Stone, Katherine by Pearl Moon

the day after the
Palace opens." She lifted a defiant chin. "How old are you?"
    "Thirty-six." Sam didn't need to elaborate that, in
their business, eight years translated into a significant difference. "I
have no problem with your age, Maylene, although I fully admit that when I
first saw you, I was concerned about your experience—or lack thereof. But I'm
getting over that. Next prejudice, please."
    "My sex."
    "If I were a card-carrying redneck, I suppose I would have
a little trouble with that. And I confess that until yesterday I believed I
would be meeting a 'Michael' not a 'Maylene' Kwan." The lazy half smile
that was devastating proof of his innate sexuality touched his lips. "But
I'm really a nineties kind of guy. I think I'm going to be able to adjust
without difficulty. So there, I'm not prejudiced against you."
    Sam hoped for a smile in return, but Maylene's expression remained
grave. And, he thought, ashamed.
    "What, Maylene? Tell me."
    "My race."
    "Your race? You think I'm prejudiced against you
because you're Chinese?"
    "Half Chinese," she corrected harshly, punishingly.
    The punishment, Sam realized, was directed toward herself. He
ached for her pain and cursed himself for having unwittingly caused it. Did she
truly believe "Jade" had been a taunt, a reminder that her mixed—and
apparently shameful— parentage glowed in her beautiful eyes?
    "I'm not prejudiced against you because of your heritage,
Maylene. It's terribly important that you believe me. Look at me. Please."
    In response to the tenderness in his voice, her downcast lashes
lifted. Sam saw what, please, looked like hope.
    "Although I recognize you might not have meant it in an
entirely positive way, to me 'cowboy' is a term of endearment." His
teasing caused the faintest smile. "I called you 'Jade' as a compliment.
We're building the Jade Palace, after all, and it's my understanding that jade
is highly prized."
    He stopped, worried again that he might have inadvertently caused
pain. Jade was greatly valued by the Chinese. Imbued with mystical powers
against evil, it was considered a symbol of wealth, beauty, virtue. But Maylene
was only half Chinese, and apparently ashamed of her mixed heritage. Did she
exclude herself from the beliefs and traditions of those whose blood was pure?
    Maylene rescued him, rescued them. "Yes, jade is
highly prized."
    "I knew it was the right nickname for you." Sam's voice
was calm even as his heart thundered with relief. Maylene's worry about his
prejudice against her was an enormous obstacle. They'd overcome it together. He
wanted to learn more about her, everything about her—and knew it was too soon.
    Instead he smiled... and she smiled... and this time when Maylene
felt quivers of panic at the intimacy, instead of bristling, yet needing to
look away, she turned toward Victoria Harbour. Sam followed suit, and for a
while they marveled in companionable silence at the maritime tableau.
    The harbor was a cauldron of activity. Ancient junks crossed the
wakes of ultramodern hydrofoils, sampans darted amid container ships and cargo
freighters, and walla-wallas and Star ferries provided passage between
Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. A warship, too, floated atop the choppy green
waters, and a mahogany-hulled sloop skimmed across the white-tipped waves. At
one time, the journey from peninsula to island could only be made by boat. Now
Rolls-Royces streamed through a car tunnel beneath the sea, and through its own
submerged conduits, the Mass Transit Railway sped its passengers to the other
side. A flock of helicopters shuttled those who preferred to be transported
high above the salty air.
    "Oh!" Maylene exclaimed.
    "What's wrong?"
    "As I was leaving to come over here, Mrs. Leong, James's
administrative assistant, asked me to give you a message."
    "Is it too late to give it to me now?"
    "No, but... I just can't believe I forgot." Maylene's
memory was usually unfailing. Not today. Within moments of leaving Drake
Towers, she'd