Reckless Encounter Page 14

  Elena knocked on Steven’s door out of courtesy, then pushed it open without waiting for a response. Steven looked up when she entered. He straightened the legal pad in front of him and cleared his throat.

  “Elena,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

  Although she was concentrating on what she’d come to say, one corner of her mind took stock of the man behind the desk. Golden hair, golden tan, the charm of a golden boy. How she’d adored the dimple on his chin, and the way his smooth locks glinted in the overhead lights. She felt nothing now. All she could think of how small and insignificant Steven looked, almost frail compared to the powerful frame of Max Glaser.

  Elena came to a halt in front of his desk.

  “Ken Eastman told me that Nancy Anderson leaked him the details on the Iverson takeover a year ago.” Her voice gained a sarcastic edge. “You remember, don’t you? You blamed me for breaching client confidence.”

  Steven’s eyes widened. “I see,” he said, and cleared his throat again.

  He’d controlled his reaction so well that Elena couldn’t tell if he’d already known the truth, or if the news had caught him by surprise. “Why would Nancy have wanted set me up to take the blame?” she asked.

  A flush crept up Steven’s neck. “Nancy may have had some romantic aspirations that could be furthered if you were gone.”

  Elena sucked in a sharp breath as the facts tumbled into place. “Nancy had the hots for you, which gave her a reason to want me out of the way,” she said slowly, feeling her way around the idea. “Once I was out of your life, she became involved with you?”

  Steven flinched. “I guess that’s not an incorrect statement.”

  Elena swept her gaze over him in disgust. She knew that was the most she’d get from him. No apology, no regrets. Just a lawyerlike admission of the facts, in the most obscure terms possible.

  “I won’t pursue the firm for unfair dismissal.” She nailed him with her gaze. “On one condition.”

  “Yes?” Suspicion flickered in Steven’s blue eyes.

  “Talk to Nancy. Find out how this happened.” She slapped the copy of the Echo on the desk in front of him.

  Steven glanced at the paper, nodded, then stood. He hesitated, and Elena could tell that he wanted to ask her to leave his office while he went outside, but he didn’t dare to risk doing anything that might escalate her anger. He left the room, not closing the door behind him, and walked up to Nancy, who had appeared from wherever she’d been hiding and sat behind the desk nearest to his office. Steven bent to whisper into her ear. Nancy got up, and the pair of them disappeared into an empty conference room.

  As Elena waited, the hard knot of resentment that she’d carried inside her for a year, like an undigested meal, finally dissolved. She felt nothing for Steven any more, except perhaps relief that she hadn’t ended up spending the rest of her life with him.

  Steven returned thirty minutes later, looking glum. “It was an innocent mistake,” he said as he sat down. “Nancy’s aunt works for the FoodMax store that burned out. Nancy thought that Kevin Eastman owed her a favor, so she rang him up to ask what would happen if the fire turned out to be arson, and why the owner might want to cover up the facts. Ken made his own conclusions.”

  “I see.” Elena took a deep breath. “Steven, if you’ve ever had any affection for me, there’s one thing you can do for me now.”

  Steven’s mouth tightened. A flicker of guilt passed across his clean-cut features. “Yes?” he said curtly.

  “Tell the truth about the Iverson takeover to Tony Harris. That’s all I ask.”

  “I already did,” Steven told her. “Tony is waiting for you in his office.”

  So, Steven wasn’t totally without honor. Elena opened her mouth to say something, to try and heal the rift between them, but she gave up on the idea. No point any more. They’d never be friends, so they might as well remain on uneasy terms.

  With a brief nod of goodbye, Elena left Steven and hurried down the corridor to the private suite of offices Tony Harris occupied. Before she had a chance to ask for him, the secretary outside his inner sanctum waved her through.

  “I was told you wanted to see me,” Elena told Tony after a strained greeting.

  Tony sighed and leaned back in the black leather chair behind his antique desk. “What a mess,” he said, linking his hands across his chest. ”Max blames you for the Ken Eastman story. He’s got it in his head that you wish to cause him damage. Why he would think that?”

  Elena gave a tired shrug. “It’s personal. I seem to inspire those kinds of thoughts in him.”

  “I’m sorry about what happened with the Iverson takeover.” Tony unlinked his hands and adjusted the reading glasses on his nose. “I knew Nancy and Steven were seeing each other, but I assumed it only started months after you’d gone. If it’s any consolation, Steven is mortified that he suspected you. He had no idea Nancy was the source of the leak.”

  “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is clearing up the situation with Max Glaser.”

  “I’ll tell him, as soon as I can reach him.” Tony’s lips curled into a wry smile. “I guess this means that we owe you your job back. Do you want it?”

  Elena considered. “I believe I do, but I’d like some time to think about it.”

  Tony reached for a pen and jotted a note on a pad. “Will Steven make trouble if you come back?” he asked, glancing up as he scribbled.

  “I don’t think so,” Elena said. “We’ve both moved on. He may not be thrilled, but he’ll live with it. And so will Nancy, if she manages to keep her job.” The corners of her mouth tipped into a sarcastic smirk. “We’ll all be one big happy family again.”

  When she got ready to leave and shook hands with Tony, elation quickened her pulse. Once Max understood the facts, she’d be able to go to him, support him through the ordeal of dealing with the ruined store and trying to salvage his business. It was not over between them. If he believed in her innocence, the magic connection they had forged would become strong and real again.

  Chapter Ten

  Max didn’t answer when Elena tried to call him on his cell phone. The thought of doing nothing except waiting seemed unbearable. So, instead of going home or to her office, Elena drove out to the burned-out FoodMax store, in case Max was there, inspecting the site.

  The smell of smoke alerted her before she caught sight of the building streaked with soot from the flames. She parked her car down the street and walked over. The main entrance had been boarded with plywood. She searched for another way in, but a uniformed security guard appeared out of nowhere to block her path.

  “Miss, I’m sorry, you can’t go inside,” the burly young man warned her. “The store is closed now. There’s been a fire. The building isn’t safe. You need to leave.”

  “I’m Mr. Glaser’s lawyer.” Elena seized the first excuse that came to mind. “I have some papers he needs to sign. I was hoping to find him here.”

  The guard hesitated. “All right,” he finally said. “But you mustn’t go inside. Not without a safety helmet. You’ll have to wait by the back door. I’ll let Mr. Glaser know that you’re here.”

  “Thank you.” Elena followed the man past a blackened brick wall, thrilled at having found Max so soon.

  In the loading bay, the buckled steel shutters had been partly rolled up. The paint had blistered in the heat, but the colors of the faded FoodMax logo remained faintly visible on the metal surface.

  “Wait here,” the guard ordered.

  Elena came to a halt on the concrete steps that led to the warehouse. She waited until the guard had disappeared inside. Then she snuck in after him. An acrid smell filled her nose as she entered the ruined storage area. Piles of rubble and buckled metal indicated where the shelving had stood. Two men wearing bright yellow safety helmets stood amid the destruction, talking in hushed voices, one of them making notes on a sheet of paper stuck to a plastic clipboard. Further back, Max and Joe examined a wall, probing int
o the structure.

  “Mr. Glaser!” the guard hollered. “There’s a lady outside who wants to see you. Says she’s your lawyer.”

  Max continued to inspect the wall. “What does she want?” he shouted back.

  “She says she has some papers for you to sign.”

  “Tell her to leave them with you. I’ll deal with them later, and return them to McKenzie and Harris on my way back to the hotel.”

  “All right, Mr. Glaser.” The guard turned to leave.

  Elena rushed forward. “Max! Have you spoken to Tony Harris?”

  The guard grabbed her arm. She tried to lurch past him, but he pulled her back.

  Max straightened and pivoted on his feet. “What’s she doing here?” he roared, with an angry gesture at Elena. “Get her out of here. And tell her to keep away.”

  Joe stepped forward. He stared at Max, an uncertain furrow lining his brow.

  Help me, Elena thought, sending Joe in a soundless plea. Make him listen to me.

  “What are you waiting for? Get rid of her!” Max snapped, and flapped his hand toward the exit, as if to usher away a troublemaker.

  Elena saw Joe give a resigned shrug of his shoulders. Then he strode over to her, his boots crunching on the bits of rubble that covered the cement floor. “I’m so sorry, Elena,” he said quietly. “Max wants you to leave. The building isn’t safe. Why don’t you arrange to see him later? He is staying at the Fitzroy.” Joe lifted a hand and fidgeted with the buttons on his short leather coat.

  She shook her head slowly side to side, despair filling her, “This is terrible,” she whispered, her voice stuck in her throat. “He’s wrong. I haven’t done anything to harm him. Can you make sure he talks to Tony Harris? Please. It’s very important.” Elena knew she sounded desperate, but she didn’t care.

  Joe gave her a sympathetic pat on the arm. “I’ll tell him. I’m sure that he’ll call you later, when he’s had a chance to calm down and think it over.”

  Elena peered past Joe at Max, who was pointedly ignoring her, continuing his survey. He found an exposed steel wire and yanked at it, grunting as he tensed his muscles. A faint rumble echoed through the cavernous space when a breezeblock shifted. Max shouted out a sharp warning. A fraction later, the grinding sound grew into a thunder as a section of the wall came crashing down.

  Heavy breezeblocks tumbled to the cement floor, smashing and rolling along. When the noise slowly faded, everything inside the warehouse was obscured by a dense grey cloud of dust. Elena was the first to react. She tore free from Joe’s grasp and lunged in the direction where Max had stood. Joe caught up with her in two long strides and pulled her back.

  “Careful,” he warned her. “The rest of the wall could collapse any second.”

  “Max,” she cried. “Are you all right?” Panic surged through her, giving her strength as she fought against Joe’s restraining hold. “Max is hurt,” she wailed. “Let me go. I need to get to him.”

  “It won’t help if you bring another load of rubble down on him.”

  The dust settled slowly. The heavy particles came down first, leaving the air opaque with a fine powdery mist, like a thick fog. Joe took a few careful steps, shielding his eyes with a raised forearm. Elena crept after him. She could see a dark shape huddled on the ground. The dust stung in her eyes and clogged her throat, making her cough.

  Joe issued orders, calm and competent. “Sam, call for an ambulance. Terry and Bill, you come and help me. Max is partly buried under the breezeblocks. We need to dig him out. Elena, stand back, unless you can find a spare helmet. One casualty is enough.”

  The security guard reached for his radio and stepped out onto the forecourt to make the call. The other two men put away their clipboard and notes and knelt down by the dark shape that was Max. Joe issued instructions while he fumbled his way to the partly collapsed wall, trying to determine if there was an imminent risk that it could come down entirely. The other two men attacked the broken breezeblocks on top of Max, picking them up and slinging them aside.

  Elena edged as close as she could without getting in their way. A frantic stream of words tumbled from her lips. “Max, please, please, wake up, open your eyes, tell me you’re all right. Please, Max. I love you, do you hear me?”

  Joe shot a startled glance over his shoulder at her as he heard her words. Then he turned back to his task of inspecting the teetering breezeblocks. “Hurry up,” he called out to the other men. “The rest of the wall could crumble any moment.” He retreated with careful steps and clutched Elena by the arm. “You need to get out of here.”

  “No.” She struggled against him, rising on her toes to see past him. Max lay on the ground, his legs trapped beneath the rubble. His torso and arms were free but he hadn’t stirred. The yellow plastic helmet that had toppled from his head rocked on the ground a few feet away. A smear of blood covered his forehead, the red stain a bright splash of color against the streaks of dirt that smeared his skin.

  “It’s not safe.” Joe pulled her into motion and dragged her away. There was an edge of irritation in his tone. “Be sensible. You’ll want to be able to nurse Max when he comes to, not lie in the hospital bed next to him.”

  Reluctantly, she followed him out into the crisp winter chill. “Is he going to be all right?” she begged, even if her rational mind understood Joe wouldn’t know. She just wanted to hear him say it. Max is going to fine. Of course he is. Say it, she urged him silently.

  A shadow passed over Joe’s face. “He may have broken bones, but he ought to survive. The wall only buried his lower half, not his head or his chest.”

  Elena swallowed hard, the dust grating in her throat. “He’s still trapped under a pile of rubble,” she said quietly. “And the wall above him is unsound.”

  Joe didn’t reply. He handed her to the security guard, with strict orders not to let her back inside. Then he disappeared through the door, leaving Elena to deal with her anguish.

  How could she have been so foolish and resist Max before? If only she hadn’t fought so hard against him, they could have had weeks together. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t offering her a future. The present was all that mattered, and right now she didn’t even know if he would live or die. A sob tore from her chest. She sank to the cement drive and huddled her arms around her knees, terrified that Max would die believing that she had betrayed him.

  As she listened to the thud of broken breezeblocks being cleared away, an icy chill settled inside her. In the distance, a siren wailed. The noise grew in her ears, and then a white emergency vehicle appeared around the corner and lurched to a stop. The rear doors sprang open and two men jumped down, sliding out an empty stretcher.

  Elena scrambled to her feet and tried to follow them inside, but the security guard blocked her way. “Miss, you can’t go in there.”

  “Please,” she whispered, wiping away the stream of tears that spilled down her face. “I need to see how he is.”

  As she fought the guard, swift footsteps hurried past them. She turned to see Joe trotting beside the stretcher, staring down into Max’s ashen face.

  “Is he all right?” Elena cried out.

  “He’s unconscious.” Joe threw a brief glance in her direction on his way past.

  “I want to come with you.” Elena wrenched free from the guard and started toward the vehicle where the paramedics were securing Max for transit.

  “No.” Joe jumped inside and slammed shut one of the double doors. He peered out through the gap. “I’m sorry, Elena. I don’t think it would do Max any good if he saw you hovering over him when he comes to. You’ll have to go to the hospital and wait.”

  “Which hospital?” Elena asked. The second half of the double doors slammed shut and the vehicle pulled away.

  “Which hospital?” Elena asked the security guard, despair threading through her.

  “I don’t know, Miss.” He directed her toward the street with a gentle shove. “You can’t stay here. I’m afraid you’ll have to l
eave.” Elena stumbled over the uneven concrete apron of the landing bay as the guard ushered her out. Abandoning her on the forecourt, he disappeared back inside.

  An icy numbness fell over Elena. Her feet shuffled along. Somehow, she found her car. She clicked the remote key to unlock the doors and collapsed in the driver’s seat, where she lowered her head against the steering wheel and burst into tears. Waves of anguish rocked her as she gave in to the fear that filled her—fear for the life of a man whose last words had been a gruff demand for her to keep away from him.

  ****

  Elena huddled on the hard vinyl bench of the hospital waiting room. Hushed conversations swirled around her, like dry leaves rustling in an autumn breeze. She glanced at the digital clock mounted high up on the wall. Eleven twenty-three. She had no idea if it would soon be noon or midnight. The windowless room with a harsh fluorescent light had looked the same since she first arrived at the hospital what now seemed a lifetime ago.

  It had taken an hour of telephoning through a list of the nearest hospitals to discover where Max had been taken. To gain the information. Elena had used the pretext of having to settle the medical bills on his behalf. Then she had driven over and told more lies—that she was his girlfriend. After finding out that Max was in the trauma unit, she had settled down in the waiting room down the hall, surviving on snacks from the vending machine.

  “Please?” She pounced up to waylay a nurse who was walking past with purpose in her hasty steps. “Maxwell Glaser, room seventeen?” Elena pleaded, anguish in her tone.

  “You shouldn’t be here.” The nurse frowned at her, untangling Elena’s anxious fingers from her arm. “Mr. Glaser has given strict instructions that he wants no visitors.”

  “How is he?” Elena locked her gaze on the pretty young woman’s face, examining every nuance of expression that could convey news, good or bad.

  “Mr. Glaser has given strict orders not to discuss his condition with anyone.”

  “So, he is conscious?” The panic inside Elena ebbed. “He can talk?”