The Plume: The Second Anthology (8 page)

She yawned, stretched, then reached for her
glass of champagne. “What do you think the Count really wants?”

“You, but don’t change the subject. What
exactly
did you do?”

Athena pouted. “We had an imposter. She said
you would never have approved her application so she snuck in,
pretending to be Tess. Amanda made a mistake, but don’t get on her
ass about it. She’s harder on herself than you’ll ever be, which is
saying something...”

“The imposter!” Rex reminded his partner.

“Oh, she really wanted to try to the Plume,
so I punished her for cheating her way in by sending her to the
Dungeon for two hours.” Athena shrugged and sipped her drink. “I
told them to put her on the cross.” She smiled. “I hear she liked
it.”

“But she didn’t have a contract!” Rex roared,
seeing how startled Athena was that he’d raised his voice. “How
could you do that? She never signed an agreement to be captured or
enslaved or used for the sexual pleasure of another.”

Athena studied him, then shrugged. “There was
a verbal agreement. She said it was what she wanted.” She smiled
again. “I made her beg me. She was quite cute about it.”

Rex put his fists on the table and leaned
toward his partner, livid. His voice dropped low. “And how will you
prove it?”

Athena paused in the act of taking a sip of
champagne, setting it aside and rolling her eyes. “We were in the
bar, Rex. There were literally hundreds of witnesses.”

“Not a one of whom could appear in a court of
law to testify without compromising his or her privacy.” Rex paced
the width of the room. “They were masked, Athena. They are members
of a private club whose identities are protected as part of their
legal contract with the Plume. Only we know their real names.” He
pivoted to face her and spoke savagely. “Because that’s the way
they like it.”

Athena considered this for a moment, then
finished her champagne. “I don’t see why it matters. She got what
she wanted. She doesn’t know who any of us are. It’s solved.”

“She knows
where
we are.”

“Whatever. The only threat there, I think, is
that she’ll try to sneak back for more.” Athena stood up and
stretched again, bending to grab her boots. “I need some sleep,
maybe a nice massage.” She cast a playful glance at Rex. “Oh, don’t
look so angry. It was my turn to deal with an intruder or
journalist. It’s done. Stop worrying.”

“I will worry because it’s not done.”

Athena zipped up her boots and headed for the
door. “You can’t know that...”

Rex spoke sharply. “Did you ever think to ask
why I wouldn’t have approved any application she might have made to
the Plume?”

Athena paused. She turned to consider him,
her expression wary. “You really know her? I thought she was
bluffing.”

“I know her and I know she wants something
from me. Something I don’t want to give her.” Rex threw himself
into his chair, spinning it in frustration. “And now you’ve
provided her with the leverage to
make
me give her what she
wants.”

“Oh, you don’t know that! I think she was
just curious, and we know that you’re paranoid...”

Rex held up a finger. “I’m going to call
Julius this morning, and he’s going to call her. He’s going to ask
her to sign a contract belatedly, and I will tell you right now
what she’s going to say.”

Athena leaned in the doorway and folded her
arms across her chest. “What does she want from you?”

“To have a public exhibit of my
photographs.”

Athena took a step closer, her gaze bright.
“Which photographs?”

“Guess.”

Athena was visibly impressed. “Wow! Why
wouldn’t you leap at that opportunity? You could have the career as
a photographer you’ve always wanted...”

“Because it will expose the members of the
Plume! It will violate our contracts with them and let the whole
world see what we do here in secret! We could get shut down. We
could have our assets frozen...”

Athena got it. She sat down heavily.
“Oh.”

Rex got to his feet. “You could have trusted
me. You could have made one phone call before you made a
decision.”

“I’m sorry, Rex. I didn’t know.”

“I know. And now I’ll have to figure out how
to fix it.” He forced a cold smile. “Have a nice massage.”

Rex couldn’t stay in the office for another
second. He pushed past Athena and marched down the corridor that
connected the administrative offices to the rest of the Plume. The
entire building was a warren of corridors connecting separate
worlds – the Dungeon, the bar, the stables, the factory, the locker
rooms, the boutique, the gym and spa.

Rex decided right then that he’d go to the
lawyer Julius this morning, instead of calling him. He felt so sick
that he couldn’t stay in the Plume, not knowing that he was going
to have to betray every single member, either personally or in
concept. He’d be there when Julius called this woman and he’d know
the bad news right away.

Maybe, just maybe, Julius could think of
another solution.

The only thing Rex could do was hope. He
pulled out his cell phone and called Mike to ask for the name of
the woman who seemed determined to ruin his life.

* * *

“Trouble in paradise?”

Athena glanced up at the familiar voice and
tried to compose herself. The Count stood in the doorway to the
Plume’s office. He looked every bit as rakish and sexy as an
Italian James Bond and Athena warmed at the sight of him. He’d
undone his bow tie and the top button of his shirt, so she could
see a tiny bit of his dark chest hair. The Count never waxed, he
was old-fashioned like that, and Athena suddenly itched to run his
hands over his nudity again.

He carried a pair of champagne flutes, both
full, and offered one to her with a smile. Yet again, she had the
sense he’d read her thoughts, that he’d known that she was upset
over Rex. Maybe he’d come to make her feel better or offer
consolation.

Maybe she’d just amused him.

Athena took the glass with poor grace. “Rex
is angry with me about your kitten.”

The Count rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you
calmed him down.”

“Why are you sure?” Athena was
suspicious.

“You seem to have a special relationship with
him.” When Athena might have asked after that enigmatic comment,
the Count toasted her with his glass and sipped, closing his eyes
as he held the champagne in his mouth. He’d told her once that he
loved to feel the bubbles against his palate and she felt as if she
had an inside secret as she watched him savor the champagne. His
lashes were so dark and thick. She seldom noticed them unless his
eyes were closed.

Because his gaze was so compelling.

She sipped her own champagne, more keenly
aware of the froth in her mouth. She closed her eyes to enjoy it.
She opened her eyes to find him watching her, his eyes glittering.
“Well, I didn’t calm him down. He’s furious. How was I supposed to
know that they knew each other?”

“She did say as much.” The Count’s tone was
neutral which just annoyed Athena all over again.

“Everyone lies in this place! It’s part of
the game for many of them. How was I supposed to know that she was
trying to manipulate him?” She took another swig of champagne,
barely tasting it. “Why does everything with Rex have to be so
complicated?”

The Count raised his eyebrows. “Because Rex
adores control, even more than you do. I thought you’d have
realized that by now.”

“Why? Because we’re partners? That doesn’t
mean I can read his mind.”

“You’ve been more than business partners.
That intimacy might have given you more insight into his
character.”

“You can’t have expected otherwise when you
sent him to me. Rex is sexy.
Of course
we became
intimate.”

“Sex is one thing. I didn’t think you’d be so
foolish as to fall in love with him.”

“You just don’t like him.”

“I find him difficult. Principled, competent,
but difficult.”

“It sounds as if you resent the relationship
I’ve had with Rex.”

He gave her a look of pity. “It sounds as if
you’re in love with a man who doesn’t love you in return.” He
sipped, his gaze locked upon her. “Rex doesn’t love anybody except
himself. Haven’t you realized that? He only loves his creations
because they mirror himself.”

“He didn’t create me...”

The Count leaned closer. “I know that and you
know that, but I doubt that Rex knows that.”

Athena put down her glass. “I wouldn’t even
know Rex if it wasn’t for you. You can’t resent our relationship
when you sent him to me.”

The Count sipped his champagne, apparently
unruffled. “True. That would be unreasonable.” He flicked her a
look. “Unless, of course, I felt protective of you.”

Athena laughed. “That’s just as unreasonable
a suggestion. I know you don’t care about me.”

His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

“Why
did
you send Rex to me,
then?”

“Because you needed help with your
inheritance, and your grandmother had forbidden me to see you any
more. I couldn’t do it, you didn’t know where to look for help, so
I found someone else to help you.” The Count was bitter, to
Athena’s surprise, and there was a rare heat in his words. “You
probably didn’t even think you needed help.”

Athena didn’t answer that because it was
true. All the same, she wasn’t fooled by the Count’s assertion. “I
don’t believe you were afraid of my grandmother, not matter how
opinionated she was in real life.” She picked up her glass again.
“You’ve never listened to anyone, living or dead.”

The Count’s eyes flashed. “I’m glad you have
everything worked out so clearly.” He drained his glass and set it
down, hard. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just leave you to cry over
Rex.” He pivoted and marched down the hall to the bar, his heels
loud on the tile.

Athena blinked. It was as if she’d hurt his
feelings. All these years, she’d been sure the Count didn’t even
have feelings.

Had he really tried to take care of her, when
she’d thought he was just getting rid of her? What had her
grandmother said to him? Athena finished her champagne, considering
that maybe things weren’t quite the way she’d always thought they
were.

She locked up and went looking for the Count,
but he was nowhere to be found. Amanda said he’d left the Plume,
but Rafe said he hadn’t called for a limo. The Count didn’t answer
his cell phone or his hotel room phone.

It was as if he’d disappeared into the
ether.

Again.

She tried to contact him all that day and
into the next, with no success.

The Count didn’t come back to the Plume.

Athena had wanted to get rid of him ever
since his arrival, so she wasn’t amused to find herself missing the
Count one more time.

Not when she’d sworn she’d never do as much
again.

* * *

“Don’t sign,” Anna said.

Louise sat at the small dinette in the
kitchen of the apartment she shared with Joanna and bit her lip.
“It was a lawyer.”

“Because Rex is trying to intimidate you into
doing what he wants. Don’t sign.”

“So, what? You think I should get a
lawyer?”

Anna’s eyes shone. “I think you should
negotiate for what you want.”

Louise frowned. It was one thing to try to
compel Rex to go along with her idea, but she didn’t trust
lawyers.

On the other hand, she didn’t have a lot to
lose.

And Anna liked people who went after what
they wanted.

Anna leaned closer. “You said you had an idea
for your sculpture exhibit.”

“I do and it’s cool. I know Josh would like
it – but he’d like it better if he could have those photographs
displayed at the same time.”

Anna shrugged. “You at least pitch the idea
before Rex bullies you into signing.”

She was right. Louise nodded, composing her
pitch in her head. She could do this. She could get this show and
create her own luck. She could change her artistic future – with
just one phone call.

“Here goes nothing.” She smiled at Anna, who
gave her two thumbs up, then punched in the number of the gallery.
She closed her eyes then and prayed, hoping it would all work
out.

* * *

“I thought you always wanted to show your
work.” Julius, the lawyer who handled all of the contracts for the
Plume, took off his glasses, folded them and considered Rex across
the broad expanse of his desk. His office was filled with books in
antique bookcases, a desk of enviable size and several well worn
chairs upholstered in oxblood leather. Rex always felt more serene
in Julius’ office, partly because of the traditional decor and
partly because Julius himself was so calm.

He’d spent much of the day there with Julius,
but was feeling less calm than usual. As predicted, Louise had
refused to sign the Plume contract, and tried to book a show at the
art gallery with Rex. He was furious with her persistence and her
presumption.

And now Julius sounded like he’d take her
side!

“But I can’t compromise the privacy of the
members,” Rex protested. “That would be a breach of the contract
the Plume signs with them.”

“Well, yes and no,” Julius said. He riffled
through some paperwork, tapping a clause with his finger. “They do
all concede to be photographed.”

“But that’s for administrative records, not
public exhibition.”

“The clause is less than crystal clear,”
Julius noted. He smiled suddenly. “On purpose.” Then he frowned.
“Aren’t they all masked in your photographs?”

“But still...”

Julius leaned back in his chair. “But still,
the real issue is what? Are you afraid of having the show you’ve
always dreamed of having? Maybe that it will be a flop?”