Penthouse Suite (18 page)

Kate thought at first that it was J.M. Houston’s presence that made her skin begin to tingle. Then she identified the feeling. Max. He was there. She glanced in the mirrors behind the table and saw him standing in the doorway, clasping the lovely Lucy Pierce by the arm.

Max’s eyes were narrow slashes of obsidian as he returned Kate’s glare in the mirror. Kate clenched her jaw in misery as she saw the scene from Max’s point of view: J.M. Houston, his hand resting possessively on her back, leaning forward intimately in conversation. Well, she wouldn’t defend herself again. She’d tried that once.

She turned to Matthew. “About that job title, Matthew. I’ll take one. As of right now, I’m your administrative assistant.”

Kate stood, walked over to Max, and smiled. “Good afternoon, Mr. Sorrenson, Lucy.”

“Kate,” Max said through clenched teeth. “I’ve just had a little talk with Lucy. It was Lucy who slipped into my office and turned on the modem so that J.M. could access my computer through the telephone lines. She was promised a career as a Maverick centerfold for her efforts.”

Lucy flinched as Max’s fingertips dug into her upper arm.

“Tell her, Lucy.”

“Her confession isn’t necessary,” Kate said quietly. “We’d already figured out the truth, Max. But thank you for coming.” She’d known that she would have to face Max again sometime. But she hadn’t known it would be so soon.

“Kate?” Max’s voice was little more than a ragged whisper.

Go away
, she wanted to scream.
Don’t call my name. Don’t make me want to listen to your apology. Loving hurts too much
. She had to make him understand that it was over.

Lifting her chin, Kate said, “I’m sorry, sir. As the assistant to the new owner, I should do my job properly and welcome you to the Showboat. We’d like both of you to be our guests for dinner,” she added as smoothly as her unstable breathing allowed. “Oh, and Mr. Sorrenson, do have a nice day.” Kate brushed past Max. It took every ounce of control, but she never looked back.

When Max Sorrenson reached the dock, Carlos Herrera was waiting. For a few weeks after his encounter with Kate at the Showboat, Max had thrown himself into solving the problems the fishermen were facing of too much competition and the diminishing supply of fish. Now he was ready
to bring all the parties together. There’d been a time when he’d been certain of his actions. Now, since he’d lost Kate, he couldn’t be sure of anything.

“Sorry to make you lose a good day’s catch, Carlos, but what we’re going to do this afternoon will make us all more money in the long run. At least I hope so.”

Carlos started the engine and steered the boat out into the Gulf and down the coast. Half an hour later, there were three more boats trailing them as they crossed the bridge into St. Andrews Bay and docked.

The warehouse had been converted into a makeshift meeting hall where fishermen sat warily on packing boxes and scaling tables.

Matthew Blue ambled lazily toward the center of the group, shook hands with Max, and nodded toward a loading platform that was to serve as a stage. When Carlos hung back, Max shook his head and forced him to come along.

“Afternoon, gents,” Matthew said, “I think you all know Max. He’s been working on our mutual problems, and I think we should hear what he has to say.”

Max stepped forward. “A year ago Matthew Blue and some others came to me as a fellow fleet owner and as someone with power outside our area. They were concerned about the declining king mackerel catch and the influx of outsiders making profits even smaller.”

“Still are,” someone called out. “The solution is simple,” another shouted. “Yeah, keep the outsiders out.”

Max waited for the din to die down. Kate had come up with the solution that day on Carlos’s boat. And now it was up to him to make it work. Kate …

He drew his attention back to the meeting. “As you know, I’ve never been a fishing boat captain. But I’ve operated my Aunt Dorothea’s ships, so I’ve had reason to feel the pinch. I think that I’ve come up with a solution.”

The men quieted down and waited, expectant but suspicious.

“It all started when Matthew said that it was too bad that the fishermen didn’t have the same kind of protective association as the hotel owners. And he’s right. The larger fleets, such as mine and Captain Blue’s, have an advantage over those of you who only have one boat. My ten tons of mackerel is a more powerful voice than your one ton.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the chorus agreed noisily.

“What if we could combine our catch and offer it as one? Then we could bargain as one voice.”

“Yeah? But whose voice?”

Max went on to explain the concept of the cooperative venture, where the group would elect a three-man committee to act for everyone. All the catches would be pooled and sold in bulk for the best prices, with the committee taking shares proportionate to their time and investment, and the rest of the profits being divided up according to each individual’s catch.

By the time they left, Carlos, Max, and a man who owned only a single boat had been selected as the first committee of the Gulfshore Fishermen’s Cooperative. Max should have been elated. He should have been, but without someone to share it with, the feeling wasn’t as good as he’d expected it to be. “The plan was Kate’s,” he explained to Matthew, “and I’d appreciate it if you would express our thanks to her.”

“Why don’t you tell her yourself, boy?”

•  •  •

Kate liked working at the Showboat with Matthew, but she decided she was too close to Max. As she dressed, she looked out her window. She could see the roof of La Casa del Sol. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get Max Sorrenson out of her mind.

The time had come for her to move on. But she couldn’t leave without facing Max once more. He’d been wrong about her. But she’d been wrong too. She’d come to understand that any time he lost control of a situation that involved her, he responded with anger to cover his uncertainty.

She’d known, too, that he had built protective walls around himself and she’d battered them down. A grand adventure. She’d set a trap and had made herself the bait. Once he’d taken it, she hadn’t known what to do.

Move on. Don’t stay in one place. Keep from getting close to anybody. If she never got close, she couldn’t love anybody, and she couldn’t be hurt. But she’d fallen in love. Working with Matt had proved that Max had been right about one thing: She could live in the penthouse suite. She could be part of the white-collar team. But it was time to burn her bridges and get on the road. She’d find the right spot and stay there, put down roots. But first she’d talk with Max. Her mother had waited all her life for her father to return, and he hadn’t been strong enough to face her. Kate wouldn’t make that mistake. She brushed her hair, fastened a shell necklace around her neck, and left her room.

“Kate!” Matthew was coming in the front door as she stepped out of the elevator. “You did it. It was your idea and Max’s persuasive ability that
worked. The Gulfshore Fishermen’s Cooperative is in business. Kate?” Matthew started toward her. “Max said to give you his thanks and to say … that he loves you.”

Matthew closed his eyes and said a small prayer of forgiveness. He’d just been around Dorothea too long, he decided. But there came a time when the truth needed to be dressed up a little.

“He said what?”

“Give Kate my thanks.”

“And …”

“That he loves you.”

Kate might have wondered about the message if she’d stopped to think, but she didn’t. She was through thinking. If the hotel driver got a ticket for speeding, she’d pay it. Right now she was going to see a man about a movie. Only this movie hadn’t been made yet. And she was going to write the script.

“Kate! I’m so glad to see you.” Helen Stevens was at the desk. “Are you coming back to work? I don’t think the hotel can stand any more of Max as a handyman.”

“Max as a handyman?”

“Yep. He’s got some idea that he’s been living in an ivory tower. He’s given up finance and real estate for a wrench and a hammer. I’m not sure that either Joe or the hotel is going to survive.”

“Joe?”

“Max ordered a uniform and apprenticed himself to Joe as a handyman. Kate, if La Casa del Sol had been dependent on Max for manual labor, we’d be underwater.”

Kate smiled. So Max had decided to become a blue-collar worker. She laughed lightly, then out loud. “Oh, Helen, I think I understand. The dear, sweet man. He’s working his way to me.”

“He is? Well I hope that makes sense to you, because it sure doesn’t make any more sense to
me than the Pekingese dog that he bought yesterday. He says it’s better than a bird.”

“He bought a dog? Where is it?”

“He sent Mrs. Jarrett and her new companion, Polly, to the vet with it.”

“And where is Max?” Kate was beginning to get an idea.

“Hold on to your hat. He’s installing a new shower head in his bathroom.”

“Is Joe helping him?”

“I wish. No, this is to be a surprise for Joe. I think it will be a big surprise.”

“Fine. Would you help me choose a gown in the hotel dress shop and authorize me to charge it?”

“If you’ll get Max out of maintenance, I’ll have the hotel provide you with a whole new wardrobe.”

“Just a gown and a little beauty work will do.”

A short time later, Kate was examining herself in the mirror with approval.

“Oh, my goodness. When you said a gown, I thought you meant a dinner gown. You look just like Mae West.”

“Great. That’s what I have in mind. If Max is turning into a handyman, I’m changing into the most sophisticated woman on the Strip.”

“I’d love to be a little mouse under a chair when he sees you.” Helen was wide-eyed with admiration.

“By the way, Helen, would you get me a couple of lemons from the kitchen and one of those fishing rods from the guests’ lost and found room?”

“Anything else?”

“Oh yes, a master key and a DO NOT DISTURB sign.”

“This is getting better and better.” Helen quickly brought Kate the items and walked with her to the elevator.

The two guests leaving the elevator stopped short and looked at Kate. “Are we having a party?” the woman asked eagerly.

“A private party,” Kate said in her best vampy voice, “a very private party. And, Helen, when Mrs. Jarrett and Polly show up, tell them they’re not invited. As a matter of fact, send them over to the Showboat and tell them to stay there until I sound the all clear.”

The elevator doors slid shut, and the machine rose slowly. Kate closed her eyes and prayed. She hoped she was doing the right thing. She was taking a big chance, opening herself to humiliation and rejection. She was scared silly. By the time the door opened and she stepped out into the penthouse foyer, she was ready to turn around and ride right back down. And then she heard it, a metallic pounding, a yowl, and a splash.

Kate opened the door, slipped the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the knob, and went inside. The pounding had started up again, punctuated with expletives as Max worked at whatever it was he was doing.

Kate crept silently into the bathroom and covered her mouth to hold back a gasp. Half the shower head was gone, and water was steadily dripping from the pipe. The tile around the shower head was being systematically destroyed. Max, dressed in a maintenance uniform, was standing in the tub, his shoes submerged in water. He was not a happy camper.

“All right, Max,” he was saying, “where do you go from here?”

Kate arranged herself dramatically in the doorway, the rod and reel resting against her leg, one knee bent seductively. She moistened her lips and
parted them in as sensual a look as she could manage.

“Why don’t you come up and see
me
when you’re finished, big boy?”

Max raised his eyes, caught sight of Kate in the mirror, and blanched. He tried to whirl around, slipped in the water, and went down.

“Kate? Is that you, Kate?”

“Who else were you expecting?” She dropped the rod to the floor beside her. Next she flipped the fur and satin mules away, one at a time.

Max’s eyes were like saucers as he watched her from a sitting position in the tub. Kate took one slinky step, then a second, until she was at the edge of the tub, looking down at the man who’d changed her life.

“What … what are you doing, Kate?” Max’s voice was so hoarse that he could barely speak.

“We’re making a movie, Max. But this time, I’m the director and I’m writing the script.” She shook her upper body and allowed the filmy robe to fall to the floor around her feet.

“I don’t understand,” he began, swallowing hard.

“What do you know about lemons, Max?” She stepped into the tub. She was trembling so badly that she could barely speak.

“What do I need to know?” He’d lost his confused expression as she came face to face with him.

“Lemons are a bright, happy color. See?” She held out the lemon with one hand and dropped the strap of her nightgown off one shoulder with the other.

He took the lemon and glanced at it, never really taking his eyes from her as she dropped the other strap and allowed her gown to slide from
her body. It floated into the water. She stood proudly, like a water nymph on a satin lily pad.

“But lemons are sour, Max, sour without something to add sweetness. Take a bite.”

“You want me to bite into this lemon?”

“Yes, I want you to experience the bitterness of something that seems bright and warm and beautiful.”

Bite the lemon? He’d have walked on coals if she’d asked him to. He parted his lips and took the lemon into his mouth, sinking his teeth deeply into the fruit.

“How does it taste, Max?”

“It’s sour. But then we both knew that, didn’t we?”

Kate thought he was beginning to understand her point. She reached out, took the lemon, and dropped it into the water. She took his hand and helped him to stand.

Kate felt his breath quicken as she raised her face and touched her lips to his. She tasted the bitter lemon as she used her tongue to wash away the acrid flavor until the kiss was sweet.

Kate unzipped his uniform and touched him, caressed him first with her fingertips, and then with her lips.