find that necklace. One way or another she would.

June 4

The office of Smithstone & Wasson was exactly as Chris Foster had imagined: traditional, Southern and intimidating as hell. It was a good thing that he wasn’t easily intimidated. Chris leaned back in the large leather chair and scanned the quiet waiting area. It wasn’t a room but more like a den with leather chairs and sofas, thick brown carpet and he’d bet his salary that the furniture was antique. The place said money and a lot of it. Renee Foster hadn’t scrimped when she’d sicced the junkyard dog of a lawyer on him…or rather Marc Foster’s estate, he thought.

Chris rubbed his hand over his chin. His brother, Marc, had never been one to do things the easy way, even in death. He’d grieved when he’d gotten a call from the police in South Carolina telling him his older brother was dead. He hadn’t seen or spoken to his brother in over two years. They hadn’t been close for more than ten years but despite that Marc had been the only family he had left. Marc had become a perpetual liar. It had gotten to the point where he trusted very little Marc told him and his lies had been the major reason they had drifted apart. Chris curled his lip and brushed aside the memory.

Essentially he’d been on his own since he was fourteen. But part of him remembered his older brother who would beat the hell out of anyone who messed with him, the brother who would bring him sandwiches from the diner where he worked when there was hardly any food in the house. Those images conflicted with the selfish bastard who’d married three different women. Chris hated the situation Marc had put him in.

He could have walked away. Hell, he’d wanted to say “to hell with this” many times in the past month. But he’d given his word, and once he gave his word that was that. Now, he was in Birmingham, Alabama, to meet with Renee Foster’s lawyer. They wouldn’t have needed lawyers if she’d been reasonable. The estate could have been settled and he would have been out of this mess and gone on with his life.

A dark paneled door across the room opened and a young Asian woman walked out. “Mr. Foster?”

“Yes,” he said and stood.

The woman smiled. “Mr. Smithstone will see you now. Please follow me.”

She led him through a quiet hallway filled with paintings and other artwork. Thick carpet muffled the sound of their footsteps. He gave an inward nod of approval to the discreet cameras and motion detectors. The lawyer had hired a good security firm. He wasn’t surprised.

The woman opened a door at the end of the hall and stepped into a large room where an older woman stopped typing and gave him a smile. The woman who’d led him there closed the door quietly behind them. She walked to another door and knocked twice before opening it.

Chris stepped inside and paused. A large, dark wood conference table dominated the room, and all but two chairs stood empty in the room. Chris barely glanced at the suit, who he assumed was Terrell Smithstone; it was Renee Foster who captured his attention.

Chris kept his expression blank as he watched his brother’s widow. There was nothing classically beautiful about her features. Her skin was a light brown, which reminded him of his favorite milk chocolate candy. Her eyes were dark brown and somber. She had an air of vulnerability around her that made him want to protect her. The thoughts were quickly dispelled when her lawyer stood.

“Mr. Foster. I’m Terrell Smithstone. I believe you know my client, Renee Foster.”

Chris shook the man’s outstretched hand, noting the rough calluses. He had the hands of a man who did manual labor, not the soft hands of a desk jockey or a lawyer. Chris would have to add that bit of information to Smithstone’s file. He’d investigated Smithstone and all of Marc’s wives.

Renee cleared her throat. “Terrell, would you mind if I spoke with Chris alone?” Her voice was smooth like honey. Chris mentally raised a brow at the use of Smithstone’s first name and at the tone of her voice. It was a tone used with friends. He wondered how well the two knew each other.

Chris didn’t like the feel of this situation. He’d worked as a special agent for the FBI for almost six years and before that he’d worked three years as a cop in California. He’d developed a radar for trouble and right about now his radar was telling him things were about to hit the fan.

“I don’t think this is wise,” Smithstone said. “As your attorney, I’m advising you to rethink this.”

Renee folded her hands on the table and leaned forward. “I’ve made up my mind,” she said softly.

Chris watched the interaction between the two. He didn’t know what was going on but if her lawyer was against it maybe she’d decided to be reasonable. Maybe he could put this whole mess behind him.

Who the hell was he kidding? Renee Foster hadn’t made a damn thing easy.

Smithstone picked up a folder on the table. “If you need me, just tell my secretary.” He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Chris returned his gaze to Renee.

“Please have a seat, Chris,” she said, nodding to the chair on the opposite side of the table. Chris walked to the chair and sat down across from her and waited. If she was nervous, she didn’t show it. Her expression was serene and carefully blank. She’d learned to hide what she was thinking and he wondered what was going on in her head.

“What do you hope to accomplish with this meeting today?” she asked.

This was a surprise, he thought. He’d made his plans clear to all three women. He wanted to settle Marc’s estate in a way that was fair to everyone. “The same thing I’d hoped to accomplish for the past month—to settle Marc’s estate. Why the sudden interest?”

She held his gaze and studied him with the intensity of a starving man at a buffet. For a brief moment, he could sense the turmoil behind the polite expression. He tensed, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Renee studied her hands, surprised they weren’t shaking or clenched. She was taking a risk. A big risk. It would be worth it, she thought. It had to be.

Meeting Chris Foster again was harder than she thought it would be. He looked nothing like Marc, for which she was grateful. She didn’t know if she could go through with her plan if he’d remotely resembled his brother.

She could do this, she thought. She would do this. She lifted her head and met his steady gaze. His eyes were the color of pale amber framed by long, black lashes. They reminded her of a panther she’d seen on a television documentary. The panther looked like a lazy cat but later proved that looks could be deceiving. The cat had been a dangerous and deadly predator. She hoped Chris Foster wasn’t.

“I will agree to the terms of your latest offer. If…” She paused and swallowed. Her mouth felt dry and she wished she’d accepted the secretary’s earlier offer to get her something to drink. “If,” she continued, “you will find something Marc took from my family.” Please, God, she prayed. Please let him accept this offer.