“Mr. Norfolk,” Blair said, her voice sounding like honey off the comb, but only a fool would fall for it. Garrett was sure her beauty had helped lure Norfolk into complacency. She wore a gray dress today that clung to her curves. Her hair was up again, and she had on a pair of three-inch black patent leather heels. She flipped through the papers in front of her before glancing up at him with those wide blue eyes. “These numbers just aren’t adding up.”
Brian Norfolk gave her a shit-eating grin. “Maybe numbers just aren’t your thing, sweetheart.”
The look she gave him would make most men tuck tail and run. But Brian Norfolk was an arrogant fool. Garrett couldn’t stand the man. He was a fifty-seven-year-old screenwriter who’d experienced only moderate success until four years ago, when one of his movies suddenly became a blockbuster. The money had gone to his head, and while he’d fooled around on his wife more than once over their twenty-year marriage, he’d decided it was finally time to upgrade. But he’d tried out quite a few women before settling on the woman who was currently living in his San Diego condo, waiting to get her hands on his money. Consequently, he was trying to bilk his wife in every conceivable way. Knowing Blair, she’d sink her teeth into this man like a dog with a bone, and while Garrett would love nothing more than to see her take the prick down a few rungs, his job was to decrease the carnage as much as possible. He’d reluctantly warned Norfolk not to take Blair lightly, but the man was clearly ignoring his advice.
The corners of her mouth tipped up slightly, but he knew that look. She was preparing to go in for the kill.
She pulled a stack of papers from a folder and spread them across the table in front of him. “Mr. Norfolk, these are your tax returns for the last four years. Yes?”
He leaned over and scanned the papers. “Yeah, that’s right.”
She slid them to the side and pulled another stack of papers from her folder. “These other papers list your assets, investments, and monthly expenses. These were filled out by you, were they not?”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
“So are you very familiar with what’s on these sheets, or do you need a moment to look them over?” she asked in a patronizing tone.
His body stilled, and he sat up straighter, turning to look at Garrett. Garrett nodded for him to answer, and he turned back to Blair. “No, I know what’s on there.”
She tilted her head at him and proceeded to go through the entries in detail, pointing out all the discrepancies. “Maybe you’re right and numbers aren’t my thing. So how about you save us all some time and tell me where I can find the three million dollars that seem to be unaccounted for? I know you live quite the wild life now, but surely even you couldn’t have frivolously wasted three million dollars.”
He stared at the sheets. “Well, what can I say? I’m in California now. The cost of living is a hell of a lot higher there.” He gave her an ugly smile. “But a simple girl like you wouldn’t know anything about living on the coast, would you?”
Blair examined him like he was a cockroach she was about to crush with her sexy shoe, then pulled another paper from her folder. “I realize I’m a simple girl, so why don’t you explain these bank deposits?” She smiled.
He sat up straighter, his body tense.
She slid the paper slowly in front of him, her fingertips still on the sheet as she leaned over, her eyes boring into his. “Multiple large cash deposits were made to a bank account you set up in your father’s name. Your dead father, I might add.” She stood up and lifted a perfectly teased eyebrow. “Why does your deceased father need one million dollars, Mr. Norfolk? Last I heard, the deceased only need a single coin to travel down the River Styx.”
His eyes widened, and his mouth moved several times, forming and discarding words, before he finally said, “How did you find that?”
She gave him a withering smile. “I know. A simple girl like me, stumbling upon your hidden treasure. Maybe I’m not as simple as you think. There’s another two million unaccounted for. Where are those funds?”
Norfolk’s shoulders slumped, and he looked like a balloon that had been pricked with a pin.
She shrugged. “My client is a fair woman. We could bring this matter to the authorities—who would undoubtedly be very interested to know that you’re committing identity theft as well as tax evasion—since this statement—” she tapped on the paper in front of him, “—clearly shows that you are not only depositing money, but withdrawing it as well.” She paused and smiled. “But we’ll let this go as long as you agree to a new deposition and come clean about everything, and I do mean everything, Mr. Norfolk, down to the hangnail you clipped yesterday morning.” She leaned closer. “Have I made myself clear?”
“But I’m heading to the airport in an hour,” he sputtered.
“Then I guess you’d better reschedule your flight.” Blair turned her pointed gaze on Garrett. “Can we adjourn this until tomorrow morning? We obviously won’t be able to wrap this up in the next hour, but I will expect those bank account locations, account numbers, and balances by the time you show up tomorrow.”
Garrett was so turned on by her right now, and it was becoming increasingly impossible to hide it. Totally professional, Lowry. He glanced at his client. “Mr. Norfolk? Can you have the information ready in time?”
The man looked like he was about to jump across the table and throttle Blair. If he tried, it would be the last thing he ever did. But he gave a quick nod instead.