Authors: Ellen James
Steven lost no time in consolidating his victory. First thing Monday morning he dragged Kate down among all the business houses of power on Montgomery Street. He wouldn't explain what he was up to, but escorted her firmly to a building of glass and cool green stone.
Far Horizon Enterprises, that was the name on the building. Kate didn't like the sound of it. She stopped in her tracks and resisted as Steven took her by the elbow.
"Remember our agreement," he said. "We can't stand out here all day, Kate."
"I'm moving," she muttered.
"It sure doesn't feel like it."
"This is a mistake—I won't let you do this to me!" But today Steven was taking full advantage of his financial hold over her.
"You don't have any choice, remember?" His eyes were as implacable as gray stone. Blast the man! He was behaving as if he owned her, body and soul. She already had enough complications in her life; for one thing, Mrs. Cleeve was becoming more intractable every day. Not only did the woman refuse to pay what she owed on her account, but now she wanted all her money back and every trace of French Provincial eradicated immediately from her house. Kate and Paula had managed to establish only a precarious truce with Mrs.
Cleeve. Kate was on edge, and it didn't help to have Steven commandeering her like this.
He prodded her through the gleaming doors of Far Horizon Enterprises. Her feet sank into lush, moss-green carpet as she brushed past a hanging plant and a forest-green room divider. The walls had a slight lemony tinge; all the pictures on them depicted leafy, tropical scenery.
"Everything's green," Kate said with contempt. "What kind of place is this?"
Steven ushered her into the elevator. The doors shut silently behind them, and they were completely enclosed in a box of jade green.
"I don't believe this," Kate said. Steven leaned against the wall next to her.
"Why don't you just relax and enjoy the ride?" he asked with a lazy grin. "You look like a prisoner on the way to the gallows."
"That's exactly how I feel," she returned.
Steven's hand gently clasped her elbow again. "Trust me, Kate," he murmured. "This isn't going to be so bad."
She gazed at his nubby tweed jacket, unable to pull away from him. Her heartbeat had quickened at his nearness and she breathed in the subtle pine scent of his after-shave. She needed all her defenses right now, and yet she just wanted to go on standing close to Steven.
The elevator glided to a smooth halt.
"Any last words before your neck meets the noose?" he asked. Kate sent him a venomous glance, which seemed to have no effect at all. The doors slid open, and he propelled her into a hall painted entirely in khaki.
Gloria Nestor was waiting there, very sleek in a safari-style dress of khaki green. Kate stared at her, perplexed and dismayed. She had not expected to see Gloria today, and she turned toward Steven for an explanation. But he offered none, gazing back at her unperturbed. It was Gloria who took over.
"Kate, I'm so glad you could meet with Steve and me," she said in her distinctive, throaty voice. "In a moment we'll explain everything to you. What a lovely jacket you're wearing." She smiled appreciatively at Kate's tropical-orange blazer, then led the way down the hall. Steven went on holding Kate to his side as they followed Gloria into an elegant, khaki office where jungle scenes leapt out from prints along the walls. A tiger snarled from his covert; an elephant reared his tusks to an African sky. Gloria swung into a chair behind her desk, looking like a huntress with her flowing black hair and scarlet mouth. What flawless skin she had, unmarred by even one freckle. A disturbing emotion filtered to the surface of Kate's consciousness— envy. She was envious of Gloria Nestor. Automatically Kate sat down beside Steven, appalled that she could be feeling this way.
"Kate, I've explained to Gloria that I'm your financial adviser," Steven was saying. She winced at his words. Financial adviser—he might as well have been a jailer! She looked back at him coolly, briefcase propped up in her lap.
Gloria demanded her attention again. "Yes, Kate, Steve and I have discussed some exciting options for your future. We believe that the first step is to introduce you to Far Horizon Enterprises." She reached across the desk and handed Kate a booklet that had a glossy green cover. "This is a profile of Far Horizon that you'll find very interesting," she said with conviction. "Go ahead—you can look through it right now. You'll see that Far Horizon is a large, healthy firm. We develop real estate and we operate everything from art galleries to luxury hotels."
Kate didn't understand why Gloria was delivering this sales pitch. She flipped through the booklet and saw columns of revenue figures, photographs of Far Horizon employees smiling widely into the camera, an artist's rendition of a new green building soon to rise in Los Angeles. None of it meant a thing to Kate. She snapped the booklet shut and placed it back on the desk.
"It's all very exciting, isn't it?" Gloria asked. She seemed full of lighthearted energy and purpose, as if she were brimming with a delightful secret she couldn't wait to share. Her dark eyes sparkled. "Steve and I both feel that your company has a great deal of potential, Kate. With the right management it could become enormously successful. Far Horizon Enterprises can provide that management, leaving you free for the creative end of the business. That's why we asked you here today—to discuss the fact that Far Horizon is interested in acquiring Melrose Designs."
"Acquiring?" Kate echoed faintly. "Steven, what—"
"Just hear us out," he urged, and Gloria gave her a reassuring smile. The smile didn't convince Kate at all; she used a similar one herself on clients and suppliers who were being uncooperative.
"I know this may not be something you've thought about before," Gloria said. "Selling your business is certainly not something to take lightly. All Steve and I are asking is that you give the idea your consideration." Her low, soothing voice was so persuasive. And the way she kept saying "Steve and I" made the two of them sound like a cozy team working together for the sole benefit of Melrose Designs. Steven was talking that way, too.
"We've discussed this at great length," he said. "Gloria has been with Far Horizon for several years and has revitalized a number of small businesses. I think it's a good opportunity for you, Kate."
What Kate really wanted was an opportunity to slug Steven. She gripped her hands together on top of her briefcase.
"Steve is right. Far Horizon Enterprises has a great deal to offer if you come on board with us," Gloria went on in her low, seductive voice. "Financial security, prestige, unlimited contacts, all the right doors opening up. You'd be decorating the most exclusive homes in San Francisco. You see, Far Horizon can give you power…as much as you're willing to reach out and take."
Kate listened in a daze to this hypnotic recitation. The last words hung dramatically in the air, enticing her. She wondered for a moment what it would be like to have power, and to wield it as confidently as Gloria Nestor. But thinking about this was like trying on a hat that didn't fit. Kate didn't want power—only freedom.
"I'm perfectly happy with Melrose Designs just the way it is," she asserted, glancing at Steven's impassive face.
"Of course you are," Gloria agreed. "But think for a moment about the possibility of 'Far Horizon Designs.' Think about all it could mean. You'd go farther than you ever have before." Gloria took out a sheet of stationery and ran a jade fingernail along the top of it. "Just picture the words, right here. 'Far Horizon Designs.'"
Kate examined the logo: a lemon sun rising over fir-green hills. She could not imagine using this stationery instead of her own flower-embossed notepads. Every month she bought a different design; sometimes she was in the mood for violets, sometimes for a riot of tulips. But she would never be in the mood for these uniform green hills, so unlike the wonderful variety and color of real San Francisco hills.
Kate glanced up and found Gloria observing her closely. Gloria seemed very determined to convince her about all of this, and yet surely Far Horizon didn't need a small company like Kate's. What exactly was going on here? Gloria Nestor was like an exquisite emerald, different facets of her personality flashing out at different times. It was impossible to know which facet was the real Gloria, and what her true motives were.
"I'm going to keep my own business," Kate said steadily. "I've built something under the name Mel-rose Designs, something that speaks for itself. I'm proud of that and I don't want to lose it."
"We'd want you to go on feeling that way," Gloria answered smoothly. "You see, the Far Horizon name
more
than speaks for itself. You'd have every reason to continue being proud."
Kate started to argue, but Steven jumped in. "Kate might feel better about going with Far Horizon if she knew she could retain her present business location," he said.
"Yes, I know we discussed that, Steve, but I'm not quite clear on a few details." Gloria gave him a lingering smile before turning back to Kate. Now she was brisk.
"Let me see if I understand this correctly. Exactly what
is
your business location? The address for Mel-rose Designs is in a residential area."
"Yes, that's where I live. I save an enormous amount on overhead, and—"
"You run your business from your home?" Gloria made it sound as if Kate were fencing stolen goods from her apartment.
"It's very efficient," Kate said defensively. "Most of my work is done in other people's homes, and Paula files all the paperwork neatly."
"In
her
home?" Gloria asked.
"Her apartment. Yes." Kate's tone was belligerent, and Gloria seemed to realize that she'd gone too far. She switched into her soothing mode again.
"It does sound like a workable system as things stand for you now. You've been very wise to keep your overhead low. But if you join Far Horizon you'll have your headquarters right here in this building. Come along, I'll show you what kind of office you'd have. I'm sure you'll be absolutely delighted with it." She ushered Steven and Kate out into the hall again and pushed open the door of a large, windowless room.
Kate closed her eyes and opened them again a second later, but the scenery had not changed. She saw glassy-smooth khaki walls and plush carpeting in a darker shade of khaki. The one picture on the wall was expensively framed, showing a stark desert landscape—sand and pale green cactus. Two chairs were upholstered in stripes of pea-green and… khaki. Kate felt parched, as if she'd lost herself in that desert on the wall.
"Isn't it marvelous?" Gloria asked.
Kate couldn't say a word. She struggled against the wave of claustrophobia that swept over her, determined not to show any weakness in front of Gloria Nestor. But she couldn't seem to get enough air to breathe. She turned blindly toward Steven, and his hand steadied her arm.
"Kate and I have another appointment now, Gloria," she heard him say, his voice sounding very faint. "We have to be going, but we'll meet with you to discuss this again."
"Of course. You look rather ill, Kate." Gloria's voice also came from a distance. She sounded solicitous, but perhaps she was only worried that Kate would be sick in this immaculate office. Kate swayed a little, determined to keep her stomach under control at all costs.
"We really are late for our appointment," Steven said, his hand still supporting Kate. "You'll have to excuse us."
"I'll talk to you soon, Steve…"
Kate did not feel like herself again until she was outside, away from Gloria and propped up against the low wall that surrounded Far Horizon Enterprises. Out here the air tasted fresh and pure. It didn't taste like khaki.
"I thought you were going to faint right in my arms," Steven said with a concerned look. "Are you all right?"
She nodded shakily. "It was an attack of khakiphobia, that's all," she said. One of Steven's arms encircled her with its comforting warmth and she had to resist an urge to burrow against him. She stepped back so she could face him squarely. "I'm grateful for the rescue, but how could you do that to me in the first place?" she asked indignantly. "Springing Gloria Nestor on me!"
Steven rested an elbow on top of the wall. "I had to be underhanded about it, or you'd never have agreed to meet with her."
"Of course I wouldn't have agreed!"
"My point exactly," he remarked. "I know you took an irrational dislike to Gloria from the moment you met her. Without a little push from me, you wouldn't be able to see what Far Horizon can do for you."
"My dislike of Gloria is completely rational," Kate began, then stopped herself when she realized how ridiculous this argument could become. "I don't trust Gloria, that's all," she said. "And I can't forgive the fact that you discussed Melrose Designs with her behind my back. You act as if it's yours to sell!"
"Actually it was Gloria who first suggested that Far Horizon might be interested in acquiring you. She's been curious about you ever since I told her you were decorating my house."
"I'll bet she was curious, all right," Kate muttered. "She's plotting something and I'd like to know what it is."
"You're being paranoid," Steven said.
"Surely you can see it, too!" she cried in exasperation. "Gloria doesn't want me at Far Horizon, and at the same time she
does
want me there—badly. I'm sure it all has something to do with you, but that's all I'm sure of."
"Gloria's a businesswoman," Steven pointed out calmly. "There's only one reason she'd make a decision like this—because it would benefit Far Horizon."
Kate frowned at him, pressing a hand against her damp forehead. "I'm still trying to figure out exactly what Gloria does," she said. "So far all I can see is that she goes around snapping up little companies and feeding them to Far Horizon."
Steven almost smiled.
"She doesn't abandon a company once it's acquired. She makes sure the transition goes smoothly for everyone, and she stays in charge of all the management decisions. Gloria's very good at what she does."