do it now, it would only be harder later. The problem was she was
exhausted, both physically and emotionally. There was nothing left to her but
hope and fear. The two warred within each other briefly. For a moment, it could
have gone either way. Then the pressures and the stress of the previous two
days was too much, and she only nodded mutely.
“All right. Just relax, and let me take care of things.”
It was simply too much of a temptation to allow him to
drive, to let him make the decisions for a little bit longer. If there came a
time when she needed to strike out, to confront him over the information that
Satya had given her, that could come later. Right now, she only sank back into
the bucket seat and let her eyes drift closed.
In a matter of seconds, her breathing evened out, and she
felt into a light and mercifully dreamless sleep.
* * *
He’d had a plan for the day, after they were done with the
luncheon. He was going to sit down and talk with Marianna. He wanted to know if
he had imagined the chill between them, if she truly intended their night of
passion to be something that was light and forgettable. He needed to know for
sure. That was the plan, anyway. Over the course of the weekend with Grace, he
had considered a few different plans, some brutally simple, others grandiose
and unlikely.
This plan, which was one that actually had Grace’s
approval, was the best one of the lot, but Marianna had derailed it utterly.
He didn’t know what to think. When he had seen her at the
steps in front of her hotel, his first instinct had been to order her back to
bed and to call for some sturdy, nourishing food for her. She was on the
slender side, but somehow over the past seven days, she had become almost
gaunt. Her eyes seemed to have lost some of their luster, and her movements
were wooden, as if she had been tacked together with bad nails.
Her explosion after the luncheon was strange as well. If
any other woman had spoken to him in that way, he would have quickly dismissed
her and left. However, there was something desperate to her anger, something
that made his heart ache. All he had wanted to do was to make it better for her
in the only way that he knew how.
He supposed that men who were more steady and stable than
he was had plans for what happened when the women they cared about seemed to be
on the verge of collapse. He, however, was making it up as he went along.
At a red light, he put on his blue-tooth headset and called
Philip Lagana.
“Good evening,” Nikolos said. “You’re not going to like
what I have to say to you.”
“That’s…remarkably foreboding,” his mother’s assistant
responded. “What’s happened now?”
“I’m going to be unavailable for the next two days or so, I
think. I don’t want to be called, I don’t want to be brought in unless there’s
some kind of emergency.”
“Thank you, I’ll make a note of it.”
Nikolos frowned.
“That’s it? You’ll make a note of this? Philip, you are
making this shockingly easy.”
He could imagine the older man shrugging.
“I don’t think you realize the extent to which you have
changed over the course of the past week or so,” he said. “Having some notice
ahead of time before we look up and see that you have disappeared is simply
exotic.”
Philip hung up, and with a half-rueful smile, Nikolos did
the same.
He glanced at Marianna sleeping in the seat next to him. Relaxation
had smoothed out the worry and the exhaustion a bit, but her mouth was still
turned downward in an unhappy curve. It took everything he had not to lean over
and to try to kiss that frown away.
He sighed. Despite the inauspicious start to the day, he
still had hopes it was going to go well.
He had driven for a little while when he felt a soft touch
against his hand. Startled, he looked at the sleeping woman in the seat next to
him. In her sleep, she had reached out to touch his hand. He noted that her
frown had disappeared to be replaced by a
exhausted, both physically and emotionally. There was nothing left to her but
hope and fear. The two warred within each other briefly. For a moment, it could
have gone either way. Then the pressures and the stress of the previous two
days was too much, and she only nodded mutely.
“All right. Just relax, and let me take care of things.”
It was simply too much of a temptation to allow him to
drive, to let him make the decisions for a little bit longer. If there came a
time when she needed to strike out, to confront him over the information that
Satya had given her, that could come later. Right now, she only sank back into
the bucket seat and let her eyes drift closed.
In a matter of seconds, her breathing evened out, and she
felt into a light and mercifully dreamless sleep.
* * *
He’d had a plan for the day, after they were done with the
luncheon. He was going to sit down and talk with Marianna. He wanted to know if
he had imagined the chill between them, if she truly intended their night of
passion to be something that was light and forgettable. He needed to know for
sure. That was the plan, anyway. Over the course of the weekend with Grace, he
had considered a few different plans, some brutally simple, others grandiose
and unlikely.
This plan, which was one that actually had Grace’s
approval, was the best one of the lot, but Marianna had derailed it utterly.
He didn’t know what to think. When he had seen her at the
steps in front of her hotel, his first instinct had been to order her back to
bed and to call for some sturdy, nourishing food for her. She was on the
slender side, but somehow over the past seven days, she had become almost
gaunt. Her eyes seemed to have lost some of their luster, and her movements
were wooden, as if she had been tacked together with bad nails.
Her explosion after the luncheon was strange as well. If
any other woman had spoken to him in that way, he would have quickly dismissed
her and left. However, there was something desperate to her anger, something
that made his heart ache. All he had wanted to do was to make it better for her
in the only way that he knew how.
He supposed that men who were more steady and stable than
he was had plans for what happened when the women they cared about seemed to be
on the verge of collapse. He, however, was making it up as he went along.
At a red light, he put on his blue-tooth headset and called
Philip Lagana.
“Good evening,” Nikolos said. “You’re not going to like
what I have to say to you.”
“That’s…remarkably foreboding,” his mother’s assistant
responded. “What’s happened now?”
“I’m going to be unavailable for the next two days or so, I
think. I don’t want to be called, I don’t want to be brought in unless there’s
some kind of emergency.”
“Thank you, I’ll make a note of it.”
Nikolos frowned.
“That’s it? You’ll make a note of this? Philip, you are
making this shockingly easy.”
He could imagine the older man shrugging.
“I don’t think you realize the extent to which you have
changed over the course of the past week or so,” he said. “Having some notice
ahead of time before we look up and see that you have disappeared is simply
exotic.”
Philip hung up, and with a half-rueful smile, Nikolos did
the same.
He glanced at Marianna sleeping in the seat next to him. Relaxation
had smoothed out the worry and the exhaustion a bit, but her mouth was still
turned downward in an unhappy curve. It took everything he had not to lean over
and to try to kiss that frown away.
He sighed. Despite the inauspicious start to the day, he
still had hopes it was going to go well.
He had driven for a little while when he felt a soft touch
against his hand. Startled, he looked at the sleeping woman in the seat next to
him. In her sleep, she had reached out to touch his hand. He noted that her
frown had disappeared to be replaced by a
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