by BETH KERY
“Sit down, Kam,” Ian repeated more succinctly.
“I said I’m not in the mood,” Kam repeated through a clenched jaw. “I’m not in the mood for any of this crap,” he said, waving in a frustrated manner around the luxurious, crowded coffeehouse.
Ian stood, his mouth set in a hard line. “Will you just sit down and talk to me for five minutes? Is it really that hard?”
“No, it’s not that hard,” Kam snarled. “I just don’t want to fucking do it.” Ian glanced aside and Kam noticed several people looking their way. They’d both raised their voices.
“Just for a moment?” Ian persisted in a level but determined tone. “Please?”
Kam sat, feeling cornered. He didn’t feel like being still. He had a wild urge to go back to the gym at his hotel and punish his body with a rigorous workout, or maybe go running for miles and miles on the lakefront—
“Did something happen with the Gersbachs?” Ian began, brows slanted dangerously.
“No.”
“Everything seemed to be going well. Francesca said everyone seemed mellow during the showing. From the little I glimpsed as you left the restaurant, I’d say Otto looked pleased. I thought you seemed all right as well. Lin certainly seemed happy. She must have gotten sick soon after that.”
Kam just stared at his brother, all signs of irritation gone from his face, all traces of anything vanished. Ian looked down at the coffee table between them and idly began flipping a sugar packet with his long fingers.
“I’m going to try to be careful about saying this, Kam. I hope you understand that I’m coming from a . . . sensitive place?” Kam didn’t reply, but he grew tenser in his chair. “Lin isn’t just an invaluable member of my staff. She’s a very good friend. I’ve known her since she was seventeen years old, you know.”
It wasn’t really a question, so Kam still didn’t reply.
“Lin hasn’t been all that fortunate with the men she’s dated in the past.”
He sensed the electrical thread in Ian’s seemingly neutral comment. He leaned forward in his chair. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, gaze narrowing.
“Just that. Very few men seem to have the ability to appreciate her character. Her refinements. Her sensitivities.”
“You make her sound like some kind of inbred show poodle,” Kam stated bluntly. He glanced impatiently around the confines of the coffeehouse, despising walls at that moment. “She’s a lot hardier than you make her out to be. Maybe you don’t know her all that well.”
“And you do?” Ian challenged, his quiet voice like steel. “Because I’d hate to see you put Lin in the same category as say . . . some of those hardy women you kept company with at Aurore, for instance.”
Kam’s gaze zoomed to meet his brother’s. Ian’s stare didn’t waver.
“Don’t get all holier-than-thou with me,” Kam seethed, shocked and infuriated at Ian’s reference. His brother had accidentally walked in on Kam engaging in the midst of some spontaneous recreation with two women last summer at Aurore. Ian had been circumspect enough not to mention the uncomfortable moment. That he brought it up now in association with Lin pissed off Kam royally. “Don’t try to convince me you led a monk’s existence before you met Francesca, because that’s just offensive. And Lin doesn’t have anything, whatsoever to do with that situation,” he emphasized by aggressively tapping his fingertips on the tabletop.
Ian’s gaze narrowed. Kam glared back. Finally, Ian exhaled.
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said frankly.
Kam took his fisted hand off the table. Merde. He really didn’t want to fight with Ian. But dammit, why did he have to be so smug at times?
Because he usually knows exactly what he’s talking about, that’s why. He’s never given me bad advice before, and for whatever fucked-up reason, he seems to actually care.
And if he were in Ian’s shoes, wouldn’t he think of warning a guy like himself away from Lin? It was just common sense, wasn’t it? A woman like Lin would never find much worth for a man like Kam except for sex, and after tonight, she probably was second-guessing even that.
Kam heaved a sigh as well, feeling defeated, but not by Ian. The mounting tension between them had broken, although Kam wasn’t sure exactly why.
“Don’t bring Lin into this. It’s my fault. I’m the one that’s struggling with being here . . . this whole damn thing,” he mumbled, sinking back in his chair. “I’m a fish out of water.”
“If this particular line of business is unsuited to you, Kam, that’s something we can deal with,” Ian said quietly. “I don’t want that to be your sole focus here. This is your first visit to the States—to the city where Lucien and I have made our homes. Let’s make that the focus.”
Kam transferred his gaze to Francesca as she approached the table, giving him a bright smile. He tried to smile back, but his muscles twisted uncooperatively. He suspected he grimaced instead. “Why don’t you come to the penthouse right now for a cup of tea or something,” Ian said.
“Wonderful idea,” Francesca said, hearing the last as she arrived.
“Come on,” Ian urged. “We’ll have a talk. About whatever you want,” he added when he saw Kam’s hesitance. He certainly didn’t want to have any more incendiary conversations about Lin or Kam’s sex life. “It’s a beautiful night. We can turn on the fire pit up on the deck and sit under the stars.”
He gave Ian a sheepish glance, feeling doubly guilty about his outburst. Ian had guessed he’d reached his limit for crowds and civilized conversation and confinement. He really did read Kam well for having only known him nine months.
“Make that tea a bourbon and you’ve got a deal,” Kam mumbled, standing.
Did Kam think Lucien, Ian, and him would end up bosom brothers, the idealistic family featured in make-believe and television sitcoms? Not a chance. Not with their common screwed-up origins.
Still, there must have been a whisper of a promise of something that had enticed him out of his solitude and brought him to Chicago, he admitted to himself with dark amusement.
He trailed Ian and Francesca, who walked arm in arm, out of the bustling coffeehouse. Francesca paused abruptly, making Ian halt in turn. She extended her free hand to Kam with a warm smile. He hesitated a second before he took it, managing to return her smile this time without frowning. Or at least he hoped so.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Lin methodically briefed Ian on how things had gone with the Gersbach meeting. Ian listened intently as he sat at his desk and she sat in her usual chair before it. She must have reinforced her defenses as she slept last night, because she felt back on track today . . . steadier. In the morning light, what had happened in that cloakroom with Kam seemed like an incredible dream—an exciting, forbidden dream, yes, but also a foreign one, as if she’d somehow tapped into someone else’s brain.
It was fortunate, this morning-light distance, because last night, she’d feared becoming completely unwound. The feeling was not entirely unfamiliar to her, a mild version of the numbness that settled upon her when she finally understood that her father and mother had left for Taiwan, leaving her behind for good.
“Why hasn’t Kam mentioned before that he’s uncomfortable with only a small portion of the population having his product?” Ian asked.
“You probably know the answer to that better than I do,” Lin replied.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Ian said slowly, studying her face.
“Your brother thinks a lot of things, Ian. The problem is getting him to reveal them. One has to either wait for the right opportunity for something to come out or pry the details out of him, and good luck with that,” she added wryly.
Ian’s smile was nearly imperceptible to someone unfamiliar with him. Lin immediately recognized it. “I have a feeling you might be more skilled at decoding Kam than any of
us. Do you think it’s worthwhile to even continue with these meetings, given his preference for his product?”
“He says he wants to continue. He wouldn’t tell me why, exactly, except to agree that it was good experience.” She hesitated.
“But? Why do you think he’s doing it? You know I value your opinion,” Ian said intently.
“At first, I thought Kam was nervous about these meetings because he felt out of place, like an outsider. Awkward.”
“Not to mention being completely derisive of the industry,” Ian added, a smile tickling his mouth again.
“Right,” Lin agreed.
“But now? You’ve changed your mind about where he stands?”
She met Ian’s stare. “Kam might feel uncomfortable in formal social situations, but I don’t think it’s his biggest concern. If your brother were curious about something, he’d find a way to get answers. And he is curious,” she assured with a significant glance. “It’s like . . . he’s on a scouting mission or something. He’s getting the lay of the land.”
“You make it sound like he’s planning a battle,” Ian said wryly.
“Not a battle, no. But he’s planning something.”
“What?”
Lin shrugged. “His future company? His life?” she replied uncertainly, saying the first things that came to mind. “Circumstances outside of his control have always kept Kam from doing that in a proactive sense. Trevor Gaines’s neglect and emotional abuse, his mother’s illness, lack of financial security. For the first time in his life, he’s got this amazing product, millions of dollars, supportive people. If I were him, I’d relish taking control and constructing the exact future I wanted, wouldn’t you?”
“No doubt.”
She told Ian about Kam’s request for her to set up tours for him of telecommunications-sector companies in the city. “He’s brewing on possible alternative purposes for his invention, immersing himself in the industry, wetting his feet in a way he couldn’t living in isolation,” she explained. “It might make him uncomfortable to do it, but he’s not the type of man to back down from a challenge because of his lack of social graces. It’s seems very odd to say it, but he genuinely doesn’t care what other people think of him. He’s never admitted it, but I think he’s curious about the premier watchmakers, despite his disdain for luxury. I don’t think he’d suffer these meetings with them for any other reason.”
Ian took a moment to absorb her information. “I think you’re right,” he murmured thoughtfully after a moment. “I guessed right away Kam was a very complex individual. He makes the world believe he’s this social misfit, when really he’s more complicated than his inventions. Do you like him?”
His unexpected question made her blink. “Yes,” she admitted honestly before she could engineer a lie. “He’s a puzzle at times, but I like that about him. He’s extremely original. He never ceases to surprise.”
“You seemed less thrilled with him yesterday, here in the office,” Ian observed dryly.
She glanced away from his lancing blue-eyed stare. “As you know, Kam can also be a bit . . .”
“Stubborn? Arrogant? Contemptuous?”
Lin cleared her throat. “Yes, all of those things.”
Ian nodded and leaned back in his chair. “Don’t worry. You’re not telling me anything I don’t know. He nearly goaded me into a fistfight last night at the Coffee Boutique.”
“What?” Lin asked, alarmed. Was this a result of what had happened in the cloakroom, or more accurately, her leaving without Kam? “You?”
“I know. It’s been like that since I first met Kam. He has the ability to rile me like no other,” Ian said before shaking his head in bemusement. “He really knows how to push some buttons.”
Against her will, the vision of Kam’s tongue burrowing between her labia as he looked up at her with that hot, quicksilver stare flooded her consciousness. Heat rushed through her at the graphic memory . . . at having such a charged, lascivious memory period, sitting here in front of Ian. Was her morning “distance” really so short-lived? For a few charged seconds, she couldn’t draw breath into her lungs.
“Something must have upset him after the Gersbachs left, since as you mentioned, everything went so glowingly well at the meeting,” Ian said.
“I suppose, yes,” she said, struggling to keep her voice even and her expression impassive. “I can’t imagine what.”
“You can’t?”
She shook her head, holding his stare, all expression carefully ironed out of her face. It took a monumental effort on her part.
“Because I got the impression he was very irritated by your leaving,” Ian said.
“Really?” Lin asked uneasily.
“Yes. He seemed concerned about you and annoyed by your absence.”
She couldn’t stop her blush. She felt like a bug under the microscope of Ian’s piercing stare. Suddenly, she couldn’t take it anymore. She stood abruptly.
“Lin?” Ian asked sharply, sitting forward in his chair. “Is Kam making you uncomfortable? Is he being . . . inappropriate in any way?”
“No,” she blurted out. “He’s not.” I’m the one who is being inappropriate by lusting after him because he resembles you, she thought wildly.
“Would you rather not continue to work with him?” Ian demanded.
She stood there, wavering in her heels, unsure of how to reply. This was her chance to back out. Ian could ask another Noble executive to support Kam during his stay in Chicago. Kam wouldn’t like that, though. She just knew it. He may have his own personal motives for agreeing to these meetings, but they did still make him uncomfortable. It would be unfair to toss him to someone else just because they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
“I want to keep working with him,” she said.
“You’re sure,” Ian prompted.
“Absolutely.”
“All right then.”
A flash of guilt went through her at his quiet show of complete confidence. Ian respected her decisions. She’d earned that respect from him. She prayed she wasn’t throwing his hard-earned trust to the wolves with this thing between her and Kam.
Whatever this thing was.
“Since we’re on the subject of Kam’s discomfort, he came to the penthouse with Francesca and me last night. Two things Francesca was able to . . . ‘pry out of him,’ as you put it, is that he’s very uncomfortable at the hotel, the other is that he misses his dog.”
“His dog?” Lin asked incredulously.
Ian nodded, his amusement easily read in his gleaming eyes. “Yes. Angus. Kam seems to imagine that Angus is a vicious guard dog, but in reality, Angus is a sweet golden retriever that doesn’t know an enemy and was happy to be a lapdog for Elise and Francesca whenever they visited Aurore. Angus also has the distinction of being Kam’s first and longest-standing test subject for his biofeedback timepiece. While we were at Aurore, Angus wore one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced watches in the world around her left front leg. Even while Kam looked like the wild man of the Aurore Woods and forgot to eat because he’d get so caught up in his inventions, he kept Angus clean, extremely well-groomed, and gave her better food than he ever consumed himself. Yes.” Ian added when he saw Lin’s eyes widen in amazement. “The fierce Angus is a girl.”
Lin burst into choked laughter.
Well, she had said Kam never ceased to surprise, hadn’t she? Ian uncharacteristically joined her, chuckling quietly. The idea of scowling, primal Kam behaving so fussily about a dog that he imagined to be as intimidating as him was too priceless.
She was glad Ian had revealed this tidbit about his brother. The information made her less anxious about their next meeting, something she’d been dreading after her second instance of impulsive, rampant promiscuity with him last night.
A little less anxious, anyway.
It did her heart good to see Ian laugh. He really was fond of Kam, she realized in wonderment as their mirth faded. She’d guessed it before by his actions, but seeing his full-out smile as he recalled his brother’s idiosyncrasies really brought it home.
“There’s an available furnished apartment in my building,” Ian continued. “I’ve discovered the owner is agreeable to renting it out on a week-to-week basis until he gets a permanent lease. He’s also all right with a well-trained dog, so . . .”
“You’d like Kam to move there and have arrangements made for Angus to come to Chicago?” Lin finished for him. “Kam is interested?”
“Yes. He gave me a check last night for two weeks’ rent and I’ve had it delivered to the owner. The staff at the building has the keys ready for him at the front desk. Let’s stock up the place for him with food, any appliances he might need, and dog food, I suppose. I thought we could surprise him with Angus,” Ian said, picking up a piece of paper and handing it to her. “Here’s the address in my building, along with the name of the woman watching Angus in France. I don’t have her number, but she lives in the village. It’s tiny, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find and contact her,” Ian said, opening his laptop and tapping out his password.
“I’ll have one of the administrative assistants see to the details,” she assured, glancing at the paper he’d handed her and turning to go. “Oh, and it’s Friday, so I have dance practice. I’ll have to be out of here by five,” she reminded him. It was the only day of the week she routinely left the office before eight or nine in the evening, and that often was true for weekends as well. Too often.
“I remember,” he said, and by the distracted tone of his voice, Lin knew he was already absorbed by whatever he was studying on his computer screen. She had long ago become used to Ian’s ability to shut everything out as he focused, including her.
• • •
At five that evening Lin headed for the door, her packed briefcase on her shoulder. Her gaze lingered on the phone on her desk. She paused.
She’d been telling herself to call Kam, but had managed to put it off for one reason or another. They had a lot of details that needed to be addressed for the Klinf meeting for Saturday and the Gersbach demonstration of his mechanism, plus she’d scheduled another facility tour for him with one of Noble’s technology suppliers early next week. Now the day was done, and she still hadn’t called.