He's Got Her Goat (19 page)

“It’s not that kind of soda,” he said, aware that he had thought the same thing initially. The most painful part of her diatribe was that he couldn’t fault a word out of her mouth. In fact, the only good thing out of this conversation was that it looked like she wasn’t really interested in
Earth Tech
. Relieved, he stood. “Should we head back?”

She got to her feet. “Not yet.” Julie’s grin widened, as she called loudly. “Oops, I think we’ve been caught.”

A familiar female voice said, “Julie?”

Sterling craned his neck and saw the injured expression in Paige’s eyes. Kiyo stood beside her with a definite smirk on his face. “We were discussing what a great opportunity this is. Julie is as impressed as I am.” He took two strides toward the pair, leaving Julie chuckling behind him. “So is this fountain all made out of recycled computer parts, too?”

When Kiyo answered, he spoke more to Paige than to either of his other guests. “As I was saying, we recycle or reuse one hundred percent of what we bring in. It makes us a little more expensive but this,” he held splayed hands up to the fountain, “is how we plan to show our customers our appreciation.”

Paige seemed to have recovered well enough and was hanging on the computer geek’s every word. “It’s brilliant.”

Kiyo took her arm and drew her closer to the water. “We’ve contacted a number of artists who want to be part of what we are trying to do here. For each corporation who recycles at least four tons of equipment with us, they will receive a complimentary water feature custom made to reflect their personal corporate mission.”

Paige stared at the unique wave of black and silver with fresh water gushing out the top. “I get it. You’re creating the new wave of recycling.” She smiled at Kiyo first and then at Sterling, but her smile seemed to deflate.

Julie wedged herself between them. “It’s brilliant.”

Paige’s attention returned to Kiyo. “How many have you made so far?”

“Six, and five more are slated over the next two years. With the expansion, it’s likely there’ll be one of these in every major city in the country, perhaps the world.” Kiyo bit his lip and sounded as if he might break into tears. “That’s our hope anyway.”

Julie patted them both on the forearms with open palms to accentuate her recent manicure. “Look at the two of you like peas in a pod. How touching.” Her voice didn’t sound as though she was touched at all. “I vote we make dinner plans and can discuss it all night long.”

“Dinner?” Sterling clenched his jaw. “It’s only three o’clock.”

Julie didn’t even acknowledge that Sterling was there and returned her full attention to Kiyo. “Come on, isn’t there anything fun to do around here? It’ll be like a double date.”

Kiyo’s brows lifted. “There is a benefit that includes a full dinner tonight. I was going to pass on going, but if you’re willing, it’s for a good cause.”

Julie’s face fell. “It better not be for a political hack or people starving in some country nobody’s heard of.”

“No, I’m a Best Friends supporter. We help rescue mistreated animals.”

Paige seemed impressed. “Wow, tell me more about it. I love all kinds of animals.”

Kiyo told her about his favorite charity, located in Kanab, Utah, and serving cats, dogs, horses and even goats across the nation. He detailed the staff and all they had done to stop dog fights and other abuses and help rehabilitate the animals, so they could live out happy lives.

“What do you do if you know abuse is happening but can’t prove it?” she asked.

Kiyo’s voice lowered. “There have been a few times when very brave people have felt compelled to remove an animal without proper authority.”

“I assume if they’re caught they’re sent to jail?” Sterling was becoming impatient with this detour from his plan.

“Rarely,” Kiyo answered. “As long as they can get to a judge with the evidence first and get an injunction, they’re fine. Otherwise, it can be heavy prison time.”

Paige looked to Sterling as if asking permission. “I’d like to go.”

Still wary of the whole thing, Sterling asked, “Where is it?”

“Southfork,” Kiyo said.

“Southfork Ranch?” Julie squealed in delight. “Like the TV show?”

Kiyo nodded. “I’m sure I can still get tickets, but it’s a black tie affair. Will that be a problem?”

“With Dallas shopping?” Julie had already linked arms with Paige and was dragging her away. “We’ll get ready together and meet you boys at six-ish?”

Kiyo looked like he’d just won the lottery. “Great. Where do you want me to pick you up?”

Paige volunteered the information. “Our hotel is at the Galleria Mall. We could meet in the lobby.”

Sterling felt like the computer wave had bowled him over. “Then it’s all settled?”

Watching both girls trot off together, he found himself left alone with the computer geek. Could Julie really be that foolish, leaving him to cap the deal right under her nose? This couldn’t be going better if he'd planned it himself. If Sterling played his cards right, he could reach both goals at the same time. Before the night’s end, he’d have his deal with Kiyo, and then, after that was through, he’d have his dance with Paige.

Chapter Twenty-Two

A
LL BUT DRAGGING PAIGE UP THE PATH
, Julie rounded the corner. On the main road, a limousine twice the size of the one Paige had arrived in was waiting for them. The back seat had two benches that faced each other. Paige sat across from Julie, whose back was to the driver.

Once they were on the Tollway, Julie opened a small cooler to her left. “What do you want to drink?”

“Water’s fine.”

Julie handed her an expensive type of bottled water and grabbed a wine cooler for herself. Kicking off her shoes, she sat back and took a long swig. “Paige, what are you doing here?”

Not sure how much she should disclose, Paige took a sip of her water and thought about it. “I’m helping Sterling.”

Sitting forward, Julie put her drink down. “Helping him do what?”

All of his breakfast strategies came to mind. “Helping him get what he wants, maybe?”

“What about what you want?” Julie’s dark eyes met hers without flinching. “He doesn’t have your back, I swear it. Sterling Keller only cares about number one.”

“Didn’t you hear Kiyo?” Paige wouldn’t believe it. “He can’t expand without more capital, and what he’s doing is important. I think this is a great opportunity for both of them.”

“Yeah, an opportunity to get screwed.” Julie leaned back. “The computer geek needs a loan, that’s it. He’s already got a full customer base and a working model. Sterling will talk that little boy into selling most of his equity when he’s got nothing to offer in return, and the geek is stupid enough to let him.”

Paige was expecting to balk at anything out of the girl’s mouth, but Julie was making sense. “Then why don’t we go back and warn Kiyo. This isn’t right.” She peered out the rear window of the limo, but they were already on the Tollway.

“Because I’m more worried about you,” Julie said. “You’ve got yourself tangled up with some pretty nasty people right now.”

Clarity dawned on Paige for the first time since she sat in Elaine’s office. Her eyes shot to the time readout on the radio. She’d been gone less than twenty-four hours. Would the goats already be gone? At least Austin was there, but the thought of him dealing with everything alone filled her with guilt. She knew from experience that carrying burdens single handedly sucked. She should be home, helping him. Besides, even if everything Elaine told her was true, the only thing she was learning from this trip that might benefit her in the long run was that she was too trusting, and she should have learned that from Blanche.

Paige huffed in frustration. “I’d leave right now, but I don’t have a ticket.”

Julie yanked her phone out of her purse. “Done.” After making a quick call, Julie dropped her phone on the seat beside her, so she could give Paige her full attention. “You leave in less than an hour. Do you need anything from the hotel before you go?”

“No.” Paige felt the ground shaking beneath her and not simply because she was in a car. It had all seemed like a fairytale, the beautiful clothes, the handsome prince, but the magic was wearing off, and what was left behind felt ugly.

“Did you really think Sterling was your friend, Paige?” Julie stretched her arms across the back of the seat and folded her legs. “Elaine paid him to convince you she was on your side. Looks like he did it, too. The reason she whisked you away was so she could steal your formula and make a mint. That’s why I came.”

“You’re wrong.” Paige felt like someone had just sucker punched her in the stomach.

“Am I?” She lifted her brows ever so slightly and paused for emphasis. “Neither one of us cares about
Earth Tech
. You’ve always been the prize.”

Reviewing the strange circumstances of how she met Sterling, Paige began to wonder if there wasn’t some validity to what Julie was saying. That sort of manipulation certainly fell in line with what Sterling had taught her. Heck, he had all but confessed to it during breakfast. Another thing that had never really sat right with her was Elaine being so overgenerous. All that money in her bank account had blinded her. That, and Sterling’s muscled chest.

Her head was hurting, and she felt like a conspiracy nut. Whatever Sterling and Elaine were up to, she’d get to the bottom of it, but it would be a lot easier if she didn’t have Sterling distracting her. “Can you keep Sterling here for the next day or so? At least until I can get this figured out.”

“Sure thing.” Lifting her frost covered bottle as if in a toast, Julie said, “It’s all under control.”

At the airport, Paige hugged Julie. “You didn’t have to do this, but I’m so grateful you did. I never realized what a great person you were.”

Julie laughed. “Neither did I.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

A
T A TRAVEL SHOP IN THE AIRPORT
, Paige bought a tee shirt, a pair of black yoga pants and flip-flops. She rushed to a bathroom and changed in the stall, dumping the new pant suit in the trash bin. Though it was a wasteful thing to do, there were too many memories connected to it, and she couldn’t bear to keep it. Jamming her head under the faucet, she awakened her curls and her ability to think logically with the cold water.

What had been going through her head? Sterling had warned her to get a lawyer before signing anything, but she had felt like this was so right. In actuality, she had been so weary of the responsibilities of the farm that it had felt good to have a break. The money had blinded her a little, too. The situation she was in was her own fault. She wouldn’t blame him.

Luckily, she didn’t have long to wait for the flight, which boarded within an hour, leaving Dallas far behind her. She was on the ground before seven that evening. With no carryon or bag of any kind, she sprinted to the pickup area and hailed a taxi. She told the driver if he would hurry, she’d include a larger tip. She hadn’t realized she was taking her life in her hands by the request, but seventeen white-knuckled minutes later, she sat in her own driveway handing him four twenties.

The lights in the house were on, drawing her there first. Oddly, the front door wouldn’t open more than four inches, so she held her breath and squeezed through the crack. Large moving boxes stamped confidential were stacked by the door. It must have been the last load because there were only six left. The house didn’t look like it was hers. The dinette sparkled like it had been freshly oiled. The kitchen counters were empty and sleek. Her chintz sofa even had a decorative pillow propped on one side that she had lost months ago. A muffled beep from the bedrooms put her on alert.