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pirating of your recordings?” she asked.
    â€œI thought you explained all that.”
    â€œSo did I. But for some reason, I feel that there’s still an element of trust missing in our conversation. If it doesn’t hinge on the tape duplication, I’m at a total loss as to what it might be.”
    She looked at him and the moonglow seemed entrapped in her eyes. Kyle hadn’t counted on the depth of Maren’s perception. Ryan Woods had warned him about her, but Kyle had been convinced that he could handle any woman, including Maren McClure. But, once again, he’d been proven wrong…dead wrong. The thought was an irritating thorn in his side, and the worst part of the situation was that Kyle was attracted to her—more attracted than he had been to any other woman in his life. The situation was rapidly getting out of hand and he had no one to blame but himself.
    â€œIf there is a problem,” he replied as he pulled on his lower lip, “I think it’s that I had no intention of becoming attracted to you.”
    â€œThen you’re not concerned about the pirating?” she asked dubiously.
    â€œOf course I’m concerned. I have to be. Someone is duplicating our recordings, and the videotapes as well. They’re being distributed on the black market several weeks before the albums are released.” He had her full attention and to his relief her eyes remained clear, unclouded by fear.
    â€œAnd you think that someone at Festival might be involved?”
    â€œYou said the problem was corrected.”
    â€œBut I’m not sure that you believe me.”
    Kyle weighed his words carefully. “I’m convinced that you’re not involved.” In one short evening his opinion about Maren McClure had changed and taken a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. Kyle would be hard-pressed to believe that Maren knew anything about the duplicated tapes, other than what she had told him. It was the honesty in her eyes that arrested him, and he found it impossible to think her a consummate liar. He frowned at the irony of it. Maybe he was more of a fool than he knew. The last thing he would have expected this evening was to be taken in by a woman.
    â€œBut you still think that someone at Festival Productions might be on the take. That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why you want me to come to work for you—to tighten your security! And I was gullible to think that it was my talent, but it’s only because the artists are insisting on working with me! This way you can kill two birds with one stone!” Her small fist clenched and pounded against the pliant leather seat. “Damn!”
    â€œI haven’t accused anyone at Festival of anything…”
    â€œYet!”
    â€œAnd you think I might?” he asked warily.
    â€œYou don’t have to!” She sank back against the cushioned upholstery. “I didn’t mean to react so violently,” she apologized. No matter how angry she became, she couldn’t forget who this man was and what he represented. She had to keep her pride in perspective. “Maybe I did jump to the wrong conclusion. I hope so.”
    â€œYou act as if you expect me to accuse Festival Productions of having a part in the pirating,” he said evenly. “Do you?” Dark gray eyes held her transfixed.
    The lie slid easily over her lips. “Of course not.” It was impossible to explain her unfounded suspicions about her own company. If Kyle Sterling lost faith in Festival, he could take away his offer and start his own in-house production company, robbing Festival of the business it so desperately needed. If he found out about the internal problems at Festival, Kyle would never sign a contract with Festival again. It would be a crippling blow, considering Festival’s poor cash flow position. The last risk Maren could take was to lose this man’s trust, and for all she knew, everything at