Silver Lining, page 13
I shook my head at the thought.
My niece, Brooklyn, was my sister’s daughter and almost thirteen years old. She knew her Aunt Lena cared, but never in thirteen years could I be called a doting aunt. No, Lena Montgomery was too busy for that. To show up unexpectedly…that would probably scare Brooklyn’s other aunt. And then there were my sister’s in-laws, her ex-husband’s parents.
My thoughts were all over the place, not centering on one subject for any length of time when Adam pulled the car into the open gate of the private airport. The Texas heat shimmered above the asphalt, making me want the fresh air of Montana.
I could find solace in my home. I wouldn’t let the stalker take that from me.
Adam carried my satchel with my laptop as the three of us walked over the hot pavement toward the Montgomery Holdings business jet. We were almost to the stairs when Liz appeared, her expression odd.
Rushing down the steps, she came our way.
“Liz?” Kelsey questioned.
Her eyes were unusually large. “Mr. Dillon, Archie would like you to come aboard.”
My focus went from one person to the next. “What is happening?”
Adam’s furrowed brow told me he was as ill-informed as I. “Kelsey,” he said, “take Lena back to the car and wait.”
“Liz,” I questioned, “what is it?”
“Go,” Adam said in a more demanding tone.
I stood my ground. “Tell me what is happening, or I’m going up those steps.”
Archie appeared, coming around the side of the plane. “I’ve located the source.”
“The source of what?” I asked again.
“Ma’am,” Liz said, “After you deboarded and the plane was fueled, Archie and I went into Austin. We didn’t know you’d be back this soon. Mr. Wilde had said... it was a long time to wait.”
I nodded, not caring what they did with their free time.
“When we received Mr. Dillon’s text, we hurried back. There was something…the plane…the smell is…we could only assume it had to do with the heat.”
“Smell?” I looked to Adam, Kelsey, and over to Archie as a sickening sensation washed through me. “Is it fish?”
“Yes, ma’am. A whole lot of fish.”
“Where?” Adam asked.
“Luggage hold, beneath the fuselage.”
“Tropical?” I asked, my volume lowering.
“Ma’am,” Liz said, “The smell is horrible. We will need to rent another plane to get you back to Missoula.”
“How?” I asked.
Kelsey reached for my arm. “Come with me. Let Adam take care of this. We’ll get a plane and get you home.”
“Home,” I said louder than I should, the term losing its meaning one incident at a time. “Home is where they know I will be. How did they know I was here today, on this flight?”
“Ma’am.”
“We only decided this yesterday.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
CJ
“You’re going to take the offer. Now, you’re not going to take it,” Colton said, instead of asking.
I stared down at the parking lot from the windows in the conference room, the room where I’d last had Lena to myself. The room where she told me to take the offer—to work for Venus and forget about her.
Practically, it was also a room with furniture, unlike our offices.
“CJ.” Colton’s volume rose. “Staying with Architech is all you’ve talked about since Cancún.”
I turned to face my brother. “Not all.”
His lips formed a straight line as he shook his head. “The odds…”
“About as outrageous as two brothers from Ohio hitting it big.”
“Buy a lottery ticket, man. You’ve had lightning strike twice.”
Pulling out a chair, I sat at the long glass table. The lingering scent of Lena’s perfume came to my senses. The scent she wore today was the same as the first night I went to her suite. Leaning back, I crossed my arms over my chest. The suit coat and tie I’d worn earlier were gone and the cuffs of the shirt were rolled up to my elbows. Extending my legs, I crossed my ankles under the table.
“What are your and Devon’s plans?” I asked, suddenly aware I hadn’t questioned him earlier.
“We made an offer on that place on Lake Travis.”
He’d taken me there before the deal was complete. The home was huge—five bedrooms and five baths, on the water. Well, down a steep cliff and on the water. The original owner was an investor in Architech who no longer needed the extra space. Colton and Devon had been afraid he’d sell before they had cash in hand.
“Andrew didn’t sell?”
Colton smiled. “He waited for us. Our offer will make it worth the delay. We’re just waiting to hear from the agent. The house has been empty for over six months. Once we have a home base that we want to come back to, we figure we’ll travel for a year or so. Then we’ll settle down and make a home. You know, little Thompsons running around.”
I stared up at my brother, the person I’d looked up to my entire life. “You are thirty-three. Do you think you’ll be happy, without goals?”
Colton pulled out the chair across from me and sat. “Devon and I have goals. There are countries and cities all around the world we want to see. We figure if we travel before kids, we can see places we’ve only read or dreamed about. If we enjoy them, someday, we’ll go back with them.”
“What’s your reason for getting up each morning?”
“Devon.”
Taking a deep breath, I contemplated his answer, wondering if it was fair to Devon to take on that responsibility. As much as I wanted a future of some kind with Lena, I knew I wanted more too.
“Do you remember,” I asked, “when we both realized that we had something—really something?” My circulation accelerated with each sentence and memory. “Remember how vivid the virtual environment was the first time?”
“I do. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“I remember being afraid we couldn’t recreate it.”
“We did. Now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.”
Labor?
Colton and I had success, but not the kind that comes from physical labor, not like our father or mother. We invented something valuable.
Were we simply lucky?
Lottery ticket.
“If I could take Lena out of the equation,” I said, “which I can’t, I don’t see myself happy without a tangible goal.” I met his gaze. “Lena said she has a hard line when it comes to dating employees.” I scoffed. “The good news is that according to her bio, that eliminates possibly thousands of men as competition.”
“In other words,” Colton said, “if you take the position, Ms. Montgomery is off-limits.”
I nodded.
“If you don’t take the position, you’ll no longer have Architech’s continued success and viability as a goal. Will you devote twenty-four seven to pursuing her?”
My nostrils flared as I exhaled. “Yes, but she’d hate me for it.”
“Some women would find it flattering.”
“Not Lena.” I pushed the chair back until it was resting on two legs and looked up at the ceiling.
“You act like you know her, like you’re some expert after one week.”
My jaw clenched as I let his assumption settle in my thoughts. I lowered my chin to meet his gaze. “You’re right. I’m not an expert. I know what I know, and I want to know more.” Allowing the chair to drop to four legs, I said, “I’m fucked.”
“Don’t look at me. I told you to let Architech go. You convinced me you wanted to stay. Now you don’t.” He shrugged. “I’m out of brotherly advice.”
“I mean, I’m fucked because I either take the position and lose any chance with her or don’t take it and pursue a fucking successful woman as a jobless man.”
Colton smirked. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure she can support you.”
What did the bio say about her net worth?
A lot.
“For the first time, one hundred and ten million sounds small.”
“It’s not,” Colton replied. “You’re not exactly penniless, or pursuing her for her money. And honestly, since I just met her, I think she’s…intimidating.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention. “Why?”
“It’s a vibe.”
“She’s successful and rich, but so is Jeremy and you liked him.” I stood. “It’s because she’s female.”
“No. Yes. Listen. I’m not raining on your parade. If you don’t feel the ice-queen chill, then I’d say that’s a good sign.”
I shook my head. “Seriously, fuck you. You heard me talk for two weeks about a woman, a woman I couldn’t get out of my head. You meet her and say she’s an ice queen.” I walked toward the door, ready to end this conversation.
“CJ,” Colton called. “I think Lena Montgomery is brilliant. Her understanding of Architech blew me away. That said, yes, she’s intimidating. Blame me, not her. It’s why I wanted to sell. I knew if we depended on me or you to face someone like her, we’d get taken to the cleaners. Up shit’s creek. Choose your metaphor. The lady is good. And seriously, you two meeting without knowledge of one another” —he shrugged— “was a good thing. I’ll support you no matter what.”
“I’ve faced her. I held my own.”
“Then it’s me,” Colton replied.
Reaching for my suit coat and tie, I nodded. “I’m headed home.”
“Your decision?”
“I told Jeremy I’d give it to him by tomorrow at noon.” I swung the jacket over my shoulder. “A night alone with a bottle of whiskey might help me decide.”
“There are better ways, brother.”
“Right now, that’s the plan.” As I opened the door to the hallway, I decided to head toward my old office, maybe for the last time. If I said yes to Venus, the space would be mine again—until the move. As I turned the corner, I stopped short of a head-on collision. Taking a step back, I saw who almost plowed me down. “Adam, what’s the rush?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Wilde.”
Trying to gauge Adam’s emotions was like telling the difference between a partly cloudy day and a mostly sunny day. Nothing. I had nothing. “Is Lena all right?”
“Mr. Wilde?”
My shoulders squared as we met eye to eye. “Where is Lena?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “If Ms. Montgomery wanted you to know her location, she wouldn’t have blocked your number.”
Asshole.
I gave him the answer to his question, “Jeremy is using Colton’s office, this way.” I nodded the direction I was headed. “The HR people are in the offices nearby. They have appointments for at least the next three hours or more.”
Adam nodded.
As he turned, I reached for his arm. The stony expression that met mine would have been terrifying if my thoughts weren’t on someone more important. “Tell me Lena is safe.”
“She’s safe. She’s headed back to Missoula sooner rather than later. Goodbye, Mr. Thompson.”
She’s safe.
I let the phrase run on repeat until I caught up to the scene outside my old office in the space separating Colton’s from mine. The two men were speaking too low for me to hear the words. That didn’t stop me from recognizing the body language. Whatever news Adam was delivering, Jeremy wasn’t taking it well.
Ducking into my old office space, I pulled out my phone with a hope and a prayer that if I dialed Lena’s number it would connect.
My breath caught at the icon of two missed messages.
How could I miss them?
My phone was on silent for our meetings.
Brushing the icon, I saw they were both from Lena.
Message number one:
“I have your number. You said to message.”
I’d said to message about her safety. What the hell happened?
* * *
Message number two:
“CJ, if you don’t hate me, please call.”
* * *
I immediately pushed her number.
“CJ.” Her voice wasn’t of the woman in our building an hour ago; it wasn’t even of the woman in Cancún.
“Lena, I just saw your message. What happened?”
The call remained silent until Lena said my name again.
“Whatever you want, I’m here.”
“I need to hide. May I hide with you?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lena
Seeing CJ’s name on the screen, I lowered my volume, put a hand to my other ear, and answered the call. “CJ.”
“Lena, I just saw your message.”
It was uncanny how the sound of his deep voice steadied me.
“What happened?” he asked
The stalker was getting closer. For the first time since I picked myself up and dusted myself off in an apartment rented by Logan Butler, I was genuinely frightened. Since Kelsey, Adam, and I left the airport, Adam had been insistent on renting a new plane and leaving immediately for Missoula. The Montgomery Holdings business jet was already being attended to by a hired cleaning crew.
A rental plane meant a hired crew. A hired crew consisted of people I didn’t know, who may or may not know me.
Could that have been the stalker’s plan, have me rent a jet and take me…?
I’d told Adam we needed to find another alternative. Whoever planted the fish in the luggage hold not only knew I was along on this trip with Jeremy but that I was still in Austin. Of course, they would assume my next move was to go home.
Closing my eyes, I felt the walls closing in. The uncertainty was nauseating and the pounding in my temples refused to ease. I forced my thoughts to focus upon the man on the phone. “CJ,” I said softer.
“Whatever you want, I’m here.”
“I need to hide.” To get off the radar. “May I hide with you?”
The time between my question and his answer could have been too short to record, and yet it seemed like an eternity, the culmination of years of self-reliance slipping away, my success whittled down to life and death. With few friends to turn to and my rejection of CJ earlier in the day, this was probably not the right move. He deserved the right to tell me no.
“Yes,” he said, conviction growing in his voice. “Where are you? I can come get you.”
“I’m here, at Architech.”
“I just saw Adam with Jeremy.”
“Yes, we’re waiting for Adam in the car.”
“What happened?”
I looked at Kelsey, still in the front seat. Involving CJ was my idea and mine alone. Kelsey didn’t approve, reminding me about my stance on employees. I was certain Adam would approve even less. That didn’t matter. I was the boss, and at the moment, I would do things my way. “I’ll fill you in. I’m with Kelsey in the parking lot. If you give me your address, they can take me there.”
“Shit, Lena. I’m here. I’ll take you.”
It went against every rule and every measure of safety, and yet I wanted to go with him. “Kelsey will bring me inside. Where can I meet you?”
“Have her bring you around to the back of the building. The parking lot is smaller back there. My car is the Range Rover. You can’t miss it.”
I covered the phone and spoke to Kelsey. “Take me around back.”
She shook her head. “Ma’am, Adam will be here in a minute. He’s in charge.”
Straightening my neck, I replied, “No, I’m in charge. Take me around the back of this building now.”
Getting out of the passenger side Kelsey walked around the car to the driver’s seat.
I spoke into the phone. “We’re on our way.”
“I’m already headed down,” CJ said.
“Thank you.” I disconnected the call.
As Kelsey began to drive, her gaze met mine in the rearview mirror. “We need to check out his house.”
“No,” I said, my resolve returning. “No one except you, Jeremy, Adam, and Colton Thompson know CJ’s and my history. No one. Other than the acquisition, there’s no connection to the two of us. The stalker expects me to either stay in Austin at a hotel, rent a plane, or fly commercial. If the stalker knows I’m here, he or she is watching us. Drop me off with CJ, and you and Adam get rooms, three of them, in Austin. Jeremy can do whatever he wants. A day. Two days. I don’t know. Let’s see if the stalker makes a move.”
Kelsey’s lips pursed. “Ma’am, you are our job.” Her tone softened. “We do care.”
“I know that, Kelsey. I care for the two of you.”
“You’re asking us to wait for a move while leaving you unprotected?”
“This has to end,” I said, sensing my own desperation. “You need to work with Adam and the rest of your team to find out how information is getting out. I hate to think someone on my team is guilty, but it is the only explanation.”
My earlier rebuttal of CJ evaporated from my thoughts as he came into view. Tall and solid, his wide shoulders were no longer covered by a suit coat, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled to his elbows, displaying his toned forearms that exhibited only a snippet of his natural beauty and tattooed artwork. With his dark hair hanging near his chin, concern showed in his expression.
Kelsey stopped the car. Before she could get out, CJ was at my side, opening the door. If his turquoise orbs were the Caribbean Sea, the waters were rough and the skies stormy.
He offered me his hand. “You’ll be safe with me.”
Placing my palm in his, the strength I needed flowed from him to me. “I believe you. That’s why I asked.” Standing on the hot concrete, I felt stifling air surround us. Looking up, I pledged, “I promise this will not affect your position.”
“I don’t give a fuck about a job right now.” CJ stood tall and looked in all directions. “Come on. Are you being watched?”
“I don’t know.”
