Falling Awake(16)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“Got to say I was a little surprised to find you here.” Ellis leaned around her to open one of the heavy glass doors. “Never pictured you as the type to sign up for a course of motivational seminars. Always had the feeling that you were already very motivated.”

She stepped out onto the long, wide terrace that fronted the sleek, modern facade of the seminar wing. “The Kyler Method is not just about developing a positive, motivated attitude,” she said crisply. “It is also about tapping the creative side of your nature. It’s about exploring options, seeing things in a different light, opening up your personal horizons.”

“That sounds like a direct quote.”

“Page one of the The Kyler Method: Ten Steps to Reinventing Yourself.”

“By Farrell Kyler, your brother-in-law. The book spent five months on the major best-seller lists.”

“I see you’ve done your research on me,” she said coolly.

“You’ve been analyzing my dream reports for a year, Isabel. You probably know me well enough by now to realize that I always do my research.”

It was a simple statement of fact but it sent another small thrill of alarm through her. He was acknowledging that there was a strong, personal connection between them.

“Yes,” she murmured.

All of her senses felt sharp and acute. She was intensely aware of the brisk breeze off the bay and the warmth of the summer sun. The sea was an electric blue mirror that dazzled her eyes.

She led the way to the far end of the terrace, where several tables shaded with colorful umbrellas had been set outside. There were only a handful of people in the vicinity. They sipped frothy espresso-based drinks or drank expensive water from bottles that bore labels printed in a variety of foreign languages.

Ellis indicated a table situated some distance from the others, offering a measure of privacy. The low, muted roar of the surf at the foot of the bluff provided a level of white noise that made it possible to talk without being overheard.

Isabel sat down in the shade cast by the red-and-tan umbrella. Ellis took the seat across from her.

A waiter dressed in a signature Kyler red polo shirt, tan shorts and high-end running shoes hurried over to take their orders.

Isabel smiled at him. “Green tea, please.”

“You got it.” The waiter looked expectantly at Ellis.

“The same,” Ellis said.

If the waiter thought green tea was a wimpy drink for a man, he was too smart to reveal it. He dutifully noted the order on his pad and hastened off toward the glass doors of the café.

Ellis looked at Isabel. She could feel the intensity of his gaze right through the heat shield of his midnight dark glasses.

Pay attention, she warned herself. You’ve been inside his dreams. You know how clever and subtle he can be, even when he’s in the middle of a nightmare. Keep it cool. Keep your distance.

“How are you feeling?” she asked on impulse.

So much for keeping her distance.

Something about his absolute stillness told her she had caught him off guard. He recovered almost instantly.

“Much better, thank you,” he said in a mockingly grave tone. “Haven’t had red meat in months. Taking my vitamins. Drinking plenty of green tea. Renting classic screwball romantic comedies. Haven’t actually gone out and bought a romance novel yet, but I’ll get around to it. Been a little busy lately.”

His obvious amusement disconcerted her. She blushed and hastily sat back in her chair. “What can I do for you, Mr. Cutler?”

“Make it Ellis.”

“Okay, Ellis.” She waited.

“I understand you’ve left your job at the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research.”

“I was fired.”

He showed his teeth in a brief, soft laugh. “I’m not exactly a student of the Kyler Method but the next time the subject comes up, I suggest you put a more positive spin on why you left.”

“How can you be positive about getting fired?”

“Try saying that you resigned to pursue other interests.”

She pursed her lips, considering the phrase closely. “Resigned to pursue other interests. It does have a more positive ring, doesn’t it? Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Usually I charge a lot of money for advice like that.”

“You do?”

Before she could question him further, the waiter returned with a steaming pot and two ceramic cups. He set the tea things down and departed.

“I’m here to offer you another job,” Ellis said in a surprisingly offhanded fashion. “Good pay. Good benefits. Guaranteed retirement plan.”

Excitement swept through her. She tried not to let it show. “Working for you?”

“No. I would continue to contract for your services but you would be employed by another research lab. The situation would be similar to the one you had at the center.”

He sounded almost bored, as if he were going through the motions, as if her decision was a matter of complete disinterest to him.

“I see.” She thought about that for a moment and then decided to play a couple of her own cards. “Would this other lab by any chance be my former Client Number One? An unnamed government agency engaged in Level Five dream research?”

Ellis’s brows climbed. “I take it you obviously know a lot more about your private clients than Martin Belvedere led us to believe.”

He sounded impressed but not surprised, she thought, and certainly not alarmed. She got the distinct impression that he had already guessed that she knew a certain amount about her anonymous clients.

Her confidence rose. She picked up the teapot. He watched her fill his cup and then her own as if the small ritual fascinated him.

“After doing several dozen Level Five dream analyses it would be hard not to know something about my clients,” she said, setting down the pot.

“I thought so.” He made himself more comfortable in the chair, turning slightly to study some wet-suited surfers who were paddling out across the bay. “I told Lawson—”

“Lawson?”

“Jack Lawson. He’s the director of Frey-Salter, Inc. Anonymous Client Number One to you.”

“Ah.”

“I told him that I would deliver his offer of a job. I’ve completed my assignment.”

“No offense, but you didn’t do much of a sales job,” she said dryly.

He smiled his cool, edgy smile and picked up his cup. “Just said I’d make his offer for him. Didn’t say I’d try to talk you into going to work at Frey-Salter.”