He smiled, the door closed behind them, and his affability vanished. Piper’s only defense was a strong offense. She set her shoulders and charged toward him. “My surveillance was legal. Yes, going into the club could be a gray area, but Spiral is a public space, and you’d have to prove that my presence caused you extreme emotional distress. Somehow I don’t think a judge would buy that from a former MVP.”

He loomed over her, six feet three to her five feet six. “Who hired you?”

She straightened her spine, trying to gain another inch of height. “I can’t tell you that. But I will say that it’s no one who wishes you harm.”

“Why don’t I find that comforting?”

“It’s the truth.”

“And you’re an expert on the truth, Esmerelda?”

She struggled to keep her cool. “Nobody likes being duped. I understand that. But I had a job to do.”

“Not impressed. Who are you working for?”

“Like I said: no one who’s a threat to you.”

“I’ll decide that for myself.”

“I have nothing else to say.”

“Is that so?” He bored in on her. “Let me put it this way: you can either tell me now or you’ll hear from my lawyers.”

He had to know a lawsuit would destroy her. She tried to channel a wealthy CEO. “Lawsuits are such a time sink.”

“Then give me what I want.”

She couldn’t do that, but she had to do something other than fall on her knees and beg him not to sue her. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you back off, I’ll tell you who your real enemy is. And it’s not the person who hired me.”

He gave her his iciest stare. Waiting. She fought the suffocating feeling that he was once again sucking the air out of the room. “That model you’ve been singling out,” she said. “Blonde. Big boobs, tiny hips, and bizarrely long legs. I know—she’s only one mouse at a cheese convention—but this mouse calls herself Vivian, and you’ve been having lots of cozy chats with her.”

“What of it?”

“After a few snorts of funny stuff in the ladies’ room, she’s telling all her friends how she’s going to trick you into getting her pregnant. You want someone who’s a real threat to you? She’s your gal.”

“Nobody had better be snorting anything in the ladies’ room,” he declared. “That’s why I have security.”

“You’re paying them way too much.”

“And you’re making this up.”

“Am I? Has your so-called security picked up on the side business that at least one of your employees is running? At your expense.”

“What kind of side business?”

“Don’t call your legal eagles, and I’ll tell you.”

“I’ve already called ’em.”