Seer: Thrall (29 page)

Cadence smiled. "Darling, Solange knew you would say that, which is why she addressed her request to your business manager. She also made sure she said something before you offered it to Sidney."

The two of them stared at each other's eyes for a moment, and then Amanda lowered her gaze and nodded. "But it's just a sketch," she said quietly.

"Which is why the price is only $250 plus the cost of framing."

Amanda opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, but then she closed it again, letting Cadence handle it. I thought it was an interesting dynamic.

Solange turned to me. "Are you going to interfere?"

"I don't know why you want it."

Aubree scoffed.

"I know which hand she drew," Solange said. "That's your nine-clubs bid. I thought I had you set, but you finessed me, and you knew you were doing it. I'm so proud of you."

My brain was working. I decided I was proud, too. It was a small thing, but it was important at the same time.

I nodded. "I won't interfere."

Solange immediately turned to Cadence. "I want it to hang in my office at work. I want Amanda to handle framing and matting."

"Of course," Cadence said. "Amanda, will you finish it tonight?"

"It's just a sketch," she replied.

"Yes," Cadence said. "Solange wants that sketch. I believe it is actually quite important to her. Will you be satisfied before we go, or did you want a few days to tweak it?"

"I could do a real painting..."

"She isn't asking for a commissioned painting," Cadence said. "I imagine she might in the future, but her relationship with Sidney is strained, and a painting is a little too formal. Your sketch is not."

Amanda nodded. "I'm almost done." She turned to Solange. "Do you know where in your office you want it?"

"I want to be able to see it from my desk. You may rearrange the other art if you need to."

"I can be by this week," Amanda replied. "Cadence can arrange which day and take me to lunch afterwards."

"Perfect," Solange said after a glance at Cadence. "Thank you, Amanda."

Once it was clear the issue of the drawing was resolved, I said, "I have a question, but it may be a little personal."

"Oh?" Solange asked. "It's so unlike you to pry."

"I know," I said. "I've come out of my shell since becoming a business owner. I'm not at all the mousy geek I was ten years ago."

Solange offered the ghost of a smile. "What did you want to ask?"

"Um. It's about Amanda and Cadence."

Amanda smiled. "Go ahead and ask. I am slow to take offense and Cadence, well. She's a lawyer. She's impossible to offend."

"Hey!" said Cadence, but she smiled while she said it.

I looked at Amanda. "Did you back down because Cadence is a vampire?"

She cocked her head, her brow furrowed, then it cleared. "Oh. No. She's my business manager. She never, ever questions my opinion about the art. But then when it's done, she handles it. I'd give it all away, and then how would I pay for my supplies?" She reached out and clasped Cadence's hand. "Without Cadence, I'd be a starving artist, destitute and forced to sell my blood to passing vampires."

"Bah," said Cadence. "You'd give that away, too."

Amanda laughed. "I believe you're right." But then she stared into space and, from one moment to the next, she was ignoring the rest of us, her head bent over the sketchpad. She made a few more strokes with her pencils, then she flipped the page and started something new.

"I know that look," Solange said. "You won't get her attention for a while, Sidney. You're going to have to..." Solange made a dramatic sigh. "... focus on your cards."

"Smart ass," I said.

* * * *

Cadence and Amanda declined the dinner invitation, but Amanda showed us the last drawing she did. It was she, seated with her back against a dingy building, paints and brushes spread haphazardly on the sidewalk around her. She was holding a ten-dollar bill in one hand while a vampire was feeding from her neck, and there was a line of more vampires, each holding another ten-dollar bill, waiting their turn.

Cadence immediately began growling when she saw it, but Amanda just laughed. "Oh come on. It's funny."

"It is not," Cadence said.

"It's a little funny," Solange observed. "Amanda knows I wouldn't let her sell her blood on the street like that."

Cadence growled again.

"I'd set her up in a little flat where she could have some privacy."

"Solange!" Cadence said amidst chuckles from the rest of us.

"Well, as my prospective blood patron," Amanda said, "You may have this sketch for free."

"She may not!" Cadence said. "We are burning it." She glared at Amanda. I couldn't tell if she was serious or not. Amanda lowered her eyes, and then Cadence's expression softened. "All right. Maybe it's a little funny."

Amanda peeked out through her eyelids, and I decided they were fine with each other.

A few minutes later, we were escorting them to the front door. Amanda disengaged herself from Cadence and moved to me, offering a hug. We embraced, and she whispered into my ear, "Find it in you to forgive her. She'll treat you very well. And you're starting to appreciate the advantages of being married to a vampire."

"I'm trying," I whispered back.

I checked my appearance nervously. "It's only Dolores," I said. "She won't care if you arrive in jeans."

"But it's your first day back," I replied to myself. "You want to put on a good impression."

"It's a business suit," I countered. "You look nice."

I fingered the material. "It doesn't fit properly. I need to get it retailored."

"Yes, perhaps, but not today."

I shook my head. I wasn't accustomed to arguing with myself. That's what Solange was for.

"You look fine," I finally said, pulling myself away from the mirror.

I collected my laptop and made sure I had paper, pens, and business cards. I glanced at them. They had my old home address. I was going to need to get new ones printed. There wasn't anything to be done about that today, either.

My car was waiting in the garage. I never asked Solange how she had found it. She had recovered my bike as well; I'd been riding it. But I hadn't driven in over a year. It felt very strange to sit down behind the wheel. The most recent driver was taller than I was, so I adjusted the seat, started the engine, and then checked and adjusted the mirrors.

"Like riding a bicycle," I told myself.

A few moments later, and I was easing my way down to the front gate.

I drove cautiously. Everything felt so strange, and I was concerned I wasn't up to my usual performance. But it was well after rush hour, and traffic was moving well. I arrived at Dolores' Eagan office building with plenty of time. I decided there was no reason to stall and headed right in.

The receptionist remembered me. "Do you know the way?" she asked. I nodded, and two minutes later found me standing in the doorway to Dolores' office. She was at her desk, working away, and it took her just a moment to notice me.

She began to smile broadly.

"Sidney," she said. "It's so good to see you." She gestured to come in and then met me at the side of her desk, wrapping me in a hug. I missed the kiss, but it wouldn't have been appropriate at work. But she gave me a good squeeze before releasing me. We both sat and looked at each other.

"So," she said, holding her hands on her desk in front of her. "How does it feel?"

"I'm so nervous," I admitted. "I'm afraid I'm not ready."

"Solange and I talked," she said. "We think you are. She wants you to ease back in though. I have a low priority project that I think will be easy for you. Normally I would add it to the normal work queue, and the guys would get to it when they get to it. But I have a budget, and I don't spend it. I'm happy to knock a few things off the backlog."

"Am I causing trouble for you?"

"No," she said. "You have a long history of taking care of us. This is just a sign of our mutual good will." She paused. "I had to tell my boss you had been sick, but after that she was fine and is leaving this to my judgment."

I nodded.

"So I have this project and, if you want them, a few more after that. There is no particular rush, but we're price conscious."

We discussed bill rates. I offered a low rate, the sort they might pay for a much more junior programmer than I was. I also said I wouldn't bill if I wasn't being productive. "But that's my normal policy," she said. "If you require me to use technology I don't know well, you might have to pay for some of my learning curve. That is also my normal policy."

"This is simple," she said. She slid a small stack of papers to me, neatly bound in a paper clip. The top sheet was a description of the enhancement they wanted. It was short and sweet. The remaining sheets were hand-drawn screen shots of the expected results.

I had a few questions, but it all looked very simple and easy. It would normally only be a day or two of work, and I told her that.

"So two weeks is more than enough?" she asked.

"Dolores..."

"Solange wants you easing in," she replied. "She was very clear with me."

"Solange doesn't own me," I muttered. I knew Solange saw it differently, and that's what was getting my back up. "I'm sorry. You two are right. I don't think it will take two weeks, but I'll ease in."

Dolores smiled. "Good. Is it your intention to ease Devon out?"

"I think that's your decision, Dolores."

"Then that's agreed. What do you expect for transition?"

"I don't know," I said. "My confidence isn't high. I probably shouldn't tell you that."

"That's why you're here instead of somewhere else," she replied. "Give me your best guess."

"I won't charge you until I'm being effective, so I suppose I'll work with Devon until everyone feels I've got a handle on it again." I paused and looked down at my hands. "I'm not sure I'll ever be back to my old abilities, Dolores."

Dolores paused before answering. She leaned forward and waited until I looked up. "Solange told me you were having confidence issues. If she were here, she would have one word for you: nonsense. Do you believe her judgment is flawed?"

"About me? I don't know."

"I've been a little worried," she said. "You weren't quite all you. But over the last few weeks, the old you is back." She paused. "Most of the old you. You're fretting about something. You haven't told me where you were or what happened, but..." She paused. "Someone hurt you. You weren't sick. You weren't in an accident. Someone attacked you. That's what I think."

I turned away. "Why do you say that?"

"Remember Dusty?"

"You're ex-husband."

"His younger brother was in Afghanistan. He came back with PTSD. You're displaying some of the things he did. You're jumpy. You sort of fade away in the middle of a conversation. You let me touch you, but you're erratic about anyone else. I haven't figured out why, but you blame Solange. Did she find you the work, and now you blame her? Maybe she vouched for whoever hurt you."

I hadn't realized most of that. I felt a couple of tears begin to crawl down my cheeks. Immediately, Dolores came around the side of the desk, closing her door on the way. She wedged herself between her desk and me, then knelt down and pulled me into her arms. I laid my head on her shoulder and tried not to cry.

"Oh Sidney," she said. "You're safe now."

"I'll never be safe again," I whispered. "But I can't talk about it. I really can't say a word, Dolores, and you must never tell Solange what you suspect."

She held me for a few minutes before she asked, "Is Solange abusing you?"

"No, Dolores," I said. "She is exceedingly gentle with me. How she treats me publicly is how she treats me privately." It was the truth, more or less, and I couldn't let her suspect Solange of anything.

"If you need somewhere else to live, Sidney, you know you can live with me."

"I know, and I appreciate it." I pulled away. She looked at me with concern, but then she straightened, caressed my cheek, and then slid a box of tissues towards me before retreating to her side of the desk again.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I thought I was past that."

"Sidney, if it's PTSD, you won't ever be past it. You know that, don't you? Are you getting help?"

"I can't talk about it, Dolores. Please understand."

"I don't," she said, "but I won't pry. When you want someone to talk to, you know I'll listen, and you know I am discrete."

She checked the time. "All right. Devon isn't due for another twenty minutes. We can stay in here, or we can go say 'hi' to the guys. I think they would like to see you, but if you're not up to it, there is no obligation."

"No," I said. "I think that would be good." I looked straight at her. "Am I a fright?"

"No. You're fine. If anyone asks, tell them I told you a funny story about the cats, and you laughed so hard you cried."

"What did they do?"

"They're cats, Sidney. You remember what they're like."

"Dolores..."

"Relax. I love them to pieces. They're aptly named though."

I had to agree with her.

We hugged once more before leaving her office. "I'm so glad you invited a friendship, Dolores."

"I am, too."

We headed through the building, working our way to I.T. There was a group of programmers who floated on the various small projects for the company, and these were the guys that Dolores got to use for her projects. It was clear we weren't expected, as the programmers stopped and stared at me when they realized I was there.

"Sidney?" said Justin. "Sidney Welsh? Hey guys. It's Sidney!"

"Aw shit," said Wes. "The slave driver is back." But he said it with a grin. "Now Dolores is going to expect us to work on her shit again."

The four of them stood up and crowded around Dolores and me. I exchanged handshakes with them. I thought a couple of them would have accepted more than handshakes, and I'd turned Tyler down for date requests in the past, but they didn't push it.

"You're looking good," Tyler said. He looked me up and down. "Dolores said you had some out of town project. Then she said you were really sick, but you were going to be okay." He looked me up and down again. "You look really good."

"Thanks, Tyler," I said. "I had a lot of therapy." I smiled. Tyler was a biker and would know what this meant. "I did a century ride."

"Really? Wow! Congratulations!" Then he narrowed his eyes. "Did you finish?"

I laughed. "Yep. But I was dead tired."

"I bet," he said.

"So are you back, Sid?" Parker asked.

Justin hit him with the back of a hand against his chest. "You know she doesn't like you calling her that."

"Sorry, Sidney," Parker asked. "Are you back?"

"I'm edging my way back," I replied. "Devon, Dolores, and I are going to be talking shortly. If I find out you guys have been sloughing off, I'm going to come down here and kick your asses."

"I told you guys the slave driver was back," Wes said. "It's good to see you, Sidney."

We chatted only for a few minutes, then it was time to head back and meet with Devon. When we arrived at Dolores' office, there was a thirty-five-year-old man hovering near her office door.

"Hello, Devon," Dolores said, offering her hand. She ushered him in. "Have you two met?"

"I'm sorry, no," I said. I held out my hand. "Thank you for stepping in on such short notice last year. I'm Sidney Welsh."

"Devon Butler." We shook hands as he eyed me up and down. "There was room in my schedule, and I owe Solange Casper more than a few favors. When she calls, I jump."

The three of us spent forty minutes going over what had been going on while I was gone. I got a good view of what was currently in progress and what the status was. Near the end, Devon asked, "So, is this the turnover?"

"Not exactly," I said. "I need to ease into things, so if you can, I'd like you to continue to take point on what you've been doing, but keep me in the loop. We'll reassess in a couple of weeks."

"It hasn't been that much time: a half day every few weeks. Dolores tells me what she needs, I rewrite it in tech speak and feed it to the programmers, and then I translate status reports and questions back and forth."

I glanced at Dolores. If that was working, I'd be surprised. In the past, I'd had to keep a closer eye on the guys than that, or they blew through deadlines. It wasn't that they were poor programmers. It was just that they would focus on other tasks if I didn't keep them on track.

But amongst the paperwork Devon had for me was a timetable for everything he'd done. I could review it and see if the guys worked better for him than for me. If so, then I'd talk to Dolores and see if she wanted to keep him instead of me. If he got better results than I had, he might be a better fit.

I didn't say that to either of them at that time.

We wrapped up a few minutes later. Devon let himself out, and I looked at Dolores.

"Close the door, please," she said. I leaned over from my chair and gave it a push then turned back to her.

"How are you holding up?"

"Good," I said. My brain was a little full, but I was feeling good.

"What did you think of Devon?" So I told her about riding herd on the programmers.

"I can already answer that," she replied. "They were faster with you. They got the work done, but we missed deadlines. We never missed deadlines with you on the job."

"Did that improve as he got used to them?"

"No, it was pretty steady. We made some deadlines, but less than half of them."

I nodded. "Maybe he was too aggressive in his scheduling."

Dolores pursed her lips. "Sidney, are you telling me something?"

"Like what?"

"Like you don't want to come back?"

"What? Oh. No. I just want to make sure you have the right champion."

"I am looking at the right champion, Sidney. You heard the guys. 'The slave driver is back'. But it was said with respect. They know who gets the best out of them."

I nodded. "Let me see how I do with the programming assignment."