in two days. His grandmother was right behind her.
Catherine was dressed immaculately in a pale yellow suit. Her skin was healthy looking, not wan anymore, but the makeup didn’t quite cover the drawn look she had. Although it was now late afternoon and she must have rested during the day, she still shouldn’t be there.
He walked over to the women. “Catherine, go home. You’re sick.”
She merely raised her eyebrows. “I’m much better. How could I not be with all the food and medicine you gave me? Too bad you weren’taround in the Middle Ages, Miles. You would have cured the plague single-handedly.”
“Or killed its victims outright,” Lettice added.
Catherine giggled and walked past him to speak to her relatives. Miles glared at his. “You are supposed to be taking care of her—”
“Why do you think I came with her?” his grandmother interrupted. “And if she’s sick, then I’m Pee-Wee Herman. I lost four hundred dollars to her in canasta.”
His jaw dropped. “Four hundred!”
“Don’t look so shocked. Anyway, I’m donating it to the Green Earth Society. That was our agreement.”
“Since we’re all here,” Byrne said loudly from the other end of the room, “we might as well get started. Lettice, you’ll have to leave.”
“In a pig’s eye!” she declared, and defiantly took a seat opposite him. “Catherine isn’t well, and I’m here to look after her.”
Miles knew better. His grandmother simply hated to miss out on anything.
Byrne bristled. “I’ll have security remove you if you won’t go on your own—”
“And you are a pompous, overbearing nitwit,” Lettice proclaimed. “Someone should have smacked a little common sense into you years ago.”
Byrne gasped. “Why you—”
“Uncle Byrne,” Catherine said calmly, “Lettice is hardly going to announce the proceedings to the world. I’d like her to stay, please.”
“She stays,” Miles announced, taking a seat next to Catherine. Her feminine perfume swirled around him, momentarily distracting him. These emergency meetings were becoming a nuisance, but herpresence did make them bearable. More than bearable.
“Lettice knows everything anyway,” Catherine added. “She was with me when Aunt Sylvia called about the meeting.” She smiled innocently. “I might have missed it if Sylvia hadn’t called. I take it the Earth Angel has struck again?”
Miles hid a smile at her subtle jab that she’d been left off the list of people to be called. His grandmother was right. With the way she was sitting forward in excitement, her slim body tensed with anticipation, she looked fully recovered. The angle at which she was leaning had her breasts just brushing the table top. Lucky table, he thought. He also had a feeling that she’d graduated from Corporate Strategy 101 a long time ago. She was working her uncle like a seasoned pro. He settled back to indulge his new favorite pastime, watching Catherine.
Byrne thrust out his jaw like a bulldog trying to exert its authority. It didn’t work. “The nut blocked up the creek near our paint factory, then called the world.”
“The EPA has found pollutants,” Sylvia added. “It seems we had an old drainpipe that was broken and leaking waste by-products.”
“It was an oversight,” Byrne exclaimed. “Hadn’t been inspected for years.”
“What’s the fine?” Miles asked, knowing the violation would be costly.
“They haven’t said yet.” He immediately changed the subject. “Now the media is really breathing down our necks.”
“Then it’s time to give a statement,” Catherine said.
“We should have done it the last time,” Miles added. She turned to look at him, and he grinned at her, feeling like they were a team. She was so close, all he had to do was reach out his hand and … He resisted the urge and went on, “Allan would have responded quickly. It’s what we needed to do yesterday. It’s what we need to do now.”
“But what do we
Catherine was dressed immaculately in a pale yellow suit. Her skin was healthy looking, not wan anymore, but the makeup didn’t quite cover the drawn look she had. Although it was now late afternoon and she must have rested during the day, she still shouldn’t be there.
He walked over to the women. “Catherine, go home. You’re sick.”
She merely raised her eyebrows. “I’m much better. How could I not be with all the food and medicine you gave me? Too bad you weren’taround in the Middle Ages, Miles. You would have cured the plague single-handedly.”
“Or killed its victims outright,” Lettice added.
Catherine giggled and walked past him to speak to her relatives. Miles glared at his. “You are supposed to be taking care of her—”
“Why do you think I came with her?” his grandmother interrupted. “And if she’s sick, then I’m Pee-Wee Herman. I lost four hundred dollars to her in canasta.”
His jaw dropped. “Four hundred!”
“Don’t look so shocked. Anyway, I’m donating it to the Green Earth Society. That was our agreement.”
“Since we’re all here,” Byrne said loudly from the other end of the room, “we might as well get started. Lettice, you’ll have to leave.”
“In a pig’s eye!” she declared, and defiantly took a seat opposite him. “Catherine isn’t well, and I’m here to look after her.”
Miles knew better. His grandmother simply hated to miss out on anything.
Byrne bristled. “I’ll have security remove you if you won’t go on your own—”
“And you are a pompous, overbearing nitwit,” Lettice proclaimed. “Someone should have smacked a little common sense into you years ago.”
Byrne gasped. “Why you—”
“Uncle Byrne,” Catherine said calmly, “Lettice is hardly going to announce the proceedings to the world. I’d like her to stay, please.”
“She stays,” Miles announced, taking a seat next to Catherine. Her feminine perfume swirled around him, momentarily distracting him. These emergency meetings were becoming a nuisance, but herpresence did make them bearable. More than bearable.
“Lettice knows everything anyway,” Catherine added. “She was with me when Aunt Sylvia called about the meeting.” She smiled innocently. “I might have missed it if Sylvia hadn’t called. I take it the Earth Angel has struck again?”
Miles hid a smile at her subtle jab that she’d been left off the list of people to be called. His grandmother was right. With the way she was sitting forward in excitement, her slim body tensed with anticipation, she looked fully recovered. The angle at which she was leaning had her breasts just brushing the table top. Lucky table, he thought. He also had a feeling that she’d graduated from Corporate Strategy 101 a long time ago. She was working her uncle like a seasoned pro. He settled back to indulge his new favorite pastime, watching Catherine.
Byrne thrust out his jaw like a bulldog trying to exert its authority. It didn’t work. “The nut blocked up the creek near our paint factory, then called the world.”
“The EPA has found pollutants,” Sylvia added. “It seems we had an old drainpipe that was broken and leaking waste by-products.”
“It was an oversight,” Byrne exclaimed. “Hadn’t been inspected for years.”
“What’s the fine?” Miles asked, knowing the violation would be costly.
“They haven’t said yet.” He immediately changed the subject. “Now the media is really breathing down our necks.”
“Then it’s time to give a statement,” Catherine said.
“We should have done it the last time,” Miles added. She turned to look at him, and he grinned at her, feeling like they were a team. She was so close, all he had to do was reach out his hand and … He resisted the urge and went on, “Allan would have responded quickly. It’s what we needed to do yesterday. It’s what we need to do now.”
“But what do we
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