Page 1 of Blackmailing the Bad Girl

Chapter One

Without a warning knock, the door opened, and Harry strode in. He came to a halt in front of Nik, punched the air with his fist, and slammed a file down on the desk. “I’ve found her.”

“Who?” But even as Nik spoke the word, an image filled his mind. Blond hair and guileless blue eyes. Lips that had felt so soft and tasted so— He cut off the thought as the memories flooded his senses and his body tightened.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know exactly who I’m talking about.” Harry’s voice jolted him from the past.

Harry knew him too well. Still, Nik stared at the plain beige file for several seconds. He couldn’t make himself pick it up. “I didn’t even know you were still looking.”

“Liar. Aren’t you at least going to take a peek? You’re going to love what’s in there.” He grinned. “Actually, that’s probably not true. But it’s interesting reading.”

“Found who?” Nik’s father spoke from where he sat on the opposite side of Nik’s desk. He’d come in for his usual Monday morningI don’t work here anymore but I’m going to try to tell you what to domeeting.

“Oh, hi, Mr. M,” Harry said. “How are you? And how’s the lovely Mrs. M?”

“She’s driving me goddamn crazy.”

“Well, it is an important milestone.”

His father turned to Nik. “See, Harry remembered your mother’s birthday. Harry’s a good boy. I always thought the two of you might have been swapped at birth.”

Harry appeared the perfect executive in his silver-gray suit. He also looked more like his father than Nik did: tall, his short black hair immaculately cut, and freshly shaven.

The “swapped at birth” comment had been an ongoing joke throughout Nik’s life. They were the same age; Harry had actually been born on the same day, in the same hospital. His mother had been their housekeeper at the time—was still his father’s housekeeper—and they’d grown up together. He’d trust Harry with his life, and more to the point, with his money.

Nik ran a hand over the stubble on his chin and glanced down at his faded jeans and white shirt. Unlike Harry, Nik didn’t do suits. And he’d gotten his looks from his Russian mother. She was honey blond, with olive skin and eyes like bitter chocolate. Luckily, he got his head for business from his father.

Nik tuned out the conversation. At least the interaction between the other two gave him a chance to get his head around what was in that file…and the implications. After nearly three years, he’d given up on the idea that he would ever find Sarah.

He’d thought she was his friend. Christ, he’d even believed there might be more than friendship between them. He’d opened up to her as he never had before. And considering the number his ex-wife had done on him, that had been a huge leap of faith. A misguided leap, as it turned out. Because Sarah had kissed him and then promptly vanished, taking a hefty chunk of his money with her, along with the last of his belief in the female sex. He was an idiot.

“Are you still with us?” his father asked, breaking into the memories.

“Sorry.” His father was seventy-five but could pass for fifty, and had the mind of a thirty-year-old. Only a heart attack three years ago had convinced him to hand over the reins to Nik. “What were you saying?”

“I was saying that your mother is driving me crazy.”

“So what’s new?”

His parents had always had a somewhat tempestuous relationship. Nik had spent most of his childhood terrified they would split up and he’d be a statistic. But they’d stuck it out—probably because his mother was too worried about losing her social standing to walk away. He loved her dearly, but she’d never hidden her appreciation for the finer things in life.

“This birthday is messing with her head. What the hell does it matter?”

For a woman who believed she had gotten everything because of her looks, turning fifty must be a painful milestone. “It doesn’t matter. Just tell her that.”

His gaze strayed back to the file. Sarah Daniels. An image flashed in his mind. Small, slender, pale blond hair silky about her shoulders, and blue eyes that had stared up at him with wonder. How had Harry found her? Where was she?

“Why do I get the impression you’re not with me?” His father shook his head. “I hope you pay more attention to the business side of things. Otherwise we’re going to go bankrupt. And then who’ll keep your mother in the manner to which she’s become accustomed?”

The company was actually doing better than ever since Nik had taken over as CEO. Not that it would make much of a difference. The family had wealth spread out across the globe, with investments in everything from property to gold mines.

“I think Nik’s mind is elsewhere,” Harry said.

There was something in his tone that made Nik look at his assistant through narrowed eyes. Harry grinned back. But Nik didn’t really want his old man present for this conversation; he could guess what his reaction would be. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be, Dad?” He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension. “Haven’t you got a birthday party to organize? A present to buy?”

His father’s brows drew together in a frown. Nik should have known suggesting he leave would only increase his dad’s interest. But he wasn’t thinking straight right now. He had other things on his mind.

“I think I’ll stay.”

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