“I’ll send the report back when I’m finished,” Dominic said with his usual air of unflappability.

“Just keep it.” Charlie’s spine was rigid, each word chafing with affront. “We have a stack at the office.”

“Very well.” Lifting Kate from his lap, Dominic set her on her feet, moved to the door, and shouted for Patty. “Patty will show you out,” he said, turning back and stepping aside to let Charlie flounce past.

A few moments later, when Patty’s voice grew faint, Kate glanced at Dominic, who was still standing at the door. “Does Charlie do that often? Bring reports to your home?”

“Never.” He walked over to the sofa and dropped into a sprawl. The sofa, like so much of the furniture in the house, was comfortable and well used, the wide-wale corduroy, once a deep forest green, now slightly faded from the sun. “That was pretty fucking transparent.”

“You were remarkably polite.”

He sighed. “I don’t like scenes. And I had no intention of having her stay long. Thanks, by the way, for coming in. I appreciate it.”

“I wonder how early in the morning she had to get up to put on all that makeup?”

Dominic smiled. “Meow.”

“I don’t care. I’d never do what she did. Barge in like that.”

“You don’t have to, baby. Men come after you. Although I’ve put up the electric fence in our contract. You’re off limits now.”

“I’ll have to let Charlie know you’re out of circulation too.”

“Be my guest. It’ll save me grief.”

“Speaking of grief.” Kate tapped the report with her index finger. “I don’t know if I should mention something that’s none of my business…”

He smiled. “Since when have you been afraid to speak up?”

“This is different. It really is none of my business.”

He shoved himself up against the sofa arm. “Forget the buildup. Just tell me.”

“I know you pay your employees well, but the compensation packages for Charlie and her assistant are really way above the norm for those positions. I see a lot of pay plans in my business. Those are premium ones. Especially compared to other managers at Julia’s NGO. I don’t want to make trouble. I’m just saying.”

“I don’t actually oversee the NGO. Roscoe would know who audits the account.” He smiled faintly. “Melanie told me last night I should fire Charlie. I wonder if she knows something I don’t know? I thought she was just talking about Charlie’s blatant pursuit, but”—he shrugged.

“I’m not saying you can’t afford to throw that money away. You can. But personally, I’d wonder how much it pisses off your other managers. Ones that actually know what they’re doing.” She set the report on the table.

“She couldn’t answer a single question could she?”

“Not even half a one.”

He grinned. “You want a job?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m just dying to work for you.”

“One of these days, baby, I’m going to change your mind.”

“You can change my clothes for me if you want,” she said with a grin, rising from her chair. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“I’ll help you.”

“You just took a shower.”

“Hey, cleanliness is next to godliness.”

“How the hell would you know that?”

“I read.”

“Not spiritual sermons.”

“Should I?”

“It’s too late for you.”

“That’s what I was thinking. But I could wash your hair for you. How about that?”

She lifted her T-shirt up and grinned. “How about washing something else.” Then she dropped her shirt, turned, and ran.

He caught her halfway up the stairs and swept her up into his arms. “You can’t get away, baby. Don’t even try.”

He was very good at washing hair.

Really excellent.

She almost wanted to ask him where he’d learned to be so gentle, but she thought she might not want to know.

TWENTY-THREE

The next few days were perfect. Dominic and Kate played chess with the children several times. Once, they ate lunch at Lucia, taking the armored limo and going in through the back door, although Kate was unaware of the security machinations. And one afternoon—under the same discreet guard—Dominic took Kate to visit Gretchen and then to Tosca Cafe to sample one of his favorite drinks. They were shown into a back room by the owner, Dominic’s friend, and they sampled the House Cappuccino, a Prohibition-era brew of chocolate, brandy, and steamed milk. On Melanie’s recommendation, Dominic had the de Young Museum stay open late one evening so Kate could see Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring in private. As a major donor, his request was granted without hesitation. And after witnessing Kate’s ecstatic oohs and aahs as she stood before the small, pristine, almost virginal painting, he was pleased he’d made the effort.

But they mostly stayed in, spending the majority of their time in Dominic’s bedroom, coming out on occasion to eat, use the gym, or sit outside on the rooftop deck with its spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge. On those fleeting occasions, Patty would summon the staff from next door to quickly clean Dominic’s bedroom and bathroom, change sheets and towels, pick up in general, and of course wash the used sex toys.