For His Eyes Only Read online

  “Alex, honey. How are you?”

  They spoke for a few minutes, and he evaded the inevitable question of whether he was seeing anyone. When he could no longer stand to think of his experience with Jacey at the beach house without being able to claim her as his, he changed the subject to what his mother really wanted to know.

  “Mom, the big competition is tomorrow.”

  “So I’ve heard. I’m proud of you, honey. You’ve really made a name for yourself. That show has even made the news up here.”

  Alex cheered silently. Insomnia was making news in Orlando, a couple of hundred miles away, all because of his idea. He was close. So damn close.

  “That’s great news. I knew this would work, and Dad has promised me the promotion if it does. So as soon as they announce the winner—”

  His mother laughed. “I believe in you, dear, but I wouldn’t put too much stock in your father’s promises.”

  “Don’t worry, this one’s in writing.”

  “Well, good. You know I’ve wanted you to have that company since the day you were born. And I want it now more than ever.”

  Alex chuckled, cradling the phone against his shoulder and pouring a sugar packet into what had to be his tenth cup of coffee. “Why’s that?”

  She didn’t answer, and he stopped laughing. “Mom?”

  She sighed. “Oh, it’s nothing. I just have to admit, I’m anxious to see him pay for what he’s done to all those girls.”

  For crying out loud, how long had his father been chasing the models without his knowledge? Everyone seemed to know it but him.

  “I know he can’t keep his pants on and I’m sorry for that, but it was all consensual. It’s part of the business, I’m sure.” A business he wasn’t so certain he wanted to be a part of when another image of Jacey flashed through his head. Was he strong enough to resist the temptation? Was that what Jacey worried about and why she had asked him to quit?

  “Consent doesn’t matter in this case, I’m afraid.”

  He slammed his coffee mug onto his desk. Brown liquid splashed all over what was probably important paperwork, but he didn’t give a damn about paperwork right then.

  “What are you talking about? There isn’t a model employed here who’s under eighteen.”

  “Sweetie, please don’t tell me you’ve been that naïve. You know your father and I had big problems.”

  He searched his desk for some antacid to accompany the pills he’d already taken. This conversation disturbed him. It was way too similar to one he’d had with Jacey.

  “You had problems because he worked all the time. If it were anything else, you would have told me about it when you filed the divorce papers.”

  “I didn’t want you to hate him, Alex. Besides, I don’t think he went after the younger ones until long after our marriage ended. I didn’t realize it was so bad until—”

  She stopped. Alex waited, his breath caught in his throat.

  “What?” he finally demanded. “Until when?”

  His mother began speaking quickly, something she did when she didn’t want to tell him the truth. “There are rumors going around that William’s been offering some of the high school kids modeling jobs in exchange for—well, listen, honey, I don’t want you to worry about this. You’re doing the right thing and after tomorrow, Insomnia will belong to you. That’s all that matters.”

  Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There was no doubt in his mind who had started the rumors…and if the gossip was widespread, that explained the sudden loss of advertising. He pictured Jacey again, but this time she was fully clothed and in big trouble. Damn her for not having a phone. He had to talk to her. Now.

  “I have to go, Mom. I’ll give you a call after the show.”

  He nearly crashed into Kim on his way out the door. “Alex, can I talk—?”

  “Later.”

  She sounded concerned, but he brushed past her without a glance. The competition had dropped off his priority list in light of the madness Jacey had started with his father. He had to stop her. If her rumors went much further, they would destroy Insomnia before he’d spent a second as CEO. His mother’s money, as well as his own and that of all the people who worked there, would be gone.

  He knocked on her friend’s door, but no one answered. Jacey’s car was in the driveway, but that didn’t mean much since it never ran. Having learned his lesson once, he called the office to see if she might have gone there looking for him, but no one answered there, either. Insomnia had already closed for the evening.

  Where else would she be? He tried to recall the store Monica owned, but the name escaped him. It was in Bal Harbour, though, that much he knew. He jumped back in his car and headed that way, hoping he would recognize the shop when he saw it.

  He did. It was hard to miss, with Spice hanging in sparkly block letters above the door and gaudily dressed mannequins winking at him from behind the glass. He walked inside. A bell signaled his entrance but there was no sign of Jacey in the room.

  “Can I help you?”

  Behind the register, a pretty older woman in a beaded minidress watched him expectantly. “Are you Monica?”

  “The one and only.”

  Relief rushed out of his lungs. “Thank God. I’m looking for Jacey. Have you seen her?”

  She blinked. “Oh, wow. You’re Alex, aren’t you? Alex Vaughn.”

  “Yes.” He tapped his foot and tried to remain polite despite his frustration at how long this was taking. “Do you know where she is?”

  Monica’s mouth opened, concern in her expression. “What’s wrong? Is she in trouble?”

  “What? No. I mean, God, I hope not. I just need to talk to her. Please.”

  “Oh. Well, actually, she had a meeting with your dad. Something about the contest, I think.” She checked her watch. “If you hurry, you might still catch her there.”

  Jacey was with his father? This was getting worse by the minute.

  “Thank you.” Within minutes, he was back on the highway speeding toward the office. He had a bad feeling that whatever Jacey and his father were discussing had nothing to do with business.

  When William Vaughn walked into his office, he locked the door behind him. Jacey swallowed, praying for the courage to carry out her plan.

  So far, everything had fallen into place. Kim had scheduled Danielle’s interview for seven-thirty, long after Insomnia’s staff had gone home. She’d explained over the phone that she would leave the door to the suite unlocked, confirming Jacey’s suspicion that not only did she know about William’s after-hours romps, but she helped him arrange them.

  Kim had also said William would be back in the office around seven-fifteen, after a short break. Jacey had arrived early and set up a webcam, and all she had left to do was make him incriminate himself.

  Whatever it takes. She hoped she was prepared to follow through with that vow.

  “Ms. Valdez,” William greeted her without turning around. “So happy you changed your…mind.”

  Surprise, but definitely not disappointment, crossed his face as he realized the woman in the chair was not Danielle Valdez. Jacey took a deep breath. Time to lie her ass off and make it good.

  “Mr. Vaughn, I’m sorry. I’m a friend of Danielle’s and I begged her to let me take her place at this interview. My name is—”

  “I know who you are.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He looked her up and down before taking his place behind his desk. “Jacey, isn’t it? One of our top contenders for the Sleepless Siren contract.”

  Her face warmed. “Yes, well, I’m beginning to question my chances at winning. I really think I blew the last round. I don’t think I have a chance at getting enough votes to win.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about that.”

  Ignoring his reference to the rigged contest, which she burned to tell him she was fully aware of, she plunged ahead with her scheme. “No, I’m quite worried, actually. I really need
the money, and I’m wondering if there’s another job available here at Insomnia. It doesn’t have to be anything as big as cover model. Any gig will do.”

  Knowing that a respectable executive would tell her to take a hike before he’d offer her a backdoor way into such a lucrative business, she waited for the reaction so many young women had witnessed. But when he leaned forward in the chair and motioned for her to join him on the other side of the desk, her skin crawled.

  Her heart pumped wildly. She rose from her chair and stepped around the desk, eyeing the tiny webcam Danielle had taught her to install. Its green light blinked in rapid succession to signal it was doing its job.

  William ran his finger along the satin hem of the skirt Monica had loaned her. Jacey unclenched her fists and gave him a shy smile.

  “You know, I might be able to come up with a spot for you in the catalog, but I’d hate to step on my son’s toes. I think he fancies you quite a bit.”

  She wanted to slap that knowing smirk off his face. His snide gaze gave him away. He knew from past experience that nothing, not even a beloved boyfriend, would come between a pretty girl and her chance to be a model. Yet here he was, trying to play the noble one. Sick bastard.

  “Oh, no, no,” she said quickly, even as she thought of Alex and wished he were there to help her, wished he had believed her in the first place so she wouldn’t be in this position. William’s fingers roamed further up the skirt. Hard as Jacey tried to be strong, she was scared as hell.

  But that didn’t matter. What mattered was revealing his true personality before any more girls had their dreams, innocence, and self-worth crushed by this conniving, indecent man. No matter who his son was.

  “I can assure you there is nothing serious going on between Alex and me,” she continued. “He’s a nice guy whom I’ve enjoyed knowing. But my priority here is getting a job.”

  William licked his lips like a lion preparing to feed. He took her hand and pulled her a step closer. Nausea collected in her throat.

  “So you won’t object, then, if I take a look at your features and decide what type of merchandise would best fit your body type.”

  She wanted to run from the room, but her feet betrayed her. “Um, of course not. I expect you would need to have that information.”

  He lifted her shirt and palmed her bare torso, and she was sure he would notice her skin was cold and clammy. She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking of the girls, of Danielle…of Alex. Her mind screamed his name even though she had no idea what he was supposed to do about this. He’d been born to a disgrace just like she had. She almost laughed at the discovery that they had something so pathetic in common.

  But any thought of laughter, even the sarcastic kind, fled her mind when William raised her blouse higher and ran his fingertips over her white bra. “This will never do,” he mumbled. “You need something red or black. And much more revealing.”

  This time, she couldn’t help but jolt away from his sickening touch. Flustered, she ran a hand through her hair and tried to come up with an excuse for her response, but William chuckled and made one up for her.

  “Don’t be nervous, Jacey. I won’t hurt you. I’m flesh-and-blood man like anyone else. The only difference is, I have the ability to make you a rich woman.”

  Bingo. Now she was getting somewhere.

  “Really?” She giggled coyly. “Are you making me an offer?”

  He pulled her down so she sat on his lap, but at least her shirt was back in place. She could handle this. As long as he never again went near the places on her body she saved for Alex.

  His hand skimmed the side of her torso again before trailing down her thigh. He stared at her chest. “You know, the fashion industry is so hung up on young models, teenagers even. But you…you’ve got curves unlike anything I’ve ever seen on the younger girls.”

  Though her hand felt like lead, she forced herself to place it on his shoulder. If he was horny enough, he’d forget about getting himself in trouble because he’d do anything to get into her pants.

  “A sophisticated man like yourself, checking out the local teenagers? I find that hard to believe.” She laughed, then pressed her lips together and fluttered her eyelids at him. “You could do so much better.”

  “One of the perks of the job, darlin’. I’ve got what they want, they’ve got what I want—call it a business transaction.”

  Jackpot.

  The webcam winked at her. Momentarily, she felt the thrill of victory. Now to get the hell out of his office.

  “Of course, they just get a quick lay and a picture on Insomnia’s website. I can offer you much more. I can make you a star, Jacey. Forget the contest. Spend an hour with me and we’ll talk about doing a whole spread for the catalog.”

  His arms clinched her waist, and she felt the sticky chill of his lips on her neck. Oh, shit. She’d planned to make him eat his words, but she hadn’t planned her escape. She had figured he would make her some sort of obscene offer and she would ask for time to mull it over before hightailing out of there. Now, he had her in a hold she wasn’t quite sure she could get out of. The man was strong.

  She squirmed, but it was no use. She couldn’t fight too much or she’d blow her cover before she could get the video to the press. Would she have to suffer through sex with this vile man in order to bring him down?

  No. There had to be another way. His mouth continued its assault on her neck and he moved to release the zipper at the back of her skirt. She stared frantically toward the door. God—Alex—anybody—

  But neither God nor Alex was coming to her rescue. She plastered one of her hands to the back of William’s head with fake passion, then reached down with her free hand and started to tug one of Monica’s stilettos off. If she moved fast enough, she could shove it in his eye or between his legs. At least those damn shoes would be good for something.

  To her shock and relief, someone pounded on the door before she could spill any blood. She took advantage of William’s surprise to jump off his lap and fix her skirt.

  Alex’s voice boomed. “Dad, open up. We need to talk.”

  Jacey tossed a disappointed look in William’s direction, too happy to be free of his grasp to think about what she would say to Alex. “Guess we’ll have to do this another time. Say, after the show?”

  “Count on it. My personal limousine will be waiting.”

  He strode to the door, and she took great satisfaction in knowing that the only thing waiting for him after the contest would be his fate.

  “Alex, come in. Miss Cass and I were just discussing her future with Insomnia.”

  Alex glowered at her, his expression dark as coal. “Her future?”

  “Oh, yes. She’s got great potential, don’t you think?”

  Jacey stood in the middle of the room and watched Alex, begged him with her eyes to see what had happened while she’d been in there alone with his father.

  But he just glared. He wasn’t getting her unspoken message.

  Once more, he was taking his father’s side.

  She could see it in the horrified way he looked at her. Her clothes were rumpled from the near-fiasco in William’s chair, but she would never have guessed Alex would take that to mean she truly had approached his father looking for a paycheck. He would never think that of her. He knew her better than that.

  Didn’t he?

  No…he didn’t. Because the look in his eyes was pure hate, and it was directed entirely at her.

  “Never mind, Dad. We’ll talk later. I have a lot to do before the contest.”

  “As do I,” Jacey added quickly. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Vaughn.”

  “Any time. I look forward to working with you.”

  She raced to the elevator before he could follow her, hot on Alex’s heels. He didn’t speak to her, didn’t even look at her.

  “Alex—”

  “No.”

  “Alex, please, I—”

  “No.”

  She shook her head. “W
hat do you mean, no? I can’t talk to you?”

  Finally he looked at her, a dark glare that seared her heart in two. “No, Jacey. You can’t. Because you’re no better than the models who took my mother’s marriage and her company away from her. You’re looking for money. I should have known. What else could you possibly want from me? I mean, from my father.”

  The elevator doors opened, and Alex rushed inside. Before she could go after him, his assistant appeared behind her and grabbed her arm.

  “Jacey, I need to tell you something. It’s an emergency.”

  “What is it? What’s going on?” She tried to focus on Kim, but her gaze kept wandering to the closed doors where Alex had disappeared.

  “The contest. It’s rigged. Alex is going to—”

  “I know. Alex told me. We’ve already agreed—”

  “No, you don’t know. Neither of you.” Kim’s eyes were wide. She glanced down the hallway, where William’s door was closed once again. “It’s not Alex who’s rigging the contest. It’s William. He’s setting Alex up.”

  Finally, Jacey gave Kim her full attention. “Setting him up for what?”

  “To look like he’s the one who’s been offering the models sex in exchange for career advancement. He’s got pictures of you two. He’s going to release them as soon as you win so it looks like Alex planned the whole thing all along.”

  Jacey narrowed her eyes. “How do you know that?”

  “Because he asked me to keep you out of the competition.” Kim looked down, her face red. “I was responsible for the tabloid threat and for Amber wearing your costume. It seems William knew that the more I tried to ruin things for you, the closer Alex would stick to you. And that’s how he got his evidence, by having someone record your…um, relationship.”

  Briefly, Jacey thought of the park and the beach. Just what kind of photos had William secretly snapped? But more appalling was the idea of Alex being publicly humiliated and held accountable for crimes his father had committed.

  “Why would he do such a thing?” she demanded. “He’s got health problems. He needs Alex to run the company after he retires.”

  Kim shook her head. “He’s not retiring. The health issues are a cover. The Board found out about the minors and they’re forcing him into retirement to save the company’s reputation. He’s fighting it tooth and nail.”