Dozens of thoughts raced through Mia’s mind. Last night, seeing Michael again, the kiss, the sex with Steven, her guilt, her assignment, the Cartel, her oath. They all ran together until her head began to pound and panic seized her. Her life and emotions were suddenly out of control and she didn’t know how to handle it.
Finally, she released her clenched fists, raised her gaze and focused on Ashley. There were obviously things she could not disclose, which would make her having to see Michael difficult to explain. She cleared her throat.
“I’m going to tell you some things. Some are not going to make any sense because of the things that I can’t tell you. Understand?”
Ashley blinked in confusion. “Not really, but go ahead. I’ll piece it together.”
“Well, you already know about me and Michael’s past...”
Ashley nodded.
“Last night he didn’t take me for drinks. He had his driver take me to his home on Sag Harbor, the home he said he’d had built for me and him.”
Ashley sucked in a breath of surprise, but didn’t interrupt.
Mia swallowed. “He kissed me. And I didn’t stop him.”
From there the rest of the story poured out: how she felt, her confusion, even what happened between her and Steven, her guilt.
She rubbed her forehead as if the action could rub away the thoughts and images that tramped through her brain.
“Wow,” Ashley murmured after Mia had finished. “And I guess the reason why you have to go see him is the part you can’t tell me.”
Mia nodded.
“Why not let me go with you?”
“I wish I could but I can’t. All I can say is that it’s bigger than me and you and I promised that I would do this.”
Ashley blew out a breath. “I respect that. But can I offer some advice?”
“I could use some.”
“Be clear about the why. Be sure that you’re doing this because you have no choice and not because you subconsciously want to rekindle your relationship. Because if you do, you owe it to Steven to be honest with him about your feelings.”
How could she explain that it was a combination of both? A part of her felt duty-bound and another part wanted to see what life would be like again with Michael. In addition to which, she wanted to prove that he couldn’t be capable of the things he was suspected of. And she hoped that her own misgivings would not cloud her judgment.
Ashley pushed up from her seat. “If you change your mind, I’m free all afternoon,” she said with a soft smile. She turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Ashley turned back around.
Mia stood. “If I take you with me, you have to promise not to ask any questions, no matter what happens.”
“Gee, Mia, you sound like some kind of spy or something.”
Mia snatched up her purse and tote bag. She looked Ashley in her eyes. “Or something.” She headed for the door, leaving Ashley pinned in place by her declaration. “Coming?”
Ashley hurried behind her boss and wondered what she’d gotten herself into.
Chapter 8
“No point in circling the block again,” Mia groused, looking above and below car tops and along the tightly packed street as she inched down 56th Street. Michael’s office on Madison Avenue was in the heart of Manhattan. But parking on Madison was out of the question. “It’s mostly either No Parking Anytime or For Commercial Traffic Only.”
“There’s a garage about a block down on your right,” Ashley pointed out.
Mia signaled then eased into the right lane in front of a yellow cab and zipped across the intersection before the light changed. The Quick-Park parking garage was franchised throughout the city. Their trademark black-and-gold signs were like beacons of salvation for harried drivers.
Throughout the thirty-minute drive, Ashley had refrained from asking questions, basically making small talk or keeping quiet, which totally went against her grain. This entire scenario had Ashley deeply concerned about Mia. Mia had said there were things she couldn’t tell her, and heaven only knew what that meant. She just hoped that whatever Mia had gotten herself involved in was not going to get her hurt, and she didn’t mean physically.
During the months that she’d spent working with Mia, she’d come to admire and respect her. Mia was forthright, professional, loyal to her friends and able to charm the most difficult clients. She ran her business with precision, and she conducted her life with the same kind of order and attention to detail—all without breaking a sweat. Which was why it was so unsettling to see her like this—totally distracted, edgy and, for lack of a better word, scared. Those were words Ashley would have never associated with Mia, and Ashley vowed to stick by her side and see things through.
* * *
Mia unsnapped her seat belt, pulled down the overhead mirror and reapplied her lipstick, which she’d pretty much chewed off during the trip.
For an instant she froze. The look in her eyes that was reflected back at her was one of uncertainty and confusion. And she knew that it had more to do with her twisted feelings for Michael than her ability to do her job. Yet both were intricately intertwined, and she couldn’t see one without the other. But she had to.
She felt Ashley staring at her and turned. “I may need your help.”
Ashley’s honey-brown eyes widened ever so slightly. “Sure. Whatever you need.”
Mia offered a tight-lipped smile, flipped the mirror back in place, grabbed her purse and tote and hopped out.
The attendant handed her a ticket and asked how long she would be.
“No more than an hour.” She turned and walked up the ramp and out onto the busy street.
Michael’s offices were on the five-hundred block of Madison Avenue, surrounded by the headquarters of all the major banks both domestic and foreign and the leading financial institutions, Schwab, Deutsche Bank. His office was at 554-11 Madison on the twenty-second floor.
The duo pushed through the glass-and-chrome revolving doors. They were stopped at the security check-in desk, and asked to produce identification and sign a logbook.
Ever since 9/11, all the major New York City office buildings had instituted this procedure. Mia often wondered what possible good it would do and what kind of deterrent it was for someone who really wanted to do harm. There was no way to prove that anyone’s ID was legitimate.
Her friend Danielle’s last Cartel case was a perfect example of what people could do with ID. Dani’s identity theft case even added an additional element of finding famous look-alikes who were used to gain access to parties, offices and homes with the purpose of stealing unsuspecting victims’ identities. The successful outcome was all in the news, with no mention of Danielle or the Cartel, of course.
No matter how careful you were and no matter how many safeguards were put in place, someone, somewhere, was working to breach your defenses. The Ladies Cartel was a testament to that truth. Besides, she reasoned, if someone intended to get in and blow up a building, the logbook would be destroyed in the process. It was all quite arcane and silly in Mia’s mind, but if it offered some sense of security, she supposed it was useful.
Mia and Ashley walked side by side to the second bank of elevators