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Sorting through it, she walked into the kitchen and opened her recycling bin beneath the counter. As she flipped through the mail, she tossed the junk mail into the recycling and set the pieces she needed to deal with on the counter. When she reached the last envelope in the stack, she sucked in a breath as she saw the return address.
Oh, my God! How could she have forgotten about this? Spence was going to have a fit.
Clutching it in her hand, she stumbled over to the couch and sat down. Opened the envelope and scanned the letter. Set it carefully on the couch, then crumpled the envelope in her fist. Damn it!
* * *
When Spence emerged from the bedroom, he started to speak, then stopped when he saw Zoe’s white face and pinched lips. He dropped onto the couch next to her and grabbed her hand. “What’s wrong? Did you get something from Davies in the mail? A threat?” He tightened his grip on her. “Another charm off your bracelet?”
She shook her head, her fingers playing with the piece of paper beside her on the couch. Drew in a ragged breath, then thrust the paper at him. “This. I got this. Read it.”
Spence unfolded the paper and began to read. He wasn’t even half-finished when he said, “What the hell?”
Zoe slumped back against the couch. Nodded. “Yeah. It’s true. And I’d forgotten all about it.”
“It says you’re the keynote speaker at this conference. Next weekend. A little more than a week from now. How could you have forgotten to mention this to me? Or to Mel?”
She turned to stare at him. “I had a few other things on my mind. Remember? The guy who killed my father is stalking me? And he’s in Seattle? Sending me the trophies he stole from me? It wiped out everything else in my brain. And if I hadn’t opened this letter, I probably would have forgotten all about this conference.”
“You can’t go to this,” he said, setting the letter aside. “You know that, don’t you?”
“No, I don’t know that.” She turned to stare at him, her forehead furrowed and her eyes flashing. “I have to go. Have to give the speech I prepared a month ago. I have no choice.”
“Sure you do. Just call whoever’s organizing it and tell them something’s come up. That you can’t make it.”
She swiveled to face him, both distress and anger in her expression. “Do you have any idea what it’s like for women in the computer and software industry?”
“How would I know that?”
“Fair question,” she said, a little too sharply. “So let me fill you in. Computer and software companies are the boys’ playgrounds, and women are mostly not welcome. Since it’s almost always men in charge, men get the best jobs. Women are an afterthought. And if a woman does get a job in this industry, she’s pretty much guaranteed to be harassed. There are very few women on the boards of the public companies. That’s changing, but only because of outside pressure. This conference is one of the oldest and most prestigious conferences in the business, and no woman has given the keynote speech. Ever. So the fact that I’m giving it this year is a huge deal.”
“You’re going to have to turn it down,” Spence said.
“I cannot and will not do that. Do you know what all the men at that conference would say? ‘Ask a woman to do a job and look what happens. You can’t rely on her.’ ‘They just asked Melbourne because her company’s in Seattle, and she can’t even bother to make it.’ ‘Why should we take her seriously if she can’t take her obligations seriously?’”
“I’m sure no one would say that,” Spence said automatically, but his stomach was churning. Zoe was right. It was the same in the protection business. Women weren’t taken seriously. They weren’t respected. Weren’t given a chance, in many cases.
“If you think that, Spence, you know nothing about the computer business.”
“Guilty as charged,” he said. “But don’t you see why it would be a terrible idea? You can bet Davies knows you’re giving that speech. In fact, that might be why he came to Seattle when he did. And he’ll be there to watch you. It’s the perfect time for him to grab you. Crowds of people milling around, jostling each other. Keynote speakers are the rock stars of conferences. Everyone’ll be trying to get close to you. Get your attention. Talk to you. That’s a nightmare for close protection.”
“I know that,” she said quietly. She stared at the letter, lying on her lap. “It was a huge deal when they asked me to do this. A really big step for them, asking a woman to do the keynote. I had my speech written a month ago. I have my wardrobe planned out, down to the last detail. Every single person at the conference will be watching me, and I have to be perfect.” She finally looked over at him. “I’m doing this, Spence. With you or without you. I’d prefer doing it with you, but if you want to resign as my bodyguard, I get it. I know I’m taking a terrible chance. I know I shouldn’t do it. But I have no choice.”
“You can’t be the symbol of women in technology,” he said.
“Whether I want to or not, right now, I am. And if I back out of this speech now, when the conference is only a week away, I’ll never recover from the perception that I’m a quitter. That I had this chance and blew it off. And no other woman will be asked to do the keynote at a computer industry conference for a long, long time.”
“So you’re willing to risk your life for your business?” He stared at her, his expression saying it all. He was horrified. Stunned. Appalled.
“I’m not risking my life, because you’ll be with me,” she managed to say. She wanted to reach for his hand but was afraid he’d just shake her off. “If you want to continue as my bodyguard. If not, someone else will be there.”
Spence jumped to his feet. Shoved both hands through his hair, leaving it standing up straight as a brush. Paced through the living room without looking at her.
“I should call Mel and tell her to send someone else,” he said. “Someone who could talk you out of this stupid plan.”
“You can do that,” she said, sliding her shaking hands under her thighs to keep Spence from seeing her reaction to having him disappear from her life. “But no one will be able to talk me out of this. Not even my sister, who’s the smartest person I know. The only person in the world I trust completely. I know it’s a bad idea. Know I shouldn’t go. But I don’t have any choice. This is non-negotiable.”
Spence stared at her for a long moment, as if the power of his gaze could change her mind. She stared back, as determined to hold her ground as he was to force her to abandon it.
