It was Minx’s own fault if she got into trouble because of it. But as he opened the portfolio to look at Kali’s image, he had to admit to himself—he was also to blame. Why should Minx believe he was serious when he had never had a real intimate relationship with her? He had always kept Minx at arm’s distance. She had accepted it, but now he wondered why.
It seemed so empty now that he had been with Kali. He wasn’t sure how he could go on now that she had imprinted herself on his soul.
Chapter 19
Kali kept checking, but it was nearly nine o’clock that night before Hunter took down his website and FetLife profile. She breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what she would have done if he hadn’t listened to her.
The fact that he hadn’t fought her on it made her feel better. He did respect her opinion. Sometimes.
Now she just needed to get through the next few days, and hope nobody exposed Hunter’s kinky side business.
From the window in front of Selina’s desk, she watched him all day on Wednesday down on his hands and knees polishing the number on each medallion with a power buffer. By the time he got to the third one, she could see the sun winking off the brilliant shine. It really caught the eye, and made each number stand out clearly.
It was exactly what the sundial needed.
Later that day, she was checking the delivery of tall cocktail tables that would be sprinkled under the half-circle portico of the building. Two bars would be set up at either end, and a finger-food buffet would be laid out next to them. She had sent out 200 invitations to the press and city note-worthies, and hoped 50 would show up. She planned on spending all day Thursday calling people to make sure they would come. She wanted to give it the personal touch that Selina couldn’t. Luckily the fallout from Selina’s video had been limited to a couple of gossip columns, but Kali had to be sure she left no stone unturned in making this event a success.
As she approached the door, she saw a guy planting red and orange flowers in the two round planters in front of the entryway. “Who told you to do that?” she asked.
“Mr. Munro. He was very specific on what shades of red and orange for us to bring to match the SunTech logo.”
“Oh. Thank you.” She stepped back as far as she could, and had to admit that Hunter had a good eye. The red and orange would pick up the logo in the banner she was placing over the central arch in the portico that led to the doorway.
She could hear the buzz of his polisher on the other side of the fence. She wanted to go in and thank him for thinking of such a nice touch. But she was avoiding him as much as she could.
She made herself walk away from the fenced-off area, checking the rest of the details on her clipboard. When she was done, she hesitated near the gate in the fence, wanting to go in and speak to Hunter. But that feeling was treacherous. Not to be trusted.
With a supreme effort, she got herself back upstairs and buried herself in work. She was still there late, tying up the last details when a delivery arrived for her. She opened it up to find pork dumplings and spicy pork rolls and a custard sweet that she recognized from the little Chinese shop where Hunter had taken her the evening they went to the Conservancy Garden.
Kali ate up every bit of it. She hadn’t realized how famished she was. She was sure it was Hunter who sent it, though there was no note. But that meant he was also still here, and was thinking about her. She almost dreaded what would happen when she left. She didn’t want to argue with him anymore.
But to her pleasant surprise, Hunter wasn’t lying in wait. Her shoulders relaxed as she headed off to the subway. She hated the fact that she had been dreading seeing him, and she was grateful that he finally wasn’t pushing himself on her. Sending up food for her was nice and helpful. Planting the flowers was nice and helpful. Not ambushing her when she left work was nice and helpful.
She went home and slept well for the first time since she had broken up with him.
The next morning, the fence came down. People gathered under the portico of the building to see the reveal. She watched Hunter on the other side of the plaza directing everything.
As the plywood came down, the plaza opened up and they could see the sundial and the benches placed in a half circle around it. The medallions glinted in the light. And the long needle of the sundial also glinted where Hunter has polished the edge of it.
She let out her breath. “Ohhh….”
“It’s so beautiful!” someone said next to her.
Kali was proud to be a part of creating this public space. The sundial suited the concave glass building so well, with its retro-portico running the length of the half-circle along the ground floor. The sundial itself was an old-fashioned idea, but the geometric shapes brought it into the modern age.
The last of the plywood panels were being loaded onto the truck, when Hunter came over to her. “What do you think?” he asked.
“It couldn’t be more perfect for the plaza.”
“That was the idea. To bring two very different things together and make you see them both in a new way.”
She had to smile at his innuendo. “Are you talking about us or the sundial?”
“Both. I think we’re better together than apart.”
He looked so vulnerable. Like nothing she’d ever seen before. She wanted to put her arms around his neck and sink her fingers into his hair. And kiss him. Finally he wanted to talk and she wanted nothing more than to touch him and hold him. “Hunter… I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll think about it. I promise you monogamy. I don’t want any other woman. And I don’t want you to be my slave. Or my submissive. You’re my lover, and I want to love every inch of you. With as much or little kinkiness as you want.”
“Hunter, that’s not you! I can’t ask you to change who you are.”
He gave a short laugh. “Too late. You’ve already changed me. I don’t want Minx. I want more. I want you.”
She suddenly realized they were standing shock still on the plaza, talking intently. Staring into each other’s eyes. With lots of people around, including SunTech employees.
“I can’t do this here,” she said, turning away. “I can’t. I told you. You work for me.”
“I’m sorry, Kali. I just couldn’t help telling you.” He backed away, smiling wistfully. “I love you, Kali.”
With that, he turned and called out to some of his men to start cleaning up the plaza.
That was the first time he said it to her. She kept hearing his words, the tone of his voice, low and real. Like he was speaking from the center of his being.
Tomorrow was the launch party.
After that, the project would be finished and Hunter would no longer be employed by SunTech.
Kali went inside and up to her desk. All she could think about was tomorrow was the end.
She had just been getting used to the terrible idea that Hunter had been a fling. A life-changing, never-to-be-forgotten affair. Something that was doomed from the start and went out in a blaze of glory. They would always have the sundial, and every time she saw it, she would remember Hunter.
She stared at the tropical flowers he had sent on Monday. They smelled so strong they overpowered the office.
Could she risk letting him overpower her, as well? Could she take a chance and fling herself off the cliff and hope there was water below?
Could she really do it to herself again? It hurt so badly already. What if she really gave it a try, and found Minx sitting at his feet in another month’s time?
And was it fair to ask him to change that much? Could he, even if he wanted to?
***
Late that night, her phone rang. For a second, she thought it was Hunter and her heart leaped in eagerness.
Then she saw the phone. It was her mom.
Well it’s about time. A flash of anger burned through her.
It had been nearly three weeks since she saw her mom, since their fight over Hunter. It was the longest they had ever go
ne without Kali trying to call her. Usually, she wore down under her mom’s silence, and reached out to her before now.
This was the first time her mom had reached out first.
Kali let the phone keep ringing. It felt good to be in charge for once with her mom. Let her leave a message. Let her make an effort.
When she checked, there was no message. Her mom must have hung up when she didn’t get an answer.
Kali felt perversely glad.
Usually her mom would leave a soft-voiced order, “Call me when you get this, Kali.” And Kali would call her back within minutes.
She sat there looking at her phone, smiling slightly. What was Jenny thinking? Was she waiting for Kali to see the number and call her back?
She hummed a bit as she went to wash her face and get ready for bed. Her mom knew her routine. She knew Kali was sleepy and yawning, planning to go to bed on time to be bright and ready for tomorrow’s big launch. Her mom didn’t know that Selina had been fired and Kali was in charge. And she didn’t know Kali had broken up with Hunter.
The last thing she wanted to do was get in an argument with her mom and get all riled up before bed. She decided she wouldn’t call her mom back.
Let her stew. Everyone who thinks I’ll do whatever they want, can fuck off!
With that, she turned off the light and went to bed.
***
The next morning, her phone rang just as her alarm was going off. Groggy, she reached for her phone. “Hello?”
Then she looked. It was her mom.
“Did I wake you, dear?” Jenny sounded exactly like she usually did. Like nothing had happened. Like it hadn’t been weeks since they last spoke. “I wanted to wish you luck on your big day. You have the launch party tonight, right?”
“It’s this afternoon.” Kali yawned. “The sundial looks beautiful. I’ll send you a photo later.”
There were a few moments of silence, as if her mom was surprised by Kali’s nonchalance. “Are you still dating the artist?”
“Hunter? Yes,” Kali lied blandly. She wasn’t going to let her mom get a moral victory by telling her they had broken up.
Again a few moments of silence. “Really?” Jenny asked. “Because you sounded funny when you said that.”
Kali had to smile. Her mom knew her so well. “We’re going together to the launch party.” She felt bold and reckless. Who cared if her mom knew she was lying?
“Okay.” Her mom sniffed. “If that’s what you want, Kali. But it seems to me that you aren’t thinking about the risk you’re taking by being with someone like that. What if you get pregnant? You’ve seen what a struggle I’ve had with your dad all these years—“
“Mom, stop. I don’t want to hear it.”
“What? Kali…”
“I don’t want to hear you criticize dad. If you hate the way he is, then leave! Tell him not to come home. It’s not like it would be a problem for you financially since you’re doing it all anyway. But stop complaining about him to me.”
“Kali!” Jenny was shocked.
“I’m serious. I don’t want to hear it anymore. You’ve been with dad for nearly twenty-five years. When are you going to start making the best of it?” Kali glanced at the clock. “Listen, I’ve got to go. There’s lots to do at work. I’ll talk to you later.”
With that, she hung up. And felt better than she had in a very long time.
***
Kali wore her chic black suit and her most comfortable high heels, and went to work. The party planner Selina had hired knew her stuff, and by three o’clock according to the sundial, the wine bars and buffets were set up and black-suited waiters were ready to pass trays with tiny bites of food on them. There was a nice scattering of tall tables under the portico with the center left open to showcase the sundial.
Kali had ordered velvet ropes to separate the open front of the plaza from the sidewalk. Several guards were standing at either end keeping an eye on the long ropes, to keep people from stepping over them and getting to the open bars.
There was already a crowd of people standing at the ropes, curious about what was going on. It was creating quite the buzz. Kali could feel the excitement in the plaza beginning to rise as she checked through the last things on her list. She had her own earpiece so the hostess at the ropes could alert her when particular notables or members of the press arrived.
Through it all was Hunter, a calm presence talking to everyone as if he hadn’t a care in the world, and pitching in where needed. His job was almost done. His photo would be taken repeatedly tonight—and she hoped printed in papers and all over the Internet. If she had done her job right, it would happen that way.
Kali was still worried that some last minute disaster would happen. She especially feared Hunter’s kinky sex business would be dropped like a bomb in the midst of their publicity blitz.
The whirlwind of activity swept her up, and before she knew it, Amanda, the party planner was gently straightening Kali’s collar. “Time to launch!”
First a trickle, then a flood of people arrived. Later the hostess said 119 out of the 200 invited showed up. It was a testament to Kali’s personal outreach to each and every one.
The notables were happy because the press were taking hundreds of shots of everyone in the plaza from every angle—back into the watching crowd, the sundial looming overhead, across the gathered notaries toward the building, or from either side getting views of both. Kali wondered if SunTech should consider renting out the plaza for events. It was nicely suited for PR purposes. She planned on telling Mr. Ryan that they should have their next big press conference in the plaza and attract a crowd with the velvet ropes like they did today. Rope something off from New Yorkers, and they were sure to gather to see what they were missing.
She greeted the people she had to greet, introduced some to Robert Ryan or Hunter, depending on who they were. Hunter was amazing—he stayed by the sundial, speaking to everyone about its construction and the mechanism that could shift the needle during daylight savings time and over the change of seasons.
He looked gorgeous, and women were fawning all over him. In fact, there was a large crowd around Hunter the entire time as he smiled and charmed everyone.
But anytime Kali went near him, his eyes met hers and locked, like a promise.
Every time, her heart would start beating faster. She couldn’t resist him.
She felt so proud of him as she watched him standing with Robert Ryan during the launch ceremony. Her boss talked about his devotion to a sustainable earth, and credited the sundial as one of the most ancient and efficient technologies, a fitting symbol for SunTech’s work. The crowd was swelled by SunTech employees, filling the plaza to bursting, and the bystanders that lined the velvet ropes were three deep watching the ceremony. Cars were backed up in the street as people tried to see what the fuss was about.
They all raised their glasses of champagne to toast Hunter with a general shout of acclaim. It was a tremendous success, and Kali’s eyes shone with tears of joy at the thunderous applause.
When Mr. Ryan was done, he came directly over to Kali. “Anything to report?”
She had already given him the count for reporters and photographers. “Everything went smoothly, Mr. Ryan. We’ll start winding down soon. I’ll have the first set of links for you tomorrow morning.”
He looked around pleased. “Well done, Kali. I knew you could do it.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ryan. I was happy to step up when you needed me.”
“This almost makes me wish we could hire you as director of PR, but we need someone with a lot more experience. With our international expansion, we’ll need to take on more people anyway. Kali, I’d like to promote you to Assistant PR Director with the appropriate raise. You’re much more than a copywriter, and we should use your talents to the fullest.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ryan!” Kali said. “I just want to help SunTech the best I can. I really believe in what we’re doing here.”
&nbs
p; “I know you do.” He gave her another smile, and called out a good-bye to the Assemblyman from the 74th district. Kali was particularly proud she had managed to get their local representative to come.
It was a success in every way.
She turned to watch Hunter posing with two women in front of the sundial. She remembered his voice when he said, “Because I love you, Kali.” It made her feel warm inside.
If only she could be sure he meant it. That he could be with her and only her. If only…
***
The way Kali was looking at him made Hunter want to go over and put his arms around her and hold her tight.
But he couldn’t reach out to her. He couldn’t touch her or tell her how beautiful she was, how serenely she moved as she pulled off the perfect event.
It was bittersweet for him, the best moment of his life, yet he couldn’t share it with the woman he loved. He couldn’t ask for anything that would hurt her, not at the moment of her professional triumph.
He watched how Robert Ryan thanked Kali after their speeches. She looked radiant, exuding poise as she spoke to her boss. If that wasn’t a woman on her way to the top, he didn’t know what one looked like.
So he did his part, smiling and posing, shaking hands and listening to everyone who spoke to him. He even worked the crowd along the ropes, getting them to linger until the guests finally faded away.
Then he returned to the sundial, looking up at the massive needle thrusting into the sky. The long polished edge caught the sun.
“You do good work,” someone said behind him.
Hunter turned to see Robert Ryan standing there looking at him and the sundial. “Thank you, Sir,” Hunter said. “It was mainly the concept. Finding the right symbol for SunTech, as you said.”
“Thank you for finding it for us,” Ryan said. He put his hand in his pocket. “I have something for you to see.”
Ryan pulled out a sheet of paper, folded twice. Hunter opened it and saw it was a copy of an email:
Good Girl Page 26