low profile in this matter."
"No problem." Nelson switched his attention to Arcadia. "Truax is a lucky man to be enjoying
such charming companionship tonight. Got a hunch he's having a lot more fun than I did."
The best that could be said for Arcadia's smile, Ethan thought, was that it was polite. There
certainly wasn't much warmth in it. Not that Radnor seemed to notice.
Ethan angled his head toward the small group of people making their way toward the front
door. "Client dinner?"
"Yeah. Routine." Nelson cast a quick, satisfied glance at the departing members of his dinner
party. "The manager and some of his people from Las Estrellas."
"The new resort outside of town?" Zoe asked.
Nelson nodded. "Looks like Radnor will be handling security for them."
"Congratulations," Ethan said. "Nice contract."
"Thanks. You know, I may give you a call one of these days, Truax. We're running at full
steam over at Radnor. Might be able to throw a little of the small stuff your way. You
interested in some subcontracting work?"
"Depends," Ethan said carefully.
"I'll be in touch." Nelson appeared to realize that he had overstayed his welcome. He nodded
at Zoe and Arcadia, his gaze lingering an extra second or so on Arcadia, and then he moved
back a pace. "I'll let you folks get on with your dinner. See you around, Truax."
He walked off toward the door of the restaurant.
"I call him my competition," Ethan said. "But the truth is, we're not even playing in the same
league."
"Maybe not." Zoe sounded amused. "But if I had to guess, I'd say he's jealous."
"Of the fact that I get to have dinner with you two instead of those folks from Las Estrellas?"
Ethan nodded. "As well he should be."
Zoe shook her head. "He's not jealous because you're eating dinner with us. It's because of
what you did today."
"She's right." Arcadia said with quiet certainty. "Radnor might be the big-time operator here in
town when it comes to the security business, but his position as the CEO of a large
corporation means he'll probably never have an opportunity to play the heroic private
investigator who comes to the rescue in the nick of time the way you did today."
Zoe chuckled. "Probably not much opportunity for swashbuckling when you're in the business
of doing routine employee background checks and supplying guards for places like Desert View
and Las Estrellas."
"Got news for you," Ethan said. "My swash nearly buckled permanently today when I realized
you were in that house alone with Mason. Talk about stressing out on the job. Thank God you
had the presence of mind to get into that fancy cooler."
"It's not a cooler. It's a state-of-the-art wine cellar complete with its own refrigeration and
humidity control systems." She spoke very evenly. "The room was designed to be physically
secure because the Taylors collect extremely valuable old vintages."
"And another thing," he continued, getting into it now. "You should have stayed inside that
state-of-the-art cooler until the coast was clear."
She said nothing.
Arcadia stiffened. "I hadn't," she said slowly, "thought about the size of the wine cellar." She
broke off and gave Zoe a sharp, searching look. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes," Zoe said firmly. "It was just a room, Arcadia. I can only thank heaven it was available
when I needed it."
Arcadia's mouth tightened. "Have some more champagne."
She did not wait for a response. Hauling the bottle out of the ice bucket, she refilled Zoe's
glass.
Ethan watched the two women in silence. I'm definitely missing something here. It wouldn't
be the first time, of course, but he had a feeling this was something important, something he
needed to know.
Zoe looked at Ethan. "I believe you were about to tell us how you came to learn so many of
the details about the timing of Mason's movements the day he rented the truck."
"Yes." Arcadia watched him with a speculative expression. "Finish your story. How did you
come by all those facts
"No problem." Nelson switched his attention to Arcadia. "Truax is a lucky man to be enjoying
such charming companionship tonight. Got a hunch he's having a lot more fun than I did."
The best that could be said for Arcadia's smile, Ethan thought, was that it was polite. There
certainly wasn't much warmth in it. Not that Radnor seemed to notice.
Ethan angled his head toward the small group of people making their way toward the front
door. "Client dinner?"
"Yeah. Routine." Nelson cast a quick, satisfied glance at the departing members of his dinner
party. "The manager and some of his people from Las Estrellas."
"The new resort outside of town?" Zoe asked.
Nelson nodded. "Looks like Radnor will be handling security for them."
"Congratulations," Ethan said. "Nice contract."
"Thanks. You know, I may give you a call one of these days, Truax. We're running at full
steam over at Radnor. Might be able to throw a little of the small stuff your way. You
interested in some subcontracting work?"
"Depends," Ethan said carefully.
"I'll be in touch." Nelson appeared to realize that he had overstayed his welcome. He nodded
at Zoe and Arcadia, his gaze lingering an extra second or so on Arcadia, and then he moved
back a pace. "I'll let you folks get on with your dinner. See you around, Truax."
He walked off toward the door of the restaurant.
"I call him my competition," Ethan said. "But the truth is, we're not even playing in the same
league."
"Maybe not." Zoe sounded amused. "But if I had to guess, I'd say he's jealous."
"Of the fact that I get to have dinner with you two instead of those folks from Las Estrellas?"
Ethan nodded. "As well he should be."
Zoe shook her head. "He's not jealous because you're eating dinner with us. It's because of
what you did today."
"She's right." Arcadia said with quiet certainty. "Radnor might be the big-time operator here in
town when it comes to the security business, but his position as the CEO of a large
corporation means he'll probably never have an opportunity to play the heroic private
investigator who comes to the rescue in the nick of time the way you did today."
Zoe chuckled. "Probably not much opportunity for swashbuckling when you're in the business
of doing routine employee background checks and supplying guards for places like Desert View
and Las Estrellas."
"Got news for you," Ethan said. "My swash nearly buckled permanently today when I realized
you were in that house alone with Mason. Talk about stressing out on the job. Thank God you
had the presence of mind to get into that fancy cooler."
"It's not a cooler. It's a state-of-the-art wine cellar complete with its own refrigeration and
humidity control systems." She spoke very evenly. "The room was designed to be physically
secure because the Taylors collect extremely valuable old vintages."
"And another thing," he continued, getting into it now. "You should have stayed inside that
state-of-the-art cooler until the coast was clear."
She said nothing.
Arcadia stiffened. "I hadn't," she said slowly, "thought about the size of the wine cellar." She
broke off and gave Zoe a sharp, searching look. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes," Zoe said firmly. "It was just a room, Arcadia. I can only thank heaven it was available
when I needed it."
Arcadia's mouth tightened. "Have some more champagne."
She did not wait for a response. Hauling the bottle out of the ice bucket, she refilled Zoe's
glass.
Ethan watched the two women in silence. I'm definitely missing something here. It wouldn't
be the first time, of course, but he had a feeling this was something important, something he
needed to know.
Zoe looked at Ethan. "I believe you were about to tell us how you came to learn so many of
the details about the timing of Mason's movements the day he rented the truck."
"Yes." Arcadia watched him with a speculative expression. "Finish your story. How did you
come by all those facts
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