Ravensong (5 page)

“
Why’d you do that?” he
asked, leaning a hip against the bench and crossing his arms over
his chest.

Elena glanced up at him.
“She wasn’t producing and I didn’t like her unprofessional
behavior.”

“
You’ll never make Julian’s
deadline now. You know as well as I do that he only agreed to this
project to watch you fail so he could fire you.”

Elena paused in rummaging
through her purse and considered his words for a moment. “I don’t
intend to fail,” she told him firmly, then hesitated and looked up
at him again. “Why do you put up with that kind of treatment? I
could see you didn’t like it.”

He considered
her
words now, then shook
his head. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just used to it. It’s easier
on the band anyway if I just comply.”

Elena moved closer to him,
crossing her arms in front of her. “You don’t have to take that,
Joshua. Sexual harassment is sexual harassment whether you’re a man
or a woman. No one has the right to make you feel uncomfortable or
degraded.” Her voice rang with emotion, but she wasn’t sure why it
made her so angry to see him accept such humiliating
treatment.

He drew a deep breath.
“I’ve never learned how to say no, Elena. I guess I’ve never
thought I had the right.”

“
You do. You don’t
belong to
Avalanche
or anyone else for that matter.”

He looked away, a troubled
expression on his face. “Anyway, what are you going to do
now?”

Elena reached for her purse
again and started searching through it. “Fortunately my best
friend’s a photo journalist for the
Chronicle
. She’d love to help me out
of this jam.”

“
What if she’s
busy?”

Elena laughed. “Katie,
hell, she’ll jump at the chance to freelance a little with a famous
rock band.” Elena didn’t add that Kate would do anything for the
chance to meet Ravensong; she thought it would sound a bit
hypocritical after her previous lecture. “Now if I could just find
a graphic artist who’d be willing to work late tonight.”

Ravensong smiled his
crooked, seductive smile. “It just so happens I have a good friend
who’s a graphic artist. He’s done work for the band before and he
owes me a favor.”

Elena shook her head. “No,
you don’t have to bail me out of this mess...”

“
You got me out of that
mess,” he said, nodding over his shoulder. Then his face became
serious, his eyes piercing. “I don’t want to see you lose this job,
Elena. You’ve brought a breath of fresh air into this organization
and I don’t want you to leave.”

She had to suppress an urge
to throw her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she said with
emotion, “I really appreciate it.”

He shook his head. “Let’s
go make a few phone calls. After you,” he replied, motioning her in
front of him.

* * *

It was nearly eight o’clock
by the time Kate finished the shoot, but finally she put her camera
down and rubbed the back of her neck, then smiled at her captive
audience.

“
We’re done,” she
announced.

Her announcement was met
with weary cheers from everyone. Elena hugged her friend in
gratitude, but Kate brushed her off. “Don’t thank me until we’ve
developed the pictures.”

“
Go home everyone,” said
Elena. “Julian still expects you bright and early at
eight.”

“
Can’t wait,” said Ralph
sarcastically, wrinkling his nose at Elena.

She laughed and knelt to help Kate
pack up her gear as they filed from the auditorium. Only Ravensong
stayed behind.

“
How long will it take to
develop the film?” he asked.

Kate snapped to attention
immediately, giving him her most winning smile. “An hour, two at
tops.”

He returned the smile.
“I’ll call Fred and ask him to wait,” he said, directing his
comment to Elena.

“
If you give me the
address, I can meet you at his office.”

Ravensong shook his head.
“It isn’t good for a woman to be traveling the streets of San
Francisco alone in the middle of the night. Why don’t I follow you
and Kate to her darkroom and then we can drive over to Fred’s
together. I’ll take you home when we’re finished - you live in
Marin, don’t you?”

Elena’s heart began to
pound faster and her cheeks heated. “Yeah, but I don’t want to put
you out...”

“
You aren’t putting me
out,” he answered with a frown. “How far is your darkroom from your
house?” His gaze shifted to Kate.

“
The darkroom’s in my
house,” she answered with a purr.

“
Good, then it’s settled.
I’ll meet you by the elevators in a few minutes.” He left the room
before Elena could protest further.

Both women watched him retreat and
then Elena began packing the gear once more. Kate stood over her,
staring at her with shuttered eyes.

“
So?”

Elena looked up.
“So?”

“
You want to tell me what’s
going on or do I have to drag it out of you?”

“
What are you talking
about, Katie?”

Kate’s smile was
mischievous. “
It isn’t safe for a woman to
be traveling the streets of San Francisco alone in the middle of
the night. You live in Marin, don’t you
?”
she said, mimicking Ravensong.

“
He’s being
chivalrous.”

“
Chivalrous, my ass. His
eyes were traveling all over you when he said that. He wants
you.”

Elena shook her head in
amusement. “Good God, Katie, he’s seeing Megan Wheeler. What would
he see in me? I’m short and I’m not exactly...well...” Elena looked
down at her bust line significantly.

“
Cut the crap, Ellie. I’ve
seen that look in a man’s eyes before - not often, but once in a
while - and he isn’t thinking about saving your virtue, if you know
what I mean?”

“
No, I don’t,” said Elena,
rising to her feet and depositing Kate’s camera bag in her arms.
“Besides, just forget it, all right? If you remember, I’m also
unavailable.”

Kate looked away and shook
her head in disgust. “You can’t tell me you’d give up a fling with
Joshua Ravensong for that dull, decrepit doctor of
yours.”

“
I did make a
commitment to
John
and I am wearing his
mother’s
ring.”

Kate laughed at the inside
joke. “Well, let’s just say that if that man were to proposition
me, I wouldn’t refuse him.”

Elena put on a surprised
face. “And all this time I thought you hated John.”

Kate shook her head and
laughed once more. “Really, you’re impossible. Come on, let’s get
our knight in shining armor and finish this up. I’m
tired.”

Elena slipped her arm
around Kate’s shoulder. “I really do appreciate you bailing me
out.”

“
Don’t mention it, just
give me intimate details when you and Joshua finally hit the
sheets.”

“
Really, Katie, do you have
to be so crude?” scolded Elena as they turned out the lights in the
auditorium and headed down the hall.

* * *

It was nearing one in the
morning when they took seats around the graphic artist’s computer.
It was fascinating to watch Fred move the titles about, shifting
them into every color of the rainbow. Elena was fairly definite
about what she wanted, so Joshua merely sat back and watched her
and Fred work. Her voice took on such a note of excitement, Joshua
couldn’t have helped but be enchanted with her.

“
What if we changed the
font, slant the letters a little toward the right?” she said,
pointing at the characters on the screen. “I want the photo to be
sufficiently large so that the consumer can see it without needing
glasses.”

Fred nodded. “This font
ought to do it,” he said, moving the mouse rapidly over the desk
and clicking on various icons.

Joshua glanced at the
screen briefly, but he didn’t really understand computers.
Furthermore they held no interest for him, but Elena was entranced
and she moved forward, her thigh brushing against his. An
electrical current shot through Joshua and he clenched his
jaw.

Elena became suddenly aware of their
contact and she looked up at him, her eyes dilated, her breath
coming a little more quickly. Their gazes locked.

“
Well, what do you think?”
said Fred, leaning back in his chair to study his work.

Elena didn’t seem to hear
him, her attention riveted on Joshua.

“
Well?” said Fred, shifting
now. He caught the look on their faces and turned abruptly
away.

Joshua broke the stare,
glancing quickly at the computer screen. “Looks good,
Fred.”

The deep rumble of his voice startled
Elena out of her meditation and she looked toward the screen, her
cheeks heating with embarrassment.

“
It’s perfect. Can you
print it up so I can place the photo against it and get an idea of
the finished product?”

“
Of course,” answered Fred,
glad the tense moment had passed. “I’ll print it on a clear medium,
that way you won’t have to cut or paste the photo and the two can
be separated to view independently.”

He pushed the chair to the other side
of his desk and opened a file drawer. As he rummaged through it,
Elena chanced a second glance at Joshua. He smiled crookedly at
her, deliberately pouring on all the charm he could
muster.

Lord, he’d never wanted a
woman this badly before. It was becoming increasingly hard to
remind himself she was engaged to another man. As usual, some of
her hair had escaped her French braid and had curled around her
cheekbone. He reached out impulsively and brushed it away, his
fingers grazing her smooth skin. He was pleased to see she didn’t
attempt to pull away.

Encouraged by her response, he moved
to touch her again, but Fred turned back at that moment, pulling
the paper tray from the printer and placing the clear sheet inside.
Elena shifted her attention immediately and waited expectantly
while Fred moved the mouse to the print function.

As the graphic was repelled from the
printer, he handed it to Elena. She opened the manila envelope and
pulled out the photo, placing it behind the clear medium and
holding it up for them all to view.

“
I like it,” said Joshua
truthfully. “It’s simple and elegant.”

Fred nodded. “I
agree.”

Elena smiled and drew a
relieved breath. “I can’t thank you enough,” she said to Fred and
rose to her feet, placing both the graphic art and the photo back
into the manila envelope. “If I can ever do you a
favor.”

“
Don’t mention it, just
remember me when the next recording comes along.” He shifted his
gaze from Joshua to Elena.

“
I will,” said Elena,
pushing her chair out of the way.

Joshua followed her to the
door and stopped to shake Fred’s hand. “Thanks, pal.”

“
No problem, just remember
that we’re even now.”

“
I won’t forget,” responded
Joshua with a smile. He held the door open for Elena to pass
through and they hurried down the darkened hall toward the
exit.

* * *

The night was surprisingly
cool as they walked to the car and Elena shivered with cold. She’d
forgotten her coat, especially since the days were still
unpredictably warm. Joshua quickly remedied the situation by
slipping out of his jean jacket and placing it around her
shoulders.

“
No, I can’t,” she said,
shrugging her shoulders to shake it off.

“
Take it,” he demanded.
“I’m suddenly very hot.”

A flush crept into Elena’s
cheeks at his words, but she refused to look up. She waited beside
his blue Jeep Cherokee for him to unlock the door and then slipped
into the seat, allowing her eyes to drop closed. This had been a
difficult and emotional day for both of them. She opened her eyes
again when he moved into the seat beside her and started the
ignition.

The little Cherokee purred
to life and pulled slowly onto the street. Elena wrapped herself in
Joshua’s jacket, breathing deeply of the purely masculine smell of
him.

There was little traffic on the road
this late at night so he made good time to the bridge. Elena looked
out at Alcatraz, watching the warning beacons play out over the
bay.

“
Does your fiancé mind you
working so late?” asked Joshua.

Elena shifted in the seat
and stared at his strong profile against the pulsing light of the
passing lamps. “John? He doesn’t really know.”

Joshua glanced at her.
“Doesn’t know?”

Elena looked down at the
envelope in her hands. “John’s on sabbatical in
Colorado.”

“
How long has he been
gone?”

“
A little over a
month.”

Joshua pulled off the
bridge and again glanced in Elena’s direction. “Where do I turn
now?”