The door burst open.
Everly jumped away, her whole face flushing.
Tavia stood in the doorway, blinking and pressing a hand to her chest. She blushed every bit as much as Everly. “I’m so sorry.”
Gabe knew they’d come to Crawford to talk to her, but right now he wanted to throttle the woman because Everly looked horrified. And clearly, he’d lost his chance to seduce her for the moment. Already, she was stepping away from him, putting distance between them.
Everly shook her head, brushing her hands down her skirt. “No, it’s fine. You weren’t interrupting anything.”
Tavia’s wide mouth pursed as her face fell. “I obviously did, but when I heard you were here, I couldn’t help myself.” She rushed forward and threw her arms around Everly. “I was so scared for you. I saw the news this morning. Oh my goodness, a fire? You almost died, sweetie.”
Everly hugged her back stiffly. “It wasn’t that dire, but it also wasn’t pleasant.”
“That sounds awful.” Tavia jerked, her shoulders moving as though she cried.
Everly patted her. “I’m fine. Everything’s all right now.” She looked at him over Tavia’s heaving shoulders. Her eyes were wide and she looked a little like a deer caught in the headlights.
He frowned, wondering if Tavia was always this emotional.
Everly looked a bit lost, too, while she comforted her friend. She’d nearly died, but Tavia needed consoling. His sweet Everly provided it. That was how she worked. She couldn’t help but give people what they needed. If he played his cards right, she would give him everything he craved: her body, her affection, her tomorrows.
Gabe braced himself to say and do whatever it took to win.
• • •
Twenty minutes later, Everly sat in Tavia’s office and accepted a mug of coffee from Gabriel. She needed it. In the chaos of the morning, she hadn’t gotten more than a couple of sips at Connor’s penthouse and she was a three-cups-a-morning kind of girl.
Gabriel allowed Tavia to cry a bit more before he’d taken control and herded them to the woman’s office, ostensibly to make her more comfortable. Everly felt sure it had more to do with not wanting to talk about what they’d found in Maddox’s house in an office someone had recently broken into.
“Thank you.” She couldn’t help but be grateful that Gabriel had put a stop to Tavia’s emotional display. She’d been a little surprised at the woman’s reaction to her near-death experience. They were friends, no doubt. Tavia had been the first woman to befriend her when she’d come to Crawford, but she hadn’t realized how close Tavia considered them.
Everly owed her right now. Tavia had saved her from making an idiot of herself because about ten seconds more of Gabriel’s kisses, and she might have surrendered to him right on her desk. She might have laid back and spread herself out and welcomed him inside.
She’d been moved by his nearness, by the thought of always being in the baby’s—and therefore Gabriel’s—life. It would be smarter if she walked away . . . but she didn’t see how. They would meet up every few weeks or so, and she would have to watch his life play out. How was she going to spend years close to that man and not give in to him? Worse, if she managed to keep her distance, how much would it tear her apart to watch him fall in love and marry another woman?
“So you said you found some pictures?” Tavia had fixed her makeup and looked like herself again, though her nose still appeared a tinge red. Pacing behind her glass and metal desk, she looked every inch the modern female executive as she gave Gabriel a brilliant smile and accepted a mug from him as well. “Thank you so much. I’m really sorry I interrupted you two earlier.” She regarded Gabriel. “I have to admit I warned Everly about you. I thought you were using her for sex.”
“Not entirely. I’ll never turn it down but . . .” Gabriel sent her a smooth smile. “You can’t believe everything you read in the papers and see on TV. We’re quite serious.”
Everly chose not to comment. She’d promised to keep the secret that they weren’t really a couple and she intended to honor it. “Tavia, those photos Maddox had hidden? They were pictures of some missing girls. He kept them in a lockbox with his most private documents. Did you give those snapshots to him? I recognized the girl we discussed on Monday. The others you showed me at lunch a few weeks ago. I couldn’t get their faces out my head.”
Tavia nodded and seemed on edge again. “It’s hard to even talk about this. I get so attached to these girls.” She shot a glance Gabriel’s way. “You have no idea how much. They’re young and they should have their whole lives ahead of them. The world is a nasty place.” She paced the room again, her steps quickening. “The truth is, Maddox was going to pull the plug on the foundation. He came to me a month ago and threatened to defund the entire project.”
Everly set the mug down with a shocked clatter. “He did?”
Tavia held a hand up. “I talked him out of it. He was concerned about a pattern of overspending on the fundraisers. He brought a bunch of receipts into my office.”
“For catering and liquor for the last two years?” Gabriel leaned across the desk.
“Yes.” Tavia looked surprised that he knew such details. “You have to understand, I don’t have a lot to do with the ins and outs of the actual party anymore. That’s been Valerie’s role for the last two years. I’m embarrassed I didn’t pay more attention to what she was doing. From what I can tell, she skimmed roughly a hundred thousand dollars during her tenure. She has a network of caterers who are probably splitting the money with her. I managed to persuade Maddox not to fire her. He wasn’t happy but he agreed.”
Everly looked Gabriel’s way. Tavia’s intervention explained why Valerie still had her job.
“How did you persuade him to forget about being scammed?” he asked.
“I didn’t. All I did was ask him to wait until after this year’s gala so we can get a better paper trail. We weren’t looking for fraud last year, so we don’t exactly understand how she stole so much.”
Gabriel stared a hole through Tavia. Everly didn’t know how the woman held up under that stare without buckling. It nearly made her squirm in her seat.
“What would have happened if Mad had yanked his funding before the upcoming fundraiser? Would the foundation have gone under without Crawford support?” he quizzed.
“Not at all. I have plenty of corporate sponsors who would love to take over. I take calls from cosmetic companies and feminine product producers all the time. It would be great promo for them,” Tavia explained, then sighed. “I’ll be honest, I could likely find a better corporate sponsor. I’ve been offered enough money to quit my corporate work and spend my time exclusively on the foundation.”
“Why haven’t you?” The foundation was Tavia’s obsession, her passion. She barely slept, it seemed, working nearly twenty-four seven to make these girls’ lives better.
Tavia shrugged. “I felt as if I owed Maddox. He took me in and funded the foundati
on at a desperate time. Besides, my mother had a fondness for this company.” She raised her gaze, looking a bit sheepish. “Apparently, your mom wasn’t the only one seduced by Benedict Crawford.”
“Tell me you’re not my half sister.” Apparently her biological father had gotten around.
Tavia’s laughter filled the room. “No. I look like my dad, actually. My mother had her affair with the elder Crawford in his later years.”
“What about you and Mad?” Gabe asked. “I know you two were lovers and—”
“Eons ago,” Tavia interrupted. “It was a fling. He wasn’t any more serious than I was. We realized we were better off being colleagues and friends, so we left it there.” She smiled at Everly. “Your press conference this morning shocked me. What a bombshell. Now I understand why Maddox was so crazy about you. He wasn’t having sex with you; he was getting to know his sister.”
The whole subject of Maddox made her a little teary. They’d agreed in the limo not to mention the fact that she’d only learned that day that she was related to him. Everly simply nodded.
“Maybe that will calm Val down some,” Tavia mused.
“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked.
Tavia flushed. “Um, how do I put this delicately? Everly, there’s a reason she hates you.”
“Mad was sleeping with her.” Gabriel’s jaw tightened. “And thought you were, too, baby.”