Twist of Fate (22 page)

Hannah was still wary, but she felt on more solid ground now that they were talking about Nord's papers. “Oh, yes. I think I've finally got a handle on the focus of the book. My aunt was vitally interested in the rituals and customs that affected females of the various groups she researched. She made several observations that were at variance with the mainstream interpretations. She was primarily interested in the subtle applications of female power in a tribal society.”

“I can see you're finding it fascinating.”

“Infinitely more fascinating than studies of male power.”

Gideon smiled faintly. “All right. You've made your point. I will say this once more and that's the last time. I am not here because I'm trying to use you to maneuver against Ballantine. This is not exactly a power play.”

“Oh, good.”

“Hannah, you're going to try my patience.”

For an instant she gazed at him in utter astonishment and then her sense of humor overwhelmed her. “I'll try to be careful.”

“Do that.”

“How long are you going to stay in Seattle?”

“I can't afford more than a couple of days.”

“Where are you staying?”

He picked up his coffee cup. “Here?”

“No, not here,” she said very firmly.

“I'll have to think about it, then. Will you have dinner with me this evening?”

“What would you do if I refused?”

“Keep asking.”

Hannah nodded. “Until you got the answer you wanted. All right, Gideon, I'll have dinner with you.”

“Thank you, Hannah.” He put down his coffee and got to his feet.

Startled, Hannah looked up at him. “Where are you going?”

“I have a little business to attend to this afternoon.”

Her smile thinned. “Of course.” She'd known all along, hadn't she?

“I'm going to see your brother.”

Hannah grabbed the arm of the sofa and hauled herself to her feet. “The hell you are. You've done enough to him. Leave him alone, Gideon.”

“We're just going to talk. Don't worry. He's expecting me. I phoned him from the airport.”

“I don't trust you, Gideon.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “I saved your life once.”

She flushed. “That's got nothing to do with business. When it comes to business, I don't trust you. If you've come to Seattle to do more damage to my brother, I swear I'll slit your throat. You gave me your word you were finished with Accelerated Design.”

“What good is my word if you don't trust me?”

“Gideon!”

“I'll see you tonight. Six-thirty.”

He was out the door before Hannah could think of a way to stop him. She rushed for the phone and dialed her brother's number.

“Nick? I just saw Gideon Cage. What the hell is going on? He says he has an appointment to see you?”

“He does.” Nick sounded overly casual. “Don't worry about it, Hannah. I'm just going to talk to the man.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. He hasn't told me yet. I'll let you know afterward.”

“Nick, I don't like this.”

“I'm safe enough at the moment. There's nothing he can do to me now. He's already done his worst.”

“Then why meet with him?”

“Because I'm curious, I guess. The guy's a genius in his own way. I want to hear what he has to say. Besides, I can hardly deny the request for an appointment after what he did for you, can I?”

 

T
HE OFFICES
of Accelerated Design were just off Interstate 405, north of Bellevue. The entire region on the eastern side of Lake Washington was filling up with modern glass-and-steel office buildings. The movement of high tech industry into the area brought with it the familiar California-style architecture. If Bellevue wasn't careful, Gideon decided as he parked his rented car in the Accelerated Design lot, it was going to find itself surrounded by a mini Silicon Valley. From his point of view that was hardly a problem. The high-flying, unstable computer industry provided rich pickings for someone in his line of work.

He walked through the lobby of the building, not particularly surprised to find that the receptionist looked as if she'd been a cheerleader once upon a time. It was typical of young entrepreneurs to go for looks instead of brains when it came to hiring receptionists. He was pleased to see, however, that Nick Jessett's secretary appeared to be a little older and infinitely more competent. She nodded him into her boss's office and he felt her curious, wary gaze on his back as he went through the door.

Nick got to his feet behind the glass-and-steel desk. He was wearing a shirt and tie but his jacket was hanging in the closet. This was the first time Gideon had seen him in person, and the first thing that struck him was that the young man's eyes reminded him slightly of Hannah. A darker shade of green, perhaps, but they had that faint upward tilt at the corners. He took the hand Nick extended and sat down.

“If you've come to view the remains,” Nick said dryly, “you're a little early. Accelerated Design is not quite under the rug.”

“I don't have any morbid fascination for the remains of companies that get in over their heads,” Gideon said.

“Then to what do I owe the honor of this visit?”

“I'm thinking of selling you a product you might find interesting.”

“I didn't know you sold any products for computer firms.” Nick smiled politely, his eyes watchful.

“It's a new line. You'd be my first customer.”

“I'm waiting for the kicker.”

Gideon gazed around at the expensively designed office, noting the stacks of papers and binders piled on every available surface. “Would you be interested in some management consulting, Nick?”

“From you?” Nick looked startled.

Gideon smiled briefly. “What I have to sell is expertise. I can save you from having to do a lot of things the hard way. I can make sure you survive.”

Nick absorbed the information. “I'm still waiting for the kicker.”

“The price? It's negotiable.”

“Not if it includes a chunk of Accelerated Design stock.”

Gideon smiled again. “It doesn't.”

Nick absently tapped the end of a pencil on the desk. “I'm not sure I can afford you, Mr. Cage.”

“We'll work out something. The details can be left for later. Right now I'm only here to find out if you're interested.”

“I'd be fool not to be interested, wouldn't I?”

“Not necessarily. You'll probably make it on your own. I learned a great deal about you during our last encounter. You held things together when another man might have given up and abandoned ship. You have potential.”

“That's what my sister says.” Nick hesitated. “Is that why you're here? Because of Hannah?”

“Hannah doesn't approve of my coming to see you.”

“She's a fairly good judge of human nature.”

“Not right now she isn't. She's too wary of me to be a good judge. If we agree to work together you'd have to trust your own instincts.”

“I'm willing to back my own judgment.”

“You wouldn't be heading up your business if you weren't. Are you in the market for some consulting?” Gideon asked.

“I'm in the market. As I said, I'm just not sure I can afford you.”

“It can be arranged.”

“I'll bet. I'd want a contract. One that guaranteed you'd keep hands off Accelerated Design in the future. I'd want your fee tied to verifiable improvements in standards of operation and profits. And I'd want a trial period to see whether we can work together before we agree to any long-term arrangement.”

“You're a cautious man, Nick.”

“I recently learned caution the hard way.”

Gideon shrugged. “It's a good lesson to pick up early in life.”

Nick smiled slightly. “I paid a high price for it. I don't want to wind up paying that much for anything again. Especially not consulting work.”

“As I said, we can work it out.”

“Have you had lunch, Gideon?”

“Yes. On the plane.”

Nick considered the man in front of him. “Got plans for the afternoon?”

“No. Not until this evening.”

“My sister tells me you swim. There's a large pool at my club. I'm going to work out this afternoon. If you'd like to come along, you're welcome.”

“Fine. We can talk.”

Some of the casualness went out of Nick's eyes to be replaced with grim directness. “I owe you for what you did for Hannah. You saved her life.”

“Is that why you're taking the risk of talking to me?”

“That and simple curiosity.”

 

H
ANNAH WAS ANNOYED
to find herself pacing the floor at six-thirty that evening. She had been dressed for half an hour, her uneasy restlessness putting her much too far ahead of schedule. The black-and-white tropical safari dress she was wearing was of linen, and she was afraid to sit down for fear of wrinkling the fabric before the evening had even begun. Hopefully the linen fashion craze wouldn't last long, she told herself. Not everyone looked good rumpled.

Pacing with a still-healing knee was not the most comfortable exercise in the world. She was relieved when Gideon arrived. She went to the door still feeling a sort of generalized irritation. The fact that he was looking very good in a conservative light-tweed jacket and slacks didn't appease her.

“You're late.”

He glanced apologetically at his watch. “Only five minutes. I had trouble finding a parking space.”

“But you had no trouble finding my brother?”

“No. Where's your coat?”

“In the closet.”

“You'd better get it. It's getting chilly out there, although the rain has stopped.”

She frowned. “The coat will just make my dress wrinkle more than it already intends to wrinkle.”

He grinned. “It's all right. I'll pretend not to notice.” He walked to the closet and pulled out a black trench coat trimmed in khaki. “There. We'd better get going. I've got reservations at seven.”

“Where?”

“A place your brother recommended down on the waterfront.”

Hannah slanted him a long glance as they walked toward the stairs. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“What did you talk about with my brother?”

“Business.”

“Gideon, if you don't give me some straight answers, I'm going to call the evening to a halt right here.”

He sighed. “Okay. I offered to do some management consulting for him.”

“Management consulting! You don't do management consulting. Your firm is an investment company.”

“Do you think it's too late for me to explore other areas of business?” There was a thread of wistfulness in his voice that startled Hannah.

“No, of course not,” she said automatically. Guidance counselors always took the positive approach when people talked about making changes. “It's just that I don't see you going into a new field like that. Not unless there's something in it for you.”

“There's something in it for me. A fee.”

“Something more than a fee. My brother couldn't possibly afford much for management consulting right now, so how is he going to pay you?”

“You're a suspicious woman, Hannah.”

“Can you blame me?”

“Yes. I've never lied to you. Never given you cause to distrust me. You don't have to worry about your brother. My arrangement with him is straightforward and aboveboard. Stop worrying about it. Relax and enjoy the evening.”

She would gain nothing more by questioning him, Hannah decided. In the morning she would pin Nick down. “Maybe you're right. I'm just not convinced that you're genuinely thinking of branching out into another kind of business.”

“I'm not convinced of it either. This is an experiment.”

“I'm not sure I want you experimenting on my brother.”

“You, Hannah,” he told her gently, “don't have anything to say about it.”

The restaurant was a traditional fish house located on one of the old piers that lined Seattle's downtown water-front. The huge container ships that docked regularly in Elliott Bay were too large for the old port facilities. They used the modern ones farther to the south. The old wharves had been turned into restaurants, shops, and parks. From the window Hannah could watch the ferries arriving and departing for their regular excursions across the bay.