The Villa

grandmother's. MacMillan to Giambelli."
    He took her hand, lifted it and kissed it. "Giambelli to MacMillan. It works for me."
    She sighed. "I really hate it when you're right."
     
    Revenge, Jerry decided, made stranger bedfellows than politics. Not that they'd quite gotten to the bed yet. But they would. Rene was so much easier a mark than he'd have believed.
    "I appreciate your seeing me like this. Listening. Hearing me out." He reached for Rene's hand. "I was afraid you believed those vicious rumors the Giambellis are circulating."
    "I wouldn't believe any of them if they said the sun came up in the east." Rene settled back on the sofa, made herself cozy. Over and above her loathing for the Giambellis was a keen sense for a man with money. She was quickly running out of cash.
    Tony, damn him, hadn't been honest with her. She'd already sold off some jewelry, and if she didn't land another fish soon, she'd have to go back to work.
    "I'm not saying I didn't play hardball, that's my job. Believe me, La Coeur was behind me all the way. Until things got sticky."
    "Sounds like the way the Giambellis treated Tony."
    "Exactly." Oh, he'd use that, use that and her innate hatred to turn his tide. "Don offered me inside information; I took it. Of course, the Giambellis can't have that stand, can't abide people knowing they were undermined by their own. So it has to be me, I have to have coerced or finagled or bribed, or God knows. I took what was offered. It's not like I held a gun to their heads."
    He broke off. Squeezed her hand. "Jesus, Rene, I'm so sorry. What a stupid thing to say."
    "It's all right. If Tony hadn't lied to me, hadn't cheated and snuck around with that little tramp who worked with Sophia, he'd still be alive today." And she wouldn't be damn near broke.
    "Kris Drake." For effect, he pressed a hand to his brow. "I didn't know about her and Tony before I hired her. The idea that she might have had something to do with Tony's death…"
    "If she did, she was still working for them. They're behind it. All of it."
    Could she be more perfect? He only wished he'd thought of using Rene months before. "They've ruined my reputation. I guess I brought part of that on myself. I shouldn't have wanted to win so much."
    "Winning's all there is."
    He smiled at her. "And I'm a man who hates to lose. In anything. You know, when I first saw you, I didn't know you and Tony were an item, and I… Well, I never got the chance to compete there, so I suppose that doesn't qualify as losing. More wine?"
    "Yes, thanks." She pursed her lips, considering how to play it while he reached over for the bottle. "I was swept away by Tony's charm," she began. "And I admired what I thought was his ambition. I'm very attracted to clever businessmen."
    "Really? I used to be one," he said as he poured the wine.
    "Now, Jerry, you're still a clever businessman. You'll land on your feet."
    "I want to believe that. I'm thinking of moving to France. I have some offers there." Or would have, he thought grimly. Damn well would have. "Luckily I don't need the money. I can pick and choose, take my time. It might do me good to just travel awhile, enjoy the benefits of the years of hard work I've put in."
    "I love traveling." She purred it.
    "I don't feel I can leave until I've straightened all this out. Until I've dealt with the Giambellis, face-to-face. I'll be frank with you, Rene, because I think you'll understand. I want to pay them back for putting this smear on me."
    "I do understand." In what could be taken for sympathy, or otherwise, she laid a hand over his heart. "They always treated me like something cheap that could be easily ignored." She worked tears into her eyes. "I hate them."
    "Rene." He moved in slowly. "Maybe we can find a way to pay them back. For both of us."
    Later, when she lay naked, her head pillowed on his shoulder, he smiled into the dark. Tony's widow was going to clear his path straight into the heart of the Giambellis. And he would rip it out.
     
    It was going to be fun. Rene dressed carefully for the role she was about to play. Dark, conservative suit, minimal makeup. She and Jerry had worked it all out, just what she'd say, just how she'd behave. He'd made her rehearse countless times. The man was a little too demanding for her taste, but she figured she'd bring him around. If she kept him long enough.
    For now he was useful, entertaining and a means to an end. And he, as most did, underestimated her. He didn't realize