An Executive Decision (21 page)

Within minutes they were lying on a stretch of open countryside left to grow up wild behind Ellis’s house. The night smelled of ripening grasses, summer heat, and newly mown hay from the fields nearby. The dome of the sky coalesced with a light show of meteors. Garrett had polished off one turkey sandwich the cook had provided for an impromptu picnic and had started on a second, but Dee only lay next to him and watched the sky.

‘I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s amazing.’ Dee nodded to the domed housing of a telescope not far from where they were lying. ‘The telescope. Was it here when Ellis bought the house?’

Garrett followed her gaze. ‘That, he built himself – well, at least the telescope part. The housing he hired someone to build, but Wade told me that he actually took time off from Pneuma Inc. to supervise and make sure it was just right.

‘You seem to know a lot about astronomy,’ Dee said.

‘Just a fan of the night sky. Have been for years. I studied astronomy briefly at Caltech, but then I got a good contract with my publisher and had too much on my mind to stick with it. Ellis, on the other hand, he was passionate about it. He probably doesn’t have much time for it any more. His loss.’

‘I never would have imagined Ellis as a stargazer. He always seems so firmly rooted on the ground.’

‘My brother’s actually a very interesting person despite his capitalist ways.’

They lay quietly for a few minutes, watching nature’s pyrotechnics. ‘Ellis is the one who got me interested in astronomy, actually; me and Stacie. He even discovered his own asteroid. Bet you didn’t know that, did you?’

‘Wow! Astronomy’s a far cry from running a cutting-edge company. What made him decide on business?’

When Dee finally did ask a real question, it happened to be the most devastating one, the answer to which had shredded all their lives 17 years ago. Garrett’s heart hammered his ribs, as though it were still trying to escape the truth. But he wasn’t one to keep secrets, not any more. He took a deep breath and tried to sound matter-of-fact. ‘I eloped with his fiancée and he got expelled from the astrophysics program at Caltech for cheating.’

She came up on one elbow as though she were spring-loaded. ‘That’s ridiculous! Ellis would never cheat. He wouldn’t need to.’

Garrett could feel the heat of her anger pressing against him. It wasn’t hero worship he sensed in her. She believed in Ellis, and she believed in him from a place of knowing. With startling clarity, he realised he had never been in that place with another human being, and he envied her the experience.

‘Of course he didn’t do it. He and Daren Jamison were up for a position at the observatory in Hawaii. It was a summer programme and it was a position based on merit. Ellis was a shoo-in for the post, but Daren was Terrance Jamison’s favourite nephew, and suddenly there was all this evidence that Ellis had cheated on his last two exams, manufactured, of course. He never got a chance to prove his innocence, never got a fair hearing of his side of the story. He was just expelled.’ Garrett drew a shaky breath. ‘It all happened the same day Stacie and I announced that we were married.’

‘Jesus,’ Dee whispered.

‘Yeah,’ Garrett agreed. ‘We didn’t know. We marched right in, hand in hand, told him we were married, and all the while he’s standing there with his walking papers in his hand. He didn’t say anything. He just turned around and left. I mean, we expected him to be upset, and we were prepared for that. We didn’t find out until the next day that we were just the final straw.

He could hear Dee’s ragged breathing. Clearly she was struggling to take in what he had just said. He continued, ‘Do you have any idea how much time and energy is involved in the study of astrophysics? It’s not a degree you could whip through using Cliff Notes.’ He could feel Dee glaring at him in the darkness as he hurried on. ‘You know the old adage “no time for romance”? Well, that was Ellis. It didn’t mean he didn’t love Stacie. He adored her, actually. It just meant she wasn’t the only thing in his heart, and that was the problem.’

He lay back in the grass with his arms folded behind his head, still feeling the burn of Dee’s gaze. ‘I was just beginning my freshman year when I got lucky and sold my first novel. It was probably a fluke. I mean, I was young, but it was the kind of pulp fiction testosterone stuff that sells. That’s what I wrote back then. It wasn’t long till I got a contract for more of the same.

‘When I got my big break, Ellis was at the observatory, so Stacie celebrated with me, and before the night was over the celebration took a turn for the personal.’

‘Even though she was engaged to your brother?’

‘It just happened. God knows neither of us intended it, and I swear we didn’t see it coming. But by the time it did, there was no turning back. After the first time, we couldn’t get enough of each other. I skipped classes during the day to write, and at night we made love into the wee hours. Finally one weekend, on a wild hair, we eloped. We had no way of knowing that while we were tying the knot, fucking each other’s brains out, my brother was being sold up the creek.’

Dee sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. ‘Ellis must have been devastated.’ Her voice was anguished, and for the first time Garrett wished he’d kept his mouth shut and let her think he was really not a bad guy, just the typical younger brother. It was too late for that now. Besides, he reminded himself, it didn’t matter what she thought of him. What mattered was how she felt about Ellis.

‘Not pretty, our little story, is it?’ Garrett sat up next to her and chafed his arms.

‘Surely Ellis’s name was cleared?’

‘Of course it was, but not until after he was already enrolled in the Business Department at Portland State. Beverly had the situation investigated – without Ellis knowing about it, of course. And she found out about Jamison’s involvement. Jamison’s nephew isn’t the sleaze his uncle is, and he confessed to everything, making sure to cover his uncle’s ass, of course. Though I’m sure he was well rewarded for that.’

Dee plucked a handful of grass and tossed it into the darkness. ‘But surely once Ellis’s name was cleared, they would have accepted him back into the programme? Surely once everything was made right…’

‘Everything couldn’t be made right, Dee. Don’t you understand?’ His head suddenly ached and there was the sharp pain beneath his ribs he always felt when he talked about that night, and the horrible time that followed. He deserved the pain. He took a deep breath and continued. ‘Ellis applied at Portland State, like I said. His best friend was there, studying engineering. He knew the head of the Business Department.’

‘Beverly.’

‘That’s right. Based on Wade’s recommendations, she pulled strings to get him into her programme in spite of the blight on his academic record.’

‘I knew Ellis and Wade went to Portland State together and Beverly had been Ellis’s professor. I didn’t know – the rest.’

‘Of course you didn’t. Beverly went out of her way to make sure that information was well covered up, mostly because she knew how it tore Ellis up, even after the fact. If Ellis hadn’t been expelled from Caltech, there would have never been a Pneuma Inc.,’ Garrett said. ‘I often try to salve my conscience with that fact.’

‘His being expelled wasn’t your fault,’ Dee said.

Garrett didn’t respond. Somehow, it always felt like his fault. ‘Once the truth came out, Ellis was cleared, but he didn’t go back to the astrophysics programme. Too many painful memories, I suspect.

‘Stacie and I aren’t proud of what happened. I know we’ve both wished a million times we could go back and undo the damage. We were young and stupid, and I would have done anything for Stacie. I was in love with her. She was engaged to him. Ellis was left to pick up the pieces.’

An uncomfortable silence thickened like fog around them. He could tell she was looking at him and not the sky, studying him in the darkness, probably wondering what kind of a monster would do something so terrible to his brother. He tore up the uneaten piece of sandwich he no longer had appetite for and threw the bits onto the grass for the birds to find in the morning. ‘Oh, he’s forgiven me, which I’m not sure I could have done if the tables had been turned.’

‘I can’t really picture Ellis being the kind to hold a grudge.’ Her voice was now soft. The disappointment and anger had vanished into the silence.

‘He’s not. I’m just neurotic, that’s all.’

He could still sense the press of her gaze, which he felt woefully inadequate to return. ‘Why did you tell me this, Garrett?’

‘You asked.’

‘You trapped me.’

His laughter rang hollow in his ears and stung the back of his throat. ‘Yes, I suppose I did, didn’t I?’

‘I’m not your confessor, Garrett. Ellis’s past – well, it’s his past. We all have one. And I’m an only child. I don’t know anything about sibling rivalry.’

‘But you know my brother – maybe better than anyone else right now.’

She forced a laugh. ‘I doubt that very much.’

He inhaled the scent of summer grass and settled back on the ground. ‘Ellis would be appalled. At the best of times I’m not very good at keeping my mouth shut. And this past week hardly qualifies as the best of times. Anyway, if Ellis has told me once, he’s told me a hundred times, personal lives should be private – not that he has much of one any more.’

Dee scrunched her knees up under the edge of her skirt and pulled her jacket tighter around her. ‘Your brother who has no personal life is at the Hilton with Stacie ordering in. Sounds pretty personal to me.’

‘Why, Dee Henning, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous.’

She tugged at the tail of her skirt. ‘That’s ridiculous. I’m just stating a fact.’

‘Then why are you trembling?’

‘I’m cold.’ She chafed her arms. ‘That’s all. I’m just cold.’

‘Right, cold.’ He slid out of his jacket and spread it across her shoulders, relieved for the change of subject. ‘Anyway, trust me, there’s nothing of any consequence between my brother and Stacie.’

‘And you would know this because she’s your ex?’

‘I would know this because I know my brother, better than he thinks I do, actually.’ He looked over at her; and though he couldn’t see her expression in the darkness, he could feel everything inside her stretched tight beneath the controlling reins of neutrality. ‘Ellis wouldn’t fuck Stacie, Dee. That was over a long time ago. If either of the Thorne brothers would be fucking Stacie, it would be me, because Stacie has always been the one I run to when I need comfort. I don’t have Pneuma Inc. and saving the world to keep my mind off things.’

‘I don’t think I need to be hearing this,’ Dee said. ‘I agree with your brother, private lives should be private.’

‘Look, look!’ Slipping an arm around her, he pointed to a particularly brilliant display in the sky. They both watched, awestruck.

‘It’s really too bad Ellis missed this.’ Her voice was breathless, punctuated by the heavy beat of her heart.

And suddenly he felt the core of her laid bare, and he knew exactly what was at the centre, just as he had suspected. ‘You’re in love with him, aren’t you?’

She pushed his arm away with such force that his jacket fell from her shoulders. ‘Of course I’m not in love with him. Don’t be stupid.’

‘I’m very observant, Dee – the way you say his name, the way your eyes sparkle when you mention him, or when I mention him, the way you hang on every word when I’m talking about him. Oh, it’s all right. He’s in love with you too. It’s just neither of you have figured it out yet, that’s all.’

‘You may pride yourself on being very observant, Garrett, but you’re wrong.’

He slid the jacket back around her shoulders. ‘I suppose it’s possible. But not very likely. I make my living observing, remember?’ He could feel her trembling against him. They both watched another spattering of meteors. He waited. She didn’t speak. He figured she had decided on silence being the better part of wisdom. But now was too late. He knew it, and she no doubt did too.

He dropped the bomb. ‘Dee, I know he’s having sex with you.’ Before she could do more than utter a startled gasp, he continued, ‘I know about the Sex Clause, and I know that’s a part of your job.’

‘He told you?’ Her voice was a strangled whisper, and the storm of emotions she’d until now kept hidden flared brighter than the meteors.

‘Let’s just say I figured it out. It was a theory Beverly and I cooked up one evening over too much wine and too little sleep.’ He forced a laugh he no longer felt. ‘I never dreamed he’d try to implement it.’

‘Tell me, Garrett, how many other people has he discussed this little experiment with?’ She threw off his jacket and tried to stand.

He pulled her back down. ‘Take it easy, Dee. It’s not like that. It’s not what you’re thinking.’

‘What I’m thinking is that Monday your brother can find himself another lab rat. And I’m just the daytime entertainment. He has to have Stacie too? Well, at least I get paid for it.’ She fought back a sob.

‘Dee, will you listen to me? I only know because I know my brother. I saw the way he looked at you and I knew. I told you I’m pretty perceptive. He would never tell anyone. He would never betray you, and he certainly doesn’t view you as the paid entertainment.’ He took her hand, which was now icy and rigid. ‘Far from it. He can’t stop talking about you. Like I said, he’s in love with you.’

She jerked her hand back. ‘And that’s why he’s off with Stacie at the Hilton, and I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.’

Before he could speak, she raised her hands. ‘I don’t want to talk about any of this any more, Garrett. Ellis’s private life is none of my business –’

He covered her mouth with his hand. ‘If he’s with Stacie, it’s because he’s afraid of his feelings for you. He’s just afraid. Just like you are.’

She shoved his hand away from her mouth. ‘I don’t want to hear any more, and don’t assume you know me and what I feel because you don’t.’

‘Dee, Ellis and Stacie –’

‘I think it’s time to go home, Garrett. I’ve had enough revelations for one night.’ This time she bolted and was halfway to the house before he could catch up with her.