Page 2 of Masquerade

There were murmurs of assent from—Kate couldn’t remember the names of the other lawyers.

Damn Liam Quinn for messing with my head.

Self-preservation demanded she find out if he’d seen through her disguise. Preferably without sharing the news with everyone present.

“I know you’re keen to find out what this is about and get back to other briefs.” George paused. “As you know, intellectual property is where we’ve made our mark in the last few decades.”

“It’s in our DNA,” the polished brunette said.

“We have the skills to diversify. You all have some previous experience with environmental litigation.” George leaned back in his chair. Unlike Kate’s father, he was open to the idea of adjusting his ideas to support his daughters’ passions. “I’m inviting each one of you to pick a case from Kate’s report and outline your approach. I’ll choose the strongest and offer our skills to the organisation concerned. It’ll be a test case. If we find we can add this area of expertise to the company, it’ll become an ongoing part of our work.”

The resulting silence held the stickiness of impending mutiny.

Liam gestured to her report, open in front of him. “Simple summaries of assorted environmental disputes across Australia. That’s not a lot to work with.”

“Have you read my report, Mr. Quinn?” Kate emphasised his surname, annoyance at the snub for her research trumping her anxiety at exposure. She’d back her research skills against anyone in this room.

“I’ve scanned it.” His shoulder lifted in an offhand shrug.

Arrogant moron. Another man living in an echo chamber, so sure his worldview was right not even a drone buzzing overhead would alert him to imminent attack. Was he hostile because Niall had kept the billboard campaign secret from him? Or generally hostile to new ideas? “Then you’re being deliberately offensive.”

“Not yet,” he answered, leaning forward—a panther preparing to spring.

Dismayed to be so attuned to his slightest movement, she stiffened her spine.

Liam had her second-guessing her defence strategy. Until Liam, Kate had trusted that Ms. Dowdy Researcher couldn’t be linked to the billboard—the final stress test to confirm no one, especially not her besuited, controlling ex-boyfriend, would recognise Ms. Dowdy as Anna Turner’s twin.

“You’ve each got forty-eight hours to select a project and outline the broad arguments you’ll use if, or when, it comes to court. In seventy-two hours”—George flashed a devilish grin—“I’ll announce which project will be our pilot.”

George’s gaze rested on Liam. The older man inclined his head slightly, and Liam’s mouth curved in a rueful smile. Warmth brought a gleam to the flat grey of Liam’s eyes for the split-second the men connected. If she hadn’t been so hyperaware of Liam, she’d have missed the moment of camaraderie. Respect and affection captured in the slightest of exchanges. George was playing a straight bat, giving all four lawyers an equal chance to bid for the project, but her gut was telling her he wanted Liam to win this office competition. He trusted Liam to handle the biggest risk of George’s professional life.

Will that give Liam the power to tear up my contract?

Short term and lucrative, she’d pencilled in six months of full-time writing in her cottage hideaway with the proceeds from this assignment. Achieving her dream depended on those six months.

“Kate will provide all additional research required for the winning pitch. I expect absolute confidentiality,” George said.

The other three partners bristled with the energy of finely tuned athletes poised to run the hundred-metre dash. Now was the moment for Liam to voice his suspicions. If he had suspicions. His brooding gaze settled on her. He had suspicions. George’s confidence in her might be about to face its own stress test.

Will he challenge me now? I’m being paranoid. He can’t know.

Kate froze, helpless to control the outcome. Liam cleared his throat.

With her heart in her mouth, Kate waited for the guillotine to fall. That mental high five she’d given herself on arrival—when she’d thought all she needed to do was suck up the arrogance of a few suits to guarantee this job—had jinxed her.

“Spit it out.” George was unaware Kate was his protégé’s target.

“Can you wait outside please, Ms. Turner?” Liam focused on a spot over her shoulder.

Butterflies turned Olympic-class somersaults in her stomach. “If you have questions about the report, I’m the best person to answer them.”

“I don’t,” Liam answered. “A matter of corporate clarity a consultant wouldn’t be able to answer.”

Kate couldn’t read him. He’d masked his earlier animosity, but the unspoken conjecture swirling in the temperature-controlled space added to her sense of being unsafe. Leaving at this point in the meeting was risky.

She’d assumed Niall understood his brother. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Niall’s comments had been along the lines ofstuck in his ivory towerandneeds a shakeup. Liam’s resoluteness made his position clear. He wasn’t stuck anywhere. He knew exactly where he was and why.

George smiled gently. “Can you give us ten? Please, Kate?”

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