Remember Me (23 page)

Brandon couldn’t argue with Seth’s logic. He saw most of the board nodding their heads in approval. From a business standpoint, it was a sound move. From a personal one, he knew it could very well turn Lucy against him forever. They would sacrifice her privacy. He tasted again the tears on her cheeks, saw once more the hurt on her face.

He shook his head. “You can’t do this…”

“Brandon, the separation of her life as Lucy Cameron and her life as Jasmine LeFleur is already gone,” Seth pointed out. “There’s not much of a choice here. The rest of it–her involvement in the plane crash–is a matter of public record no one’s bothered to check into so far, but that’s over now. The question you have to ask yourself is do you want those details coming out with our spin on it or the speculation of people who don’t know all the facts?”

Brandon’s jaw clenched. He looked around the table then to Bill Frank. “Could I have a few minutes with my family please? I’m sure you understand, there are more issues involved here than the company.”

Frank nodded and looked around at the other men and women on the board. “I think we can allow that. Why don’t we give you a quarter of an hour, then we’ll meet here?”

Brandon stood. “Let’s meet in my office.” He directed his gaze at his brothers and sister. Uncaring whether they followed, he left the room and headed for the elevator. Seth, Phillip and Stacey filed in behind him. No one said anything until they were in Brandon’s office and the door had shut.

Then Stacey let loose. “What the hell were you thinking, Brandon. A strip joint? Tossing down five hundred dollars? For God’s sake!”

“Bro!” Phillip added. “I thought you were done with her after seeing her out with Mason Hatch.”

Stacey’s face blanched for an instant, then she latched on like a terrier. “Done with her? You mean you have a relationship with a stripper?”

“Lucy,” Brandon snarled. “Her name is Lucy.” He turned from his sister and brother toward Seth. “If we do what you suggest… Will they leave her alone? Will the press let her get back to her life?”

Seth put his hands in his pockets and scowled out the window.

“Seth?” Brandon prompted.

“Eventually. And sooner than if we do nothing and make them ferret out the information on their own.” In Seth’s eyes, at least, he saw sympathy. Tessa and his brother had gone through their own rough spots, Seth even being led to believe at one point Tessa had stolen money from the company. While they were happily married now, Brandon knew they’d almost not made it. What brought them together had been Zach, Tessa’s younger brother, by running away. Knowing how much Zach admired Seth, Tessa had turned to him for help.

Lucy would never turn to him for help. With her independent streak, Brandon would lose her no matter what he did. He looked around. Phillip regarded him with pity and Stacey still looked outraged. Oh yes, she was very much their parents’ daughter. Brandon knew he would still have to endure their reactions, but he had other concerns he needed to deal with first.

“I need to try to reach Lucy,” Brandon said at last, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want her blindsided again, especially not if the story’s going to run in Barrett papers.” He looked at his brother. “Seth–will you write it?”

His older brother nodded.

Brandon cleared his throat. “All right, then. Let’s finish this board meeting.”

Chapter 15

Angelina called Roberto on his cell. When she handed over the phone, Lucy could almost feel his temper sizzling through the air waves.

“I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am, Lucy. I will find out who is responsible. The question now is what you wish to do.”

Lucy swallowed several times, glad Roberto couldn’t see the tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t dance anymore, Roberto,” she choked out. “We both know this is where it was headed. I guess I’ll just need to take the dive into making pottery fulltime sooner than I thought.”

Silence on the other end told her how much Roberto disliked what he was hearing. His next comment caught her off guard and made the tears overflow. “I could help you…with your finances…like a patron.” He laughed. “Hey, and how funny is that? The boy from the streets would be a patron of the arts.”

She laughed through her tears. “Oh, Roberto, I love you.”

“You listen to me,
nina
. I’m serious. I will help however I can to get you past this. You need a place to stay for a while? You let me know.”

Angelina handed her the box of tissues. “One of the things I hope you will realize while we work through this is you have friends, Lucy, people who care about you and are willing to step up to the plate to help you.”

“I know,” she whispered. “This is just additional confirmation. Let me call Mason.”

This phone call was more difficult. Lucy felt like she had somehow violated the contract she’d signed with him the previous week. His snotty assistant answered the phone, her tone going frosty the moment Lucy identified herself. Still, a second later, Mason came on the line. The first question out of his mouth made her reconsider her opinion about him being superficial.

“I saw the article, Lucy. Are you all right?”

Why couldn’t she feel mushy and tied up about this man? Why did she feel only friendship? “I’m okay, Mason, but there’s one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“My house was a media circus this morning. I’m afraid to go there right now, so it kind of puts a crimp in being able to complete pieces and get them to you.”

“I can fix that.”

Lucy laughed. “How? Are you a miracle worker with a secret studio hidden somewhere?”

“Close enough. I have a house along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. I seldom use it and it’s got plenty of room for you to set up a studio for however long you need.”

“I won’t have a job to pay you rent.”

“You do have a job. And believe me, Lucy, once I get your stuff in stock, you’ll have income from it.”

“I don’t know, Mason. How are you going to get my stuff out?”

He laughed. “Trust me, and don’t ask questions. I’ll have someone pack your clothes too.”

It seemed too easy. From the disaster confronting her this morning, her friends were helping her pick up the pieces. She was more than damage that needed to be controlled. She was a person, their friend.

“What about my car?”

“Leave it for now. I’ll get you a rental in my name. I have the feeling this will get worse before it gets better. The media have sniffed out a good story here and they’re going to come after you. If you’re driving your car, they’ll find you.”

Lucy tugged at her braid. “Mason?”

“What?”

“I’m so sorry. I feel like I’ve let you down.”

“Not at all. This situation is not your fault. You hear me. Not. Your. Fault.”

“But will I be able to use my name with my work?”

“Sure. We’ll wait till the hoopla dies, and we’ll be able to put a spin on it, if we even need to. The press and the public have a short memory. That can be good or bad. We’ll make it work for us.”

She took a deep breath. “You’re a good friend, Mason.”

His laugh sounded rueful. “I doubt anyone with the name Barlow-Barrett shares your opinion.”

* * * *

Two hours later, Seth was shaking his head at Brandon. “Getting anything out of Roberto at Flamingo Road is like talking to the Sphinx.” At Brandon’s raised brow, his brother continued, “All he will say is he believes her name was leaked by someone in-house. Once he finds out who…they’re history. As for the photos, he’s going with the theory they came from someone’s cellphone. Up until now, he’s avoided asking people to turn phones off because he has such a large business clientele, but now he’s going to have to weigh that alongside potential privacy issues.”

“And that helps me not one bit as it pertains to Lucy.”

“You got that. He’s shut tighter than a clam about her. Won’t say where she is or how to get in touch with her. Look, I have her address. You want to ride by there?”

Brandon rolled his sleeves and loosened his tie. “Yeah. I would.” He pressed his lips together before he blurted, “You know, every once in a while I wish we didn’t stand out so much in a crowd.”

Seth laughed. “It does make it a little hard to sneak around when you’re blond giants who bear more than a passing resemblance to your father. But come on anyway. We’ll use my SUV. It’s a little less conspicuous than your Porsche.”

While they rode down in their father’s private elevator, Seth glanced at Brandon. “You didn’t say… How did your phone call to Mason Hatch go?”

“He told me I was a fucking asshole. Then he told me hell would freeze over before he breathed a word to me about Lucy.”

“Wow. Way to schmooze.”

“Stuff it, Seth.”

As they set off in Seth’s black Escalade with its tinted windows, Brandon scowled at the passing landscape. “How did you find her address?” he asked.

Seth glanced at him. “I did an internet search for L. Cameron within a twenty-five mile radius of the district, then narrowed it based on sex, age and areas I know to be closer to Flamingo Road. I came up with two. I called one. It turned out to be a guy–Larry Cameron. On the other I got an answering machine that was already full.”

“How could you tell?”

“It cut me off when I tried to leave a message.”

Brandon fumed for a minute. “I feel like such an ass. Why didn’t I do that? Why did I go by Flamingo Road?”

“Look, Brandon. When you’re in love, you do stupid shit. You just hope and pray the woman loves you enough to forget what a total dumbass you’ve turned into.”

Despite himself, he laughed. “That doesn’t sound like my brilliant older brother. It sounds more like something that would come out of Phillip’s mouth.”

“Phillip doesn’t know enough about women yet to have my brilliant insight.”

“Yeah, but it sounded like such a guy thing. Not your usual style.”

“But see, I’ve had to learn to relate to a preteen. Zach only understands stuff put in guy speak.”

Getting through the midday traffic took them about a half hour. The first things they saw when they turned down Lucy’s street were several news vehicles camped out in front of a brick bungalow. The journalists had knotted together in front of the house. When the Escalade cruised past, Brandon watched the way the reporters’ eyes focused on them and then dismissed them.

“She would hate this,” he murmured. “I know it must seem odd, what with her dancing at Flamingo Road, but she’s not someone who seeks attention, Seth. She would really, really hate this.”

“Her car’s still in the driveway,” Seth remarked, “but I doubt she’s there. I’d be willing to bet Roberto’s not an option either. Let’s cruise past Flamingo Road. I’m guessing there’ll be a similar media stakeout going on there too, but let’s make sure.”

“No one knows about her relationship with Mason Hatch…”

“Oh? Is there something more than their business association?”

Brandon’s heart flipped. “Business association?”

“Yeah. I did manage to get that out of Roberto. The guy was livid your stupidity might ruin her deal with Mason’s gallery to take on her work.”

Brandon shut his eyes and leaned against the seat. Could this get worse? Could he have been any more of a fool about Lucy? “God, it didn’t look like a business dinner.”

“Huh?” Seth’s gaze swiveled his way.

“I saw her the other night when I was out with Phillip. She came into the bar with Mason. It sure as hell looked like more than a business dinner, at least on his part.”

Seth flipped his turn signal and guided the SUV into the parking lot at Flamingo Road. The only car there was a shiny black Mercedes. “I don’t know about that, but I do know Roberto gave her the intro to Mason to help her with her artistic career.” Seth looked around. “No media in the area, at least that I can see. You want to try to talk to him?”

Brandon shook his head. “No. Let’s cruise past Mason’s gallery. No one will suspect why we’re there. We could be looking for something for the newest little Barlow-Barrett.”

Seth grinned. “Emily Rose. Yeah. You know, she might be tiny, but she roars like a lion. Maybe they’ll have some broken glass she can gnaw on to take the edge off her temper.”

“Making life tough?”

“Let’s just say sleep’s in short supply right now.”

A slender brunette greeted the two men when they walked through the door. Smooth as she was, she couldn’t quite disguise the recognition when she looked at Brandon. “May I help you gentlemen?”

Brandon looked around what he could see of the gallery. Was any of Lucy’s work already on display? He wanted to find out, but he’d learned his lesson. “I was hoping to speak with Hatch. Is he available?”

The brunette’s expression remained bland. “Oh, I’m afraid you missed him. Mr. Hatch will be out of the office for a couple of days working with one of our artists. I’m his assistant–perhaps I could help you?”

Brandon dug his hands in his pockets. Just because Hatch was out and working with one of their artists didn’t mean it was Lucy. “No. Thanks anyway.”