THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

trouble staying silent in certain situations. Which begs the question again, what made me look like a desirable employee for such a … delicate project?”
    “Your financial situation.”
    Ainsley gasped. “You investigated my finances?”
    “I believe I mentioned I expect a thorough job when I commission an investigation.”
    Of course! That’s how he knew about her domestic situation. Did he know about Lucy and Devon?
    She schooled her face into what she hoped was an expressionless mask. “So, what did that highly illegal investigation tell you, Dr. Bowen, to convince you that I was the candidate you wanted?”
    “It told me that until you left your employment last month, you earned very good money. That you’d been working as many extra shifts as you could safely work without compromising your patients’ safety. That you live in a modest bachelor apartment and drive a vehicle that was bequeathed to you by an elderly patient, a vehicle that is sadly past its prime. You take very little vacation, and spend virtually nothing on yourself, and you have no drug habits to support. Yet you have a significant appetite for money. Money which barely has time to hit your bank account before it gets transferred offshore.”
    For the second time in the last ten minutes, her heart hammered against her ribcage like a wild thing. Which made it hard to keep her face impassive. “Again, you viewed this as a good thing?”
    Another smile, this one tight and controlled. “Quite definitely. You need immediate employment to keep the dollars flowing into that bank account. And despite your former employer’s agreement to stay mum on that little cloud over your head, your employment opportunities are limited unless you’re prepared to relocate, which takes time and money. Just as obviously, you need your employment to be lucrative, stable and predictable. All of which augured well, I thought, for a mutually beneficial relationship. Your need for cash, my need for discretion…”
    “And did your impeccable source tell you any more?”
    “About the money? No. Certainly I could have pursued it further. I’d have had to switch channels, but I assure you, the information could be had. Information is the one commodity that can always be purchased.”
    “So … what? You decided you’d already spent too much money on your little investigation?”
    “Hardly little. And money was not the issue, you may be sure.”
    “Then why not pursue it to the bitter end?” Her voice broke and she had to pause. Goddamn him. “Just think — my humiliation could have been complete.” She blinked rapidly to forestall the tears that burned the backs of her eyes and tickled her nose. “You could have fed my Big Secret back to me and watched me sweat even harder.”
    “ Humiliate you?”
    His face turned thunderous and he came to his feet.
    Despite herself, she shrank back, just the merest of movements, but he detected it. And it seemed to infuriate him further.
    “Ms. Crawford,” he said through thinned lips, “as hard as this may be to comprehend, I couldn’t give a damn about what your so-called big secret is. You could be using your money to bankroll an insurgence in Haiti or to establish a training camp for white supremacists in Arkansas for all I care. The only thing that matters to me is that it exists.”
    “But you had me investigated.”
    “I did. And if you want to accuse me of exploiting your situation, I guess you could make a pretty good argument. But I will not wear the mantle of your torturer. If you believe that, I’ll have Eli drive you home tomorrow, or to the hospital, or wherever you wish to go, and you can take your chances on your own. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been up all night. I’d like to get a little sleep before we take this conversation up again.”
    He turned on his heel and strode toward the door.
    “Wait!”
    He’d moved outside the circle of light cast by the lamp, but the room was already beginning to lighten with the approaching dawn. A new day on the way. A day she would live to see because of his intervention. He’d stopped just short of the door. Though he didn’t turn, he did angle his head as though to listen.
    “I’m sorry. You saved my life. I know that. And I know I must sound ungrateful. It was just such a shock, hearing you talk so … knowledgeably about my employment situation and my finances. I just—”
    “Do you still want the job?”
    She’d sensed him angle his