This Tangled Thing Called Love: A Contemporary Romance Novel Read online

“Thanks, baby.” Claire grinned, instantly knowing that she would be.

  As Claire took her place upon the stage, she spotted Alec in the first row. She sensed his gaze upon her and responded with a barely perceptible nod that only he would notice.

  There were many familiar faces in the audience: Claire’s own parents, Lindsay and Jake, and Amber and Adam – yes, Amber, for even the seemingly unforgivable could be forgiven in time, or what was friendship for?

  Claire took one step closer to the microphone. Her heart continued to beat wildly, but she no longer tried to tame it. That was what life was all about – taking chances, and while she did not know what the evening would bring or where her relationship with Alec would lead, she was certain of one thing. It was going to be an adventure finding that out.

  About the author:

  Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels Lucky Charm, On the Rim of Love, This Tangled Thing Called Love, romantic suspense novel, To Catch a Bad Guy, and a short story collection, A Dress in a Window. Marie is also the author of fantasy adventure novel, Over the Mountain and Back.

  If you would like to find out more about Marie’s books, please visit Marie at her website: www.marieastor.com.

  To Catch a Bad Guy

  By

  Marie Astor

  Janet Maple’s stellar career ended with a layoff and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.

  Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?

  Chapter 1

  Janet Maple took a deep breath while she waited for her train to arrive. She was twenty-nine years old, but this morning she felt like a first-grader. The same sickening feeling churned her stomach that she remembered when she first entered a room full of strangers as a five-year-old. She was much older now – a professional with a law degree to boot, and, until recently, with a successful career at the District Attorney’s office, but today none of these things gave her comfort or confidence.

  It was not merely the prospect of starting a new job that gave Janet the heebie-jeebies, but it was the fact that she would be working for Lisa Foley. Talk about stirring up old insecurities… Lisa Foley had been the queen ‘b’ in high school. Come to think of it, Lisa was still the queen ‘b.’ Every time Janet talked to her best friend from high school, Lisa never failed to bring back ‘the old glory days’ as she called them. With friends like Lisa, who needed a time machine? One could always count on Lisa’s sharp memory to recall every embarrassing incident of adolescence.

  Well, the past is the past, Janet thought. I should be thankful to Lisa for giving me a job. When your former boss also happens to be your ex-boyfriend, the subject of references becomes dicey to say the least. Regardless of how stellar one’s background looks on paper, employers always want references, but Lisa had hired Janet without any references. In fact, Lisa’s phone call had come with unsettlingly perfect timing. Just as Janet was about to give up all hope of white-collar employment, her old friend had come to the rescue. That was another one of Lisa’s remarkable qualities: for as long as Janet had known her, her friend seemed to have a radar for people’s misfortunes. In high school, Lisa was always the first to know who got dumped, who didn’t make the cut on the football team, and whose parents got laid off. So it was not surprising that Lisa knew about Janet’s being “downsized” by the District Attorney’s office, and when she offered her a job as Assistant General Counsel at Bostoff Securities, Janet literally jumped at the chance.

  “Janie! Come in, come in!” Lisa rose from behind her long mahogany desk and opened her arms in an offer of a hug.

  “Hi, Lisa.” Janet stooped for an air kiss from Lisa. At five seven and one hundred and thirty pounds, Janet was no giant. Fine, maybe she was not dainty, but her weight was smack in the middle of the healthy category for her height. But at five two and ninety five pounds, Lisa made everyone tower over her – a trait that Janet was convinced Lisa secretly relished.

  “Sit, sit.” Lisa waved her hand at the leather chair opposite her desk. “I’m so excited that we’ll be working together – it’s going to be just like old times.”

  “I’m really glad to be here, Lisa, and thank you again for giving me the job.”

  “That’s what friends are for, right? To help each other out when you’re down in the dumps,” Lisa answered her own question. “So, how was your orientation?”

  When Janet started her employment at the DA’s office, there had been a rigorous four-week orientation to initiate her and fellow law school recruits into the intricacies of the Assistant District Attorney job responsibilities. But here, at the Bostoff Securities, the orientation only resembled the process by its title – the entire affair had taken scarcely thirty minutes, as Janet was shoved into a tiny room for her photo id picture and given a thick binder with the company forms to sign. Janet supposed she was an experienced attorney now, and it was time she started acting like one around Lisa.

  “It went well; I got all this paperwork to complete.” Janet raised the thick folder she’d been given at the orientation.

  “Don’t worry about that; it’s just your generic HR stuff. What time is it now?” Lisa fumbled with her Cartier watch. “Perfect timing; we’re going to lunch. But first, let me show you to your office.”

  Lisa slid from behind her desk. As usual, she looked spectacular: her navy pinstriped suit seemed to have been made for her miniature body (and it probably had been), her four-inch Louboutin stilettos elongated her slender legs, and her pixie cut emphasized the perfect features of her face. She looked like a corporate version of Winona Ryder.

  As Janet followed Lisa down the hall, she made a conscious effort to resist her urge to stoop – let Lisa stand on the balls of her feet instead.

  “Our offices are on the same floor as the trading floor,” Lisa explained over her shoulder as she wove her way down the mahogany-lined hallway. “But there’s a shortcut through here, so that you don’t have to enter the trading floor unless you need to. And I’ll be honest with you - I try to avoid it as much as I can. It’s a veritable zoo out there.” Lisa paused, indicating that they had arrived. “Ta-daa!” Lisa flung the door open and ushered Janet into the spacious room.

  Janet bit her lip with remorse. If her office was any indication of her employment at Bostoff Securities, she owed Lisa an eternal debt of gratitude. The size of the room was about twice the size of Janet’s digs when she worked for the DA, and it even had a window! Having an office with a window had been a sign of great recognition in the DA’s elaborate hierarchy. Granted, Janet had been only a few steps away from getting to this high honor before Alex snatched everything she had worked for for four years of her life, but all that was history now, as were the long hours she’d put into her investigation, the credit Alex took for her work, and Alex himself.
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  “You like?” Lisa winked.

  Janet snapped out of her reverie. Being caught daydreaming was not a good way to start her first day.

  “I love it, Lisa. Thank you.”

  “I bet it beats that DA dump you’ve been slaving away at. I still can’t understand what possessed you to go there. You were always such an idealist.”

  Lisa did have a point there: Janet was an idealist. Correction, Janet had been an idealist. For four years, she had toiled away as Assistant District Attorney at the New York Office for a minimum salary, but as ridiculous as it sounded, money was not the reason why she had pursued a career in law. She had wanted to help the wronged and go after the bad guys, like the guys who had stripped her retired grandfather of every penny he had ever earned, sending him into fatal cardiac arrest. But when the results of your investigation are handed over to your boss to take credit for, and you’re sent packing, it becomes hard to remain an idealist; and so far, employment at Bostoff Securities was proving to be a very comfortable reality.

  “So, you’re ready for lunch?” Lisa winked. “I must say you’re looking very dapper in this suit of yours.”

  “Thanks.” Janet blushed, aware that her boxy brown suit was nowhere near as elegant as Lisa’s. But, on a positive note, with her salary bump at Bostoff Securities, she would finally be able to move past the one hundred dollar suit racks she’d made a habit of frequenting at J.C. Penney.

  “You might want to let your hair down, though.”

  “What’s wrong with my hair?” Janet clasped her French twist protectively. She had spent nearly forty minutes this morning putting up her hair.

  “Oh, it’s perfectly fine if you’re going for that tough prosecutor look, but if you’re looking to get a guy interested…” Her hand reached for Janet’s hair. Lisa’s four-inch heels made them almost equal in height.

  “I wasn’t aware I was being set up on a date.” Janet lips knitted into a prim line – a lifelong involuntary reaction to irritation. Sure, Lisa was the boss, but that did not give her the right to control her employees’ looks and personal lives.

  “Oh, come off it.” With a swoop of her hand, Lisa plucked a handful of pins from Janet’s hair, undoing her tightly knotted French twist. “There.” Lisa stood back and eyed Janet appraisingly. “Much better.”

  Janet ran her hand over her hair. It was full of kinky waves from being wound up in a twist.

  “Do you mind telling me what’s going on?” Janet struggled to keep her voice level for the sake of job security.

  “I got you a date, you silly! Well, it’s not exactly a date…” Lisa retracted.

  Janet made a mental effort to shut her mouth, as her jaw was having a hard time taking this much obnoxiousness without dropping.

  “Calm down, will ya?” Lisa continued. “It’s a business lunch: we’re meeting Tom Wyman at Aquavit. Tom is a really nice guy, and he’s not too shabby in the bringing home the bacon department either, if you know what I mean. He’s a partner at Ridley Simpson.” Lisa winked.

  “Look, Lisa, I really appreciate your thinking of me, but I’m not looking to date anyone at the moment. I just got out of a relationship, and I want to take it easy for a while…”

  “Please. It’s me you’re talking to – your best friend since forever.”

  And now my boss. Janet forced a smile.

  “The last thing you want after,” Lisa paused, making a quotation sign with her fingers, “‘getting out of a relationship’ is to take it easy. Just because you’re working for me does not mean that things have to change; I always got you dates in high school, didn’t I?”

  Yes, you did, Janet thought, even when I didn’t ask you to.

  Lisa glanced at her watch. “We’d better get a move on. A man like Tom Wyman should not be kept waiting. Put some makeup on, and let’s go.”

  Janet raked through her handbag for her makeup case. She obediently ran a powder puff over her face and applied a quick coat of lipstick to her lips. Then she ran her comb through her hair in an attempt to tame it – a futile effort, since she still looked like she had just ridden a motorcycle without a helmet. Oh, well. At least her wild hair would compensate for her overly conservative outfit.

  Bostoff Securities was located on Park Avenue and Fifty Third Street, and Aquavit, the restaurant for the rendezvous with Tom Wyman, was on Fifty Fifth Street, between Madison and Park. Despite her monstrous heels, Lisa nimbly maneuvered her way down the street, while Janet struggled to keep up in her kitten pumps. After four years of working downtown, midtown felt like a foreign country: she’d forgotten how disorientingly touristy and crowded the streets there could get.

  “Ah, here we are.” Lisa motioned at the screened restaurant entrance.

  Just as they were about to go inside, a man smoking nearby hurried to open the door for Lisa – a concrete demonstration of the power Lisa had been wielding over men ever since she had entered her teens.

  Inside, the décor was Nordic minimalism, with wooden paneling accompanied by slender white fixtures hanging low from the ceiling. It was Monday afternoon, and the atmosphere was all business: financial and advertising types sporting expensive suits loitered by the bar, waiting for their clients.

  “There is a reservation for three under Tom Wyman,” Lisa addressed the hostess.

  “Oh, yes.” A rail-thin blonde smiled at them. “Mr. Wyman is already here.”

  “Lisa!” A velvety baritone called from across the room. A man rose from his seat by the bar and walked toward them.

  “Tom, so wonderful to see you!” Lisa leaned in for an air kiss exchange. “So sorry we are late.”

  “Nonsense, good company is worth waiting for.” Tom grinned.

  “You’re such a charmer.” Lisa batted her eyelashes.

  She’s flirting with him, Janet felt a sting of irritation. She was not even interested in this Tom Wyman character, but, in spite of herself, she was hot with resentment. Lisa’s behavior was reminiscent of all those teenage double dates Janet had endured, with Lisa flirting away with the very guys Lisa had supposedly invited as Janet’s dates. Sure, Janet was much older now, but when it came to her friendship with Lisa, other than the number of candles on her last birthday cake, not much had changed.

  “Tom, Tom Wyman.” Tom’s eyes locked in on Janet’s as he extended his hand. Coiffed was the word to describe him. Everything about this man was polished: his manner of speech, his silky dark eyes, his curly black hair, which was carefully slicked back, and his tailored outfit of Brooks Brothers suit and pink shirt with onyx cufflinks.

  “Janet Maple.” Janet blinked, sensing Tom’s smooth, manicured fingers wrap around her hand.

  “Janie just started working for me today,” Lisa cut in.

  Janet nodded good-naturedly. She hated it when Lisa called her Janie – the diminutive was reserved for family only, but somehow, years ago, when Lisa had overheard Janet’s mother call her Janie, she had picked it right up and Janet never had the heart to tell her to stop.

  “Some would say never hire your best friend, but I’m of a different opinion. Janie and I are the best of friends, and I know that we’ll get along splendidly at the office.”

  Tom let go of Janet’s hand and looked at Lisa, bemused. “Well, Lisa, from what you’ve told me about Janet, she is going to be a great asset to the firm.”

  Janet beamed him a smile. She did not know much about this Tom Wyman character, but she could have kissed him on the spot for putting Lisa back in her place.

  As if reading Janet’s mind, or more likely her facial expression, Tom winked. “Columbia Law School graduates rarely come clamoring for employment, especially those who graduated magna cum laude.”

  “I see that Lisa has been talking about me.” Janet returned Tom’s wink with a smile. She might not like the idea of Lisa meddling in her personal life, but that did not mean that she would let Lisa steal the limelight from her date – not anymore.

  “Yes, she has.” Every word uttered
in Tom’s silky voice sounded like a caress. “And I for one am glad to know that I’ll be working with an alumna.”

  “You went to Columbia also?”

  “I did: class of two thousand.”

  He is seven years older than me, Janet’s mind did an involuntary calculation. “It’s always a pleasure to meet fellow Columbia alum.”

  “Indeed. And I hope that we’ll be seeing quite a bit of each other.” Tom’s eyes lingered on Janet a second too long for a casual glance, and she was not quite sure how to respond.

  “Well, should we get seated?” Lisa tapped her foot. “I’m starving.”

  “Forgive me, I seem to be forgetting myself.” Tom nodded at the restaurant hostess who had been lurking in the background, careful not to interrupt their conversation.

  “Please follow me.” With gazelle-like grace, the hostess glided across the floor.

  Her head cocked, Lisa sashayed after the hostess. Tom stepped aside, letting Janet go in front of him, and she could not help a warm, giddy feeling spreading in her chest. She certainly did not intend to get involved with Tom Wyman, but it sure felt nice to be the center of his attention.

  “So, Janet, tell me more about yourself,” said Tom after they had ordered lunch.

  “I’m not sure where to begin. I’m afraid I’m not that interesting.” Janet lowered her eyes, breaking away from Tom’s gaze. His eyes were like two black olives: dark, glistening, and unsettlingly sharp.

  “Why, Janie, as usual, your modesty is getting the best of you!” Lisa pursed her lips. “Tom, do you know that Janie has spent the last four years at the DA’s office?”

  “Oh?” Tom’s eyebrows shot up high. “What an interesting career choice. And may I ask what division you were in?”

  “I was in the Investigation Division.” When Janet spoke of her former occupation as Assistant District Attorney, most people were either impressed or terrified – the latter were usually employed in the financial industry. There was one memorable occasion when Janet had mentioned her employment while being flirted with by a handsome financial type during happy hour, which resulted in the guy’s in question falling off his bar stool and promptly vacating the bar premises. But then there were plenty of occasions when her choice of occupation elicited accolades and admiration – alas, those were mostly from members of senior citizen communities who were frequent victims of financial rogues whom Janet so diligently tried to catch. In either case, most people never went as far as inquiring about the specifics of her job, which made Tom’s pointed question surprising.