Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Ryan winced as his mother continued in an irate tone. In the background, he could hear noises filtering through and concluded she must have left the base camp and gone into town to make the call.

“Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to be asked about something like that and have no idea what the reporter was talking about? My own family kept me in the dark about something so monumental, I can’t believe the nerve of you and Hailey.”

He cursed under his breath and pinched the skin between his eyebrows to stop the headache that was fast blooming. He cast an apologetic glance at Sam, but she’d already turned away, so he merely stood and walked out, back to the privacy of his own office.

“Are you even listening to a word I’ve been saying?”

He sighed. Today was rapidly turning into a shitty day. First Sam, and now Mom.

“I’m listening,” He replied, leaning against the shut door. “I’m sorry you had to find out that way, Mom, I swear, I was going to call you, but I figured you had enough on your plate with the research.”

“That’s not an excuse.” It was clear she didn’t buy the explanation, and frankly, neither would he if he were in her position.

The truth of the matter was, telling her had totally slipped his mind until now. But there was no way in hell he was going to tell her that. He was forgetful, not suicidal.

He tried another tactic. “Mom, I can explain…”

“Save the explanation,” she cut in. “You can tell me all about it when we talk face to face.”

He felt color leech from his face. “You’re in New York?”

Please say no, please say no.

“I’m still in Reykjavik,” the reply sent a bolt of relief, but her next words obliterated any hope of a reprieve. “My flight is scheduled to leave in an hour, so I should be in New York in about five hours from now. I expect you to be at the airport by then.”

She cut off the call before he could say anything else.

"Shit!" He stared at the phone in horror, knowing full well that his life was about to take a dramatic turn for the worse with his mother’s visit. He shuddered, just thinking of the tongue lashing that awaited all three of them, especially his father.

He almost felt sorry for the old man.

Almost.

I can't catch a break, can I?

Another call came through, this time from Hailey, and she sounded just as alarmed as he was.

"Did mom -?"

"Just now."

"Fuck!"

"My sentiments exactly. I thought you told her already?"

"I forgot."

"Me too."

"Dammit, Ryan." Hailey sounded on the verge of tears. "Furious mom is the last thing I want to deal with, on top of this morning sickness that's kicking my ass."

Ryan paused in the act of pulling on his suit jacket and frowned."What'd the doctor say? Can't she give you something for the nausea?"

"No, she bloody well can't," she snapped. "I swear, this kid is going to kill me, if mom doesn't do it first. Are you going up to the house?"

"She ordered me to pick her up at the airport."

"Fuck! Rest in peace, little bro. Better you than me."

An idea clicked in his brain. "I'll swing by your place first, and we can go together."

A slew of curses spewed from the receiver and despite his impending doom, he grinned.

"No fucking way!" she shrilled. "Are you out of your goddamn mind? She'll have us both for breakfast, and dad for lunch. I'm pregnant, not suicidal, okay?"

"And that's why I need you to come with me. She'll be distracted by concern for the baby, and if we're lucky, by the time she remembers to yell at us, we'll be at the house, and she can unleash her fury on the old man."

There was silence on the line as she thought about it.

"C'mon, Hailes. Please?"

"If I agree to this, when this kid pops out, I want you to be available for babysitting duty anytime. No excuses."

"Deal."

"And you'll let me set you up with someone nice."

"Why don't you ask for my soul, while you're at it?" He growled into the phone. "I don't want -"

"I'll throw in the waterworks and sick pregnant woman act. You know mom can't resist that."

"I'll be at your place at noon.”

He ended the call, and blew out an exasperated breath. If he survived today, it would be a miracle.

A knock at the door made him straighten up and he pulled it open. Lola stood there, head cocked to the side as she studied him. However, Ryan’s gaze slid past her to where Sam stood by Jane’s desk, leaning over to peer at something on the computer screen.

She must have felt his gaze because she glanced at him briefly, expression carefully neutral, but before he could say something, anything to diffuse the awkwardness, she glanced away, ignoring him again.

“I found out Caine’s schedule for today,” Lola’s voice broke the awkward silence. He dragged his attention from Sam to look at her. She was watching him with a frown, but it cleared the minute she noticed he’d given her his attention. “He’s going to be at the Guggenheim Museum today. There’s a private exhibition happening by 10 am.”

“Good, get me a ticket to the exhibition.” out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sam now watching the exchange with blatant interest. He looked her way, surprised to see a strange half smile playing on her lips, as though she knew something he didn’t.

“I can’t.” Lola replied, annoyance in her tone. “It’s a members only affair, and yes, I tried to get you a membership, but they’re not accepting anyone right now.”

Damn.

“What about his schedule tomorrow?” he asked.

“He’s leaving for his family estate in Montreal, and according to my sources, he intends to spend the summer there. I hear he’s sent out invites to some potential bidders for the resort project.”

“So, today’s our only chance of talking to him?” Ryan asked, jaw set in frustration.

“Afraid so, but getting into the exhibition is impossible.”

“Not exactly.” Sam spoke, and Ryan turned to see he leaning against the desk, arms crossed over her chest.

****

The atmosphere in the small space was tense, and not for the first time, Sam wondered if she shouldn’t have just kept her mouth shut back in the office, if only to avoid the heavy silence that existed between them.

His words had cut deep, the fact that he was so ready to believe the worst when it came to her hadn’t truly sunk in until today. And to think she’d been on the verge of finally forgiving him for thinking of her as a woman without morals, he’d taken a step further and outright called her a manipulative bitch.

Just like the fiasco with her supposed engagement, he hadn’t even bothered to confirm the facts of the matter before raining fire and brimstone down on her head. If he’d been so worried about her cheating on her fiance with him, he should have asked her about it before they’d had sex.

And to Sam, that made it all the more unforgivable.

Even Dee had been stunned when Sam had finally confessed everything, and had been in full support of her decision to keep things strictly on a professional level with Ryan.

So, why am I here?

Once more, she had to remind herself she was only doing this for the sake of the company. Since Bradford had also given her responsibility for the Caine project, she couldn’t just sit back and let personal issues get in the way of her job.

So, it didn’t matter that the man she was helping was a grade A douchebag. What mattered most was convincing Caine to give Silvercorp a second chance, and for that, she would work with him.

“What’s the plan when we get to the museum?” She asked, wanting to break the oppressive silence. He sat in the driver’s seat, one hand on the wheel, and the other propped against the door, fingers idly stroking his jaw.

He took his eyes off the road to glance at her. “We try to get his attention long enough to listen.”

“Do you have a proposal ready in case he asks to see something?”

“Yeah.” he gestured towards the backseat where he’d tossed an iPad earlier. “It’s all laid out, the most important thing is getting him to listen first.”

Sam nodded in agreement. “That’ll be difficult.”

A grimace was his only reply, the fingers that gripped the wheel tightened until the knuckles paled.

Sam glanced down at her own hands, folded on her lap and sighed. “I have an idea on how to get him aside.”

Grey eyes raked over her, and Sam couldn’t quite suppress an involuntary shiver, feeling her skin heat beneath that gaze. She steeled her heart, silently reminding her wayward body that the man was nothing but trouble with a capital T.

“Go on,” he urged when she didn’t immediately continue.

Sam swallowed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. “He knows you, and from what I gathered, is reluctant to give you an audience. However, he may not know who I am, and that could be the key to all this.”

He stared ahead, brow furrowed as he mulled over her words. For one second, Sam thought he would reject her idea outright, after all, he’d made no secret of his resentment of the fact he had to work on the case with her.

“You’re right,” he finally replied, casting her an uncertain look. “But, I’ll admit I’m surprised you’re still helping, even after -”

“This has nothing to do with our personal issues,” she cut in, injecting indifference into her tone. “Getting Caine to agree to your proposal is more important than our petty squabbling, and I’m willing to do whatever necessary to make that happen.”

His mouth tightened, but he merely nodded and changed the subject. “We’ll go with your plan. Once we’re at the museum, we’ll split up, and you try and corner him, try and get him to agree to a ten minute pitch. Once he bites, I’ll bring up the proposal.”

Minutes later, Ryan pulled into a parking space next to the beautifully constructed Frank Wright building that housed the Guggenheim museum.

Sam climbed out, wincing as the harsh rays of the sun pierced her vision. It was barely 10 am, and already the summer sun beat down mercilessly, and she could feel the heat seeping into her pores. Wishing she’d thought to bring a pair of sunglasses, she eyed Ryan as he stepped out the car, dark glasses covering his eyes.

Lucky bugger.

He came round to her side, his head tilted in the direction of the building, and she guessed he was taking in the structure.

“Nice,” he murmured, hands thrust in the pockets of his pants. “I’ve passed by here several times, but this is the first time I’m seeing this up close.”

“It’s even more beautiful inside,” Sam assured him. She tucked her purse under an arm and gestured towards the building. “We should get going, the exhibit’s about to start.”

He nodded, and stunned her when he moved close to cup her elbow in his palm and began to steer them towards the entrance. Her heart began to pound at the unexpected contact and she frowned up at him.

“Is this necessary?”

He paused, and glanced down at the point of contact, frowning as though even he was surprised to be touching her. He let go of her and stepped away.

“Sorry,” he muttered, sounding disgruntled, whether because of the touch or because she had pointed it out, she didn’t know.

Or care. At least, her pulse was slowly getting back to normal.

They entered the lobby, the cool air a refreshing change from the baking hot torture outside. The place was moderately crowded with patrons, the soft murmur of voices mixed in with the strains of classical music playing softly in the background. As they stood, getting their bearings, an attendant approached, wearing a smart suit and a polite smile.

“Welcome to the Moma exhibition,” the woman spoke in cultured tones. “May I see your membership passes, please?”

“Of course,” Sam smiled and dug into her purse, retrieving the gold embossed card. As she handed it to the attendant, she added. “I hope it’s okay that I brought a plus one? He’s been dying to see the artworks on display here and literally begged on his knees to bring him along.”

Beside her, she heard Ryan draw a sharp breath of surprise. Pasting a sweet smile on her face, she gazed up at him, all innocence.

“I wouldn’t call it outright begging,” he replied, eyes glinting in suppressed humor. He leaned down to whisper the next words. “But, for your pleasure, I would be willing to go on my knees anytime. All you have to do is ask.”

No fair!

Heat flooded between her legs and Sam felt her face heat up. She forced her gaze away from his and reminded herself sternly not to fall for his charm or she would get burned.

Again.

The woman smiled and handed back the card, oblivious to the innuendo in Ryan’s words. “It’s perfectly fine, Ms. Bhaat. I hope you both enjoy the show.”