by Debora Ryan
Zorah rolled up her sleeves. “What can I do to help?”
Mr. Dannaker returned to find the three of them industriously engaged in the various stages of the making of kitten cupcakes. “I guess we’re staying,” he said.
“These are for your granddaughter’s jazz troupe party. Leah’s parents owned Keen Creations. You remember it. They sold the kitten cupcakes that Erika loved all those years ago. It seems Leah was behind that invention. She has graciously agreed to provide them for Jaden and her friends. The least we can do is to help her.”
Mr. Dannaker thought for a minute. “Keen Creations? Keenan! Of course. Why have I not put that together before now?”
“Because you’re not that bright,” Will said.
“Will, don’t start,” Zorah admonished. “You didn’t put it together either. You used to love to go there. I bet you’ve even met Leah before. You would have been there every Saturday when I used to bring in Tommy, William, and Erika?”
“Sometimes,” Leah admitted. “I usually worked in the back. I didn’t like dealing with customers, so my parents didn’t make me leave the kitchen unless it was an emergency. My sister, Cecelia, usually worked out front. You probably saw her. We look a lot alike.”
Will snapped his fingers. “That’s right. Tommy had a crush on the girl who worked the counter there.”
“So, Leah probably made some of our orders. Do you remember our name, dear?”
Mr. Dannaker snorted and ate a piece of candy meant for an eye. “She’d be insane if she didn’t. She’s worked for me for how many years?”
“Six.”
“Only six?”
“Only six, Mr. Dannaker.”
Zorah slapped his hand when he reached for another piece of candy. “I meant from when she worked at Keen Creations. And call him Thomas, dear.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I’ve asked her to call me Tom for years,” Mr. Dannaker said. “She refuses.”
Leah smiled at Zorah. “I don’t remember your name from back then,” she said. “I didn’t pay attention to the names, only the ‘to-do’ list I had to get through before I could go hang out with my friends.”
“Why won’t you call him Thomas?”
“It clearly defines our relationship and delineates the boundaries between us.”
“But you may be our daughter-in-law one day,” Zorah said. “That would ruin all of your definitions and boundaries anyway.”
“Not if Mr. Dannaker has anything to say about it.” Leah wondered if she was the only one who knew that Mr. Dannaker had not let go of his earlier objections.
“Don’t you start, too, dear. Will, you’re not being a good influence on Leah.” She threw an apron and a warning look to her husband, who had the good sense to not respond.
When the doorbell rang an hour later, the four workers jumped. A bundle of energy burst into the room. Jaden was small for a seven-year-old, but she made up for it in exuberance. “Grandma! Grandpa! I didn’t know you were going to be here.” Long, dark brown braids wrapped around her head, threaded through with beads and tiny fresh flowers that continued into her pink-dominated outfit.
Jaden spied the few cupcakes that had not been boxed up for the move. “Oh, Uncle Will, they look fabulous. They look even better than Mom’s. Don’t tell her I said that, okay?”
Will laughed. “They are better than your mom’s. These are the originals. I searched the whole world over, and I found the person who invented these. I flew to where she was, and I begged and pleaded with her. I said, ‘The most wonderful little girl in the whole entire world needs these cupcakes. Please, oh, please can you come out of retirement and make them.’ And the beautiful lady thought and thought. After many minutes of deliberation, she finally consented.”
Jaden wrinkled her nose at Will. “Uncle Will, you are strange.”
“But I’m serious.” He turned Jaden toward Leah. “Jaden, this is Leah. She is the person who invented the very kitten cupcakes that your mother used to love when she was young. She made these. Grandma, Grandpa, and I just helped her.”
Her eyes widened. “You were serious,” she whispered. “Where did you find her?”
“She was sitting right next to me.”
Jaden gave Will a puzzled look, and then she turned to Leah. “Thank you for making me all these cupcakes.”
Leah smiled gently. “You’re welcome.”
“Jaden, come here and give your grandma a hug,” Zorah said.
A tall, handsome, thickly-muscled, man strode through the door. “Sorry I’m late. Or, rather, sorry Jaden is early. She didn’t wait for me and I had to catch another elevator.”
Will shook hands with the man. “Gavin. Good to see you.”
“Likewise.” He adjusted his tie and looked around the kitchen. Leah, who was only average height, suddenly felt diminutive. Jaden was the only person in the room smaller than her. Given her genetics, Leah wondered how long that would last.
“Daddy, Uncle Will’s new girlfriend made all of these. You have to see them. They’re awesome.”
Gavin seemed to notice Leah for the first time. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Gavin,” he said. “I assume you’re Leah?”
Leah shook his hand. “I am.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” He glanced at the counter quickly, then again for a longer look. “These are incredible. Look at that detail. Thanks for doing this. We really appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. She crossed her arms uncertainly over her chest. She hated this part. This is why she refused to work the front counter of Keen Creations. Her mother, her father, and Cecelia had all loved the gushing and attention of the customers. Leah hated it. It was one reason she had been so embarrassed when Will had drawn attention to her feat in attracting new clients.
Will frowned at Leah, but he didn’t say anything. He finished packing up the boxes and turned to Gavin. “Let’s get these loaded into your car. Dad, Mom, can you help?”
“Sure,” Mr. Dannaker said. He grabbed a couple of boxes and handed them to Zorah. He held the next stack out to Leah.
“Leah’s going to rest,” Will said. He took the boxes from his father. “She’s done too much today already. We can manage without her.”
Gavin and Mr. Dannaker each took two boxes. Zorah and Will carried the rest. When they had all gone, the condo was strangely silent. The day was catching up with Leah. She went into Will’s room to lie down and didn’t hear him return.
A gentle pressure on her shoulder roused Leah from a solid sleep. She opened her eyes to find Will leaning over her. The colors of early evening diffused through the window and reflected from Will’s eyes, turning them light brown. “What time is it?”
“I’m sorry, honey,” he said. “You haven’t been asleep for very long, but I thought you should eat. You skipped lunch, and you haven’t had dinner. I made you some macaroni and cheese.”
Leah smiled. “My favorite.”
“You deserved it after all your hard work today. I really do appreciate it, and I know Jaden does, too.”
Leah sat up. “I’m glad she liked them. It’s been so long since I’ve made anything like that. It was kind of nice.”
“You know, if advertising doesn’t work out for you, the baking business is a good alternative. You’re very talented.”
“No, thanks,” she laughed. “I don’t mind doing it every now and then, but day in, day out.” She shook her head. “I would go crazy.”
He kissed her lightly on the nose, and she caught the subtle scent of his shampoo and aftershave. “Why don’t you freshen up? I’ll have everything ready for you in about five minutes.”
Macaroni and cheese wasn’t the only thing on the menu, Leah found out when she sat down at the heavy oak dining room table. Will had also prepared a salad and crab cakes. “It’s an odd combination, I know. But I was limited to working with what I had on hand. Pasta by itself is not a well-balanced meal.”
“You sound like An
ne,” Leah said, smiling brightly. “I think it looks delicious. Thank you.”
Will sat across from Leah and began eating. “Speaking of Anne, she called. I told her you were sleeping, but that you still wanted her to pick you up tomorrow morning.”
Leah had mixed feelings about him answering her phone. On one hand, he’d bought it for her. On the other, was she not entitled to a little privacy? The phone came with voice mail. “Did she want me to call her back?”
He shrugged. “She told me not to wake you.”
After dinner, Leah called Anne, but got her voice mail. She left a message that was probably not different from what Will had said to her and put the phone back on the long, thin table behind the larger sofa. She was staring at it when Will came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.
“You should go to bed, honey. You need your rest.”
Leah had been pondering Will’s gift and all the other things he had done for her over the last several days. What did it all mean? She was afraid to ask him in case she had misinterpreted his motives. Instead she closed her hand over his and turned to face him. “Come with me.”
The suggestion in her eyes was too much for Will to resist. He bent down and kissed Leah, pouring all of his passion into that one act.
His kisses moved, and his teeth caught her ear. “I find it amazing that you refused to consider dating me.” His mouth traveled along her neck. “We’re so amazing together. Aren’t you glad I blackmailed you?”
Suddenly reminded of her reason for being there, Leah froze. Yes, the sex was good. She had deluded herself about Will for so long it had become a habit. But to have it thrown in her face was too much.
Will drew back, a frown on his face. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
She looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Will. This isn’t easy for me. You’ll have to be patient if you’re going to draw my attention to the fact that I’m your whore.”
Will’s jaw dropped. It was several seconds before he spoke, and even then he stumbled over the words. “I…What…Lee…” He paused to summon coherent thought. “I don’t understand.”
Leah wiggled out of his embrace. “I’ve never been the kind of woman who sleeps around, Will. My last two relationships lasted for over two years each. This is a bit different for me. It’ll take some time to acclimate.”
Tears burned hot behind her eyes. She was tired, so incredibly tired. She headed for the bedroom.
Will followed. “But you were fine last night.”
She grabbed her bag and began stuffing her things into it. There was nothing she wanted to do more than leave. She laughed bitterly. “I managed to convince myself that there was something between us. It’s a little easier to create the illusion of a relationship if you’re not throwing it in my face. There is really nothing more between us than the agreement that I would make myself available to you. I’ve kept up my end of the bargain as well as I could.”
Dragging the heavy bag behind her, she emerged from the bedroom to look around the living room. Nothing of hers was visible. Will had followed her from the bedroom. He looked like a lost, frightened puppy. His deep, brown eyes were wide with shock. She resisted the tugs at her heartstrings and gathered her courage.
“I can’t do this anymore. I thought I could, but I can’t. I’m leaving now. Our agreement is ended. I guess you’ll do what you have to do.”
“Wait!” He reached for her, grasping her shoulders and roughly pulling her close to him. Desperately, he searched her face for something. She gave him nothing. “You only slept with me because I blackmailed you?”
“Why else?” Judging by the way he blanched, her response hit a nerve. He released her, letting his hands drop to his sides. He looked as if he had been unexpectedly punched in the gut by a heavyweight champion. She took no pleasure in his pain.
Turning slowly away, she walked out the door and didn’t look back. Her response had been an opening as much as a dismissal, but Will did nothing with it. Leah could feel him watching her as she waited for the elevator. Had he called her back to him, had he professed to care about her, she would have melted in his arms, but he did not. She could feel his eyes burning twin holes in her back as the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside.
Only then did she give in to the urge to sob brokenly. Why else would she sleep with him? Because she was in love with him? Because she thought he at least cared about her? She interpreted his pain as something brought on by the fact he’d lost control over her. She hadn’t planned to end things with him. She hoped he would be sufficiently angry with her that he wouldn’t focus on investigating any more signs of embezzlement. She knew the date on her eviction notice would precede Cecelia’s, but she didn’t know by how much.
* * * *
It took Will a long time to move. He stared after the closed elevator door in a state of complete shock. The light in the room dimmed as the afternoon sun moved to shine from the other side of the country.
He sat heavily in one of Tommy’s overstuffed armchairs without knowing how he got there. It was nearly dark in the room before a drop of water on his hand jerked him from his stupor. He looked uncomprehendingly at the ceiling, but didn’t see a source for the water. Tentatively, he put his hand to his cheek and realized that a tear had landed on him, not water, and that tear had come from him.
Will never expected the blackmail to go as far as it had. He thought they had progressed, that she actually wanted to be with him. Her passion had been real. He knew it had been real. He saw the dreamy look in her eyes when he had made love to her. Hadn’t she seen that he loved her?
As the implications of what he had done hit him, he was sick. He had forced her to sleep with him. He hadn’t meant to. From the beginning, she held all the cards. How could she not know that he would do anything she asked? She had called him dictatorial, but he thought she was just irritable because she was worried and in pain.
He went to the cabinet in the corner of the room. He knew his brother kept a fully-stocked bar at all times. Alcohol was one of Tommy’s priorities in life. Will poured himself a shot of Scotch and downed it in one gulp. It didn’t work. He poured another, but he left it at the bar and took the bottle to the couch with him.
The ache in his chest worsened as he realized that everything he thought had been between them was a lie. Leah didn’t want to be with him. She’d made that abundantly clear from the first day. He thought she had been playing coy, but she had been serious. No woman had ever turned down Will Dannaker before. Even if they didn’t know the extent of his wealth, he was handsome and outgoing. Women usually threw themselves at him. But she hadn’t.
He thought back to the night they had met. Even then, she had seemed cautious and unsure. He loved the fact that she had no idea who he was or that he had money. She seemed to like him for all the right reasons.
Soon, the liquid in the bottle was half gone, but the pain in his heart only grew. Forcing a kiss on her in the office would have made him much less a pig than what he had actually done to her.
Will finished the bottle of Scotch. It wasn’t enough. He stumbled to the bar and opened another bottle. Some things broke while he was over there, but he didn’t pay attention to what they were. When he made it to the sofa, he looked down to see a small cut on his hand, but he didn’t feel it. Angrily, he wondered why his hand was numb, but the ache in his heart had blossomed into a full-blown pain. The damn thing felt like it had been dug out with a spoon.
The last thought he had as he passed out was that he should have told her he loved her. He shouldn’t have assumed that she had figured out anything. She seemed to be singularly blind where he was concerned. They were three little words. How hard could they be to say?
Chapter 12
A city bus stopped down the block from Will’s condo. The tears had dried up by the time the first bus had come. Leah knew she looked a mess. The other passengers had stared at her sympathetically or fearfully, as fitted their various personalities,
but they had all kept their distance. She took it to the stop nearest her apartment and walked the last few blocks with sober thoughts weighing her down.
Leah dragged the heavy bag up the three flights of stairs to her apartment. The journey home had been epic. Public transportation left much to be desired. She had picked up a bus schedule so she could plan her route to work on Monday. On the bus, she found that she would need two transfers. The ride would take almost an hour. She made a mental note to set her alarm clock earlier.
Another eviction notice, taped to the door, greeted her. Though it was a futile action, Leah tore it down and crumpled it in her fist. Once inside, Leah indulged in a good cry. When she was finished, she washed her face and gave in to her exhaustion.
The next morning, Anne picked Leah up at home without prying into the reason for her friend’s puffy eyes and took her to Sunshine Acres. Cecelia usually waited for Leah in the large, bright common room to the left of the entrance. When Leah would enter the building, Cecelia would run to Leah and throw her arms around her in greeting. No one did that today. Given Cece’s recent hospitalization, Leah wasn’t surprised, but she was disappointed.
Leah and Anne were both astonished to see a motorized wheelchair heading their way. After the accident, Cecelia had not been able to walk and had limited speaking ability. Sunshine Acres, through the right combinations of medication and physical therapy, had been able to change that. Now Cece was back in a wheelchair. Leah could not hide her dismay quickly enough.
“I’m all right,” Cecelia said. “I just can’t seem to control my legs. They keep spasming and buckling under me.”
“Is that what Marian says?” Anne asked. Cecelia often parroted Marian’s words.
Cecelia fixed Anne with a sly glare. “No, Annie, that’s what I say because that’s what they’re doing.” Cecelia turned to Leah, eyeing the fresh bandage above Leah’s left brow. “How bad is it? You always were a danger behind the wheel. I told Dad not to let you get a license, but no, he wouldn’t listen to me.”