Behind the Shadows by Patricia; Potter Page B

bewildered and furious. Just as anyone would be when confronted with … your … bombshell.”
    Time was of the essence for her as well. Maybe she could convince him, even enlist his aid. “Today?”
    â€œYes.”
    That clipped, angry tone again. She tried to ignore it. “Where?”
    â€œMy office.” The answer was curt. No intimate bistro tonight .
    â€œI can be there this afternoon,” she said.
    â€œFour?”
    â€œI’ll be there.”
    He gave directions, then hung up without another word. Her heart dropped. She’d hoped for the benefit of the doubt. But then, she hadn’t given him that. She’d had supper with him as if she hadn’t a care in the word, when she was really carrying around information that could shatter his client.
    His office. No suggestion of her home. Obviously he meant to be in control. Well, she owed him that much.
    She thought about calling Chris. She’d already reported the conversation with Leigh and planned to meet with him Sunday. But she’d asked enough of him already, and this was her problem.
    She glanced at her watch. She had enough time to run over and see her mother first.
    Leigh couldn’t get the reporter’s words from her mind. The lunch with Max had helped, but she was jumpy with anxiety. Beyond restless.
    Perhaps some work at Seth’s office would help while she waited for Max to report back.
    Seth was talking to his campaign manager as she entered his headquarters. He grinned when he saw her, then his smile faded as his gaze met her eyes.
    â€œExcuse me,” he told the man with him and came over to her. “Hey, Cous, what’s wrong?”
    â€œThat obvious?”
    â€œYou look like you lost your best friend. I would have thought you would be ecstatic after the story in the paper. It was terrific.”
    â€œYou saw it?”
    â€œSomeone brought over an early edition of the Sunday paper.” He picked a section of the paper up and handed it to her.
    She stared down at herself. The photo covered nearly a quarter of a page and she looked good. She quickly read the story. She would have loved it had she not discovered it had a poisonous seed. She truly wanted to kill Kira Douglas at the moment.
    Seth hugged her. “Good job, princess.”
    The gesture surprised her because Seth wasn’t a demonstrative person. No one in her family was. Except her mother. She remembered her mother’s cheek against her, the smell of roses. Or was that just something she dreamed? It had been so long ago.
    And now someone wanted to take even those few memories away.
    â€œCome inside my office,” he said. “Jack can wait.”
    She followed him into the office, ignoring the look of impatience on his manager’s face.
    He sat on the corner of a neat desk. “What is it?” he asked.
    She recalled what Max had said. Don’t tell anyone . But Seth wasn’t anyone . He was and always had been her friend.
    She quickly told him. He was five years older than she. He might have heard rumors if anything had been odd.
    His face reddened with anger as she talked. “She should be fired,” he said. “You want me to call the newspaper for you?”
    â€œI don’t want you to do anything that would hurt your campaign. Max is looking into it. He’s going to talk to her.”
    â€œI hate to admit it, but you’re in good hands then. God, I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling. Forget it. You look like your mother. Everyone has always said that, particularly your grandfather.”
    He was right. Everyone had said she favored her mother. Another reason to totally disregard the wild ramblings of a reporter.
    She brightened.
    â€œYou’re an heiress,” he continued. “And there’s a lot of money at stake. Maybe she thinks she can get you to settle to keep a false claim out of the papers.”
    â€œMax will pound her into the