The Ties That Bind (9 page)

"They're absolutely marvelous! Wonderful! I haven't seen anything like them anywhere and, of course, that's the whole point, isn't it? Lost and Found customers will love them. How many can you give me a month?"

Shannon tried not to exhibit her excitement and tension. "Would twenty a month sound reasonable?"

"I could use fifty."

"Do you really think so?"

The buyer nodded with absolute certainty. "At least. More if you can get them done. What's your production schedule?"

Belatedly Shannon remembered Garth's advice to sound positive and businesslike about production schedules. "It can be adjusted to suit demand. I have someone who will work part-time as needed to finish the bags. I'll handle the actual silk-screening process myself, of course. I think we could manage fifty." Mentally she crossed her fingers behind her back.

"Excellent. I've brought a contract with me. Just a formality, you understand. Keeps everything neat and legal. We'll go over it during lunch, and I'll explain the highlights. I can take you to lunch, can't I? You'll have to suggest someplace in the area. I haven't been over to the coast in ages."

"Sure." Shannon sucked in her breath at the rapidity with which everything was moving. Maybe there was a little too much speed involved here. The mention of the contract had been very fleeting. What was it Garth had said about big-city buyers taking advantage of naive craftspeople? "I'll, uh, want some time to look over the contract, if you don't mind."

"Oh, it's a very simple one. Nothing to it."

"All the same, it will take me a little time to study it." Before the buyer could argue the matter, Shannon waved a hand around the studio. "Would you like me to explain what goes on here?"

"Oh, definitely. What are those?"

"Greeting cards. I sell them locally."

The buyer frowned over a stack of boxed cards. "I like the bird design and the flowers, but I love the illuminated letters. They're absolutely exquisite. I wonder if I shouldn't place an order for a few boxes and see how they do in the store."

Shannon began to feel overwhelmed. "I didn't know you sold cards in the Lost and Found."

"Normally we don't, but these are very special and they might do very well next to the totes." The buyer smiled brilliantly. "Let me have that guided tour."

It was nearly seven o'clock that night when Shannon finally sank into a chair with a glass of wine and dialed Garth's home number. She couldn't wait to tell him the news. On the table beside her sat the unsigned contract. Shannon had convinced the buyer to leave it with her for a while, promising to mail it as soon as possible. The woman hadn't been pleased, but she was a businesswoman and quickly accepted the inevitable. She wanted the totes.

The phone rang six times in Garth's home before Shannon admitted to herself he wasn't there. Her fingers drummed restlessly on the arm of the chair as she considered where he might be. Realistically speaking he could be anywhere, including out with another woman.

Shannon thought about that as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. She knew so little about Garth. It was entirely possible he kept a wife and ten kids in San Jose. She smiled to herself at the thought. No, whatever Garth might be doing at this hour of the night, he wasn't two-timing her. At least not with another woman. She trusted him.

But she wasn't at all sure she trusted the business side of his life. On a hunch, Shannon picked up the receiver again and dialed the number for
Sherilectronics
. She wasn't really surprised when the phone was answered promptly by a professional-sounding female voice.

"
Sherilectronics
, can I help you?"

At seven o'clock at night, no less, Shannon marveled at the late hours. She wondered what Garth had to pay in overtime to get a secretary who sounded this professional at this hour. She tried to conjure up an image of the woman and failed. It made her realize again how many gaps there were in her knowledge of Garth.

"I was calling to speak to Mr. Sheridan. Is he there?"

"He's here, but he's in a meeting. If you'll leave your name and number, I'll have him return your call."

Thoroughly intimidated by the notion of pulling Garth out of a late meeting, Shannon hastily apologized. "That's all right. Just tell him Shannon
Raine
called. It's nothing crucial. I'll contact him later."

"Hold on a moment, Miss
Raine
. I have instructions to put through any call from you."

"No, wait, that's all right-" Shannon said quickly, but it was too late. There was an abrupt silence and then a man's voice, sounding harried and impatient came on the line. "Sheridan's office. What's up?"

"I'm sorry," Shannon said, annoyed with herself for apologizing yet again. "This is Shannon
Raine
. I was calling for Garth, but I understand he's busy and I don't want to interrupt."

A hand was clamped over the mouthpiece on the other end of the line, and Shannon heard the man's muffled voice speaking to someone else. "It's somebody called Shannon
Raine
. Want me to get rid of her, Garth?"

Garth's voice sounded in the distance. "Hell, no, let me have that, Wes." A second later, he was on the line. "Shannon? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm sorry I bothered you, Garth." Shannon felt distinctly like an intruder who had blundered into Garth's other world without invitation. "I tried to tell everyone I'd get hold of you later, but they put me through and I -"

He cut through the flow of apologetic words. "It's all right, honey. I've told my secretary to put through your calls. What did you want?"

Her news seemed very trivial now. "I just wanted to tell you about the buyer's visit today. But it can wait."

"How did it go?"

Shannon relaxed a little at the genuine interest in his voice. "Really well, Garth. She loved the totes, and she even wants some of the cards."

"That's wonderful. Did she leave a contract?"

"It's right here in front of me." Shannon glanced uneasily at the three-part document lying on the table.

"Fine. Don't sign anything until I get over there."

Shannon sighed, too elated by the buyer's visit to argue. "All right, Garth." She paused. "Are you going to be working much later tonight?"

"We're getting some last-minute sections of a proposal ready. I'll probably be here until nine or ten."

"Oh." She was shocked but tried not to show it. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you," she heard herself say.

"It's all right, honey." But she could hear the impatience in his voice. He had a lot of work ahead of him tonight, and he wanted to get back to it. "Congratulations on your big sale. I'll call you tomorrow, and we'll discuss it further."

"Fine. Good night, Garth." Shannon hung up the phone wishing she'd never had the urge to call his office.

She was an intruder there. There was no doubt about it, regardless of how polite people were when she called. She didn't even know the name of Garth's secretary or how close the man called Wes was to him. She knew so damn little about Garth Sheridan's other life, and he seemed very unwilling to share it with her.

Next weekend the business side of his life would steal even the short time she might normally have had with Garth. Shannon was filled with both curiosity and resentment. Underneath both of those emotions was a vague fear she didn't want to put into words. Shannon sat thinking about her options for a long time before she began to gather her courage and make her plans.

She knew intuitively that if her relationship with Garth was ever to get beyond the weekend-affair stage, she was going to have to see and understand the business side of his life. He had to be convinced to share it with her. She could not let him isolate her from it forever.

Somehow she had to gently force him to share his world with her, Shannon made her decision. She would find a way to attend that party in San Jose with Garth, even if it meant taking him by surprise.

THE PARKING LOT of the
Sherilectronics
building was absorbing the summer heat and sending it back into the atmosphere in muggy waves. Shannon had spent the last hundred miles of the drive from the Mendocino coast wishing she'd had air-conditioning in the Fiat. She was nervous enough about the coming confrontation; she hadn't needed the added perspiration problems caused by the heat.

The lot was nearly empty, but in addition to Garth's Porsche parked near the main entrance, there was a handful of other cars. Shannon grabbed her tote bag and climbed out of the Fiat feeling damp and rumpled. The long, peach-colored cotton skirt and matching loose-fitting blouse were both badly wrinkled. When she had pulled them out of the back of her closet this morning, she had thought they looked just right for a warm summer's day, very breezy and carefree. Disgustedly she paused to try smoothing the fabric a bit before heading toward the glass wall of doors. Then she bent to check her hair in the side mirror. At least it didn't look as if it had just come out of a steam room.

Straightening, Shannon examined the angled-glass-and-steel structure in front of her. The name
Sherilectronics
on the front was done in a hard-edged script that was reminiscent of a computer printout. The building was three stories high and seemed to be entirely occupied by Garth's company. There were other structures nearby, done in the same cold, modem industrial style and they all had signs declaring that they, too, were part of the computer revolution. Together they formed what was called an industrial park. Shannon couldn't see anything
parklike
about the acres of high-tech industry that surrounded her, unless she counted the few trees planted along the sidewalks.

Her first impression of Garth's world confirmed her worst fears. It looked very alien.

When she discovered a uniformed guard at the entrance of
Sherilectronics
, Shannon knew she was definitely in another world. He was very polite but very firm. The name Bailey Security Services was embroidered over his left pocket.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

"I'm here to see Mr. Sheridan," Shannon admitted self-consciously.

"Is he expecting you?"

"Well, no, but I don't think he'll mind." Much.

"I'll call up to the office for you," the guard said pleasantly. "This is Saturday, so the receptionist isn't on duty. Have a seat." He gestured toward a lobby chair.

This wasn't quite the way Shannon had planned it. "Couldn't I just go on up and surprise him?"

The guard looked at her with a wry expression and shook his head. "Afraid not. Mr. Sheridan doesn't like surprises. That's why he hires people from my firm to stand here at the front door. May I have your name?"

"Shannon
Raine
." She hitched her tote bag onto her shoulder and decided to wait standing up. Sitting down would just add a few more wrinkles to the cotton skirt. Tensely she listened while the guard contacted Garth's office.

"Bonnie, there's a Miss
Raine
here to see Mr. Sheridan. Shall I send her up?" There was a pause while the guard politely scrutinized his guest. "Okay, fine." He hung up the phone. "Third elevator, top floor. Sheridan's secretary said you're to go straight up."

Shannon nodded and started for the elevator. Even now the mysterious Bonnie would be telling Garth he was about to receive a visitor. Shannon's palms went damp as she rode the elevator alone to the third floor.

When the doors hissed open she found herself in another spacious lobby. In the center of it sat a striking woman who could have just stepped out of Vogue magazine. The smile she gave Shannon was as perfect as the rest of her. She probably typed a thousand words a minute, too, Shannon thought with a sigh. The woman looked competent as well as beautiful. The name on the discreet plate in front of her was Bonnie Garnett.

"Miss
Raine
? I'll tell Mr. Sheridan you're here."

Shannon clutched her tote. "He doesn't know yet?" For some reason she felt as if she'd received a small reprieve.

Bonnie shook her head. "He's in a meeting with Mr. McIntyre. They've been at it since seven o'clock this morning." She leaned forward and touched a small button on the intercom. "Mr. Sheridan, you have a visitor. A Miss
Raine
."

Shannon realized she was holding her breath waiting for the response. The pause before Garth answered seemed to last a hundred years. When it came his voice sounded so cold and devoid of emotion that Shannon nearly lost her nerve entirely.

"I'll be right out, Bonnie."

Bonnie released the intercom button and gave Shannon another of her perfect smiles. Her eyes slipped to the tote and suddenly there was more than professional interest in her gaze. "What a lovely bag. Where did you get it?"

"I, uh, made it." Shannon smiled weakly. The door to the inner office remained ominously closed.

Bonnie got up from behind her desk and came around the corner. "May I see it? I've never seen anything quite like it."

Obediently Shannon extended the large tote.
Bonnie's
interest took Shannon's mind off the door to the inner office. "It's a silk-screen process. I brought a few of my totes along with me on this trip just in case I decide to stay through Monday or Tuesday. I thought I might be able to pay some calls on some potential buyers here in San Jose." It had seemed a reasonable idea at the time. Now Shannon wasn't so certain.

"You designed this?" Bonnie touched the brilliantly hued decorated letter R on the side of the canvas tote. "It looks like something out of a medieval manuscript. One of those old, illuminated pages. It's fantastic. I'd give my word processor to have one."

Some of Shannon's self-assurance returned as she saw the genuine appreciation on
Bonnie's
face. "Well, as it happens, I've got one with a B on it downstairs in the car. Would you like to see it?"

"I'd love to see it. But I suppose they're awfully expensive," Bonnie added regretfully.

"Oh, I wouldn't sell it to you. It would be a gift. I mean, you're Garth's secretary and... and I'm sure you're a friend of his, too, and I wouldn't dream of selling anything to a friend. I'll just run down to the car and-" Shannon broke off abruptly as the door across the room opened silently, framing Garth. She had never been more aware of the chilly color of his gray eyes. They were pools of ice today. Her fingers tightened around the strap of the tote bag.