and that hurt almost as much as Susannah's lack of welcome.
He heard someone moving behind him and realized they weren't alone. Susannah's sister Paige stepped forward opening a wine bottle with a cork screw. He had only seen her once before, the night she and Susannah had walked in on him with Mindy. He could tell right away that she was a real bitch.
'My, my. Don't you look spiffy with your pants on.' She ran her eyes up and down his body.
He wanted to slap her right through the wall.
Susannah didn't reprimand her sister for the wisecrack, and that really pissed him off. It scared him, too. What if he couldn't make her care again?
'Have a seat, Sam,' Susannah said. 'I think we can come up with an extra piece of Paige's chicken.'
He sat, but refused the food. As Susannah reached for her napkin, he saw the faint scars on her wrist and remembered what she had gone through the night Theroux had tried to kill her. He felt rage, and something else he didn't want to identify. Maybe some kind of guilt bullshit.
Yank asked Sam what he had been doing, and Sam began telling him about his new company. Before long, he had thrown off his sport coat and was pacing the room, his fingers splayed, his arms making arcs in the air as he talked and talked and talked.
Susannah watched him without much expression, but Yank hung on to his every word. When Sam finally stopped talking, he noticed that Yank's eyes had grown unfocused, and he could sense his old partner's excitement as he pondered the miracles of engineering necessary to transform a wafer-thin credit card into a tool that could interface with the world.
Even Paige had lost her superior look. She had set down her wineglass and was staring at him as if he had just dropped in from another planet.
Susannah had noticed Yank's reaction, too, and she immediately rounded on Sam. 'What do you want? Why are you here?'
He had forgotten those hair-trigger reflexes of hers, and he realized too late that he had miscalculated by talking to Yank when she was present. God, she was feisty. He had only wanted to pique Yank's interest, not steal him away in front of her.
But he could feel his adrenaline pumping at the idea of going into a battle with her again. Jesus, he loved a good fight. He had too many yes-men around him now. Not enough scrappers like Suzie. She liked everything up front, so why not give it to her? Why not have his fight and let her know what he wanted? That way she couldn't ever accuse him of having gone behind her back.
'What do you think I want?' he asked, spinning around the only empty chair at the table and straddling it.
'Suppose you tell me.'
'I want the best, babe. Just like always.'
'You can't have him.'
'Yank's a big boy. He should be able to make up his own mind.'
'He has. He's staying here.'
'SysVal's getting old and respectable. Yank likes new challenges.'
Paige's eyes were going back and forth between the two of them as if she were watching a tennis match. Yank was regarding them thoughtfully.
Susannah threw down her napkin. 'I heard you were making some personnel raids. I thought you'd have enough decency to know that Yank is off limits.'
Sam turned to confront Yank. 'Still letting other people do your talking for you?'
Yank gazed at him with those gentle, infuriating eyes. 'I'm not the only person you want. Am I, Sam?'
For the first time, Sam hedged. 'What are you talking about?'
'Susannah's been through enough,' Yank replied. 'When are you going to leave her alone?'
Sam propped his arm over the back of the chair, still keeping it casual. 'I'm not trying to recruit her. I know Susannah won't leave SysVal.'
'But that's not what you want from her, is it? You don't want her to work for your company. You want her back as your wife, your good luck charm.'
Susannah pushed her plate away and stood up. 'I want you to leave, Sam. We don't have anything more to say to each other.'
But Sam barely heard her. All of his attention was focused on Yank. Yank, the nerd-the goofy genius. Yank, who forgot his socks and lost his women. How could Yank think-how could be even imagine that he had a chance-at a woman like Susannah?
Sam's lip curled. He wanted to be cruel, to slice them both to the quick. 'If you think I'm going to play dead and leave the field clear for you, buddy, you'd better think again. All I need is one night in bed with her. One night in bed, and I'll have her back. Isn't that right, Suzie?'
Susannah tightened her hands around the back of the chair. 'Get out of here right now.'
'I'm afraid this can't go on any longer,' Yank said abruptly. 'Susannah, we have to put an end to Sam's delusions about you right now. He's obsessed with you, and it has to stop.'
'The divorce will be final in a few weeks,' she snapped. 'That'll put a stop to it.'
'A piece of paper doesn't mean shit.' Sam knocked over the chair as he leaped to his feet. 'Get a divorce! Get a million of them! I don't care. Marriage doesn't mean anything, and neither does divorce. I want you back with me. We belong together. That's the only thing that matters.'
Susannah slapped her palms on the table. 'That's enough! Get out.'
'He isn't listening to you, Susannah,' Yank said. 'He refuses to listen. Sam doesn't understand about divorce papers. But he understands how to make a deal. Don't you, Sam?' Yank leaned slightly back in his chair.
Paige's eyes were huge in her face as she took in the scene these lunatics were playing out in front of her.
For a moment, Yank stared at a spot in the air directly in front of him, and then he said, 'What about a contest? A contest and a deal.'
Sam was poised, all his senses alert. 'What kind of contest?'
'A contest between you and me. The winner gets Susannah. The loser steps aside forever.'
'Are you out of your mind?' Susannah exclaimed. 'Are both of you crazy!'
Sam laughed. 'Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. You want the two of us to have a contest? If you lose, you'll stay away from her forever?'
Yank nodded slowly. 'And if you lose, Sam, you leave her alone for the rest of your life.'
Susannah made a choking noise, but neither of them paid any attention.
Sam immediately began to pace, hammering out the fine points. 'You can't stay away from her if you're working with her every day. That means you'll have to get another job.'
'Yes. All right. I won't sell out my partnership, but I'll get another job.'
Susannah gasped.
Sam pressed his advantage. 'With me.'
'That's not part of the deal. The deal's about winning Susannah.'
'I'm not a piece of property!' she exclaimed.
Sam ignored her. 'And tell me exactly what you mean. The winner
'You said you could have her back if you spent a night in bed with her,' Yank replied. 'Susannah will make love with whichever of us wins. Is that agreeable to you?'
'I will not!' Susannah cried. 'Yank, I can't believe you're doing this!'
Yank gave her a stony look. 'That's the agreement, Susannah. Do you understand it?'
She was starting to feel desperate. Yank was so serious, so determined. He was spooky when he was like this. She loved him, but she didn't desire him, and she wasn't going to go to bed with him. 'No! No, I don't understand at all.'
Yank turned toward Sam, who had stopped his pacing by the door. 'Susannah will make love with whichever of us wins. The other one of us will leave her alone forever.'
Sam's grin spread all over his face. Another challenge to face. Another barrier to smash. 'Yeah. Yeah, I like this. Okay. I agree. What kind of contest?'
