He got on the elevator. “I’m sorry,” he said, the words unfamiliar and hard to form.
“You should be.”
“That’s gracious.”
“You assume the worst about me.”
How was this his fault?
He was a master of negotiation. He didn’t get flustered or confused or run out of things to say. But this woman made him crazy.
He turned to tell her that, then realized he couldn’t admit the weakness. She looked up at him expectantly, so he did the only thing he could think of.
He kissed her.
CHAPTER FOUR
NATHAN’S MOUTH WAS warm and firm, but not demanding, which surprised Kerri. She’d expected to be ravished, not kissed. He didn’t grab her. Instead he let his lips handle all the action, and they did a fine job.
Her eyes fluttered shut as she gave herself up to the kiss, enjoying the heat, the pressure, the little tingles that shot down her arms. Without meaning to, she tilted her head slightly, in silent invitation.
One he ignored, she thought sadly. His touch was fleeting, more heat than substance, and left her wanting more. Something she wouldn’t have guessed. When he pulled back, she felt an unexpected whisper of hunger. Probably because she hadn’t kissed a man since Brian had died…before Cody had been born. How sad was that?
He looked stunned, as if he hadn’t planned to kiss her. She quickly reassured him.
“It’s okay,” she told him. “I don’t mind.”
His expression hardened. “Is this about sleeping with me for the money?”
“What? No. Besides, you kissed me.”
“It’s your fault it happened.”
“That’s mature.” Why was he making this so difficult? “I don’t mind. It’s fine. I owe you.”
“So you’ll have sex with me?”
“Not the most subtle come-on.” She considered the question, then answered honestly. “If it’s important to you.” She touched his arm. “You came through for me. That means a lot.”
“Fifteen million dollars’ worth of meaning.”
She smiled. “At least I’m not cheap.” Her smile faded. “Don’t make this more than it is. I was grateful and I spoke in a moment without thinking. I offered Tim a kidney. That doesn’t mean I’m scheduling surgery.”
“So you won’t sleep with me.”
“Are you asking me to?”
“No. I’m looking for clarification. Is sex on the table?”
“Do you want it to be?”
“This isn’t about me.” He sounded frustrated.
“But you’re the one asking.”
“I’m not asking. I’m not interested.”
“Then we don’t have a problem.”
“But if I was, you’d say yes?” he asked, sounding as if he really wanted to know.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” She eyed his mouth. Maybe with a little more kissing.
Then she jerked her head away. No, she reminded herself. She had to put all her energy into Cody. If she turned her attention from him for even a second, something bad might happen.
“You don’t want me, so it’s not an issue,” she said. “Right?”
The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the parking garage. Tim was waiting by the limo. She sighed. It had been a lovely ride. She looked forward to the return trip. Maybe they could stop by Kidd Valley for burgers before they headed up I90. She was starved.
She turned back to Nathan. “I’ll see you soon,” she called.
He muttered something she couldn’t hear and pushed a button. The elevator doors closed.
“Strange, strange man,” she said to herself, and walked toward Tim.
FRANKIE TYPED frantically on her computer keyboard. Even when she wasn’t sure what to say, she kept typing because the rhythm was as important as the words. Her to-do list hovered in the periphery of her mind, but most of her attention was on her article for the monthly newsletter. She had the lead.
Damage to the Puget Sound continued at a devastating pace. So many species of plants and animals had already disappeared. Many more were on the verge of becoming extinct. Sometimes, when she wrote, she felt as if the fate of the planet rested on her shoulders. That if she could just find the right combination of words and sentences, she could change everything.
“Frankie, got a sec?”
Frankie looked up at her boss and nodded, not showing her irritation at being interrupted. She hated to be interrupted before she was finished. It broke her rhythm. But she’d learned that most people didn’t understand that.
She finished her sentence, saved her file, then pumped some hand sanitizer onto her palms and began rubbing her hands together.
One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Exactly eighteen times the groups of four, because seventy-two was her favorite number.
She followed Owen into his crowded office. There were reports and books and office supplies stacked everywhere. The room seemed to close in on itself. Sometimes Frankie couldn’t stand to be in there—she needed order—but today she was strong.
She looked at her boss. “What’s up?”
He sighed heavily. “We’re not going to make it, Frankie. We don’t have the funding. I’ve been fighting them for nearly two years and it’s a battle that can’t be won. We’re shutting down.”
“No,” she breathed, unable to believe him. “No, no. This is where I belong. We have to stay in business. We have to make a difference. We’re needed.”
Owen, a thirtysomething, heavyset man, shrugged. “We’ve let most of the staff go already. The truth is we’re too radical to get mainstream funding and the fringe element that agrees with us is generally lacking in funds. Right now the only thing that keeps us from going under is the money you put in. I can’t keep taking that from you.”
“I don’t mind,” she said quickly. She didn’t need the money. Blood money, she thought as she closed her eyes and saw the blood on the living room walls. It wasn’t like in the movies. It wasn’t clean or neat or organized. When someone got shot in real life, it was messy. It smelled and it stayed inside your brain forever.
“It’s not right,” Owen told her. “You need that money yourself.”
“I don’t.” For what? This place was her life. “We need publicity,” she said. “Something big.”
Owen’s eyes were kind. “Frankie, let it alone. I figure we’ve got a month left. I’ll understand if you want to leave now and look for something else. Or hell, take a vacation now that you’re not spending every penny here. Check out the endangered plant life in Hawaii.”
“We can get him,” Frankie told Owen. “He wants those towers and there’s going to be a lot of protesting. We can use that. We can get him.”
It was what she wanted more than anything. To destroy Nathan King. To punish him in every way possible. To leave him weak and alone and afraid.
“You can’t keeping doing this, Frankie.”
“I can. I will. I’ll find a way.”
“It’s time to put the past behind you.”
She’d trusted Owen enough to tell him the truth about what had happened—she’d never thought he would use it against her.
She stood. “It will never be time. I’ll never forgive him. I’ll get him, then people will listen and we’ll have enough money.”
Owen rose to his feet. “Frankie, he’s your brother. He’s the one who gives you the money. You can’t use it to destroy him.”
“Sure I can. That’s what makes it a perfect plan.”
She walked back to her desk and returned to her typing. But her mind wasn’t on the article anymore. It was on how she was going to destroy Nathan once and for all.
“BUT I DON’T WANNA,” Cody whined. “It’ll be boring.”
“Probably,” Kerri said as she smiled at her son. “Long and boring.”
“So we could stay home.”
“You’re right. Why should we worry about all the kids in the world who don’t have food or a hom
e or toys? I mean, they should just have to put up with that. It’s way more important than you being bored.”
Cody sighed heavily. “You’re trying to make me feel bad.”
“I know. Is it working?”
“Kinda.”
“Look at it this way. I’ll bet the food will be really good. And it’s a charity for kids, so there might be some fun stuff for you to do. Either way, we’re helping and that matters.”
“Okay.”
The consent was grudgingly given. Kerri could have just told him they were going and he didn’t have a choice, but she preferred to have him a willing partner. Besides, he had to learn about the importance of giving to others. Although technically they were attending the charity because Nathan King had e-mailed her that her presence, along with her son’s, was expected. But she preferred to put a happier spin on things.
“Can we have some of the charity?” Cody asked.
“Not this week.”
“But what if there’s really cool stuff there?”
“Then you’ll know what to put on your birthday list.”
Although if it was too expensive, she wasn’t going to be able to afford it. Something to worry about later, she told herself. Fortunately, Cody’s wants had been fairly manageable to date. Although he’d asked for a video game system at Christmas last year, it hadn’t been one of the really pricey ones and she’d been able to swing it…barely.
“Tell you what,” she said. “Events like this usually have a raffle. If it’s for something really cool, I’ll give you five dollars for tickets.”
“Sweet.” He grinned. “Think we’ll get lucky?”
“If it’s a car, I really hope so.”
“Me, too. But don’t buy any tickets if it’s weird, okay, Mom? Remember that year’s supply of soup you won a couple of years ago? They were really bad.”
“I know.”
It had seemed like a great prize until they’d sampled the first can. The soups had been inedible.
“You wouldn’t even give some of them away,” he grumbled. “We had to eat them all.”
“I didn’t want to make anyone else suffer.”
“But it was okay to make me suffer?”
“Of course,” she told him with a grin. “You’re my child. I can do all kinds of horrible things to you. Like make you eat vegetables.”
He laughed. “And clean my room.”
“And do homework. Or like now, when I tell you to go pick out something nice to wear.”
He grumbled under his breath as he turned on his crutches and moved out of the kitchen. She watched him go, seeing so much of her late husband in her son. Every day Cody reminded her more and more of Brian. She treasured the similarities, even as they continued to break her heart.
Someone knocked on the front door. She walked through the living room and let in her friend Linda.
“I come bearing basic black,” Linda said. “Along with a couple of blazers and accessories.”
“Thank you. You’re saving me here. I don’t have a charity-worthy wardrobe. It’s just an afternoon thing, but I know all those rich people are going to be really well dressed and I need to fit in.”
“You’ll do great,” Linda told her. “Now let’s get you dressed.”
Kerri led the way into her small bedroom. She’d already curled her hair and put on makeup. After Linda closed the bedroom door, Kerri slipped out of her robe, then studied the selection her friend had brought.
“I like the black skirt,” she said, picking it up and holding it in front of her. “Basic, but a good simple style. I bought some black pumps at the thrift store last week. They’ve barely been used and they’re Stuart Weitzman. Who gives those away? I figure somebody must have died or something and the family had no idea what they were donating.”
“Lucky you.” Linda held up a cobalt-blue blouse. “What about this? I have a black tweed blazer. You’ll look coordinated without being too matchy. With some earrings and maybe a bracelet, you’ll be good to go.”
“It’s perfect.”
Kerri quickly tried everything on. The blouse and blazer were a touch long but otherwise fit great. The shoes were two kinds of heaven. Stylish but comfortable. She shrugged out of the blazer, then went into the bathroom where she began removing the curlers.
“Tell me you’ve received the money,” Kerri called. “I’m not stepping one foot into that limo if it hasn’t been transferred yet.”
She looked in the mirror as she spoke, making sure she got all the curlers. Linda was still in the bedroom.
“It’s been transferred,” the other woman said.
“Good. So you’re going to be hiring more researchers?”
“It takes time to pull it all together.”
That didn’t sound right. Kerri dropped an electric curler into the sink, then stuck her head in the bedroom. “Is there a problem?”
Linda shook her head. “It’s fine. Things are moving along.”
All the right words, so why did Kerri suddenly have a knot in her stomach? “The money got into the bank, right?”
“All fifteen million. Apparently it came from Nathan King’s personal account.”
If only, Kerri thought ruefully. “Yeah, I’ll have that much when I get paid on Friday.”
“Oh, me, too.”
They laughed.
“So what’s he like?” Linda asked. “Are you enjoying him?”
“I haven’t tied him up and asked him to call me his love poodle yet.”
“Good to know. You’ll want to save that for your second week together.”
“We’re not together. I have to admit he’s good-looking, but his attitude could use an adjustment.”
“It’s not in your nature to be totally grateful, is it?”
“I’m grateful, but I won’t crawl. I think I bug him, which is just an added bonus. He’s a little straitlaced.” She returned to the bathroom and pulled out the rest of her curlers, then smiled in anticipation as she said, “Not a bad kisser.”
There was a moment of silence followed by Linda’s appearance in the small bathroom.
“You kissed him?”
“He kissed me, but it was still good. Lots of tingles. It made me realize I haven’t seriously kissed a guy since Brian died. I miss kissing and touching.” But not with just any guy. If she had the choice, she would like to be doing all that with Brian.
“Now you can do both,” Linda said. “Although I’m not sure about Nathan King. Be careful. He’s a dangerous guy.”
“Not to me. I’m not interested in him or anyone that way.”
“How did you come to be kissing?”
Kerri tried to remember. “I’m not sure. We were talking about whether or not his giving up the fifteen million meant he could sleep with me.”
“What? He expects to get sex?”
“I’m not sure. I think it was more an intellectual discussion, then he kissed me. Probably to shut me up.”
Kerri bent over at the waist and brushed her hair. Then she fluffed it with her fingers, straightened and reached for the can of hair spray.
It took a couple of good passes to get all the curls to stay in place. “I’ll do another spray right before we leave.”
She put on fake pearl earrings and a gold-tone watch, then slipped into her fabulous shoes and pulled on the blazer. Then she stared at herself in the mirror.
“I still look like me,” she said. “I was hoping for better.”
“You look great.”
Kerri knew that on a good day she could pass for pretty, but no one would ever describe her as elegant or sophisticated.
“This isn’t my world. I won’t know what to say to anyone.”
“Just smile and if someone gets bitchy, remember she gets cramps and bloats, just like the rest of us.”
There was another knock on the front door. “That’ll be Tim,” Kerri said as she walked through the living room to answer it. “I suddenly feel so popular.”
“It
’s because you’re a special person,” Linda teased.
“I’m getting that.” Kerri opened the front door and smiled as she saw both Tim and Lance on her tiny porch. “Two for one,” she said. “It’s my lucky day.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Lance said as he walked inside, then kissed her on the cheek. “You’re looking very ladies-who-lunch. Love the shoes.”
“Aren’t they great? Less than ten dollars.”
Lance winced. “You’re not going to want to mention that today.”
“I know. Hi, Tim.”
“Kerri.”
Tim nodded slightly as he, too, walked into her living room. The space had never been big, but with four adults, one of whom was the size of a small mountain, the space shrank even more.
Kerri introduced Linda.
“I’ve heard all about you,” her friend said. “You got Kerri the job at The Grill so she could attack Nathan King.”
Tim shifted slightly. On anyone else, Kerri would call it a wince.
Lance grinned. “Did I tell you? I’m a hero at work. They’re all talking about how I handled the crazy woman. Nathan came in to the restaurant last week and personally thanked the manager for my quick action. I got a raise.”
“Impressive,” Kerri told him. “So what did Nathan get out of it?”
“Nothing,” Lance told her. He glanced at Tim, then lowered his voice. “There are untold depths to our Mr. King, sweetie.”
“That’s what they say about Antarctica, but those depths are chilly.”
“He’s not all darkly evil,” Lance said. “He gave you the money.”
“I know, I know.” She looked at Tim. “Want to chime in here and defend your boss?”
“No.”
“Tim is very tight-lipped about his work.” Lance winked. “A loyal employee. The only kind our Mr. King hires.”
“You should call him Nathan,” Kerri said.
“Using his last name makes him all the more mysterious.”
“Because you like the guy?”
“Tim likes him,” Lance said. “I trust Tim.”
As Tim had been the one to come up with the idea of announcing the fifteen-million-dollar grant, Kerri liked him, too. But that didn’t mean she trusted his judgment when it came to Nathan.
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