Claire conceded she may have an active imagination. Smiling, she remembered finding her black lace panties inside her yoga pants after a very vivid dream. For a moment she’d actually thought it could have been real. Nonetheless, Claire’s great imagination didn’t nullify Tony’s influence.
To save her friends, Claire offered again to find her own place to live. However, honestly she didn’t want to live alone. Isolation reminded her too much of her cell in the Iowa Penitentiary or her suite at Tony’s estate. Therefore, as long as Amber consented to Claire’s presence, she’d stay. Claire justified: if I move because of Tony, I’m giving him power. She refused to relinquish her power; she’d done that before.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Claire realized the attached article wouldn’t hit the newsstands for a couple of days. Quickly, she fired back a response, approving the attachment and thanking Meredith for the advanced notice. Claire also sent her cell number and asked Meredith to call to schedule their interviews. The last time they spoke, Meredith suggested the possibility of doing a series of articles. It all depended on the extent of information Claire would reveal.
Claire decided the articles would concentrate on her life with Tony, not his hidden past. She didn’t believe it was her place to disclose that information. For some reason, someone wanted her to know his secret history. If they didn’t, she wouldn’t have received the mysterious box. Although, Claire struggled to understand the reasoning, she didn’t feel sharing it with the world was her place.
The haunting questions that infiltrated her thoughts continued to be... who sent the box? Why did they send it? And what did they hope to accomplish?
Merely moments after she hit send on her email to Meredith, her iPhone rang. The excitement in Meredith’s voice reverberated through the cellphone. Meredith made it clear she was more than willing to travel to Palo Alto as soon as possible to begin their interviews. During their conversation, Claire recognized a desire to travel. Since Harry’s near miss of an accident, she’d been stressing about everyone and everything. She needed a break. Meredith lived in Long Beach, and would be in San Diego during the next three days on business.
“Meredith, I think I’d enjoy a get-a-way. Could we meet in San Diego?”
“Really? Sure! That would be great. We can get started right away!”
They agreed to meet in Claire’s hotel suite, the next night. Claire promised to text Meredith her accommodation information as soon as she booked a room.
Claire assumed text messages were less traceable than emails. It was only an assumption. Phil Roach would probably know the minute she booked the flight and room. She sighed and started her research, purposely checking multiple destinations and dates of travel.
She found three different flights leaving tomorrow, but purposely decided to wait until first thing in the morning to book one. This gave Phil less time to follow. She also found multiple acceptable places to stay. That too could wait until the morning. She made a list of flights and rooms. Pensively she wondered, would she ever be able to live without constant surveillance?
During dinner, Amber presented Claire with an interesting proposition, “So, there’s this big fundraiser gala in a couple weeks. It’s a joint endeavor between many of the top gaming companies in Silicon Valley. We all pledge a percentage of certain sales. Individually it’s very minimal, like a quarter of a cent per download, but the cumulative amount is surprising. This money all goes to fund the National Center for Learning Disabilities.”
“That’s nice. I didn’t know you did that.”
“Well, it’s something Simon was passionate about. There are studies showing people with learning disabilities can benefit from some of the electronic games. Hand-eye coordination and sequencing... it’s all very interesting.”
“I think that’s great.” Claire said with a smile. She remembered Tony’s regard for philanthropic funds and thought how nice it was to have people donate, for the right reason.
“Yes, well here’s the thing, I don’t enjoy fundraisers. I mean, I’ll do it, sometimes. But honestly, I don’t do the chatty small-talk thing that well.”
Claire sensed a question coming. She smiled and raised her eyebrows.
Amber grinned, “So, I was wondering if you’d be interested in representing SiJo Gaming for me?”
“I’d be happy to do it, but do you really want me representing your company?”
“Don’t be silly. Why wouldn’t I want you representing SiJo?”
“Well, I don’t know, maybe because I have a dubious past.”
“Seriously, you’ll be talking to the top two percent. Each plate is $30,000. Everyone there has a dubious past!” Then in a quieter tone, “If you’re lucky and someone has too much to drink, you’ll get to hear one or two of those stories. Some people like to be very chatty and the information can be quite entertaining!”
Claire smiled looking at Amber’s expectant expression. She was thrilled to be able to do something for Amber, after all she’d done for her. “Then yes. I’d be honored to represent SiJo Gaming for you and for Simon. Am I going alone, or will there be someone else with me?”
“SiJo has two tickets. I kind of assumed you’d want Harry to go with you, but if you have someone else in mind.”
Claire’s eyes flitted to her plate to avoid Amber’s direct gaze, “No, I’m relieved to have someone I know. I thought there might be another SiJo representative you wanted there.”