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“No no no. What did he say exactly? I need it word for word. Verbatim.”
“Damn, Kendra. I don’t know. Something about not being able to give the job your full attention. This is third-hand information.”
“From who?”
“I can’t reveal my source. But it’s real.”
She took off her sunglasses and frowned down at the blanket. “He really called the board?”
Why didn’t she sound more upset? She ought to be furious, but instead she came across as…impressed, maybe? “Aren’t you angry that he cost you that job?”
“Yes, but…” Her eyebrows drew together and she gazed across the lake at the rock walls. “See, with Dominic, there’s always an agenda. He doesn’t do things unless it benefits him in some way. So how does it benefit him to job-block me?”
“Maybe he’s a vindictive ass and wants to hurt you?”
She cast him a look that managed to be both pitying and patronizing. “It’s a good thing you don’t know people like Dominic.”
Was she implying that he couldn’t handle someone like Dominic? Or understand him? “Go ahead, tell me what I’m not getting.”
“He wouldn’t bother to be vindictive if he didn’t have a purpose for it.”
“You did push his brother-in-law off the dock,” he pointed out.
“He doesn’t care about Bob. No. To call the board takes some effort, and Dominic doesn’t waste his time. So he must have considered it time well spent. The question is, why?”
Jason got a sinking feeling that he was in over his head. Kendra ought to be angry about Dominic’s games. Did she actually like that kind of thing? Because he, Jason, was never going to be that guy.
“He sounds pretty calculating.”
“Yeah, that’s a good word for it. Everything’s a chess match to him and he doesn’t like to lose.”
“Most people don’t like to lose.”
“Then they shouldn’t go up against Dom.”
He caught the hint of respect in her voice, and damn, it hurt. He lay back on the blanket and let the light breeze grace him with the scent of pine needles. This is real, he told himself. Pine trees and wind and rocks and grass. That shit, Dominic’s shit, that was from another world.
“It’s funny,” he said slowly, “that you would go from Dominic to me. We’re nothing alike.”
“That’s a rebound for you. I guess I rebounded about as far as I could.”
“Looks like. I wonder where that ball’s going to bounce next?”
She glanced at him, but he could tell she didn’t really see him. Her phone was out, and she was checking for cell service. She’d forgotten there was no service out here.
“Look, I need to get a hold of this situation. Do you mind if we cut our picnic short?”
“No problem.” Why bother to have a picnic with someone whose thoughts were somewhere else entirely?
They packed up quickly. That knot in his stomach kept on growing. When everything was tucked back into the panniers, he paused for a moment. Surrounded by the quiet tall pines and the majesty of the scarred rocks, he put his hands on Kendra’s shoulders. Her skin was warmed by the sun, and a flush of extra color glowed in her cheeks. But when her gaze met his, he could tell her busy mind was far away.
“Just want to make sure you’re okay,” he murmured. That wasn’t exactly what he meant; he wanted to make sure they were okay. But were they even a they?
“Oh, I’m more than okay. This changes everything, Jason. Thank you for telling me, thanks for digging up that intel. I wonder if he knew I’d find out, or if he thought I wouldn’t? That’s the thing about Dominic, he thinks so many moves ahead, you never know.”
Jason had to hand it to the man. It was truly amazing that Dominic had managed to take over Kendra’s thoughts so quickly, and from so far away. That could mean only one thing, in his opinion.
Kendra wasn’t over Dominic, not even a little bit.
