“Good.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Now tell me everything you know about Mark DuFord.”
The pen slipped out of her hand and clattered to the tile floor. “Shit,” she muttered as she quickly snatched it. “I’m sorry, did you just ask about Mark?”
“You do know him?”
Her brow crinkled. “I suppose. We dated last summer. How on earth did you find out about that?”
“I did an image search on you. Now tell me everything about how you and DuFord met. How long you dated, how serious it was, how involved you were in his business. Everything.”
The hairs on the back of her neck stood as he focused all his attention on her, and she realized she might be getting into something bigger than she’d intended. “Well, I was hosting an event last season, and Mark was a neighbor of my client. He asked me out at the end of the party and we had a few casual dates. We were together for about a month before we realized we weren’t right for each other and split on amicable terms.”
“What about his business? Did he ever mention his clients to you?”
Grace shook her head. “He was a very private man. Now, what on earth does Mark have to do with my situation?”
Simon took a deep breath. “I have a,” he paused as though searching for the word, “complex relationship with him. And by complex, I mean I want him in prison and he doesn’t know I exist.”
Grace leaned back in her chair and considered him. “Prison? What did he ever do to you?”
He shook his head. “No details yet. I can help you and your business survive whatever the hell Robert Bar is doing, but only if you help me bring down Mark DuFord.”
She thought back to her short time with Mark. He’d been funny and charming and a perfect gentleman. She’d probably still be with him if her work schedule hadn’t been so erratic, but after a few too many missed dates, they’d called it quits. Now she was supposed to help send him to prison? “I don’t know how I can help. I haven’t even spoken to him in over a year, and we were never that serious.”
“This is my offer, and you need to understand what a deal I’m cutting you. I will dig you out of this hole until your business is just as good, if not better off, than it was before me. All I ask is that you be there for me when I call in a favor.”
A shiver snaked down her spine and Grace stood, crossing to stand behind her desk. The look Simon gave her as his eyes followed her every move told her that he knew exactly what she was thinking. That moving to her position of power would somehow make her feel like she had control over the situation.
“Any favor?” There had to be some sort of boundary. She felt less as if she were negotiating with a respectable businessman and more as though she was making a deal with the devil.
“Any favor that can get me closer to nailing DuFord.” His scrutiny never let up.
She crossed her arms. “I can’t agree to that. It’s way too open-ended.” As tempting as his offer was, she knew all too well how delicate her situation was. She was backed into a corner, and that made her vulnerable to getting screwed over.
And Simon West seemed like the type who could sniff out vulnerability from five miles away.
He stood, and any peace of mind hiding behind her desk gave her was ripped away as his presence seemed to fill the entire office. “Why don’t you tell me what boundaries you want?”
Grace took another deep gulp. She hadn’t expected him to leave that up to her, and she was underprepared for a negotiation of this caliber. “Can I have a day to think about it?”
Simon took a few steps forward and set his palms on the desk. “My fee usually runs well over six figures, Ms. Bell.”
She tightened her lips. Apparently she wasn’t “Grace” to him anymore.
“I hate to sound arrogant, but you’re extremely lucky to be getting the opportunity for me to waive my normal fee. So, no. You don’t get until tomorrow. You have until ten seconds from now to start listing your demands and I’ll tell you if they’re acceptable.”
Everything inside her screamed for her to kick him out. To tell him where he could shove it and declare she’d never work with such a devious, conceited man. But she couldn’t. Once again, she mentally listed off all the other public relations specialists and consultants. But her mind always went back to the same one: Simon West.
“You can help me? Guaranteed?”
“I have a plan,” he said simply.
“Then here are my terms.” She tried to get the words out as quick as possible, not wanting to test his “ten second” limit. “I’m not sleeping with anyone to get you anything.” She paused, waiting for the shock to play across his face that she’d even considered he’d ask that of her.
No hint of surprise.
“Also, I’m not doing anything illegal. No breaking and entering, no stealing.”
He nodded. “I can work with the no sex or breaking and entering. I can’t promise I won’t want a better look at his files.” She started to order him out, but he continued, “I can assure you that you’ll be taken care of. I promised to get your company in the same, if not better, condition. I can’t do that with you behind bars.”
Grace took another deep breath. So she had the word of a man she’d just met that she wouldn’t end up in jail. Whenever she’d been faced with decisions like this in the past, her gut had been her guide. It told her who to trust and when to bail on a job.
But her gut seemed to be turning summersaults at the moment and couldn’t make up its damn mind. Her brain wasn’t much help either. Logically, she knew this was a shady deal and she should run as fast and far as she could. But she also knew that Simon West was the best in the business, and if he said he could dig her out of this hole, he could. His word was worth more than gold in the city.
“Okay, Mr. West.” She allowed her hands to fall to her side. “I’m at your service. What’s the plan?”
A satisfied grin twisted his mouth and she couldn’t help but feel that she’d been had.
“Well, first I have to figure out what the good senator is hiding.”
“The press and reporters have dug through every aspect of his life. What makes you think they haven’t already found everything there is to find?” She was happy Simon had the same thought process she had when it came to the senator’s lies. If he was willing to admit to adultery with her, he had to be hiding something much worse.
“I’m still going to dig around. Whoever he was with, she was probably at that hotel the same night the two of you were caught.”
Grace’s eyes widened. “We weren’t caught. He was caught. I just happened to be there.”
He nodded, but didn’t appear at all concerned about the slip. “While I’m looking into him, I’m going to try to see where DuFord’s been staying.”
“I’m not sure where his main residence is, but I know he’s out in the Hamptons every weekend.” She practically beamed when she saw the surprise flash over his features. Finally! She got the robot to show some sign of humanity. “I have an event there this weekend. One of the caterers I’m working with mentioned he was still in the same house.”