Lucky Charm by Valerie Douglas Page B

her.
    “Ah, Ariel O’Donnell, our own fair Irish rose, we welcome you to our wake. Our training sessions are at last complete and though we bid you farewell as well,” he said, in a fair imitation of an Irish accent, “we’re all bloody well glad they’re done. Have a drink.”
    Laughing, Ariel and Miriam went to join them at the bar.
     
    There was some kind of fuss at the front of the restaurant and everyone at the table where Matt sat craned their heads to see what the commotion was about. At the name, he did, too. There couldn’t be two Ariel O’Donnells.
    With all the people standing around it was hard to see but then they parted and there she was.
    It was her, laughing, clearly a little embarrassed by the applause that greeted her. Her wavy ebony hair was clipped back neatly, her ivory skin glowed beneath the light and her blue eyes seemed luminous in the neon lighting. It seemed she was well-liked. He wondered what the occasion was? He had to admit, he liked the way she laughed and the sound of it, loose, free and bubbling.
    His heart did an odd little flip.
    What the hell was she doing here ? He had a flash of memory of that last glimpse he’d had of her sitting cross-legged on the bed wearing nothing but the curtain of her hair and a wave of heat shot through him.
    She hadn’t seen him yet and he wasn’t sure whether he did or didn’t want her to. The memory of making love to her was still very fresh and had hovered in the back of his mind ever since. Between the courage she’d shown in taking on those men and her curious mix of strength and fragility, she’d made a strong impression. One he found difficult to shake. Add to it that he owed her. She’d probably saved his life and certainly saved him from a worse beating. What had happened that morning hadn’t even touched that debt in his mind.
    In fact, it had probably added to it, although he wasn’t certain how.
    “What’s going on?” he asked the others at the table.
    The chance to learn a little more about her was simply too good to pass up.
    Almost everyone in the bar was an employee of Marathon. These, though, were in sales, while those at the bar were office staff. In the corporate hierarchy, they were two entirely different social classes.
    All three of those seated at the table with him subsided into disinterest.
    “Some trainer the company hired for the new software,” Carly said dismissively. “It’s her last day.”
    It seemed that was all he was going to get. He didn’t dare ask more questions or draw too much attention to his interest in Ariel, not if he wanted to get anything out of Carly.
    Carly Madison was a sales representative for Marathon as were the other two with them.
    He’d followed some of the Marathon employees to the bar and then hung out for a while, eyeing the little group. When tall, cool, blonde Carly had looked at him with interest, he hadn’t been able to turn away the opportunity. He needed information and a way into Marathon and in her he might get both. If worst came to worst, he’d ‘borrow’ her corporate ID, then make sure it was found before she needed to use it again.
    The woman beside him was definitely more his type. Like Jeanine, a little remote. The resemblance didn’t bother him, his taste in women was pretty eclectic, he simply didn’t seem to have good luck with them. Especially not petite, black-haired, troubled Irish roses.
    The other three at the table returned to their previous conversation, which was the real reason Matt was here. He forced himself to concentrate.
    What he heard, though, sitting with them made him uneasy. Some of their business practices didn’t sound kosher, that was certain.
    If he couldn’t find a way in, he needed to find out how Marathon operated. What was the link with Genesis? Did anyone know about that? More, why had they killed Bill? What was it Bill had learned or found that made him so dangerous they had to kill him?
    Keep your eye on the goal Matt , he