Now You See Her Linda Howard(51)

Candra couldn't believe she had made such a fool of herself. Screaming like a fishwife, crying, for God's sake. Richard had known why she was there, of course. Now she wouldn't have any chance of getting to Sweeney, not that Sweeney was likely to listen to her after that little scene. She had blown her last chance to get the settlement reinstated. Now her only hope was Carson, and it looked as if he needed nudging.

Kai had just opened the gallery when she got there; no customers had come in yet, thank God. She paid the cab and hurried through the door before anyone she knew saw her.

Kai stared at her, eyebrows lifted. "Rough morning?" he silkily inquired.

"Go to hell." She sailed past him into her office and got her cosmetic bag from the desk, then went into the bathroom. She winced when she looked in the mirror. Her face was blotched, her nose red, and her eyes looked like raccoon eyes. She needed to completely remove her makeup and start over, but she didn't have any cream with her. She did the best she could with wet paper napkins, and applied cool compresses to her eyes and face to take down the swelling and even out her color.

Kai sauntered in as she was reapplying her foundation. "Do you mind?" she snapped.

He ignored her protest and propped his rear end beside her on the vanity, crossing his arms over his chest. "There, there. What's Richard done now?"

"What makes you think this is about Richard?" She blew her nose and threw the tissue in the trash, then repaired the smudges.

He watched her take out her compact and dab powder over her face. "Because he's been making you dance to his tune for a year now, and you have a temper tantrum every time things don't go your way."

" I do not 'dance to his tune', or anyone else's, " she said furiously.

"Of course not, darling."

"I'm not your darling, and don't forget it. You're just an occasional lay."

"My, we are in a snit, aren't we? He must have refused to reinstate the settlement."

She whirled on him, mouth working with rage. "How do you know anything about the settlement?"

"There was a message from your lawyer on the answering machine. She strongly advises you to sign the papers posthaste, before you lose your ass and can't pay her. She didn't say so in so many words, of course, but that's what she means."

"How dare you listen to my messages!" She sounded like a Victorian maiden, she thought in disgust.

"It was on your business machine, darling, not your home machine. Perhaps you should instruct your attorney not to leave personal messages at work—assuming you'll be here much longer, that is."

"If I am, you can bet you won't be, pretty boy," she snarled. She jerked open the door. "Get out."

He went, with a sulky look on his pretty face. Candra took a deep breath, fighting the urge to sit down on the toilet lid and bawl. She had to get control of herself. She had totally ruined things this morning by being emotional, and now she would have to pacify Kai. She didn't feel like having sex, but it would probably take that to get him over his pout.

She took several deep breaths, and when she felt steady again, she finished her makeup. When she was finished, she critically studied herself in the mirror and dabbed more powder on a blotch. There. Her makeup wasn't perfect, but she knew she still looked better than most women would after a day at a salon.

She had to call Olivia, she realized; she had been a fool to put off signing the papers these few days, thinking she could somehow recoup what Richard had already deducted. She couldn't. She accepted that now. Richard had known, of course, that she would rage and protest against his conditions, but in the end accept them; he had left her no other choice. He didn't bluff and she knew it. Richard was one of those say-what-you-mean and mean-what-you-say people, the bastard.

She almost started crying again, but took a deep breath and controlled the urge. Walking briskly, she went into her office, closed the door, and called her attorney.

"Set up an appointment," she said calmly. "I'll sign. I assume the punitive action stops as soon as you call Gavin Welles?"

"I'll make certain it does, if I can't get an appointment for today. The papers will have to be redone and that will take some time, so it might be put off until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is fine," Candra said. Of course a new agreement would have to be drawn up, to reflect the deduction in the settlement amount. She had no doubt Richard had already called his attorney instructing him to draw up papers concerning his new condition about Sweeney. That wouldn't go in the divorce agreement, but some sort of legal agreement would be reached allowing Sweeney a clean break from the gallery.

After hanging up with Olivia, Candra flipped through her Rolodex and found the McMillans' number.

A maid answered, of course. "Has the senator returned from Washington yet?"

"Yes, ma'am, he has. May I say who is calling?"

"Candra Worth." There was no point in hiding her identity, she thought. Carson was more likely to take the call if he knew who she was; he wouldn't like it, but he would do it.

She was on hold for several minutes, long enough that she was beginning to get angry when Carson's richly modulated voice finally came on, except today it wasn't so modulated. It sounded rather tight, she thought with satisfaction. Good. That meant he was worried.