A Season of Miracles by Heather Graham

did Jillian do?”
    â€œOh, nothing, you know Jillian. What’s good for the company…”
    â€œI thought you told me that you agreed the ad campaign would be a good thing?”
    â€œYeah, it will be great.”
    â€œThen…?”
    â€œI’m sick of her agreeing, I’m sick of her being so irritatingly decent, I’m just sick of her being…being…”
    â€œDisgustingly beautiful, charming, hardworking—”
    She creamed him with a pillow. He had to make a desperate save in order to balance the martini glass.
    â€œSorry.” He laughed.
    â€œWhy do I feel this way?” she asked, curling up next to him.
    â€œBecause you’re afraid Douglas will leave her all his shares in the company?”
    â€œIs that it?” she mused. “I don’t think so. She’s my closest relative, my only first cousin. And we’re friends, really friends. We talk, she listens. God knows, she did go through hell with Milo, and I didn’t mind her so much then.”
    â€œShe’s in the limelight. She’s going to be representing Llewellyn Enterprises,” Gary suggested, still trying to speak lightly. “She’s just too damn…perfect,” he suggested.
    â€œShe’s making me crazy,” Eileen said, getting up to walk around the room.
    â€œWell, then, I have an idea,” Gary said.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWe just do away with her.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWe do away with her.” He pretended to form a shotgun with his arm and forefinger. “We shoot her. Up in Connecticut, out in the snow.”
    â€œGary! I’m not—”
    â€œOh, I know, I know. Nowhere near clean enough for you.”
    â€œGary, get serious.”
    â€œI am serious.”
    â€œGary…”
    â€œOkay, shooting her might be a bit drastic. Can we shove her out a window? Nope, not from the Llewellyn Building. The windows are all permanently sealed. Well, surely there’s a garden on top of the building somewhere that we can get her to—”
    â€œGary!”
    â€œThen there are the streets of New York. God knows, the taxis can be deadly. We can write about it afterward. We’ll call it ‘Death on Brooklyn Bridge.’”
    â€œGary, stop.”
    â€œWhy?” he asked innocently.
    â€œYou’re being far too obvious,” she told him. She pounced on the sofa next to him, and he had to make another wild save for the martini. But she was smiling again at last. Eyes bright. Devious. She snuggled up beside him and laughed. “If I ever were to plan a murder…”
    â€œYes? Oh, I know, my dear, darling, sumptuous little schemer. It would have to be far more ingenious. And subtle.”
    â€œSubtle. Of course, darling. Subtle,” she agreed.

CH A PTER 5
    â€œI still dislike it,” Robert said, easing back in the leather-lined booth at Hennessey’s. Oddly enough, he’d opted for a Guinness today. Something Irish. Dark.
    Moody.
    He was referring to the ad campaign.
    â€œI don’t really understand why,” Daniel said, frowning. “Look, you know Jackie Kennedy was an editor before she died. Now who could be more high profile than Jackie Kennedy? But she went up the elevator every morning with dozens of other people. This is New York City. We’re pretty impressed with ourselves at Llewellyn Enterprises, but in the end, what are we? Just a business. Look, Jillian is my cousin.”
    â€œSecond cousin,” Robert reminded him. He wasn’t sure why he was going for that detail.
    â€œSecond cousin. My point is, she’s family. She’s the little kid I looked after the whole time I was growing up. I love Jillian. If I thought this campaign would harm her in any way, I’d be the first to veto it.” He drained his beer and set down the glass. “Excuse me, will you? I’ll be right back. Nature calls.”
    After Daniel left him, Robert