Since I Saw You (29 page)

She’d almost forgotten about the other jewelry box in her mounting excitement. Most women wouldn’t have overlooked that famous red leather box. She opened the lid and gasping, staring wide-eyed at the most stunning Tahitian black pearls she’d ever seen. Her fingers ran over the smooth, iridescent jewels of the necklace rope and matching earrings in wonder. Between every third pearl on the necklace was a row of sparkling diamonds. It was a striking combination.

A note was at the top of the box from Kam. It read simply:
They were beautiful, so they must be yours.

•   •   •

That evening, Kam halted Ian and spoke to him quietly. “May I have a word with you in private before we go up to the deck?”

Mrs. Hanson had just served Ian, Francesca, Lucien, Elise, and Kam in the dining room. It was a mild night, so Francesca had suggested they take coffee up on the deck.

“Of course. Francesca,” he called to his wife. “Kam and I will be up in a moment. He needs a word in the library.”

Francesca nodded brightly. Ian led Kam down the wide, gallery-like hallway to his library-office.

“Is everything all right?” Ian asked after he’d shut the walnut-paneled door.

“Probably not. For one of us, anyway,” Kam replied.

Ian blinked, clearly not having expected that answer.

“Maybe you’d better sit down,” Kam said.

“I’m not sure I like the sound of this,” Ian said, studying Kam with a sharp gaze.

“Nobody is sick or dying,” Kam said wryly.

Ian shrugged slightly. “Then I suppose we’ll survive it.” He went to sit on one of the two couches that faced each other. He gave Kam a cool, expectant glance. Kam sat across from his brother and wondered for the thousandth time that night where to begin. Never having been much of a wordsmith, he finally just cut to the meat of things.

“I’m going to ask Lin to work for me.”

A stunned silence followed.

“Excuse me?” Ian asked, leaning forward, his gaze narrowing dangerously.

“I’m aware that almost every chief executive officer on the planet has tried to poach her from you, so I thought it was only fair to warn you beforehand. I respect you too much to ever consider going behind your back. I didn’t come here with the clear intention to offer her a position. I didn’t come to Chicago with any intention of undermining you, Ian.”

“Have I done something since then to make you want to?” Ian demanded, nostrils flaring.

“Of course not,” Kam declared. “You’ve gone out of your way to try to help me. You and Francesca and Lucien and Elise . . . all of you have been . . . great.”

“And this is how you thank me? By trying to steal my top executive?” Ian bellowed in disbelief.

“I’m not ‘stealing’ her,” Kam tried to reason, although he couldn’t resist glaring at Ian’s accusation. “I’m telling you aboveboard that I’m going to ask her to work for me. With me. It’s her decision. She may very well say no.”

“Will she?” Ian snapped, blue eyes flashing with anger. He stood, his long body suddenly tense as a coiled spring.

“I have no idea what she’ll say,” Kam said honestly. “Probably no, just like she says to every other person who tries to hire her.”

Ian came to an abrupt halt, swinging around to stare at Kam. “Hire her.
Hire
her? For
what
? You plan to start your own company in the near future instead of waiting to build capital?”

Kam just nodded, holding his brother’s stare.

“Using your mechanism as the linchpin product instead of a means of capital for future ones?”

“Yes. But I have a lot of ideas for expanding the uses of the technology.”

“Do you think you might have told me this before?”

“I’m telling you now,” Kam said, standing. “I wanted to gather some information before I announced it. Figure out whether I could pull it off or not.”

“Scope out my prize employee,” Ian hissed and cursed under his breath. He started pacing again. “I can’t believe this.”

“I need her more than you do,” Kam said brazenly.

Ian swung around, his eyes wild with disbelief. “You have more balls than anyone I know, and I
don’t
mean that as a compliment.”

“I’m just telling you the truth,” Kam bit out, walking toward Ian aggressively. It was a risk. Ian was furious at that moment, and Kam was irritated himself. No one seemed to rile him more than Ian when he got all arrogant and holier-than-thou. He held Ian’s stare. “You sent Lin to work with me because you knew she’d make me look good. She makes everyone and everything look a hundred times better than it is because she’s a thousand times the worth of any of us. I suspected she was good before I even met her, but she surpassed by expectations by far. I . . .
need
her more . . . than you do,” Kam repeated succinctly.

Ian’s incredulous, furious expression seemed to melt slowly.

“You’re in love with her,” Ian breathed out, stepping toward him.

Kam’s heartbeat throbbed in his ears.

“I know I’m a start-up company,” he continued levelly, wanting Ian to understand,
needing
him to. He cared about his brother. He and Lucien were all the family he had. “But I have capital, I have the skill to create future technology and I have a fucking
fantastic
,
game-changing product. I’m not averse to exploring possible partnerships with companies like Gersbach or Stunde, but I want the control of my technology. If they want it in their watches, they’re going to have to pay to use it. I want my product to be available to most consumers, not just the rich and privileged. I didn’t know if I could make this work until I met Lin and saw how well we could potentially work together. She’s the last piece of the puzzle.”

He paused, trying to read Ian’s mood. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t believe me, Ian, but I am thankful for everything you’ve done for me. You helped facilitate things for the pharmaceutical deal. It’s because of you that I have seed money. You’ve helped me here in Chicago. I want to show my appreciation by allowing Noble the use of any Reardon product you think you can use.”

Ian inhaled slowly. Kam thought he was listening, but he also sensed he was still simmering with anger.

“I’m determined to make this work,” Kam continued. “That’s why I need Lin. I plan to offer her a full partnership, if she wants it. She can own up to fifty percent of Reardon Technologies stock, if she chooses. The sky is the limit as far as where we could take it . . . where
Lin
could take it, if she decided to. Can you offer her anything equivalent at Noble?” he challenged quietly.

Ian just stared at him, his mouth hanging open. “You fucking little bastard,” he said dazedly after a moment.

“I’m a fucking bigger bastard than you,” Kam muttered through his teeth.

A bark of mirthless laughter fell past Ian’s lips. He set his elbow on the mantel of the fireplace and put his forehead in his hand.

“I’m sorry if you feel that I’m doing this to spite you,” Kam said truthfully, feeling the tension ease between them. “I’m not. I don’t mean to sound belittling, but it’s got nothing to do with you. It’s just that . . .”

Ian looked over at him when he faded off. “It’s what makes the most sense,” Kam continued. “It feels right. Lin is precisely what I need. I think
you
even sense that. And she could use an opportunity like this . . . a place to be in the forefront, where she can shine at her fullest and reap all the benefits. Lin should be with me.”

“With Reardon Technologies?” Ian asked pointedly.

“Yes,” Kam replied without pause. He knew what Ian was angling at, but he wasn’t ready to discuss his personal feelings for Lin, especially when he hadn’t even had that discussion with Lin yet. “Of course, Lin might feel differently,” he admitted grimly under his breath. “Everyone knows how loyal she is to you and Noble.”

“So you haven’t spoken to her about any of this yet?”

“No,” Kam said. “I plan to talk to her about that when she gets back. She might suspect something. I’m not sure. She’s kind of hard to read sometimes.”

“She says the same thing about you. I agreed with her. You’ve certainly gone and proved us right in this case,” Ian said, frowning. He turned and faced Kam. “You care about her? You truly do? Because maybe I could start to accept this . . .
maybe
I could maybe even start to feel good about it if it’s what Lin wants and you assured me her feelings and her future are a priority for you.”

Kam met his stare unwaveringly. “You can feel good about it,” he said simply.

Ian held his gaze for several long seconds before he nodded once slowly. “Well, it’s not as if I haven’t had a sneaking suspicion something volatile was happening between you two. I’ve sensed something was about to erupt, but I didn’t guess this. I won’t deny that there have been many times I’ve regretted not being able to offer Lin more. Not money. She’s one of the top-paid executives in the United States. I mean more of Noble itself. She deserves more for all the work she’s done in the past.”

“I agree,” Kam said.

Ian’s eyes flashed in residual anger at Kam’s steadfast reply, but then he seemed to calm himself. “You have to understand. It’s not the wealth I don’t want to share. I don’t care about that. I’ve just never been good about sharing decisions when it comes to my company.”

“I’m not blaming you for the way you want to run your business, Ian. Lin wouldn’t, either. I heard her defending you to Klinf. She was sincere. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve more.”

Ian blinked and shook his head as if suddenly weary. “You’re right. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her at work,” he said hollowly.

I don’t know what I’d do without her. Period,
Kam thought.

Kam shrugged and headed over to the sideboard, reaching for two glasses. They both could use a drink. “No reason to panic,” he told Ian, pouring some bourbon from a decanter. “The lady hasn’t spoken yet.” He walked over to Ian and handed him the glass. Ian just studied the golden-brown liquid for several seconds, lost in thought.

“To Lin,” Ian said finally, holding up the bourbon.

“To Lin. And her future,” Kam replied.

•   •   •

Lin thought a lot about Kam on her trip. She used his innovative device and thought of him and his brilliance. It was amazing, to learn about the rhythms of her own body, to come to understand how certain events, environments, and interactions made her respond. She started to feel more connected to her flesh than she ever had before, the biofeedback mechanism making her consider her physical being in a whole new way.

Lying alone in her hotel room at night, she could think of nothing but Kam and his challenging, intensely pleasurable lovemaking, his devilish smile, the knowing gleam in his silvery-gray eyes. She missed him so much.

They spoke on the phone on Monday night, Lin thanking him profusely for the gorgeous pearls and praising his device almost nonstop. A startling amount of people had noticed and commented on the watch, including many of her business associates in San Francisco. Lin had talked ebulliently about the mechanism, and saw firsthand the fascination and curiosity people immediately had for it. Kam had a future phenomenon on his hands. She asked him point-blank during a phone conversation if he planned to start up his own company sooner rather than later, and he’d admitted that it was his hope to jump right in versus waiting.

By the time she landed at O’Hare on Wednesday morning, she was feeling energized and excited, looking forward to the Gersbach demonstration that afternoon. She’d thought the device was fascinating before, but now that she’d become familiar with it on a firsthand basis, she was enthusiastic in a way she’d never before been about a product.

She was brimming with excitement for the Gersbach meeting because of the product, but she was ten times as thrilled at the idea of seeing Kam again.

Brigit and Otto Gersbach came for the demonstration in Ian’s office, but Lucien and, of course, Kam were expected to come as well. Lin was seated in her usual chair at the gleaming cherrywood conference table in Ian’s office, casually showing Ian, Brigit, and Otto the Reardon device, singing her praises without a hint of artifice. They were all fascinated. Everyone stood when Kam and Lucien entered the room.

“Hi,” Lin said breathlessly to Kam after she’d greeted Lucien.

“Hi,” he returned, as Otto Gersbach shook Lucien’s hand and they exchanged hellos. He looked wonderful to her, not to mention extremely handsome in a dark gray suit with crisp white dress shirt and black-and-silver striped tie. She met his stare, smiling when she saw that familiar knowing gleam in his silvery eyes as he looked down at her. Her lips brushed against his jaw.

“They already love the watch,” she whispered quietly near his ear.

“That’s because you’re making it look so good,” he murmured back before he lightly kissed her lips. It wasn’t a professional kiss, technically speaking. For the first time in her life, Lin could have cared less about professional appearances.

The demonstration went well. She explained to the group about her experience wearing the watch, telling them that once she understood what her stress looked like on the display screen, she could take proactive steps to lower the indicators on the bar graph. Her progress in controlling her body’s stress response grew exponentially with all the regular feedback. She showed them all in real time how she could control potentially negative stress responses by merely focusing on her breath or doing a brief centering exercise.

“It’s like having a constant mirror for your body,” Lin explained. “It’s hard to learn when things are invisible, but when you see your responses visually or audibly”—she switched the control panel to audio for a series of feedback beeps—“it becomes instinctive to understand and learn from the feedback. I had no idea how my body responded so adversely to landing in an airplane, and don’t even
ask
me about my response to two caffé macchiatos after a sleepless night,” she said, glancing at Kam fleetingly and repressing a small smile when she saw his knowing look.

Lin had never seen Otto so smitten and enthusiastic about a product. He insisted that Kam come to Geneva sometime soon in order to show the product to the rest of the Gersbach board of directors. After the demonstration was complete, Kam broke the news that he’d decided not to sell his product wholesale, but would consider a royalty use of his product by Gersbach. Otto wasn’t pleased about this development, but was starting to come around when he saw how steadfast Kam was on the topic.