Authors: Aleatha Romig
Danni’s incredulous expression as she backed
out of the office and closed the door added to Sophia’s
euphoria.
“
My, my, Mrs. Burke,”
Derek managed between kisses, “To what do I owe this lascivious
reception?”
She explained the
unbelievable procurement of
three
of her oil paintings. Derek stared, open mouthed,
when she disclosed the bid. Eventually, he found his voice, “Wow,
Baby! I love your work, but I’m shocked at that amount of
money.”
Sophia pouted, more in jest than reality,
“What? Don’t you think they’re worth it?”
He immediately pulled her against his chest
and spun her around in his large leather chair. Sophia curled her
legs into his lap and threw her head back, allowing her long hair
to fan out and fall over his shoulder as his office became a blur.
Leaning his mouth to her exposed neck he breathily whispered, “I
think they’re worth ten times that! But, if you’re willing to part
with them for a measly 2.3 million, I guess that’s your
prerogative.” His lips connected her warm sensitive neck,
immediately instigating purrs from the depth of her throat.
When his lips slowed, Sophia pulled away and
made eye contact. Looking suddenly serious, she went on, “There is
a problem. The buyer wants them yesterday. I need to fly to
Provincetown and ship them back here. Mr. George also wants me to
ship some other works to put on display and photograph the rest of
my collection. It’ll take me days to get them all packaged for
mailing.”
“
That dinner for
Shedis-tics is Friday. Will you be back by then?”
“
I’m sorry. I don’t think
so.” She looked passively into his soft brown eyes, “If you want me
to wait, I can ask Mr. George to contact the buyer, have him
contact the mystery person, and see if it can wait.” Sophia watched
through seductive lashes as Derek’s expression changed before her
eyes. She saw pride, disappointment, indecision, and
resolution.
Eventually his light brown
eyes glimmered as his cheeks rose in conjunction with the tips of
his lips. “You know, when Shedis-tics asked me come out here early,
they promised me some time off. How about, I travel with you? If we
work together, we can package your art much faster. We might even
make it back for this big dinner thing. I’m not sure why,
but
they
really
want me there.”
Sophia stared at her husband in disbelief,
“You’d really be willing to go with me?”
“
Sure,” he kissed her
lips, “we can consider it a romantic get-a-way.” Then with a
predatory grin he added, “And maybe we can use one of those private
jets they promised in my interview?”
“
You know, Mr. Burke, I’ve
always wanted to belong to an exclusive club.”
“
Really, Mrs. Burke, what
club would that be?”
“
I believe it’s
called
The Mile High
Club
.”
Derek closed his eyes and shook his head at
the woman who’d swept him off his feet three years ago. Regaining
his focus he replied, “I’ll be sure to find the criteria regarding
entry into that exclusive club. I’ve heard initiation can be
strenuous. Perhaps you’re not up to the challenge?”
“
Mr. Burke, you check out
the specifications, and I’ll concentrate on my
aptitude.”
He tried, unsuccessfully, to keep his grin
concealed, “Aptitude isn’t an issue, Mrs. Burke. I believe the
component in question is altitude.”
Sophia buried her lips into the crook of his
neck. “You provide the altitude, I’ll provide the aptitude.”
“
We can do a test run at
sea level, just to be sure.”
Sophia amusingly shook her head. This was a
battle of wits she didn’t want to win.
“
Perhaps, when I get
home?” Derek didn’t wait for an answer from his wife as he picked
up the phone, his voice no longer playful, “Danni, make the
necessary arrangements. My wife and I need a Shedis-tics jet to fly
to Provincetown, Massachusetts, leaving tomorrow and returning
Thursday.” Sophia listened to his side of the
conversation.
“
That can be rescheduled.”
“That, I can do from anywhere.” “Do you have any other concerns?”
Sophia heard the agitation in his voice. She wondered if Danni
recognized it too. Derek continued, “That is fine. Let me know the
final arrangements.” “Thanks, Danni.” He hung-up. Smirking
ear-to-ear he proposed, “The next order of business it to research
the requirements for that club.”
Sophia squeezed his neck, “Thank you! We can
work day and night to get back for that dinner.”
Derek caressed her waist as his eyes muted
ever so slightly, “I think I know a better way to spend our
nights.”
Sophia giggled, “Really? We can debate the
pros and cons of each proposal.”
“
No. I think I’m evoking
the
helpful husband
card; you’ll have to agree to my proposal -- no debating
allowed.”
She didn’t argue. “I see your point.
However, I’ll need at least an abstract of your ideas presented
tonight at home.” Her eyes twinkled as she stood and smoothed her
skirt.
“
You drive a hard
bargain.” Derek replied, “See you tonight.”
They kissed and Sophia opened the door of
his private office. Walking past Danni’s desk, her mind filled with
Derek’s affection and playful banter. As she turned toward the
impassive gaze of his private assistant, Sophia summoned her
sweetest voice and said, “Thanks, Danni. Bye.”
From gritted teeth, Danni replied, “You’re
welcome.”
Walking along the still crowded sidewalk,
Sophia felt the sensation of floating. Had someone really offered
2.3 million for her art work? It didn’t seem possible. And her
conversation with Derek went in such an unexpected direction. She’d
expected him to be supportive, yet reserved about missing the
dinner. After all, how important could attendance at a fundraiser
really be for a Fortune 500 company?
Despite his executive pretense, he was just
a man. Sophia told herself; she needed to remember that. After all,
she was just a woman. That makes the two of them compatible in a
remarkable way.
Wanting to speak to Mr.
George in person, Sophia drove back to Palo Alto. She wanted to let
him know she and her husband would be packaging her work and
getting it west as soon as possible. Before facing
Mr. White Teeth
, Sophia
decided to stop for a cup of tea and some lunch. Working her way
into a bustling cafe on the same street as the Art Studio, Sophia
scanned the crowd looking for an empty seat.
The cafe hummed with the drone of
conversations at most every table. The aroma of freshly baked
bread, rich coffee, and tangy spices made her empty stomach twist
with anticipation. She stepped toward the counter to read the menu
above, when a woman near the window with an electronic tablet, cup
of coffee, and salad caught her attention. She looked vaguely
familiar. Sophia didn’t want to stare. It just seemed strange that
she’d know anyone eating in Palo Alto.
*****
The chatter of the busy cafe surrounded
Claire, soothing her aching temples. She mindlessly picked at her
half eaten salad while simultaneously skimming the latest news on
her iPad. Relishing the temporary reprieve, she enjoyed one of her
first free moments in the last week. She realized the irony of
solitude in a crowd.
Last Saturday, her sister,
Emily, and brother-in-law, John, arrived in San Francisco. Since
then, she’s hardly had a minute alone. Wistfully she thought about
Harry;
they
hadn’t had a minute alone either. Actually, since San Diego,
a week and a half ago, they’d only had one opportunity to utilize
his procurement of resources from that drugstore.
Multitasking, Claire read each headline on
her newsfeed. However, her thoughts were of her sister and
brother-in-law. They’d asked to borrow her car and take a day trip
into San Francisco. She was thankful for them to get some time to
themselves.
The face-to-face reunion between the three
of them washed away all doubt and hard feelings from their past.
When Emily walked through the archway at San Francisco
International Airport last Saturday and their matching green eyes
met, they melted in a sobbing embrace. It was minutes before John
was able to separate the two of them, before he got his own chance
to hug Claire.
Being the ever accommodating hostess, Amber
offered the Vandersols the use of her third bedroom. It meant
re-filing all of Claire’s research, but it was worth it. For five
days Claire’s sister and brother-in-law would be only a door
away.
It also thrilled Claire that Emily and John
got along so well with Amber and Harry. The ease of conversation
and similar interests created a comfortable atmosphere, very
dissimilar to the one while she’d been married to Tony.
After a few days, Amber began to talk
business with John. The two shared similar philosophies and work
ethics. What started as discussion over a few interesting Rawlings
Industries dealings soon turned to SiJo Gaming strategies. While
the two talked shop, Claire and Emily enjoyed one another’s
company. The sharing and camaraderie was wonderful.
Nevertheless, Claire couldn’t understand why
she continued to fight her aching head. She was being more open and
honest with her family than she’d been in years, yet she had the
strange feeling of teetering on the edge of a looming argument. Her
emotions felt stretched. Truthfully, she had no idea what the
impending argument entailed or why it was stressing her out.
Looking up from her iPad,
Claire scanned the cafe. People moved about in every direction
within the cafe and outside on the street. Sitting by the window,
she watched people pass the glass. Occasionally she would have the
sensation of being watched. It was both annoying and familiar. In a
moment of self-reflection, Claire asked,
when in the past three years haven’t I been watched? Or did
it date back further than that
?
Later tonight Claire,
Emily, John, Harry, and Amber had reservations at a local
restaurant. They were going to meet Amber’s new
friend
. She met him a few weeks ago,
at an out of town conference. He works for Google. Amber claimed it
wasn’t serious, but the gleam in her eyes as she mentions Keaton
made Claire smile.
It also made the idea of telling Amber about
her and Harry easier. Claire reasoned if Amber were also involved
with someone, she’d take the news much better. Claire assumed Amber
and her family had suspicions. But no one asked, and Claire and
Harry hadn’t volunteered. For the most part, the two of them kept
their new familiarity private.
Claire looked up again and saw Phil Roach
standing in line behind a pretty blonde woman. Her nervousness
quelled. That nagging feeling of being watched was easier to deal
with when you know the voyeur, or as Claire liked to refer to Phil,
her bodyguard.
She wondered how he handled losing her at
the airport back in San Diego. Smiling to herself, Claire realized
she sometimes too thought of parts of her life as a game. And
unquestionably, she enjoyed controlling the metaphorical chess
board.
Refocusing her attention to the electronic
tablet, she read a headline on MSNBC about Megatone, a subsidiary
of Sony. She read about concerned investors. There was a recent
selling frenzy of stock resulting in a plummet of share prices.
Just since this morning they’d fallen from $77.12 to $48.13. Claire
glanced at her watch. It was almost one-thirty, four-thirty on the
East coast. The stock market would close soon. It didn’t sound good
for Megatone.
The Associated Press
article discussed
personal wrong
doing
on the part of the CEO. Concerned
shareholders questioned ethics in the boardroom. The underlying
insinuation was if an individual in a place of power made poor
personal choices, investors rightfully or wrongly transferred that
to business choices. Megatone and its board of directors maintained
the company’s position of strong integrity and principal. Currently
no evidence of corporate wrong doing was evident. Yet, with up to
the second news, the stock continued to dive.
Claire searched her stock market app;
Rawlings Industries stock currently sat at $168.78 per share. That
was up $2.04 since the same time yesterday. The company had been
experiencing an upward spiral, despite the economy, for the last
five years.
*****
Sophia searched her mind as she stood in
line. Each time she snuck a glance at the brown haired woman, she
analyzed her features. Finding a small table, Sophia sat sipping
her tea and waiting for her salad. Suddenly, she realized it was
the hair that was wrong. The woman that this woman resembled had
lighter hair. Nonetheless, as an artist she dissected the woman’s
features. Sophia knew without a doubt, in every other way, the
woman at the window was the same woman Sophia had stared at for
days and weeks. Not only had Sophia stared at her, she’d painted
her, wearing a beautiful Vera Wang wedding gown.
Suddenly, Sophia wondered if she should
approach her. After all, Sophia signed a confidentiality statement
regarding that painting. While Sophia debated, the woman seemed
lost in her tablet.
With her salad now
secured, Sophia resolved to approach the woman at the window.
Without warning an attractive blonde haired man sat down opposite
the woman. Sophia watched as the concern and concentration the
woman had been devoting to the tablet dissolved. The blonde haired
man appeared to take all of her attention. Sophia wondered,
could that be the man who hired me to paint the
picture?
If it was, she should remain
silent. Breach of contract would require payment. Since she didn’t
have the 1.95 million yet, talking to the woman she’d once painted
was no longer an option.