A Cowboy in Manhattan(52)
“You do choreography?” Reed asked Elizabeth.
“Planning, logistics, business management. I get to worry about the money. What little we have of it.”
“I understand that’s a common problem with arts organizations,” Reed acknowledged.
Katrina wasn’t sure what Reed knew about arts organizations, but she was quickly distracted from the question as Brandon Summerfield arrived. He stopped next to Elizabeth and tucked his phone into his suit-jacket pocket.
“There you are,” Elizabeth acknowledged his presence, placing a hand on his arm. The two weren’t officially a couple, but they’d been good friends and colleagues for years. There was an ongoing betting pool at Liberty over when they’d take their relationship to the next level.
“Nice to see you back, Katrina,” Brandon told her. He gave her a perfunctory hug.
When they separated, Reed offered his hand. “Reed Terrell. I’m in town to visit Katrina.”
Brandon shook. “Brandon Summerfield. Good to meet you.”
Elizabeth continued the introduction. “Brandon is the CEO of Seaboard Management, one of our most generous donors.”
“Real estate,” Brandon elaborated, “mostly commercial and industrial.”
“Ranching,” Reed responded, “mostly barns and toolsheds.”
Brandon grinned, and Katrina couldn’t help but smile at Reed’s easy joke.
“Will you join us for dinner?” Brandon offered, surprising Katrina. Liberty Ballet Company didn’t exactly operate on the class system, but dancers didn’t often mingle socially with the donors outside official functions.
She was momentarily speechless.
“Oh, please do,” Elizabeth echoed.
Katrina tried to gauge the woman’s expression, not sure if she should accept or decline.
Reed gave her a look that said the decision was up to her.
“Okay,” Katrina decided.
Elizabeth seemed sincere. And Brandon was an important player in the Liberty organization. With Quentin out there stirring up trouble, Katrina might need all the help she could get.
Eight
It turned out to be a wonderful dinner. Katrina was impressed with how Reed had held his own with Elizabeth and Brandon. He’d asked questions about the ballet company and had seemed genuinely interested in Brandon’s business ventures. She hadn’t realized he took such an interest in state politics or was so knowledgeable about international commerce and the impact of commodity and energy prices on global trade.
The more she hung around him, the more depths of his personality became apparent. For a guy who’d barely left Lyndon Valley, he seemed surprisingly worldly.
After dinner, they’d said goodbye to Elizabeth and Brandon and decided to take a walk along a pathway at the edge of the park. A canopy of trees arched over them, obscuring the streetlights and muting the sounds of traffic.
“I assume this is the part where I give you my jacket?” Reed asked, even as he shrugged his way out of it.
“This would be the time,” she agreed.
He draped it over her shoulders, and the warmth from his body seeped from the satin lining into her bare shoulders and arms.
He tugged the knot loose from his tie, popping the top button. “That was a nice restaurant.”
“Danielle didn’t steer you wrong.”
“I guess not.”
Katrina couldn’t help but be curious. Though she told herself to shut up, she couldn’t seem to stop the question from pouring out. “Why was it that you called her to ask about restaurants? I mean, it’s not like she’s a New Yorker.”
“The call was on an unrelated matter.” He removed the tie, turned to walk backward and looped it around her neck. “There. Now you’re accessorized.”
“Unrelated how?”
“As in, I didn’t call her specifically for a restaurant recommendation.”
He sure wasn’t making this easy.
“You called her on…business? Pleasure?” Katrina pressed as they made their way along the mostly deserted swath of concrete.
“Business.” He pointed through a gate to a bench overlooking the tulip gardens.
“Oh.” She shouldn’t feel so relieved. “Ranch business?”
“New York business.”
She altered her course. “You have business in New York?”