Hanna scooped up the drinks and held one out to Elizabeth as they walked away. “Can’t help you there.”
Elizabeth closed her fingers over the fine stem of the glass. Her husband was a subject of a criminal investigation, and he hadn’t bothered to mention it?
Last night he’d told her nothing was going on. That it was a routine matter. Though clearly Collin knew what was up.
Reed’s employees knew more than his wife did. The network news knew more than she did. Even Vivian Vannick-Smythe knew more than she did.
How could Reed have put her in this position?
“Is my marriage already over?” asked Elizabeth, dread welling up inside her.
“I think,” said Hanna, obviously choosing her words with care, “you’re going to have to ask Reed that question.”
Elizabeth took a gulp of the strong drink, determination replacing distress. “That’s not the only question I’m going to ask him.”
Elizabeth’s green eyes glittered like emeralds as she turned on Reed in their penthouse foyer. “How do you not tell me you’re under investigation by the SEC?”
Ah, there it was. She’d been uncharacteristically silent in the limo, so he’d known something was up. At least now he could mount a defense.
He flipped on an overhead light, latching the dead bolt behind them. “It’s not a serious problem.”
Her voice went up an octave. “Not a serious problem? They’re handing out twenty-year jail sentences for white-collar crimes these days.”
“I didn’t do it,” he pointed out.
She just smiled mulishly up at him.
“You’ve got me tried, convicted and jailed.” Now, wasn’t that a vote of confidence?
“I haven’t convicted you. I’m frightened for you.”
“You sound angry.”
“I’m both.”
“You don’t need to be.”
“Oh, well. Thanks. That makes it all better.”
“You think sarcasm’s the answer?” He was perfectly willing to talk about this. But he wanted to have a reasonable, rational discussion. Mostly, he wanted to dispel her fears that he might be sentenced to jail.
“I think communication is the answer,” she responded tartly. “You know, the part where you talk to me about what’s going on in your life. Your hopes, your fears, your aspirations, your pending criminal charges.”
“How would telling you have helped?” Reed truly wanted to know.
“We could have shared the load.”
“You have your own load.”
“We’re husband and wife, Reed.”
“And husbands don’t unburden themselves by worrying their wives.”
“Sure they do. All the time.”
“Well, this husband doesn’t. You have enough to think about right now—”
“You mean like the catering menu?”
“Among other things. There was no point in both of us worrying, and I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Well, I’m plenty upset now.”
“You should stop.” He was going to take care of it. It was only a matter of time before this was wrapped up and life got back on track.
“You’re joking, right?”
“It’s nothing.” He stepped toward her. “It’ll blow over in no time.”
She tipped up her chin to look at him. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“I meant to make them suspicious.”
“Nothing,” he repeated with conviction.
“So, the SEC is conducting random investigations on innocent and unsuspecting citizens?”
Reed drew a heavy sigh. He really didn’t have the energy to go into it tonight. It was late and, even though tomorrow was Sunday, he had a conference call first thing in the morning. He wanted to sleep. He wanted her to sleep, too.
She cocked her head to one side. “Ellias Technologies?”
“I bought some shares,” he reluctantly allowed. “So did Gage. Their value rose dramatically, and it tripped an alarm bell somewhere. Collin will take care of it. Now, let’s go to bed.”
“That’s all the information I get?”
“That’s all the information you need.”
“I want more.”
“Why does this have to be a thing?” Why couldn’t she trust him to take care of it? It was his problem, not hers. Her fretting wouldn’t help the situation one bit.
“Reed,” she warned, all but tapping her foot.
“Fine.” He stripped off his suit jacket and loosened his tie. “It turns out that Senator Kendrick was on a committee that awarded Ellias Technologies a lucrative government contract.”
Her green eyes narrowed. “And they think the senator gave you a heads up.”
“Exactly,” said Reed. “Are you happy now?”
“No. I am not happy now.”
He raised his palms in a gesture of defeat. “And that’s why I didn’t tell you. I want you to be happy. I don’t want you to worry.” Was that so hard for her to understand?
Her lips pursed in that mulish expression that he recognized so well. “I don’t need you protecting me.”
He moved closer, moderating his voice. “The doctor said you should stay calm.”
“How can I stay calm when my husband is lying to me?”
He hadn’t lied to her. He’d omitted a small amount of unnecessary information so that she wouldn’t get stressed out for no reason. “You’re being ridiculous,” he pointed out.
She pulled back. “Is that what you think?”
He could see her warming up for a whole new argument. Well, he wasn’t buying into that at one in the morning.
“What I think is that Collin is on the case,” he stated with conviction. “By next week, it’ll be a footnote in my life. And you
