Читать книгу One Night With You - Gwynne Forster, Gwynne Forster - Страница 6

Kendra locked her front door and sat down on the sofa in her living room, contemplating the enigma that was Reid Maguire. He didn’t want an involvement with her, and probably not with anyone else, but if, as she suspected, he hadn’t had a woman in his life for a while, he’d be as tempted as she was. Those were not terms that she cared for.

“I’ve got two problems,” she said aloud, “and I’ll probably solve my relationship with this community before I get Reid Maguire out of my blood.” It didn’t help that he was starting over, as it were, struggling to reach the pinnacle of his profession. That meant that she would empathize with him because, in some respects, she was doing the same. She went up to her bedroom, took a black robe from the closet and examined it. Deciding not to wear a lace collar with it, she chose a white satin open-collared dickey. Her eight-year-old black patent leather boots would have to do because she’d broken a heel on her more presentable ones. Where was that box of jelly beans? She found it in a kitchen drawer, filled a plastic sandwich bag with some of the beans, put them into her briefcase, and considered herself equipped for work. She seldom allowed herself to be without a bag of jelly beans.

She reread the background information that the clerk had sent her on the first case, the suit of a woman who had bought a diamond bracelet over the Internet, had had it appraised and been advised that it was worthless. Unfortunately for the woman, she’d paid heavily for it. Either the buyer or the seller would learn a lesson.

She awakened the next morning after a restful night, got ready for her first day at work, made coffee and her thoughts immediately went to Reid who, she knew, had to settle for a cup of instant. She walked up Albemarle Heights thinking that she was fortunate to have found a house so close to her work, and so her mood was bright and cheerful when she entered the courthouse and showed her badge to the guard. The man nodded, but she wasn’t sure toward which direction.

“Where is chamber 6A?” she asked him, and he pointed to his left with his thumb much as one uses the thumb to hitch a ride.

She could feel her temper rising. “I am the judge in charge of this court,” she told him, “and nobody who works here should be rude to me and expect to keep his or her job. If you’ve got your behind on your shoulder because I bought a house in Albemarle Gates, it tells me how foolish you are. I came here looking for a house, found one and bought it. Neither you nor anybody else in this town put an ad in the paper or a sign near that property advertising your objection to that housing. So show me your best face and tell all of your colleagues to do the same, or this courthouse will have a completely new slate of employees. And soon! Now, where is chamber 6A?”

She had never seen a colder stare. “Yes, ma’am. Right over here, ma’am,” he said and walked with her to the elevator. “Sixth floor, and turn right.”

“That wasn’t difficult, was it?” she said and got on the elevator without waiting for his answer.

Fortunately, her clerk showed better judgment. “Good morning, Judge Rutherford. I’m Carl Running Moon Howard, your clerk. Court begins at ten, unless you’d like the time changed, and ends at three. We have an hour for lunch. Here are the keys to your chambers. How do you like your coffee?”

“Good morning, Carl. I’m delighted to meet you. That’s the warmest greeting I’ve received since I came to Queenstown. I like it black without sugar. Thank you.”

“I know, ma’am. It’s too bad you didn’t know about those burial grounds. It’s gotten to be political, and people are taking sides. I hate this kind of thing, ma’am.”

“So do I, Carl. I saw ads in the papers for the houses, came here and drove throughout the city looking to see what else was available, and that suited me best. I had no way of knowing what that builder had done. I’d give anything if I hadn’t bought there, but I am there, and I’ve put my money in it. So I’m staying.”

“People will soon know what kind of person you are, ma’am. I’ll get you some coffee. Incidentally, the previous judge had a little microwave oven, mini-refrigerator and coffeepot in that little storage room over there. It came in handy I don’t know how many times. Your cases for today are in that black incoming-mail box.”

He brought the coffee, and she studied her morning cases until she’d satisfied herself that she understood them and the hoopla surrounding them. The clerk had included half a dozen newspaper clippings about the cases she would hear that morning.

The jury had already been selected, and the morning session began normally enough, but within the hour, she found it necessary to put the defendant’s attorney in his place.

“Would counsel approach the bench,” she said after he ignored her mild reprimand.

“What may I do for you?” he asked.

Shocked, she quoted to him a section of the law that specified the conditions under which a trial lawyer may be cited for contempt. “I won’t hesitate to do it,” she said. “In fact, I’d enjoy doing it. It’s best not to play with me. Your client’s in bad enough trouble as it is. Do I make myself clear?”

With his face flushed and his lower lip sagging, he said, “I’m sorry, Your Honor. Please accept my apology.”

“I take it you told him what was what,” Carl said to her after she adjourned the court for lunch. “He was the attorney for a builder who tried to get that Albemarle Gates property and failed.”

“How did Brown and Worley get it?”

“They say it was bribery, ma’am, but who knows?”

The lawyer for the plaintiff brought four expert witnesses to prove that the diamonds in the bracelet were, in fact, zircons, and the jury’s guilty verdict did not surprise her. She agreed with it.

She left the court longing to tell Reid how her first day went. But why should he care? She went home, turned up the heat, changed into jeans and a sweater and gave some thought to what she would cook for her dinner. She had never been the object of scorn, and knowing that she was made her want to reach out to someone who cared. Dumping her troubles on her sister didn’t make sense, for Claudine would stagger beneath the burden of it as if the problem were her own.

She scrubbed a potato, dried it, patted it with olive oil, rolled it in a piece of paper towel and put it in the microwave oven. She was staring into the frozen food section of her refrigerator when the telephone rang. Please, God, don’t let that be a harasser.

“Hello.”

“This is Reid. How was your first day?”

“Reid! I wanted to call you…I mean, I wanted to tell you about it.”

“Well, how’d it go?”

“Good and bad.”

“You’re going to explain that?”

Why was she so nervous? “Wait a minute and let me get a chair.” She put the phone down, rushed to the kitchen for a swallow of water, dragged a chair to the console on which the phone rested and sat down. “I’m back. Well, first the guard was rude to me when I walked into the building, but a few choice words subdued him. I have a really nice and competent clerk, a Native American man, who’s gracious and helpful. But I had to put the defendant’s attorney in his place with the threat of contempt. Seems he was the attorney for a builder who tried unsuccessfully to get permission to build on the Albemarle Gates property. Have you heard that Brown and Worley bribed anyone to get that permit?”

“They’ve been accused of it, but the accusation didn’t hold up. I suspect you’ve had all the problems you’re going to have at court—news travels fast. All the same, it pays to watch your back.”

“It’s not a good feeling, Reid, knowing that people don’t like you although you’ve done nothing to earn their dislike. Besides, I’m a people person. I smile at folks, and I expect them to smile back, but nobody’s smiling at me here.”

“Nobody?” She imagined that his eyebrows shot up. “I smiled.”

“Yes, you did.” She settled more comfortably in the chair. “At least once.”

Laughter rumbled out of him, and she wished she could have been with him then to see those lights dancing in his eyes. “If I had another potato,” she said, throwing prudence to the wind, “I’d ask if you wanted to share my supper.”

“What goes with the one you’ve got?”

“Steak burger seasoned with onions, egg, mustard, ketchup and Maggi sauce, fresh asparagus and a mesclun salad.”

“I’ve got an Idaho potato, if that would persuade you to follow through with that idea. And I’m pretty good at cleaning up the kitchen.”

“You wouldn’t consider scrubbing that potato before you bring it over, would you?”

“You bet. Uh…what time would you like to have the potato?”

“About a quarter of seven.”

“Great. By the way, does Her Honor drink wine with her steak burger?”

“Whenever she has it in the house.”

“See you later. And thanks, Kendra.”

She hung up and sat there for some minutes contemplating what she’d just done. For a woman who didn’t want a relationship with the man, she had all but initiated one with that invitation. Oh, I’m not going to exorcise myself about it. He’s not married, and he’s good company. Besides, he’s interested or he wouldn’t have called me. She started down to the basement for some firewood in order to build a fire in the living-room fireplace and stopped. Suppose his case came before her! She shouldn’t develop a relationship with Reid knowing that, if his plan succeeded, he’d have a case before her within the next ten months. Oh, what the heck, I can recuse myself.

She toyed with the idea of changing her clothes to look more respectable, but discarded it. She looked perfectly fine in her jeans and sweater, and if she put on anything sexy, he’d think she was coming on to him, and he’d be right. Still, she combed her hair down, put a pair of medium-sized gold hoops in her ears and set the dining-room table.

Her doorbell rang precisely at a quarter to seven and she wondered if he’d been standing at the door looking at his watch so that he could do that. She opened the door and got a sharply raised eyebrow from him.

“Hi. I’d have whistled, if I hadn’t thought it would be rude. You look…like a pretty teenager.”

“Oh. Thanks. You mean the jeans?”

His expression suggested that she was unreal. “I mean the whole package.” He handed her the potato, scrubbed and unwrapped, and a bag containing a bottle of wine. “I hope you like Châteauneuf du Pape.”

“I’m not an aficionado of fine wine, Reid. I go to the liquor store and ask for chardonnay if I want white or Chianti if I want red, so I’ll look forward to this one.”

“It’s smooth. I think of it as a red that suits a lady.”

“That’s the second nice compliment you’ve given me in the ten minutes you’ve been here. After the bashing my ego’s had in this town, I needed it. Now, come on in the kitchen with me and behave yourself.”

“Whatta you mean by that?”

“I mean if you keep saying such nice things, you’ll have me in such a stupor that you won’t get any dinner.”

“Now, you behave. Where do you want this potato?” She held out her hand. “Whoops!” she said when she felt the electric static that passed between them.

He stared at her, and she turned away, went to the counter and began greasing the potato with olive oil. She’d made an enormous mistake, and she had to spend the evening with it.

“What are you doing to that potato?” His voice was too close, so close that she didn’t dare turn to the left or to the right. Dear God, please don’t let him touch me.

“Just what it looks like. Here. Wrap it in a piece of paper towel and put it in that microwave oven.”

“Where’s the paper towel?”

“It’s…Oh, I don’t know.”

“Turn around here.” His hands gripped her shoulders, but they turned her gently. “Come here.”

His grayish-brown eyes had become thunderheads heralding what she knew would be a violent storm. She didn’t know what he saw in her eyes, but at that moment she wanted him. He pulled her close and lowered his head so slowly that she reached up and with her hand at his nape, guided his mouth to hers. His lips trembled as they crushed hers. His groans sent shivers throughout her body, sending her blood rushing to her vagina, exciting her, and when he rimmed the seam of her lips with his tongue, she opened her mouth and sucked him into her, pulling on him, sucking and feasting. Her nerve ends seemed afire. If only she could crawl into him. The heat in her vagina rose with the seconds, and something akin to an itch demanded friction. Oh, how she wanted him skin to skin, his chest to her breasts, and his penis buried deep inside her. She pulled his tongue and sucked it vigorously until he suddenly pushed her away.

As if he feared that he may have hurt her feelings, he brought her back to his embrace, but didn’t let his body touch hers. “I’ve been celibate for a long time, Kendra, and if anything ever happens between you and me, I want to be sure of the reason.”

She wanted to tell him that nothing would happen between them, but after what she’d felt seconds earlier in his arms, she didn’t believe it and she didn’t feel like lying.

Instead she said, “I could say the same, Reid. Take care of that potato for me, will you?” He didn’t move, so she glanced at him.

“Have I…Are you…Is everything all right with you and me?” he asked her.

She faced him. “Yes. You’re straight with me. Now we know where we stand.”

He didn’t bat an eyelash. “We always knew, Kendra. Now we have to deal with it. Is that blue thing the microwave oven?”

She couldn’t help laughing. He’d put demon desire in its proper place and expected that she would do the same. “Yes, that’s it, and I’d be happy if it was any other color.” Their simultaneous laughter cleared the air.

“You could grow on me,” he said, and turned the kitchen chair around and straddled it.

“What does that mean?”

“Come now, Kendra.”

“Reid, talking with you is like taking a true and false test. You don’t explain anything unless I pull it out of you.”

“When I was in my twenties, I didn’t appreciate your type of woman. Accomplished, cut and dried. What you see is what you get, and if you don’t like it, keep moving. You’re as straight as the crow flies and beautiful to boot.”

“And I assume that means you like women who are honest.”

A smile formed around his eyes, and she looked the other way. Did that man know how attractive he was? “Right. And beautiful. Don’t leave that out,” he said.

She liked his sense of humor, and she was beginning to like him. “How do you like your burger? Medium or well done?”

“Well done. May I watch you mix it up?”

She agreed, and he stood beside her while she added the eggs, onions and seasoning to the ground beef, made three large patties, put a small amount of oil in the frying pan and set the meat to cooking. “That’s reasonable,” he said. “You put in them what we usually put on them after they’re cooked.” She turned on the microwave oven, raised the steam level under the asparagus, took the bowl of salad out of the refrigerator and put it on the table.

“That didn’t take long, and you got everything ready at the same time. That’s a trick.”

“I did the work before you got here, but took about fifteen minutes.”

“Say, wait a minute,” he said. “Don’t put that food in serving dishes. I can serve myself right from the pots and pans. Remember, I’m the one who’s cleaning up.”

“But—”

“But nothing. If I’m cleaning up, what I say goes.”

She handed him a plate. “Two of those burgers are yours. I can only eat one. I’ll peel the potatoes.”

“You can peel yours. I eat the skin. All I need for this potato is some butter and black pepper.”

“Butter is not good for you,” she said, “so you’re getting a substitute that tastes like butter and has no trans fats.”

The expression on his face was that of one thwarted in the course of a satisfying act. “But—”

“But, as your hostess, I have the responsibility to protect your arteries, and that’s what I intend to do.”

He filled his plate and headed for the dining room. “I don’t suppose I can argue with that. What did you do with the wine?”

It dawned on her that he behaved almost as if they had known each other for a long time, and save for the minutes she’d spent in his arms, she felt about the same. Or maybe he didn’t put on airs. After she said grace, he opened the wine, tasted it and poured half a glass for her. “I hope you like it. Say, why don’t we drink to…” He got up and walked over to her, hooked his right arm through hers and said, “Let’s drink to us. What will be, will be.” He sipped the wine as he gazed into her eyes. “You like it?”

“What?” she asked him, thoroughly discombobulated. “Oh, you mean the wine. Stop knocking me off balance. I never did that before. I love this wine.”

He returned to his seat and his meal. “This is the first wine I’ve purchased in almost seven years. Philip always provided wine for the help on weekends, but not during the week. He didn’t allow any alcohol on the estate except in his house, and I soon got out of the habit of washing my dinner down with the best wine I could find.”

“I’m learning that you were very wealthy.”

“I was, and if I ever get back there, I’m going to live differently. I’m going to keep the friends I’ve made during the last six years, people who care about me, not people who loved what I could do for them.”

“Did any of them stick with you?”

“Naah. It’s like Billie Holiday said in that song. ‘Money, you got lots of friends hanging ’round your door, but when the spending ends, they don’t come ’round no more.’”

“I’ve never had a lot of it,” she said, “so I don’t know, but I’m not surprised.”

“This is the best burger I ever ate, and I love burgers. Kendra, this is a wonderful meal right down to my butterless potato.” Her head went up sharply. “Just kidding.”

“The dessert is simple,” she said when she brought the sliced strawberries that had been marinating in a mixture of raspberry jam and cognac. “If I’d made this last night, it would be better, but I did it after we talked this afternoon.”

He tasted it. “It’s delicious. Sit down and eat yours.” He was good at giving commands, a habit that he would have to unlearn if they were to be friends.

“I told you about my first day on the job, Reid. How was yours?”

“Thank you for asking. It went smoothly, without a wrinkle. I got my supplies, a company credit card, a key to one of the company station wagons and, most of all, a key to an office one place removed from the senior partner. I know that last part doesn’t mean much, but eventually it will. I’m satisfied, so far.”

“Does the management know your story?”

“Yeah. They know about the trial and who I was before that, and I’m glad they do. It’s all in the open.”

She reached over, patted his hand and immediately wished she hadn’t done it, for the static electricity shot through her again. With a grudging smile, he trans formed his face into the picture of sweetness. “Wondering what it would be like if we really touch has begun to boggle my mind,” he said.

She wasn’t about to comment on that. “I wonder if I can get away with walking down to the water,” she asked him, as if he hadn’t alluded to the possibility of their making love. “I haven’t done that yet, and I love the water.”

He seemed pensive for a moment. “Ordinarily, I’d say, why not? But all things considered…Look. I’ll walk down there with you Saturday morning. It’s very lonely, and you hardly ever meet anyone, so…”

“Okay. Will we go before or after I do my marketing?”

“After. It’s cold out there early mornings. Let’s say…about eleven.”

She looked at him while he savored the dessert with obvious relish, and her gaze focused on his long and tapered fingers, smooth hands that seemed so strong when they held her. “Do you play the piano or any other string instrument, Reid?”

“Piano and guitar. How’d you happen to ask?”

“Your hands are perfect for both. Nice hands.”

“Thanks.”

He stopped eating and gazed at her until she said, “Would you like some more?”

“I don’t have any more space, or I’d love more. It was delightful.” He still looked at her as if he wanted to find something in her, something that he hoped was hidden there.

“You make it very comfortable for a man, and you do it without trying. Thanks for the dinner.” He leaned back in his chair and focused upon her so intently that she squirmed. And he realized it because he said, “I’m sorry. I’d better go. See you Saturday morning at eleven.” He wrote something on the label of the wine bottle and said, “Call if I can be of help.”

He stood, patted his pockets for his keys and, as if he suddenly remembered, took the dessert dishes to the kitchen, and was soon heard moving around there and whistling as if he were at home. He didn’t ask for help or information, and she didn’t offer any. It appeared that an architect followed some logic in the kitchen and the arrangement of its contents, and well that was, because she didn’t dare go in there. Both of them were sitting on kegs of sexual dynamite, starved for affection.

He came back in about twenty minutes. “It’s good as new. See you Saturday.” As usual, he left without saying goodbye, and one day she would ask him why.

Talking about quicksand, Reid said to himself as he raced across Albemarle Heights. He knew himself and he knew that if he touched her, he’d want it all. She thought she was dressing down when she put on those jeans, but in them, she was sex personified. She hadn’t wanted to give him the wrong impression, but he couldn’t change what happened to him when he first saw her.

She’s between me and what Brown and Worley owe me. If their attorney learns that she and I are friends or even close acquaintances, I’ll lose that case before it starts. I think I’d better make myself useful around here and get the people of Queenstown on my side. Kendra’s right, because this is the jury pool.

Who would call him at nine o’clock at night? Certainly it couldn’t be Kendra. He didn’t know what he would do if she even hinted that she wanted him to go back there. He shrugged and rushed to the phone. She wouldn’t do it. The woman had strength as well as guts.

“Maguire speaking. Good evening.”

“Hey, Reid. This is Philip. How’s it going?”

“Philip!” He sat down in the nearest chair. “It’s great to hear from you. How’s your dad?”

“Dad’s fine. We’re anxious to know how it’s going with Marks and Connerly.”

“So far, so good.” He gave Philip the same information that he had given Kendra a little earlier. “It’s a chance. I’ll see the location for the airport terminal tomorrow and adjust my sketches accordingly. I like what I’ve seen of Jack, and I think we’ll get along.”

“You don’t know how much it pleases me to hear that. Do you think you can come down to the barbecue Easter Sunday? If so, we’ll be glad to see you. I’ll let them all know I’ve spoken with you.”

Reid hung up, gathered his laundry and put it in his laundry bag. He would drop it off at Royal Laundry—half the establishments in Queenstown had either royal or crown as a part of their name. He’d wash his socks, but he would gladly pay someone else to do the rest of it.

He got up early the next morning, made a cup of instant coffee, showered, shaved and dressed in an Oxford-gray business suit. How good it felt to be going to work as an architect again. If he wasn’t careful, he’d feel tears sliding down his face. He got into the station wagon, adjusted the seat to fit his height and headed for Caution Point. He’d driven twenty miles before the pangs in his belly reminded him that he hadn’t ingested anything that morning but instant coffee.

He pulled into a roadside restaurant, had a breakfast of melon, waffles, country sausage and perked coffee, and continued his journey. Remembering that he’d promised Marcus Hickson to get in touch with him when he went to Caution Point, he took out the cellular phone that he had bought the previous weekend and telephoned his old friend.

“Hello, Marcus, this is Reid. I’ll be in town today. Could we meet for lunch?”

“Yes, indeed. You don’t know Caution Point, so why don’t I pick you up at twelve-thirty? Where will you be?”

“At the corner of Bowder and Checkers.”

“Great. I’m driving a silver-gray Mercedes.”

“And I’ll be in a brown Cadillac station wagon. See you then.”

A gray Mercedes, eh? He hoped his friend hadn’t turned into a “rich man,” because he’d sworn to keep his feet on the ground and to associate only with people like himself. He remembered that women loved Marcus, but that Marcus had his eye on a tall lanky one who, in his opinion, was the epitome of frivolity. Well,we both had lousy taste in women. I sure hope he got over that one.

He loved the location for the terminal. With a minor adjustment, the terminal he’d sketched with a round dome above a square building would best fit the space and the environment. He sat in the office that Jack Marks had rented for him, and altered the sketch. Then, in case Jack preferred the structure that resembled a large private house or mansion, he made notes as to the necessary alterations, locked the office and went to meet Marcus.

When the big gray sedan drove up, Reid got out of his station wagon and walked across the street to meet the man he hadn’t seen since he left graduate school. He’d been in the School of Architecture and Engineering, and Marcus had been in the School of Music. They’d roomed two doors from each other in the men’s dormitory. He smiled when Marcus started toward him, and the years quickly vanished as they laid up high fives and then embraced each other, their old routine.

“You haven’t gained a pound, man,” Marcus said, “but I’ve put on sixteen.”

“Sixteen pounds is nothing on a six-foot-four-inch frame. If you’d lived my life—at least my life the last seven years—you wouldn’t weigh more, either. Where’ll we eat?”

“I assume you’re going to explain that, but if I remember properly, I’ll find out what it means only after I pry and insist.”

“Oh, I’m not that bad. Did you marry that tall, slim beauty?”

“Yes, but she split when the going got tough. I’ve got a real gem of a woman now, and she is definitely not the willowy type.”

They ate at a new Italian restaurant not far from the school where Marcus’s wife, Amanda, was the principal. “You learned a lesson,” Reid said when the conversation turned again to their pasts, “and I sure hope the hell I did.” He told Marcus about the loss of his company, his wealth and his reputation, how he’d made it back to where he was.

“I feel you, man,” Marcus said. “I came within a hair of losing my business, and if it hadn’t been for my wife, I would have. Next time you’re here, I want you to meet her and my three children. The oldest one is from my first wife, but if you see her with my wife, you’d never know it. I’m a lucky man.”

“I’m on my way back, man,” Reid said, “and it’s a great feeling.”

“Take it slow,” Marcus advised. “Be patient. If you find a good woman, latch on. She’ll make all the difference. Say, what’s wrong with me? I’m sitting here talking with a first-rate architect. Reid, I told you that I repair fine musical instruments, string instruments, and that my factory is in Portsmouth. I’m planning to open a factory here in Caution Point, and eventually—maybe two or three years hence—I’ll close the one in Portsmouth. I repair anything from a Steinway concert grand to a Stradivarius. Would you design a building for me? The place has to be humidity proof.”

“I work for Marks and Connerly, and I’m not sure you’d want to pay their fare. I’m also not sure they’d let me do it on the side. I’m straight, Marcus, so I’d have to ask. I can tell the boss of our relationship and see if that will make a difference.”

“Not being able to make your own decisions must go against your grain,” Marcus said.

“Not right now, because I know I’m lucky to be working for a company of this caliber. If I’m fortunate, I’ll be back on top and running my own company in a couple of years.” He showed Marcus his sketches for the airport terminal.

“Either one of these would work there, but I especially like this one,” Marcus said, pointing to the one with the round dome. “It’s unique and fits the area.”

“Thanks. That’s the one I prefer, but it’s a long road from this point to the laying of the corner stone.”

“I’m sure. When will you let me know whether you can design that building for me?”

“Next Monday, I hope. See you then.”

When they separated, Reid had the feeling that he was on his way. He didn’t go back to the airport, but took the shortest route to Queenstown. He parked the station wagon in the company’s parking lot, locked it and went to his office.

“You’re back?” Jack Marks asked him when he answered the intercom. “Are you satisfied? I’m not asking for a report, but I’m anxious to know whether you’re comfortable with what you’ve done so far.”

“I am, indeed,” Reid said. “I need to make a couple of very minor changes. We can meet tomorrow, if you’d like.”

“You bet I’d like. How about lunch? Is twelve-thirty good?”

“Fine,” Reid said. “That’s my preferred lunchtime.”

“I’ll stop by for you,” Jack told him.

It would be a memorable lunch. “I love this one,” Jack said referring to the one with the round dome. “It’s perfect. Maybe we can use this other one for something else. It’s very imaginative.” He snapped his fingers. “It would make a great golf clubhouse. Put it under lock and key. If I can close a deal I’m working on, you’ve got another job.”

Reid told Jack about Marcus’s request. “I told him that I wouldn’t do it on the side without your permission and that if you didn’t like that idea, I’d ask if we could lower the price for him.”

Jack’s thick fingers brushed back and forth across his chin. “It doesn’t seem to be a huge job, does it?”

“The biggest problem will be to control the humidity. It’s close to the Sound.”

“Right. There’re some materials you can install in addition to air conditioning. Tomorrow, I’ll write you a letter giving permission. I don’t have time today.”

“Are you sure it’s all right, Jack?”

“It isn’t something we would normally do, and I want to encourage you to tackle unusual jobs. It’s good experience. By the way, Connerly and I have decided to change your title from assistant architect to architect. It makes more sense.”

“Does it carry more pay?”

“Sure. A lot more. I’ll ask the accountant to send you a note, and you’ll get a personnel action sheet in a day or so.”

Reid thanked him. He didn’t do it profusely, knew he deserved the title and pay. Nonetheless, he had a better feeling of his worth as an architect and as a man. “You’re a straight shooter, Jack, and I appreciate that.”

“It’s only just, Reid.”

Reid thought for a minute, then changing to a light subject he said, “If I’m going to live here, I want to be a part of the community, but I can’t seem to find a niche.”

“We have a great theatrical group that’s extremely popular. Ever do any acting?”

“Not since undergraduate school.”

“They’re all amateurs. I’ll tell Iris to give you the address and telephone number. This has been a productive lunch, Reid. Let’s do it again real soon. Oh, and what we’ve discussed here is between you, me and Connerly. My architects do everything to get an assignment, except fight duels.”

“You bet.” He pointed his right thumb to his chest. “What happens here stays here.”

He didn’t know how he got through the remainder of the afternoon, for it seemed that he would burst with happiness. At a quarter to four, a messenger brought him a letter from the company accountant. He tore it open and stared at its message until the words blurred before his eyes. That promotion nearly doubled his salary. After his first month’s pay, he’d have the means to retain a lawyer, and he’d soon be able to buy a car.

All the wonderful things that happened to me today, and I don’t have anyone with whom to share it, he thought as he walked home. But he could share it with Kendra, couldn’t he? Doing so wouldn’t imply anything. After all, hadn’t she shared her news with him?

What the heck! It was too good to keep to himself. He walked into his apartment, kicked off his shoes and pants, loosened his tie, dropped himself on his bed and used his cell phone to dial her number.

“Hi, this is Reid. So much has happened today that I have to dump it on somebody, and I don’t know anybody here but you.”

At the next words in her low, sultry voice, he nearly jumped off the bed. “Hi. Hang up, Reid. Then call me and say, ‘You wouldn’t believe the day I had. Can we get together so I can tell you about it?’”

He lay back down and stretched out. “What’s wrong with the way I put it?”

“You said it as if you’d tell somebody else, but you don’t know anyone else in town.”

“Well, that definitely is not what I meant.”

“So, what did you mean?”

He sat up. “Don’t ask me a question unless you want the answer. I want to see you.”

“Uh…where?”

“In the middle of Albemarle Heights. I don’t give a damn, Kendra. I’ll put on a jacket and tie, and we can have dinner someplace, but that would be three whole hours from now.”

“Well, since you haven’t bought a car, let’s ride in mine. I’ll put on a pretty dress, you put on that tie, and you be over here in an hour. How’s that?”

“Woman, you move fast, but that suits me to a T. I’ll be there.” He’d almost added that he wanted a kiss when he got there, and it surprised him that that was what he needed from her most of all. He wanted her to rejoice with him, but what he needed was to know that she thought him worth her affection.

He showered, dressed in the Oxford-gray suit with a white shirt and yellow tie. He put on his gray Chesterfield-style overcoat, a remainder from his affluent days, and gave thanks that, in his lowest moments, he hadn’t sold it or exchanged it for a hot dog. He’d been wearing it when he’d met Philip. A glance at his watch told him he had thirty-two minutes. He made it to the florist in eleven minutes and cooled his heels while the florist chatted with a neighbor. Vexed, though he knew it was the way of life in a small town, he turned to leave, and the man asked if he could help him. He bought an American beauty rose, had it wrapped in cellophane and tied with a red velvet bow.

He felt like a teenager about to take his girl to his first prom. What had happened to his resolve to stay away from her, his concern that associating with her might jeopardize his case against Brown and Worley? I can’t help it, he said to himself. Right now, I need to be with her.

If Reid was able to rationalize his way out of his dilemma about Kendra, she had no such success, but admitted her strong attraction to him and the trouble in which it would one day land her, and figured that she would have no choice but to take it on the chin when it came. She hoped he’d be worth the price she had to pay.

She looked through her closet and pushed aside the sedate business suits and tailored dresses she wore to work until she found the red silk sheath that fit snugly until it passed her hips and then flared out sassy and flirtatious. Its low-cut bodice promised a delicious tidbit if she let him get that far. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. What was she thinking when she bought that advertisement for sex? No wonder she’d never worn it.

What the heck? He wants me, and I want him. Might as well be an adult about it. She combed out her hair and brushed it until it curved under at her shoulder, put on a pair of gold hoops, dabbed perfume in strategic places and took a deep breath. Did she dare wear those spike-heel sandals in weather that was below freezing? And could she drive while wearing them? I can kick off the right one, she said to herself and slipped her feet into the shoes just as the doorbell rang.

She opened the door and, to her delight, his eyes lit up and his long, sharp whistle made her heart sing. He stepped inside, closed the door with his foot, and she’d never seen a happier look on a man’s face than when he gazed down at her. She felt her tongue rim her lips, and then his big hands were on her seconds before he lowered his head and she rose on her toes to meet his mouth. He came down hard on her, but she didn’t care because she felt his need of her.

“Open up to me, sweetheart. Let me feel myself inside you.”

She parted her lips, took him into her mouth and as he began to dance and twirl inside her, one of his hands moved down to her hips and the other locked around her bare shoulders. Oh, the feel of his hands on her naked flesh. She sucked him deeper into her mouth, holding him, caressing him while her nerves began to riot and the blood sizzled in her veins as it raced to her vagina. She heard her moans, but didn’t care. She wanted him as she’d never wanted anything in her life.

He stopped kissing her and looked down at her. “Sweetheart, if we don’t cut this out, we’ll never get anything to eat.”

Frustrated and not bothering to hide it, she poked his chest. “You shouldn’t have started it. I opened the door, and you didn’t even say hi, just like you never bother to say goodbye to me.” His grin settled around his eyes, and it was all she could do to stop herself from putting her arms around him and hugging him. “Would you mind driving? I don’t think I should unless I take off these shoes.”

He looked down at her feet. “No wonder you seem taller. I’ll drive.”

When he handed her a red rose, she kissed his cheek. “You’re such a sweet man,” she said and turned away, intending to get a vase and water for the rose, but he grabbed her arm.

“Do you think I’m sweet, or were you making small talk?”

“Yes, I think you’re sweet, Reid, and I’d…We’d better leave it at that.”