Apparently the little lady thought he was as stupid as a stuffed elephant.
“Right,” he said, opening a path away from the Sung bowl. “What’s next on your jade agenda?”
“The auction won’t begin for two hours. What exhibits haven’t you seen?”
“The buffet,” Kyle said bluntly. “Or did you eat dinner before you came?”
“No. I was too nervous,” she admitted.
“About what?” he asked casually, leading her out of the atrium toward the buffet that had been set up in the ballroom.
“The Jade Trader exhibit,” she said, only half the truth. But she wasn’t about to admit to Kyle that the thought ofhaving to approach him had tied her stomach in knots. “It was my responsibility to choose the jades.”
“I thought the patriarch would have done that.”
“Wen?”
“Last time I checked, he was the grand old man of the Tang clan.”
“He is. It’s just that he’s…awfully busy.” Lianne finished weakly.
Kyle gave her a sideways look that said he wasn’t buying that one, either.
She told herself that Wen’s health was an open secret, one that Kyle would be sharing as soon as she introduced him into the Tang family.
“Wait,” she said, pressing against Kyle’s arm. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned close enough to speak without being overheard. “Wen’s eyesight is very bad. Even his touch isn’t reliable anymore. Arthritis, I guess, but no one speaks of it. Yet he still took part in the exhibit. Joe passed Wen’s suggestions on to Harry or Johnny, who gave them to me.”
Kyle tried not to let Lianne’s unique scent distract him from the main point: one of the world’s wealthiest trading families was undergoing a quiet change in leadership. Following the shock of Hong Kong’s reversion to mainland China, Wen’s increasing frailty must have had the many branches of the Tang family scrambling and clawing to see who would lead the clan through the profitable minefields of the twenty-first century.
“Joe? Harry? Johnny?” Kyle asked.
“Joe Ju Tang is Wen’s oldest son. Harry Ju Tang is the second oldest. Johnny is his youngest.”
“You know them well?”
“Yes,” Lianne said, no expression on her face. “The Tang family is very interested in jade. They are among my biggest clients.”
Kyle kept his face as blank as Lianne’s while he guided her toward the tables of hors d’oeuvres. As he handed hera plate, he asked casually, “What does the Tang family have to say about the Jade Emperor’s Tomb?”
She shrugged. “The same thing everybody else is saying.”
“Which is?”
Lianne gave him a look, but his attention was on the spectacular variety of hors d’oeuvres, as though the conversation was merely polite rather than pointed.
“A combination of curiosity and naked greed,” she said, reaching for some miniature pot stickers. The aroma lifting from the spicy morsels of sausage wrapped in thin dough had her mouth watering. “The collectors are dancing in place, dying to know whether their personal collections will be enhanced or diminished by the tomb goods.”
“You think that fine blade might have come from the Jade Emperor’s Tomb?” Kyle asked.
“I…don’t know. Anything is possible, I suppose.”
He put a tiny, incredibly delicate spring roll in his mouth and chewed, watching Lianne without seeming to. It wasn’t exactly hard duty. Her cheekbones would have made a model weak with envy. Light shimmered and flowed like a lover’s breath over her black hair. Her lips were full, ripe, inviting.
And she was lying through her white, even teeth about the Neolithic blade. She had a good idea where it came from. Kyle was as certain of this as he was that her heart had beaten very quickly beneath his hands when he lifted her above the crowd. He wondered if her response had come from fear or desire. Or both. Then he wondered if he would find out Lianne’s truth before he found out the truth of the Jade Emperor’s grave.
Lianne popped one of the
“Right,” he said, opening a path away from the Sung bowl. “What’s next on your jade agenda?”
“The auction won’t begin for two hours. What exhibits haven’t you seen?”
“The buffet,” Kyle said bluntly. “Or did you eat dinner before you came?”
“No. I was too nervous,” she admitted.
“About what?” he asked casually, leading her out of the atrium toward the buffet that had been set up in the ballroom.
“The Jade Trader exhibit,” she said, only half the truth. But she wasn’t about to admit to Kyle that the thought ofhaving to approach him had tied her stomach in knots. “It was my responsibility to choose the jades.”
“I thought the patriarch would have done that.”
“Wen?”
“Last time I checked, he was the grand old man of the Tang clan.”
“He is. It’s just that he’s…awfully busy.” Lianne finished weakly.
Kyle gave her a sideways look that said he wasn’t buying that one, either.
She told herself that Wen’s health was an open secret, one that Kyle would be sharing as soon as she introduced him into the Tang family.
“Wait,” she said, pressing against Kyle’s arm. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned close enough to speak without being overheard. “Wen’s eyesight is very bad. Even his touch isn’t reliable anymore. Arthritis, I guess, but no one speaks of it. Yet he still took part in the exhibit. Joe passed Wen’s suggestions on to Harry or Johnny, who gave them to me.”
Kyle tried not to let Lianne’s unique scent distract him from the main point: one of the world’s wealthiest trading families was undergoing a quiet change in leadership. Following the shock of Hong Kong’s reversion to mainland China, Wen’s increasing frailty must have had the many branches of the Tang family scrambling and clawing to see who would lead the clan through the profitable minefields of the twenty-first century.
“Joe? Harry? Johnny?” Kyle asked.
“Joe Ju Tang is Wen’s oldest son. Harry Ju Tang is the second oldest. Johnny is his youngest.”
“You know them well?”
“Yes,” Lianne said, no expression on her face. “The Tang family is very interested in jade. They are among my biggest clients.”
Kyle kept his face as blank as Lianne’s while he guided her toward the tables of hors d’oeuvres. As he handed hera plate, he asked casually, “What does the Tang family have to say about the Jade Emperor’s Tomb?”
She shrugged. “The same thing everybody else is saying.”
“Which is?”
Lianne gave him a look, but his attention was on the spectacular variety of hors d’oeuvres, as though the conversation was merely polite rather than pointed.
“A combination of curiosity and naked greed,” she said, reaching for some miniature pot stickers. The aroma lifting from the spicy morsels of sausage wrapped in thin dough had her mouth watering. “The collectors are dancing in place, dying to know whether their personal collections will be enhanced or diminished by the tomb goods.”
“You think that fine blade might have come from the Jade Emperor’s Tomb?” Kyle asked.
“I…don’t know. Anything is possible, I suppose.”
He put a tiny, incredibly delicate spring roll in his mouth and chewed, watching Lianne without seeming to. It wasn’t exactly hard duty. Her cheekbones would have made a model weak with envy. Light shimmered and flowed like a lover’s breath over her black hair. Her lips were full, ripe, inviting.
And she was lying through her white, even teeth about the Neolithic blade. She had a good idea where it came from. Kyle was as certain of this as he was that her heart had beaten very quickly beneath his hands when he lifted her above the crowd. He wondered if her response had come from fear or desire. Or both. Then he wondered if he would find out Lianne’s truth before he found out the truth of the Jade Emperor’s grave.
Lianne popped one of the
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