Free Secrets that Simmer by Ivy Sinclair Page A

the Violet Lune. We are delighted to have you dining with us tonight.”
    Maggie hadn’t expected this kind of reaction at all. “Thank you?” She said the word with a bit of a question in it.
    The maître d’ didn’t appear to notice. He offered his hand across the podium. “My name is Benson. I will be ensuring your complete satisfaction this evening. If there is anything that you need over the course of the evening, please just let me know.”
    Maggie put her hand in his and was surprised when he didn’t shake it. Instead, he brought it to his lips and kissed the top of it. She had to chuckle a bit. The man’s over-the-top demeanor would normally have irritated her, but instead she felt a bit like a fairy princess. Wasn’t this the way that it was supposed to feel when you had so much money you were richer than God? She thought it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy the feeling of having someone fall all over her a bit.
    “I appreciate that. Thank you, Benson.” She gave him a small little curtsy because she didn’t know what else to do. This seemed to satisfy Benson. He took her by the elbow and started to guide her across the restaurant. He quietly pointed out several of the celebrities that she had already noticed and a few that she hadn’t. He chatted about the fact that they were so busy because there was a new movie being shot in Copper City, and the whole cast loved to come to the Violet Lune for their evening dinners after a long day on set. Then he proceeded to tell her that if she enjoyed rigatoni, she had to try Chef Marco’s rigatoni before they ran out. It flew off the shelves every time he made it, and it was a bit of a special occasion that he was making it that evening at all. Maggie’s head spun as he motioned for her to climb a small flight of stairs at the back of the room. She started to look around in confusion. “Where are we going?”
    “Mr. Atwood has reserved the private table on the veranda for your dinner this evening,” Benson said. He chuckled. Maggie wondered if she had missed the joke.
    “Is there something about the veranda that I should know?”
    Benson shook his head. “Oh no, no I’m sorry. I’m probably speaking out of turn, Ms. O’Hara, but Mr. Atwood only brings the ladies that he likes quite a lot to the veranda.”
    Maggie wasn’t quite sure what to do with this information as she realized that Benson also had the wrong idea about their dinner. “Oh no, this is a business dinner.”
    Benson seemed to look at her with an understanding nod as if he heard this all the time. “Of course, ma’am.”
    They reached the top of the stairs, and, for a moment, Maggie forgot all about the fact that she was supposed to be there for a business dinner. Tony stood waiting for her at the top of the stairs. He gave Benson a nod and took Maggie’s elbow.
    She would have had to have been a nun not to notice how good Tony looked. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a light blue shirt and a matching tie. His blond brown hair was stuck up in a way that should have looked messy, but instead made him look dashing. She knew he was thirty-five-years old and had never been married. His line of girlfriends and girls of the moment was lengthier then any in recent memory based on that afternoon’s internet search. Maggie didn’t have anywhere near that kind of past relationship resumé. She felt nervous. It was as if she needed to reestablish why they were there.
    “I was afraid that you weren’t going to come,” Tony said.
    “I’m not a flake. I said I would do the job, and I’m going to do it.” Of course, Maggie had an ulterior motive in the whole thing. She thought again about the report in her briefcase.
    She looked at him again as he settled her into the booth. It was a large booth that could have easily accommodated at least ten people. She thought it was awkward that it was just her and Tony sitting there.
    “This isn’t a date. This is strictly business,” she