Wild and Wonderful by Janet Dailey

explain, as Jett walked to the elevators, how she had come to meet him.
     

 
    Chapter Six
     
    GLENNA GLANCED AT HER WATCH for the fifth time in the last five minutes. Irritated that so little time had passed she turned and retraced her path to the window overlooking the front grounds of the inn. It was the same view of trees and grass and driveway. She pivoted away to wander back toward the door of the suite.
    "You are going to wear a hole in the carpet if you keep walking back and forth in the same place," her father complained, chiding her in a · paternal fashion while he drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair.
    "You aren't exactly a picture of serenity," Glenna retorted dryly.
    "No, I suppose I'm not," he admitted, releasing a long breath.
    "Maybe I should call him," she suggested. "He might not realize we're waiting for him. There wasn't any specific time mentioned."
    "Coulson knows we're waiting to hear from him," he assured her. "He'll be here…sooner or later."
    But could her nerves stand the "later"? Glenna threaded her fingers together, squeezing them tightly while she tried to ignore the tension churning her stomach. Restlessly her gaze searched the room for some object to distract her attention from the endless waiting.
    A sharp knock at the door snapped the fragile thread of her control. She whirled toward the sound, then paused to meet her father's glance. He drew in a deep breath and forced a grim smile on his mouth. Taking his lead, Glenna gathered together her composure before forcing herself to walk sedately to the door.
    Turning the knob, she stepped to one side as she opened it to admit Jett. She struggled to behave normally when she met the blandness of his gaze. She even managed a smile of welcome.
    "Sorry I kept you waiting. I was delayed or I would have been here sooner," Jett explained smoothly, pausing while Glenna closed the door behind him. "I received a long-distance phone call just as I was about to leave."
    "It couldn't be helped." She accepted his apology while her gaze searched the impenetrable mask of his features. "You look rested. Did you get some sleep?" she asked conversationally as they walked the rest of the way into the room where her father was seated.
    "A couple of hours."
    Her alert gaze had already noted his smoothly shaven face and the starched crispness of his striped shirt and charcoal slacks. With him, Jett had the reports her father had given him the previous afternoon. Yet, more than the freshness of his appearance, Glenna noticed the coolness of his attitude. The pleasantness was all on the surface. A chill ran up her spine as she darted a look at her father.
    When Jett walked over to set the reports on the table beside his chair her father said—quite calmly, "It's no, isn't it?"
    Her gaze raced to Jett in a silent plea for her father to be wrong, but Jett didn't glance at her. He met the pair of gray eyes squarely, without a flicker of regret.
    "No." It was a flat refusal.
    Glenna nearly choked on the bitter taste of defeat, but she didn't make a sound. Her personal disappointment was fleeting. If the announcement was a crushing blow to her, it had to be much more severe for her father. It was his life's work that was being lost. Her heart swelled with pride at the stoic acceptance he was displaying over Jett's decision.
    "Very well," he nodded. "It was worth a try."
    "May I ask why you turned down his proposal?" Glenna felt her voice sounded quite calm, with only a trace of rawness in its tone.
    "It's quite simple." The piercing blackness of his gaze was turned to her. "If my company is interested in acquiring your mine, it would be much more economical to let him go broke. A merger would mean assuming all of his debts and liabilities as well as his assets. Those debts are more than the mine is worth. Which wipes out the tax savings. Therefore the merger isn't to our advantage."
    "I understand," Despite her outward composure, inside she was raging at his