would.”
“Adele’s concerned, too,” he continued. “She called about ten minutes before Mom did.”
Immediately, I tense.
“Jane,” he says tenderly. “There’s nothing—”
“I know.” I snap the words at him, though the truth is I’m mostly annoyed at myself. I step back out of his arms under the pretense of getting coffee; I feel silly about my reaction, and don’t want him to notice how tense Adele’s name makes me.
“Was that who was just on the phone?” I ask casually as I head toward the kitchen.
He follows me, and from the hint of a grin on his mouth I’m certain he recognizes my tactic. “No, that was Damien. I’ve got a meeting with him tomorrow.”
“Damien Stark?” I’ve started to fill the coffee carafe, and now I look up. Stark is a former professional tennis player turned billionaire entrepreneur and the CEO of a business conglomerate that makes our Sykes family business look like a garage sale. Dallas and Damien have worked together before, but that was because Stark Real Estate is developing some projects with Sykes Retail. But since our father fired Dallas after he learned about our relationship, that project is no longer Dallas’s concern. “What’s the meeting for?” I ask. “You’re not with Sykes Retail anymore, so…”
“Not Sykes business,” he says. “Tech stuff for Deliverance.”
My eyes go wide.
“Damien doesn’t know about Deliverance, though he may suspect something. Don’t worry,” he says in response to my look of shock. “I trust him.”
“All right,” I say, still a little nervous. “So what’s the tech?”
“Noah designed a listening device. It’s groundbreaking. Allows you to essentially have ears on an entire building from a single operational point. It has the potential to be huge in the market—and exceptionally useful for an entity like Deliverance.”
I nod; I can see that.
“Since I can’t manufacture it without garnering attention, we licensed it to Stark. He builds it, pays Noah a royalty, and sells the tech back to me at a highly discounted rate.”
“I get it,” I say. “And so the meeting’s about that?”
“Exactly.”
“But that’s tomorrow. You don’t have any work planned for today?”
“Not a thing. You?”
The coffee has started brewing, and there’s enough in the pot for a half cup each. “Not a thing,” I say as I grab two mugs and pour us each a shot of caffeine. “Joel’s in Palm Springs today on a set, but he’s got Tarpin coming in tomorrow afternoon, so I guess I have a chance at keeping him on the picture.” I gulp my coffee. “So this works out great. We’re both free, and today we’re going to do nothing but have fun.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Not just a fact, it’s a plan.” I kiss him, then back away with a grin. “Give me ten minutes to get changed, and the fun will begin.”
He chuckles and I hurry to my closet to find something to wear. When I return, I’m in a sundress and flip-flops. He looks up, his expression of concentration shifting to appreciation as he watches me do a little twirl, making the skirt flare.
“What are you working on?” I ask, heading toward him.
He puts the tablet down and shakes his head. “Nothing we need to worry about today. Where are we going?”
“I was thinking Universal Studios.” I love that theme park. The rides are great, but what I love the most is the tram that takes you around the back lot so that you can see old movie and television sets. “And after that, maybe hit a bar near the beach and have a drink on the patio.”
“Lead the way.”
As it turns out, the day goes pretty much as planned. We spend about three hours at the theme park, eating fast food and holding hands on the rides and strolling through the movie memorabilia shops.
After that, we rejoin the throng on the CityWalk outside the park entrance and browse the various shops that line the retail area. We buy matching Hollywood ball caps and put them on.
“Adele’s concerned, too,” he continued. “She called about ten minutes before Mom did.”
Immediately, I tense.
“Jane,” he says tenderly. “There’s nothing—”
“I know.” I snap the words at him, though the truth is I’m mostly annoyed at myself. I step back out of his arms under the pretense of getting coffee; I feel silly about my reaction, and don’t want him to notice how tense Adele’s name makes me.
“Was that who was just on the phone?” I ask casually as I head toward the kitchen.
He follows me, and from the hint of a grin on his mouth I’m certain he recognizes my tactic. “No, that was Damien. I’ve got a meeting with him tomorrow.”
“Damien Stark?” I’ve started to fill the coffee carafe, and now I look up. Stark is a former professional tennis player turned billionaire entrepreneur and the CEO of a business conglomerate that makes our Sykes family business look like a garage sale. Dallas and Damien have worked together before, but that was because Stark Real Estate is developing some projects with Sykes Retail. But since our father fired Dallas after he learned about our relationship, that project is no longer Dallas’s concern. “What’s the meeting for?” I ask. “You’re not with Sykes Retail anymore, so…”
“Not Sykes business,” he says. “Tech stuff for Deliverance.”
My eyes go wide.
“Damien doesn’t know about Deliverance, though he may suspect something. Don’t worry,” he says in response to my look of shock. “I trust him.”
“All right,” I say, still a little nervous. “So what’s the tech?”
“Noah designed a listening device. It’s groundbreaking. Allows you to essentially have ears on an entire building from a single operational point. It has the potential to be huge in the market—and exceptionally useful for an entity like Deliverance.”
I nod; I can see that.
“Since I can’t manufacture it without garnering attention, we licensed it to Stark. He builds it, pays Noah a royalty, and sells the tech back to me at a highly discounted rate.”
“I get it,” I say. “And so the meeting’s about that?”
“Exactly.”
“But that’s tomorrow. You don’t have any work planned for today?”
“Not a thing. You?”
The coffee has started brewing, and there’s enough in the pot for a half cup each. “Not a thing,” I say as I grab two mugs and pour us each a shot of caffeine. “Joel’s in Palm Springs today on a set, but he’s got Tarpin coming in tomorrow afternoon, so I guess I have a chance at keeping him on the picture.” I gulp my coffee. “So this works out great. We’re both free, and today we’re going to do nothing but have fun.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Not just a fact, it’s a plan.” I kiss him, then back away with a grin. “Give me ten minutes to get changed, and the fun will begin.”
He chuckles and I hurry to my closet to find something to wear. When I return, I’m in a sundress and flip-flops. He looks up, his expression of concentration shifting to appreciation as he watches me do a little twirl, making the skirt flare.
“What are you working on?” I ask, heading toward him.
He puts the tablet down and shakes his head. “Nothing we need to worry about today. Where are we going?”
“I was thinking Universal Studios.” I love that theme park. The rides are great, but what I love the most is the tram that takes you around the back lot so that you can see old movie and television sets. “And after that, maybe hit a bar near the beach and have a drink on the patio.”
“Lead the way.”
As it turns out, the day goes pretty much as planned. We spend about three hours at the theme park, eating fast food and holding hands on the rides and strolling through the movie memorabilia shops.
After that, we rejoin the throng on the CityWalk outside the park entrance and browse the various shops that line the retail area. We buy matching Hollywood ball caps and put them on.
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