does. Someone from the outside, someone objective, to steer us through.'
Lily studied his tense expression. 'What kind of situation?'
'I'm working on a development project on the waterfront.'
'The Wellston project,' Lily said.
Patterson nodded. 'As you know, getting a real estate project off the ground, especially one of this magnitude, can be almost impossible. There are layers and layers of red tape to cut through and if I can't cut through it all in an expeditious manner, I lose my investors and the project falls apart. The Wellston project was about to implode when I found a way to make it go.'
'And?' Lily asked, a sick feeling growing in her stomach. 'Or maybe I shouldn't ask?'
'I think it's best if you know everything. Let me just say that whether or not we broke laws is subject to the interpretation of those laws. We had to do some things that might not have been completely ethical. There are suspicions of impropriety. And certain people in the media have been gunning for me ever since I got approval on the Minuteman Mall project. They won't consider the… nuances involved in making a deal work. If the details of this story break, my investors will pull out and I'll be ruined. Patterson Properties and Investments will go under, taking hundreds of jobs with it. I need to make sure that story doesn't come out. I saw the way you handled that bribery scandal for that developer in Chicago. Can you do the same thing for me?'
Lily groaned inwardly. She was considered an expert in crisis public relations, but it was always easier when the client hadn't broken any laws. Heck, a nice juicy sex scandal was a snap compared to the looming threat of a trial and prison time. If she had to choose between morality and legality, morality was the far easier problem to solve.
'You need to know three things,' Lily said. 'First, I won't break any laws for you. Second, I'm not going to lie for you. I may not be forthcoming with the truth, I may refuse to answer questions, but I won't lie.'
'And third?'
'If I take this job, you'll take my advice. You'll do
'All right.' He picked up a file folder from the center of his desk. 'The first guy I need you to neutralize is Brian Quinn.'
Lily's breath froze in her throat and her eyes went wide. 'Brian Quinn? How do you know about him?'
'He's been nosing into my business affairs for the past six months. He's a hotshot investigative reporter at WBTN and he thinks if he can dig up dirt on me, he'll have a story worth six or seven rating points. The guy needs to be stopped. Do whatever it takes.'
Lily snatched up the file folder and looked at it, flipping through a lengthy report. 'What is this?'
'I hired a private investigator to tail him. There's plenty there. He has quite a reputation with the ladies, a different girl every week. His father owns some seedy pub down in Southie. We might be able to use that as leverage, maybe cause some problem with the old man's permits. His father was also arrested a year ago for murder.'
'Oh, my God,' Lily said. 'Murder?'
'It's all in the file. The P.I. has been trailing him for about a month now. I should have another report in a few days. The investigator is digging into his past. I've had my people pull news clips for you and tapes of his reports. Get to know him, I want strategies on how to counteract his interference. You don't need to okay anything with me. Just get the job done.' With that, Patterson stood, effectively ending their meeting.
Lily jumped up from her chair and nodded to him. 'I'll get right on it.'
She walked out as Mrs. Wilburn was coming in with her cup of coffee. Lily shrugged apologetically, but continued her retreat. When she reached the safety of her office, she closed the door behind her and took a deep breath, her head spinning and her stomach in knots.
The report inside the file folder was ten pages long and Lily quickly skimmed the text, stunned at how detailed it was. She flipped back to the first page and noted the date. It was dated a couple of weeks before her encounter with Brian Quinn in the back of the limo.
She groaned softly. But the private investigator had continued to tail Brian Quinn after this report. Right now, he could be typing up a report about their tryst! It wouldn't be difficult to find out her name. It had been on the invitation list. Lily frowned. But Brian's hadn't. He claimed he'd crashed the party. Considering the situation now, Lily couldn't help but think that he'd come there deliberately to collect more dirt on Richard Patterson.
'He has no shame.'
Another notion suddenly occurred to her. Could he have known who she was before he approached her at the fund-raiser? Lily shook her head. He'd have to have been the best investigative reporter on the planet to know she'd be coming into town, much less know her reason for her being there.
Lily grabbed the phone book and flipped through it. There were too many unanswered questions that were certain to plague her. When she found the number and address for WBTN, she scribbled it on a scrap of paper. Then she drew a deep breath. She'd have to handle this very carefully. She couldn't just walk into the station and confront him. Instead, there had to be some way to get him on neutral turf.
'I could just call him and ask him for a date,' she murmured, picking up the phone. But that would be admitting she'd felt more for him than just a passing desire. 'No, there has to be another way.'
Lily had strategized plans for multimillion-dollar clients. She should be able to figure out how to approach Brian Quinn. But why was she really interested in seeing him? To figure out what he knew about Richard Patterson's business dealings? Or maybe to convince him to back off the story? She cursed softly. Maybe her need to see him was less professional and more personal.
An idea struck her and she grabbed up the phone and punched in the station's number. The receptionist answered the phone and Lily gathered her resolve. 'I'd like to speak to Brian Quinn,' she said, trying to disguise her voice, make it sound deeper, older.
'One moment, I'll put you through.'
Another phone rang and a woman answered. 'Newsroom,' she said.
'Brian Quinn, please,' Lily said.
'May I ask what this is regarding?'
'I want to talk to him about Richard Patterson,' she said. 'I have some information he might be interested in.' The phone clicked and the audio for a soap opera came on. A few seconds later, the line clicked again.
'Brian Quinn.'
Lily's heart hammered in her chest at the sound of his voice, so deep and smooth. 'Mr. Quinn?'
'Who is this?'
'My name isn't important. I have some information I'd like to share with you… about Richard Patterson. Is there someplace we can meet?'
The line was silent for a moment. 'All right. There's a place in Southie, a pub. Quinn's Pub.'
'Quinn's?'
'My father owns it. We'll be able to talk there. Trust me. How will I know you?'
'I'll know you. Three p.m. today,' Lily said. 'Be there.' She quickly hung up the phone and then drew a deep breath, her head still spinning. His father's pub was still on his turf, but if she had protested too much, he might have gotten suspicious. Quinn's Pub was as good a place as any to confront him.
'So what am I going to say?' Lily rubbed her forehead, trying to banish the confusion that muddled her brain. Whatever she said, she'd need to make sure that he had no doubt about where she stood. She was not going to jump in the back seat of the nearest car and repeat what they'd shared that night in the limo. She'd be polite and warn him to stay away from Richard Patterson. She'd ignore his sexy smile and his incredible body and the way he looked at her, as if he wanted nothing more than to rip all her clothes off and ravish her.
'I can do this,' Lily muttered. 'This isn't just a job-it's an adventure.'
Brian parked his car in front of Quinn's Pub five minutes before three. He jumped out, then looked up and down the street, wondering if his contact would be waiting outside. He knew it was a woman, but that was all he knew.
As an investigative reporter, he'd spent countless hours tracking down people who might be willing to spill their guts, convincing ex-secretaries and nosy neighbors and even relatives to turn on those he felt were guilty of some type of misbehavior. He suspected that this woman was probably an employee, or if he was lucky, an ex-lover of Patterson's, someone who might break this story wide open.
