Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [102]
She realized now that taking over Hathaway's would not happen by chance, that she would have to make it happen. She couldn't keep moaning about unimportant duties; she needed to find her own work, her own role at the store. Maybe it wouldn't be as CEO or CFO, since those jobs were already taken, but surely there was something she could do to leave her mark on the company. She just had to find it and then do it—tomorrow or the next day. She didn't have to find herself a job right this second. In fact, she could think of lots of other things she could be doing right now, including finishing that kiss she'd started with Riley in the middle of an intersection in San Francisco.
She was tempted to get him out of his chair and into the messed-up bed she could see through the half-open door to his bedroom. Sheets and blankets were tossed in abandon, making her want to jump into the middle of them and roll around with Riley. A shot of heat swept through her body at the thought. She couldn't do what she was thinking, could she?
She had to get a grip. Sex with Riley would only complicate things. They'd never work out as a couple. Would they?
Even if they could get past the differences in the way they'd grown up, what about the way they lived now? She might rail against Hathaway standards, but there was no denying the fact that she liked some of the culture she'd grown up with—the ballet, the symphony, the art museums. And she wanted commitment, a husband, children, the happily-ever-after she'd read about in so many books.
Did Riley want any of that? He loved his grandparents, but he couldn't seem to let himself get close to anyone else. She knew his mother had hurt him deeply. Too deeply for him to be able to trust, to love another woman?
"Paige. Yoo-hoo, Paige."
She started, realizing the object of her thoughts was now staring at her. "What?"
"I've been talking to you for three minutes."
"That's funny. I asked you a question awhile ago, and you didn't even answer."
"I found something," he said, ignoring her comment.
"About the dragon?"
"About my grandfather."
She looked at the screen. "Where are you?"
"Social Security. My grandfather worked at Hathaway's from 1946 to 1952, when the store burned to the ground."
"That makes sense, because the store was closed down while it was rebuilt. I'm sure a lot of employees were let go."
"I'm sure they were." He closed one screen and went to the next. He brought up an old newspaper article. "Did you know that the fire occurred during the Chinese New Year's Parade?"
Another bell went off in her head. "I remember hearing that. They thought it might have been started by some errant fireworks."
"Actually, the article claims there were traces of gasoline in the basement and suspicion of arson."
"Really? I never heard that, but it happened a long time before I was born."
"Do you know who was the first man on the scene?"
"Your grandfather?" she ventured.
"Guess again."
"My grandfather?"
"You've got one more choice."
She frowned. "I don't see what it is."
"Lee Chen."
"Lee Chen?" she echoed, seeing the excited light in Riley's eyes.
"Alyssa's grandfather," he said. "We're connected, Paige, all three of us. It says in the article that Lee Chen, an employee at the store, was the first one on the scene. He tried to put the fire out but it was too hot, and he suffered burns on his hands before he was pulled out of the store."
"What a strange coincidence," she said, still trying to make sense of all the connections.
"Is it a coincidence? What do you bet that Lee Chen was never rehired after the fire?"
"Why wouldn't he have been—if he tried to save the store?"
"Did he try to save it? Or did he start the fire? The