Love in Paris (The Art Models Club Book 4) by Amanda Meadows Page B

machine doesn't surprise me? I suppose that's how you tore your tee shirt and got the grease stains.”
    “ You noticed?” Amber gaped at him. “Why didn't you ask me about it?”
    Hunter glared at her.
    “For your information, I was trying to practice being less of a control freak around you. But it looks like I should have given in to my perfectly normal compulsions!”
    “ Oh! Well, um . . . I think you did a great job,” Amber said lamely. “I mean I had no idea you even noticed the shirt.”
    Hunter closed his eyes and rubbed a spot in the middle of his forehead. When he spoke again his voice was resigned.
    “I suspect that not even you could manage to hide behind the copier,” he said. “So where were you playing detective from today?”
    Amber looked up at him timidly. “Um . . . from the cleaning storage closet.”
    Hunter nodded and, surprisingly, looked to appreciate it.
    “ That was actually quite clever. Nobody would ever think to look in there,” he said, his voice a bit far away as he appeared to be thinking hard.
    “ So you're not mad at me?” she asked hopefully.
    Hunter sighed. “Of course I'm angry that you kept things from me. Because it reveals an issue of trust on your part. But I'm glad that you're telling me everything now. And this new information is . . .um . . .helpful.”
    Amber gaped at him.
    “ You mean you already knew that something was going on?”
    Hunter frowned.
    “With Kayla and her mom? No. And that would have been nice to know before now.”
    Amber twisted in the seat to stare into Hunter's eyes.
    “What the hell is going on? And why is my name involved?”
    Hunter rubbed his neck.
    “I think that your hunch that Kayla's mom wants to pin something on you is probably right,” he mused.
    Amber punched his shoulder, shocked that he wasn't more upset.
    “How can you say that so calmly? She's obviously doing something illegal!”
    But Hunter's temper suddenly flared and she regretted saying anything at all. His eyes locked onto her like emerald lasers, pinning her to the seat.
    “I'm beginning to think you have some really deep seated trust issues, Amber,” he said, his voice almost cold.
    “ Do you really think that I would allow anything to happen to you?”
    He was lowering his face to hers and she could feel the heat he was throwing off.
    “What do I have to do to show you that I'm not someone who is going to betray you?”
    Amber folded her arms, her own anger rising.
    “You could start by being honest with me! You knew that something was going on that could affect me. But you said nothing!”
    Hunter wasn't backing off.
    “Honest with you? Would you like me to base my honesty on your standards? Should I wait until after things look bad to talk to you.”
    Amber squirmed under the implication. “But I'm telling you everything now.”
    “Amber, my dad and I knew that someone in the accounting department was suspect but we only recently narrowed it down to Mr. Ross. My mother doesn't even know what's going on because my dad doesn't want to worry her.”
    Amber thought back to Mrs. Webb's concerns that Kayla's dad wasn't adjusting well.
    “So you guys transferred him here to Paris so that you could keep an eye on him?”
    Hunter sat back in his seat and folded his own arms across his chest.
    “Yes. Obviously, I had no clue that Kayla or her mom were involved or I wouldn't have left you alone when I came here.”
    “ Kayla's dad looks really sick.” Amber shivered. “Ugh, the way his wife talks to him is horrible. I kind of feel bad for him.”
    “ Yes, well, he's going to feel a hell of a lot worse when I get proof of what they're up to.”
    Amber thought back to the conversation she had overheard.
    “So what's so important about this Board Meeting coming up?”
    Hunter looked pained for a moment.
    “I'm sorry but I can't talk about it with you.”
    Amber glared at him.
    “So who has the trust issues now?”
    Hunter shook his head.
    “Honestly, Amber,