Chapter 1

1

“That should cover our general business,” Nick Fontana said, surveying his employees seated along each side of the conference table. “Now on to specifics. Mark, I’m putting you with Susan on the Gardner account.”

“Okay. Why?” Mark asked.

Nick glanced at Susan, smiling briefly when she nodded. “Mr. Gardner seems to be more interested in her physical charms than the charms of the ad campaign she’s been working on for him.”

“Damn.” Mark shook his head. “Okay. Susan, let’s get together after the meeting so I can see what you’ve come up with. Has he even come close to approving it?”

“He’s being very picky.” She rolled her eyes. “With you involved, hopefully he’ll keep his mind onthe project and settle on something before we all have gray hair.”

Everyone laughed and they went on to discuss the progress of various other accounts before ending the weekly staff meeting, at which point Nick returned to his office suite. As soon as he entered, Brenda, his secretary and invaluable assistant, handed him three letters.

“The mail was the usual,” she told him. “I dealt with most of it. These are the ones you need to sign.” She handed the letters to him, as well as several phone messages. “You get to go through your email. I did delete all the spam.”

Nick chuckled. “Leaving three emails that are legit?”

“Six, but who’s counting.”

Taking what she’d handed him into his private office, Nick quickly read then signed the letters. The messages were all from potential new clients. He spent time talking with each of them, jotting down notes on what they were looking for, before sending the information on to one or another of his various account executives. “If they’d called them to begin with…” he grumbled. That’s what was supposed to happen, and usually did, since the website listed everyone who worked for him and what their specialties were. However, some people weren’t satisfied unless they talked directly with him, as he was the owner of Fontana Creative Advertising.

With that finished, he opened his web browser and went to his email. Four of them were inquiries, which he read and passed on to whoever was best equipped to handle them. The fifth was from a regular client hedealt with personally because the man was never certain he’d made the right decisions on his ads unless Nick had seen them and could assure him they would work.

The sixth one he saved until last. From the subject line, and the message, it appeared to be yet another inquiry—and it was, but not for services his ad firm offered, although the wording would have belied that if anyone other than he opened it, which Brenda had. The sender’s address and signature were what let Nick know this was one he’d have to deal in a face to face meeting, and not while he was at work. He sent back a seven word reply. ‘Tonight at the usual place at six,’ then permanently deleted the email. He wished, yet again, that the man would stop sending his messages to Nick’s business account. The man’s reasoning for that was because Nick would see them immediately, rather than when he felt like checking his private email—and Nick couldn’t convince him otherwise.

Now what’s up? Of course the email hadn’t said, but Nick was quite certain he knew and tapped his fingers together pensively before getting back to work.

* * * *

“You’re certain?” Niko asked.

“Very certain, Niko.” Niko was Nick’s other nickname, based on his real name, Nikola de la Fontaine.It was how Kasper Persson and two other men he dealt with had first come to know him. So to them, he was and always would be Niko.

“Damn it,” Niko replied. “Has he threatened to reveal what he knows?”

Kasper scowled. “Yes. He found out yesterday, thanks to Marta’s slip of the tongue. At least she had the good sense to tell me immediately what she’d done.”

“Some slip of the tongue,” Niko muttered. “Has she been dealt with, or do you want me to take care of her, as well?”

“She’s my ward, Niko! You know that. You will not do anything to her. I know, she should have been morecareful, but she’s in a relationship with him. I’ve had a long, serious talk with her. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“I’ll take your word for it, although this is the second time she’s spoken out of turn.” Niko lookedpointedly at Kasper. “How will she feel if he disappears?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t have to go to that extreme.”

“I’ll try not to, but no promises. If he’s already made overtures to—” he cocked his head in question, “—you, I presume?”

“He has. He knows I’m her guardian, so he came straight to me rather than threatening her. Thankfully, I was already aware that he knew and was able to convince him it would take me at least a dayto gather the funds he asked for. Perhaps if you talk with him as well, he’ll see the error of his ways.”

“I’ll give it a shot. Otherwise…”

“I understand.”

Niko wasn’t at all happy with the situation, but it was too late to do anything about it. He had to dealwith the man, and he had no intention of ‘talking’ with him. He got the address he needed from Kasper, and then headed directly to the man’s home. He could have dealt with him where he worked, but the man was an alderman and well known to his constituents. He undoubtedly has hangers-on wherever he goes, other than when he’s at home. There it should only be his wife. Damn, Marta, how could you have been so stupid?

Getting into the man’s high-rise building and from there into his very expensive condo was no problem for Niko. When he had, he settled down to wait after making certain the man’s wife was not on the premises. If she had been, Niko would have dealt with her in the same way he would if she and the man arrived home together.