Since I Saw You (5 page)

He pulled off his earpiece.

“Good morning,” she greeted him with false, brisk cheerfulness.

“It is one, isn’t it?” he commented quietly, glancing toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. The brilliant sunlight turned his usually cobalt eyes into gleaming slits of sky blue. “Francesca has that showing tonight. She’ll be pleased weather won’t stand as an excuse for people not to come.”

“She must be very excited.”

Ian’s brother Lucien and his wife Elise had opened a sophisticated boutique hotel and restaurant in the Prairie Avenue district several months ago, where Elise also worked as the executive chef. Francesca had been so inspired by the elegant brick structure where Lucien had situated the hotel that she’d completed a collection of some of Chicago’s architectural vintage classics, buildings evocative of a different era and graceful lifestyle. Lin had arranged for the Gersbach meeting with Kam to take place at the reception for Francesca’s showing, with dinner to follow at
Frais, Elise’s new restaurant.

“Francesca has sketched for this collection, isn’t that right?” Lin hedged, hoping to avoid the inevitable topic of Kam for another few seconds.

“Yes,” Ian said wryly. “It’s been hard for her, being put off the paints while she’s pregnant. I’m betting she’ll be covering herself with the stuff once the baby is born.”

There it was, that far-off look Ian got in his eyes whenever he spoke of Francesca. It pained her far less today than it had in the past. Lin recalled vividly the first time she’d ever seen that expression—so different from Ian’s typical brutally sharp focus. It’d made her jealous to see it, she admitted, but there had also been a strange feeling of happiness going through her as well, witnessing such a determinedly lonely man finally lose himself thoroughly in thinking of another. She’d long ago accepted he’d never look that way for her. The pain had become a distant ache that bothered her less and less with each passing day.

“Francesca would deserve it,” Lin said with a smile. “How difficult for her, to have to abstain from something so entwined with her existence. I’m glad she’s found some alternatives, though. Francesca is nothing if not resourceful.” She arched her eyebrows and gave him a small smile. “I’m assuming you got her a gift, something for her opening?” It was a little standing joke between them. Lin used to purchase all the gifts for the various women he used to see before Francesca. When Ian met Francesca, however, Francesca had understandably protested about his having Lin choose gifts for her. Ian had to take a crash course in buying personal, thoughtful gifts, and he’d come a long way.

“I’m sending flowers, and I got her a first-edition photography book on classical architecture she’s been wanting from Lucien’s shop,” he said, referring to a vintage bookstore situated next to the Coffee Boutique in Lucien and Elise’s hotel.

Her grin widened. “You’re becoming an expert. The day is coming when you won’t need me anymore.”

His gaze sharpened on her. “Don’t say that. You’re one of my most prized assets. I can’t exist without you. Or at least Noble Enterprises can’t. Speaking of which, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Lin tensed.
Here it comes.
Had Kam spoken to him? “Yes?” she asked warily.

“Would you ever consider moving to London? For your job?”

The ensuing silence seemed to roar in her ears. “I . . . I don’t know. Chicago has always been my home.” She collapsed back into her chair, her mouth hanging open. “You’re considering moving your home base to London?”

“I’m thinking about it,” he said honestly. “You know Francesca is going to have the baby at Belford Hall,” he said, referring to his grandparents’ palatial estate.

“Yes. And I know your grandfather hasn’t been in the best of health.” She realized how hollow her voice sounded. In the back of her mind, she’d always known that Ian might choose to make Belford Hall his primary residence, but that day always seemed far in the future. She tried to give him a rallying smile despite a sinking feeling. “I can understand why you’d want to relocate to England to be nearer to both your grandparents. Besides, it’d be a lovely place for Francesca to recover after the baby is born.”

“I’m considering it for a good chunk of time, anyway.”

She willfully steadied herself. He said it would be a short period of time, but she could easily imagine the circumstances stretching into forever. “I can’t expect everything to always remain the same,” she said evenly. “That’s the way of business. Things are always changing.”

“You’re more than just ‘business,’ Lin,” Ian said, his eyebrows slanting. “That’s why I brought it up. I want you to think about relocating. I’m sure we can come up with an arrangement that feels beneficial for you and isn’t so life altering. We’ll make a point to talk about it more next week?”

She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile, ignoring the snide voice in her head telling her
of course
she was nothing more than business to him. Her brain had always known that, even if her heart hadn’t adequately learned the crucial lesson.

“Enough about that,” Ian said gruffly. “We need to discuss Kam. How did it go the other night?”

“Fine,” Lin said smoothly. “I was wondering, though, if maybe we should rethink the idea of my being Kam’s guide through all of this?”

Ian sat forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the desk. “What’s wrong? Did something happen the other night? Kam’s been very closemouthed about it all, but then he is about a lot of things,” Ian added wryly.

Palpable relief swept through her
.
Kam didn’t say anything.

“It’s just . . .” She stared out the windows at the pristine skyline of the city. Having never been substantial from the start, her carefully constructed lie completely evaporated beneath Ian’s incisive stare. “I think you’d be the more ideal person, as his brother, to accompany him for these meetings. Don’t you?”

“Not really, no. Kam needs someone to guide him, not take the spotlight off him. Besides, he’ll be the first to tell me I’m being too heavy handed in dealing with matters that concern him. I can’t tell you how many times he’s told me since I’ve met him that it’s his
life, not mine—usually in much blunter terms. Your subtlety, your charm and manners are precisely what’s called for. Next to you, he’ll come off like royalty.”

“You think far too much of my abilities,” she muttered under her breath.

“I sincerely doubt that,” Ian said, glancing at his watch. “At any rate, we can ask Kam what he thinks about the whole thing. He’s due here any minute to get a tour of Noble. It’s his first visit to the offices. Coraline went down to the lobby to get him.”

Lin didn’t have much time to get panicked. A knock sounded at the door.

“Ah, here he is,” Ian said, standing.

•   •   •

A middle-aged, attractive brunette had been waiting for him in the lobby when he entered Noble Tower. She identified herself as Coraline Major and explained as they got on the elevator that she was one of Ian’s administrative assistants.

“I thought Lin Soong was his assistant,” Kam said as the elevator doors closed silently.

“Ms. Soong? Mr. Noble’s secretary?” Coraline said, thin, plucked eyebrows arching high at the idea. Coraline waited discreetly while two young men in suits got off on the tenth floor. The door closed, leaving the two of them alone in the elevator. “Myself and three others are both Mr. Noble’s and Ms. Soong’s assistants. Ms. Soong is a Noble executive. She sits on Mr. Noble’s advisory board and is considered by many his chief advisor. No one knows the company better, save Mr. Noble himself. She’s worked here since she was just a teenager off and on. Even when she was still in high school, she used to come to the office sometimes and her grandmother would put her to work on the books and such. Ms. Soong has her grandmother’s head for numbers. She’s certainly every bit as elegant and graceful as Mrs. Lee was,” Coraline recalled fondly.

“She was born and bred Noble, it sounds like.”

“Precisely. Mr. Noble consults her on almost everything. Ian calls her his right hand. They work together exceptionally well.”

A sudden, fierce wish went through Kam to return home to Aurore Manor, that familiar, brooding haunt of a home where he was free to do what he chose without overthinking everything, where he existed without the concern of offending. Not that the place was gloomy anymore. It’d been transformed under his hard physical labor, the massive cleaning Elise and Francesca had orchestrated with a platoon of maids, and the items that had arrived to refurnish the place. The shadows were being slowly vanquished, the darkness of Trevor Gaines evaporated by kind visitors, new hopes, organization, hard work, and streaming sunlight. It was becoming a home instead of a shell of a house. But more importantly, there was no one at Aurore to offend but his dog, Angus, and Angus was too good-natured of a beast to stay mad for long.

Phoebe Cane was caring for Angus in his absence, but he was suddenly quite certain his dog was as uncomfortable in Phoebe’s house as Kam was in his luxury hotel room here in Chicago. After all, Kam himself had never been content in the confines of Phoebe’s house for longer than it took to exchange pleasure. His dog would have one less reason for wanting to be there.

Coraline seemed to notice his scowl and thought it wise to change the subject.

“I can’t get over how much you and Mr. Noble resemble one another,” she said.

“If one more person tells me that, I’m going to grow back my beard as soon as nature allows it.”

He was so preoccupied with a longing for home and considering what Coraline had said about Lin and Ian working so well together that he didn’t notice he’d silenced Ian’s assistant completely. Was this idealistic working relationship the reason Lin thought Ian would disapprove of her and Kam sleeping together? Perhaps Ian had to approve of everything in Lin’s life since her life so closely intersected with his? And Lin had certainly pointed out that Ian would not give Kam the thumbs-up, brother status or no.

Kam couldn’t say he’d be surprised in either case. He wasn’t exactly in Lin’s league. Still, the truth grated. It was best all around just to put Lin Soong out of his mind. He’d never really invited her in to begin with except in the peripheral sense.

He stalked off the elevator when the door opened at the top floor, temporarily forgetting his guide.

Lin was the first thing his gaze landed on in the large, sun-filled office when Coraline knocked and opened the door for him to enter. She sat on a chair before an enormous, elaborately carved desk, her chin over her shoulder, watching him warily with those large, dark eyes. She was a palette of black and sun-infused ivory skin, wearing an ebony dress with long sheer sleeves. Her long legs were crossed. He recalled explicitly how she’d looked Monday night with her skirt shucked up to her waist exposing lithesome, silky thighs and the sweetest pussy God had ever created—

He grimaced. So much for sweeping her out of his head.

He paused for a split second just inside the door, trying to interpret her expression, and failing. He hadn’t overplayed the luster—or the appeal—of her eyes in his memories during the past few days. They drew a man in like a moth to dark flame. He yanked his stare off her and automatically took Ian’s hand when he extended it.

“Welcome,” Ian greeted warmly. “I hope you found us all right.”

“It’s kind of hard to miss,” Kam said dryly. Noble Tower was one of the most impressive of the high-rises along the river. He understood that his brother’s new headquarters had already become an iconic symbol of the city.

“Can we get you anything? Coffee? Breakfast?” Ian asked.

“No. I had breakfast at Lucien and Elise’s.” Coraline took this as her signal to go and exited silently. Ian waved him over to the pair of chairs where Lin sat.

“I wish you’d reconsider staying with us at the penthouse. Francesca was on me about it after you left last night,” Ian said. “I understand from Lucien that Elise is giving him just as hard of a time because you’re not staying with them, either.”

“I’m used to being alone,” Kam replied shortly, even though the last thing he felt was alone in his hotel room. More like a cooped-up lab rat.

“Lin and I were just discussing the meeting with the Gersbachs tonight,” Ian said as he went behind his desk. Kam lowered to the chair next to Lin. He gave a sideways glance and caught her staring. Her gaze immediately jumped off him like a skipped rock. Her dress was loose and shapeless, like an oversized man’s shirt, but made of draping, soft silk. Unfortunately for him and his overactive libido, it was also cut just above her knees, leaving a few inches of thigh and her lower legs exposed. To add to his misfortune, she also wore a pair of spiked heels with inch-thick straps that buckled around her ankles. The vision of the black leather against her slender, elegant ankles sent an electrical jolt through him.
Fuck
if it didn’t make him think of tightening leather restraints around those sexy ankles—straps that had nothing to do with luxury footwear—of Lin bound and helpless, writhing and moaning in pleasure beneath his mouth and hands—

Ian interrupted Kam’s uncontrollable pornographic thoughts. “Lin seems to be of the opinion that you might be more comfortable with me there instead of her tonight.”

“Is she?” Kam asked, giving Lin a glance. He wasn’t shocked, precisely, but he was irritated. As he stared at her, however, a different feeling crept into his awareness: curiosity. Her throat looked exceptionally white and flawless next to her dark, upswept hair and the dress. It tightened as she swallowed.

“I just think a family member might ease things for you more than I can,” she said, her low, honey-smooth voice at odds with the delicate, quick flutter of the pulse at her throat.

“So you’re not up to it,” Kam said. “Funny, you seemed up for the challenge the other night.”

Her gaze flashed to meet his, and this time he clearly sensed her anger flowing toward him like a cold, clear stream. “I didn’t say I wasn’t up for it,” she said.

“Then why are you trying to pawn me off onto Ian?”

“It’s not a matter of . . .” She faded off when she looked at Ian and noticed his curious stare, as if Ian, too, had wondered the same question. So . . . Lin definitely hadn’t revealed to her boss any of the dirty details of Monday night. He’d wondered. Was that because she was worried about her job or because she was personally embarrassed about having had sex with him? He noticed the delicate stain of pink on her cheeks and decided on the latter. Her lush, rosebud mouth flattened.