entangled in a problem she couldn't fix.
"Come back any time," Caroline said, stroking Daisy's hair. Come back, come back, come back.
Amalise nodded, heading for the door. She would, she said.
But she would not.
On the porch she found Luke still sitting alone on the top step. She looked down at the child, taking in his thin shoulders, the sharp cheekbones, the fine, straight hair, and something stirred inside. He looked so lost. Luke stiffened and stared out over the yard without moving, looking past her as if she did not exist.
Her throat grew tight as she walked to the car, realizing what she had just done. She'd put actual names and faces and stories to people sitting in the path of Bingham Murdoch's destruction. She climbed back into the car, berating herself. This had been such a mistake. The firm was counting on her to do her job, to be a productive member of the Murdoch team.
The very last thing in the world she could afford right now was to become emotionally involved with this family.
Chapter Eleven
As soon as the Black Diamond financial closing was over, Robert insisted, the agents would begin their work purchasing the Marigny properties. Bingham had a hard time convincing him to wait until the day after Thanksgiving. In the end, he'd had to issue an order to that effect. Otherwise, Robert would have charged right on. The kid would make a good CEO after the closing, but until then, he needed to understand who was in charge.
Robert sat beside him now in the Mangen & Morris conference room in a cloud of smoke. Bingham watched as he lit one Lucky Strike after the other while working his way through the first draft of the construction contract. Adam Grayson sat beside him, answering questions.
Bingham turned his attention to the blueprints of the target area spread out before him and covering the entire end of the conference table. Spidery lines outlined the properties to be purchased and demolished within the doomed triangle of the Marigny. He smiled to himself surveying the asterisks and numbers, curves, triangles and squares on the paper, and the lighter transparent overlay showing the locations of the future hotel, its grounds, and even the landscaping.
Just then the door swung open and Raymond walked in, followed by Amalise, both carrying an armload of documents. They deposited the papers at the other end of the conference table and then pulled out chairs and sat.
"Quite a load you've got there," Bingham said, eyeing the pile and hoping the papers weren't for him.
Amalise Catoir, the widow, merely smiled and gave him a little nod. Bingham dropped his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table, wondering how they'd managed to gin up so much paperwork in the past few days. Lawyers were such bores. He wished he were back in Cayman right now, sitting on the beach under a red-striped umbrella and sipping margaritas. Or flying, soaring free through the clouds to anywhere with sunshine and fresh air. He heaved a sigh and shook his head, glancing back at the stacks of paper. A necessary evil, like Robert, he mused.
Raymond caught his eye and let out a sympathetic laugh.
"I'm glad you bill by the hour and not the word." Bingham's tone was dry.
"You should be happy about that," Robert muttered beside him. "Lawyers use ten words for every one that's needed."
Stifling a yawn, Bingham watched as Amalise and Raymond split the agreements between them and began reading, consulting each other and making notes in the margins, striking out lines and sometimes whole paragraphs. Bingham glanced at his watch and frowned. It was ten o'clock in the morning and already he was half asleep. Leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head, he took a long breath and coughed in Robert's smoke, which brought to mind the fresh scent of cypress and pine from back in the days. He thought of the clean, cold wind blowing inland from the churning sea and almost shivered.
Robert stubbed out the cigarette and put down the document he'd
"Come back any time," Caroline said, stroking Daisy's hair. Come back, come back, come back.
Amalise nodded, heading for the door. She would, she said.
But she would not.
On the porch she found Luke still sitting alone on the top step. She looked down at the child, taking in his thin shoulders, the sharp cheekbones, the fine, straight hair, and something stirred inside. He looked so lost. Luke stiffened and stared out over the yard without moving, looking past her as if she did not exist.
Her throat grew tight as she walked to the car, realizing what she had just done. She'd put actual names and faces and stories to people sitting in the path of Bingham Murdoch's destruction. She climbed back into the car, berating herself. This had been such a mistake. The firm was counting on her to do her job, to be a productive member of the Murdoch team.
The very last thing in the world she could afford right now was to become emotionally involved with this family.
Chapter Eleven
As soon as the Black Diamond financial closing was over, Robert insisted, the agents would begin their work purchasing the Marigny properties. Bingham had a hard time convincing him to wait until the day after Thanksgiving. In the end, he'd had to issue an order to that effect. Otherwise, Robert would have charged right on. The kid would make a good CEO after the closing, but until then, he needed to understand who was in charge.
Robert sat beside him now in the Mangen & Morris conference room in a cloud of smoke. Bingham watched as he lit one Lucky Strike after the other while working his way through the first draft of the construction contract. Adam Grayson sat beside him, answering questions.
Bingham turned his attention to the blueprints of the target area spread out before him and covering the entire end of the conference table. Spidery lines outlined the properties to be purchased and demolished within the doomed triangle of the Marigny. He smiled to himself surveying the asterisks and numbers, curves, triangles and squares on the paper, and the lighter transparent overlay showing the locations of the future hotel, its grounds, and even the landscaping.
Just then the door swung open and Raymond walked in, followed by Amalise, both carrying an armload of documents. They deposited the papers at the other end of the conference table and then pulled out chairs and sat.
"Quite a load you've got there," Bingham said, eyeing the pile and hoping the papers weren't for him.
Amalise Catoir, the widow, merely smiled and gave him a little nod. Bingham dropped his eyes and tapped his fingers on the table, wondering how they'd managed to gin up so much paperwork in the past few days. Lawyers were such bores. He wished he were back in Cayman right now, sitting on the beach under a red-striped umbrella and sipping margaritas. Or flying, soaring free through the clouds to anywhere with sunshine and fresh air. He heaved a sigh and shook his head, glancing back at the stacks of paper. A necessary evil, like Robert, he mused.
Raymond caught his eye and let out a sympathetic laugh.
"I'm glad you bill by the hour and not the word." Bingham's tone was dry.
"You should be happy about that," Robert muttered beside him. "Lawyers use ten words for every one that's needed."
Stifling a yawn, Bingham watched as Amalise and Raymond split the agreements between them and began reading, consulting each other and making notes in the margins, striking out lines and sometimes whole paragraphs. Bingham glanced at his watch and frowned. It was ten o'clock in the morning and already he was half asleep. Leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head, he took a long breath and coughed in Robert's smoke, which brought to mind the fresh scent of cypress and pine from back in the days. He thought of the clean, cold wind blowing inland from the churning sea and almost shivered.
Robert stubbed out the cigarette and put down the document he'd
Similar Books
