Gilded Secrets Read online

  Defending His Legacy…At Any Cost

  When scandal threatens the luxury auction house that bears his family’s name, Vance Waverly suspects the media feeding frenzy is an inside job. Could his gorgeous assistant, Charlotte Potter, be plotting Waverly’s downfall? There’s one way to find out: seduce the truth out of her!

  Charlie is between a rock and a hard place. She can reveal Waverly’s secrets to her unidentified blackmailer or lose custody of her child. Whatever she does, she’ll lose the career she loves. But losing the man she’s come to love—her big, bad boss—could put her over the edge….

  “So, What Are You Doing Here?”

  “I work here,” Vance said, one corner of his mouth lifting.

  Brilliant, Charlie. Just brilliant. “Yes, but you usually don’t come to the auctions.”

  He shrugged. “I wanted to see you.”

  “You see me every day.” Nerves plucked at her insides and Charlie fought to keep from showing them.

  “Yeah, but this way’s different,” he said. “We’re not in the office. We’re more like…friends.”

  She laughed and took a sip of her water. “Friends?”

  “Something wrong with that?”

  Oh, if he only knew. They weren’t friends. Friends didn’t make friends feel all hot and flustered and nervous. Friends didn’t inspire dreams that had her waking up in the middle of the night reaching out for him. And friends most certainly didn’t spy on each other—or have the power to fire each other,

  for that matter.

  “I guess not,” she said because she could hardly repeat everything that had just raced through her mind.

  “Good. Because I’d like to take my ‘friend’ out to dinner tonight.”

  “What?”

  Dear Reader,

  It’s always an interesting challenge taking part in a continuity. First, the story is not your own. The amazingly talented editors at Harlequin Desire come up with the ideas, the characters and the situations—then they turn writers loose on them, and that’s where the fun starts.

  I’ve always believed that if you gave six writers the same idea, you would get six incredibly different books. Well, with a continuity, it’s not the same idea, but you do get six writers, each with a different voice and style, all coming together to make something fabulous. In The Highest Bidder continuity, you’re going to jump into the drama of life in an acclaimed auction house, Waverly’s.

  I hope you love reading my book, Gilded Secrets, and I know you’ll love all the fabulous books to follow in this series.

  Visit me on Facebook at facebook.com/maureenchild; stop by my website, www.maureenchild.com; or write to me at [email protected].

  Happy reading!

  Maureen

  Maureen

  Child

  Gilded Secrets

  Books by Maureen Child

  Harlequin Desire

  King’s Million-Dollar Secret #2083

  One Night, Two Heirs #2096

  Ready for King’s Seduction #2113

  The Temporary Mrs. King #2125

  To Kiss a King #2137

  Gilded Secrets #2168

  Silhouette Desire

  †Scorned by the Boss #1816

  †Seduced by the Rich Man #1820

  †Captured by the Billionaire #1826

  ††Bargaining for King’s Baby #1857

  ††Marrying for King’s Millions #1862

  ††Falling for King’s Fortune #1868

  High-Society Secret Pregnancy #1879

  Baby Bonanza #1893

  An Officer and a Millionaire #1915

  Seduced Into a Paper Marriage #1946

  ††Conquering King’s Heart #1965

  ††Claiming King’s Baby #1971

  ††Wedding at King’s Convenience #1978

  ††The Last Lone Wolf #2011

  Claiming Her Billion-Dollar Birthright #2024

  ††Cinderella & the CEO #2043

  Under the Millionaire’s Mistletoe #2056

  “The Wrong Brother”

  Have Baby, Need Billionaire #2059

  †Reasons for Revenge

  ††Kings of California

  Other titles by this author available in ebook

  MAUREEN CHILD

  is a California native who loves to travel. Every chance they get, she and her husband are taking off on another research trip. An author of more than sixty books, Maureen loves a happy ending and still swears that she has the best job in the world. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children and a golden retriever with delusions of grandeur. Visit Maureen’s website, www.maureenchild.com.

  To the five talented, amazing women I was lucky enough to work with on this continuity. Thanks to you all for making the work so much fun!

  * * *

  The Highest Bidder

  At this high-stakes auction house where everything is for sale, true love is priceless.

  Don’t miss a single story in this new continuity from Harlequin Desire!

  Gilded Secrets by Maureen Child

  Exquisite Acquisitions by Charlene Sands

  A Silken Seduction by Yvonne Lindsay

  A Precious Inheritance by Paula Roe

  The Rogue’s Fortune by Cat Schield

  Golden Betrayals by Barbara Dunlop

  Special thanks and acknowledgment to Maureen Child for her contribution to The Highest Bidder miniseries.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Bonus Story

  Excerpt

  One

  Vance Waverly stood outside the auction house that bore his name and stared up at the impressive facade. The old building had had a face-lift or two over the past 150 years, but the heart of it remained. A structure dedicated to showcasing the beautiful, the historical, the unique.

  He smiled to himself, letting his gaze slide across the “lucky” seven stories. At street level, twin cypress trees, trained into spirals, stood silent sentinel at the doorway. Windowpanes glittered in the early-summer light. Black, wrought-iron railings framed a second-story balcony. Gray stone gave the building its aura of dignity and the wide, arched window above the double front doors was etched with a single word—Waverly.

  A glimmer of pride rose up inside Vance as he stared at the world his great-great uncle, Windham Waverly, had created. The long-dead man had ensured his own version of immortality by leaving behind the auction house that carried an illustrious reputation around the world.

  And Vance was one of the last remaining Waverlys. So he had a proprietary interest in seeing that the auction house remained at the top of its game. As a senior board member, he made certain that he was involved in everything from the layout of the catalog to hunting down pieces worthy of being auctioned at Waverly’s. This place was more his home than his luxury condo overlooking the Hudson River. The condo was where he slept.
<
br />   Waverly’s was where he lived.

  “Yo, buddy!” a voice shouted from behind him. “You gonna be there all day or what?”

  Vance turned to see a FedEx driver, packages stacked on the dolly he was balancing, waiting impatiently behind him. Vance stepped out of the way and let the man pass.

  Before slipping into Waverly’s, the driver muttered, “People think they own the damn sidewalks.”

  “Gotta love New York,” Vance muttered.

  “Morning.”

  Vance glanced to his right and watched as his half brother walked up to meet him. Rarely in New York, Roark had flown in for a meeting with some of his contacts. He was as tall as Vance, over six feet, with brown hair and green eyes. Not much of a family resemblance, but then, the brothers only shared a father. And until five years ago, when their father, Edward Waverly, died, Vance hadn’t even known Roark existed.

  In those five years, they had built up a solid friendship, and Vance was grateful—even though Roark insisted on keeping their family ties a secret. Roark still wasn’t convinced that Edward Waverly had actually been his father. But the connection was enough to keep him at Waverly’s. There was no proof beyond the letter Edward had left with his will. It was enough for Vance, but he could respect his brother’s wishes.

  “Thanks for meeting me,” Vance said with a nod.

  “Better be important,” Roark said, falling into step beside Vance as they walked past Waverly’s toward a small café on the corner. “Late night and I’m not officially awake yet.”

  He was wearing dark glasses against the sunlight, a worn brown leather jacket, T-shirt, jeans and boots. For a second, Vance envied his brother. He’d rather be in jeans himself, but his suit and tie were what was expected at Waverly’s. And Vance always did the right thing.

  “Yeah,” he said as they claimed an outside table beneath a cheerfully striped umbrella. “It’s important. Or it could be.”

  “Intriguing.” Roark turned his coffee cup over at the same time Vance did and they both waited for the waitress to fill the cups and take their orders before speaking again. “So tell me.”

  Vance cupped the heavy porcelain mug between his palms and studied the black surface of his coffee for a long minute while he gathered his thoughts. He wasn’t a man who usually paid attention to gossip or rumor. He had no patience for those who did, either. But when it concerned Waverly’s, he couldn’t take a chance.

  “Have you heard any talk about Ann?”

  “Ann Richardson?” Roark asked. “Our CEO?”

  “Yes, that Ann,” Vance muttered. Seriously, how many Anns did they know?

  Roark pulled his sunglasses off and set them onto the table. He took a quick look around, at the people passing on the tree-lined sidewalk, at the other customers sitting at tables. “What kind of talk?”

  “Specifically? About her and Dalton Rothschild. You know, the head of Rothschild auction house? Our main competitor?”

  Roark just stared at him for a beat or two, then shook his head. “No way.”

  “I don’t want to believe it, either,” Vance admitted.

  The CEO of Waverly’s, Ann Richardson was brilliant at her job. Smart, capable, she had worked her way up to the top position in the firm, becoming the youngest person ever—male or female—to head an auction house of its size and scope.

  Roark sat back in his chair and shook his head firmly. “What have you heard?”

  “Tracy called me last night to give me a heads-up about a column that’s appearing in today’s Post.”

  “Tracy.” Roark frowned, then nodded. “Tracy Bennett. The reporter you dated last year.”

  “Yeah. She says the ‘story’ breaks today.”

  “What story?”

  “That Ann had an affair with Dalton.”

  “Ann’s too smart to fall for Dalton’s line of BS.” Roark dismissed the idea out of hand.

  Vance would like to. But in his experience, people made stupid decisions all the time. They usually blamed “love” for those bad choices, but the truth was, love was just the excuse to do whatever the hell they wanted to do. Love was a fable sold by greeting card companies and bridal fairs.

  “I agree,” he said. “But if there is something between them—”

  Roark whistled. “What can we do about any of it?”

  “Not much. I’ll talk to Ann to let her know about this article that’s coming out.”

  “And?”

  “And,” Vance said, gaze fixed on his brother, “I want you to keep your eyes and ears open. I trust Ann, but I damn sure don’t trust Dalton. Dalton’s always wanted Waverly’s out of the way. If he can’t buy us out, he’ll try a takeover—or try to bury us.” Vance took a sip of his coffee and narrowed his gaze on Roark. “We’re not going to let that happen.”

  * * *

  “Good morning, Mr. Waverly. I’ve got your coffee and the week’s agenda ready for you. Oh! And the invitation to Senator Crane’s garden party arrived by messenger late yesterday after you’d left.”

  Vance stopped in the doorway to his office and stared at his new assistant. Charlotte Potter was petite and curvy, with long, wavy blond hair restrained by a ponytail at the base of her neck. She had vivid blue eyes, full lips on a mouth that was rarely quiet and she seemed to be in constant motion.

  He’d hired her as a favor to a retiring board member who had developed a fondness for her when she’d been his assistant. But Charlotte had only been with Vance a week now and he knew it wasn’t going to work out.

  She was too young, too pretty and too… She turned away to bend down and open the bottom drawer of the wood-grain file cabinet and he shook his head. Vance’s gaze locked on the curve of her behind in the sleek black slacks she wore. Charlotte was too everything.

  When she stood up, producing a thick, linen envelope for him, he told himself that he should simply pawn her services off on someone else in the company. He couldn’t exactly fire her for being a distraction, but he sure as hell resented it.

  Politically incorrect or not, Vance preferred his assistants to be either matronly or male.

  His former assistant, Claire, had retired at sixty-five. She was cool, unflappable and notoriously anal about her workspace. There had never been so much as a pen out of place on her desk. Vance had felt confident that Claire was on top of everything.

  Charlotte, on the other hand… He scowled at the ficus tree in the corner, the ferns on the shelf closest to the window and the deep-purple African violets on the corner of her desk. There were framed photos taking up space on her desk as well, though he hadn’t looked at them too closely; he hadn’t taken the time to do much more than notice the clutter.

  Her pens were kept in a mug shaped like a New York Jets football helmet and there was a dish of M&M’s beside her phone. Clearly, he never should have done that favor. No good deed goes unpunished, his father had often said. Turned out, the old man was right.

  Vance didn’t want distractions in the office under the best of circumstances. And now, with possible trouble looming with Rothschild, he wanted it even less—and if that made him a damn chauvinist, so be it.

  As one of the last Waverlys associated with the auction house, Vance liked keeping his business hours devoted to business. And a pretty woman was not conducive to concentration.

  “Thanks, Charlotte,” he said, heading for his office. “Hold my calls until after the board meeting.”

  “I will. Oh, and call me Charlie
,” she said brightly.

  Vance stopped, looked back over his shoulder at her and was nearly blinded by her brilliant smile. She went back to her desk and began flipping through the stack of mail. The long sweep of her hair fell over one shoulder and lay across her breast. Something inside him fisted uncomfortably. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but the woman was impossible to ignore.

  Scowling to himself, he leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb and sipped at the coffee she’d given him. Watching her, he realized she was humming again as she had all last week. Off-key humming. Tone-deaf off-key.

  He shook his head wearily. He had calls to make to Waverly’s London office, to check on upcoming auctions there. A corner of his mind was still working over the rumors about Ann and what that could mean to the auction house. And he was in no mood for the board meeting scheduled for that afternoon.

  Charlotte straightened up, turned around and gasped, slapping one hand to her chest as if to hold her heart in place. Then she laughed shortly and shook her head. “You scared me for a second. I thought you had gone to your office.”

  He should have. Instead, he’d been “distracted.” Not good. Frowning at his own wayward thoughts, he asked, “Did you have a chance to type up the agenda for today’s meeting? I want to make some new notes before I meet with the board.”

  “Of course.” She walked to her desk and plucked a file folder from a stack of similar ones. She handed it to him. “Along with the meeting agenda, I printed out the list you made of the private collections coming up for bid in the next few weeks.”

  He opened the folder, noting the neatly presented agenda with his handwritten notes now added in bold typeface. There were a few pages behind the first and he idly flipped through them, stopping at the last one. “What’s this?”

  “Oh.” She smiled. “The next catalog layout looked a little crowded, so I adjusted a couple of the pictures and…”