cancer centerâs last quarterly financial report showed some discrepancy, their application was all but approved now. That she was making him wait (and sweat a bit, she hoped) was exactly what he deserved for his immature behavior.
She wished Zach were still here, so she could tell him about the conversation. Instead, she sent him an email saying sheâd like to meet with him in the morning. She added the teaser, to tell you about my conversation with Jonathan Pierce. She smiled, thinking how much Zach would enjoy hearing about the exchange.
Less than thirty minutes later, her email program alerted her to new mail from Zachary Prince.
If you donât have plans for the evening, he wrote, maybe youâd like to come for dinner. Fanny made stuffed pork chops. We can talk about Pierce then .
Georgie was so surprised, she had to read the message twice to make sure she hadnât made it up. She immediately wrote back. I donât have any plans. What time shall I come?
A minute later he answered, saying, Great. Letâs say six-thirty. See you then .
Georgie didnât know what had prompted the invitation, but sheâd have been lying if she said she wasnât looking forward to the evening. Now that she had changed her opinion of Zach, she could actually admit she enjoyed his company. And, if she was being completely honest (oh, Joanna would laugh at her!), she did enjoy looking at him.
âWell, you look awfully pleased with yourself,â Deborah said from the open doorway.
Georgie jumped.
Deborah laughed. âSorry. Didnât mean to startle you. So what did the great man say?â
For a moment, Georgie thought Deborah was referring to Zach, and she couldnât think what to answer. But then she realized Deborah meant Jonathan Pierce when sheâd said âgreat man.â âHe tried to intimidate me by saying he didnât want to work with me⦠again. I guess he thought if he said it enough timesâespecially with Zach not there to protect meâIâd cower or something.â
Deborah grinned. âIâve only known you a few days, and I already know youâre not the sort of person to cowerâ¦for anyone.â She shook her head. âWonder how men like Jonathan Pierce get to be that way? Think they have domineering fathers? Who maybe treated their mothers like serfs? Or maybe treated them like serfs?â
Georgie shrugged. âBeats me. Iâm no psychologist.â
âWell, Iâm glad you showed the good doc he canât push you around, with or without Zach.â Deborah glanced at her watch. âItâs almost quitting time.â Looking up, she smiled. âHey, if you donât have plans for the evening, want to come and have dinner with me and my son? Jackâs in Cleveland on business, and itâs just me and Kevin tonight. Nothing fancy, though. Weâre having spaghetti and meatballs.â
âOh, thanks, Deborah, I wouldâve loved to, but I do have plans. In fact, Iâm going over to Zachâs for dinner. He just now invited me. I guess heâs anxious for a play-by-play of my phone conversation with the great Dr. Pierce.â
âOh, thatâll be fun. Youâll get to meet his kids.â
Had Deborah given her an odd look? âIâve already met Katie. We stopped by the apartment on the wayback from our meeting at Carlyle so Zach could pick up some files heâd forgotten.â
âHow is she? Is she feeling better?â
âShe told Zach she was.â Yes, that was definitely an odd look. Speculative. Or was she being paranoid again?
Deborah sighed. âI feel so bad for those kids. Katie especially. Sheâs taken the death of her mother really hard. When Jenny died, the other two were really too young to be affected. Well, Jeremy probably remembers her a littleâhe was three when Jenny first got sick and four when she died. But Emma was just a
Abigail Madeleine u Roux Urban