Temptations - The Complete Series Page 44

  “Okay.”

  At that, we walked into the airport and jostled with everyone else until we got to the street, where there was a limousine waiting for us. A man immediately got out and put our bags into the trunk, and we sat down in the leather seats. I breathed hard, in and out, in and out, trying to calm the rising panic that was in my chest and radiating throughout my body. I had never before felt like this.

  Dalilah put her hand on mine sympathetically. “I know how you feel. I felt the same way when Nottingham had me in his evil clutches. It worked out, and it will work out for you too. You and Slade are meant to be, and nothing will come between you.”

  Luke, for his part, sat in the front seat, and turned around and smiled at me. “Serena, you got this. Look at all the problems Dalilah and I had, and we’re solid; the other night not-withstanding.”

  Dalilah just shrugged when Luke referenced the epic fight they had about whether or not she was going to hack the computers for me. “We go round and round sometimes, because we’re both stubborn. I think that this compromise that we made really is best for everyone. I’m an amateur, these people are absolute pros. It’s what they do.”

  I nodded and looked out the window. The sky was grey and the city seemed dirty to me. I never really noticed it before, but since I had been living in the land of palm trees and beaches, it all seemed different. I thought that I would miss New York more than I did. While I wasn’t a “native New Yorker,” I had lived here for long enough to consider myself a part of the city’s fabric. Yet, when the car got going and we immediately got stuck in traffic and people were honking and yelling, I cringed. I saw none of this in San Diego. There was traffic there, but not like this. Nobody honked their horns and screamed out the window, and there wasn’t usually gridlock.

  Luke smiled. “Welcome home, Serena. I bet you missed this.”

  “No. How do you guys still live here?”

  “Where else are we going to live? This is where it’s at. This is the scene. You guys might have palm trees and beaches, but we have life. Not to mention the epicenter of the art world. It’s all a trade-off.”

  “I guess I’m really not in the mood for all of this.” I wanted Slade to be next to me, and I wanted all of this to be over. I needed to be able to see all of it in the rear-view mirror, much like Dalilah was currently seeing the Nottingham situation in the rear-view mirror. The Nottingham situation was a nightmare for her – he had forced her into marriage by blackmail, and Dalilah had gotten pregnant with Luke’s child while she was still married to that bastard. There was a long time when she feared that Nottingham was going to try to take custody of the child, until she found a way to blackmail him into giving up his rights to the baby. Luke was the biological father, of course, but Nottingham was the father by law. It was a mess, an absolute mess, and thank god, she was able to straighten it all out.

  Blackmail. That seemed to be the only way to get things done with diabolical people. Perhaps that would be what we would be able to do with Charlotte. That would be the dream – find out something about her that would cause her to back the hell off.

  The limo slowly crept along until we reached an enormous high-rise building. “This isn’t where you guys are living now, is it?” I asked, looking at the gleaming glass structure.

  “No, I wish. I mean, we’re doing okay, but we can’t afford to live in a building like this. This is the headquarters for my father’s security team. Ralph, the limo driver, is going to drive our bags to our apartment and drop them off.”

  At that, Ralph got out and opened the door, and we walked onto the sidewalk. Then we went into the magnificent lobby, passed through without a side-ways glance from the security guard, who evidently knew Dalilah and Luke, so I was okay, as well, and we took the elevator up to the 75th floor. My stomach went whoosh along with the elevator as it climbed and climbed. “We should have eaten,” I said. There was food on the airplane, of course, and it seemed to be good food, but I wasn’t in the least bit hungry at that time. Of course, it was salmon that was served on the plane, and I didn’t bother to ask about vegan options.

  “We will. We’ll get breakfast as soon as we’re done here.”

  “Done here? How long will this kind of thing take them?”

  “Not as long as you might imagine. I’m telling you, these people are pros. They know what they’re doing.”

  We got to the suite and we went back to the office, without the receptionist even trying to stop us. She greeted us, of course, calling Luke and Dalilah by name, but she didn’t make us wait at all. I supposed that was because Dalilah knew everyone here quite well and why shouldn’t she? This was her father’s security team. Her father was extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right, having inherited billions from his own father. He had put this to use by passionately throwing himself into animal rights, which brought a special place to my own heart. I loved the work that he was doing, not just domestically, but abroad. He was slowly, but surely, changing the way that the world saw animals, and he was an absolute god-send to all the suffering creatures in the world.

  We walked into the office, where we were greeted by Lars, who was the head of the team, Dalilah explained to me. “Dalilah,” he said, giving her an enormous hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “And you, Lars,” she said.

  He gave Luke the same hug, and shook my hand warmly. “You must be Serena.” The man was tall and blonde and very Nordic. He spoke with a slight accent, very slight, and was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt that showed his muscular arms. His face was marked by enormous dimples, and he seemed to be a very jolly man. He immediately put me at ease.

  “So, I guess that you need something from me?” he asked, directing his question at me.

  “Yes. I need a video that’s apparently on one of my boyfriend’s computers. Slade Bridgewell.”

  “Yes,” he said. “I’ve been working all morning, and I’ve already pinpointed all of his servers around the world. His firm has offices in China, India, Venezuela, Spain, Italy, Germany, and even in Sweden.” He grinned when he said that. “He has offices in Stockholm, of course, but also in Gothenburg, which is my hometown. Good taste, putting offices there.”

  “Good,” I said, feeling encouraged that he was already so far into the project. “How difficult is it going to be to retrieve this video?”

  He shrugged. “It would be extremely difficult for most people, but I’m not most people. I’ve been able to retrieve information from places that you would never even imagine. Your boyfriend has the kind of security that I usually only see at the very highest level of national defense. That’s understandable, of course, considering the business that he does. But, do not worry, if I can retrieve information from the Department of Defense, I can retrieve it from him. I’m working on the encryption right now. Give me the afternoon, and I should have something for you.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I still felt sick. We were breaching Slade’s security protocols. This was such a violation. Slade always told me that he feared corporate espionage anyhow, and I was opening him up to this.

  I cursed having to do it this way, but I knew that there was nothing else that could be done.

  “Can you do something else for me?” I asked Lars.

  “I’m sure I can. What do you need?”

  “I need for you to try to find out any dirt on Charlotte Boswell. Birth name is Carlotta Garancino. I have this gut feeling that there is something out there that Slade maybe doesn’t know about, and it might be something that would give me insurance against her.”

  “Sure. I can find out if she’s been institutionalized or been in rehab or committed a crime or anything else that you need to know. I imagine that is the kind of information that you’ve been looking for?”

  “Yes. Something along those lines. The woman is too crazy to not have sought some kind of professional help along the way.”

  “You got it. Is there anything else?”

  “No, I think
that if you could find that out, along with the video, we should have what we need to put this whole thing to bed.”

  At that, we all left the office, after giving our pleasantries and hugs.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Dalilah asked on the elevator.

  “No, he certainly has a sunny personality. That helps.”

  We got to the lobby and went through the doors. “Let’s find a place to eat,” I said. “I’m really in the mood for something good.”

  We ended up at the Candle 79, a popular vegan restaurant. I ordered the black bean-pumpkin seed burger, and Dalilah got the zucchini enchiladas while Luke got the spaghetti and wheat balls. “This is the one thing that I miss about New York,” I said. “This city has some kick-ass vegan restaurants. We don’t have nearly the same selection in San Diego.”

  To my surprise, I found myself starving. Not to mention, in the mood to drink. I needed something to take the edge off, so I ordered a Bloody Mary. Dalilah looked at me with longing in her eyes. “I wish I could join you,” she said. “I love motherhood, but sometimes I don’t like the sacrifices so much.”

  Luke put his arm around her, and nuzzled her neck. “You’re such a great mom. Olivia is such a lucky, lucky little girl.”

  I was happy to see that they were, once again, in a good place. After that awful argument they had at my house, I had my doubts. And I knew that Dalilah was frustrated with not being able to be at the same level, professionally-wise, as Luke. Still, as I sat across from them, I felt nothing but satisfaction and happiness emanating from both of them.

  I found that I couldn’t say much to the two lovebirds across the table. I was too much in my own head. Everywhere I turned, there seemed to be roadblocks. Not just roadblocks, actually, but land-mines. Even after the waiter brought my “burger,” which was a delicious black-bean concoction with pumpkin seeds, mesclun, onion, avocado and chipotle ketchup, with a side of fries that were made with polenta, I could barely say anything.

  Dalilah, of course, was picking up on my mood and kept looking over at me with a worried expression. She put her hand over mine. “It’s going to be okay. I can promise you this. Lars is the very best of the business, as are the people he has working under him. He’s an absolute genius.”

  For Luke’s part, he also knew that I was worried, but he wasn’t able to find the words that Dalilah did, so he simply said “hey, after this, let’s go to my gallery. We can also visit your old neighborhood, for old time’s sake.”

  I smiled. “Let’s.” That was all I said.

  We ate the rest of the meal in silence, aside from Olivia waking up and crying, which was followed by Dalilah breast-feeding her at the table, with a cloth over her breast. I didn’t finish my meal, although it was delicious. I just didn’t have the appetite.

  The waiter came around, and I wanly pulled out my credit card to pay for the meal. Dalilah and Luke tried to pay for their parts, but I waved them off. “Don’t even insult me,” I said. “After all you guys have done, this is the very least that I could do.”

  They let me pay, both of them thanking me, and we got up and got into the limo that was apparently summoned by Luke when I wasn’t paying attention.

  “Take me to the Thiessen Gallery,” Luke said, giving him the address.

  We pulled up there after about 45 minutes of gridlocked traffic, and went in. This was a beautiful gallery right in the Village and close to where I used to live. The ceilings were about 12’ high, and the windows were enormous and let in the light. I walked along the hardwood floors and admired the paintings and sculptures that were on exposed-brick walls. I didn’t know a whole lot about art, but I did know what I liked. I knew what moved me. I couldn’t begin to say that this artist was evidently influenced by this movement or that movement, or what medium they used, but when something drew me in, it drew me in. I guessed that was what art was really all about.

  I got to the area where Luke had hung his latest work on the wall, and I stared at these paintings. It was amazing how much he seemed to be like me inside. The painting was of a desolate place, evidently an abandoned city street. There was a lone figure on the sidewalk – a ballerina, complete with a tutu. She was graceful and beautiful, with a long neck and the signature powerful thighs of a prima ballerina. She was on pointe, her head was cocked and her arms were curving in front of her. She looked like she was performing The Nutcracker for the Bolshoi Ballet. She was in the middle of a performance in the middle of the deserted street.

  Beauty in devastation. That was what I got out of it. It made me think about Slade and I, clinging on to one another while the world fell apart around us. That was beautiful, really, how we felt about each other. It was pure and it was what was right. Everything else was wrong, but this was completely right.

  Luke came over to me as I was standing there, looking at the painting. “That’s one of my newest ones,” he said. “It’s combining two of the themes that I’ve explored in the past – artists and desolation. It’s meant to say that, in any kind of ugliness, there is always something beautiful. You just have to look for it.” He looked kinda shy, talking about his work. “I conceived of this project when I thought back about my life with Dalilah and how Nottingham brought us together. He’s so black and ugly, yet he brought something that is absolutely beautiful into my life.”

  I smiled, and tousled his hair. “I’m buying this,” I said, going over to the counter where there was a woman who was ready to take any form of money for these art works. I gave her my credit card and explained where to have it delivered. The price was $10,000 and I was impressed that my little brother could command such a high price for his stuff.

  Luke came over and put his arm around me. “Serena, you don’t have to pay for this, silly.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, but I do. You’ve gotta get paid. You have a wife and daughter, and every dollar counts. Again, don’t insult me.”

  “At least let me give you a discount.”

  I just shook my head and said nothing. “It’s a beautiful piece, and I’ll be honored to hang it up in my living room. I think even Bella and Gigi will love it, not to mention…” I was going to say the word “Slade,” but the pang in my heart reminded me that Slade might not want a thing to do with me after all of this. Invading his privacy, opening him to espionage, retrieving a video against his will, subjecting myself and his mother to danger…There were so many transgressions I was committing against him. I knew that it would all be worth it in the end, but that fact didn’t make doing it any easier.

  I paid for the painting and then walked around some more. To my surprise, I found myself getting lost in these pieces of art. I wasn’t even thinking about Slade and about how awful everything was at that moment. I was only thinking about the pain and beauty that was on every canvas in the gallery. There were some enormously talented artists with this co-op, that was for sure. There was a reason that this gallery was one of the hottest in the city these days – it wasn’t just that Henry Jacobs had endorsed it, although that certainly was a factor. It was that these artists put their heart, soul and blood on the canvas. They did the same with the sculptures. They were laid bare for all the world to see.

  I wondered what it was like – to have the need to create. To have it as your lifeblood. To feel that if you didn’t create, you would wither away and die. I knew that art was a catharsis, much like running was for me. It was a passion, not an occupation. I never knew something like this – I was never much of an artist. Hell, I wasn’t an artist at all. I could draw stick figures, and that was about it. I had never taken up an instrument and learned to play. I remembered that Slade was an amazing piano player, and I felt envious of that. I could write, but I really reserved that particular talent for creating amazing legal briefs that usually won the day in court.

  I had my one catharsis, running, but I didn’t really have an emotional one. I didn’t have a way to put my guts on a page or a canvas or a piano. I didn’t have the kind of creativity
that my brother Luke did, or my brother Christopher, for that matter. Christopher was as amazing as Luke, really, except his medium was the guitar, not the canvas. He and Luke both also had a gift for song-writing. They had collaborated on songs before, and Luke had attracted the attention of some major musicians with some of his work. It helped that he was in touch with Liam Gallagher, Dalilah’s cousin, who was a prominent record producer in London. Liam had taken a shine to Luke last year, when Luke and Dalilah stayed with him while hiding out from Nottingham.

  Dalilah came up to me as I was studying another painting that was an abstraction. I was drawn to this riot of colors and trying to interpret it. “Luke told me that you bought one of his paintings. That one that you bought is my favorite, too.”

  “Great minds think alike, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s amazing the talent that’s on display in this gallery. Luke did very well coming here. And you, too. I guess you’ll be back here after you get your maternal footing?”

  “That’s the plan. When Olivia gets a little older, I’ll just bring her in here while I create. I can’t wait, either. I’ve been itching to get back into it, but things have just been too crazy. Nothing against you, of course. We love helping you.”

  I sighed. “I know. I just wish that I could get out of my own way with this one. I wish that I could believe that it will all work out, like it did for you two in the end, but I can’t see a happy ending with this. I just can’t. Charlotte is too much of a loose cannon, and, since she’s a mafia princess, she can get anything that she wants. She will use force to get it. Must be nice to go through life, knowing that you can do whatever you damned well please.”

  “I know what you’re saying.”

  I turned around and looked at her sad face. I knew that she knew what I was talking about. Nottingham was the same way – he looked at the world as his chess board, and the people in it as his pawns. He used his money, power, and influence to get the “little people” to bow down to him. As far as I knew, he didn’t use violence to get his way, as Charlotte apparently did. Yet, the result was the same – he couldn’t be controlled, and, for the longest time, he let Luke and Dalilah know that. They got out from under him by showing that he was a criminal, an inside trader, and used that to blackmail him. He was a greedy fuck on top of everything else, and that proved to be his undoing.