Wrapped In Shadows

by Eugene, Lisa

  Josh tilted his head, regarding me curiously.

  “Migraine?”

  I nodded. Josh knew I suffered from them periodically.

  Immediately he reached out to me, drawing me back against his solid chest.

  “You should be resting. It will only get worse if you don’t.”

  I started shaking my head. I had items I needed to drop off at a neighborhood school for a fair they were having.

  “I can’t. I have errands,” I said into his chest.

  His fingers came up to gently massage my temples and I melted into him. He always knew what to do when the headaches came. There’d been many times over the years when he’d stayed with me and nursed me to health.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of your errands. Let’s get you home.” He stamped a kiss on my forehead while his fingers moved in a slow circular motion.

  “Okay,” I relented, the touch gentle and soothing. I looked up. “As long as you promise not to talk about the wedding. I can’t deal with that right now.”

  His cell phone went off and he fished it out of his pocket. I watched him silence it and shove it back into his coat.

  “I’ll be on my best behavior. Promise. Let me take care of you, babe.”

  *************************

  Luke

  I clicked off my cell phone and swore. Where the hell was Wilkinson? He’d finished up with his client hours ago and should have been back to the office by now. And now the loafer wasn’t even answering his fucking cell phone. I’d about had it with Josh. If not for the arrangement I’d made with his father, he’d have been gone a long time ago. I made a mental note to give Matt Wilkinson a call. Matt and I had become friends, and on occasion would meet for dinner whenever he was in town. The Wilkinson family owned the biggest corporate farm in Texas and not only serviced the US, but shipped many of their products internationally. Matt was always on the go, but when we met, I would give him periodic updates on his son. Josh had no idea about the arrangement. It had been a while since I’d seen Matt. Perhaps a meeting was warranted.

  I pocketed the phone and made my way down the hall. I poked my head into Michelle’s office.

  “You seen Wilkinson?” I asked, then chuckled when she wrinkled her nose. I knew there was no love lost between the two. Michelle had asked me never to put her on a team with Josh. Now that I knew Josh was engaged to her friend, I wondered at the animosity. Michelle was one of my best employees. She was great with clients, very organized, and dutiful with her projects. I wouldn’t be surprised if beneath her tight school-mistress bun, homely glasses, and conservative suits, she was a very different woman.

  “I heard about the Kotobuki account.” She looked up from her desk. “I’m sorry.”

  “I managed to get a meeting with him this afternoon. He’s been tough to get a hold of since the party. I’m hoping to salvage the account.”

  She frowned. “Do you think he’s concerned about the acquisition?”

  “I’m sure he did his homework, but it wouldn’t affect our dealings with him. Besides, with ACE we’ll have more resources at our disposal. It would only benefit him.”

  Davenport PR was in the final stages of acquiring a competing PR company. I knew the move would only strengthen my presence in the industry.

  I took a step into the office and leaned my back against the door jamb, wondering how I could glean the information I wanted without being too obvious.

  “Did you and your friends enjoy the party?”

  Michelle nodded, pushing up her glasses. She seemed to be recollecting the event. “Yeah, Eddie had a great time. My other friend left early, though.”

  I let an eyebrow slide up slowly. “Oh?”

  “Kay, you met her at the office about a week and a half ago.”

  She didn’t know.

  “Oh, yes! The blonde who’s engaged to Wilkinson.” I hated the way the words tasted in my mouth.

  Michelle started to shake her head and I stood at attention, pushing off the door frame.

  “Was engaged,” she clarified, followed with a terse ‘thank God’ under her breath and I couldn’t help but smile. “No longer.”

  I wondered what the appropriate response should be. It surely wasn’t the fist-pump and chest-beating I so desperately wanted to execute. Instead I cleared my throat and coughed into my hand. “I see.”

  I waited to see if she’d say more, but she veered to another topic and I couldn’t find a way to detour her back to the conversation that was causing something like hope to stretch languidly and awaken in me. I barely followed what she said as she updated me on a product launch she’d been working on. I let myself digest the new information and cautiously allowed hope to crawl from the cave it was buried in. It opened its eyes, looked around, and liked what it saw.

  Just then Bruce spotted me and strolled into the office. “Ready to go?”

  I nodded. Bruce was accompanying me to the meeting with Mr. Kotobuki. Bruce was a good friend as well as my employee. He had a lot of connections in the business and was someone I could always count on. We’d grown up together in the same Long Island neighborhood and I’d practically begged him to join the company.

  “I just got off the phone with Mr. Kotobuki’s assistant. I found out why he’s been so elusive.”

  “Why?” I frowned, concerned by the look on Bruce’s face.

  “Turns out one of the women at his party wandered off in a drunken stupor and made her way across some train tracks. She was killed.”

  “Oh, God! Anyone we know?” Michelle gasped.

  “No. I think I remember her at the party, though. She was a thin, pretty blonde. Really wasted. It’s a shame,” he said gravely. “So Mr. Kotobuki has been busy with the police.”

  I couldn’t help thinking about Katie wandering around in the dark that night, and was glad I’d insisted on seeing her safely home.

  The next morning, I stood in my living room smiling as I watched Livy perform a series of pirouettes followed by a cabriole. Her tiny five year old legs awkwardly attempted the complex maneuvers, but she kept her head high and her neck arched like a Bolshoi ballerina. She landed not so gracefully on the carpet and her large brown eyes turned up expectantly to me.

  “Well, Dada?”

  I applauded and beamed. “Perfect, darling!”

  “Will I be ready?”

  “Absolutely.” I nodded enthusiastically. Livy’s ballet recital was in a few weeks and she practiced diligently each morning. “I’m worried about one thing, though…”

  She frowned and I bent down to ruffle her wild dark curls. “I’m worried you might steal the show!”

  She threw her arms around my neck and grinned excitedly. I winked at Ms. Rogers, our middle-aged nanny, who was on the other side of the room still applauding. Ms. Rogers smiled and gave me two thumbs up.

  “Okay, it’s time for the ballerina to take her bath.” Ms. Rogers strolled over and scooped Livy up, causing her to giggle and squirm.

  “No bath! I wanna dance more! I balinina!” she screeched.

  “Take your bath now and later you can dance more, okay? You can even put on your new pink tutu!” I said.

  Livy’s eyes rounded and she smiled happily. I shook my head. Everything was a negotiation. Things were so much easier when she was younger. I often wondered what Roslyn would think of our feisty five year old. Her time with Livy had been short, barely a year. The thought caused a dull pain in my throat and I swallowed it down with cold coffee. A familiar sadness settled under my skin and my muscles tensed, trying to shake the feeling. I had my mug in one hand and the television remote in the other. Absently I flicked on the TV while watching Livy disappear down the hall, carried like a writhing sack of potatoes. I was just about to place my mug in the microwave when the sight of the person on the television froze my hand. My forehead crinkled in disbelief as I pumped up the volume. I listened in shock as the interview with the platinum haired beauty ensued.

  Katherine Regina Vand
ercamp! Heiress to the Vandercamp fortune. Head of the Vandercamp Foundation. Holy shit! I’d heard her name before, but had never seen her. I went out of my way to avoid the socialites, and on the rare occasion that I dated, I was usually set up by some do-goody match-maker who was either trying to find a mother for Livy, or determined to pluck me from the evil clutches of bachelorhood. So it wasn’t an event that occurred often. This woman held many surprises. I’d wondered vaguely about the lavish building where I’d dropped her off. No wonder she’d asked me to keep our encounter a secret. If her extracurricular activities became public knowledge, it would be scandalous.

  I stared at the television set, watching as Katie smiled sweetly and charmed the host, who I knew well through my business. She expertly dodged questions about her upcoming wedding, leaving me confused. She talked enthusiastically about her charities without the pleading desperation or the loaded guilt I’d seen some others employ to get funding. There was something about her that drew people in, that made you trust what she was saying and spurred you to action. She was passionate about her causes…and so damn beautiful I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the television.

  I was so engrossed in what was happening on screen that I didn’t notice Livy run back into the room until she had her arms wrapped snugly around my legs. I hoisted her onto the granite counter top that enclosed the kitchen area, her pink tulle ruffling like petals around her tiny legs. An idea sprouted and I tapped a finger against my lips as it ripened to full bloom.

  “You know how we’re always talking about giving away some of your toys?”

  Livy bobbed her head, clutching Annie tighter to her chest. Her big, brown eyes stared up at me.

  “Not Annie, but the other stuffed animals and toys you never play with.”

  “My babies?”

  I smiled. All her toys were her babies and she was the mommy.

  “Yes. Your babies.”

  “To kids who don’t have none?”

  “Exactly. How about we bundle them up? I know where we can take them so they’ll have great homes and new mommies.”

  I smiled when Livy’s face lit up. I hugged her and lifted her off the counter, watching as she scurried to her room to get the collection together.

  I took a sip of my cold coffee and eyed the screen. “Let’s see if Ms. Vandercamp graciously accepts our charity.”

  *************************

  Katie

  I hung up the phone with my broker and jotted some notes on the pad on my desk. The one bedroom apartment in the pre-war building turned out to be too small. I didn’t own much furniture, but the few pieces I did have would never fit into the tight space. I had an appointment to see a two bedroom in a remodeled brownstone in a few days and was more optimistic about that prospect. I wasn’t really in a hurry to move, but with the mounting stress I felt under lately, I knew I’d think more clearly if I finally severed some of the constricting tethers to my family. My parents had keys to the penthouse, and though they were rarely in the city, it still never felt like my own place. They had furnished it in their own taste and style, which was impressive in its elegance but again didn’t reflect my uniqueness.

  My thoughts strayed to my time with Josh. He’d been on his best behavior. Charming and sweetly obsequious. He’d taken me home and put me to bed after pulling all the shades and making sure it was dark and quiet. He’d made sure I took my medication, and had sat with me, massaging my temples and putting cold compresses on my forehead.

  We’d talked quietly without mentioning the wedding, and for that I’d been grateful. The holidays were indeed tough for him. Since he barely spoke to his father or brother, he usually spent it with my family. He’d shared some childhood memories of his mother, and I felt honored that he let me into that special part of his life. Our conversation flowed easily and it reminded me of when we’d first started dating. After I’d fallen asleep, he’d run my errands and then returned to make sure I was okay. I sighed. Still conflicted about Josh. Our time yesterday had reminded me of why I loved him and what a great guy he could be.

  Could I have been wrong about him and Carol?

  A knock on my office door pulled me from my thoughts and Cindy, one of my employees, poked her head in.

  Cindy was a shy nineteen year-old who I’d found on the streets. Literally. When I met her three years ago, she’d been living in a cardboard box on Lexington Avenue. I had tried to convince her to go to a shelter, but Cindy had refused. She’d been willing to brave it on the streets of New York City. I would visit her occasionally and sit and talk with her on the sidewalk. Then one day Cindy had just disappeared. Like so many, it seemed she’d been swallowed up by the vast, unforgiving city. A few months later, I got a call from the police that Cindy had been arrested for shop-lifting from a department store. I had given Cindy a card from the foundation and she’d called.

  Just sixteen at the time, she’d been scared out of her mind. I was able to convince the department store to drop the charges, but Cindy was tossed into the city’s social system and unhappily jumped from one foster home to another. We kept in touch, and I hired her a year ago. Cindy had once confessed that she was a runaway, but beyond that, never discussed her past. I respected her privacy like I did all my employees. I had to admit to a soft spot for Cindy. There were many things about this lost girl that reminded me of myself.

  “Busy?”

  “No. Sit.” I smiled.

  I watched the willowy girl perch at the end of a chair and wring her hands.

  “I was wondering if I could have some time off for Christmas. Just a few days. I’m sorry, I know it’s short notice…and with the autism event and all…”

  I contemplated the request. Cindy never asked for time off around the holidays. In fact, since she was alone, she always worked extra days so others could have off with their families.

  “Of course.”

  Cindy looked up, her big brown eyes guarded. “I…I’m thinking of going home.”

  I couldn’t hide my surprise. I smiled slightly. I tried to read Cindy, but couldn’t tell much from her bland expression. I prayed that things would work out for her, but knew there’d been a reason she’d run away in the first place. That had been many years ago, though, and maybe things would be different now and the reunion would be a happy one.

  “Wow. I know it’s a big deal.”

  Cindy nodded and exhaled a deep breath. “It’s been a long time.”

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do. You can take as much time off as you need,” I said slowly, wanting to make a point. “Always know that there’s a place here for you.”

  Cindy came around the desk and hugged me tightly. “Thank you.”

  As I pulled away, I realized there were tears in Cindy’s eyes. I myself was trying hard not to sniffle when Alice walked into the office.

  “Oh, for God’s sake! What’s with the love fest? Do I need to call Oprah?” she teased with a grin, causing Cindy to smirk playfully before scooting away.

  Alice shook her head and rolled her eyes, but I knew she was still teasing. Alice wasn’t much older than my own twenty-five years, but a tough life had sketched at least a decade of trauma on her face. She had a jagged scar on one cheek that had been engraved by an abusive boyfriend. It always amazed me that someone who’d had so much taken away could have anything left in her heart to give.

  “The Plaza has donated a free one night stay toward the autism event!” she beamed. “I think that will be a big ticket item.”

  “That’s very generous of them.”

  “Should we add that prize to the raffle tickets? They’re still at the printers.”

  “Great idea. There should still be time.”

  Alice gave me a crooked smile and left the office. “I’m sure having your wedding reception there has something to do with their sudden generosity.”

  My head shot up and I frowned at her words. I started to chase after Alice. The last thing I wanted was to have a donation cont
ingent on an expectation…one I might not be able to fulfill.

  Alice had almost reached her desk when my voice stopped her, causing her to pivot.

  “What’s the matter?”

  I stood in my doorway, my mouth hanging open with my words dangling from the tip of my tongue. My gaze moved from Alice to alight on the tall, handsome figure looming behind her. Luke Davenport was talking to Vicki, and Vicki was practically swooning, batting her lashes like a pro-hitter.

  At that moment, he turned toward me and I felt all the air leave my lungs. The full force of his gaze struck like a bolt of sizzling hot lightning. Trying to assemble some sort of cogent sentence structure, I uttered an embarrassing series of primitive grunts.

  Vicki looked from Luke to me, then her head twisted back to Luke and a smile split her face. Alice too, obviously not used to seeing her boss so flabbergasted, grinned widely and cocked her brows.

  The corner of Luke’s mouth kicked up and I felt heat fill my cheeks.

  Speak! Say something before you make a total ass of yourself! Anything...like…you’re so fucking hot? No! No! No! Not that!

  Oddly enough, it was a little girl that saved me. An adorable princess in an explosion of pink tulle with a head full of springy, dark curls. Luke whispered something in the child’s ear and she skipped right over to me. She had big brown eyes rimmed with inky lashes I would kill for, and when she smiled a small dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth. I knew immediately she was Luke’s daughter. She was carrying a white plastic bag with an array of stuffed animals trying to escape from the top.

  “Hi, Dada said you’d give us a new mommy!” She beamed excitedly.

  I looked up, bewildered. Luke’s lips tilted again in an enigmatic smile.

  “New mommies for her stuffed animals,” he clarified with an apologetic smile. “This is my daughter, Livy.”

  “Olivia!” the little girl corrected, offering her hand like an adult.

  “Yes. Olivia. She’d like to donate them.”

  I shook the cobwebs from my brain and bent low, shaking her hand. “Of course! That’s very generous of you, Olivia. And, must I say, you are a beautiful princess.”