Carly Phillips - Hot Item

Sophie ran a hand over her burning eyes. She hated that he’d take something as random as a robbery and place the blame on himself. He had enough problems right now. She stood and placed her hand on his arm. “Spencer, we haven’t lost any clients. No matter how you’re feeling, this idea of yours doesn’t make any sense.”

In her heart, she believed her own words. She wasn’t a Pollyanna but she refused to think anyone she or Athletes Only associated with would do something like this.

“I agree with Sophie,” Lola said. “The motive could be something as simple as robbery. Was anything taken?”

“We’ll know more once the guys tell me what they’ve found inside,” the first cop who’d spoken with Sophie said. “While they’re doing their job, I need to ask you folks a couple of questions.”

Her uncle narrowed his gaze. “Oh, here we go. Focus on the good guys while the bad guys go free.” He raised his hand to poke the officer in the chest.

Good old Uncle Yank, doing his bit to divert attention from his best friend’s problems and creating more in the process, Sophie thought. Before she could dive between the older man and the cop, Lola stepped in.

She grabbed Yank’s offending finger. “Keep it up and I’ll break the other hip,” she said. Then she turned to the officers and offered them her most sincere smile. “You’ll have to excuse Yank. Between the break-in and the recent stress, he’s a little cranky.”

The younger man eased back, away from Yank and harm’s way. “I understand, ma’am. Nobody ever knows how to react to a violation like this one.”

“What do you need to know?” Sophie asked.

“Who would do something like this, for starters?” This question came from another man she hadn’t seen before. He had stepped over to join them. “I just came from inside. Nothing obvious looks taken. No major equipment is gone. Nothing ransacked. Well, except for the flowers in the office around the corner. Those were all trashed.”

Sophie stiffened. “My flowers were trashed? The ones in my office?”

The man scratched his head. “Is there another office loaded with more flowers than a cemetery?”

She merely shook her head.

“Then I guess that makes it your office. And it certainly rules out the gay-bashing theory. So any other ideas?” he asked, his focus directly on Sophie.

“I don’t know.” All she did know was that her life was completely out of control. First she’d been harassed last night and now this. She began to shake, trembling, unable to stop.

Her uncle wrapped his strong arm around her shoulders. “It’ll be okay. We can talk about everything once you’ve calmed down.”

“Well, actually, it would help if we discussed possibilities now,” the cop said, “while everything’s still fresh. Has anything like this happened before?” He addressed Sophie.

“Hell, no!” Uncle Yank shouted. “If it had, I’d be the first to know.”

“Well actually, yes. Something unnerving happened last night,” Sophie said.

“What?” Uncle Yank asked.

“Where?” Lola demanded, her fear and concern etched in that one word.

“Why didn’t you call one of us?” Spencer asked.

Sophie ran a hand through her hair, pulling it out of its binding and not caring a bit. She turned to her well-meaning uncle, knowing how hard he’d take what she was about to say next.

“I don’t know where to begin. But even before last night, everything’s been wrong. All the flowers,” she said, her voice rising and the tension mounting as she thought of all she’d been through over the past few days. “That’s not normal. I mean, I don’t even know who sent over ninety-five percent of them. And the phone calls, the visits from total strangers. Men accosting me in the street. Does that sound okay?”

“Hell no, it isn’t okay. Nobody bothers my niece.” Uncle Yank straightened his shoulders, but he must have stiffened and squeezed the dog too tight, because she barked and Lola grabbed her out of his arms.

“Well, it’s your fault!” Sophie shouted, unable to control her frustration. “You did that damn interview. You plastered my picture on the news, advertising me as single and desperate.”

“Now, Sophie, Yank never said you were desperate.” Lola’s voice trailed off. “Never mind.” She waved her hand, dismissing her words. She obviously realized the futility in defending her incorrigible husband.

“Your uncle only wants what’s best for you, even if he does have a unique way of expressing himself,” Spencer said.

Uncle Yank bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Sophie. I love you. Spencer’s right. I only wanted what was best for you.”

“That’s why you look familiar,” the first officer said to Sophie, snapping his fingers as things became clear. “I saw you on Dateline.”

“Lucky me. One of the major networks picked up on the story and all the desperate men of the world decided I was their patsy.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

She already had a headache and now she added fear to her problems. She was truly afraid of what this nutcase would do next, not that she’d tell her uncle as much and worry him more.

She reached out a hand and grabbed his forearm. “Look, I love you. I just want you to let me live my life in peace, the way I prefer it.”

He nodded. Sophie knew he understood and agreed-until this crisis passed and he picked up on his next bright idea.

“We’re going to need a list of everyone who sent you flowers. If you have the cards, we’ll take those. If not, just what you remember, including names and florists. We can run leads from there.”

“Okay. I can give you the cards as soon as you let me inside.” She’d make sure she handed over one man’s in particular, Sophie thought, recalling Steve Harris’s behavior last night. But she didn’t want to discuss that in front of her uncle. “The cards are in my desk,” she explained to the officer.

“She’s anal,” her uncle said proudly.

Sophie sighed.

“When you’re ready you can come down to the precinct and give a full statement. For now is there anything else you can think of? Anyone in the office you fired, anyone who might be suspect?”

Suspect? “None of our employees would do something like this.”

“She’s right,” her uncle said.

Nobody mentioned their competition in the industry, but Sophie couldn’t help wondering if Cambias had anything to do with the break-in. She still questioned his motives for dating Cindy, and immediately felt guilty for her thoughts.

Sophie couldn’t bring herself to mention her friend’s boyfriend to the police without talking to Cindy first. After all, what did she have to go on other than instinct and dislike?

“We did have that computer glitch,” Lola said. “And we never did track down the source of the so-called virus. Our tech guys are suspicious, but whoever hacked in was so good, they can’t prove a thing.”

The cop continued to take notes.

Lola’s words took Sophie by surprise. She hadn’t even considered that the computer issue could be related to this break-in.

“Miss Jordan, you never did tell me what happened last night,” the policeman said, reminding her.

Needing a minute to compose herself, she shut her eyes. Riley’s face appeared in front of her, full-blown, providing comfort, reminding her he’d cared for her after she’d been accosted outside the bar.

Envisioning Riley gave her the strength to tell her story. “I went to Quarters with some friends last night,” she began.

“You went where?” Uncle Yank yelled. “What was my niece doing in that pickup joint?”

Lola groaned. “He’s leaving,” she promised Sophie and the police. “We’ll wait over here.” She prodded him over to the window ledge where Sophie had sat earlier.

Sophie just wanted the inquisition over. She folded her arms over her chest. “A guy sent over a bottle of wine. I turned him down and then he sent a bottle of champagne. I realized then that he’d also sent flowers and chocolates from my favorite store.” She drew a deep breath before continuing. “I sent the champagne back, too. But when I left to hail a cab, he was waiting for me outside.” She shivered at the memory.

What would have happened if Riley hadn’t shown up to scare him away? Sophie had no doubt she could handle herself, but whether or not she could best a determined man much taller and heavier than her, well…

“I asked if you caught his name,” the officer said.

She nodded. “Steve Harris.”

“Good.” He nodded approvingly. “We’ll check into him. Maybe he’s a regular. If we’re lucky, a bartender or waitress knows him.”

He jotted down the information and shoved his pad into his shirt pocket. “I’ll follow it up and get back to you. In the meantime, the forensics guys will run the information they collected. I’d appreciate it if you came by at your earliest convenience, okay?”

“She’ll be there,” Uncle Yank called from down the hall.

The cop shot her a sympathetic look.

“I’ll come by,” she promised.

“Thank you.” The officer gestured to the rest of his team, who’d almost finished packing up. “We’ll be in touch, folks. And Ms. Jordan?”

She inclined her head. “Yes?”

“Try not to go out alone.”

SOPHIE COULDN’T BEAR to remain in her office. The crews worked on fixing her door, which had also been broken, and cleaning up the broken glass. She headed for the small kitchenette, poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the little table and chairs in the room.

“May an old man join you?” Spencer stepped inside and pulled out a chair.

She gestured for him to sit. “Since when do you go around calling yourself old?” she asked the handsome man.

“Since I started feeling that way.”

She wrapped her hands around the hot mug. “And would that have anything to do with the news hitting the papers?”