The Ties That Bind

late meeting, Shannon hastily apologized. "That's all right. Just tell him Shannon Raine called. It's nothing crucial. I'll contact him later."
    "Hold on a moment, Miss Raine . I have instructions to put through any call from you."
    "No, wait, that's all right-" Shannon said quickly, but it was too late. There was an abrupt silence and then a man's voice, sounding harried and impatient came on the line. "Sheridan's office. What's up?"
    "I'm sorry," Shannon said, annoyed with herself for apologizing yet again. "This is Shannon Raine . I was calling for Garth, but I understand he's busy and I don't want to interrupt."
    A hand was clamped over the mouthpiece on the other end of the line, and Shannon heard the man's muffled voice speaking to someone else. "It's somebody called Shannon Raine . Want me to get rid of her, Garth?"
    Garth's voice sounded in the distance. "Hell, no, let me have that, Wes." A second later, he was on the line. "Shannon? What's wrong?"
    "Nothing's wrong. I'm sorry I bothered you, Garth." Shannon felt distinctly like an intruder who had blundered into Garth's other world without invitation. "I tried to tell everyone I'd get hold of you later, but they put me through and I -"
    He cut through the flow of apologetic words. "It's all right, honey. I've told my secretary to put through your calls. What did you want?"
    Her news seemed very trivial now. "I just wanted to tell you about the buyer's visit today. But it can wait."
    "How did it go?"
    Shannon relaxed a little at the genuine interest in his voice. "Really well, Garth. She loved the totes, and she even wants some of the cards."
    "That's wonderful. Did she leave a contract?"
    "It's right here in front of me." Shannon glanced uneasily at the three-part document lying on the table.
    "Fine. Don't sign anything until I get over there."
    Shannon sighed, too elated by the buyer's visit to argue. "All right, Garth." She paused. "Are you going to be working much later tonight?"
    "We're getting some last-minute sections of a proposal ready. I'll probably be here until nine or ten."
    "Oh." She was shocked but tried not to show it. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you," she heard herself say.
    "It's all right, honey." But she could hear the impatience in his voice. He had a lot of work ahead of him tonight, and he wanted to get back to it. "Congratulations on your big sale. I'll call you tomorrow, and we'll discuss it further."
    "Fine. Good night, Garth." Shannon hung up the phone wishing she'd never had the urge to call his office.
    She was an intruder there. There was no doubt about it, regardless of how polite people were when she called. She didn't even know the name of Garth's secretary or how close the man called Wes was to him. She knew so damn little about Garth Sheridan's other life, and he seemed very unwilling to share it with her.
    Next weekend the business side of his life would steal even the short time she might normally have had with Garth. Shannon was filled with both curiosity and resentment. Underneath both of those emotions was a vague fear she didn't want to put into words. Shannon sat thinking about her options for a long time before she began to gather her courage and make her plans.
    She knew intuitively that if her relationship with Garth was ever to get beyond the weekend-affair stage, she was going to have to see and understand the business side of his life. He had to be convinced to share it with her. She could not let him isolate her from it forever.
    Somehow she had to gently force him to share his world with her, Shannon made her decision. She would find a way to attend that party in San Jose with Garth, even if it meant taking him by surprise.

-5-
    THE PARKING LOT of the Sherilectronics building was absorbing the summer heat and sending it back into the atmosphere in muggy waves. Shannon had spent the last hundred miles of the drive from the Mendocino coast wishing she'd had air-conditioning in the Fiat. She was nervous enough about the coming confrontation; she hadn't needed the added perspiration problems caused by the heat.
    The lot was nearly empty, but in addition to Garth's Porsche parked near the main entrance, there was a handful of other cars. Shannon grabbed her tote bag and climbed out of the Fiat feeling damp and rumpled. The long, peach-colored cotton skirt and matching loose-fitting blouse were both badly wrinkled. When she had pulled them out of the back of her closet this morning, she had thought they