by Joyce
The elevator reached the lobby and the doors opened. Rae stepped out to look at the security keypad.
Steve stood close beside her. “Show me what you did."
"I don't know what I did."
"You must have pressed the keypad."
"I guess I did."
"Try it."
She bit her lip and touched her fingers to the keypad in a random sequence of numbers that filtered into her head. The elevator doors parted again.
"How did you know the number? Were you looking over my shoulder when we were here?"
"I don't know,” she repeated. “It just came to me."
"It's Bryce's birthday. The day she was taken, the code was my birthday. It changes every few days. Did you find those numbers in my bedroom and think they'd work?"
Rae was sore from the security mauling and her temper was getting the better of her. “I was looking at the portrait in your room. That's all."
"Then how did you know the code?"
She thought about it. “I was drawn here by something. I think it was Bryce reaching out to me. She brought me to that coffee shop across the street. Did the two of you ever go there?"
Steve didn't have to look. “There's a coffee shop in the building. We've never been across the street."
"Something or someone brought me to the coffee shop and then to this elevator. It has to be my connection with Bryce."
"Are you saying that you knew the code for the elevator because of Bryce?"
Her gaze burned fiercely on his face. “I'm saying that she and I have a connection. I don't understand it and I can't explain it except in terms that make me sound crazy. She brought me here for some reason. I thought maybe it was a past link, like the messed up ransom attempt."
Steve took a deep breath. “Okay. I'll have to be content with that."
"There's nothing to be content with. Either you believe me or you don't."
"I don't know what to believe, Rae. I'm doing the best I can with this."
She turned and would have walked away from him. He snagged her arm and propelled her into the elevator with him. Before it could move, he pressed the button to stop it.
"I want to believe. You know I do. Why would I bother to come and find you if I didn't?"
"I don't know, Steve. Why would you?” She tried to move past him to press the button to release the elevator.
He stopped her by taking her in his arms. They fell back against the cold wall as he kissed her.
Rae fought him and herself as the passionate visions weakened her knees. Hot, liquid fire raced through her chest to her legs. She ached for him, wanting him inside of her. She heard herself moan when she felt his tongue touch hers. That's enough! Finally, she shoved at him, knocking him away from her. “That won't make it better."
"What will?” He kept his distance, breathing hard. “My unconditional trust and belief in you?"
"That would be a start.” She pressed the button to release the elevator.
"Let me get you a ride back to the house."
"No thanks.” She didn't look back at him when the door opened. “I found my way here. I'll find my way back."
Rae wanted to drop the whole thing. She wanted to walk out of that building and never go back. Get on board the first bus back to Charleston and try to live a normal life.
But she knew she wasn't going to leave. She wouldn't leave until Bryce was found. She'd bonded too closely with the little girl to look away from her problem. And Bryce couldn't help it that her uncle was an irritating, unreasonable man.
Why did he bring her there if he didn't believe she could help? Why bother telling her about Bryce at all if he couldn't suspend his disbelief for a moment? Why worry about her guessing his precious secrets?
She was a trained agent. She spent years in the field. Some of this was new to her but she knew what she was doing. She wasn't crazy and she wasn't drinking. This was a real connection with a real child. Steve acted like she was the enemy. Either she was trying to ferret his secrets out of him or she was actively spying on him. Did he really think that she looked over his shoulder to see the code? Even worse, for a brief moment, that she might be part of the kidnapping?
She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she needed to concentrate on Bryce. The sooner she found the little girl, the sooner she could leave. Steve's opinion meant nothing to her. He could believe she had a bond with Bryce or not. He was a means to an end. Her grandmother had the surgery she needed. All that was left was finding Bryce.
Rae got back to the estate around four. It was already getting dark. The rain began to fall again before she left Atlanta. By the time she made it back from the bus stop, she was soaked. The man at the door nodded to her. He turned away as soon as the door was shut behind her.
Her shoes squelched on the tile floor as she walked into the house. It was unusually quiet. Where was everyone?
"In here.” Al reached her before she could get upstairs. “It's the kidnappers."
She followed Al into the library. Steve was already off the phone. He looked haggard and stunned, sitting alone in the big room.
"What happened?"
His gaze swiveled towards her. “They wouldn't let me talk to her."
Rae went to his side. Her hard feelings towards him evaporated. “That doesn't mean she's dead."
"I tried to negotiate with them. They knew I couldn't say no to their demands."
"What do they want you to do now?"
"They want me to resign as CEO of Solutions. Tonight. In a statement to the press."
"That's ridiculous!” Al charged across the room. “How far do they think they can push you?"
"As far as they like,” Rae answered. “If he wants to see Bryce again."
Al grunted but didn't elaborate.
Steve closed his eyes. “You know, David and I talked about doing this after the company got too big. Just selling out, taking the money, and going to live on a tropical island somewhere."
"That kind of thinking won't help Bryce."
He opened his eyes and searched her face. “We got the report back on the trash and footprints we found at the firehouse. You were right. Bryce was there. The people holding her were wearing gloves. You know she's seen them, Rae. If you're right and they're close to me, she knows who they are. They've only asked for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. How far is that going to take them? They won't have any choice but to kill her. We both know that."
"Not if we find them first.” Everything he said was true. She didn't have the heart to verify it. And there was still that small chance they'd find Bryce before it was over.
Steve got to his feet. “I don't have any choice but to play along. I'll contact our press officer and have him set something up for tonight."
"How does that work exactly?” Rae tried to get a grasp on what the kidnappers were asking.
"With everything that's happened, it probably means that Solutions will be taken over by the biggest stock holders. That would be Stan and Edna Nurvin. I'll still own the company but I'll be forced to accept a lesser position."
"So, you'll be rich, like you and David wanted to be, but you won't have the problem of running the company?"
Al took a step forward, a menacing look on his dark face.
Sharin applauded from the doorway. “Brava! I think Little Miss Sunshine is beginning to understand what this is really all about, huh, Steve?"
"Sharin, you've been accusing me of not caring about anything but the company since this started! Why would I do this to myself if that were the truth?"
Sharin's cold eyes were fixed on him as she sauntered into the room. The harsh smell of alcohol accompanied her. “Because you left out one very small detail, didn't you, Stevie?"
He shook his head in disgust. “I know you're upset, Sharin, but I swear I'm going to have you hospitalized if you keep pushing me."
"What he forgot to tell everyone is that there's another stockholder who could change the whole wa
y this is played. David left his shares in the company to Bryce. If she doesn't ever come back, the shares pass to me."
"And if something happens to you or you can't vote,” Steve said in a menacing voice, “I get those shares. Don't drag it out, Sharin. Let's hear all your theories."
She laughed like it was the funniest joke she ever heard. “That's right! So now your little play pal here knows all of the dirty little secrets. And this is the second time she's heard you threaten to put me away. Your goons might not be willing to speak out against you but she might. What do you have in store for her, sweetheart?"
Steve caught Al's eye and nodded towards Sharin.
Al took Sharin's arm. “Come on now. Let's go upstairs and get you some coffee."
Sharin jerked her arm free of his clasp. “I'm not drunk, you fool! Can't you see what he's trying to do? He's kidnapped my baby! He may have killed her already! One of you has to listen to me! Someone has to help us!"
Mrs. Hamilton came in and helped calm Sharin so that Al was able to lead her out of the room.
"Please call her doctor,” Steve asked of her.
"Yes, sir."
After the library was quiet again, Steve made a call to Solution's press officer. He put down the phone when the conversation was over. The sound was a death knell in the silent room. “I'm sorry you had to see that."
"She's got a lot of problems.” Seeing Sharin in that state made Rae shudder. How many times did you look the same way?
"But ultimately, she's right. David left his shares of stock to Bryce. He left the money and house to Sharin. Bryce can't vote the stock until she's eighteen. No one else can use her shares of stock to vote. Unless she dies or is declared legally dead."
Rae shivered. She forgot that she was still in her wet clothes. “How would that help you? You already own the company."
"Solutions’ stock was devalued after David's death. That will change when Edna and Stan take over. If I come back with Bryce's shares, the company will be worth a lot more money."
It made perfect sense. Rae wanted to have some impression about Sharin's accusations. But like that afternoon at the coffee shop, she was blank.
Steve suddenly noticed she was dripping water on the floor. “I'm sorry I kept you, Rae. Why don't you go and change clothes? It'll be a while before the festivities get started."
Before Rae could reply, there was a frantic knock on the door. Al didn't wait for Steve to invite him into the room. “I lost her, Steve."
"Where is she?"
"She ran outside again."
Steve skirted the side of the desk. “Let's go."
Rae ran to the front door with them. She caught a glimpse of Sharin throwing off her clothes. She ran out into the cold rain, across the brown, frostbitten lawn. Steve and Al ran outside.
Alabaster put her hand on Rae's arm as she started to follow them. “There's nothing you can do out there. This has happened before. Poor lamb. They'll catch her."
Rae watched from the doorway. Even though the floodlights were on, she had a hard time seeing them through the heavy mist. She knew the housekeeper was right. She didn't need to be involved.
Alabaster sighed. “She tried to kill herself a few months after David died. She couldn't get over his death. Jumped into the pool, stone drunk. She would've died if Steve hadn't found her."
Rae was shivering but she waited there until she saw Steve and Al coming back. Sharin was in her underwear. Steve was carrying her in his arms. “He cares a lot about her."
"Yes, he does. But as long as I've known him, he's taken in strays that didn't have homes or couldn't care for themselves."
"But you don't think he feels something more for her?” Rae used her position as Steve's current love interest to her own advantage.
"No! There's never been anything like that between them! Both of them cared too much about David to hurt him that way. Excuse me while I call the doctor. You'd better change your clothes and get warm before I'm calling him for you!"
Rae smiled at her. “Thanks. Now that I know she's safe, I'll do that."
"I'm so sorry, honey.” Rae heard Sharin say as Steve got closer to the house.
Steve cradled her carefully in his arms. “Let's get you back inside."
"I love my daughter.” Sharin was sobbing. “I know you probably don't believe me. But I love her."
"I believe you.” Steve tried to wipe the rain from his face.
"I love you, too.” Sharin snuggled close to him. “I really love you, Steve."
"I know. I love you, too."
"But I'm not enough for you, am I?” She slapped his face. “I hate you."
Rae looked away, trying not to be part of the tableau between them. It was pathetic to see this woman so far down in her life. I was that low too.
Steve carried Sharin into the house and up the stairs to her room. Rae went up after them. She steered clear of both of their rooms. She heard enough that night in Steve's room to know that he and Sharin were lovers. If not now, then at some point. You and I have been good together, honey.
Rae climbed into a hot shower, gladly relinquishing her cold, wet clothes. As the water pummeled her tired body, she tried to put another piece of the puzzle together. The brothers had a falling out before David's accident. What if Steve and Sharin had an affair before David died and David found out about it?
But why would Sharin try to convince everyone that Steve was personally responsible for Bryce's kidnapping? Her statements were specific. They weren't simply drunken accusations. Her subsequent actions made them less valid but it made Rae pause and think.
Steve was very open about everything Sharin accused him of. He didn't seem to be hiding anything. Except for that small schism she felt when David's name was mentioned. It would be nice to get an answer. But it would have to be from someone not jumbled into the personal quagmire of their lives.
Rae dried her hair and put on some warm black wool pants and a sweater. They smelled of lavender and home. She longed for a cup of sassafras tea to ward off the cold she could feel in her bones. Her hands were still icy. She couldn't get the chill out of her spine.
She didn't want to think that Steve was capable of the things Sharin accused him of. She wanted him to be a worried uncle who was dealing with kidnappers. But what if they were asking him to do something that wasn't really hurting him? She couldn't say that she knew enough about corporate finances to know one way or another.
She found her way to the kitchen. The cook pointed her towards the stash of sassafras Alabaster had laid in for her. Just the smell of it made her feel better. Cerise had always made her drink it as a child when spring was approaching. It threw off the ill humors of winter, Lessie said in her herb walks. Rae thought about the little mitten-shaped leaves on the plants they found in the swamp and along the railroad track. The orange roots were dried and ground up into a loose tea that made the hot water a deep burnt orange color.
"What's that you're drinking?” A short woman with a head full of red hair approached her. She was dressed expensively with large diamond studs in her ears.
"Sassafras,” Rae told her. “I have some extra if you'd like to try it."
"No, thanks. I'll stick with my martini. That way, I don't have to worry about germs.” She held out her hand. A large diamond ring sparkled on her finger. “I'm Edna Nurvin."
"I'm Rae Harris."
"Ahhhh!"
Rae sipped her tea and ignored what she knew Edna was thinking. “You've heard of me?"
Edna shrugged. “Sharin and I talk once in a while. She says you're the bimbo du jour for this month."
"I thought so."
"Don't let it bother you, kiddo! Even Steve will settle down someday. It might as well be with you, huh?"
Stan and Edna Nurvin will take over the company. “You're here because of Steve's announcement?"
Edna's blue eyes narrowed. “Did Steve give you some stock?"
"No. But I heard he's stepping down as CEO of Solutions
.” Rae had no trouble sounding like a confused bimbo.
"That's right. My husband, Stan and I, are major stockholders. Given the climate of what's been happening to Solutions, I think it's a wise move."
Rae bit her lip and played with her hair. “Does that mean he won't have any m-o-n-e-y?"
Edna looked disappointed. “No, you don't have to worry. He'll have plenty of money. He'll still have stock in the company. After the buy-out and merger, he'll have even more money. We're his biggest competitors."
"I see you've met.” Steve joined them as they were talking. He put his arm around Rae and looked lovingly into her face. “Isn't she something, Edna?"
Chapter Ten
The whole process of resigning as CEO of Solutions took less than an hour. Rae watched as Steve smoothly told the world what he was doing without a hint of the reason behind it. She stood in the back of the room that was full of reporters with cameras and microphones. Edna and Stan stood beside her until it was over; then they closeted themselves with Steve for another hour.
Rae went upstairs to her room. She sat in the chair by the window and tried to meditate. It would be good to feel any sense of balance in the whirling mass of her conflicting emotions.
A knock at her door brought her back. It was Steve. “Rae?"
"Come in."
He walked into the room and closed the door after him. “Edna said I should marry you and get a decent job."
"I like Edna."
"But did you—?” He wasn't sure how to ask. “Did you get anything from her? See anything?"
"No. Nothing about Bryce anyway. Edna loves her husband. I think they believe that you're lost. And they want to help you."
"Me?"
"You've been doing strange things with the company. Things that don't make sense. They think you're more affected by David's death than you let on. Solutions is too good to let go down the drain. They want to save it."
Steve laughed. “Save it, huh? They won't know where to start to run my company!"
