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"Pity," Sefton said. "A doctor's work hours are horrible, or so I've heard. It must be hard, having an absent partner. I'd expect it gets pretty lonely. If you were mine, I wouldn't let you out of my sight."
I frowned at that. "He does important work. I
have my own life. Besides, he makes up for it," I said and pushed past him. "If you'll excuse me."
I left him standing by the door to the washrooms. He had a lot of nerve.
Once back at the table, I exhaled and took a sip of my water, deciding to avoid my wine. Sefton returned and sat back down across from me. I hoped he'd ignore me, but he didn’t. Instead, he looked directly at me, his chin resting on his hands.
"So, Ms. McDermott from Manhattan. Tell us all why you're here in Nairobi, of all places? I heard that your father was a Justice on the Supreme Court of New York."
I turned to him, and noted a cold look in his eye, as if he was trying hard to appear professional. I spoke briefly about my father and how I'd come to Kenya with my fiancé, a neurosurgeon at the Aga Khan University Hospital who worked with Claire's husband.
"We'll all be very curious to see your work," Sefton said. "So we know where you fit in at our little college. What kind of work do you do?"
All eyes turned to me. The only images I had on my iPhone were those I took of the nudes of Drake lying on the bed in the Manhattan apartment. I pulled out my cell and saw that there were four text messages from Drake. I had turned off my ringer earlier in the evening and forgot to turn it back on.
"Excuse me for a moment."
I checked Drake's texts.
I'll be home a bit earlier than we first thought, because our patient has stabilized. I hope you're waiting for me, all hot and bothered, Ms. Bennet. I want to take advantage of every spare moment we have because the way Michael works, it's only going to get busier…
The text was an hour earlier. The next text was fifteen minutes later.
I'm on my way back to the hotel. I hope you get this and are waiting for me, eager as I am. Text me when you get this.
The last text was from half an hour ago.
Where are you? Did you and Claire go out? I called Michael but he's not answering. I'm at the hotel waiting…
The last text was from only minutes earlier.
Kate, where are you?
I turned to Claire. "Did you call Michael and tell him we were going out?"
She made a face of surprise. "Oh, damn. I forgot all about it." Then, she took out her phone and shrugged, a sad expression on her face. "Michael called and I must have had my phone on mute. He and Drake finished early."
I texted Drake right away.
I'm sorry. Claire and I went to a faculty art exhibit at the Institute for Art. We're out with a group from the function for dinner. Our meal is almost finished so as soon as we're done, I'll get Claire to drop me off. So sorry I missed your texts and phone calls but my cell died. I can't wait to see you and see what you have planned…
"I'd really like to get back," I said to her, my voice almost a whisper. "Drake had no idea where I was. Michael didn't tell him where we were."
She made a face. "Drake's a big boy, Kate. He'll be fine. Have a cup of tea."
"You said you'd call Michael and get him to tell Drake where we were. He spent the evening worrying about me."
"I forgot," she said, waving a hand in dismissal. "He's a grown man. He'll get over it." She poured me a cup and I wanted to scold her but of course, didn't want to cause friction between us for Drake's sake. I sighed and gave in. I added some milk and sugar to my cup, resigned to wait a bit longer before we could leave.
During a break in the conversation, Claire leaned over to me.
"Show Sefton a picture of one of your paintings."
As the waiters took our dessert orders, I pulled up my images and selected the one of Drake on the bed, before passing the phone to Claire, who looked at it and made a face of surprise.
"Oh, it's Drake nude. Tastefully done, mind you. Very nice." She glanced up at me and smiled, before passing the phone directly to Sefton, who examined it closely. He smiled softly, and looked up, catching my eye.
