For His Eyes Only Read online

  His tone softened, but that didn’t make her feel any better. He didn’t believe her. He was taking his father’s side over hers without even hearing her out, and that only proved how wrong they were for each other. Any fleeting hope she’d ever had for them in the long-term dissolved.

  His troubled brown eyes reflected so much she wanted to trust, so much she wanted to be a part of. But she couldn’t ignore her wreck of a childhood home, all the dreams she still had to realize, and most importantly, the scene in William Vaughn’s office. That had probably been going on for years—Alex’s mother sitting at home while his dad “worked late” with seventeen-year-old girls. Is that what money and power did to a person? Would Alex end up the same way?

  Not only did she have to avoid becoming her mother, but she had to avoid becoming his mother.

  She didn’t respond to his statement. She just kissed him on the cheek, then opened the door and got out of the car, making herself do the last thing she’d ever wanted to do.

  Act like everything they had shared didn’t matter.

  “It’s been fun, Alex. A lot of fun. But we both know we were meant for no-strings-attached sex. So let’s just pretend that’s what this was.”

  With that, she walked up the stairs and returned to her apartment, making sure her door was closed before she gave in to the need to sob.

  Chapter Eleven

  Danielle Valdez slouched in one of Monica’s kitchen chairs like a convict about to receive her sentence. Jacey offered her a soda and a big smile, hoping one of those would put her mind at ease.

  She exchanged a look with Monica, who lounged on the sofa and held a magazine, pretending not to listen. Then she sat next to Danielle. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, okay? I just need as much evidence as I can get that William Vaughn is up to no good.”

  Danielle nodded, her expression sullen. “I got no problem seeing that pervert behind bars.”

  “Behind bars? Aren’t these girls giving their consent?”

  “Sure, but only because he tells them they’ll be famous. And one of them was a sophomore.”

  Jacey closed her eyes. If Alex’s father had seduced a fifteen-year-old, the situation was direr than she could have imagined.

  She touched the hot rollers covering her head to test their temperature. Brushing off her objections, Monica had offered up her guest room until Jacey could afford a new apartment. Now she was playing hairstylist and makeup artist for the second round of the contest, which Jacey planned to show up to at the last minute. She had avoided Alex for a couple of days and intended to continue doing so until she could get the truth about his father—and until she could think about him without enduring a gut-wrenching sense of longing.

  “A sophomore.” She signaled to Monica that the rollers were ready to come out. “And you know these stories are true?”

  Danielle took a slug of her soft drink. “Oh, yeah. The girls at school don’t seem to mind, at first. All they can think about is how rich and famous they’re gonna be when their pictures come out. They talk so casually about it, like it’s no different than having lunch with him or something.”

  Oh, please. Jacey wasn’t exactly an old maid, but she couldn’t believe the cursory attitude so many kids had about sex these days. If only they knew how much they’d regret those meaningless stints later, after they met up with someone sincere and understood the power of genuine desire.

  Stop thinking about Alex.

  “Where can I find some of the prints from their photo shoots?”

  “You can’t. That’s how I knew something was up. There are only a couple of people who actually had pictures published. The rest are still waiting to even have them taken.”

  Monica plugged in her curling iron and tugged at Jacey’s hair with a comb. Jacey tried to wrap her mind around what she was hearing. Not only was William offering fame in exchange for sex, but he wasn’t even delivering his half of the bargain. How would Alex react to the news that the powerful father he respected and admired was nothing more than a dirty old man?

  Her heart clenched. She had already seen how he would react. He’d gone into complete denial.

  The comb hit a snag, and she winced. “Have you ever had a direct conversation with him?”

  Danielle hesitated. The nervous glance at her mother pretty much answered the question. Monica took her hand out of Jacey’s curls and waved it in the air. “Tell her everything you know, honey. Busting this guy is important, and I’m not upset with you no matter what happened.”

  “Well…yeah, I have. After I got cut from the Sleepless Siren tryouts, I got an interview at Insomnia’s office.”

  “William’s office, to be exact,” Monica cut in.

  Dani sighed. “Yeah. I walked in there and he was sitting at his desk. He told me to sit down, and we small-talked for a minute. Then he came and squatted next to my chair and told me that if I did what he asked, he’d make it worth my while. He said the further he got with me, the more coverage I’d get in the next spread. Then he put his hand on my leg and that’s when I left.”

  Above Jacey’s head, Monica muttered a stream of colorful Spanish words.

  A horrifying thought occurred to her. “I wonder if Kim knows about this.”

  “Who?” said Monica and Danielle at the same time.

  “Kim Starr. Alex and William’s assistant. She’s the guard dog who sits outside their offices and checks everything that comes in and goes out. She would have to know something’s going on.”

  Danielle shrugged. “I don’t know. When I was there, that chick was always on the phone. Maybe she’s too busy to notice.”

  Maybe. Or maybe she was too concerned with Alex’s personal life to pay attention to her job. That woman should have noticed and put a stop to this trash a long time ago.

  “I need your face, honey,” Monica said.

  Jacey turned to get her makeup done, being careful not to talk while Monica worked on her lips.

  “Don’t worry,” she said when she got a chance to speak. “He’s not getting away with this.”

  “What are you going to do?” Monica asked.

  “I’m going to prove it. I’m going to collect all the proof I possibly can. Dani, do you think you could get your classmates to sign some sort of statement saying all these things happened?”

  “Definitely. They’re pretty pissed that they haven’t gotten any photo shoots yet.”

  “Great. I need to show something like that to Alex. He’s completely blind to this side of his father. He thinks William’s a business genius and a huge success. But even if that’s true…” Jacey shook her head.

  She was going to give Alex a real reason to take over the company—a reason a hell of lot better than the one about rigging the contest in her favor. It made her even more furious to know that William had picked her as the winner. The pig probably wished he could get his hands on her too.

  “Okay, Jace, we’re done and just in time,” Monica announced. She checked her watch. “Whoa. Maybe a little late. The show starts in—”

  “Oh, no!” Jacey leapt from the chair. She had already noticed the time and she would have to bust her ass to get to the auditorium and get dressed before the show started.

  “Thank you so much for the beauty treatment, and thank you, Danielle, for your honesty. I hate to rush out, but—”

  Monica hugged her, being careful not to mess up her hair and makeup. “Totally understood, sweetie. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.”

  They waved goodbye, and Jacey disappeared out the door, thankful once again for her generous friends. She was borrowing Danielle’s car, because she couldn’t afford cabs and she wasn’t about to take any more money from Alex. The only cash she’d accept from here on out was the prize money, which would finally get her into school and out of the pathetic soap opera that her life had always been.

  She arrived at the auditorium at least half an hour later than she should have. By the time she reached
the dressing room all the other girls were gone, and even Kim had left her makeshift desk. When she imagined Kim sitting at Insomnia each day and allowing William to seduce teenagers behind closed doors, she wanted to go into the audience and strangle the woman. Instead, she focused her energy on winning the contest—which she could do without Alex’s help—and dug around in her locker for her costume.

  It wasn’t there.

  She slapped her hand against the metal door. Insomnia staff members were supposed to sort out the lingerie each contestant selected and put it in the appropriate lockers. Some absentminded newbie had obviously screwed up her order.

  What was she going to do? There wasn’t a single piece of lingerie in her locker, and she couldn’t exactly walk on stage naked. Although, this was “Too Hot to Handle” night—as kinky as she wanted to go without going all the way, Alex had said. She’d picked out a pretty hot little number, but since that was nowhere to be found, surely she could put something together with all the bits and pieces of costumes strewn around the dressing room.

  The announcer introduced one of the contestants. All the other girls were backstage and wouldn’t be returning, and she had about five people to go before it was her turn. Her eyes scanned the room.

  A young intern walked by, on her way back from the private restroom. Jacey grabbed her as she passed.

  “Hey, do you know anything about the placement of lingerie in the lockers?”

  “I know a little, what’s wrong?”

  “Have you seen a black and white, sheer little thing with lace garter suspenders on it?”

  The girl looked relieved. “Yeah, don’t worry. Amber found it. She’s got it on and it looks great.”

  Apparently thinking she’d been a great help, the intern sashayed back to the audience.

  Amber Lynn. The brown-haired girl who had raised her suspicions long ago. She was always giggling with Kim and whispering to other contestants when she thought Jacey wasn’t looking. That witch had stolen her outfit.

  Jacey didn’t know why. She didn’t care. Somebody was trying to get her kicked out of the contest, with the note and photo sent to Alex, and now this. It had to be related. And if she knew anything, it was that she never let anyone bring her down, not anymore. Not since she was a sixteen-year-old fool who had sacked groceries and let the manager feel her up on a regular basis because she’d needed the money so badly.

  She had let people take advantage of her in the past, but she’d long since learned that it never got her anywhere—no further than the next dead-end job or crappy apartment. She no longer had anything to lose. She’d take a little risk this round, because showing this girl up had just become as important as getting votes—although the idea forming in her mind would certainly rouse the interest of the audience.

  While she was at it, she’d clear up Alex’s problem with the crazy photographer too. She smiled. He might think he was saving her, but she’d prove he wasn’t the only one with cunning and power in his corner.

  Alex squirmed in his seat, watching model after model take the stage. He wasn’t even seeing them. All he could think about was Jacey and how he hadn’t seen her face since she’d left him in the car last week. They hadn’t even talked, because she didn’t have a phone and he doubted she would answer his call even if she had the option.

  Next to him, Kim clapped heartily for every performance. She’d been giddy all night, and the mood hadn’t rubbed off on him. He had no idea how Jacey had supported herself since they’d parted ways, and he hated that there wasn’t anything he could do about it. But she was right—it would never work between them. Even if modeling wasn’t her cup of tea, her dislike of the business didn’t give her the right to accuse his father of having sex with minors.

  He still couldn’t believe such a thing had come out of her mouth. It was bad enough that his dad had disrespected his mother by hooking up with a model at all, especially one much younger than her. He had clearly fallen into the trap Alex already knew to steer clear of—women who feigned interest in a relationship to gain face time at Insomnia.

  His father would do a lot for a bigger profit, but what Jacey had suggested was downright sick, and insulting. It damn near broke his heart that she thought so little of his family. He’d never forgive her if she spilled that rumor in public and ruined his company. Because it would be his company, very soon.

  “Oh!” Kim gasped in his ear while she gawked at something on the stage. “Isn’t that gorgeous? I love that one.”

  He looked into the spotlight and just about lost his dinner. Gliding across the stage was Amber Lynn Harris, the contestant who had come in second to Jacey after the first round. Her popularity with the crowd was apparent as they roared in approval.

  But Alex didn’t care about her popularity. He cared about the fact that Amber was seducing the audience in Jacey’s lingerie—the ultra-sexy black-and-white lace corset she had picked out to wear.

  How had this happened? Kim monitored every detail of the competition, and various staff members constantly checked the lockers and picked up the pieces of any emergency that might take place.

  “How did their outfits get switched?” he demanded to his assistant.

  She gave him a quizzical look. “Huh? Amber picked out that piece. She loves it.”

  Impossible. Alex had submitted the order for Jacey’s clothing after listening to her rave about it once she’d seen it in the catalog. And when an outfit was chosen, the computer locked it up so no other contestant could pick the same thing. Which meant Amber had taken Jacey’s lingerie at some point while they were getting dressed, and Jacey had nothing to wear.

  Damn it. Jacey’s turn was next.

  There wasn’t any time to get her a replacement costume. Either she wouldn’t show, or she’d be in jeans and a T-shirt, and that definitely wouldn’t get her any votes.

  There was no way he’d get her into the final round now without raising suspicions. Absolutely no way.

  He ran through a mental list of staff members working behind the scenes and considered who to fire, then prepared to run backstage and tell Jacey to leave and he’d make up some story for the public about an illness and a make-up performance or something.

  But there wasn’t time. Amber slinked off the stage to the tune of thousands of screaming fans. She’d probably just won the entire competition. He couldn’t imagine what was going through Jacey’s head right now.

  Her name boomed over the loudspeaker. The audience cheered. The curtain opened.

  The stage was empty.

  His stomach revolted like he’d fed it undercooked meat. For the first time, he was clueless as to how to handle a company crisis, if this could be called such a thing. Maybe she had decided to bail. Maybe she was late because she’d found something else to put on. Maybe she would walk on stage…butt…naked.

  Oh. My.

  He might have believed they were the only two people in the room if his ears weren’t ringing with the excited racket coming from the crowd.

  So she wasn’t completely naked. She wore a button-down white shirt—wide open—and a teeny, tiny thong which was nothing more than a plaid triangle covering only what the rules required that she cover. He recognized the clothes as her own, and the pasties on her nipples had probably come from Insomnia, though he had no idea when she’d gotten them.

  She also sported a pair of glasses he’d never seen, which she tossed into the crowd. Then she released the bun in her hair and let loose her flowing blonde curls. She was the naughty schoolgirl taken to the extreme—a point proven when she lifted a pencil to her mouth and slid the end of it between her lips.

  The audience went insane. Guys stood on their chairs and whistled. Chants of “Take it off!” made full use of the room’s booming acoustics. He’d have to call security if she didn’t end this performance soon.

  But he could only sit there and stare. The woman had more balls than he did.

  He should have expected that given an absurd situation, Jac
ey could come up with an even more absurd response. She was feisty, determined and so sizzling hot that her impromptu act had worked. He caught her eye and she winked at him. He had underestimated her ability to take care of herself.

  When she’d discovered her outfit had been stolen, Jacey hadn’t worried about the rules of the competition or how well she’d fit in with the rest of the contestants. A lifetime of feeling like an outcast had taught her to ignore social guidelines and do whatever worked for her. She knew her audience—namely young, horny males—and exactly what would inspire them to mark her name on the ballot. She’d surely insulted a few of the women and the haughty contestants’ mothers gasping behind their hands, but they weren’t the majority, and they didn’t matter.

  She would make the finals, and maybe even without his help. She’d bailed him out of an impossible situation. And all this time, he thought he had been playing the shining knight.

  He was about to jump up and head backstage to kiss her, but before he could move, she was on his lap. While the crowd egged her on, she ran her palms over his shirt, then rested her hands on his belt buckle and stuck the pencil inside the top of his pants. Dozens of flashbulbs went off in the press section. She leapt back up to the stage and gave a majestic bow to the standing audience before she disappeared behind the curtain.

  Okay, now they needed to talk.

  With a mumbled excuse to Kim about using the men’s room, he hurried to the dressing area. The other contestants had taken seats in the front row to watch the rest of the show, so Jacey was alone.

  “What in the world was that?” he asked.

  “What was what?” With a laugh, she ripped the pasties off and slipped her bra and the white shirt back on, then pulled on her jeans.