Karen and Isaiah walked to the waiting limo and dove in, avoiding the screaming throng that lined the path to the car. Six bulky men surrounded them as they made their way to the car. One squeezed into the front as the driver shifted into gear and the stretch headed cautiously through the crowd that closed in on the moving auto; pounding the glass, begging for attention, rocking the car on its shocks, as Karen gripped Izzy‟s hand for comfort and he held her tight as much to comfort himself as her. They walked through the crowded restaurant passing the long line of patrons waiting to be seated, all looking over the menu that hung above the bar in an effort to pass the time while they waited. Their new distraction proving food for their fellow patron‟s boredom as they pointed and stared at the couple moving past. The response was much the same from diners lucky enough to have already been seated, as the pair moved through the dining room surrounded by guards, the one from the car was directly alongside Isaiah and five others who had followed them in their own car now circling them as they walked.

***

"Damn this is spicy!" Karen choked down half a glass of water attempting to drown the fire in her throat while Izzy‟s eyes danced with laughter. "You could have warned me!" she scolded. "Could have." He winked. A blinding bolt flashed in his eyes as he pulled one hand up quickly to shield himself. "Mr. High. Nice to have you in Kansas City once again." The reporter held out his hand and pulled an empty chair from a nearby table, sitting down without invitation. Karen watched it all with stunned surprise as Isaiah didn‟t make a move to dismiss the pushy reporter. "How have you been?" Then nodding to Karen. "And, who is this lovely lady here?" "She‟s my date." Isaiah smiled warmly and spoke with calm reserve. Karen held her comments as her anger built inside, knowing better than to voice her feelings, she surely did not understand this game. "Where on earth did you find such a lovely creature?" Karen pushed away her plate. She no longer felt like eating, the reporter alongside her was wallowing in unfelt compliments and she wanted to belt him. "We met in London not too long ago." "Ahhhh a European. You don‟t look British, my dear." The reporter looked at her questioningly. "No, no, she‟s American. We were two lonely tourists… etc. etc." Isaiah waved off further questions on the subject and the reporter took his cue, continuing on with questions about the tour, which Izzy graciously answered for several minutes until dessert was served. "If you‟ll excuse us now, I hate answering questions during dessert. It‟s my favorite part of the meal." Isaiah stood and shook the man‟s hand before sitting back down to dive into the apple pie before him. "Thanks for making me sound like some tramp you picked up on the streets of London." She glared angrily as he shoveled pie into his mouth. "What‟s the matter with the truth, Isaiah." "Listen here, you just continue to do what you‟re doing. Keeping your mouth shut. If I told them where we met, my hopes of a quiet retreat in "paradise‟ would go up in smoke. I put a fence up around that place just in case, but if I ever have to rely on it, I‟m outta there." "I don‟t understand. In London you barked at the reporter, here you treat this one like royalty even when he rudely invites himself to sit at your table." She truly was puzzled over the change in Isaiah. "It‟s business. You don‟t bite the hand that gives you the reviews. You keep your mouth shut, and we‟ll be just fine." He slid the empty plate to the edge of the table. Tossing a one hundred dollar bill on the table he got up to leave, suddenly surrounded once again by large men, he didn‟t even wait for Karen to respond, or stand.