Chapter 1

“I want her!” Reggie said slamming his fists on the exquisitely hand carved cherry desk. Sloan sat staring at the man from the other side of his desk.

The past several months had kept Sloan on the run. Helping his brother Spencer, stop a killer and then being best man at his wedding. Sloan had been away from his work far too long, he wanted to get back to investigating, and he was hoping for a month of small, simple cases to start with. However, he could tell this was not going to be one of them.

As if things weren’t crazy enough, while he was off helping his brother, his secretary gave notice. Emmalu had been Sloan’s secretary/assistant for nearly five years. She was beyond efficient, she was his right hand. Emmalu was close to Sloan in age but they had never shared an attraction, no chemistry, and that was why she was so important to him. She had a way with the clients, the office always ran smoothly, and she never minded when he asked her to work late, until this new boyfriend. How could she marry him after only knowing him for such a short time? Sloan knew he really wasn’t mad that she got married; he just didn’t need any more upset in his life. After his brother’s wedding, Sloan had come home and slept for a week, well at least it seemed like a week. He smiled at the thought of his brother’s wedding, but the adventure getting him and Annie to the wedding, sure was a rocky road. Just the thought made him tired.

Emmalu had run an ad and even interviewed her own replacement. After phoning him with a rundown on each qualified applicant, they agreed on two. Sloan remembered now how he had said, “I trust your judgment, you pick, and after all, you know what the job requirements are, so you know who will be best”.

After meeting Sara, Sloan couldn’t decide if Emmalu had hired her for her complete and total competence or for other reasons. Many times, in the past few years, Emmalu had tried to play matchmaker for him. She always said that she worried about him being all alone. But now after a month he was convinced that Sara was perfect for the job and it had nothing to do with her stunning looks. And, she was stunning. Her slim hour glass figure would make any man crazy, but she had the nerve to have long soft sandy hair, gorgeous green eyes, a button nose and a mouth that just looked soft and inviting. Sloan had been thinking and didn’t realize he was staring at her.

“Mr. Way are you alright?” She asked standing in the doorway separating their two offices.

“Yes Sara, I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t help over hearing Mr. Gibbons and if you don’t mind, I’d like to help.”

“Thank you, Sara, but...”

“But nothing, I want her. Just look at her she is perfect.” Reggie Gibbons demanded again.

She was perfect, but Sloan wanted Gibbons to stop saying it. Standing Sloan repeated his answer. “No.”

“I want your secretary.”

“No, absolutely not.” Sloan shouted. “And she’s my assistant not my secretary.”

“I want her, or the deal is off.” Reggie said as he turned to leave.

She still stood in the doorway. Sara was like a piece of art. Any man would want to possess her. Sloan was no exception. He had not known Sara to show an interest in any of the cases that had come into the office since she had, so there must be a reason she was interested in this case. Maybe it was just because Reggie kept saying he wanted her and that she was perfect. But then he really hadn’t known her long, and had never understood what women thought before, she had to know this would be dangerous. He really did not want to put her in any danger and besides Sloan just didn’t like the way Reggie kept saying he wanted her. Maybe that was because the longer she stood there the more he wanted her too. He really needed to get a new case, something that would get him out of the office, away from her and these unnatural thoughts and certainly not a case where she could go along with him. He wanted something simple, like the old days. What he wouldn’t give for an embezzlement case or a cheating spouse. Something where he could just follow the suspect, snap some pictures or copy some files. This would be undercover work, where one wrong word could blow your cover and destroy the case. And in some cases, get someone hurt and no matter what else was going on here with Sara, Slone did not want her hurt.

If he took this case and if he let her play the part Gibbons wanted her to play, well he would have to go along, watch out for her and they would be working closely together. Sloan really wasn’t sure he was willing to get that close to her. When the case was over, she would not be able to just step back into the role of being his assistant and he could lose her. ‘Dumb ass, you mean the office could lose her’. He told himself.

Right, he had been planning to send Jim Rogers on this case if he took it. Jim had done a lot of this undercover stuff and would be fine. But if Sara went, he had to go too.

“Mr. Way, I’m willing to help.” Sara offered.

“Sara.” He said moving to stand between her and Gibbons, “This could get very dangerous. Thieves this organized are not going to like us trying to stop them. Besides I’m not completely convinced we are merely dealing with thieves. My gut says there is more to it than just an occasional theft. This seems very organized. I have dealt with this kind before and believe me, hurting you, is not something they will even stop to think about.”

“I want her. She is perfect for the part.” Gibbons shouted again.

Sloan looked like he was just about to throw this guy out or better yet, knock this guy out and Sara could see that. Quickly, moving to stand beside Mr. Gibbons, Sara asked, “Perfect for what?”

Mr. Gibbons pulled back a chair and waited for Sara to sit. Sara smiled her prettiest smile at Sloan and threw in a look requesting approval.

Sloan smiled and moved toward the two.

“Ok we can discuss this, and I want it noted that I’m against it.”

They talked about what was happening at the resort and how if it continued Reggie would lose his regulars, and the word would spread quickly that it was not a safe place to stay. He could lose this resort. He had other resorts and tons of money, but he had a special fondness for this place, and he wanted it safe and profitable again. Without much thought, she reached across Sloan’s desk and laid her hand on his.

“I really need to do this. It’s a win/win.” She said smiling brightly.

Sloan wasn’t sure he understood that, but he was starting to give in. A plan was forming and maybe they could get through this quickly. They sat and discussed the plan. Sara liked the part where she was going to be a rich divorcee.

“We will put you up in one of our most elegant condos and treat you like a VIP. I want you to be generous but not flashy. You have money, but you don’t flaunt it. We will arrange for you to have some jewelry to help with the illusion and of course some spending cash. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that this isn’t a vacation and we need to get this ring stopped quickly.”

“I’m sure you don’t need to remind her of anything, but I apparently need to remind you that she is only considering this. And even if she does this, I am quite sure she knows how important time is. I really think we should talk about this first, Sara.” Sloan said pointing to the outer office. “Will you excuse us for just a moment?”

Sara knew that she had better let him try to talk her out of this, but she also knew she wanted to help. As he closed the door, he said her name. “Sara”, rubbing his hand over his face, he went on, “I really don’t like this. Honey you will be the bait. You are putting yourself in danger. Your job is to run the office, keep me organized and bail me out of jail when necessary.”

Sara’s mouth fell open, “Jail?”

“I was just kidding; I threw that in to see if you were really listening.”

“Of course, I was listening.”

“Well you looked like you were thinking about what you were going to say to get me to change my mind about all this.”

“Well maybe I was, but I have to do this. Mr. Gibbons is a very influential man. He can send a lot of business your way. I know you already have a good clientele, but Mr. Gibbons can only help. I’m willing to try it.” She offered. That was what she had meant by the win/win comment. Sloan studied her face for a moment. She was serious. He also couldn’t help but notice how pretty her emerald green eyes were. Something he really didn’t need to be noticing.

“Sara.” He said on a sigh staring at her.

“I can do this.” She whispered.

He looked at her for a moment longer and decided that she needed to do this for some crazy reason. He would stay close, so she would be safe, and maybe this would be a quick case after all.

“Ok, but I’m going to watch you like a clock. And if you want out, just say the word and it’s over.” It was sweet that she thought this could help his business. She couldn’t know that he was already as well off as Mr. Gibbons. That’s why he wasn’t impressed with Reggie. He had known people like this his whole life and had sworn never to let his money go to his head.

“Ok Gibbons we’ll do it, but my way and if she gets hurt, I’m charging you double.” Sloan said with a glare that Gibbons definitely understood. Money had nothing to do with his threat, but Gibbons sensed, that if she did get hurt, he could never cover the cost. This woman was special to Sloan.

Plans were made with Mr. Gibbons. Sara made arrangements with Margaret and one of the secretaries to handle their calls and Sloan had Jim Rogers, one of his other investigators to handle any emergencies. He would borrow his new sister-in-law’s beach house, so he could stay close. Sara may think that she could take care of herself, but he would stay nearby to make sure.

Sara took the rest of the day off to pack and run some personal errands. Mr. Gibbons had told her to buy whatever she needed at Willoby’s to create the illusion. An account would be established in her pretend name, Sara Walker. She needed to look the part and he would cover the cost. After picking only a few items to complete her wardrobe, she paid cash and headed home. No way was she letting a strange man buy her clothes. She stopped outside the Weston Beauty Salon. This was a pretty swanky place, but the sign did say walk in’s welcome, so she did. Inside they acted as if they couldn’t believe anyone would actually just walk in, but she didn’t care. Her days of worrying about what other people thought of her were over.

The man who did her hair explained that her face was shaped for a shorter cut; he also talked her into some highlights. Her long straight sandy hair had always been easy and suited her. Everyone she knew said it looked nice, but today she wanted more than nice. Cutting her hair to her jaw line and just flipping it under made a major improvement, but when he finished with the highlighting, she looked fabulous. When he finally turned her to face the mirror, Sara was amazed. She had always known that she was ok to look at, sometimes she thought even pretty but now! Who would have thought that a hairstyle could change her looks so much? Worldly and stunning were the first words that came to her mind. She even wondered what Sloan would think. He was obviously a worldly man and she had to make herself stop thinking about him, but there was just something about him that kept her sizzling. When she accepted this job from Emmalu, she expected her new boss to look like Jim Rogers, balding, a little over weight and always on the phone with his grandkids. She never imagined Sloan Way. He was fit and trim, great hair, perfect smile and looked good enough to be on a GQ cover. Ok he was just hot, and she had to stop thinking about him that way.