A Winter's Tale (The Shakespeare Sisters 2)

He might have shaved his beard off, and replaced the checked shirts with designer clothes, but inside he was still the same man. Her beast with a heart, the one who tried to scare her off but only managed to pull her in. The man who tried to destroy himself, but only emerged stronger.

It wasn’t quite a fairy tale, at least not like the ones she’d grown up reading. It was darker and more real than that. And yet as he held her in his arms and carried her to her bedroom, she found herself liking this one so much more.

35

We know what we are, but not what we may be

– Hamlet

She arrived at the address a few minutes before eleven, parking her car in the multi-level lot opposite the huge office building. As she crossed the road she looked up at the shiny glass tower, the winter sun reflected from the windows. It felt familiar yet strange as she walked inside, giving her details to the security guard operating the desk. Just like last time, she clipped her ID to her jeans, then took the elevator to the top floor.

When had she last been here? Was it only six weeks ago? She screwed her face up, trying to work through the dates. It felt like a lifetime since she last walked out of the elevator and onto the carpeted floor, making her way through the glass doors that led to Klein Productions.

She’d been a different person back then. More afraid, more alone. Now she didn’t feel frightened at all. Didn’t feel desperate either. A calmness had descended over her since the previous night, when Adam had held her in his arms.

‘Can I help you?’ the receptionist asked when Kitty arrived at her desk.

‘My name’s Kitty Shakespeare. I have a meeting with —’ Damn, who was her meeting with? Should she ask for Everett or Drake or somebody else? She had no idea.

The receptionist looked back at her questioningly.

Kitty gave a nervous laugh. ‘Adam Klein asked me to join him for a meeting,’ she explained. ‘But I’ve no idea who with.’

‘Let me take a look for you.’ The receptionist typed into her computer, then looked up with a smile. ‘Yes, you’re in the boardroom. Just through the door behind me and to the left. The boardroom is at the end of the corridor.’

She followed the receptionist’s directions, coming to the boardroom within a minute of walking. She hesitated, wondering whether to just walk in or to knock first. In the end, politeness got the better of her and she found herself rapping on the door with her knuckles.

It was Drake Montgomery who opened the door. He grinned at her and pulled the door wider. ‘Come in, we’re just about to start.’

‘We’, as it turned out, was a room full of people. She recognised Everett, of course, and Drake, plus the beautiful Lola, who interviewed her last time she was here, though Kitty still had no idea what job she did here at Klein Productions. Then she saw Adam, sitting in the corner, smiling at her. So that’s where he disappeared to so early this morning. He’d left her sated and sleepy at stupid o’clock, telling he would call her later.

Next to Adam was a teenage boy, and somebody who looked like his mother from the way she kept fussing over him. On her other side was a younger boy, maybe twelve or thirteen. Then there were three suited men – lawyers or businessmen of some kind.

If this was an interview it was the strangest one she’d ever been in. She looked around again, surprised.

Everett gave her a nod. ‘Please sit down, Miss Shakespeare. Maybe we can start by making some introductions. Obviously you know me.’

Yep, she certainly did. ‘Hello.’

‘And I believe you’ve met Lola before. And Drake, of course.’

‘Hi.’ She smiled at both of them.

‘And you know my brother, Adam.’

This time she blushed. ‘Hi, Adam.’

He looked at her knowingly. ‘Hi, Kitty.’

‘And this is Matias Hernandez, his mother Ana, and his brother Tomas.’

Kitty recognised the name straight away. She found herself looking at the boy who’d been so brutally kneecapped, searching for evidence of his pain. But he sat there quietly, nodding over at her as Everett made the introductions, not displaying any emotion at all. ‘It’s good to meet you,’ she told them.

‘And in the corner is David Madsen, my lawyer, plus his two assistants.’

‘Good morning, Miss Shakespeare,’ David said, his voice low. ‘As a precaution we’d like you to sign this NDA, agreeing that the discussions in this room remain private.’

The request didn’t faze her – NDAs were handed out like candy in LA. She read the two-page document quickly – there was nothing in there that worried her. Taking David’s pen she scrawled her name across the signature line and passed the document back to him.