Love on the Vine

by Roxanne Smith

  How would she ever choose between Neve and Seraphina?

  She rushed to the elevator, suddenly desperate to escape the building. A brisk walk in beautiful downtown, a latte, and something loaded with calories would do a lot to clear her head. If choosing between her mentors wasn’t stressful enough, she had an e-mail stuffed in her bra that could bring her short-lived career to a dead halt.

  She came around the corner and almost went back to the stairs. She’d almost rather deal with sweat stains for the rest of the day than face Oliver just yet. But she didn’t have time to sit on the damning e-mail.

  She took a deep breath and forced herself to march forward. Because the elevator was glass, she saw him clearly. But he couldn’t see her. He leaned against the elevator wall, holding his head gingerly. Maybe his morning had been as bumpy as hers. She pressed the button to open the elevator doors and slipped inside.

  Oliver barely spared her a glance, then grunted.

  For some reason, the greeting rubbed her the wrong way. She was good enough for a brazen distraction but didn’t warrant a simple hello? Slightly miffed, she shuffled to one side and crossed her arms. “What are you doing?”

  “Sulking. Everyone knows elevators are ideal for sulking.” Oliver groaned and stood up straight. “The boring answer is I’m on my way back to my office. I, uh, wanted to meet the Kind Lotus folks, but I was too late.”

  “They’re calling it Sweetclover now. And we need to talk, but not about the spa.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face and peered at her. “You made it pretty clear there’s nothing to discuss. You stood me up. I wasn’t waiting for you in here, you know. I can take a hint. Just...just let me do my job, okay? My other job. That’s all I ask.”

  “You don’t want me involved anymore?”

  “I didn’t say that.” He parked his hands on his hips.

  Kay tried really, really hard not to notice the sharp figure he cut, and how his weariness made her want to bring him back to his flirty cheerfulness. She could do it, too. She gave a mean back rub. She hated that she felt partly responsible for his wan mood, then hated that she cared. “Seems neither of us has a choice anymore.” She reached into her bra and flung the folded paper at Oliver.

  He caught it against his chest with one hand, the other still resting easily on his hip. Why did the simple way his body moved, graceful and easy, grab her attention so forcefully? With a look not unlike Mr. Arnell’s constant expression of consternation, Oliver scanned the e-mail.

  When his jade eyes made their way to Kay, they were wide and worried—almost frightened. “Where did you get this?”

  “I’ll tell you.” She licked her lips. She wasn’t done gambling today, apparently. “If you can prove who you really are and what you’re really doing here.”

  He took a step closer. He’d never looked at her like that before, jaw tight, glaring. “You read the article, Kay, and managed to guess everything else. You know what I’m doing here.”

  “I know what you’ve told me. I want proof, Oliver. More than some ancient newspaper article from out of town, more than your special knowledge of the private details of my personal life.”

  He shook his head. “What more can I do?”

  “Introduce me to your team. You work with people. You’ve mentioned names. I want to know your reasons for being here are what you claim.”

  He tilted his head slightly and studied Kay with an openness that startled her. For the first time, she felt like she was seeing Oliver in his entirety. All of him, not just the flashy parts he used to run his little investigation, or the careless way he tried to seem unobtrusive around the other designers, like he was just another useful piece of office equipment. A copier, maybe.

  A stark intelligence glimmered in his quiet stare. “What reason have I given you not to trust me?”

  She snatched the e-mail from his hand. “For starters, you could’ve gotten me fired with that little kissing stunt.”

  It was as if mentioning the kiss were some kind of code word. A smile broke out over Oliver’s face. He was his usual self again—his real self or not, she still had no clue. Playful smile, dancing eyes, quick decisive hands as he retook possession of the page. “A stunt, huh? That makes it sound pretty exciting. Must’ve been a great kiss.”

  If she were Neve, she’d say something cutting. If she were Seraphina, she’d rattle off something wise. Instead, for a fleeting moment, Oliver’s teasing coaxed Kay from her hiding place. She was gloriously herself as she burst into laughter.

  * * * *

  Oliver had no idea what the hell had been so funny. He was half-offended, half-delighted. Kay seemed weirdly upbeat as they walked together toward a café two blocks from work. Okay, maybe not weirdly upbeat. Maybe finally was the word he was looking for. Could it be he was meeting the genuine, real-deal Kay Bing at long last?

  Last night, he’d gone back to his apartment and came to some rough terms after Molly’s intervention. She was right, of course. He was obsessed with Kay. Caught up in trying to figure her out, captivated by the struggle of self she endured. What was she fighting so hard against? He wanted to name her demons, and if she’d let him, help her conquer them. It made her laughter a little easier to swallow. He’d done something right, even if he had no clue what.

  They settled into a table for two outside, ordered their drinks and food. Kay revealed a sweet tooth. She asked for two blueberry scones. Oliver went with a deli sandwich. While they waited, he crossed his hands, hoping to appear serious. In reality, he tingled with anticipation. Finally, he had Kay all to himself, with every reason to ask nosy questions and press for answers.

  “You realize,” he began, carefully trying to avoid accidently being funny again, “that the risk here is all mine. It’s one thing to paint you a picture. But you’re asking me to connect you to the very people running my operation. Little Rock is a big city with a small-town attitude. I’m from out of town, so no one is likely to recognize me. But the others, they’re all from here. Cap’s been in the paper, been interviewed on local television, stuff like that. If either one of us is seen with him, it could blow the whole thing right out of the sky.”

  A queer light sparked in her canny gaze. Her eyes still bothered him. Blue, then green, back to blue again. “Is there another informant working inside Free Leaf Concepts?”

  An odd question. “No. At least, I doubt it. Cappy Don—that’d be Captain Donald Cappricci”—recognition widened Kay’s indiscernible eyes—“would know if another state agency got involved. Or the feds.” Oliver picked up the printed e-mail and shook it. “This is sloppy work, wherever it came from.”

  “How so?” Their coffees arrived. Kay didn’t wait for hers to cool before taking a sip, wincing, and taking another.

  Oliver pushed his aside for the moment. “Tell me who. I’ll explain. Come on, Kay. At some point, we’ve got to establish trust. I promise, I’ll set up a meeting. Cappy Don won’t like it, but I’ll convince him. But I need to know who gave this to you and why.”

  Kay pressed her lips together and studied him. Since Oliver no longer had anything to hide, he almost enjoyed the scrutiny. Nothing like attention from a fierce woman to get his blood going. “Don’t make me regret this, Oliver. I can rustle up some trouble for your investigation.”

  The threat put a sour note on the moment. “I’ll do what I think is best, and you and your implied blackmail can take a hike. People have died.” He stopped, not trusting himself to go on. For a long minute, he waited, sipped coffee, and corralled his fraying patience. At least Kay had the grace to appear stricken. “Sorry,” he mumbled at last. “But this is much larger than you. And if you knew what we were up against, you wouldn’t make empty threats.”

  They both knew they were empty. Kay might be laboring under the mantle of a hardass, but he’d read her file. If she thought innocent people were coming to harm, she wouldn’t do Free Leaf Concepts any favors. If he thought she were that ki
nd of person, he wouldn’t be sitting here now.

  Kay watched him for what felt like an eternity. She didn’t mask the array of enlightening emotions that ran the gamut across her features. Anger, acceptance, curiosity, a hint of guilt.

  “Brendan Berkley.” She waited less than ten seconds to continue. “What’s wrong with him giving me the evidence to hold onto? He thinks I’m you. One of Cap—what do call you him? Cappy Don? One of Cappy Don’s inside guys. I’m guessing because I’m so new to the company, and on my first visit to Capital Acres I waltzed right through a secure area.”

  Brendan?

  If Cap had someone else inside, why wouldn’t he tell Oliver? Could be Brendan’s job was to investigate from another angle. Or worse, the feds had gotten involved. But that didn’t make sense, either. The DEA had been informed of the statewide investigation. For now, as long as the problem stayed within Arkansas, it was a state matter. Surely, if the magic mushrooms had cropped up in Louisiana or Oklahoma, someone would’ve alerted the captain when the DEA took over. They’d ask Cappy Don to disband their investigation before they set up an operation of their own. It only made sense.

  Then again, Oliver was a beat cop. Or had been. What the hell did he know? He couldn’t help feeling that something seemed off about the connection, but couldn’t pin down what made him uneasy. He mulled it over as their food arrived. Kay asked for butter and cherry preserves to go with her scones. They smelled amazing. He probably should’ve ordered one. He took a bite of his sandwich. Turkey bacon wasn’t horrible, turned out. Oliver waved away ketchup for his fries and a coffee refill. No more caffeine. He wouldn’t be able to focus.

  “Brendan should know better, regardless, if he’s one of ours. Whether he’s a fed, reaching out to the local informant, or one of Cap’s. He should’ve never approached you. It’s a security breach. Shit. I don’t even know if I should report it.” He shook his head, annoyed. When this was over, someone would get an earful. And not just from Cappy Don. “Brendan could’ve simply deleted the e-mail. There was no reason for him to tell you anything. And to have that meeting in one of the conference rooms? Crazy. For now, I like the idea of letting him think you’re the mole. It gives me some wiggle room.”

  Kay’s blond eyebrows, perfectly arced, drew together. “Something is bothering you.”

  Oliver nodded. “Yeah. Something doesn’t seem right. But until I can better put my finger on what, I’ll play along.”

  She pushed the e-mail toward him. “Take it. For your team, or whatever.”

  “Thanks.” He’d planned on asking, so it was a relief to have her give up the e-mail without an argument. Maybe Molly could pull something from the print out. Maybe not, but regardless, it was legally obtained evidence. More so, it was a big flashing arrow. He tapped the paper. “Greenhouse Five. You recognize anything in there?”

  “We both know I’m only half as good as my résumé says I am.”

  He shrugged. “Less smart isn’t stupid. I saw you checking out the plants. Any of them familiar?”

  Oliver knew the second she opened her mouth she was holding onto information. Instead of answering his question, she asked one of her own. He let it go. The trust had to go both ways, after all. If she was sitting on something, maybe she had good reason. He’d give her some time before he asked again.

  “What’s your impression of Easton?”

  He tilted his head, wondering if he’d heard correctly, and smirked playfully. “You’re on first-name basis with the director of operations within five minutes of meeting the guy. You continue to amaze me, Kay.”

  She didn’t even smile. “You could’ve told me Jasper was practically the guy’s nephew.”

  Oliver quit chewing. “I didn’t know.” More bad intelligence? Or lazy work, from whoever Molly had doing the background checks. That made twice reports were either off, in the case of Kay’s dossier, or missing important information.

  “Yeah, well.” Kay stabbed into her scone and took a vicious bite. “Jasper is his best friend’s kid. Which, had I known, probably would’ve stopped me from kicking him off the spa project this morning.”

  Oliver set down the remainder of his sandwich. “You dropped Jasper?”

  “Like a hot potato. What’s amazing is Easton didn’t seem shocked. He gave me free rein to hire whoever I want. At least, temporarily. A sub deal, for the spa. I’m actually ecstatic about the new name. Works perfectly with the new direction I’m taking the design.”

  “You’re jumping in with both feet.” It was a nice change to hear her sound like he’d imagined she would in the beginning—excited, decisive, and sure of herself.

  She gave him a flat stare. “What else can I do? If I keep up my tepid approach, afraid to put my mark on things, I’m going to get canned. I get one shot to make this work. Anyway, I asked about Easton. Is he always so distracted?”

  The tiny mushroom figurine burned in Oliver’s pocket. But if Kay was going to keep secrets, he should probably hold onto a few himself. “Yeah, I guess so.” He thought of the frantic energy of Mr. Arnell’s drafting table, the strange yet glorious drawings. He tapped his temple. “I think the boss has a lot going on up here. Probably why he needs someone like Merit around.”

  Kay’s stare grew distant. She glared at her remaining scone like it had grown feathers.

  “Thoughts?” At this point, he’d said all he was willing to say about the investigation. Before, he’d planned to keep Kay’s involvement his little secret, revealing only what was necessary to Cappy Don. But he didn’t want her going into a meeting with his team with a pocketful of hard-won intelligence.

  Her gaze slammed into his suddenly, a question burning bright. “You’ve ferreted out all my secrets. You know who my friends are.”

  Oliver pushed away the remainder of his sandwich and the untouched French fries. “We had to make sure you weren’t part of the ring. Your friends are important people in this city. People who, if involved, would want their own inside man. Woman. Whatever. If I’m a mouse, you could’ve easily been the cat sent in to hunt me down and push me out of hiding. Even after digging into your background, I still wasn’t convinced. Gavin Chambers. Neve Harper. I hear your other mentor is going to work for Grant Gallagher. That man is terrifyingly influential. In fact, he’s straight terrifying. So, yeah, there are some questionable connections a guy like me would feel compelled to check out.”

  “I don’t know if I feel totally violated or super special.”

  He winced. “You should probably feel a tad of both. You’re young and talented. Doesn’t hurt to have friends who can back up a padded résumé.” He grinned wide when he scored the smile he’d been aiming for.

  It didn’t last. Kay sobered and pushed her food away, too. “Seraphina and Neve are both really important to me. Neither one of them will hesitate to launch themselves at this project if I ask.”

  “That’s not bad news. Why the droopy face?”

  He earned a flash of annoyance for his trouble. “Because,” she said, with some heat, “they both kind of suck, too.”

  This time, Oliver was the one moved to hysterics. When his laughter ceased, he was pleased to note there was at least a glimmer of amusement on Kay’s face, in the tug of her lips and twinkle in her eyes. “Caught me off guard.” He chuckled again and tossed back the rest of his coffee, now cooled.

  “Yeah, well, you’re not the one who’ll get bulldozed by Neve or perpetually schooled by Seraphina. They’re both strong personalities. I don’t know if mine can stand up to either. It’s one thing when they’re guiding me. But this is my job, my project, my lead. Could they follow it?”

  “I think...” Oliver paused, giving weight to his words. He reached across the table and took possession of one of Kay’s hands. He smiled at her, hoping his own certainty would shine through. “You’re bigger than you look, Kay. I’ve read your file. I read the report from Lady Killer Ranch last year. Neve’s got her mouth, Seraphina’s got po
ise, but you’re the girl who goes in, gun drawn, hammer cocked, and saves the day. That girl doesn’t have a damn thing to worry about. Be that girl.”

  Chapter 8

  The tension threatened to swallow Oliver whole.

  For the first time in his partnership with Captain Donald Cappricci, he might have gone too far. His instincts were gold, and he knew it. His capacity for recalling small details, without equal. Even though drawing wasn’t necessarily his greatest talent, and he had no names to label, he could still sketch every plant he’d seen in Greenhouse Five. He knew he’d need at least one shiny offering to help smooth things over with Cappy Don.

  It wasn’t enough.

  The captain wasn’t raging. He was deathly silent at his desk, which was way worse in Oliver’s opinion. He’d never driven Cappy Don to speechlessness before. Exasperation, great harrowing sighs, a few growls, sure. But never this. The silence was so thick Oliver could stick a fork in it. The captain planted his hands on either side of the report Oliver had typed up in the late hours of the night. He stared at the pages with a fierce frown, soaking in every detail of Oliver’s off-the-rails investigating—every breach of protocol, every rash decision.

  Molly sat in a chair positioned to face Oliver, next to Cappy Don, physically indicating whose side she intended to take in the debate to follow. She must’ve been worried, because there was a marked lack of gloating in her troubled expression. She watched Oliver with a mixture of sadness and chagrin.

  For some reason, that alone almost made his rebellions worth it. For the time being, he’d smothered Molly’s hostility. He’d take concerned and disappointed over wounded and acerbic any day of the week.

  Finally, Cappy Don threaded his fingers together and glared at Oliver over the ridge of his knuckles. “Any other explanations you’d like to offer at this time?”

  Oliver shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He didn’t mind the spotlight as long as he was a star. He didn’t feel like a star. “Just one. I found out someone broke into Capital Acres and stole a rare tree. Or a flowering bush. Whatever. That’s why they tightened security. It had nothing to do with me. I felt this gave me some breathing room. Other than that, I’ve got nothing. I’m not going to hand over a pile of excuses, Cap. But we were stagnating before Kay came along. She’s the catalyst.”