The Reckoning

by Kathryn Shay

  He tried to see the place through her eyes. “I bought it when I started to make money. Wow was important then.”

  “Not now?”

  “Not as much.” He slid his arms around her from behind. “Other things supersede material goods. Like you.”

  “That’s a nice thing to say.”

  “Want to look around while I turn on the jacuzzi?”

  “Sure.”

  She studied the art on the wall, though she didn’t know its value. She moved on to the knick-knacks and examined them, then she turned to the television. The screen was movie-theater size.

  Down a hallway, she perused the guest bedrooms, one beautifully decorated in gray and blue, one beige with accents of peach. She ended at the doorway to his room. Even bigger than the others, again it had the three glass walls, covered by blinds, some of which were slatted. She walked to the over-over-sized bed; its cover consisted of dark and light blue rectangles. It matched chairs in the sitting area, and some decoration on the walls. The vase of flowers—a mixture of different colored roses, graced a dresser.

  “You like?” he asked. He was leaning against a doorway, one arm on the jamb.

  “I love everything. But the place is so…big.”

  “I guess. Too much, Jamie? You can tell me the truth.”

  “No. It reflects you.”

  “How so?”

  “The apartment is very masculine. Very sophisticated. Very expensive.”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  She crossed to him and kissed the frown off his mouth. “I like your home,” she reiterated.

  He grabbed her around the waist. Kissed her possessively. She sighed when he drew away.

  “Ready for a jacuzzi?”

  “Yes.”

  He held out his hand. “Then follow me, my dear.”

  Jamie gasped again when she saw the size of the bathroom, the tub. “Dear Lord in heaven.”

  He nodded to the latter. “The water will be very soothing.”

  “I’m not sure that’s what it’ll do for us.”

  “Let’s see, honey.”

  Coveting every endearment he uttered, Jamie sighed again.

  “What do you usually do on Saturday nights? On the rare occasion you don’t have a date.”

  “I don’t date that much, Jamie.” He loved her candor, but this was going into the territory of explaining himself, which he never did to anyone.

  “Oh.”

  “How about you?”

  “I’ve gone on a few dates on Fridays. I work on Saturday and Sunday nights.”

  “That’s right. Not tonight, though?”

  “I asked for the weekend free. As you know, I had a date last night, and planned to do schoolwork today.”

  “Ah, that’s what you did while I slept.”

  They’d made love after the jacuzzi, despite what she’d said about being sore, then he’d fallen asleep for two hours. Had he ever napped before?

  “Yep. Got my assignments all out of the way.”

  “Aren’t you tired?”

  “No, I don’t need much sleep.”

  The buzzer rang. “That’s dinner.” They’d already enjoyed a cocktail so the meal delivery was right on time.

  A waiter wheeled in a cart and set the food up at the large table by the kitchen windows. When the man left, Kinley drew Jamie over to her meal. “Kinley! This is too much.”

  “You said you liked seafood.”

  “I know, but I’ve never seen so many different kinds together.”

  He’d ordered their four-tiered cold variety along with asparagus and hearts of palms.

  She turned into his chest. “You’re spoiling me.”

  “Am I?” His voice was amused.

  “You know you are.”

  He tipped her chin and kissed her nose. “I want to.”

  The shrimp was succulent, the lobster flaky and tasty. He didn’t care for the cold prawns, but was surprised that he liked the cold snapper. Jamie ate everything. After they finished, she stood and reached for the plates.

  He stayed her hand. “No, he’ll come back to get the remnants. Why don’t you get your jammies on and I’ll see to him?”

  After allowing the waiter back in then out, Kinley changed too, into pj bottoms and a navy-blue t-shirt with navy moccasins. They settled on the couch. “Want to watch a movie?”

  “Sure. What’s your favorite?”

  “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

  “Yuck.”

  “Yours?”

  “Love Actually.”

  “I’ve never seen that one.”

  “If that’s true, you aren’t so sophisticated after all.”

  He tickled her briefly.

  “Is this one of those sappy love stories?”

  “It’s the ultimate in sappy love stories.”

  “Okay. Let’s see what I can handle.”

  Jamie awoke Sunday morning with a start. She sat up and scanned her surroundings. She was at Kinley’s fancy apartment. In his bed. He was already up, so she scrambled off the mattress, used the bathroom, then went to find him. He was sitting back in a reclining chair, laptop situated on his knees, reading the screen.

  “Good morning.”

  He gave her a once over. “You look cute as hell when you wake up.”

  She touched her hair. “Yeah, sure.”

  He set the computer aside. “Come here a sec.”

  After she crossed to him, he tugged her onto his lap.

  “Sleep well?” he asked, lazily nuzzling her breasts.

  “Yeah. What’d you do, carry me to bed?”

  “After I finished your movie.”

  “How soon into it did I fall asleep?”

  “About a half-hour.” His expression turned serious. “You must have been exhausted.”

  “You kept me busy yesterday.”

  “I did, but that’s not what I mean. As you said, you don’t get enough sleep with the schedule you keep.”

  “No, what I said was I don’t need that much sleep.” To change the subject, she spied a cup of coffee on the table next to him. “Can I have a sip of that?”

  “Sure.” He smiled as she drank from his cup. Then he brushed tendrils off her face. “Let me make your schedule lighter.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Quit your job at the pub and I’ll double your salary at my company to compensate.”

  She frowned deeply.

  “Until you finish school.”

  Now that was tempting. But… “I couldn’t let you do that. That would be like you supporting me because we slept together.”

  He got a funny expression on his face. “Is that all the last two days were about? Just fucking.”

  “No, of course not. Every time we were together meant something to me.”

  He sighed. “To me, too.”

  She brushed her hand down his cheek. “You’re sensitive about us, aren’t you?”

  “Of course I am.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I care about you. A lot.”

  A rush of feeling came over her. “I care about you, too.”

  He glanced away. “And it scares the shit out of me.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m afraid you’ll hurt me, too.”

  “I’ll try not to, Jamie. I promise.”

  “I’ll try, too. That’s the most we can promise each other now.”

  “I guess that’s all we can ask for.”

  Kinley and Portia walked out of the movie theater. She said, “Dessert at Deluca’s?”

  “Sure.”

  They walked toward the restaurant amidst the crowd leaving the theater. She asked, “Did you like the movie?”

  “Sure.”

  “What was your favorite part?”

  “Um…”

  She chuckled. “I’m trying to trick you, Kin. You were somewhere else the whole time.”

  “I was.”

  “You don’t seem…bothered by anything.”

 
“I’m happy, Portia.”

  She stopped short, making movie goers bump into them.

  “You’d better keep walking,” he said with a smile in his voice. “They’ll run you over.”

  She did. “You better come clean, buddy.”

  “It’s a woman.”

  She stopped again. Again, they were jostled.

  “Hell,” he said grabbing her arm. “We better wait until we get to the pastry shop.”

  Deluca’s was an establishment with plain flooring, outdated lamps and counters that weren’t the best. But the food was. As they found a booth with their baclava, his, and her chocolate decadence cake, they sat across from each other. “Spill.”

  Why not? He was bursting to tell her. He did, confessing everything. She didn’t comment, just kept eye contact. When he finished, she said, “Well, she must be someone special for you to fall so hard. That’s never happened to you.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “I tried to fight my feelings for her.”

  “But you couldn’t.”

  “Nope.”

  “I have one question.”

  “What?”

  “When do I meet this Wonder Woman?”

  Chapter 8

  On Monday morning, Kinley took the elevator up to his office, thinking about the weekend. Simply put, it was the best time in his life. He wasn’t happy when Jamie had to go home for Sunday dinner, when her grandma and son returned. He guessed he should be content that he had so much time with her. Besides, he had fun with his cousin.

  The door opened on his floor and, despite the fact that today wasn’t a day for her to work, he looked at her desk. Man, he had it bad.

  But he felt too good to stop the thoughts.

  Stepping into his office, he found his computer was on. He checked his watch. Seven. He was earlier than usual, but apparently someone else was here, too. He set down his briefcase and sat at his desk. He pressed a button. “Nigel?”

  No answer. Nigel didn’t start till nine. But Kinley couldn’t figure who else could get into his office, would dare to turn on his computer. Someone who knew the password.

  He checked his history. Hmm. It had been wiped. He was about to call Tech when there was a knock on the door. Since he’d left it open, he could see one of his associates had come to the office.

  “Sorry to bother you, Kinley.”

  “Hello, Karen. You’re in early.”

  “That’s why I came to see you. I’m here at this hour because my son is sick. My husband and I are going to play tag team, so I have to leave at two. One of his clients has a court appearance that he can’t miss.”

  He frowned. “Don’t you have a contingency plan for this? Daycare or something?”

  Her eyes got watery. “Timmy’s still an infant. I can’t leave him anywhere when he’s sick.”

  Kinley thought of Jamie. “No family?”

  “Upstate. HR outlined your requirements when I was hired three years ago, and I’ve lived up to them every single day. But now I have a baby, I don’t know what else to do.”

  Suddenly, he was hit by a vision of Jamie, superimposed over his employee.

  “All right. You can leave at two.” He thought a minute, fixer that he was. “Do you earn enough here, Karen?”

  “More than.”

  “Then it might be wise to find a nurse or in-home provider, in case of emergencies like this.”

  She swallowed hard, now clearly on the verge of tears. “This is all so new to us. I guess I should have thought of doing that. It’s a great suggestion. I’ll get right on it.”

  He nodded. She took that as a message to leave and turned away. “Karen?”

  “Yes.”

  “I hope the boy feels well soon.”

  “Thank you, Kinley. I didn’t expect your kindness.”

  Huh. He’d never thought of himself as being a kind boss.

  When she left, he sat back and steepled his hands. Now why had he done that? He wasn’t a softie. But he’d flashed to Jamie, who could be in that exact position if she didn’t work for him or the O’Neils.

  He wasn’t sure he liked anybody influencing him so much. He’d have to think about that. Turning back to his computer, he decided to tackle who had turned it on. He called Tech as those employees alternated coming in at six a.m.

  Jamie said, “Have a nice day,” when Ben got on the school bus Monday at eleven.

  “Thanks, Mommy.” He waved to her.

  Sighing with contentment, she went back inside. Her grandmother had gone grocery shopping, so she was alone in the house. She flopped down on the cushions of the couch and thought about Kinley. Remembered his sizzling touch. How his eyes burned when he was inside her. How…her phone rang. She saw the caller ID and smiled. “Good morning.”

  “Did Ben get on the bus?”

  “Uh-huh. Is that why you called?”

  “Yes. Want to meet for a quickie?”

  She laughed out loud. “It would never be quick with you.”

  “I’m the boss. I have as much time as I need.”

  “No, I have a class at two, and still have to do some work on the essay I’m writing. You, um, kept me busy all weekend.”

  “Which I can’t stop thinking about.”

  “Me, either.”

  “Are you sure you can’t meet me?”

  “Yep, I’m sure. Now let me go, so I can work on my paper.”

  “I suppose. Think of me.”

  She couldn’t help but do that. “I will. I am.”

  He clicked off.

  And her phone buzzed right away again. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Ralston?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Professor Cromwell’s secretary. He’s called in sick today so class is canceled.”

  “I hope he’s okay.”

  “He’ll be fine. I’m emailing you what he wants you to work on in place of coming to class.”

  “All right.”

  She clicked off.

  She could meet for a quickie now. Should she?

  Before she could call Kinley, her phone rang again. Busy this morning. The caller ID showed the pub’s number.

  “Hello.”

  “Jamie, it’s Patrick. I know you have class later, but could you come in for an hour or so. We’re about to get slammed and Susan called in sick.”

  “Must be something’s going around. My class got canceled because my prof is sick.”

  “Oh, thank God. Want to work a whole shift?”

  She didn’t. She should do her classwork. She wanted to be with Kinley. But how many times had the O’Neils let her off the hook when she needed a day free? “Um, yeah. Okay.”

  Sighing, she clicked off. She’d do her schoolwork later, and see Kinley tomorrow. Maybe she could take an hour or two after work to be with him.

  At one, Kinley came up for air. He’d buried himself in the stock market opening, talked to several clients about their next moves, and phoned one prospective firm to persuade them to come with him for their investment portfolio. The techs had come and checked everything out. They found no intrusion. The cleared history showed nothing unusual.

  Leaning back in his chair, he checked his private email. Jamie hadn’t sent him anything. Damn it. He’d kept her out of his mind all morning, but she haunted him again. Abruptly he stood. “No more.”

  Bailey’s Pub was closed today, but he’d gotten a key weeks ago and wanted to review the books. He’d insisted on getting the password. He called his driver and left the office. When he arrived on MacDougal Street, he was surprised to see the street parking all taken up and the driveway filled. He got off in front and entered the restaurant.

  The place was hopping. Almost every table was occupied. Something tugged at his suitcoat. “Hi, Mister. Who’re you?” His brows raised. “You look like my dad.”

  Unable to control his amusement, Kinley squatted down. “I’m Kinley. Who are you?”

  “My name is Mike O’Neil. That girl over there is Kathleen, my cousi
n.”

  “Why aren’t you in school?”

  “Day off for teacher conference.” Liam had answered. “Good to see you, Kinley.” He held out his hand.

  Kinley stood. “Is it?”

  “I told you you’re always welcome here.”

  “Bye.” Mikey ran off.

  “Cute kid.”

  “Thanks.” Liam’s expression turned sad. “He had some real issues after my wife died.”

  Kinley knew all about Kitty. “I’m sorry for the boy and for you.” He looked around. “What’s going on? It’s Monday.”

  “Bailey’s throwing a party for the donors and potential donors for Guardian.”

  “Oh. I think I got an invitation.”

  “She’s merciless in who she hits up.”

  He smiled. But the expression died when the kitchen door opened and Jamie walked out. She held a tray of drinks on her shoulder, with a hand steadying it. Her hair had been braided back and she seemed rested.

  When her gaze landed on him, her mouth dropped open.

  “Kinley? You okay?” Liam grasped his arm. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  A demon, maybe. Who’d lied to him. Tricked him.

  He called on all the reserve he had. “No, nothing like that.” He averted his gaze and raked back his hair.

  “Okay. If you aren’t here because of your donor invite, why are you here?”

  “I had some time. I thought I’d examine the books today.”

  “Fine by me. We have an accountant do them, you know.”

  “Yeah, Pat yelled that at me when I said I wanted to see them. I, um, I’m entitled, Liam.”

  “Of course, you are. I’d want to see them if I were you. Go on back. I’ve got to check on lunch.”

  Rotely, Kinley walked toward the office while Jamie served drinks. He went inside, sat down, and was stunned at how bad he felt. She’d chosen the O’Neils over him. Sure, in something little, but her choice foreshadowed the future in ways he didn’t think he could live with.