Kianti halted her juice bottle halfway to her mouth. “Surprised?”
“To find you lookin’ so down. Thought you’d be on cloud nine right about now.”
“Why?”
“Well, this is your boy’s event, right? The ambassador.” Shelton’s lashes fluttered in a playful manner.
Kianti couldn’t help but laugh. “Well…the drama at the event wasn’t the only drama of the weekend.”
Shelton raised a hand. “Say no more. Just be ready to play your butt off tonight—drive out all that drama.”
Kianti tilted her bottle in mock toast. She was hoping to do just that.
Bose Cooper was obviously a man proud of his accomplishment. Understandably, he was eager to boast of the surprise concert to his colleagues. He’d arranged for his EYES associates to drop in on the lunch meeting as the gathering reached its end. Sadly, not every one of Bose’s associates shared his excitement over the event.
“What the hell?” Therin’s bright stare was noticeably harsh when it settled on Kianti across the room with Shelton Innes.
“…we even have several performers who we were unable to pull in for last night’s program,” Bose was saying as he answered excited inquiries from the group who joined him at The Vista. “We’ve got quite a variety of musical styles and—”
“Excuse us, folks.” Therin clutched Bose’s arm and gave the man a firm tug.
“Therin—” Bose could say little else stunned as he was by Therin’s behavior just then.
“What the hell is she doing here?”
Bose tilted his head. “I’m sorry, Therin, I don’t—”
“Kianti Lawrence.”
“Ah, Ms. Lawrence! Yes, I was especially proud of persuading her to join us.”
“Bose, she was supposed to leave this morning.” Therin groaned the words, massing the sudden ache at the bridge of his nose.
“I know!” Bose laughed, clapping Therin’s back. “A damn lucky break, I’d say. A diverse as well as entertaining lineup, don’t you think?”
“Right,” Therin said, dejected.
Bose, at last, took note of his colleague’s demeanor. “Therin? What is it, son? This is good news, you know?”
With everything going on, the last thing Therin wanted was to cause any further upset. He forced a grin to his face and laid a hand across Bose’s. “You’re right. It is. You should be proud of putting this thing together.”
“Marley wouldn’t want you worrying this way, son.” Bose saw through the act Therin tried to put in place. “Think about tonight and have a good time, hmm?”
Therin allowed a curse to slip past his lips once Bose had moved on. Thinking about that night was all he’d be able to do. Unfortunately, thinking about that night in conjunction with having a party would be damn near impossible.
Kianti should have been headed far away from him by then. She should have been far away from him and hating him with a passion for what he’d done. He should have known this wouldn’t be an easy thing.
He maintained a somewhat secluded spot near the dining room entrance and focused in on her. She appeared happy, laughing with her drummer friend, Shelton Innes. Therin grimaced, figuring the guy was about to be even more satisfied than he probably was at that very moment. Kianti was going to need a shoulder to cry on once he attacked her sensitive heart…again.
“Key…” Shelton called, directing his gaze above her head.
Kianti’s laughter softened and she studied Shelton’s pointed expression for a moment before turning to see what had him so subdued.
The scent of Therin’s cologne had her swallowing around an emotional ball that had formed in her throat even before she looked up into his face. She could only hold eye contact for a split second before she looked away.
Shelton cleared his throat and quietly made his exit. Kianti didn’t notice he’d gone. She didn’t notice much of anything except that Therin was within touching distance. After all that had happened, she couldn’t make herself forget the feel of his body against hers.
“May I talk to you?”
“You can do whatever you like and you seem to take a lot of enjoyment in it,” she muttered, turning her back on him in the chair she occupied.
“I expected you to be gone already.” Therin kept his voice as cold and as guarded as his gaze.
Kianti folded her arms over her chest. “Sorry to disappoint you. Don’t worry, though. The guys gave me your message. I got it loud and clear.”
He took the seat Shelton had left vacant. “Then you understand?”
She could have laughed over his nerve. “Don’t worry yourself, Therin, I’m not hanging around to appeal to your sensitivity. You’ve shown me what you’re made of.”
Her words cut Therin deeper than they would have had he actually deserved them. Somehow he managed to hold on to his aloofness.
“I could say the same.” He slid a pointed glance toward Shelton, who was across the dining room talking with his group and a few other musicians. “You seem to be moving on.”
“You’re an ass.” She barely raised a brow. “If you don’t mind leaving now? I think I’ve let you waste enough of my time.” She feigned sudden interest in the contents of her coffee mug and tried to wait him out.
When Therin left the table, she forbid herself to cry.
The impromptu concert party was a success. There was varied conversation among the crowd regarding the scandal rocking the organization and the arrest of Marley Terrio. Thankfully, the unrest was tempered by a slew of great performances.
Most of the performances were artist’s collaborations. Only a few acts performed new work. Kianti had hoped her appearance with Shelton and the group from Scottie’s would suffice. The audience wanted more. Not to be outdone by the other acts who’d shared original efforts, Kianti gave the audience a taste of her own original piece, “Stolen Moment.”
Of course, Therin was a part of the audience. After their chat earlier that day, he’d decided to remain absent from the evening’s festivities. The decision held up all of five minutes. Taking in the beautifully haunting melody she’d first played for them during their private moment together, it was all he could do to remain there and toss back one gin and tonic after another.
Kianti took her bows and Therin headed out. Something led him backstage. To do what, he had no clue. When he got there, however, her back was toward him and she was crying.
Instinctively, Therin made a move toward her but he stopped himself short.
By the time Kianti had sensed she wasn’t alone and turned, he was gone.
“Where is she?”
Brody grimaced and looked over at Kianti slumped on the passenger side of his Denali. “She’s sleeping.”
“Where is she?”
“Hell, man, isn’t it better to just break it off clean?”
Therin muttered something foul.
“We’re driving her back to her place in Dakota.” Brody’s tone was clipped.
“How is she?”
“I gave her something to help her sleep.”
“Good.” Therin sighed on the other end of the phone line. “Good… Does she hate me?”
Brody’s resulting laughter was short and without a trace of humor. “We said everything we could think of to make sure she does. Are you sure that’s the way you want it?” he asked after silence met his words.
“No.” There was another indecipherable mutter of a curse. “But the last thing I want is to have her hurt over this.”
“And isn’t that just what you’re managing with this stunt of yours?
“Listen, Brody, thanks,” Therin said once he’d considered Brody’s words for half a minute. “Thank the fellas for helping me take care of it this way.” He ended the connection without another word.
“They’ve got him on suicide watch,” Marley Terrio’s attorney, Claude Pressman, explained as he and Therin followed the guard to a conference room where they were to meet with the man.
“
Suicide watch.” Therin clutched Claude’s arm. A frown darkened his features when the older man smiled and shook his head.
“Just for show, kid.”
“Did he do this, Claude?”
Claude’s expression darkened.
“Then what the hell is he doing in here?” Therin hissed.
Claude nodded toward the guard who was heading farther down the iron-bar-lined corridor. “We decided it was best to take advantage of this opportunity,” he whispered once he and Therin had fallen back in step behind the guard. “Out of sight, out of the prying eyes of the press and others…give us time to work on our strategy.” His expression harbored a smug undercurrent. “Right now the opposition’s waiting on our move. Let ’em wait.”
Therin massaged new tension from his neck and loosened the black tie he wore. He followed Claude into a fluorescent-lit concrete room. The tension he’d attempted to ease from his neck renewed itself when he saw Marley Terrio waiting in shackles and a gray jumpsuit.
“It’s all right, son.” Marley’s shackles clattered when he raised a hand to quiet Therin’s outraged curses.
“What the devil is this shit all about?” Therin tamped down his anger until the guard walked out. His temper was already in a frightful state and answers were of the utmost importance.
“Is Claude right? Are you planning to wait? To hide out here and do nothing except give people the impression these accusations are true?”
Marley and Claude exchanged shrugs.
“Until we can figure out a better way,” Marley said. “Don’t worry, son. We’ve got a lot of heads working on this. We’ve been in this game a long time, kid. If sacrificing ourselves turns out to be best for the greater good of the organization, then so be it. We’ll take our chances.”
Therin studied the men in disbelief and then slumped back in the steel chair he occupied. “I just don’t get why this is such a hot button for these fools. I mean, did they all hate school as kids?” He left the chair as quickly as he’d claimed it.
Marley chuckled as Therin paced. “Ah, Claude…remember how it felt to be that young and idealistic?”
Claude let out a satisfied grunt. “Good times, good times…”
Therin turned with disbelief filling his eyes. “I’m glad to find you so jovial behind bars.”
Marley sobered and smoothed one hand over the other. “Therin, it all goes back to what you just said. Education is a hot button. I’ve seen evidence of that before and during my time working for EYES.”
“But for these idiots to go to such lengths to shut us down?”
“Therin, son, you’ve seen it yourself. Education is always the first pot to dip out of when the budget’s in trouble. Everything else is more important than it is. But what if that belief started to shift?” Marley wagged a finger in Therin’s direction.
“What if the thought of a child’s education stirred the hearts of those who never before took stock of its true worth?” Marley looked over at Claude who nodded his agreement. “What if that thought filled them with passion? A passion for education. The educating of a child’s mind—the nurturing which could inevitably affect change on the grandest scales.”
“That’s terrifying to some folks, Therin,” Claude interjected. “To have the masses see the true importance of education over corporate aspirations, military endeavors…scary stuff…”
“And to have young champions such as yourself leading the crusade, is the cherry on top.” Marley slapped his hand against the cold chrome table he sat behind. “You’ve already got the support from stuffy old coots like Claude and me. But then there’s the glamour set from the movie and music communities—talk about affecting change on a grand scale!” Marley reclined in the uncomfortable chair and held the look of a man at ease. “Sure, I was terrified when those fools slapped cuffs on me over that concocted nonsense. But I’d gladly take the heat if it means keeping you guys in play.”
“What will you do?” Therin asked once he’d considered the man’s opinion.
Marley grinned. “What I’ve always done, son. Ride out the storms. One comes round every five to ten years or so. ’Course I’m getting older now so I tend to expect them every two to three years.”
The words sparked Claude’s infectious laughter. Therin wasn’t immune, yet the humor didn’t quite reach his eyes when he laughed.
Chapter 16
From his office window, Therin stared down at the Vancouver traffic. He couldn’t see anything but Kianti’s face. His focus was on her, as it had been for the two weeks since he’d brought an end to their involvement. She hadn’t tried to contact him, but then he hadn’t expected that she would. She was too gracious…and tough for that.
She had accepted his wishes without argument and any second thoughts on his part were moot then. He was certain her hatred for him ran deep. That was the way he wanted it…right?
Rick Dubose had stopped talking about the speech he was drafting. It didn’t take much for him to tune in to the fact that his boss was in another world.
Rick closed the folder he’d brought to the meeting. The crinkling of the papers must have brought Therin’s attention back to the matter at hand. He turned and fixed his speechwriter with a sheepish look.
“Sorry, man, you think we could do this later?”
“No problem.” Rick was already standing to collect the rest of his things, which were spread out across the coffee table he was using. “Can I make a suggestion, though?”
Therin waved a hand and turned back to glare out the windows.
“Take a break,” Rick urged, stacking his folder and pens to the laptop he’d brought along.
Therin bowed his head as a smirk curved his mouth. “Thought I’d been doin’ all right pretending I’m good.”
“Sorry, sir, but you’re no good at pretending.” Rick’s tone was playful.
“I should’ve asked you before I tried it.” Therin laughed. He folded his arms over the gray pinstriped shirt he wore and leaned against the sill.
“That’s what friends and speechwriters are for.” Rick gathered up his things. “You just need to get lost.”
“What?” Therin’s sleek brows drew a smidge closer.
“Get lost,” Rick called over his shoulder as he made his way to the office door. “Go someplace and clear your head, hide out for a few days—heck, a few weeks. Get away from the press and all this drama.”
“Sounds like good advice.”
“Hmph.” Rick turned the doorknob. “I suggest you jump on it because good advice doesn’t come out of my mouth very often.”
Rick was gone soon after. Alone then, Therin collapsed to the edge of his desk.
“Jesus,” he whispered.
Brody walked into the kitchen in time to see Kianti taking her pill. His surprise was unmistakable and Kianti dissolved into laughter at the sight of it.
“Did I just miss out on a chance to see one of the guys bullying you?” he asked, coming to lean against the counter.
“No.” She set aside the water glass while shaking her head. “I’ve just been taking all this time to put things in some kind of perspective.”
Brody hid his hands in his jean pockets and stepped closer. “Rucker have anything to do with it?”
“At first,” she admitted and took a seat at the breakfast nook. “But even then I was still against taking the pills.”
“So what changed?”
“Me.” She propped both fists beneath her chin and smiled serenely. “I always let that feeling of being different…of being less overshadow what was really important—my health, my life. Once I stopped to think about that, I realized what I was a slave to hadn’t been the pills, but letting myself feel belittled by having to take them.”
Brody’s mouth twisted into a smirk that gave him the look of being impressed. “Who are you and what have you done with Kianti Lawrence?” He sobered quickly once they’d shared a laugh. He moved over to pull Kianti into a hug. “I’m proud of you.” He kissed
the top of her head.
Kianti relished the hug. She’d shied away from closeness over the past two weeks. She knew the guys had noticed the change in her demeanor. It wasn’t hard to do as she was usually the one initiating so many of the hugs and kisses that flowed between them on a daily basis.
The closeness made her think of Therin. She’d made a promise to herself to forget him, which was useless as well as stupid. Why would she want to forget one of the sweetest times in her life? She squeezed her eyes shut and snuggled deeper into Brody’s embrace. It was better all around to shut out such memories. However, it was well-known that doing what was best wasn’t her strong suit.
Gary and Peter sent Therin a knowing look across the table where the staff meeting had just taken place. Ruby Loro was last to leave and had just shut the conference room door behind herself.
“V, man? Do you have a few minutes?” Therin asked just as Vaughn was rolling his chair back from the table.
“What’s up?” Vaughn obliged, slanting quick glances toward Peter and Gary.
“Why’d you do it, V?”
“Come again?” Vaughn fixed his oldest friend with a confused look.
Therin’s smile was small while he studied his friend. “No one but you knows what I mean when I say I’m ‘getting lost.’” He looked up in time to see clarity emerge in Vaughn’s eyes.
“Those were the very words I used the night I left the party with Kianti. You knew I meant I was heading to the apartment.”
“You’re paranoid, you know that, right?” Vaughn chuckled, though his nervousness was evident. “All this mess going on’s got you paranoid as hell.”
“Let’s talk about ‘all this mess.’” Therin maintained his reclining position in the chair at the end of the table. “Ruby didn’t tell a soul what she’d done when she first got to the country. But checking backgrounds is your job and you’re too good to let somethin’ like that slip past you. You knew, didn’t you?”
Vaughn refused to answer one way or another.
“Then there’s the comment made by Rick’s attacker.”
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