Текст книги "About That Night"
Автор книги: Julie James
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Текущая страница: 18 (всего у книги 18 страниц)
Mulling this over, Rylann let herself into her apartment and threw her purse and keys on the kitchen counter. She went to her bedroom and stripped out of the gray skirt suit and heels she’d worn that day. In the closet, she hung up the suit next to the others, the row of black, navy, gray, beige, and brown jackets forming a neat, orderly line. Then, instinctively, her eyes went to the shoe box on the top shelf near the back, the one with Kyle’s flannel shirt. She thought of something she’d said to him that night, right after she’d kissed him.
I thought I’d fly by the seat of my pants for a change.
The only question left was just how far she was willing to take that.
Thirty-four
THE NEXT MORNING, Kyle sat at his desk at the downtown office of Rhodes Network Consulting, staring distractedly out the window at the view of the Chicago river.
When his cell phone rang, he blinked and quickly checked the caller ID, quelling a pang of disappointment when he saw that it was Sean.
He answered, and the two of them discussed the following week’s itinerary. Monday was the official start date for all company employees, which currently included Sean, Gil and Troy, two administrative assistants, and a receptionist. Judging from the volume of calls Kyle had already received since the Twitter announcement, however, he doubted they’d be able to operate for long with a six-person team—especially once the Time article came out.
As his father had said last night, from a professional perspective he had indeed turned his life around. And he was proud of those accomplishments. But they did little to ease the dull, empty ache he’d felt since leaving Rylann’s apartment.
He’d pushed her, and in the end he’d gotten the answers he’d needed. Just not the answers he’d wanted.
When his business line rang, another potential client wanting to set up a consultation, he forced himself to stay focused on work. Shortly after he finished the call, his cell phone buzzed with a new text message.
From Rylann.
AT SOME POINT, DIMPLES, DO YOU PLAN TO HAVE ANY ACTUAL CONSULTANTS AT RHODES NETWORK CONSULTING?
It took Kyle a half second, then he got up from his desk. He walked out of his office, going past the empty cubicles and workstations, and turned into the reception area.
Standing there, waiting at the front desk and looking very businesslike in her trench coat and heels, was Rylann.
“I hope you take walk-in appointments,” she said with a smile.
Hmm.
Kyle knew that smile well by now. But Prosecutrix Pierce would not find him so easily charmed this time. She could throw around all her wiles and quips, and flaunt whatever sexy skirt suit she had on underneath that trench coat of hers, and he would remain decidedly immune to all of it.
“How did you find me?” he asked.
“I went to the website for Rhodes Network Consulting and looked up the address,” she said matter-of-factly. “You’d mentioned that you were planning to get a jump on things at the office today.”
He remembered that now; he’d said something about it on Wednesday night, during the limo ride down to Champaign. “How’s your ex?” he asked dryly.
Rylann shrugged. “Okay, I guess. All things considered. He’s currently on a plane back to Rome, trying to decide what he wants to do with his life.” She looked him over. “You look tired.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night.”
She nodded, then shifted awkwardly. “Do you think we could go to your office and talk? I feel strange standing here by the reception desk.”
Kyle paused, thinking about that, then gestured behind him. “Follow me.”
They said nothing as they walked back to his office—probably the longest the two of them had ever gone without speaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her checking everything out.
“The place looks great,” she said when they got to his office. “How much did you have to change before moving in?”
He leaned against his desk and shoved his hands in his pockets, not exactly in the mood to make idle chitchat. “Why did you come here, Rylann?”
She reached into the pocket of her trench coat and pulled something out. “To give you this.”
When Kyle saw that it was his watch, his heart sank. And here he’d been hoping…well, obviously it didn’t matter now.
“You forgot it, again, when you left my apartment yesterday morning,” she said.
Kyle took the watch from her and slid it onto his wrist. “Thanks for returning it.”
She held his gaze meaningfully. “And I also came here to tell you that you’re wrong.” She stepped closer. “I do want to be with you, Kyle. More than anything.”
He remained motionless. “I’m waiting for the ‘but.’ “
She shook her head. “No ‘but’ this time. I’m in, all the way.” She took a deep breath. “I’m going to tell Cameron about us this afternoon.”
In so many ways that was exactly what Kyle had wanted to hear. But he remembered her hesitation yesterday all too clearly. “Rylann, I’m crazy about you—you know that.” He held her gaze, laying it on the line. “But if we do this, I worry that one day you’ll regret it. And that would kill me.”
“I won’t regret it,” she said. “I promise.”
“You say that now, but what about later?”
Suddenly, to his utter surprise, tears sprang to her eyes.
“I will never, ever regret stopping you from walking out of my life a second time, Kyle,” she said in an emotional voice. “And I can prove it.” She reached for the buttons on her trench coat and undid them, one at a time. Then she opened the coat and let it drop to the floor.
And even if she didn’t say a single word more, Kyle knew he would never again doubt the way Rylann felt about him.
She was wearing his flannel shirt.
“You kept it,” he said softly. “All this time.”
She nodded. “For nine years, I’ve held on to this darn shirt, literally dragging it across the country and back.”
Kyle touched her cheek, gently brushing away a tear with his thumb. “Why?”
She paused hesitantly, and then with a tender smile, finally put it all on the line, too. “I guess I always hoped you’d come back for it someday.”
Fuck, that completely undid him. His chest pulled almost uncomfortably tight as he pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Rylann.” He cupped her face, peering down into her eyes. “And now I finally have a good answer to the one question everyone always asks me—why I hacked into Twitter. I didn’t know it at the time…but I did it to find you again.”
She leaned into him, curling her fingers around his shirt. “That may be the best justification I’ve ever heard for committing a crime.” She looked up at him, her eyes shining. “And I love you, too, you know.”
He smiled, lowering his mouth to hers. He did know that. It may have taken nine years, and a whole lot of wrong turns along the way, but their story felt complete at last.
Because, finally, she was his.
Thirty-five
LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Rylann stood in front of Cameron’s door.
She paused, took a deep breath, and then knocked.
A voice called from inside. “Come in.”
Rylann opened the door and saw Cameron at her desk. The U.S. attorney smiled and gestured to the open chairs across from her. “Rylann, hi. Have a seat.”
Rylann shut the door behind her, trying to gauge the other woman’s mood. She’d worked with Cameron for two months now, and had nothing but positive things to say about the experience. While young for her position, Cameron was driven, fair, and an excellent trial lawyer. As the U.S. attorney for one of the largest districts in the country, she commanded significant power within the federal criminal justice system and had, in particular, garnered a lot of favorable attention over the last several months by prosecuting one of the most notorious crime syndicates in the country.
She was, in other words, a woman Rylann respected very much.
Rylann took a seat in front of the desk, trying to decide where to begin. Funny story, Cameron. Nine years ago, I let a perfect stranger walk me home from a bar…
Probably not there.
She cleared her throat. “I need to speak with you about a personal matter.”
Cameron looked concerned. “I hope everything’s okay?”
“Yes, thank you. But there’s something you should know, and I wanted you to hear it directly from me.” She paused before coming out with it. “Kyle Rhodes and I have been exploring a relationship in a nonprofessional capacity.” She cocked her head. “Wow. That sounded a lot less lame when I practiced it in my head. Let me try that again, without the BS.” She looked her boss in the eyes. “I’m dating the Twitter Terrorist.”
Cameron said nothing for a moment, and then leaned back in her chair. “Okay. First things first. Was this going on while he was your witness?”
“No,” Rylann said firmly, wanting to make sure they were clear on that.
Cameron nodded. “Of course. Had to ask, though.”
Rylann sat forward earnestly. “Look, Cameron, I realize this is unusual. We put the guy in prison and called him a terrorist. And because he’s such a recognizable figure in this city, it won’t be long before someone sees us together and links me to this office. I realize, when that happens, that our relationship might raise a few eyebrows. More than a few, probably. Trust me when I say that for those reasons, this was not something I entered into lightly. But regardless, Kyle is part of my life now. And I’m ready to accept whatever fallout comes with it.”
“That’s quite a speech,” Cameron said.
Rylann exhaled. “Thanks. I’m a little nervous here.”
Cameron studied her. “Are you worried that I’m going to fire you over this?”
Rylann shook her head, being direct. “No. But I am worried that this will put a strain on our working relationship. And that you’ll question my judgment going forward.” And while both would be tough pills to swallow, she nevertheless didn’t regret her decision. She’d told Kyle that she was committed to this, and she’d meant it.
Cameron rested her elbows on the desk. “I appreciate your honesty, Rylann. So I’ll be candid as well.” She gestured to her door. “I realize that the door says ‘U.S. Attorney’ on it, but only six months ago, the word Assistant was in front of my name, too. And if things were different, and Silas had still been in charge, I have no doubt that he would’ve held the fact that you’re dating a man this office recently prosecuted as a big-time strike against you. But you know what? Silas was an ass. He ran this office like a dictator, and the only thing he cared about was his public image. Whenever one of the AUSAs had an important victory, he took all the credit. If something bad happened, he let us take all the blame. Not to mention the fact that he was taking bribes from the biggest organized crime boss in Chicago and essentially tried to have me murdered—but that’s a whole other story.”
Rylann blinked. Okay…safe to say things had been a lot different under the previous U.S. attorney.
“The point is,” Cameron continued, “when I took over this office, I vowed to do two things: first, clean up the corruption, and second, be the kind of U.S. attorney that I wish had been in charge when I was an AUSA. So yes—the fact that you’re dating Kyle Rhodes is a little weird. When word gets out, are there going to be people who find it unusual that I’ve got a prosecutor dating the Twitter Terrorist? Probably. But in comparison to everything that was going on around here when Silas was in charge, I think I can handle it. We’re a team in this office, Rylann. You’re a fantastic trial lawyer and incredibly dedicated to this job. That is what’s most important to me.”
Rylann took a deep breath, feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that, Cameron.”
“You really were nervous about this,” Cameron said with a chuckle.
“It’s just that if I were in your shoes right now, I’m sure I’d be wondering why a woman in my position would choose to pursue this relationship.”
Cameron smiled. “Oh, I understand that better than you think. These things work in mysterious ways. Three years ago, an FBI agent went on national television and declared that I had my head up my ass.” She checked her watch. “And strangely, in about twenty-eight hours, I’m going to marry the guy.”
Rylann held out her hands in surprise. “Oh my gosh, I hadn’t heard. Congratulations.”
Cameron’s eyes sparkled happily. “We’ve been low-key about it. I just started telling people today—I figure the cat will be out of the bag on Monday anyway, when I show up for work wearing a wedding band. Neither Jack nor I wanted a lot of fanfare. Just a few friends and family, a small ceremony, and dinner on the terrace at the Peninsula hotel.”
“That sounds lovely.”
The way Cameron’s face had lit up said she couldn’t agree more. “It’s the place where Jack and I reconnected. Sort of. Another long story.”
“Well, I won’t take up any more of your time, since you obviously have a lot going on.” Rylann stood up. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
“What can I say? You caught me in a really good mood today. If it had been last Friday, I might’ve fired you.” Cameron laughed when she saw Rylann’s eyes widen. “Just a little U.S. attorney humor. Enjoy your weekend.”
After Rylann left the office and stepped out into the hallway, she closed her eyes and exhaled.
She’d survived.
Now, she had only one mea culpa left—after that, everyone else could hear about her and Kyle in whatever ways these things inevitably came out. With that in mind, she headed down the hallway to Cade’s office. She stopped in his open doorway and knocked.
Sitting at his desk, working at his computer, Cade looked over and smiled. “Hey, you. You’re a bit early for Starbucks.”
“Got a second?” Rylann asked.
“Sure. Come on in.”
Rylann stepped inside, shut the door behind her, and took a seat in front of his desk. She crossed her legs, resting her hands in her lap. “I need to talk to you about something. And I’m warning you now—it’s going to be a little awkward. Maybe a lot awkward.”
He didn’t seem too surprised by this lead-in. “I think I know what this is about. The rumors, right?”
Rylann cocked her head. “Rumors?”
“That you and I are hooking up.” Cade held up his hand. “I swear, I had nothing to do with it.”
Rylann blinked—she’d assumed Jack Pallas had been making that up to flush out Kyle. “Great,” she said dryly. “Now there will be two scandals floating around the halls about me.”
He raised an eyebrow curiously. “Scandal? What have you done, Ms. Pierce?”
“Well, remember that thing you read in the Scene and Heard column, about the brunette bombshell that Kyle Rhodes is seeing?”
Cade looked at her for a long moment, waiting for her to say something else. Then it clicked. “Get out of here. You are the brunette bombshell?”
“I suppose ‘bombshell’ may have been a little overboard, but you don’t have to look that shocked by the description.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know, I was going for a joke. Trying to ease over that awkwardness.” She saw his guarded expression. “Probably going to take a lot more easing.”
“When did this start?” he asked.
“A few weeks ago. After the Quinn case pled out.” Rylann tried for a smile. “It’s weird, I know. I just told Cameron, and it was weird then, too. But I wanted you to hear it from me.”
“I called your boyfriend a terrorist.”
“Good thing he wasn’t my boyfriend at the time. Then this would’ve been really awkward.”
Cade sat back in his chair, still with the cautious look. “A couple months ago, I told you some things about Kyle’s case. About the fact that Silas asked me to go for the maximum sentence in order to make an example out of him.” He looked her dead in the eyes. “Did you tell Rhodes about that?”
“Of course not. That was something you told me in confidence. I’m still the same person you go to Starbucks every day with, Cade. Just…with an ex-con boyfriend you once called a cyber-menace to society.”
He wasn’t quite smiling yet, but he wasn’t staring at her as though she’d sprouted a second head anymore, either.
“You know that everyone’s going to be talking about this, right?” Cade asked.
“Oh, I have no doubt about that,” Rylann said. She wasn’t pleased about that fact, but she’d deal with it. She’d have to.
Cade studied her for a moment, then sat forward in his chair. “Seriously, what is it about this guy? He’s just a rich computer geek with good hair.”
Rylann smiled. “I think there’s a little more to it than that.”
“Christ, you are smitten.” He threw up his hands. “What is going on with everyone these days? Sam Wilkins is babbling about a meet-cute, Cameron’s sneaking off to get hitched, and now you’re all starry-eyed over the Twitter Terrorist. Has everyone been sneaking happy pills out of the evidence room when I’m not looking?”
“No, just some really good pot.”
Cade laughed out loud at that. “You are a funny one, Pierce. I’ll say that.”
“So does that mean we’re still on for Starbucks later today?”
He studied her suspiciously. “You’re not going to want to talk about Kyle Rhodes the whole time, are you?”
“Actually, yes. And then we’ll go shoe shopping together and get mani-pedis.” She threw him a get-real look. “We’ll talk about the same stuff we always talk about.”
With a grin, he finally nodded. “Fine. Three o’clock, Pierce. I’ll swing by your office.”
AT SIX THIRTY that day, Rylann packed up her briefcase and left the office, one of the last people there that Friday evening.
As it turned out, the world had not ended with the revelation that she was dating the Twitter Terrorist.
Granted, only two people in her world—other than Rae—actually knew this information, but seeing how they were two of the people whose opinions she cared most about, she was willing to call that a victory.
But she wasn’t naive. As Cade had mentioned, there was going to be gossip. A lot of it. From this point forward, her claim to fame would no longer be that she’d once climbed into a hatch and scaled down a rickety fifteen-foot ladder in a skirt suit. Instead, people would have a far juicier tale to tell.
Nevertheless, while Meth Lab Rylann may have been a little sad to see her legendary status go, Prosecutrix Pierce had no regrets about her decision. Despite the inevitable whispers in the hallways and the raised eyebrows, nothing changed the fact that she was a damn good lawyer. And now she was a damn good lawyer who could come home after a long workday, good or bad, to a man she admired, who challenged her, and who made her heart beat faster with one smile.
And that was something Meth Lab Rylann never had.
As she pushed through the revolving doors and cut across the plaza in front of the Federal Building, Rylann decided to treat herself to a cab ride instead of taking the L. She texted Kyle with the message that she’d talked to Cameron and would call him with the details when she got home.
Twenty minutes later, when the cab was a block away from her apartment, Rylann’s cell phone rang, and she saw that it was Kyle.
“How did it go?” he asked after she’d answered.
“Better than expected,” she told him. “I only told Cameron and Cade, but they were the two people I was most worried about.”
“Please tell me the look on Morgan’s face was as priceless as I’m imagining it.”
“Does that mean you two won’t be drinking beer together at the U.S. Attorney’s Office annual Fourth of July picnic?” The cab pulled in front of Rylann’s apartment, and she pulled out her wallet.
“Is there actually an office Fourth of July picnic?” Kyle asked.
“So I’ve been told. Kids, spouses, significant others—the whole nine yards.” Rylann handed cash to the driver. “Keep the change.” She stepped out of the cab and shut the door.
“Ooh, I saw a flash of leg there,” Kyle said slyly in her ear.
Quickly, Rylann looked around.
Across the street, there Kyle stood, leaning against an obscenely expensive-looking silver sports car.
That was…quite a sight.
Rylann hung up the phone and walked over, briefcase in hand. With his arms folded across his chest, Kyle watched with obvious appreciation as she approached.
“You do wear that trench coat well,” he said.
She stopped before him and pointed. “This is your car?”
“It is.” He watched as she checked it out, then grinned. “Well, look at that. You like the car.”
Damn skippy she liked the car.
“It’s not bad,” she said nonchalantly.
“Coming from you, that’s quite a compliment.” He pulled her closer, so that she stood between his outstretched legs. “So do they allow significant others who have prison records at the U.S. Attorney’s Office annual Fourth of July picnic?”
She chuckled at the thought. “Let’s get through next week first. See how things go after the Time article comes out.”
Kyle cocked his head, as if realizing something. “You’re worried about what I’m going to say during the interview.”
Well…yes. “You say whatever you want.” It was his job, his business, and thus his right to handle it his own way. Just as the same rules applied to her career.
He touched her chin. “I’ll be circumspect, counselor. We’re in this together.” His blue eyes were warm as he peered down at her. “So what would you say to going out for dinner tonight?”
“A second date? This is getting serious,” she said coyly.
“Just name the place. The sky’s the limit.” He slid his hand to the nape of her neck. “I could spoil you rotten, Rylann. If you’ll let me.”
Heady words, indeed. As they leaned against his super-fancy sports car, she brushed her fingers across a lock of dark blond hair that had fallen across Kyle’s forehead. Then, suddenly, she realized she had one mea culpa left.
Oh, boy.
He saw her look. “What?”
“I’m wondering how I’m ever going to explain you to my mother. If you think I’m a burr up your ass about the ex-con thing, just wait until you meet her.”
“Maybe we could take a lesson from my parents and give her the sanitized, wholesome version of the story. One that emphasizes my numerous fine qualities.” Kyle mused this over. “Something like…’Once upon a time, I met a guy in a bar who was wearing a flannel shirt and work boots, and he turned out to be a prince in disguise.’ “
Just then, a car slowed to a stop in front of them, filled with five guys in their late teens. The driver stuck his head out the window.
“Yo, Twitter Terrorist!” he called out. “How’s this for a tweet? ‘Kiss my ass, dickhead!’ ” The entire group laughed as a guy in the backseat stuck his bare ass out the window, mooning them, then the car peeled away.
Kyle and Rylann stood on the street, saying nothing for a moment as the car drove off. Then he turned to her with a sheepish grin. “Obviously not one of the high-fivers.”
Yes, she’d caught that. “What am I going to do with you, Kyle Rhodes?” She slid her arms around his neck and peered up at him.
His hand moved to the side of her face. “Whatever you want, counselor. Stick with me, and I promise you that life will always be an adventure.”
And as he lowered his head and kissed her, Rylann decided that was the best plan of all.
