The Daughter-in-Law by Diana Diamond Page A

things. They were both very quiet during the drive back into Manhattan, lost in their separate thoughts. The gauntlets were down on the table. Jonathan had to decide whether he would defy his parents, if it came down to that, in order to marry Nicole. Her decision was less complicated. Would she marry Jonathan at the cost of the Donner family fortune? Neither of them was anxious to make the difficult choice.

ELEVEN
    J ACK WANDERED into Alexandra’s bedroom, still wearing his trousers and shirt, but shuffling in bedroom slippers. “Great party. You really outdid yourself. Pam and her friends seemed to have a marvelous time.”
    She was sitting up in bed, reading a magazine article. “Thank you,” she said, responding to the compliment.
    He sat on the edge of her bed. “Did Pam mention our gift?”
    “She was thrilled. She’s trying to get one of the girls to go with her. And she’s hoping she can change the itinerary. She’d like to change the week in Russia for an extra week on the Riviera, if that’s all right with you.”
    He shrugged. “Fine with me. I wouldn’t go to Russia myself if it weren’t on business.”
    They sat quietly, until Alexandra asked what he thought of Jonathan’s date.
    “Great looker,” he answered. “She really knows how to shake it on the dance floor.”
    “Did you talk to her?”
    He seemed taken back. “Why would I talk to her?”
    “Because she and Jonathan are quite serious.”
    Jack smirked. “Jonathan? Serious? The only thing he’s serious about is getting into her pants.”
    “No, I think they’ve passed that stage.”
    “Well, good for him. It’s nice to see him finish what he starts.” He leaned over, kissed her cheek, and started to take his leave.
    “Jack, do you ever wonder what it would be like if we had bombed on that minicomputer company? If it had failed and dragged us down with it?”
    “Data General? It did fail. But we were off the deck long before it went under.”
    “I mean if we hadn’t made all that money. If we both just went to work like everyone else ...”
    “We would have found a different winner. I told you the first day you came to work for me in that little office above the savings bank. I had no intention of being like everyone else.”
    “I never had any doubts about you. But what if you hadn’t made it so big? If each of us didn’t have so many things to take care of?”
    “You mean if we were losers? Hell, I never thought about that. It’s not something I ever want to think about.” He smiled. “Why are you asking? Did you bet it all on a horse?”
    “No, nothing like that,” she laughed. But then her expression became serious. “It’s just that today I asked a young woman who says she’s in love with my son whether she loved him or his money. Isn’t that a hell of a question to ask someone your son cares for?”
    Jack chuckled. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it. Today Jonathan is in love with the girl. Tomorrow he’ll be in love with a new motorcycle. The next day it will be something else. How long does he ever stay involved with anything?”
    “Still, I wonder if you should have Lambert find out what he can about her?”
    He looked at her sternly. “I’ve got more important things for Lambert to do than check out Jonathan’s latest bimbo. Hell, she’ll be old fish by the time he finds out anything.”
    “I don’t think so. This time it seems to be different.”
    “Okay,” he conceded. “If it makes you happy, I’ll put him on it. Just leave me a note with everything you know about her.” He stopped in the doorway and called back to her. “Don’t let the housekeepers clean up the room where she’s sleeping. Remember when I wanted to check on that bond salesman who slept in the cottage? Lambert said the place was as clean as an operating room when the housekeepers got through with it. He couldn’t even find a fingerprint.”

TWELVE
    N ICOLE LET the romance cool a bit. Not to the extent that her conduct