At His Mercy by Tawny Taylor Page B

what we can do for you. T o keep something like this from coming up again.”
    Kyler had already gone above and beyond, no doubt trying to make up for his earlier mistreatment. Life had taught her that there was a price to pay for any favors done for her, at least favors that weren’t owed. She never liked to owe anyone.
    She shook her head. “I don’t know about that. I’d rather you didn’t.”
    “Okay.”
    She was relieved when he didn’t push it, try to change her mind. She actually felt the air moving in and out of her lungs freely again. How long had she been holding her breath?
    He walked to her, stopped within reaching distance but didn’t touch her. Not a reassuring pat or a squeeze of the hand. Nothing. “Now go hom e. Get some rest. I’ll call you after I’ve ha d my little talk with Becker. I’ll let you know how it went.”
    This time, despite the heaviness in her chest, she had no problems getting into her car and driving home.
    * * * * *
    Kyler slid into the booth opposite Becker. “This is cozy.” Settling into his seat, he eyed the place, an Italian restaurant with a dark atmosphere and tables covered in floor - length burgundy tablecloths. “ I half expected you to stiff me. ”
    “I thought about it. But I what the hell? You were singing a song I liked. I wanted to hear the rest.”
    The man was shit. It turned Kyler’s stomach having to be even this close to Matt Becker . And God help the company if this kind of asshole was going to be VP. The missing money, which Becker had almost pinned on him, was the half of it.
    “So, I’d like to know, how are you going to cover your ass, Becker?”
    Becker waved a hand at the waiter and ordered his dinner and an expensive bottle of wine, speaking perfect Italian. “I’ll manage.”
    Interesting. Becker wasn’t exactly what he’d call cultured. Nor was he Italian . There was more to the slimeball than Kyler knew. Much more.
    The waiter turned to Kyler.
    Kyler shook his head. “ Niente, grazie. ” He didn’t exactly have a stomach for trenette alle vongole or fegato alla veneziana tonight. “If I resign on Monday, you’ll forget everything you know about the office manager.”
    After a long moment and several swallows of wine, Becker smiled. “I could be … convinced … ”
    The bastard was looking for more? Fuck that.
    Disgusted, Kyler stood. Leaning over the asshole, he whispered, “Two can pla y this game, you fucking piece of shit. You want to make an innocent woman’s life hell by dragging all her skeletons out of her closet, then I can do the same. Your closet isn’t exactly uninhabited, is it?”
    Something flashed in Becker’s eyes. Fear, perhaps?
    If things didn’t go his way tonight, he’d get in touch with the detective again , see if he could dig up more details about this guy. He was hiding something.
    Dammit, if he’d had more time, this conversation might have gone very differently. In fact, it might not have gone at all. Instead, he might have been talking to the police right now, giving a statement.
    Eyes narrowed, Becker set down his wine glass. “How about you sit down and we talk about this?”
    “Last chance.” Kyler sat, crossed his arms over his chest . “Give me the proof I came for , tell me you’re going to forget you’ve ever heard or read anything about the office manager, or I’ll take what I have and go to the police.”
    “If you had anything, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now. Giving up your job.”
    Kyler shrugged. “Maybe I was tired of playing the sales and marketing game?”
    “ I don’t buy that. So, the question I want answered is w hy would you give up your job for the secretary? She’s nobody.”
    No, that was just it. She wasn’t nobody. Not to him. But admitting that would only make things harder for her. “Yeah, she is nobody . Like I said, I’m not giving up anything for her. What do you care, anyway? By Monday, I’ll have my resignation handed in to the Board of