by C. C. Gibbs
‘I remember. Hi,’ Kate said, taking in her dressed-to-the-teeth competition. No way Charlie was here on business.
Charlie’s gaze targeted the cuff bracelets and her hello was frosty. ‘Working out, I see,’ she said with equal chill.
‘Not much.’ Kate took Dominic’s outstretched hand and sat on his lap. ‘I’m allergic to exercise.’
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. Dominic’s newest slut looked fresh as a daisy in shorts and a T-shirt, without a speck of make-up. Surely those boobs were silicone. No way they were real. The bitch wasn’t even wearing a bra. ‘I have a personal trainer. Actually, a celebrity trainer,’ Charlie added with the kind of hauteur only seen on the stage. ‘He flies up from LA twice a week.’
Fuck it. She was allowed. ‘Dominic’s been helping me out,’ Kate said, smiling a little, shy smile. ‘It’s so sweet of him.’
Dominic was tempted to laugh at Katherine’s performance art. And he might have if Charlie wasn’t breathing fire. ‘Here, baby,’ he said quickly, stepping in to diffuse the situation. ‘Take a look at the compensation report from the NGO.’ He held it out. ‘You know accounting better than I do.’
Then Dominic asked Charlie a few more questions with no better results in terms of useful answers, and went back to his reading.
When Kate flipped over a page and her bracelet’s diamond clasp caught the light, Charlie’s mouth pursed, her eyes narrowed to hot slits and she quickly debated the danger in speaking her mind. No fool, Charlie made her voice saccharine sweet when she looked at Kate and said, ‘What lovely bracelets. Such an unusual design. Did you get them here?’
Dominic didn’t speak up in the event Katherine preferred her own explanation. The bracelets weren’t overtly sexual – the wide gold bands simple enough, the diamond clasps could have been costume jewellery. Although two of them were perhaps more suggestive than one would have been.
‘Dominic found them somewhere.’ Kate half turned to smile at him. ‘Did you get them here?’
‘My jeweller had them made.’
The office suddenly went silent.
Charlie came to her feet in an indignant surge. ‘Why don’t I just leave the report with you, Dominic. It seems I’m interrupting.’
‘I’ll send the report back when I’m finished,’ Dominic said with his usual air of unflappability.
‘Just keep it.’ Charlie’s spine was rigid, each word chafing with affront. ‘We have a stack at the office.’
‘Very well.’ Lifting Kate from his lap, Dominic set her on her feet, moved to the door and shouted for Patty. ‘Patty will show you out,’ he said, turning back and stepping aside to let Charlie flounce past.
A few moments later when Patty’s voice grew faint, Kate glanced at Dominic who was still standing at the door. ‘Does Charlie do that often? Bring reports to your home?’
‘Never.’ He walked over to the sofa and dropped into a sprawl. The sofa, like so much of the furniture in the house, was comfortable and well used, the wide-wale corduroy, once a deep forest green, now slightly faded from the sun. ‘That was pretty fucking transparent.’
‘You were remarkably polite.’
He sighed. ‘I don’t like scenes. And I had no intention of having her stay long. Thanks, by the way, for coming in. I appreciate it.’
‘I wonder how early in the morning she had to get up to put on all that make-up.’
Dominic smiled. ‘Meow.’
‘I don’t care. I’d never do what she did. Barge in like that.’
‘You don’t have to, baby. Men come after you. Although I’ve put up the electric fence in our contract. You’re off limits now.’
‘I’ll have to let Charlie know you’re out of circulation too.’
‘Be my guest. It’ll save me grief.’
‘Speaking of grief.’ Kate tapped the report with her index finger. ‘I don’t know if I should mention something that’s none of my business …’
He smiled. ‘Since when have you been afraid to speak up?’
‘This is different. It really is none of my business.’
He shoved himself up against the sofa arm. ‘Forget the build-up. Just tell me.’
‘I know you pay your employees well, but the compensation packages for Charlie and her assistant are really way above the norm for those positions. I see a lot of pay plans in my business. Those are premium ones. Especially compared to other managers at Julia’s NGO. I don’t want to make trouble. I’m just saying.’
‘I don’t actually oversee the NGO. Roscoe would know who audits the accounts.’ He smiled faintly. ‘Melanie told me last night I should fire Charlie. I wonder if she knows something I don’t. I thought she was just talking about Charlie’s blatant pursuit, but …’ He shrugged.
‘I’m not saying you can’t afford to throw that money away. You can. But personally, I’d wonder how much it pisses off your other managers. Ones that actually know what they’re doing.’ She set the report on the table.
‘She couldn’t answer a single question, could she?’
‘Not even half a one.’
He grinned. ‘You want a job?’
‘Oh, yeah. I’m just dying to work for you.’
‘One of these days, baby, I’m going to change your mind.’
‘You can change my clothes for me if you want,’ she said with a grin, rising from her chair. ‘I’m going to take a shower.’
‘I’ll help you.’
‘You just took a shower.’
‘Hey, cleanliness is next to godliness.’
‘How the hell would you know that?’
‘I read.’
‘Not spiritual sermons.’
‘Should I?’
‘It’s too late for you.’
‘That’s what I was thinking. But I could wash your hair for you. How about that?’
She lifted her T-shirt up and grinned. ‘How about washing something else.’ Then she dropped her shirt, turned and ran.
He caught her halfway up the stairs and swept her up into his arms. ‘You can’t get away, baby. Don’t even try.’
He was very good at washing hair.
Really excellent.
She almost wanted to ask him where he’d learned to be so gentle, but she thought she might not want to know.
CHAPTER 23
The next few days were perfect, in the same way Ovid’s two-thousand-year-old love poetry was perfect – because he was clever enough to define the indefinable.
Dominic and Kate played chess with the children several times. Once, they ate lunch at Lucia, taking the armoured limo and going in through the back door, although Kate was unaware of the calculated vigilance. And one afternoon, under the same discreet guard, Dominic took Kate to visit Gretchen and then to Tosca Café to sample one of his favourite drinks. They were shown into a back room by the owner, whom Dominic knew, and they drank the house cappuccino, a Prohibition-era brew of chocolate, brandy and steamed milk. On Melanie’s recommendation, Dominic had the de Young Museum stay open late one evening so Kate could see Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring in private. As a major donor, his request was granted without hesitation. And after witnessing Kate’s ecstatic oohs and aahs as she stood before the small, pristine, almost virginal painting, he was pleased he’d made the effort.
But they mostly stayed in, spending the majority of their time in Dominic’s bedroom, coming out on occasion to eat, use the gym, or sit outside on the rooftop deck with its spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge. On those fleeting occasions, Patty would summon the staff from next door to quickly clean Dominic’s bedroom and bathroom, change sheets and towels, pick up in general and in particular wash the used sex toys.
Kate had timidly inquired who exactly was in charge of that task the first time they’d returned to the room and she’d seen the tidy display all neatly lined up on the bathroom counter.
‘Patty’s in charge of the house, the cleaning people, the yard men, the billing and deliveries. I don’t ask. That stuff
all looks clean, right?’ Dominic casually remarked. ‘Patty’s more of a stickler for hygiene than anyone. She uses organic everything so we’re safe there. You can eat off the floor, she always proudly tells me. So I think the toys are equally wholesome.’
A lifted brow. ‘Wholesome?’
He grinned. ‘And yet your qualms never last for long, do they, baby?’
‘You’re shamefully good at corrupting me,’ she murmured.
‘It’s not corruption if you’re having fun,’ he drawled lazily. ‘And I’ll always make sure you’re having fun.’ He tipped his head. ‘So pick out something.’
Her question answered with Dominic’s habitual disregard for the duties of his staff, Kate followed his suggestion and made a selection. He might not know how the toys came to be arranged and organized so systematically in the bathroom, but he certainly knew how to use them.
*
The next day, when Kate was discussing a recipe with Patty, Dominic took the opportunity to shut himself in his office and give Justin a call.
‘I may hang up abruptly if Katherine walks in,’ he warned. ‘Have you found anything?’
‘When money’s no object it’s not a problem.’
‘Good. Where?’
‘Upper Belgrave Street. A nice two-bedroom flat. Five and a half mil.’
‘It’s settled?’
‘Someone in your office here will sign the papers this afternoon. And the account for Amanda has been set up.’
‘Good. Roscoe said he’d take care of it. You sure Amanda doesn’t mind helping?’
‘She’s in shopping heaven as we speak.’
‘Give her a kiss from me. Although, tell Amanda if anything needs painting or new carpeting has to be fitted, it has to be environmentally responsible: no chemicals, no toxicity. Same with the furniture. All natural finishes, fabrics. Katherine’s not a large woman. She can’t absorb the same quantities of toxins as someone my size.’
‘Sounds as though you’d like Katherine wrapped in cotton wool and put in a glass box.’
‘If only I could,’ Dominic said drily. ‘So,’ he added briskly, ‘can you have this done by Saturday? We fly in either late Saturday night or Sunday.’
There was always only one answer for Dominic Knight. ‘Sure, no problem,’ Justin said. ‘We’ll have it ready.’
‘Thanks,’ Dominic said. ‘We’ll see you this weekend. By the way, we haven’t met. You’re just a magnanimous manager from CX Capital helping out a new contractor. You can cover your ass on that, right?’
‘Not a problem. I’m a little like you, Nick. I make my own rules.’
Dominic laughed. ‘Glad to hear it. Ciao.’
Then he made a quick call to Leo.
‘I was wondering when I’d hear from you,’ Leo remarked.
‘Life’s busy when you’re on vacation,’ Dominic said, the smile in his voice palpable.
‘Sounds like it. Everything’s going well then?’
‘Yes, very. We fly out Saturday, though, Sunday at the latest. I’d prefer Saturday. We’ll firm up the departure time later. And tell Sese I’m going to need him in London. I’m hoping to talk Katherine into having him serve as her live-in cook. That way there’s someone on the inside as well as your crews outside. A little extra security. And Yash better come along too. Just in case.’
‘I’ll tell them. Sese’s at his relatives’ in the Central Valley; Yash is attending some seminar. I’ll see that they’re back by Friday night.’
‘How did things go with Tan?’
‘Everything went well. They’re all gone.’
‘You’re not saying Gora’s goon squad flew back to Bucharest?’
‘No.’
‘No repercussions?’
‘Only in Bucharest I expect. It should help your negotiations,’ Leo added.
‘Maybe. Gora will run out of guns before he runs out of muscle. But it might make him question his tactics. Tan and his relatives are fine?’
‘Everyone’s fine.’
‘I don’t suppose—’
‘You don’t want to know. I don’t want to know. Tan sees it as doing you a favour and it’s not as though Gora’s men had flown in from Bucharest for a vacation.’
‘Right. Thanks for the update. Gotta go.’ He set down the phone and smiled at Kate who was standing in the doorway of his office. ‘I was talking to Leo. I think we’ll leave on Saturday unless it matters to you. Did you get the recipe you wanted?’
Kate lifted a recipe card she was holding.
‘Come here. Show me. Is it something I’d like?’
‘As if you care about cooking,’ Kate said with a smile, moving towards him.
‘Hey, I care about what you care about.’ He swung his chair a half-turn and lifted his arms as she approached. ‘Are you going to cook for me?’ He drew her down onto his lap.
‘Maybe.’ She gave him a smile. ‘It’s your rice pudding.’
‘Score.’ He lightly kissed her cheek. ‘I’ll even help with that. Although,’ he added, keeping his voice deliberately bland, ‘I was thinking you might like Sese to stay with you and cook. You really don’t know your way around a kitchen. You like to work long hours or at least you did in Amsterdam – in Singapore too, according to Johnny Chen. When you’re pushing yourself that hard, you need nourishing meals. And Sese will stay out of your way.’
‘Tempting, but I can’t imagine this apartment is very big.’
‘Let’s wait and see.’ The word tempting was a good sign. She wasn’t adamantly opposed. And he knew a two-bedroom for five mil had some decent-sized rooms.
Their remaining days were nothing but sunshine and roses, rainbows and bluebirds, unalloyed pleasure, luxurious and momentous. Dominic made sure of that. Whatever Kate wanted, he gave her.
Kate had told herself that first night in Singapore that whatever time she had with Dominic she wouldn’t spoil by thinking about the future. And, by and large, she was able to deal with her emotions in a practical way. She was incredibly happy most of the time – actually, fantastically happy. Only occasionally, late at night, she’d wake up terrified, her heart pounding, afraid she’d lost him. But a second later, she’d feel Dominic beside her, or holding her close, and her panic would subside.
For his part, Dominic was feeling a rare tension. He was generally nerveless. But with Katherine’s safety at issue, with them both in the crosshairs of Gora’s relatives, considerably more was at stake. Katherine had already been targeted in Singapore, Gora’s men in place before he’d arrived. So he wasn’t just gambling with his life, which had been curiously easy to view as disposable for years. Living held more purpose now. Since meeting Katherine, he felt as though he had a future, perhaps even a good one. And he was unprepared to lose either her or that future.
Although on a purely tactical level, Gora was the problem. He was a loose cannon at the best of times, conditionally in thrall to his wife’s mafiosa family organization. Defiantly independent on the surface. None of which offered a predictable outcome to the meeting on Tuesday.
Money usually worked as leverage, but not always.
There were too many players at the table this time.
And some of them were invisible.
CHAPTER 24
Dominic’s private plane landed in London Saturday afternoon at five.
Kate had received a text with the address of the sublet apartment the day before. Justin had offered to meet her there and give her a tour; he was waiting when they reached the flat. Along with Max.
Justin introduced himself to Kate and Dominic and while he showed Kate the flat, Dominic and Max quickly reviewed their plans for Tuesday and arranged to meet at the airport Monday afternoon. Then Max left and Dominic caught up with Justin and Kate in the sleek, stainless-steel kitchen.
‘Nice,’ Dominic said. ‘I like it.’
‘It’s intimidating for a non-cook,’ Kate said, viewing the handle-less cabinets that soared up to the high ceiling, the large, brilliant blue Aga
stove and larger refrigerator. The three sinks and sizeable wine cooler. ‘But I’ll manage. There’s always take-out and pizza.’
‘Why not let Sese take charge?’ Dominic suggested. ‘You won’t even have to come into the kitchen. And with your punishing work schedule I doubt you’ll have time.’ Dominic turned to Justin. ‘Katherine has a work ethic on steroids. CX Capital is lucky to have her.’
‘So I’ve heard,’ Justin replied with a well-mannered smile. ‘We’re looking forward to her help.’
Dominic glanced at Sese who’d come in behind him. ‘What do you think, baby? Care to see if Sese can help you out? At least until you get settled in. Your first week or so at work could be hectic.’
‘I don’t know.’ She hesitated. ‘Would I be imposing? Sese probably has better things to do.’
‘Why don’t you ask him?’ Dominic smiled. ‘Although keep in mind Sese cooks for a living.’
‘Divinely as a matter of fact.’ Kate smiled at the huge mountain of a man standing beside Dominic. Their meals on the plane had been crazy good. ‘Would you mind helping me out, Sese? It wouldn’t be for long. Just until my schedule … I don’t know … falls into place.’
Sese dipped his head. ‘Sure. No problem.’
‘OK.’ Kate took a small breath. It was her first experience with something so grand as a live-in cook. ‘I don’t have a clue how this works.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ A flashing smile. ‘I’ve been doing this a while.’
‘Great.’ She exhaled. ‘And I can pay for this,’ she added, turning to Dominic. ‘So don’t even think about it.’
‘Perfect. It’s settled then.’ He glanced at Sese. ‘Here’s your new domain. Starting Monday.’ Dominic shot a look at Justin. ‘Is there a cafeteria in the headquarters building or does Sese have to bring in food when Katherine’s working late?’
‘People generally go out to eat.’
Dominic put his arm around Kate and pulled her close. ‘Sese will see that you have food. Sometimes you forget to eat when you’re working. Now, do you have any questions for Justin?’
‘How far is the office?’
