Wayward Dreams (24 page)

And thirty minutes out of bed, Karen was plucking Prada and Dolce and Gabbana from her closets with one objective in mind: Finding out about the woman who had Harry Jordan turning
her
down. She paused at a rack of shoes, selected a pair of open-toed pumps, and refused to think about what she would do
when
she found the woman.

It wasn't as though there weren't other men in the world; she just wanted
this
one.
And he turned me down.
She huffed out her frustration and dropped the shoes on a small cushioned bench. Hands on hips, she pursed her lips and let the thought spin itself out.
I know what this is about. He's thinking
about his future again, and we don't have a future together.

Dropping her robe, Karen stood in front of the full length mirrors lining the dressing room of her Atlanta home and took stock of herself. Angling her head, she could see that even at forty-five, the good genes she'd inherited from her father's Moorish mother and Cuban father were still standing her in good stead, but it was the rich unlined dark skin of her mother's hearty Jamaican ancestors who would keep her looking good well into her seventieth year. “Good genes,” she sighed.

Leaving the robe where it was, knowing someone would get it, Karen ran her hands through her hair and strolling into her bathroom, thought of what life in a city like Atlanta could offer.
Not much
, she decided, letting her hair fall around her shoulders.
But for some odd reason, he likes it here.
Not that she was trying to establish anything permanent with Harry; she just didn't want to lose what she'd always had with him—good old emotionally unencumbered sex.

Harry Jordan and what she wanted to do with him was still on Karen's mind when she touched the wide brim of her hat before sauntering away from her limousine and into Peachtree Center's North Tower lobby. Second thoughts stalled her momentarily when she had to find Kin Kura International in the building's computerized directory. A deep breath and a sense of entitlement let her shake the question off.

Still, what she did next was going to depend on luck as much as anything else. Kin Kura International was owned by Harry's brother. She'd only met the man once, and it had taken Paisley Denham's prattle to dredge up the memory. It was at the Project ABLE fundraiser, for about a minute, and that was nearly a year ago. In that minute, they'd never discussed her relationship to Harry.

But what if he recognizes me and figures out why I'm here?
Frustration did a naughty little can-can across her nerves and she felt her pulse buck and quicken.
He can't be there
, Karen ordered the Universe,
he can't.

Determined, she pulled out her cellphone and turned her back on the security guard seated at the desk. Finding the number she'd used earlier, Karen waited impatiently for her call to be answered. When a woman who gave her name as Joi Lansing answered the phone, Karen asked for Mr. Jordan.

The woman said he was out at this time, and Karen's pulse slowed to normal. She terminated the call before Joi could say anything else, not caring whether there was anything else to say. She had all the information she wanted. Walking across the lobby, stepping onto the elevator, she couldn't help feeling a sense of satisfaction. As she pressed the button for the twenty-first floor, Karen felt good—this was going to be even easier than she'd expected, and she could deal with the fallout later. Harry's little friend was going to be toast.

Like an itch, a pair of sudden thoughts rattled her calm.
What if they've found a way to love each other? What if there's no room for me between them?
Karen stood taller and her fingers tightened on her handbag.
That is not going to happen.

The elevator rocked a little as it stopped to pick up another pair of passengers and Karen kept her eyes straight ahead.
Am I really this willing to risk making a fool of myself over this man? As fine and noble as he is, there are other men. There are others.
But her head and maybe even a little bit of her heart wanted Harry.

The brunette standing to her left in the elevator gave her an odd glance and an extra step's worth of space when Karen gave the thought a haughty sniff of disdain. Not caring, Karen kept her eyes and thoughts fixed as the elevator rose. Stepping out on the twenty-first floor, looking around the North Tower, she saw pretty much what she'd expected: bright hardware and polished wood. Stopping at the first reflective surface she found, she peered at her face. Touching a careful finger to the corners of her mouth, she had to admit she liked what she saw.

Sensual, seductive, stunning beauty, the kind most women only imagined could be found between the pages of a magazine—that was what Karen saw. She knew that was the face Harry's little upstart of a temptation would see, and Karen hoped it would leave her feeling like two cents waiting for change. Satisfied with her look and her power, Karen walked down the hall.

Outside the showroom, an artful plaque displayed Kin Kura International's name, and Karen experienced a hunter's adrenaline rush. Pushing through the heavy wooden double doors, she let her eyes sweep the intriguingly appointed floor space. Much of the décor was exactly what she'd expected: buttery soft leather settees, soothing bonsai, and expensive hand-carved wood.
Not bad. He has nice taste.

From the shadow of her hat's brim, Karen inspected the two women who looked up when she entered the showroom. One of them was her quarry, and she made a little bet with herself.
The tall one, slender but with plenty of curves. Something about her eyes…
She watched the woman walk toward her, pretty much a one-woman parade, with her head held high and her carriage confident, all she needed was a little music and an excuse to wave like a pageant winner.

Karen saw the question in the woman's eyes before she asked, so she stepped forward. “I'm Ella Gray. I have an appointment with Ms. Coltrane.”

The woman smiled and Karen gave her points; it was a smile Harry would have liked.

“I'm Bianca Coltrane, and it's very nice to meet you.” She offered her hand and ‘Ella Gray' deliberately moved both her hands to her purse, ignoring the extended greeting.

Caught off guard, Bianca's smile tightened when she brought her hands together in front of her body. Smart enough not to huff in the woman's face, she tried to think happy thoughts while ‘Ella Gray' stood unperturbed.

Moving to a small table holding copies of Kin Kura International's most recent catalogue, ‘Ella Gray' pursed her lips as she lifted one and paged through it silently, giving Bianca a chance to study her. They were of approximately the same height and weight, though ‘Ella Gray' was darker and older. Her wide-brimmed hat and deceptively simple black sheath were eye-catching, but the long strands of pearls draped around her slender neck were a bit too ostentatiously Audrey Hepburn in
Breakfast At Tiffany's
for Bianca's taste.

When ‘Ella' snapped the catalogue closed, she appeared refined, but with an air of over-indulged entitlement, and when she looked up, her feline-tilted eyes were dark enough to be called black. “I am most interested in the dynastic jade. The nineteenth-century piece, the celadon and russet jade model of the lady and phoenix.”

Bianca had the distinct impression she was being dared not to have it.

“Certainly.” She seated the customer in the viewing room, offered tea and was refused. As she turned to bring the requested piece, the woman raised a finger and cleared her throat. Feeling summoned, Bianca turned back to find the woman looking at her with appraising eyes.

“I'm not really here for the jade.” The tip of the woman's tongue traced her carefully lined lips and her eyes chilled significantly. “My name isn't ‘Ella Gray'. It's Karen Dodge.”

The name meant nothing to her, but curious, Bianca faced the woman and took a step closer. “What are you here for?”

“You.”

“Me?” Bianca took a step backward.

“Yes.” Karen crossed her legs and looked at Bianca with rare patience. “I wanted to see for myself what you were. And truthfully, anybody who looks like you is only meant for sin and trouble.”

Bianca's mouth dropped, the impossibilities nearly gagging her. If anybody looked like Satan in a Sunday hat and ready for sin, it was this woman who had walked in with a fake name and ulterior motives. “Who sent you here? Was it Kelvin?”

“What's a Kelvin, and what would it have to do with me?”

“Not Kelvin?” Bianca heard herself stutter and was mortified when she realized the woman had also heard. She felt the wide eyes on her when the woman tagged her as prey. “Who are you?”

Karen's smile was nasty, ready for the kill. She pushed the catalogue into the center of the display table with her fingertips and sighed softly. “I'm the woman you've been keeping that spot warm for…you know, the one in Harry Jordan's bed.”

Bianca froze and found she couldn't close her mouth. “This is about Harry?”
An ex?

“Do I really have to explain it to you?”

Oh, Lord,
Bianca thought,
payback really is a bitch, and she showed up today wearing Dolce and Gabbana.
Staring at the woman, the pieces began to fall into place.
So this is what Harry's past looks like. Creeping in here like an alley cat—high maintenance, low morals.

Karen summoned an almost preternatural grace and rose from her seat. She smiled like a porn star as she walked closer, gauging Bianca's every breath. “You know what a zero is? It's a place holder.”

Bianca's mouth closed and tightened.

In front of her prey, Karen shrugged blissfully. “That would be you, a zero.”

“That's not true.” Bianca couldn't stop herself. She'd had this conversation before, been on the other side of it with other women, and she knew how this ugly little game played out. She also knew Harry Jordan. “That's not true. If you were with Harry, there would be no room for me. You may have had him once, but no more, and that's why you're here, isn't it? You think Harry and I have a future.”

A bit of fear crossed Karen's face when she saw wild darkness come over Bianca. Karen tried to summon her own dark spirit, and when it failed to rise to the occasion, she tried to fake it. “You should just walk away. Who knows? Maybe I'll even give him back to you when I'm through.”

Bianca took a step closer, her face inches away from Karen's. “You are obviously used to people doing what you tell them to do, but you're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. I don't like you.”

A trace of fear slithered through Karen and her resolve wavered. Knowing she was in deeper than she'd ever gone for anything she wanted, including a man, she faked another attack. “For some reason, you don't think that I will take what belongs to me.”

“You're still standing here talking.” Using her finger like a sword, Bianca feinted and jabbed it at the other woman. “Do not, for even a second, think that I care what you want. You're used to polite people, but I'm not one of them. Do not, for a second, think that I am too polite to call you what you are and mean it.”

She stepped forward and only stopped because one more step would have had her standing behind Karen. Close enough to smell fear on the other woman's skin, her forefinger tapped Karen's chest. “You may have money, but you have no class. You're a nasty little sniping harpy trying to hang on to a man who doesn't want you, but that's your problem, not mine. I know what Harry is, too, and he deserves better than you.”

“Of all the nerve…”

“Oh, no, my sister. You have not yet seen how much nerve I have.”

Karen looked into the swirl of emotion coloring the darkened eyes and felt her blood run cold.
This woman is serious. She might really hurt me…
She shifted her purse from hand to hand.
Not even Harry is worth this.

“Okay,” Karen said, shuffling backward. “Maybe I made a mistake…”

“You think?” Bianca deliberately pushed her shoulder into the other woman.

“I should apologize…”

“You should go.”

Karen's pursed lips and wide eyes were a prelude to her back-stepping flight from the showroom. Standing with her hands clenched into fists, Bianca watched her go. Chasing her wasn't worth the effort.

Joi crossed the showroom, watching the doors close behind Karen. She looked at Bianca and then let her hands fall on Bianca's arms and rubbed. “What just happened here? You're ice cold and shaking like a leaf, and whatever you said or did to that woman had her moonwalking out of here. Bianca?”

“Nothing.” If she'd had the strength, Bianca would have shaken off Joi's conciliatory hands. If she'd had the strength, she would have walked away from Joi and carried on as though nothing had happened, but she was on ‘E'.

“I don't know what just happened here, but I know shock when I see it,” Joi murmured, sliding her arm around Bianca. Still murmuring, she led her across the floor and into Akemi's office. Pushing the door closed behind them, she watched Bianca drop into a chair.

Being a long-time Kin Kura employee had its perks, and one of them was knowing where Akemi kept the alcohol. She moved to the wall and opened the panel secreting his private bar and poured a tumbler of dark liquid. Returning to Bianca's side, she offered it and was relieved when Bianca took it from her hand and sipped.

When Bianca swallowed and nearly choked, she grabbed the handful of tissues Joi offered and frowned up at Joi. “Are you trying to kill me? What the heck is this stuff?”

“Sherry.” Joi offered another handful of tissue.

“Sherry? You know you don't give black women sherry!”