Sam turned, momentarily stunned by her news. Trinity had left the light of the balcony and now stood in the threshold, her arms wrapped around her chest. He couldn't distinguish her expression in the sudden shadow.
"It had been on my mind before...for a while before," she continued. "I think before I even consciously knew I was thinking it. Because I thought L.A. would be where you were."
Sam blinked. "I had no idea you had even been entertaining the idea of moving west," he said. "But I fail to see the problem. We'll just go to them today and let them know your plans have changed. It was an oversight on our part; just a lack of communication, that's all."
"You're right about the lack of communication," Trinity replied. "Because I had absolutely no idea you were going to bring me up in your meeting today, Sam. Did it occur to you to invite me to advocate for myself in this process? Did it even occur to you for a minute to ask me if I even wanted to go to Europe?"
"But you just said that you were considering L.A.," he said. "And that I was a major part of that consideration."
"You're right: you were a part of that consideration," Trinity said. "But there is also a definite position for me here, a promotion, and this is where I want to be. Not Europe. Not waiting on the sidelines for you to negotiate an opportunity for me. This is my life, Sam. I'm done letting you put your career needs before mine...and before me."
"Trinity." He hated the way his voice broke, and knew that his expression in that moment must have been equally broken. "I don't know how to change your mind. I don't know what the rules for negotiating are here."
He wanted to take her in his arms. He wanted to hold her and kiss and negotiate as only lovers could with their bodies, but if he couldn't find the words to convince her, then he feared what he might risk—what he might lose—by trying to convey his longing for her in terms that weren't negotiable. He didn't know how to take Europe off the table, not when it symbolized the payoff he had worked so hard for.
So he hung back. He restrained. And in the time it took him to try and find the perfect answer, Trinity walked past him, wordless, and disappeared out the door beyond his reach.
He flew back to New York the next day.
William's driver picked him up at the airport and took him directly to the East Coast office. On the ride over, Sam straightened his tie; buffed a spot out of his left shoe; hunted for wrinkles in his suit and found none. He had shaved on the plane, and even the thick locks of his raven-black hair were lying flatter than usual. He looked as sleek as the limousine he rode in. His appearance was impeccable; outwardly, he was the same Sam Jameson whose competence was renowned and revered within the agency on both coasts.
Then why did being Sam Jameson suddenly feel so empty?
It was more important than ever to keep up a stable front. He had flown back to New York for the express purpose of meeting with William and giving him his final decision on Eddie. It would be the first time in years the three brothers all found themselves in the same room together.
When Sam entered the board room ten minutes before noon, the circumstances were as surreal as he had expected. William sat at the head of the table, tall and statuesque in repose, yet still more relaxed in his authority than Sam ever managed to look himself. His face was wide, high-boned and symmetrical, the perfect blend of their mother and father, and he was only becoming more distingu
ished with age. William must be something like thirty-six by now. Sam had never been good at keeping track of birthdays, not even his own.
That was something Trinity had always excelled at.
"What up, Sam?" Eddie leaned back in his chair on William's left, bringing himself dangerously parallel with the floor, and threw up two peace signs.
Sam nodded curtly. He didn't sit himself, but moved to stand by the window. He folded his hands behind his back and looked out at the overcast cityscape. He needed to summon his focus for the meeting. He should have been preparing on the ride over. Instead, all he had been able to think about was the jewel-like beauty of the view out the window back at the L.A. hotel. How had he missed the opportunity to take Trinity to the beach? At least she would have plenty of chances to go now that she had decided to relocate.
"Well." William's voice was the same commanding rumble it was on the phone. Distance and poor connections never seemed to diminish it the way it did others. "The Jameson brothers together again at last."
"We should start a family band," Eddie joked. "Dad would turn over in his grave. Sam could be the front man," he added.
Sam turned, but didn't rise to the bait. He watched Eddie elbow William; the strangeness of their familiarity registered, but only distantly. When had Eddie and William grown close? "He totally slayed at karaoke," Eddie volunteered.
"So I heard." William's glimmering eyes were on Sam and Sam only. "Well? Shall we get down to it?"
"He's cleared," Sam said. "I'll sign off on Eddie. He'll be a great asset to the company in his new position."
"What?" It was Eddie of all people who seemed most surprised by his affirmation. "Just like that?"
"I'm clearing you conditionally," Sam clarified.
Eddie sagged back in his chair, still grinning expansively. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Your methods are unorthodox," Sam said. "It's no secret that I don't approve of most of them. But…" Sam hesitated for a moment, his tongue sweeping his teeth in an effort to locate the right words. "...but that doesn't mean they don't work. At the end of the day, the results I've seen you produce this month have been beyond impressive. All I would require is that you keep the company abreast of your decisions moving forward so that we can clear them before you act without us."
"Interesting." William turned to Eddie. "And you? What do you think? Did Sam past his test?"
"My test?" There was no disguising the naked confusion in his voice. His hands unwound themselves from their stiff posture behind his back as he looked from William to Eddie and back again. "I wasn't aware that I was being tested."
"Of course not," William said. "I wanted real world results in real-time."