Conflict of Interest by Jayne Castle Read Free Book Online

the briefest of pauses on the other end as Davis Wakefield assessed the bright, businesslike note in her voice. Kali smiled to herself. She could almost see the handsome features composed into a slight frown. Along with that image came the memory of carefully styled, tawny brown hair and cool, give-nothing-away hazel eyes. Davis Wakefield was a man in control; a man who was going places. She’d learned a lot from him, Kali thought wryly. Had she learned enough?
    „I think you can guess what brings me to Seattle,“ Davis murmured coolly. „IAI and Hadley Industrial seem to be on the trail of the same rabbit.“
    The „rabbit“ suddenly burst forth into song in the shower. It was an off-key rendition of a current country-and-western hit and it sounded as though Lang was trying to supply the twang of the guitar along with vocals. Kali doubted Davis could hear the noise but it was enough to interrupt her own thinking processes.
    „I beg your pardon, Davis?“ she stalled, trying to reason her way through the situation.
    „Let me come on up, Kali,“ he purred gently. „It’s been a long time. If nothing else, we should discuss our mutual interest, don’t you think? And I could sure use a cup of coffee,“ he added with such a large measure of camaraderie Kali almost winced. It wasn’t like Davis to overdo the chosen image. Or had she merely become that much more perceptive during the past year?
    „It’s awfully early, Davis…“
    „You’re telling me! My plane landed about an hour ago at Sea-Tac airport and I’m still looking for a cup of coffee! You always did make some of the best, honey. Besides, don’t you think we ought to compare notes?“
    Compare notes! Kali did a quick summing up of the situation.
    What were the odds that she could launch a total blitz attack and convince Davis he might as well take himself back to Palo Alto without the „rabbit“ in his snare?
    The twanging second verse of the western ballad filtered through the distant roar of the shower. Kali slid a speculative glance toward the hall which led to the bath. If Davis thought she had Lang Sterling all wrapped up and ready to deliver to IAI, would he give up the battle before it had even begun?
    The unpredictable element in all this, of course, was Lang himself. How would he react if she tried to play out a domestic little scene with him in front of another man? Especially when he discovered the other man was also eager to hand over a great deal of money for his patents?
    Then again, what did she have to lose? She probably wouldn’t succeed in rousting her competition but she might give him some cause for worry. After all, there weren’t that many explanations for finding a man in a woman’s apartment at this hour of the morning. It was bound at least to give Davis a start if he were to get the impression she was in the habit of spending the night with the quarry.
    „All right, Davis, come on up. I’m in 1012. Turn right when you get off the elevator.“
    „Thanks, Kali. Can’t wait to see you. Been a long time, hasn’t it?“
    „About a year,“ she agreed, not allowing anything but casual cheerfulness to show in her words.
    She walked away from the intercom box, her eyes narrowed in concentration. The off-key song was still going on in the shower, Lang’s deep, gritty voice actually rather well suited to the country-and-western style. She hoped he would stay in there until Davis made it to her front door. A man in her shower would add a nice touch to the scene. And when that man finally emerged and was introduced…?
    In the few minutes it took her visitor to ride the elevator up to the tenth floor, Kali managed to run a brush through her dark hair, opting to leave it loose. She peered into the mirror critically and decided it gave her a more casual, at-home look.
    It was as she busied herself with making the coffee that Kali began having second thoughts about the hastily contrived situation.
    There were too many variables