by Kay Lyons
FIRST THING MONDAY morning, John Watkins met Luke at the door of Galaxy Games and pulled him aside.
“You’re not going to believe this.”
Whatever it was, Luke knew he didn’t want to know. After blurting out his feelings to Shelby during their kitchen tango, she’d withdrawn more than ever. Maybe Anne-Marie was right because only a stupid computer geek would tell a four-time pageant winner he loved her like that. Trust and love go hand in hand? How lame could he get?
Way to go, Romeo.
Luke shrugged off his exhaustion and focused on John. “What’s up?”
“I had a revised version of Mystic Magi on my desk this morning, courtesy of Tony Giovanni, that new hire in programming. Word has it he and Anne-Marie started chatting it up last week after her brainstorming session and over the weekend they apparently decided to have a private party. Those changes you had programming remove because they were screwing things up? The idiot did them—and her.”
Luke swore, anger racing through him faster than a runaway train. He could only imagine how John knew that last fact. If there were no secrets in small towns, there certainly weren’t any in small offices. “We’re a week away from presenting and she’s letting a kid play on it?”
“Luke—” John glanced around to make sure no one was around to hear “—it’s gone. The magic is gone. She didn’t just let him play with it, she gave him free rein. The details we worked three years to perfect? The things that made it our breakout? Gone. The version on my desk looks like a poor quality bootleg.”
“We have backups. We can use one of them for the presentation.”
“Not unless Anne-Marie agrees.”
“Hello, boys. Is there a problem?”
Luke turned to find Anne-Marie walking across the white, black and red tiled floor toward them, her hips swinging in a confident strut that didn’t quite go with the look on her face. One glance told him John hadn’t exaggerated. She’d partied hard over the weekend. And if his suspicions were correct, the party hadn’t only included alcohol and sex.
“Is there a problem?” she asked again, not quite meeting his eyes.
Luke handed John the messenger bag with his computer inside and jerked his head toward the hallway leading to their department. “Would you mind putting this in my office for me, John? I need to speak with Anne-Marie.”
“Sure thing.” John took one last look at Anne-Marie and bolted.
“He’s always reminded me of a nervous little squirrel. The pocket protector doesn’t help. Who wears those things anymore?”
Luke stared at Anne-Marie, remembering when he’d found her sexy and attractive, and how tempted he’d been to ignore his business ethics and accept her advances. Something had always held him back. Instinct, timing. Reasons he couldn’t put his finger on but he thanked God for now.
But John was right. Anne-Marie was the owner of the company. Creator or not, she called the shots on what Sony saw.
“So, what was that all about? Or do I need to ask?”
Luke shook his head, having a hard time comprehending her thinking. “What did you do?”
“What do you mean?”
Luke took her arm and began walking toward her office. “What’s going on, Anne-Marie? The game was as close to perfect as it could get and you’re messing with it? Why? Were you that mad at me for turning you down? Did you sabotage the project to get even?”
Chapter 16
ANNE-MARIE LAUGHED. “My, my, how your ego has grown. I let Tony have a little fun. I wanted to see what he was capable of. What’s the big deal?”
“So the demo you gave John was an edited copy? You don’t intend for us to present that to the purchasing team?”
Her gaze sidled away. “Tony has potential.”
“I’ll decide that for myself. That is part of my job.”
“When you do it.” She said that with an expression he couldn’t read. What was going on?
“Pay close attention to the changes Tony incorporated. They were very good.”
“Not that good. They can’t be. He’s fresh out of school and still too green.”
“Scared he’ll take your job?”
Another threat? He didn’t like where this was headed, didn’t like how nervous she seemed to be. Almost…panicked. “Why are you doing this? What are you trying to prove?”
Her chin lifted. “I’m looking at all the possibilities. Tony made Aiya sexier. She’s more appealing to our audience of teenage boys and old guys with no life.”
“The heroine was perfect. She was beautiful but flawed.”
“Too flawed. All that angst was boring. Look at the lake scene. Aiya has no money, nothing to barter. There is only one way for her to get what she needs.”
He blinked, unable to believe what she hinted at. “Not every woman would sell themselves,” he said tightly. “She has to work with the Magi and learn how to get what she wants, fight for it. Doing it that way allows the player to go underground in the Magi’s kingdom. It gave us a whole other dimension to explore.”
“Tony’s version is more modern.”
“I don’t believe this.”
“Tony’s onto something, Luke. There’s a whole untapped market for this type of game, one we could cash in on.”
“You’re not turning Aiya into a prostitute.”
“Perhaps we should leave it up to Sony. Present it both ways.”
“What?” Luke struggled to control his temper. “From the beginning, we agreed the game was to be rated for teens because the fighting involved wouldn’t let us have an everyone rating. I designed a clean game, something my nephew could play.”
“Designs change.”
“The lake scene would rate it mature. We’d lose a huge portion of sales because parents won’t buy it for their kids. I wouldn’t buy it for mine.” He glared at her. “Anne-Marie, don’t waste everyone’s time on creating a second pitch when you know Sony will like the teen-rated version due to the higher revenue potential.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t worry, Luke. I’m putting Tony in charge of the mature version.”
Luke blinked. “He’s a kid. He isn’t ready to be in charge of anything.”
“I think he is. What’s the harm? We’re simply adding a few scenes here and there.”
What’s the harm? It wouldn’t be his game then, wouldn’t be something he could be proud of. But his hands were tied and she knew it.
He hated the restrictions and problems placed on him by working for a business not his own.
“Luke, relax. Try to think of it as a little creative competition. We’ll present both versions and see what happens.”
“You’re not going to sell sex to kids.”
“Of course not. We’ll sell it to their fathers and older brothers. As Tony so astutely pointed out, gamers do get older,” she murmured, studying her fake nails. “Tastes change. They can’t play kiddie games forever.”
Frustration ate at him. All his hard work, time and energy. Years. Down the drain. What kind of self-destructive move was this? Why would she take his work and turn it into an X-rated game for adults?
Luke wanted to shout the place down, but one glance at Anne-Marie’s set expression told him it wouldn’t do him any good. He could talk until he turned blue but she would still do whatever she wanted. “Anne-Marie, I want what’s best for the company. I’ve worked hard for this company,” he said. “You and I both know Tony’s version might have some splash and sensationalism that would draw attention, but it isn’t what’s best. G-rated movies outgross R movies for a reason. Games are no different. I know you’re pissed at me and think I’m nuts for marrying Shelby, but do you really want to proceed with this?”
Anne-Marie nodded once. “It’s already done.”
Luke turned on his heel and headed to his office. It was going to be another long, hard week. No matter how hard he worked, he wouldn’t be able to fly to Beauty to see Shelby this weekend.
He was sick
of this. The politics, the manipulative, self-indulgent behavior Anne-Marie was displaying. If he was smart he’d walk away. So why didn’t he?
There are other jobs out there.
But if he walked, his game stayed behind. Luke dropped into his office chair and rubbed both eyes with his palms. He couldn’t walk away but if he did, where would he go? Tennessee? Nothing changed the fact that California was the hot spot for what he did. Sony had a branch office not far from where he sat.
No, even if he left, it would have to be to another company, a competitor. He couldn’t go back to Tennessee.
The saying was true. Once a person left home, they couldn’t ever go back.
LUKE WASN’T coming home that weekend. During last night’s late-night phone call, he’d broken the news to her, regret clouding his voice. She’d squelched the stab of disappointment she felt, knowing it was a warning.
Shelby settled herself in the chair at her mother’s shop and waited for her to finish up with a client, her thoughts on all the reasons why Luke had decided to stay in California.
“He might’ve told you the truth. He said he had to work on his presentation.”
“What did you say, Shelby?”
She blinked and her mother’s reflection came into focus in the station’s mirror. The bell on the door dinged as her mother’s previous client left, and Shelby refrained from rolling her eyes at her mother’s lack of smock. But how else would the guy have seen her mom’s hot-orange wrap dress that showed too much cleavage and leg? “Just talking to myself.”
Pat settled the cape around Shelby’s shoulders then turned to grab the smock she normally wore from a nearby hook. “Have you talked to Jerry?”
Shelby set aside the boatload of hurt baggage weighing her down and opted for forgiveness. Sometimes a person had to make up their mind and act accordingly. “Yeah. The job is nearly done. He’ll be home in a week or so and can start working on the mill house full-time.” Thank goodness. Finally some real progress could be made.
“Has he said anything about me?”
Shelby stilled, her thoughts flying back to her wedding day and the suspicions over her mother’s stunt. “Why do you ask?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Pat’s layered bracelets jingled as she sprayed Shelby’s hair to wet it.
Whatever “it” was, it was something. Shelby could tell. Oh, crap.
“Baby, I want to apologize again for not telling you. I should have when you were old enough to understand.”
Shelby plucked at the cape, glad the shop wasn’t busy because of the early hour. Only one of her mother’s station renters was there and she was waxing someone’s eyebrows on the other side of the large room, out of hearing range. “I’ve been thinking about that. In a way, I’m glad you didn’t.”
“Really?”
Her mother spun the chair around with a jerk and Shelby’s stomach whirled. “Mom.”
“Sorry. Do you mean it?”
Swallowing the quick surge of queasiness, Shelby nodded. “I can’t imagine growing up knowing that he was here, in town, and didn’t want to know me or admit he was my father. I don’t know. I guess now that I’ve had time to adjust to the thought of having a baby, I’ve been thinking about what I would’ve done. I wouldn’t want my baby to grow up thinking it wasn’t wanted and I wouldn’t have wanted to grow up thinking that about myself in regard to him.”
“Oh, baby. Thank God you don’t have to worry about that. Why, I never paid much attention to Luke before because his other brothers have always been so…well, delicious—”
“Mom.” Shelby shook her head and grabbed the station counter to turn slowly back to the mirror. She didn’t want to face her mother when she said things like that.
“But Luke looks all grown-up now. California’s been good for him. And he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off you on your wedding day. It was very sweet.” She picked up her shears and comb and set to work. “Shelby, I know you think I’m too bold and I know I’m the last person to give you advice on marriage under the circumstances.”
Shelby braced herself for the but.
“But marriages aren’t bulletproof. If you give your man the cold shoulder for too long, for whatever reason, things will fall apart.” Her passionate-pink-colored lips twisted, the wrinkles around her mouth prominent. “I pushed Jerry away time and again because he wouldn’t do what I wanted. Still, I never stopped loving him. I guess for us the timing was never right.”
She hadn’t exactly pushed Luke away, Shelby mused. At least not sexually. But wasn’t she doing that emotionally? Self-preservation, she reminded herself. “You never put Dad first. It wasn’t timing, it was immature choices.”
Her mother finished the trim and ran her fingers through Shelby’s hair, checking the length. “I suppose you’re right about that. And I should’ve put him first, after all he’d done for you and me both. I just couldn’t get over the fact that Zacharias owed us.”
“Mom, you didn’t get pregnant with me on purpose, did you?”
A sad smile tugged at her mother’s mouth. “No, Shelby. Not with you.”
Shelby stiffened. “What do you mean, not with me?”
“I miscarried once when your father and I were trying to get back together. I’d seduced him, hoping a baby might help him see what we had. When it was gone all the problems with Zacharias were still there.” Her mother’s gaze lifted to hers in the mirror. “Have you given any more thought to California?”
“No. Why would I?”
“Because when you thought no one was looking, you couldn’t take your eyes off Luke, either.”
“It’s not like that. We only married because of the baby.”
“Are you sure? I’m asking because when a man looks at a woman like that, he loves her. Jerry used to look at me like that. Maybe one day he will again.”
She blinked, her suspicions confirmed. “Five times wasn’t enough?”
“Who knows? Only time will tell.” Pat removed the cape, careful to keep the damp trimmings clinging to the plastic away from Shelby’s clothes. “Your father told me what you said about love.”
Her mother had to stop and clear her throat. The tears were back, the trembling chin, but unlike all the other times before where her mother blubbered noisily, this time the tears fell with no sound.
“I’m thinking a man like Luke might be the kind of guy to make you take a look at your life and want more. If you want the truth, I saw an awful lot of Jerry in Luke on your wedding day, and if I could go back in time…”
The bell jingled and one of her mother’s longtime, elderly clients walked in, sporting a cast on one arm. Her mother blinked away her tears and turned.
“Oh, my heavens! Oh, honey!” Her mother jogged across the room on her heels and wrapped her arms around the woman, fussing over her something fierce. “Oh, bless your heart, would you look at that? What happened, Bea?”
Watching her mother interact with the woman gave Shelby pause. Beneath the big hair and overdone makeup, beneath the flashy clothes and melodramatic persona, her mother had a heart. Sometimes it was hard to see, but it was there. She’d have to remember that when her mother was driving her nuts.
Shelby put her hands over her stomach and rubbed the bulge starting to form. Her personality might be opposite her mother’s; she might be moody and picky and controlling, but she hoped her son or daughter always remembered she had a heart, too. Broken from childhood, tattered from life, but there and beating, and wanting so desperately to trust that everything really did happen for a reason.
SHELBY PRESSED the tape onto the mill house floor and frowned. She’d talked to Luke every day. And on Friday evening when he should have boarded a plane to come see her, she couldn’t shake the anxiety she felt because he hadn’t. It was as though she had to see him, wanted to see him. Needed contact with him to know everything was okay. Was he avoiding her because she hadn’t responded when he’d told her he trusted her? Her mother’s words had given her a lot
to think about this week.
“Here you go. Water on the rocks. Shelby? You okay?”
She smiled at Alex and motioned toward the area now marked off by bright blue tape. “I’m fine. Just wondering how my tarts are doing at the club and if this is enough room for a dance floor. What do you think?”
“Dance floor?” Alex eyed it with a frown. “Yes, I think so. Dancing is best when it’s close quarters. As for the tarts, does Mr. Long know they’re yours?”
“He does now. He saw me bringing them in this morning. More surprisingly is that he told me he’d heard about my plans for this place.” She spun the roll of tape on her fingers and walked over to the freshly de-junked kitchen. Her appliances had been delivered earlier in the week and she and Alex had spent the evening cleaning up the packing materials. “He actually told me if I wanted him to, he’d come take a look at the layout and give me his thoughts.”
“That’s great. You wanted that job because of what you could learn from him. Having him offer up help voluntarily is fantastic.”
She nodded, pleased but wry. “Since the mill house is really close to the country club I think he wants to scope out what will be the competition. The sixth hole is through the woods behind the house. I let him off the hook by telling him I’m sticking with more traditional food. Sort of Paula Deen’s style of cooking. That way it’ll be totally different than the Old Coyote, and less expensive and more casual than the club.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a plan. But does that fit with a dance floor?” Alex took a drink of the water she’d carried in for herself.
“I’d like to do special occasion type stuff, too. Birthday parties and anniversaries.”
“Ah. So…Luke isn’t coming in tonight?”
Shelby finished putting the last of the tape down and smirked at Alex. “Nice transition there.”
“I thought it was subtle.” Alex grinned. “So are things okay?”
“Don’t you have to go to Rosetta’s?”
“I’m already late. A few more minutes won’t hurt. Well?”
Shelby shrugged. “They’re…fair.”
