Everything she had worked for during the past two years would be gone. Kalinda, of course, would be the first to go…
But that was negative thinking, she told herself furiously, getting restlessly to her feet and walking back to the window. She was going to fight She had to. She owed it to her company to try to save its independence. Tomorrow morning she would call in the company officers for an emergency strategy meeting. She shook her head sadly. It was going to be a shock for all of them.
But in spite of the crisis and the need for planning, there was nothing she could realistically do that evening. She couldn’t very well call off the party and it wouldn’t do her any good even if she could. Grimly she paced back to her desk.
Several hours later Kalinda paused in her duties as hostess to take stock of the cocktail party’s success. There were several important business associates here this evening, many of them male and that meant she had to be especially nice to their wives. The last thing she wanted was to risk a case of wifely jealousy. She had walked a fine line for two years and thought she’d done a good job of reassuring suspicious wives and still maintaining the solid business contacts she needed.
She glanced around the room, taking in the well-dressed, affluent crowd in their expensive suits and gowns, wondering who among them she might go to for advice and professional consultation. She needed to talk to someone, she thought Someone who knew about the dirty in-fighting that went on in a hostile merger situation. It was a cinch she wouldn’t get much constructive help from her own staff. They’d never encountered such a maneuver.
Before she could decide if there was someone in the crowd who could be potentially helpful, Kalinda was interrupted by the effusive thanks of a charming, older woman who glided up to her in a cloud of perfume and wispy chiffon.
„Kalinda, my dear! Thank you so much for the lovely picture you gave Harold and I! So nice of you to think of us while you were on vacation! But your dear father was like that, too. Always so thoughtful of others.“
„I’m glad you like it,“ Kalinda smiled, thinking of the price she’d paid for the watercolor she’d purchased in Rand’s gallery. A weekend affair…
„It looks perfect in Harold’s den! And you look quite perfect yourself tonight,“ Mrs. Sebastian added with a warm smile, surveying her hostess’s printed beet-red silk jacquard sheath with its touches of peacock blue. A fine gold braid edged the neckline and wrists. It was a sumptuous, almost oriental effect which Kalinda wore well. The buttery material slid fluidly over her small breasts and rounded hips.
„Thank you,“ Kalinda said, hastening to return the compliment She stood talking for several minutes to the wife of one of her top managers and then edged away with the excuse of checking the buffet table.
Around her the crowd swirled happily amid the lush green and ripe apricot decor of the town house. The green in the plush rug gave the apricot print-covered furniture a dramatic background. The color scheme emphasized the focal point of the room which was a huge sun parlor that formed one entire wall.
Brilliant patches of white had been used sparingly against the rich colors in the form of an occasional lamp and glass-topped coffee table. The dining table was also a stark white and stood in front of a mirrored wall which reflected the colorful buffet food set out on it.
As usual, Kalinda spared no expense when she entertained, deeming it a business necessity. But even she had to smile at that justification. The truth was, she enjoyed entertaining. Tonight was an exception. But, then, who could take pleasure in such things with a sword hanging over one’s head?
Only a few people knew that she, herself, prepared the elegant little canapes and hors d’oeuvres served at her parties. Others just seemed to assume she used a caterer and she let them think that Only she knew that such gourmet cooking was a source of relaxation for her. She had discovered it during the past year and was continually amazed at how she could escape her business concerns for a few hours in a kitchen.
Across the room she caught Colin Wayne’s eye and smiled at him as he advanced. She had gone out with him on a couple of occasions recently and found his easy charm made for pleasant evenings. He was in his early thirties, with carefully styled blond hair and laughing blue eyes. He was also, she had discovered, a brilliant player on the lively Denver Stock Exchange.
„Another great party, Kalinda,“ he grinned approvingly, reaching behind her to help himself to a little cracker covered with rich, dark caviar. „Beats me how you throw these affairs together so easily when you work so hard! You’d have made a great corporate wife, you know!“
„You’ve got a lot of nerve eating my food and insulting me at the same time!“ she grumbled in response to his teasing.
„I know, I know, you’d rather be a great corporate manager than a great corporate wife. But that’s only because you haven’t met the right man. Someday…“
„Have some more caviar,“ she advised dryly. „We both know I’d be bored to tears as a housewife!“
„How can I argue with that? I’d feel the same,“ he laughed.
„It is rather difficult to picture you as a housewife,“ she agreed.
„Still,“ he went on jokingly, „if I can find myself a woman who can keep me in the style to which I would like to become accustomed…“ He glanced meaningfully around the elegant town house and back at Kalinda who narrowed her eyes at him in mock warning.
„Don’t look at me,“ she said hastily.
„How about a business marriage?“ he suggested brightly, munching more caviar. „I can keep track of your company’s stock movements for you and you can do things that make it move. Preferably upward. Which it seemed to be doing this past week,“ he added slyly.
She glanced at him quickly and then deliberately forced a smile. „You noticed?“
„That volume was picking up? Yes. And the price went up a bit, too. Something I should know, love? Always happy to help spread the good word if it will raise a stock’s price. Got something new coming out on the market?“
„It’s nice to know you love me for myself and not for business reasons,“ she mocked, hiding a wince as she realized the activity in her company’s stock was undoubtedly from David’s move to start buying shares.
„No reason the two can’t be combined,“ he observed cheerfully.
„Well, I hate to disappoint you, but there’s no smashing new product about to hit the market I guess the stock activity is just a matter of people knowing a good investment when they see it,“ she tried to say lightly. She didn’t want to discuss the merger with Colin or anyone else until she knew what she was going to do, how she was going to react. Dammit! She needed professional advice. There were law firms and investment bankers who specialized in this sort of thing. If she just knew someone who could point her in the right direction! The sense of panic had to be forcefully fought back down.
„No hot tips, huh?“ he asked sadly.
„Not tonight,“ she retorted firmly, wondering why she had hardly even given Colin a passing thought since she’d returned from the mountains. But she knew the answer to that, she told herself honestly. It was going to be a long time before she thought of him in a romantic context again. How long was the image of Rand Alastair going to dominate her? She supposed that, even with a full-fledged business crisis facing her, he would be the last thing she thought of before she went to sleep tonight. Just as he had been last night and the night before that.
„Well, how about a hot date, instead?“ Colin countered with a laughing leer. „That new French place sounds interesting.“
Kalinda’s mouth curved ruefully. „Can I let you know, Colin? I’m going to be very busy this week and I really don’t know my schedule yet“ It was the only way she could think of to phrase the excuse.