“Hey Tara, what are you doing this evening?”
“Excuse me, I’m busy.” She tried to push past him but found herself trapped between the table and his body.
“You didn’t have to call hotel security you know.”
“Yes, I did. You don’t seem to understand what ‘no’ means.”
“I do. But you don’t mean ‘no’.”
“You know what? Fuck you.” She braced her hands on his shoulders and drove her knee up between his legs.
He dropped.
“Next time I call the cops.” She hurried past him as he was staggering to his feet. She grabed her purse and fled to the lobby.
* * *
Remy and Daniel settled in along one side of the square of tables with their notes from home. Both had been hit by severe tropical storms and hurricanes in the last few years so it only made sense for them to attend a session on natural disasters. There were other Chiefs from the regional areas and some from the mountains where the forest fires had been a problem and a few from the flood plains, including two from Manitoba.
They were just about to start when the door opened and one last attendee stepped in. “You don’t mind if I join you?” Charles asked.
“Of course not,” the moderator replied. “Grab an extra chair from the corner.”
Remy’s heart started pounding. Winters could be hard in Boston, he knew, but did it really warrant Charles being in this session? And why had Charles changed his morning session too? Does he suspect something? Was he listening at the door earlier? Did he catch Tara this morning?
There was no time to worry about it now. Charles or no Charles, this was an important session.
* * *
Remy had dinner with Daniel and Marnie while Tara had dinner with her father. He picked at his food and tried to pay attention to the conversation. Staring at his food was best. If he looked up, he always looked across the room to where Tara was sitting, and more than once Charles had been looking in his direction when that happened. For the most part Daniel was filling Marnie in on their afternoon session.
Charles had actually raised some good points about the severe snow levels and the danger of being trapped at home over a full moon. They’d discussed early evacuation procedures and securing a safe zone for each clan as well as emotional stressers and how to avoid unwanted shifting during emergency situations.
“What are you doing this evening?” Daniel asked. “They’ve got me in a session about mental health and werebears. Apparently I’m not the only one who has raised concerns about dementia.”
“Hmm,” Remy said. “I’m sitting through one of the urban sessions – you know, safe shifting practices, what we can do to improve security and discretion, that sort of thing.”
“I do one of those tomorrow,” Daniel said.
“I don’t have a session tonight,” Marnie said. “But all the female Chiefs are getting together for our own, unofficial meeting.”
Remy rolled his eyes. “They’re planning on taking over,” he said.
“Be better than all these old, rich, arrogant men being in control,” Marnie replied, only half joking.
“You’re scarier,” he replied.
“You’d stay out of trouble.”
“If I had to deal with you after, yes, yes I would. You’re worse than my mother.”
“Take that as a compliment,” Daniel said.
“Believe me, I do.”
Across the room, conversation at Tara and Charles’ table was thinner and much more one-sided but at least she was having more success keeping her gaze away from Remy.
“You seem quiet this evening,” Charles said, leaving off his stream of chatter to stare at his daughter.
“Oh, just tired I guess. It’s been a long week and I was busy with the volunteers all afternoon.”
“So this has nothing to do with Dimitri?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”
“He came to the Council while I was chatting with them, complaining that a young woman had assaulted him.”
“Shit.”
“Ah. So you do know something about it.”
“He cornered me. He was angry that I’d called hotel security to make him leave me alone the other day. I defended myself. And I’ll explain all that to the Council.”
“There’s no need. A young man who works for the hotel happened to be nearby and explained how he rescued a young woman from Dimitri the other day. He admitted that he might be overreacting, apologized for wasting the Council’s time, and left.”
“But you’re still mad at me.”
“I am simply having difficulties understanding.”
“I see. How did the session on business security go?”
“I didn’t go.”
“Oh?”
“With the recent difficult winters we’ve had in Boston, I decided to go to the session on natural disasters and such. It was very informative. We discussed what to do with the clan in case of emergency evacuations, or if we were in any sort of weather-caused lock-down situation.”
“So snowed in or burned out?”
“Right.”
“Seems like good things to know, but you were looking forward to networking at the business meeting.”
“Don’t worry. There was someone at the afternoon session I very much wanted to spend time with.”
“Well, you should have told me about your change of plans. I only volunteered this afternoon because I had no interest in your business connections. I would have come with you.”
“Oh no, honey.” He put his hand over hers and smiled. “I didn’t want to bother you with a sudden change of plans. I managed just fine.”
“Okay,” she said, a little wary by his sudden good nature. “I’m glad to hear that.”
* * *
He’d been waiting all evening and yet the knock at the door still startled him. He swung his feet over the side of the bed as Tara let herself in with his spare key card. “Did I wake you?”
“No. I was starting to think you weren’t coming though.”
“He suspects something, I know it. He wouldn’t leave my side all evening.”
“He’s been following on my heels, too.”
“Damn. Then he suspects us.”
“Tara.” He opened his arms and she stepped into them. “It’ll be all right.” He kissed her forehead.
“I like it when you do that.”
“Come snuggle in with me. I think we’re both getting pretty stressed out.”
She nodded.
When they were both tucked in and snuggled in close, he said, “The conference is almost over.”
“I know.”
“I have to go home on Thursday. I’m a Chief. My clan hasn’t had any problems yet, but …”
“I know. I knew what I was getting into the first time I kissed you. Your clan needs you.”
“Tara, I need you.”
She kissed his cheek. “That’s sweet.”
“I know we talked a bit about the money already …”
“It would be a big change for me to leave my father. He pays for everything. And if I cross him in the process of leaving, he may write me out of his will. I may be the only child who shifted but I have siblings. The Brown name will live on without me and the fortune will stay in the family whether I get a piece of it or not. And my father is a master at twisting things to his advantage. By the time he’s done, my siblings and even my mother will likely hate me and believe I deserve to be written out of the will.”
“Do you really believe he’d do that because of me?”
“Yes. But maybe it’s time. I never agreed with him. Yeah, okay, I took the money, I took the credit card and the clothes, and maybe that makes me implicit in some way, but I don’t want to marry someone he’s going to pick out because he’s got these dreams of a dynasty. Shouldn’t the money and the gifts have been a sign of parental love? Not a way of controlling me?”
“If your father finds out …”
/>
“I think it’s just a matter of when now.”
“Tara, maybe it’s better he finds out after the conference, after you get home.”
“You don’t want me to come home with you?”
“I want that more than anything else in the world, except your safety and well-being is also important. If you go home with him you can pack up all your stuff, ship it to me, and then tell him.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. If I go home with you, he’ll sell my stuff. I could call my mom, see if she’d pack it and mail it tomorrow.”
“Would she do it without talking to your father?”
“No, not likely. I’m sorry I’m making this so difficult.”
“You’re not, your father is. And I already made the mistake of projecting his problems onto you once. I’m not doing that again.”
“It’ll be a small wedding I guess.”
“You can invite your family.”
“I don’t know how many will come. My father is a dictator.”
“We’ll still invite them.”
“Does that mean you’ll propose?”
“At some point. Let me find a ring and a romantic way to ask, okay?”
“As long as I know it’s a guarantee. I don’t want to lose all my stuff for a fling.”
“A fling?”
She giggled.
“Tara Brown, you’re a horrible person but I love you.”
“Good,” she said, yawning. “I love you, too.”
Wednesday
Remy’s alarm went off at the usual time. He rolled over to hit the button but his arm was stuck. He pulled his arm free, frowning, and shut the alarm off. Rolling back over he saw Tara on the other side of the bed, just beginning to stir. The sunlight poured in the window and spilled over the bed.
“Shit.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s morning.”
She sat up, suddenly wide awake and said, “Shit.”
She was out of bed so fast it made his head spin. She was muttering swears as she rounded up her shoes and sweater and purse. They’d fallen asleep dressed so at least she wasn’t scrambling around trying to find her underwear.
She looked at the clock and swore again. “This isn’t good.”
“You’ll be fine. I love you.”
“I love you, too. I’ll see you tonight.”
She had to go all the way across the promenade to the second set of elevators, then up to her room. The elevators crawled as she tapped her foot muttering, “Come on, come on.”
She got off the elevators and hurried down the hall. She could see her door now. “Just a little further.” She pulled out her card and grabbed her handle. She put the card over the reader, waiting for it to click.
Instead the door beside hers clicked open. “Tara. You’re up early.”
“Dad.”
“Is everything all right? You look out of breath.”
“Fine. I need to get ready.”
She pulled on down on the handle, pushed on the door, and walked into the door, which had not opened. She frowned and put the card against the reader again, thinking it had timed out but there was no click and the light on the lock stayed red.
“Something wrong?” her father said.
“My card isn’t working.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I have a spare.” He pulled a card from his back pocket and pressed it against her door. The door clicked and he opened it for her with a smile.
“Thanks.” She tucked the card back in her purse. “I’ll go down to the desk and get that sorted out after I get dressed.”
He followed her into the room saying, “So where were you so early?”
“Oh, just stretching my legs, you know. Feeling restless and …”
They both stopped. The bed was made. Not just blankets tossed back into place to make it look halfway to tidy, but housecleaning staff professional made. They looked at each other for a long moment.
“Where were you really?” he said.
“I just slept on top of the blankets, is all,” she stammered.
“Tara, don’t lie to me. Where were you?”
She straightened, refusing to be intimidated by him. “I’m an adult. If I want to have a fling while I’m at the conference that’s my business, not yours. I don’t have to tell you where I was every second of the day or who I was with or if I slept in my own bed or someone else’s. You don’t have that right. Not as my father. Not as my Chief.”
“You know the rules, Tara. And as long as you’re under my roof …”
“I’m not under your roof! I’m in a fucking hotel. A hotel I didn’t want to come to, attending a conference I didn’t want to be involved with. So yes, I’m making the best of a situation I don’t even want to be in and there’s nothing you can do or say about it.”
“You came here on my dime. I paid for this room. I think that extends my rules to this situation.”
“Then maybe I’m tired of you paying for everything and controlling everything I do.”
“It’s too late for that now. The room is paid for. It’s my room as much as it is yours. Which puts you under my roof and my rules. Who were you with last night?”
“Fine, you want to know so badly? I was with Remy last night. And it’s not the first night, either. We’re in love, Dad, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. I’m going to the Council as soon as I’m dressed and I’m requesting a transfer.”
“Like hell you are. My daughter is not running off with a Chief who has harmed our family the way Remy and his father have. I forbid it.”
“You can’t stop it.”
“Give me your key card.”
“Why?”
“You’re staying in this room until the end of the conference. Give me your card.”
She tasted his power in those last four words. Growling, she reached into her purse and handed him the key card without stopping to think.
“Your wallet too.”
“You can’t …”
“NOW.”
She threw it at him with a growl.
“You will stay here. If you leave you’ll have no money, no ID, and no way back into your room. And I will be instructing the front desk not to issue any extra cards for this room. We will discuss this at home. Until we leave for the airport, you will stay here.”
The entire rant was dripping with chiefs’ power. It was an order, an official order, one no sworn member of his clan could refuse.
There were tears streaming down her face but all she felt inside was anger. “I hate you.”
“Once you realize that I was right all along you’ll get over it.”
“Never. You’ll have to chain me up because the first chance I get I am running the hell away from you.”
“We’ll deal with that when we get home. I’ll be back for lunch.”
The door closed and she dropped to the bed, sobbing. A growl escaped her. She wanted to scream, to throw things. She grabbed her purse, digging for her phone, and coming up empty. She dumped her purse on the bed. Pens, makeup, an emergency pad, a small notebook, a pack of gum, and a key card tumbled over the comforter. The lip chap rolled off the side of the bed, unnoticed. Her eyes were on the key card.
“That’s why it didn’t work,” she whispered, and then she laughed. The key card she’d used wasn’t for her room, it was for Remy’s. This card here. The one she’d given her dad was for her room but he didn’t know about the second one.
Her mood quickly soured, however, as she realized she didn’t have her phone. Did I leave it charging last night? She turned. No, the charger was plugged in but no phone. Damn. Either Dad grabbed it sometime during the fight or I left it in Remy’s room. Either way I can’t call him and warn him. Damn!
* * *
Remy took off his rumpled shirt and tossed it in the suitcase. It was the last day of the conference. He was going home tomorrow. He wasn’t going to bother with trying to get the wrinkles out of it here. A wash and
dry at home would be much faster. He showered, shaved, and got dressed. He tucked his wallet in his pocket and reached for his phone to find there were two devices on the desk. Tara’s. The corner of his mouth tugged up in a half smile.
He pocketed both phones, put on his shoes, and headed downstairs for breakfast. As the elevator drifted down towards the lobby, he ran over a few ways he could get Tara’s phone back to her. Any sort of clandestine meeting between them would be hard to arrange with Charles hovering and with no way to contact her to set it up. He finally settled on just taking the phone to the front desk and then saying in a rather loud, obvious voice, somewhere where she could hear him, that he’d ‘found’ a cellphone and where he’d left it so she’d know where to get it back.
Feeling proud of himself and still feeling warm and happy from waking up with Tara in his arms, he headed across the lobby, his focus on the lady at the front desk.
The shove on his shoulder was completely unexpected and almost knocked him to the floor.
“What-? Charles?” Alarm bells were going off in his head. It was Charles Brown, and he looked beyond pissed.
He shoved Remy again as everyone in the lobby stopped to stare. “You lying, underhanded, rat! She’s my daughter. My DAUGHTER! Do you understand that? She’s not some pawn in your fucking game.”
“Charles, what are you talking about?”
Apparently playing ignorant was a bad idea because Charles punched him in the nose.
Two Council members and three Chiefs appeared and dragged them apart. Someone handed Remy a couple tissues for his nose but it wasn’t bleeding.
“Charles Brown, what is the meaning of this?”
Charles managed to get a hand free and pointed a shaking finger at Remy. “He’s using my daughter. He’s trying to get corporate secrets from me for his second. His family has been trying to ruin mine for years and now this piece of shit is dragging my daughter into his games.”
Francis, standing firmly between the two of them, looked at Remy. “Is this true?”
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