Kaya tugged at Ransom's sleeve. "Um... do I get a say in this?"
Ransom might have answered, but Leona spoke up first.
"Deal, as long as she answers a couple of questions. You want my help, I need information."
Ransom hesitated to look down at Kaya, his eyes questioning whether she could do as Leona asked.
Kaya nodded her head. She could definitely handle Leona. After all, she had been handling Alicia for way longer and neither of them had died or gone insane.
Ransom splayed a hand through the air. "Go ahead."
"First, I'm going to need to know if you have any relationship with Richard Aberdeen. If I need to cover your butt, I need honesty."
Wow. Leona had been blunt since Kaya met her, but this was a whole new level of directness.
Nevertheless, Kaya raised her chin and pressed on. "I'm his daughter."
"Aberdeen doesn't have a daughter. I know that much. Just a son he's very, very proud of. His wife can't have any more children."
"My mother was his... kept woman." Kaya's gaze dropped to the floor. It hurt to say it, almost as much as it would hurt to call her mother a mistress. To hear her mother tell it, they had been in love long before Richard Aberdeen married his wife.
Leona huffed a laugh. "Oh, this is priceless. Seriously? A mistress? Aberdeen? Doesn't seem his style."
"That's what he wants you to believe." Ransom interjected, a great relief to floundering Kaya. "I have plenty of evidence that Kaya is telling the truth, so don't do her the disservice of doubting her story."
"It's my job to doubt, but if you say that you have evidence, I believe you." Leona took a breath, then clapped her hands together gleefully. "Do you know what kind of journalistic gold you're giving me?! I don't even care that you stole my man right now. Oh my gosh, I could die right now and be completely happy. This is the scoop of the century!"
Kaya side-stepped to hide behind Ransom's arm and shoulder. Something was seriously wrong with Leona. One minute, she was all cold and calculated, the next she turned into a kid in a candy shop.
Ransom's fingers found Kaya's, interlacing with them and giving her hand a squeeze as if to say, "everything is okay."
"I am in. I am so in. Just tell me when you need something." Leona finally dropped her hands to her sides. "Now, shall we set a day for our date? I expect that you know what it should entail."
Kaya didn't have a clue what Leona meant, but she didn't like the tone with which it had been said. Her fingers clutched tighter to Ransom's, as if that might make him stay by her side or change his mind about the date.
Ransom, on the other hand, looked like he couldn't care less about setting up a date with another woman. His expression gave away nothing.
"Look at your schedule, but I think next Friday will do."
Leona dug into the bag on her shoulder and produced a schedule book. "Next Friday... Next Friday... I'm free. Let's do that. Attire?"
"Dress to impress, Ms. Lewis. I promise an unforgettable evening."
Leona may think that Ransom's grin was for her, because he liked her, but Kaya knew better. She had seen that grin before and it meant only one thing. Ransom was planning something.