The Lottery (22 page)

All the memories of the afternoon came flooding back.
Or my whole life is going to be smashed.

“What’s wrong?”

She plastered a smile across her face. “Nothing is wrong.”

“I can see it written all over your face.”

She didn’t know what to tell him, nor did she want to worry him. Maybe
nothing would come of the conversation this afternoon, so there was no reason
to get him upset and have them both concerned.

“Everything is fine. Just worried about tonight.”

He looked at her unconvinced. “Liar. But you can tell me when you
are ready.”

****

Karlyn’s heart beat in her throat as they neared the community
center in the aerocab. Ethan grasped one of her hands, stroking her palm with
his thumb, as his other arm surrounded her shoulders. She knew he was trying to
be supportive, but his watchful gaze gave the impression that he sensed there
was more to this night then she let on.

As the cab slowed to a stop in the long line of other vehicles,
she suddenly wiped her thumb across the paypad before opening the door, not
wanting to be watched getting out of an aerocab versus the large luxurious
autos being led up to the entrance. Ethan exited quickly behind her and ran
behind her.

“Are we suddenly in a rush to get in?”

“I just want to get it over with.”

“Get it over with? You sound like you are getting prepared for a
firing squad instead of what may be the event that sets off your career.” Stopping
her on the sidewalk twenty feet from the masses surrounding the doors, he
turned her towards him. He lifted her chin and placed a gentle kiss to her
lips. “You are incredibly gifted and talented. Tonight will be your night to
shine. Network, talk to these women, these are the moneyed masses who are
capable of putting you on the map. And don’t worry; I will be by your side all
night to help. So take a deep breath and relax a little.”

Her heart ached a little at his sweetness. She should probably
tell him about her afternoon, but there was something inside that refused to
voice her concerns. She was fearful that either his grandmother or his ex-lover
would be here to ruin her night, but since all the scenarios that had ran
through her head were probably her overworked imagination, there was no reason
to get him upset. Slowly she nodded her head at him and gathered all the
courage she could to give him a smile.

He looked her deep in the eyes, eyes filled with query. He apparently
knew her too well in such a short time. She pulled his hand with her own and
led him through the throng of people before he could ask the question that was
written all over his face. Approaching the red carpeted stairs that showcased
the wide double doors, she grasped the hem of her deep red gown in one hand and
pulled Ethan behind her with the other.

Entering the brightly lit space, she was suddenly overwhelmed
when she looked around the wide vestibule and was surrounded by her art. Three
of the main pieces graced the three walls in view. Tears sprung to her eyes to
see the well lit, large pieces surrounded by throngs of people, talking,
sipping champagne, and looking over the brightly colored scenes of the city she
loved.

Ethan stepped slightly behind her, wrapping his arms around her
waist and kissed her neck. “Congratulations, Ms. Bowman,” he whispered into her
ear, then he kissed the small, soft pink shell before licking it gently.

A tear nearly escaped before she heard her name called from
across the room. She turned to see Michelle Paul, her gracious client, walking
towards her, all white teeth showing in a smile that looked too big for her
face. Enveloping Karlyn in a hug, afterwards she stepped back with her hands on
Karlyn’s shoulders.

“You are a hit! Everyone has been talking incessantly about your
paintings all night. I have at least a dozen people who want to meet you, and I
was getting worried you weren’t going to show. Thank goodness you are here!”

****

The woman pulled Karlyn away to meet the first of a long line of
admirers, Ethan stood back for a moment, watching the way Karlyn was blossoming.
Eyes alight with pure unadulterated triumph, she radiated a confidence he had
seen a peek of in the past weeks, but waves of it rolled off as she smiled and
spoke to the crowd surrounding her.

 
She still had a faint glow
from the passionate sex they had shared, and seeing her become lost in the
moment, lost in the adoration of the public was something that struck him right
in the chest.

She is beautiful. Stunning.
And I love her.

The last thought almost unbalanced him. Wetness misted in his
eyes and his chest tightened as he thought that maybe, for once, he could have
happiness with this beautiful, gifted woman. Being with her cleansed his soul
of all the darkness he had been filled with.

A smile came to his face as he warmed from the thoughts of spending
the rest of his life with her.

And then he saw her.

Ophelia.

She stood in one corner of the room, watching him intently;
guarded by Addison and another man whom he had never met before. The closeness
the three exhibited illustrated to anyone in the room that they were all
lovers. All three watched him from across the room, making his skin crawl. Ophelia’s
wink made his nerves stand on end immediately.

No way would Ophelia and her minions ruin Karlyn’s night. Walking
towards the trio, he clenched his fists, trying to remain calm to prevent
making a scene. The smug look on Ophelia’s face made that difficult.

Once within a few feet, he slapped on the most winning smile he
could muster up. “Ophelia, it has been way too long. You look absolutely
radiant tonight.”

His stomach turned at his lie, and he broke the glare he held
with the woman. “
Addison
, so nice to see she
hasn’t broken you yet.” He grasped the hand in a firm handshake before turning
to the other man. “And this must be your new toy?”

Ophelia turned to her newest lover, a behemoth of a man, at least
two inches taller than Ethan and much more muscular. She ran one blood red nail
down the front of his tuxedo shirt before grasping a handful of the giant’s package.

“This is Jorge. I had him shipped here from
Brazil
. I was
there last year with Addy on business and could not resist a new spicy Latin
lover. He’s not the most brilliant crayon in the pack, but he more than makes
up for that in studliness. And after the bitching and whining I had with you, I
figured I needed a real man to show me what he’s made of.”

Ethan stuck his hand out to shake Jorge’s, and had his hand
crushed in the monster’s grip.

“So what brings you out tonight, Ophelia?” He bit out as he
extracted his hand.

“A wonderful new artist I have recently acquired a few pieces
from is being showcased tonight with works through the community center, and I
just had to come out to show her my support. Why, there she is now, over there
in the crowd in that luscious red gown.”

Ethan looked over his shoulder to see Karlyn, and feeling the
weight of his stare turned to look him in the eyes. Once she saw who he was
talking to, the color leeched from her face. Mouth open, face ashen, a few
members of her group turned to see what was upsetting her so. Karlyn tried her
best to recover and turned back to the crowd.

Turning back to Ophelia, Ethan stared at her pointedly. “I think
you have done enough for the both of us. You did your best to drive me into the
ground, but her…” He turned and pointed at Karlyn. “You need to leave her
alone. She has done nothing to you.”

“Considering I have done absolutely nothing to her but purchase a
few paintings to help her in her pursuits, how dare you claim otherwise?”

“Stay away from her.”

“Or?”

“Or I may have to dig out the few cards I didn’t play when you
tried your best to completely destroy me.”

“You would have played those cards long ago if you had them. How
entertaining. You must really care about her to stand up for her. As I recall,
you didn’t stand up for anything in the time I knew you. Interesting, very
interesting.”

“Just leave her alone, Ophelia. It really isn’t all that
interesting, believe me.”

Ethan turned and walked away, and heard what he hoped wasn’t
foreboding.

“We’ll just see how interesting it gets.” Ophelia’s cackle made
his skin crawl.

Karlyn looked nearly wiped out when he returned to her side. Casting
a glance at Ethan, she looked the scared little girl.

Damn Ophelia. This was
Karlyn’s night and she was coming out of her shell. Damn it!

****

Ethan shook his head, moving to stand beside Karlyn in a show of
support. He snaked one arm around her back and casually rested his hand on her
opposite hip, and when the conversation finally moved towards someone other
than her, he pressed a gentle kiss into her hair.

Closing her eyes, she melted into him, attempting to get closer,
trying to absorb a little of his warmth and strength into her own body. She
kept whispering her mantra
‘I will make
it through’
in her head over and over while struggling to keep up with the
staggering conversation.

As overwhelmed as she felt with Ophelia standing in the room, she
was still in awe of the attention she was getting from the crowd. Her clutch
was overflowing with business cards, and she had already been asked to make
five appointments in the next two weeks to discuss works to be commissioned. If
she could just focus on her moment, instead of worrying over Ophelia, she would
be fine.

Looking up at Ethan at her side, for once, she felt like she was
accomplished. Not that having a man in her life was an accomplishment, but
tasting a little success and having a wonderful man to share in her triumph was
overwhelming, and a welcome change to her normal life and career. If she could
just get past the worry, past the dread that did not seem to vanish from her
belly, she would be in her moment.

From the corner of her eye, Karlyn saw Evangeline Spears enter
the room. Another wave of despair threatened to overpower her. As the elder
woman glanced around the room, Karlyn saw her take in the main three paintings
before finding the pair in the crowd. Smugness marred her features as she
grabbed a champagne flute and smiled at Karlyn.

Moments later, a hush spread across the crowd, as three peace
ambassadors and a barrister entered the space. Penetrating the crowd, they
seemed to make a beeline directly to Ethan and Karlyn.

“Karlyn Bowman, you are under arrest for fraud. Detain her,
officer, and read her her rights.”

The thick woman’s meaty hands clasped on her arm just before
blackness swallowed her whole.

Chapter Eighteen

Blackness faded away and a dull thump, thump, thump pierced
Karlyn’s brain. Mouth dry as the desert, she slowly began to claim
consciousness.

Where the hell am I? What
happened?

Reality began to slowly creep into her consciousness and the
dread began to build a new in her stomach. She had been arrested for defrauding
the lottery. Opening her eyes slowly to the braining sunlight peering in from a
high barred window at the back of the cell, Karlyn slowly sat up, trying to
gather herself. Wiping her eyes with her fingers, she felt the sting of the
chemicals they had used to collect her fingerprints. Or maybe that was just the
sting of new tears.

She had never been arrested in her life, had never done anything
so bad as to have cause for the peace ambassadors to even question her. Her
first run in with the law, and it would have had to happen in a very public
place when she was on the precipice with her career. Just her dumb luck. No one
was going to want to talk to her again, let alone pay her for her art.

Shaking her head and straightening out the wrinkles in the lovely
red gown she had purchased with hopes of it becoming wrinkled in a ball at the
foot of her bed last night, she worked to hold back the tears that threatened
to flow. If she was going to get herself out of this mess, crying was not going
to help. She needed to clear her head and think of her next step.

As her thoughts began to crystallize, a peace ambassador
approached the cell door, opening it wide.

“Your bail has been made, Bowman. It’s time to get you out of
here.”

Karlyn sat looking stunned, until she realized that Sam had saved
her yet again. But considering she was the one who had gotten her into this
mess, it was only right that Sam come bail her out.

Standing up with as much dignity as she could muster, she exited
the cell and followed the officer to the front of the building to collect her
things and sign all the necessary paperwork. Once she was cleared to go, she
walked to the lobby, expecting to see Sam waiting for her.

Evangeline was there in her place. And looking none too happy. She
had two hulking women beside her wearing all black, from the tips of the patent
leather shoes to the sunglasses that covered their eyes – indoors. Karlyn
walked forward, stopping a foot from Ethan’s grandmother.

“You?” Karlyn stopped to collect herself. “You are the one who
brought the peace ambassadors to arrest me. Why on Earth did you bail me out?”

“I brought them? Bringing the peace ambassadors out has caused my
name to be tied up in this fiasco. I may have questioned your intentions, and I
may have considered having the lottery committee investigate – quietly – but
this circus is the last thing I wanted.”

“So why bail me out? Why not just leave me here?”

“So the media can work to get to you? I think not. You need to be
squirreled away from the glaring eye, hidden where I can try to control the
spin on this. I will not have my name or my businesses affected by this scandal.”