The Ties That Bind

down in the elevator was completed in silence. Garth didn't say anything at all until he caught sight of the little red Fiat sitting near his Porsche. "You really like to live dangerously, don't you? Two hundred miles in that thing?"
    Shannon didn't respond as she allowed herself to be seated in the Porsche. She stared gloomily at the telephone installed on the driver's side. Garth had said he didn't consider his car a luxury. Maybe having a phone in it made it a business expense as far as he was concerned. A moment later Garth slid in beside her, filling the car with his dominating presence. She still wasn't sure of his mood.
    "I had to come, Garth."
    He backed the Porsche out of its slot. "Why?"
    "Because it was beginning to look as if you would never invite me, and I wasn't content to know only the side of you that you planned to let me see on the weekends." She turned in the seat, her fingers digging into the fabric of the tote bag on her lap. "Admit it, you probably never would have invited me to San Jose, would you?"
    "Probably not. There's no need. You don't belong here."
    "Why not?"
    "Hell, it's hard to explain. Let's just say I don't want you mixed up with the kind of people who will be at the party tonight. It's not going to be your kind of crowd, Shannon. My working world isn't a very nice one, and I didn't want you getting involved with it."
    "Garth, I'm not completely naive. I'm also not a silly, empty-headed female or an artist who's incapable of dealing with the real world. You don't have to protect me. Ever since we started this relationship you've been laying down rules and marking off boundaries that I'm not to cross. You were making it very clear that I'm to stay confined to my cottage on the coast and wait dutifully for you to arrive on the weekends. Then I find out I'm not even going to get every weekend with you. Your social life here in San Jose takes precedence. Did you really expect me to get involved in a serious relationship that operates on that kind of basis? I tried to adjust for a while, Garth, but I've decided it's not going to work. If that's what you want, you're going to have to find another woman."
    Garth shifted gears with a smooth, savage movement. "So you decided to drive over to San Jose this weekend and throw down the gauntlet, is that it?"
    Shannon sighed, collapsing back against the seat. "I was hoping you'd realize how ridiculous it is to try to keep me confined to just a tiny corner of your life."
    There was a taut silence, and then Garth said quietly, "I don't know why I keep forgetting how persistent you can be when you make up your mind. All right, Shannon. You're here. There's not much I can do about it now. We'll go to the party tonight, and tomorrow we'll talk about how this relationship is going to operate in the future."
    Shannon studied his profile, unable to determine whether she had won or lost the battle. One step at a time, she told herself bracingly. Risking a small smile, she tried to put the conversation onto a more neutral subject.
    "Are you and Wes McIntyre still working on that bid proposal for Carstairs ?"
    "That's right. Bonnie's typing the final version today. It goes to Carstairs in another week or so. We're finishing it in plenty of time." Garth kept his answers clipped as he nosed the Forsche into the parking lot of a small restaurant.
    "I like Bonnie," Shannon ventured.
    "She's a first-class secretary." Garth seemed to think that said it all. He led the way toward the restaurant.
    "If she's the one typing your precious bid proposal, you must trust her as much as you trust McIntyre."
    "I suppose so," Garth said offhandedly as he and Shannon stepped inside the air-conditioned restaurant. "Unfortunately, you can't do business efficiently unless you let a few key people in on all the facts. But I take as many precautions as possible. That bid package doesn't leave my office except in my briefcase. There are no copies."
    Shannon shot him a curious glance. "If you had your choice, you'd keep everything to yourself and not trust anyone, right?"
    "Life works better that way."
    "Where did you learn to be so paranoid, Garth?"
    "I'm not paranoid, I'm realistic. After you've met a few of my social acquaintances tonight, maybe you'll see why."

* * *
    IT WASN'T HARD to spot the Hutchinsons ' home. The Ferraris and Porsches were parked in two gleaming rows along the curbs for over a block. Shannon looked at them in amused awe as Garth slid his car into a spot