The Perfect Murder by Kat Martin

FOUR

Aside from arriving at the office the next morning in the back of a limo to avoid dealing with the protesters milling around out front, Reese’s day started like any other.

Except that Kenzie wasn’t there. Since she had never taken a sick day in the months since he’d hired her, she had been at her desk every morning before he arrived. Been there for their morning briefing and the list of what he needed her to do.

What he needed from Kenzie was a thought that led in a direction he couldn’t allow. In six short months, she had become a necessity, as essential to his job as his laptop or his cell phone.

Which meant he had to ignore the kick he felt every time he looked at her. Kenzie Haines was by far the best executive assistant he had ever worked with. And with the heavy mahogany hair curling softly around her shoulders, perfect curves, and a peaches-and-cream complexion, she was also by far the most beautiful.

Kenzie was the kind of woman who drew a man’s attention without even trying, and there was a kindness about her that shined through her careful reserve. Unfortunately, any physical attraction he felt for her had to be ruthlessly suppressed. Except for riding next to her in the back of a limo, he had never made any sort of physical contact.

As CEO of a billion-dollar corporation, Reese was in an extremely vulnerable position. He had to be careful of every word he spoke, every untethered glance, every thought.

He amended that. So far no one had been able to police the thoughts running through a person’s head, but who knew when that could change.

Until today, he had managed to quash any notion of Kenzie as anything but a highly valued employee, and though her fear for her son had touched him in a way he hadn’t expected, he intended to keep his distance, just as he had before.

Reese sighed as he leaned back in the black leather chair behind his desk. The office was done in a modern motif with dark wood paneling and chairs upholstered in rich pearl gray.

There was a separate conversation area, a fully stocked wet bar behind the paneling of one wall, and the most advanced high-tech equipment available. Everything from a top-of-the-line iMac Pro to a seventy-inch flat screen with a wireless HDMI transmitter and receiver kit.

Reese checked his schedule for what seemed the fiftieth time. He was used to Kenzie keeping track for him. Without her there, he had run poor Louise ragged. He almost smiled. Kenzie’s assistant would be even more grateful to have her back than he would.

He thought about her ex-husband. Since Kenzie rarely spoke about herself, Reese had never made the connection to the wealthy Haines family until he had seen Lee Haines, who looked a great deal like his father.

Reese had never met Lee before, but he knew Arthur. Old Dallas oil money, an empire built by Arthur’s father. Along with Troy Graves, his late partner’s son, Arthur owned half of Black Sand Oil and Gas, one of Garrett Resources’ fiercest competitors.

He wondered how much Kenzie had collected in the divorce settlement. Surely enough to fight Haines’s suit and maintain custody of her son.

Or maybe not. He remembered hearing something about the senior Haines’s divorce. Rumor had it that Arthur had managed to leave his wife next to penniless. Her depression had eventually led to suicide. He wondered if Lee had managed to leave Kenzie with little or nothing, just as Arthur had done.

Thinking of his assistant and her ex-husband’s foul attitude toward her, Reese felt an unexpected surge of protectiveness. If Kenzie needed help, he would find a way to help her—whether or not she was too proud to accept it.

Rising from his desk, he wandered over to the window and looked down on the street. About the same number of sign-carrying protesters today as yesterday. He’d been surprised this morning to find them still there.

In Texas, drilling was a way of life. At least for now, fossil fuels were a necessity, though the company was heavily invested in sustainable energy, including geothermal, solar, and tidal. Reese sincerely hoped there would be enough alternate energy to run the world someday, but in the meantime, there was very little choice.

The intercom buzzed. The unfamiliar sound of Louise’s voice still surprised him.

“You have a call from Mr. Stiles, sir. He says it’s urgent.”

Derek Stiles was his VP in charge of mergers and acquisitions, working out of the Houston office. He was a good-looking guy, thirty-four, same age as Reese, and one of his top executives. “Go ahead and put him through, Louise.” Reese picked up the phone and leaned back in his chair. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until tomorrow.”

“I know, but unfortunately, another problem came up—more trouble with the rig.”

The deal to purchase the rig was being dragged down by unforeseen problems. For months, they’d been trying to close the deal with Sea Titan without success. The platform was only ninety miles off the coast, but the purchase couldn’t be finalized until a series of tests and safety drills had been performed and successfully completed.

“What’s going on?” Reese asked. He rarely involved himself in the day-to-day business of actual oil production, but this deal was important.

“There’s a situation with the lifeboats. They keep getting hung up once the men are aboard. The rig can’t pass inspection until the boats launch properly, and the problem needs to be fixed before drilling can resume. That definitely has to happen before we close the deal.”

“So get it fixed,” Reese said.

“The installation manager has been doing his best, but there’s some kind of equipment malfunction that’s going to require replacement parts. Getting them is going to take time, which will delay the drilling restart. I wouldn’t bother you except...well, as you know, this isn’t the first delay we’ve experienced lately.”

“Problems always arise in purchasing a project this big.”

“I know, but...”

Reese’s hold tightened on the phone. “What are you not telling me, Derek?”

His sigh came through the phone. “I really hate to put this out there without any proof, but I’m worried these delays aren’t accidental.”

Reese sat forward in his chair. “You think someone is sabotaging the rig?”

“I think it’s possible. That’s the reason I called. Maybe someone doesn’t want the deal to go through, or a competitor wants to buy the platform out from under us. It’s a helluva good price.”

“Which we’ve got completely tied down. No way can Sea Titan back out.”

“Maybe they’re having second thoughts, sabotaging the deal themselves.”

It was possible, he supposed. Or one of the whack jobs marching around out front in a clown mask could be involved, which raised the question, how far would the protesters be willing to go to make their point?

“Or it could just be a run of bad luck,” Derek said.

“Let’s hope that’s it. The Poseidon’s an important part of our latest market-share strategy. It represents months of hard work by a lot of good people—to say nothing of the money we’ve invested in the option. I’m glad you took the initiative on this. Keep me in the loop and let me know if any other problems come up.”

“Will do. Thanks, Reese.”

Reese could hear the relief in his VP’s voice. It was never easy to call the CEO with problems, or even potential problems.

He thought of the people waving signs in front of the office. They wanted to stop the purchase. They were using the deal to bring attention to their cause. He understood that, in many ways agreed with their concerns.

A notion that brought another thought squarely to mind. So far the NTSB—National Transportation Safety Board—hadn’t been able to pinpoint the cause of the helicopter crash. It was some kind of equipment malfunction, of course, but there had been no indication of a problem before the day of the crash.

He wouldn’t discount Derek’s phone call.

But he hoped like hell his VP was wrong.

Kenzie spent a leisurely day at home with Griff. She could tell he was feeling better because he was starting to get restless, pressing her to let him go outdoors.

“Mo-om.” He dragged it out like a two-syllable word, making her smile. “My head doesn’t hurt anymore and it’s boring just sitting around doing nothing. Can’t I at least go out and ride my skateboard in the driveway?”

Unlike some kids who spent every hour on their digital devices, Griff was an outdoor kid. He loved sports and any kind of outside activity, like hiking and baseball and especially swimming. Kenzie was usually grateful. Not today.

“The reason you’re staying home from school is to give yourself a chance to heal. You hit your head hard enough to knock yourself unconscious. The doctor wants you to take it easy.”

“He said I was only out a few seconds.”

“I know, but still...”

Griff grumbled something she was glad she couldn’t hear.

“If you want some fresh air, why don’t you take your iPad out on the patio? You can sit in the sun and play a game or do a puzzle or something. It’s not too hot today.”

They had a small fenced yard behind their town house. Someday she wanted to buy a house with a big backyard. It was one of the reasons she was grateful for her high-paying job.

Griff shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.” He ambled away, resigned to taking it easy at least for the next few hours. Kenzie watched him go, the fear she’d experienced yesterday still haunting her.

At every opportunity, she had walked up and simply hugged him, or ran her fingers through his thick dark brown hair. It carried the same touch of red as her own, his eyes the same golden amber. He was finally losing his baby fat, growing taller and leaner, more like his father.

Though that was the end of the resemblance. Griff was sweet and loving, always helpful and optimistic. Not demanding, mean-tempered, and completely self-centered, as Lee was. She liked to think Griff got his good qualities from her side of the family.

Which turned her thoughts to Gran. Kenzie found her seated at the kitchen table, a romance novel open in front of her. A ray of sunlight illuminated the heavy silver hair she wore in a sleek, chin-length bob. At seventy, Flo Spencer was still attractive, the few extra pounds she carried minimizing the lines in her face.

Gran looked up from her book. “You’ve been edgy all morning. I know you’re used to being at work, but an extra day off once in a while is good for you. Why don’t you go for a swim? Do something to relax.”

Kenzie was used to working long hours and when she was home, sometimes it was hard to shift gears and unwind. Swimming definitely helped. She’d been captain of the high school swim team, still did laps after work as often as possible in the condo association pool to stay in shape.

“Maybe I will.” But if she did, Griff, who seemed to have the same love of swimming she had, would want to go with her. Usually she was thrilled to have him along, but today she wanted him to stay quiet.

“On second thought, I think I’ll go up and check my email. Louise isn’t used to working directly with Reese. She might need help with something.”

Gran took her reading glasses off, folded them, and neatly set them on the table. “It was nice of your boss to take you to the hospital yesterday.”

“Yes, it was.”

Gran had seen photos of Reese Garrett in the online digital version of the Dallas Morning News. Pictures of him were constantly in the society pages, attending one charitable event or another, always with an extremely beautiful woman. Rarely the same one more than a couple of times.

Since Kenzie kept track of his calendar, she knew most of their names. Gran knew Reese was an amazing-looking man and extremely successful. Divorced with plenty of family money, Reese Garrett was one of the most eligible bachelors in Dallas.

Gran closed the novel she had been reading and gave Kenzie an assessing glance. She’d always been amazingly perceptive. “In my day, it was all right for a boss to go out with one of his employees. I guess that’s all changed now.”

Kenzie poured herself a cup of coffee from the fresh pot on the counter. “It’s completely changed, Gran. Even if Reese were interested in me as more than just an employee, which I’m sure he isn’t, there’s no way he could risk getting involved. And if I want to keep my job, there is no way I could risk getting involved with him.”

Gran sighed. “I suppose. But it’s kind of a shame, since the two of you have so much in common.”

Kenzie cocked a skeptical eyebrow. “Really? Like what?”

“Like you’re both very intelligent, both career-minded, both very attractive people. Probably a lot of other things, too.”

“Reese is a lot more than above-average in looks, and he has never shown the least interest in me, so you can just stop your matchmaking efforts right now.”

Gran’s faint smile was unrepentant. She held up her paperback, the cover showing a gorgeous half-naked medieval warrior. “It could be risky, but the right man might be worth it.”

Kenzie rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help smiling. Gran was the ultimate romantic. She had loved Kenzie’s grandfather every day of their fifty-year marriage, loved him until the day he’d died of a heart attack five years ago. Kenzie wasn’t sure that kind of love even existed in today’s modern world.

On that sad note, she took her cup of coffee and headed upstairs to her computer.