Kisses to Remember (31 page)

It was about time things went smoothly for a change. Maybe her time to be content had finally come.

Maybe she could be happy. 

Holden drove the rental car by the front entrance of DE headquarters. He’d tried to get into the parking garage, but without an ID badge, the guard wouldn’t let him in.

“Sorry…Mr. Lancaster, was it?” The guard paused while Holden nodded. “You understand the need for security, right?”

“Of course,” Holden said. “But I do work here. I just lost my badge.”
Or someone stole it from my house along with my uniforms.
He’d worn a pair of dark gray pants and a white dress shirt to try to look official, but without the badge he might as well have worn a T-shirt that said
Shady Character
on the front.

“I can call inside, if you’d like,” the guard offered. “If you’re meeting someone, they can come out and get you.”

Holden shook his head. Announcing his presence didn’t seem like a smart idea. Not as he added the pieces up in his head.

They’ve denied that I work here.

They’ve taken all evidence that I ever worked here.

They cleaned up the plane wreck pretty damn fast.

They’ve made no attempt to find me. 

No, he needed to be inconspicuous. “I’ll go home and see if I can’t find that badge.”

The guard nodded. “Good luck.” He touched the brim of his hat and stepped back into the entrance booth.

Holden now considered his options. He could forget the entire thing and get his ass back to Nebraska. Doing so would leave him with holes in his past. No good. He could park on the street somewhere and find another way into the building, but the front doors appeared to have security as well.

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he rolled past the building. He thought about driving to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and going to the DE hangar, but what would that accomplish? There’d only be planes there. Maybe he’d catch one of the pilots who must be replacing him and Vaughn, but they probably didn’t know anything. They’d probably been hired and given a nice salary to fly and keep their mouths shut.

Holden turned down a side street and made a big square around the DE building. He had to speak directly to the CEO. She was the one who had told both Johanna and Dr. Sakala that she didn’t know him or Vaughn. She was the one with something to hide.

Sabrina Donovan had the answers.

After finding a spot a few buildings away from DE, Holden left the car and surveyed the sleek skyscraper that used to be his employer. He craned his head up and almost couldn’t see the entire building from his position on the sidewalk below. Puffy, white clouds surrounded the shiny glass of the top floors. A quick image of being up there on a sunny day made Holden squint. He remembered it being like a greenhouse only there weren’t any plants, just machines. Donovan Electronics machines.

He tried again to picture Sabrina Donovan, but even with Johanna’s description he couldn’t remember her. He had to see her. Live. In person. Whatever the risk.

He looked at his watch. 12:15 p.m. Glancing up and down the street, he noticed business types in their suits or khaki pants and dress shirts. Much of the crowd carried laptop bags and oversized coffee cups as they headed into and out of nearby buildings.

Props
.
I need props.

He continued walking until he came across a small electronics store on the next street. DE cell phones, laptops, MP3 players and other assorted gadgets were displayed in the shop’s window. Holden went in and bought a laptop bag and a cell phone. The clerk looked at him a little oddly when he didn’t want to purchase a service plan for the phone. He’d probably eventually get one, but that was a job for another day. Today, the phone was simply a way into Donovan Electronics.

Slinging the laptop bag over his shoulder and tucking his shirt into his pants, Holden made his way back toward the DE building. He waited until a group of six guys approached the front entrance and put the cell phone up to his ear. He tacked himself onto this group, pretending to have a conversation as he maneuvered into the middle of them. They passed en masse by the disinterested security guard, Holden along with them. His heart knocked against his ribs as he fought the urge to look over his shoulder.

Keep walking, man. You’re in. You’re like everyone else that works here. Just another drone.

He mumbled sentences into the phone as he peered left and right and walked toward the elevator, staying a few steps behind the group he’d used as cover. The familiar claustrophobia of being inside the corporate headquarters spread over him. He recalled getting called to do flights and having to report to the airport instead of here. He recalled preferring that. Vaughn too, although his friend had wanted to come here for something.

What was it?
He pretended to be listening on the phone as he got onto the elevator, shaking his head every once and a while, but truthfully the people around him were engaged in their own conversations. One woman toward the back of the cramped elevator smiled at him. He smiled back, but dropped his gaze to his shoes as he said something about a meeting at three o’clock this afternoon into the phone.

The elevator stopped at the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, and twenty-first floors before totally emptying out. Holden stuffed the phone into his pocket and pushed twenty-seven, the highest number on the panel. If he were CEO, he guessed he’d take the top floors as his base, the peak of his kingdom.

The doors of the elevator slid open, and the first thing to pop into Holden’s head was,
Don’t break anything.
Large flatscreens hung on the walls like expensive picture frames. The DE logo—Johanna’s logo—flickered on the screens while a feminine computer voice boasted facts about the company.

Holden stepped out of the elevator, wishing there was a way to keep the doors open. Just in case. Gripping the strap of the laptop bag, he approached a skinny man with square-framed glasses sitting at a glass-topped desk. The electronic nameplate on the desk read
Aaron Spencer
in block letters. The name was familiar. When Aaron looked up and focused on Holden, a shocked expression flitted across the man’s face, and Holden remembered him as Sabrina’s assistant. Aaron swallowed, his Adam’s apple struggling in his narrow, pencil neck.

“Can I help you, sir?” Aloof arched eyebrows replaced Aaron’s rattled look, but it was too late. Holden knew the guy had recognized him.

“I think you already did, Aaron.” Holden rested his palms on Aaron’s desk and stared down at him. The man’s eyes were huge behind his lenses.

“How did you get in here?” Aaron whispered, darting a glance to either side of Holden.

Holden leaned down. “Why does this company think I don’t exist?”

“It’d be better for you if you didn’t exist.” Aaron stood slowly. “Turn around, get back on the elevator, and go away. Far away. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore.” The man’s hands trembled.

Holden shook his head, though Aaron’s warning made his legs wobble a little. “I want to see Sabrina Donovan.”

“She’s not here,” Aaron said.

At that moment, the flatscreen behind Aaron flashed a picture of a woman, probably in her early forties, with white-blond hair pulled back into a strict hairstyle. Her gray-blue eyes screamed predator and all of a sudden, Holden knew he was the prey.

A hundred inappropriate comments sounded in his brain. A thousand lusty glances invaded his memory. Countless brushes of her hand against some part of his body rushed into his mind. Sabrina Donovan had made a pastime of coming on to him. Always subtle, she’d tried to lure him into her bed repeatedly. This realization goosebumped Holden’s skin.

Then the memory of the last time he’d spoken to Sabrina came to him. In her office. With Vaughn. Late at night. After flying San Fran execs. The invoice. The questionable supplies. The implied use of DE equipment in weapons’ manufacturing.

Oh, God.
Had he and Vaughn been…silenced?

Only he was still here, still able to talk.

Holden grabbed a handful of Aaron’s black silk shirt. “Where is Sabrina?”

Aaron let out a little noise. “She’s coming for you. In Nebraska.”

Holden let go of Aaron and bolted for the elevator.

****

Having finished her meeting and her matchmaking for the day, Johanna gave Dina and Meri a wave as she put her laptop away. Evan had told her to stop by his office tomorrow and they’d hash out all the details. They could have talked specifics today, but after Meri had said she’d love to have drinks with him, Evan had suddenly lost all his focus.

Men
. Just once she’d like to meet one who could multi-task. Or maybe she had. Holden was able to plan a wonderful meal, transform a barn into a five-star hotel room, and make her body rejoice. Thinking of him made a contented hum vibrate in her throat as she tossed her laptop case into the Bronco. She wished there was a way to call him, to make sure he was okay. She didn’t like that he was headed to DE, to Sabrina Donovan. She also didn’t like the anxious feeling that had been with her since Holden had left.

Perhaps focusing on his homecoming would settle her. Johanna dug her cell phone out of her purse and dialed her house. She’d left Kam with Ted while she went to her meeting. Nurse Nancy was due to make another house call, but that wasn’t until the evening so maybe the boys would like some Chinese food for dinner. She could use that to bargain for a few more hours to herself. A few more hours to do a little shopping.

The phone rang several times before the answering machine picked up. Kam’s voice filled Johanna’s ear, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her son.

You’ve reached the Wares. Leave a message and maybe we’ll call you back.

At the beep, Johanna said, “Hello? It’s me, guys.” She waited a few seconds expecting one of them to pick up. When no one did, she continued, “Okay, well maybe you’re outside or something. I’m going to run a few errands then pick up some Chinese food for dinner. If you need me, call my cell. Love you. Bye.”

She hung up and started the Bronco. With her phone in her lap just in case Kam or Ted called her right back, she drove out of Café Coeur’s lot and headed for the small shopping center down the street.

Ten minutes later, after stalking someone for a parking space, she found herself standing in the lingerie section of a women’s clothing store. She felt like an alien in uncharted space as racks and racks of basically transparent fabric held together by lace surrounded her. It had been so long since she’d thought about sexy unmentionables. She fingered a black silk panty set on the rack closest to her. Holden had said he liked sensible cotton underwear, but she had a feeling he’d be completely in favor of this number as well.

But did she still have the body to pull it off?

“May I help you?” a salesperson asked, making Johanna jump and drop her hand from the panty set. “Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Actually, I think it’s this lingerie that’s scaring me.” Johanna scanned the sea of scantiness and though she was currently fully clothed in a long, flowered skirt and a cap-sleeved top, she felt exposed.

“Oh, my, a figure like yours is dying to wear this stuff, honey.” The salesperson picked up a royal blue nightie with thin, silk shoulder straps and a deep V neckline. “This baby rides low at the chest and high at the thighs. Covers the important stuff, but gives a nice tease. Want to try it on?” She angled her head toward the fitting rooms.

“Why not?” Johanna shrugged. “What else do you suggest? I’d like to take in a few so I can get really embarrassed in there.”

The salesperson, whose nametag read
Ava
, laughed. “I’m telling you, you’re going to love everything you try on.”

“Why? Are the mirrors magical or something?”

Another laugh as Ava gathered four more items, all of which could have fit comfortably in a small sandwich bag at once. She unlocked a fitting room and hung the lingerie on the door. “I’ll check on you in a few minutes, okay?”

“Yes. You’re going to want to make sure I haven’t slit my wrists.”

“Oh, stop. Look at you. You’re gorgeous. Cindy, isn’t she gorgeous?”

Another salesperson appeared. “Absolutely. I mean, look at that hair.” Cindy’s hair looked as if someone had experimented with it. Not really blond, not really brown, not really red. Some amalgam that had come out orangey-yellowish-tan instead.

“Well, thanks for your vote of confidence, ladies,” Johanna said. “We’ll see how it all turns out.”

She closed the fitting room door and set her purse down on the little bench inside. Before taking any clothes off, she stared at herself in the mirror. Not a magical one, by the way, though Johanna had to admit she did have a certain…radiance that had been missing for quite some time. About three years’ time.

Longer than that
. Alex had been in jail for three years, but she’d stop being genuinely happy way before that. She’d faked it pretty good for Kam and Kallie, but truth was, she was lonely for the adult companionship she’d expected to have with Alex. When they were together, things were great, but that was a rarity because he’d worked so much. And then Kallie got sick and all their energy focused on her. She and Alex never had time to hang out, to just flirt with one another, to make love in the barn on a hot, summer’s night.