Vaguely dissatisfied, he shoved everything back into the envelope and tossed it on the nightstand. Although the jewelry cost a fortune, it didn’t seem good enough for her. He’d thought this was an excellent idea when he’d talked to the concierge during check-in, but now he couldn’t remember why. It was too impersonal.
Still… She would probably like it. Once they saw the expensive, sparkly stones, none of his ex-lovers had complained that his gifts weren’t personal enough, well thought out enough.
Alex opened the second envelope and read the contents. At last! With the information contained in these investigative reports, he’d be able to squeeze Brian Hall so he’d stop giving the Rodales political support. Hall had helped the Rodales one too many times behind the scenes and spoiled several of Alex’s well-planned moves against them. The only way to stop him was to find something that would ruin him forever if anyone knew about it. And after several months of probing, Alex had what he wanted.
But mingled with his sense of triumph was one of outrage. The bastard had bought—no, won—Natalie! No wonder Louise and Belle treated her like dirt. Hard to respect something you won in a game of chance.
Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated. Alex answered it immediately. “Damon.”
“How’s Hong Kong treating you?” came Ethan’s familiar voice.
Disappointment deflated him. “It’s all right.”
“Just all right? I thought you liked it there.”
“Maybe I’m getting old.”
“Uh-huh. So it has nothing to do with our newly promoted senior lead analyst?” There was a pause, and Ethan laughed. “You don’t have to pretend. We all know it’s Natalie.”
“We?” He didn’t believe for a second she’d bragged about dating him. Most likely her sister had spread some vile rumor.
“It was in the papers. Gossip rags. They also had pictures of her with Charlie Rodale. Are they lovers?”
“No.” Alex could feel his mood darkening. “I don’t think so.” She’d said they were friends. If they’d been more, she wouldn’t have responded to him like that. Would she? Just thinking about it made his body stir. He shifted uncomfortably.
“They must have some history. At least it looks that way from the photos.”
“Why are you so interested in her?” Alex said, getting irritated. Ethan was supposed to be helping him take over Rodale International, not reading the scandal sheets.
“I think someone’s tipping Rodale off.”
“But what does this have to do with Natalie?”
“Because of what Charlie Rodale said to his investors last night. He specifically mentioned the Hong Kong consortium. How could he have got wind of it unless someone tipped him off about our plans?”
That was a blow. In order to start buying up Rodale stock without alerting the management, Alex had set up ten separate companies, all of them private, all of them small, spread out over seven different countries. They were unofficially coordinated through a Hong Kong consulting firm, but he’d paid a lot of money to make sure the companies’ activities were kept absolutely secret. But now it seemed the secret was out. “That’s not good. Still, it doesn’t have to be Natalie. As a matter of fact, nobody at DDE knows about it.”
“Natalie might. Her senator father and all. Besides, she worked for Goldreich in Hong Kong and more than half her MBA class went into consulting or investment banking. She’s got the connections to get whatever the Rodales need.”
Alex found he was holding his breath. “Is she the only one? There could be others—”
“She’s the only one besides me who has access to the information. And she’s close to the Rodales.” Ethan’s voice cooled. “If she’s the leak, we can’t let her get away with it.”
Alex gripped the phone. Natalie couldn’t be the betrayer. There were other people who were capable of accessing information about Alex’s plans. For all he knew, the Rodales could’ve hired someone to hack into his personal computer.
“Also, the Rodale BOD just approved a flip-in,” Ethan said, dragging Alex’s attention back to the conversation.
Alex swore. A flip-in was an effective poison pill. There wasn’t any good way to fight back unless he wanted to start a proxy battle and put his people on Rodale’s board of directors.
Ethan continued. “I know you want to get Rodale, but it doesn’t make sense to force it. It’s going to cost too much and take too long.”
Alex closed his eyes and thought. Finally, he said, “Agreed. I’ll have to come up with a countermove. Find out who the mole is, if you’re so sure it’s someone in DDE. And I don’t want you focusing your investigation just on Natalie. It could be anyone.”
There was a pause. Then Ethan said, “Will do.”
Now in a foul mood, Alex changed shirts and stalked out of the hotel. The weather was unusually hot and muggy. Still, the crowd bustled, merchants showing their wares to everyone who walked by. The smell of freshly baked bread drifted from a small shop packed with people. Garish neon signs flashed on tall buildings, and with each burst of light, shadows jumped out in the corners and alleys.
Natalie wasn’t like that conniving, family-rending bitch Emily Rodale. She wasn’t.