post-stroke paralysis, that may not be possible.â
âIn which case?â Ada prompted.
âThen itâs the families that help us decide, typically with the input of their physician and our medical director.â
âWhoâs your medical director?â I asked, remembering Bradleyâs veiled comments as to why heâd left the position.
âDr Stanley. Gordon Stanley.â
The name was familiar but I couldnât place him. It bothered me. Gordon Stanley, where do I know him from?
âWell, Iâve seen enough,â Ada said as she moved into her Iâm ready-to-leave-now mode.
I followed her lead and we edged toward the door.
Delia, sensing her prey was about to escape, launched the hard sell. âIf youâre seriously considering this for your mother, and from everything youâve told me about Rose, weâd love to have her. But you need to know that we have very limited inventory. The unit you just saw is our only open deluxe model.â
Ada shot her a look. âDelia, weâre talking about my mother and a tremendous amount of money. I will take all the time I need, and if you donât have a unit that suits, there are other facilities in this area.â
âYes, but, you need to compare apples andââ
Ada interrupted, âWeâll be leaving now, but what you could get me is a copy of your standard contract that Iâll have my attorney review.â
âAs a practice, we donât release the Promise Agreement unless someoneâs actually buying in. Itâs proprietary and weââ
âMs Preston, I donât enter into any business deal blind. If you want my business youâll fax me a copy of the tenant agreement, or promise whatever.â
âI assure you,â Delia said, âthereâs nothing out of the ordinary. Itâs quite straightforward.â
âThen good, Iâll take a look at it, and see if this is something that would work.â
âBut I canâtââ
âThen neither can I,â Ada said.
Deliaâs lower lip curled, and her forehead would have furrowed had it been possible. Her frustration was palpable as she tried to find a way around Adaâs resistance. âIâll have to speak with our CEO.â
âWhoâs that?â I asked.
âMr Warren,â she said, clearly unhappy with the direction this was going.
âJim Warren?â I asked. âThe attorney?â
âYes,â Delia admitted. âIâll have to check with him.â
âThen good,â Ada said, and she pulled out a card with her numbers. âIf you could either email or fax that would be great.â
When we finally freed ourselves from Delia, and were heading toward the car, Ada stopped. She turned and faced the towering Georgian brick façade of Nillewaugâs central residential building. She ran a hand through her hair and took a slow turn. I stood at her side, taking in the stately outer buildings like spokes on a wheel, where the six hundred unit residential building formed the massive hub. All around lush and perfectly maintained landscaping with rustic stone walls, woods with walking paths and benches and the built to impress man-made lake and waterfall, where giant koi flashed beneath flowering lilies.
âItâs nice enough.â Her tone was less than enthusiastic. âDid you see how quiet everyone was? And why was she so squirrelly about letting us see the agreement? I donât know . . .â She sighed. âI just donât know.â
SIX
A s Mildred Potts punched in the security code for her shop, Taffy ran excited circles around her ankles. It had been a long day with a lot of Lookyloos , but no buyers. The end of the month was approaching, and even with her robust markups, if things didnât improve . . . Well, she wouldnât think about that. The down economy had hurt everything and the antique
Anne Conley
Robert T. Jeschonek
Chris Lynch
Jessica Morrison
Sally Beauman
Debbie Macomber
Jeanne Bannon
Carla Kelly
Fiona Quinn
Paul Henke