could feel it coming and I wanted to get up and bolt from the room before she had time to say it. I slouched down in the chair. “Just say it and get it over with.”
“He’s requested to work with you while he is here.”
Sorry bastard. Of course he had. He’d done two other shows with the gallery and both times, I’d had to work with him at his request. Keeping a high-ticket artist like Kenneth happy kept the foundation in money. Since the Holman Foundation funded an arts academy, a halfway house for abused women, a cancer hospice facility, and several youth centers throughout the city of Boston, I couldn’t very well do anything to damage its chances of making money.
“This sucks.”
“I know, and I’d do it myself but he’s such a diva when he’s crossed. You don’t have to have contact with him outside of the gallery, and if he tries to even hold your hand you’re to report it immediately.” Jane pursed her lips. “I don’t like it, you know. I realize that Milton forced you to play hostess to him and you can tell me ‘no.’ He’ll make do with me or Mercy.”
“You know he won’t.” I frowned. “I guess I can take one metaphorically for the team. But if he touches me, you’ll know about it from the wails of pain you hear.”
“Understood.”
She didn’t look comfortable; and I knew she wasn’t very happy with herself for even asking me. It made it easier to think about doing. Because at the very least she was as angry about it as I was going to be in the morning. Kenneth “barely human” Victor had a reputation for being irrational and very difficult to work with. Anybody that didn’t jump to the snap of his fingers was working against him and that was his most charming quality.
“Men don’t take rejection well.”
“No one takes rejection well,” Jane corrected. “I take it you had another conversation with Connor?”
“Yes, he came by my apartment. I guess he was hoping to talk me out of it.” When I’d first started working directly for Jane, I called her Ms. Tilwell, and never got personal with her. Now, a year and a half later, she knows just about everything. She’s one of those women who inspire trust and faith without even trying.
“You’ll both move past it eventually.”
“Well, I had two weeks alone to think about what I wanted in my life. He spent the last two weeks trying to figure out what he could say to make things right again.” I shook my head and stood. “I need to clear out my schedule for tomorrow.”
“Give me anything you can’t pass to the admin staff.”
“I sure will.” And I was going to start with the ladies’-club luncheon I’d agreed to attend. We all hate them, and I’d drawn the short straw last month when we’d decided who would go. “The club luncheon is tomorrow.”
She sat up straight in her chair. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope.” I smiled sweetly and walked to the door. “At least the food will be good.”
“Who could enjoy food with all of those rich ancient socialites?”
I left with that question unanswered. Jane had her issues with the profoundly wealthy and it was a subject we’d disagreed on in the past. I grew up with my maternal grandparents, and I’d grown up much the same way as those rich old socialites we all hated to dine with. They might be drowning in money, but most of them were generous and thoughtful with it. Back at my desk, I found a message from Shawn about the security system.
The phone rang a few times before he picked up.
“Detective Shawn Tranner.”
I smiled. His voice was nice and made me a little warm, which was irritating. I wasn’t about to jump into another empty physical relationship with an emotionally unavailable man. “Hello, this Casey Andrews.”
“Ah, yes, my mysterious neighbor. I’ve made an appointment with a security firm to install the system. They’ll need access to your apartment.”
“When?”
“Thursday at one p.m.”
“I’ll put in on my calendar.” I picked up my handheld and tucked the headset between my shoulder and neck. “Detective, huh?”
“I got my gold badge about two years ago.”
“So you don’t work the street?”
“Only as an investigator.”
Not as dangerous, I thought. I glanced toward Jane Tilwell. Jane had been a cop in Georgia until she’d been shot in the line of duty. “Well, I was thinking I could bring home something for dinner and we could get to know one another.”
“Sounds good. I’m on shift until about six.”
“Pizza or Chinese?”
“Chinese is good.”
I relaxed a little in my chair and smiled. “Good. I’ll see you then.”
Ending the call, I began to self-lecture. The sexy jogger neighbor was off limits sexually. He had to be. I can’t jump from one man to another like some woman on a cable show. Well, I shouldn’t jump from one man to another. My sexuality had always been both a hindrance and an asset for me. I enjoyed sex and liked to have it, a lot.
I figured that ending my relationship with Connor, such as it was, would have some rather frustrating repercussions. However, my body was not in charge of my life and I was finished with heeding its call over my better judgment. Detective Shawn Tranner was my neighbor and would remain just that.
Rearranging my calendar to accommodate Kenneth Victor was as irritating as just about anything can be. Kenneth was a talented artist and worked in many forms. He had several homes and one was in Boston. Since he’d only just finished a run in New York, I’d figured it would be six to eight months before he’d come back to Boston for another show. I’d been mistaken, and it was irritating. He’d never done a small special-focus show so I hadn’t anticipated that interest. It would allow for a smaller, more limited, collection and it would require more of my attention.
The first time I’d met Kenneth he’d asked me out. Milton Storey had been the director of the gallery at the time and had insinuated strongly that I should do anything to make the artist happy. I’d told them both to shove it. Milton hadn’t been stupid enough to fire me for it. Thankfully, that troll had been gone from the gallery for quite a while.
“Kenneth Victor?”
I looked up from my computer. Mercy was standing there. “Yes?”
“The last time he was here he asked for you specifically. This time he’s asking that you personally handle not only his arrangements but also his show.”
I flushed bright red with embarrassment. “I’ve done nothing to encourage his requests.”
“I realize that.”
“We all do things we hate for the sake of the foundation.”
“Yes.”
