Chasing Glory (9 page)

“I knew I could count on you,” Glory said. “If Tal likes the idea, can I tell him it’s okay to go ahead and invite Alyssia, or should I wait until you talk to Pryce?”

Catherine made a dismissive noise then laughed. “Have you been listening to me? Pryce and I are together. We’re a team, partners, lovers, Io and Jupiter. He’ll be there.”

Glory closed her mouth. “Okay. When you put it that way. Here’s hoping Tal and Alyssia hit it off.”

The instant she said it, an unwelcome image of Tal and Alyssia enjoying each other’s company intruded. Glory forcefully replaced it with an image of herself backpacking through her favorite trails in the Black Forest.

“You could prep him on some topics of conversation,” Catherine continued. “Do you think he can handle the dessert menu?”

“I’m sure of it. He’s a genius when it comes to food.”

Catherine snorted. “Maybe he could have some raw fish available in case he actually expects her to eat.”

Glory sighed. “That’s probably close to the truth.”

“So sad,” Catherine agreed. “Hey, what are you going to wear?”

“Why would I go? With you and Pryce and the other couples, it would be a little awkward for me to be there, too. The whole point is for Tal and Alyssia to get together.”

“You’re right,” Catherine said. “I’ll keep an eye on things and report back.”

“Great. I’ll call Tal and get things rolling before you invite anyone.”

“Got it. ‘Bye.”

Glory dialed Tal’s extension. Her smile sprang into place when he answered.

Chapter Twelve

Tal hung up. A get
together for Junior? He sighed. It made sense. Alyssia had been too busy hosting the Welker function, and again while running this morning’s meeting. And her exchanges of texts at lunch had bothered him. She might have waited until their lunch was over.

If he did as Glory suggested and invited Alyssia to his apartment for a casual event, she should start to grow more comfortable around him. That was the goal, right?

Tal dialed Alyssia’s extension, his palms sweaty. He wanted the invitation to sound offhand and casual. “Alyssia? This is Tal. I forgot to mention during lunch today, but I’m hosting a small gathering for Pryce Welker this Sunday evening at 7:00. Sort of a ‘Welcome to Seattle’ for our newest client. I’d like you to come as my guest.”

Alyssia hesitated. “I didn’t realize you and he were that chummy.”

Tal had an answer to that. “We’re not, but he seems nice enough and I thought I’d do my bit to keep the clients happy. Besides, it’ll be a good way to test our new chocolate praline sauce. It should be a big seller on the cruise lines Welker International distributes to.”

“Not a bad idea,” she said. “I’ll try to make it.”

“Look forward to seeing you,” Tal responded. “Got the address?”

“I can get it.”

Tal disconnected and let out a pent-up breath. “Works for me,” he said out loud.

• •

Catherine came in later than usual the next morning, floating on a pink cloud, or at least if auras were visible, hers would have been cotton candy hued. She settled in, then walked to Glory’s desk. “Pryce is in for Sunday.”

“By the look of you it probably took long tortuous hours to convince him.”

Her friend yawned. “Actually it was easy. That’s the day we’re having an early dinner with his parents. He says they’re easier to take in small doses, so the fact that we have to leave for a party in his honor is a great coincidence. By the way, I didn’t tell him it was to set Tal up with Alyssia. I let him think it was all about him.”

“Any interest on the part of the other couples?”

“Of course. The shallow people I associate with are dying to meet a handsome, well-traveled,
nouveau riche
man with a home in Europe. They’ll be there. I asked them to come early so they can meet Tal.”

“Glory held up her hand for a high five. “We are good.”

Catherine yawned as she smacked Glory’s hand. “And we are tired. It’s going to be a long day.”

• •

Glory poked her head out of the elevator and looked toward the test kitchens. As fun as it was spoofing Rudy Soreno, she didn’t want to run into him again so soon. The hallway was empty so she carried her lunch and tablet into Tal’s office. A tall carafe of iced tea sat on the corner of his desk.

“If that’s for our lunch, you’re going to spoil me,” she said.

“Got to keep you happy. You’re the one who’s connecting me with my future.”

Glory felt her forehead crease. She’d gone from happy to feeling like she was leading a lamb to slaughter. And she wasn’t sure she didn’t want that lamb for herself. All the more so because Tal had a sexy smear of chocolate at the corner of his mouth.

She plucked a tissue from the box on his desk and handed it to him, pointing to the same place on her own face.

Tal wet the tissue from a water bottle and frowned at the offending smear that came off. “Hazards of dropping into the kitchens to check on the progress of our dark chocolate pecan sauce.”

Her imagination took an impromptu turn to the kind of personal service she could provide Tal for chocolate smears at the corner of his mouth. She blinked and looked around then busied her hands taking her tuna sandwich and pear out of her brown bag.

“Everything’s a go for Sunday,” she said. “Pryce and Catherine will be there and she’s invited a few more couples to make it look legitimate. They’ll show early so you can meet them. Anyone else you’d like to invite? Maybe Nate and Dorey?”

Tal shook his head. “I’m going to lay out the food in advance so I can be free to concentrate on Alyssia. If I had a bunch of friends there, I’d feel obligated to entertain them. Your way is better.”

She nodded. “What other details did you want to discuss?”

“If I can get Alyssia alone for a minute, I’d like to ask her to go somewhere we can talk,” he said. “What kinds of places would make you feel comfortable with guy you didn’t know well?”

Glory hesitated. “I’m not sure we’d like the same things. Alyssia has very sophisticated tastes. I can’t imagine she’d think driving to Snoqualmie Falls or walking the Burke-Gilman Trail would be stimulating. She’d probably prefer the gallery scene in Pioneer Square. Or you could cook dinner for her.”

Too late. She’d said it without thinking and the image she had tried so hard to erase came flooding back. What the hell was her problem? A quick glance at Tal confirmed she had caught him off balance, too. His gaze moved to somewhere over her left shoulder, just as it had the first time she came to his office. She guessed then that it had signaled his discomfort.

Tal cleared his throat. “I’ll keep those things in mind. Maybe I’ll ask Alyssia which she would like better.”

Glory took a big bite of sandwich and nodded.

“Are you coming early, too?” he asked.

She chewed and swallowed. “I won’t be there.”

He straightened in his chair. “Why not?”

“Think about it. She’s already seen us in what could be construed as a date situation once. You don’t want to give her the idea we’re a couple. Besides, there’ll be other couples there and the point is for you to pair off with Alyssia. You should be comfortable enough by Sunday evening to ask her out on your own.”

“What if I have a question?”

“Wing it or ask Catherine,” she grinned. “She spends more time around Alyssia than I do, anyway.”

Tal started to speak, then closed his mouth.

“What? Did you want me to hide in the broom closet in case of an emergency?”

• •

Tal checked the rented coffee maker, giving himself a fifteen-minute margin before turning it on. It should be fresh when people started arriving. The dessert part had been easy. He’d provided chunks of pound cake and chocolate Bundt cake, plus a half dozen Kingston chocolate and fruit sauces.

While working in his kitchen, however, he passed back and forth in front of the broom closet, glancing at it and grinning. The image of standing with Glory in a small, dark place lit his imagination and warmed his heart. He hoped that was how he would feel about Alyssia. Soon.

Catherine and Pryce arrived first, Pryce thanking him for the welcome to Seattle. When Tal saw the way he looked at Catherine, he felt more comfortable at having the guy around Alyssia. The three of them were deep in a discussion on local real estate prices when the other couples arrived.

By seven-twenty he was beginning to wonder if Alyssia was coming, when the doorbell rang. Tal opened the door and stared at a vision. She was dressed in a shimmering teal blue dress and matching stole and obviously headed for some place much finer than his apartment.

“You look wonderful.”

Alyssia held out her hand. “Thank you. I tried to catch you on Friday to tell you I wasn’t able to change my tickets for tonight’s performance at the
Rep
. They were hideously expensive and I’ve been wanting to see this play. I’m sorry, but I can only stay a while.”

Tal decided to make the best of it, enjoy her company, and learn by observing Alyssia with strangers.

The first thing he noticed pleased him. Alyssia had the skill to discuss any subject. Besides Pryce and Catherine, the couples included a commercial broker, jewelry designer, bistro chef, and computer game developer. While she wasn’t an expert in any of the fields, she asked intelligent questions and made flattering observations. Since his goal was to eventually marry her, Tal considered himself a lucky man.

As Alyssia said her good-byes, Tal overheard her tell Pryce she was tired of stuffy social obligations and wished she had some less complicated commitments. A spur of the moment idea occurred to Tal and he thought of how proud Glory would be.

He escorted Alyssia to the door and stopped, taking her hand lightly. “Thanks for coming. You know, with the clientele Kingston is building, we need more regional suppliers. I’m touring a strawberry farm in Carnation next Wednesday. Want to come along? I’d enjoy your company, and as VP of Marketing and Sales you might be able to use them in our advertising to add local color.”

A thoughtful, almost calculating expression came into Alyssia’s eyes, then she smiled. “That’s an excellent suggestion, and thanks for the offer, but I always reserve Wednesdays to get ready for Thursday’s meeting. I’d be interested in how your visit goes, though.”

Tal took heart in his partial victory. At least she wanted to get together to discuss his idea.

• •

Catherine called as Glory was getting ready for bed.

“Hi. Thought you’d like to know the party scoop.”

Glory caught her lower lip. Part of her wanted to it to be a success for Tal, and part of her wanted to hear Alyssia had shown her true colors. “How’d it go?”

Catherine giggled and whispered something muffled. Pryce was obviously still with her. “Ms. Hartford came late and stayed for a total of a half hour. She was dressed in gorgeous evening clothes, apparently on her way somewhere else. She charmed one and all.”

“Do you think Tal bought it?”

“Yep. Hook, line and sinker. Unless that puppy dog look was feigned. He did chat with her at the door when she was leaving. Don’t know what happened there.”

“Thanks.” Glory heard a slapping sound and grinned. “I can tell you have more important things to do. See you tomorrow.”

• •

Tal frowned at the test results for their latest fruit sauce. The entire batch was ruined due to a malfunctioning gas line. Now they had to start over.

Add the fact that he’d lost all three handball games to Nate this morning and his frown deepened. Especially when he scanned his list of emails. He was spending more time on administrivia and less time in the kitchens as Kingston Limited grew. Almost gone were the days when he could take off and visit the site of a new supplier, testing the fresh ingredients first hand.

He should take William up on his suggestion of a personal assistant. Someone he could trust to handle the day-to-day mountain of paperwork and let him do what he loved. Heck, what was the point of owning a company if you couldn’t do that? He forwarded as many emails as he could delegate and turned to his snail mail.

Tal sorted it until he came to a hand-addressed envelope. The return address was Rhode Island and inside was a happy face THANK YOU card. When he opened it, a label from one of Kingston’s sauce jars fell out.

The card read:
Dear Mr. Kingston. Thank you for the beautiful gift basket of Kingston products. I am enclosing a label from a second jar of the same flavor sauce that was left in my hotel room during my vacation in Antigua. I meant to send it with the first letter, but forgot. So, here it is. I am including it because the content of this jar was as bitter as the first, which was served in the dining room. I hope the bad batch was limited to the product purchased by the hotel and not widespread.
The card was signed the same as the previous letter of complaint.

Tal stared at the label, a frisson of fear gripping him. The replication was almost perfect. Whoever was bootlegging his products had made a careless error. The real Kingston logo had a tiny, five-point crown. The crown on this label had three points. And the
fleur de lis
images that circled the crown were blurry.

An article in a recent financial journal warned that counterfeiting was on the rise and companies should be taking steps, like auditing their distributors. He’d considered those at risk to be mostly leather goods and tech products. Now the problem had come to his doorstep.

The extent of the problem had to be checked out immediately. Hopefully without alerting the perpetrators. The roadblock to that was the resort hotel using the sauce. It was part of a chain but catered to couples only.

The kernel of an idea he’d had earlier, grew and took root. He needed to find someone he could trust, get her on board as his wife-for-a-week, make flight reservations for two – on his dime in case someone at Kingston was involved …

The light bulb blinked on when Glory stuck her head around his door.

Chapter Thirteen

“Got a minute?” Glory
asked.

Tal nodded and he relaxed as she stepped in. Glory was the perfect choice. Again. Now all he had to do was convince her. “Come in. And please close the door.”

She sat gracefully in a feminine silk blouse and long skirt. “How did things go last night? Anything encouraging?”

His smile widened. “I was encouraged that she showed. Unfortunately, she had a previous engagement and could only stay a short while.” He leaned closer to make his point. “I’ve spent more time alone with Alyssia since I hired you, than all three years she’s been with the company. Something I don’t think I could’ve accomplished on my own.”

“I’m glad it’s working,” Glory said. “Anything else?”

Tal spaced on their conversation for a second, no counterfeiting problems, no plans to get together with Alyssia; he just enjoyed talking with Glory. “Yeah. I asked her to go on a field trip, but she begged off.”

“Well, the part about spending more time with her sounds good. I mean pretty soon you won’t need me at all.”

Tal bit back a denial, forcing himself to stay calm. “I’m still on wobbly ground,” he said. “Don’t desert me now.”

Glory lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure how much more help I can give, but I’ll stick out the whole month.”

He tapped his fingers on top of the THANK YOU note card. “That’s good because I have another huge favor to ask.”

Her eyebrows inched up. “Bigger than helping you get better acquainted with the prospective Mrs. Alyssia Kingston?”

That brought him up short. Marriage
was
his ultimate goal, but he had a hard time picturing Alyssia as an actual wife. He’d have to work on that.

“The favor?” Glory prompted.

“Sorry.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to tell you something in the strictest confidence. The success of what I’m planning depends on your silence. Okay?”

Glory shifted in her chair, looking uncomfortable. “Sounds like this isn’t related to our deal.”

It suddenly became important that Glory agree to his plan. His stomach clinched. “Yes and no. I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but Kingston’s reputation is on the line and you’ve proved I can trust you.” He handed her the label. “Take a look at this.”

“The print job’s terrible,” she said. “Our labels are usually much sharper, the colors better defined.
That’s
the reputation killing problem?”

“No. The problem is; it’s not one of ours. A woman on vacation in Antigua received a jar with this label in a suite gift basket. She was familiar with our sauces and sent me a letter complaining about the bitterness.”

Glory’s eyes widened. She scooted to the edge of her chair and leaned forward. “We’re being counterfeited?”

“Yes. And poorly,” Tal said.

“Antigua’s an independent British Commonwealth. You might be able to get some help through official channels, but I doubt it’ll be much.”

Tal’s pulse rate ticked upward. “How do you know that? Have you been there?”

Glory fingered the label, her gaze wary. “Yes. I blogged about hiking Antigua and Barbuda a couple of years ago.”

“This is great,” he said. “You’re perfect.”

She had the look she had on the day he’d proposed his scheme about Alyssia. Like he belonged in a soft-walled room. “For what?”

Tal exhaled. “That label and where it came from are my only clues to the counterfeiters. The operation is probably still small enough that I can stop it. But I need help.”

Her posture stiffened and she shook her head. “I understand your concern, but why aren’t you turning this over to Kingston’s legal staff and the authorities?”

It was a good question. He could tell her he owned controlling interest in Kingston Limited, but if Glory thought he worked in the basement as an R&D geek, it was more likely she would agree to help. Now, he felt like a dishonest creep, and a liar by omission. He’d come clean at the end of the month and hope and she’d forgive him.

“If it turned into an official investigation, even in another country, and word got around, our clients would wonder about the integrity of our products, whatever the outcome,” he said.

“Oh. That makes sense.”

He paused to glance around his office. “I have a bigger stake in all this than most people think, but it’s not something I can talk about, yet. Can we just leave it that there’s a good reason I need to approach this personally?”

She smiled. “Guess trust has to flow both ways. So far this is better than a James Rollins novel, but I still don’t understand what I have to do in all this.”

Somebody tapped on Tal’s door and a test kitchen employee in protective coveralls stuck her head in. “You wanted everyone to gather at ten for a quick review of the weekend disaster recovery.”

“Thanks, Gretchen. I’ll be there in a couple minutes.”

When the woman left, Tal stood. “Gas line malfunction. This is important, but I still need to talk to you about Antigua. Can we meet somewhere quiet for lunch or dinner?”

Glory nodded. “I’m covering phones for Catherine at lunch. Call me and we can discuss where to meet.”

Relief washed over him. Although he’d been vague, Tal saw sincere concern and acceptance of the seriousness of the situation in her expression. For that he was grateful. “Thanks. And no spilling about Antigua. Not even to Catherine. Okay?”

“Wow. Not even Catherine. Harsh.”

• •

Glory thought about her strange, developing relationship with Tal as she returned to her desk. He was the most interesting man she’d met in a while, and his passion for his research and Kingston Limited was considerable. When the word passion filtered into her thoughts, Glory sucked in a breath. She found herself being drawn to him, kissing him, and agreeing to continue helping him. She was afraid of her own feelings. And now he wanted more. She shook her head and went back over their odd conversation.

If Alyssia woke up to what a great guy Tal was, Glory’s job might become redundant, despite his earlier promise that wouldn’t happen. With her dislike for Glory, it wouldn’t be hard for Alyssia to convince a besotted Tal that she, Glory, had to go. Better to stay with her resolve to stick to business.

When her intra-company line rang, she knew it was Tal. And thought she was ready. “Glory Danvers.”

“How about a picnic?”

She smiled in spite of her resolution, but decided to be firm. “I’ve been thinking this is not a good idea.”

“Hear me out. And remember you agreed to stay the month.”

Her resolve weakened. She considered herself a fair person and
had
given her word. Besides, the whole Antigua thing had piqued her curiosity. “A picnic?”

“Yes. A dinner picnic in your back yard this evening. I’ll bring the food.”

The view through the window in the reception area showed bright sunshine and the forecast was for mild weather through tomorrow. Glory rolled her eyes. She just had to listen to his plan. It didn’t mean she had to agree. “All right. Six-thirty?”

“I’ll be there.”

• •

When she got home, Glory carefully set the scene for the picnic. Her small apple tree was in bloom as was the lilac next to it. Way too personal to sit under the tree on a blanket, so she pulled out a checkered table cloth and set her wrought iron patio table.

Tal arrived and she gave him the cook’s tour of her house.

“This is inviting,” he said, looking at the array of pictures on her mantel. Then he checked out the newly painted walls. “Most people aren’t this methodical. You’re like me in your approach to something that really holds your interest.”

Glory wrinkled her nose, teasing him. “At least my remodel doesn’t include adding a whole ‘nother person to the house.”

He laughed out loud. “True, but when you decide to, he’ll be one lucky man.”

She busied herself with the dishes, feeling her face warm. For an instant, she thought how really great it would be if Tal were that man. “Thank you.”

They ate while discussing the reliability of contractors. Tal gave her the name of a window installer who worked on older homes.

Dinner was a delicious chicken Caesar salad with mini-cinnamon apple dumplings in a vanilla custard sauce for dessert. Then Tal made decadent mocha lattes on her underused espresso machine before settling in to talk.

Glory started. “You said you wanted to take care of this counterfeiting problem personally. Explain to me what that has in common with my agreement to help you with Alyssia.”

Tal set down his cup. “I did some online research about the resort hotel in Antigua where our supposed products are being served. They cater to couples only.”

His reasoning suddenly became clear to Glory. “And you want me to pretend to be part of a couple so you can investigate.”

He nodded.

Glory sat forward, heart pounding. “How could that possibly tie in to our agreement? Why not have
her
help you? Time at a couples resort with Alyssia and no office distractions. What could be better?”

She was jabbering, but couldn’t help it. The thought of her and Tal together in that kind of setting punched every alarm Glory had. She could see the patience in his eyes as he let her run out of steam.

“Odds are; the bootlegging operation won’t be in the open,” he said. “Your knowledge of the area will be in our favor. As for distractions, I’m not planning a cozy vacation. Alyssia would be a distraction from what I need to do. Shut down the operation that could ruin Kingston.”

He was right, of course. But that didn’t mean she had to say yes. And in lending credence to his idea, he’d made it clear that she, Glory, would
not
be a distraction. She took a deep breath, poised to argue against his crazy plan, then changed her mind. His grip on the arm of his chair showed white knuckles. There was a factor he hadn’t mentioned, she was sure of it. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

He nodded. “Promise not to laugh?”

She couldn’t imagine anything funny about the proposition he was presenting. “Okay.”

“If I manage to get a handle on this mess in the Caribbean and fix it, don’t you think Alyssia would start thinking of me differently?”