The Black Sheep and the English Rose by Donna Kauffman

ourselves.”
    â€œHow close are we cutting it?”
    â€œToo close for comfort, but unless she drives like she’s in an Indy race, we should cross paths.”
    Felicity settled into her seat and crossed her legs. Finn kept his attention focused on the small, illuminated screen.
    â€œDo you think it’s coincidental that she happened to be in town at the same time as our Mr. Reese?”
    â€œI’m not a big fan of coincidence.”
    There was a pause, and he looked up to find her smiling. “And yet, here we are.”
    â€œHardly the same thing.”
    She lifted a shoulder. “Perhaps.”
    â€œMeaning what?”
    â€œI’ve been in New York many times in the past two years. And yet, our paths haven’t crossed until now. Are you saying you showed up in New York, in my hotel room, by plan?”
    â€œNo, I was tracking Reese—”
    â€œDid you know I was in the hunt this time?”
    â€œI—” He faltered. He hadn’t known. Not for sure. But he’d hoped. There had been only a few times that his cases had involved something she might have also had an interest in. Each time, he’d certainly wondered if she’d pop up, had even anticipated the moment.
    â€œSo…a coincidence, then,” she said.
    â€œOnly in that I wasn’t intending to cross your path, but it’s not all that surprising that I did. Given what we found in Reese’s hotel room, I highly doubt it was just coincidence that he and Julia Forsythe ended up in the city at the same time.”
    â€œI don’t know about that.”
    â€œReese was trying to secure a big exchange at Antoine’s, which fell through. I seriously doubt he just bumped into Julia in the hotel bar on the way back and figured, what the heck, might as well have a little fun.”
    â€œI simply meant that you bumped into me, and with a little less restraint, we might have left similar evidence behind. Perhaps more.”
    Finn couldn’t exactly refute that statement. “You think they’ve worked together before, or knew of each other, happened to bump into each other at a time when he had no time to spare, and couldn’t resist temptation?”
    Felicity’s smile was both knowing and challenging. “You tell me.”
    â€œWhat I think, is that maybe they were working together all along, and what we saw in the hotel room were the remnants of a celebration of a major deal being made.”
    â€œWhich fell through.”
    â€œWe don’t know if they had that celebration before or after his dinner at Antoine’s.”
    â€œExcept for the ice. And the still damp towels.”
    â€œNot entirely conclusive.”
    â€œTrue, I suppose. But not likely.”
    â€œDid you have any information on Reese flying out tonight?” Finn asked.
    â€œNo proof, but I hardly think he’d stay in town. He’s based in London, so it’s the perfect time to get a flight over.”
    â€œI haven’t been able to track anything down.” He went back to tapping on his screen. “He’s a lot more circumspect in how he makes his travel arrangements than Miss Forsythe.”
    â€œWouldn’t you think, if she was a high stakes roller, or in any way associated with one, she’d be more circumspect herself?”
    â€œNot if her traveling to New York was already a well-established routine, which it was. Deviating from that suddenly would have looked more suspicious.”
    â€œIf she flies privately, that takes a pretty good travel expense account. She’s done well for herself, but that’s pretty steep. Reese, on the other hand…”
    Finn looked sharply at her, then clicked back to the reports he’d downloaded onto his iPhone. “She didn’t always. Fly privately, I mean. That was noted on the last two trips, and this one. No other details about the flights, just a note from the agent that private arrangements