Release (29 page)

The day of the
gala had finally arrived, and the Institute looked absolutely gorgeous. 
The lobby was all decked out, and the Mackenzie Renault painting had been set
up in the parlor.  Although security was tight, everyone was excited for
the big night…students, faculty and staff, even the public.  Having an
actual Mackenzie Renault painting there as the main centerpiece, was sure to
bring in a pretty penny for the causes of the Institute.

Ryann hadn’t
seen Jennifer for the past two days, thankfully.  Unfortunately, she also
hadn’t talked to Jeremy.  It was her own damn fault. In a moment of panic,
she had given the edict that they shouldn’t talk until tonight.  And now
her bruised heart was paying the price.

Paul had been
doing the happy dance for the past two days, singing ‘Ding Dong, the Witch Is
Dead.’  He was thrilled with the outcome of the week, and still a little
disgruntled that Jennifer was allowed to be at the gala, but as both he and
Ryann had said, ‘it is what it is.’

The Institute
had stopped classes at three o’clock, to allow everyone to go home and get
ready for the event.  When Ryann stepped off the elevator to head back
home, she saw Armand standing by one of the pillars in the lobby with someone
from security.  Although he was only responsible for the safe transport of
the painting to the Institute, and its security was now in the hands of the
Institute, he would still be present for the gala that night.

She attempted to
make it out the door without being seen by him, but she hadn’t walked fast enough.

He walked toward
her and intercepted her at the exit.

“Hello, Ryann.”

She stopped and
smiled.  “Hi, Armand.  Everything’s gone well with the transport of
the painting, I assume?”

“Yes,” he
smiled. “It’s now safely ensconced in the parlor.  Have you seen it yet?”

“No,
actually.  I figured I’d see it tonight.  I was just about to head
home to start getting ready.”

He took her
elbow and steered her toward the parlor.  “Why don’t I take you back so
you can see it without hundreds of people around?  There won’t be a
problem if you’re with me.”

“Oh.  Well,
thank you.  That’s sweet.”

“That’s
me.  Sweet,” he said, flashing a sexy smile.

He led her into
the parlor, into the midst of all of the chaos of getting ready, and stopped in
front of the painting.

It was
stunning.  She had only seen photos of it, but had obviously never seen it
in person since it was owned by a private collector.

The name pretty
much summed it up: 
Heat.
  The abstract style coupled with the
dark gold and orange tones of oil on the canvas caused the viewer to look more
carefully.  The semblance of two figures were in the top left corner of
the canvas and were entwined together in an embrace.  One could just make
out the forms of genitalia, and the fusion of the figures’ bodies.

“It’s quite
something, isn’t it?”

She looked at
Armand, then back at the painting.  “Yes.”

“Ryann, I hope
you don’t mind if I say something personal…”

“I
would
mind, Armand,” she sighed.

“Before you shut
me out, please listen to what I have to say.  Jeremy’s
little...display...of schoolboy behavior the other day meant
nothing
. 
He may as well have been telling me he didn’t want me to play with his favorite
toy.”

She could feel
herself getting annoyed.

Armand paused,
then said, “I know Jeremy, Ryann.  I’ve known him for years now.  He
has many favorite…toys.”

She didn’t want
to hear this…she wasn’t going to listen to this.  It was feeding into her
insecurities, and she couldn’t take anymore.

God, was
everyone laughing at her for being with Jeremy?  Comments came flooding
back, from Robbie’s father warning her at Tabitha’s showing that Jeremy was a
heartbreaker… Jeremy pursuing her so aggressively, admitting himself that he
was a lover of women…seeing his face on the internet with so many beautiful
females…Jennifer’s comments…even Jack Willis saying people would be talking
about them by the water cooler.

She really
couldn’t take anymore.

“Armand, my
relationship with Jeremy is none of your concern.  Thank you for the
private showing, but I need to get going.”

She turned away,
and he stopped her with his hand on her arm.  “Please promise me
something.  Promise me that when he hurts you, you’ll come to me.” 
He passed her his card with his other hand.

“Armand, I need
to leave,” she said calmly, ignoring his offer of the card.  “Please let
go of my arm.”

“Take my number,
Ryann.”  He forced it into her hand.  “I’ll see you tonight.”

She turned and
nearly ran to the door.

…..

When she got
home, her head was spinning. 

She needed to
run.

She quickly
changed into her running gear and took her normal five mile route, making it
back to her apartment an hour later.

She stripped as
soon as she hit the inside of her place, dropped her stuff on the floor by the
door, and ran to the bathroom to get in the shower.  She needed the
silence, the cocoon of steam.

She stepped
under the spray of the hot water and willed her tense shoulders to relax.

She couldn’t
stop her mind from thinking.

When Brent had
died, she chugged along, pulling herself up by the bootstraps.  She had
chosen him for his loyalty, stability…his
safe
ness.  He was a
safe
choice.

Now, she’d
chosen someone who was the complete opposite in personality, who had a hint of
danger, and a past…and she felt like she was free falling without a net to
catch her.

She’d fallen in
love again.

Yes, that’s what
she had done.  She had taken a risk and fallen in love.  She hadn’t
meant to, but she did.  And now she needed to figure out how she was going
to protect herself.  She wasn’t sure if she could survive another man
leaving her.  First her father, then Brent.  They had both been
ripped from her.  She had had no say in their leaving.

Now, however…she
had a choice.

Her feelings for
Jeremy were so much more intense than those she had once had for Brent. 
With Jeremy, she was uninhibited…truly able to be herself.  Perhaps she
could survive his loss if she was the one who chose to leave.  If he was
planning on ending it that night after the gala, she needed to make sure that
she ended it first.

Because if he
willingly chose to leave her, that would crush her.

She turned off
the faucets, and stood there, shivering in the steamy bathroom, her body at
complete odds with the temperature surrounding it.  She wrapped herself in
a towel, and tried to warm herself.

It was time to
pull herself up by the bootstraps again.  If he was going to end it
tonight, she was going to make damn sure it wasn’t easy for him.

…..

At 7:30, Ryann
walked back into the lobby of the Institute. The transformation was
exquisite.  She looked around at all of the guests arriving, and at the
glamour of the clothing they were wearing.

She herself was
dressed to the nines.  She had wanted to make sure she knocked Jeremy’s
socks off.  She chose to wear her best shoes again, the Brian Atwood taupe
suede peep toe pumps, with a gold textured design overlay… the same ones she
had worn to Tabitha’s showing, along with a sleek and fitted royal blue
cocktail dress that fluted slightly above her knees.  The capped fluted
sleeves showed off her toned arms, and the plunging neckline showed off her
cleavage.  The dress definitely showed off her figure to its full
advantage.

She wore her
hair down in a messy sexy tumble of auburn curls, and wore a long gold necklace
ending just at her belly button. With matching earrings, a pale shimmery wrap
and taupe evening bag that she bought with the shoes, her ensemble was
complete.

A moment after
she arrived, Paul and Pete spotted her and walked over.  They were both
dressed in tuxedos and looked very dashing.  She told them so.

“Well, that’s
nothin’ compared to you, sweetheart.  Do a little turn for me, would
ya?”  Paul gave a low whistle.  “You are smokin’ this evenin’,
girlfriend.  Has Jeremy seen ya yet?”

Her stomach
fluttered, and she plastered on a smile.  “Nope.  I don’t know if
he’s back from Chicago yet, but he should be here soon.”

“Well,
shit.  When he gets here, you’ll know it, because he’s not gonna leave
your side with ya in that get up.”

She rolled her
eyes and thanked him for the compliment, her stomach a nervous wreck.  She
looked around at all the people.  “How many people do you think are coming
tonight?”

“Usually they
pull in around 400 or so.”

“Wow.  That
many?”

“Yup.  This
is the hottest ticket on the Lower East Side tonight.”

“Nice,” she said
as she looked around, and noticed Tabitha Lowe standing at the other end of the
lobby.  As if fate had willed it, they both made eye contact, and
immediately smiled at each other, Tabitha waving her over.

Ryann smiled
back, and swallowed her nerves.  How was she going to make it through a
conversation with this woman whom she adored?  The mother of the man she
loved who was potentially about to dump her?

Tough.  She
liked Tabitha.  She excused herself from Paul and Pete, and made her way
over.

Just as she
arrived within Tabitha’s circle, Tabitha reached out and gave her a huge
hug.  “Ryann,” she said in her ear.  “It’s so good to see you again,
honey.”

She felt like
she had known this woman forever.

“It’s so good to
see you, too,” she said with a genuine smile.

“You look gorgeous. 
I can’t wait until Jem sees you.” She squeezed her hand.

Ryann tried not
to look surprised by the comment.  She hadn’t known Jeremy told his mom
about them.  Or maybe she thought he hadn’t seen her since the showing two
weeks earlier, and was trying to play matchmaker?

“I don’t think
you’ve met my husband, Will.  Honey, this is Ryann,” Tabitha beamed.

The tall
distinguished older man reached out his hand and warmly shook it.  “It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Ryann.”

“Likewise,”
Ryann said back with a smile.

“And this,”
Tabitha continued, “is Luke Daniels, a very old and dear friend of Jem’s.”

The handsome,
bronzed man with dark hair and clear blue eyes reached out his hand and took
hers.  He was tall like Jeremy, and was wearing a stylish and custom
tailored tuxedo.

“Not
that
old, Tabby,” he winked at Ryann.  He looked to be in his early thirties
like Jem.  “Ryann, I’ve heard a lot about you.  I’m so glad that we
could finally meet.”

“You’ve heard
about me?” she asked with a smile, even though she was wary.

“It’s all good,
I promise.”  Realizing that he was still holding her hand, he finally let
go.

How had he heard
about her?  Had Jeremy told him about her?  A glimmer of hope took
root.  Or maybe Tabitha quickly told him about her while she was walking
over?

Her mental
gymnastics was exhausting her again.

“Well, I’m glad
it was all good,” she said.

“When is Jem
supposed to get here? Do you know?” Tabitha asked Ryann.

Maybe he
had
told his mom about them.  He’d had dinner with her at the beginning of the
week, so it was possible.

“I’m pretty sure
he should be here soon.”

“Well,
good.  Have you gone in to see the painting yet?”

“Actually, I had
a chance to see it this afternoon.  The private dealer who arranged for it
to be brought here –”

“Armand?”
Tabitha asked, interrupting.

“Yes.”

She nodded with
a controlled smile on her face.  She would bet her life that Tabitha
didn’t care for Armand, by the look on her face.  “We all know Armand
DiCarlo.”

Ryann nodded and
was slightly embarrassed.  “Of course you do.  I don’t know why I
hadn’t thought of that.”

Tabitha put her
hand on Ryann’s arm, and said, “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.  I was
just letting you know we know who he is.  Please, go on.  I didn’t
mean to interrupt.”

“Oh, well, he
showed the painting to me this afternoon.”

“Well,
good.  That was nice of him,” Tabitha said, clearing her throat. 
“How have you been adjusting to your schedule here?”

“Good,
good.  Paul Schneider has been wonderful.  I couldn’t have asked for
a better mentor.”

“Isn’t that the
truth?  Paul is the best.  Really.  You’re in good hands with him.”

“Is your
sister’s family coming tonight?”

“Yes! 
They’ll all be here, so you get to say hello again.  I can’t imagine that
they won’t be here soon.  These yearly fundraiser galas are a family
affair, as you can imagine.  All of the McCallisters and Callahans come
out of the woodwork,” she beamed.

“Great.  It
will be good to see them.  Umm.  I’m assuming you’ve figured out that
I’m resigning from the Academy, but I haven’t done it yet.  Is your sister
connected in any way…?”

“No…no…” 
Tabitha patted Ryann’s arm with her hand.  “Don’t worry about the word
getting out.  Not only is she not connected to the Academy, even if she
was, she would certainly be professional about it.”

“Of course she
would.  I didn’t mean to imply…”

Tabitha squeezed
her arm again.  “Ryann.”  She paused.  “Relax,” she whispered
close to her, where the men, who were now engaged in conversation, couldn’t
hear.

“I’m
sorry.  I’m a little high strung tonight,” Ryann smiled nervously.

“As soon as
Jeremy gets here, you’ll be fine,” Tabitha said, giving her a squeeze.

Ryann wasn’t too
sure.  “I’m going to run to the restroom.  Would you mind excusing
me?”