“Look,” she said to Zach, “I am not one of those seen-but-not-heard women. And I refuse to pretend to be.”
Zach sighed. “I can’t stop you from talking. But it would make things a lot easier for everyone if you’d just back off a little. You and I know you’re going to be in charge, and Jonathan Pierce will soon know it, too. I just don’t want to rub his nose in it today, okay?”
“Oh, all right,” she finally said. “I’ll keep my mouth shut and let you do the talking.” This time.
Maybe the expression on her face gave away her thoughts, because he raised his eyebrows. “Why do I get the feeling Jonathan Pierce better watch out?”
Chapter Five
The meeting hadn’t been too bad, Georgie thought. Although Zach had done most of the talking, she hadn’t felt like a fifth wheel, because he’d included her in his remarks, saying things like, “I know Miss Fairchild agrees,” or “After today, please contact Miss Fairchild with any questions or concerns.”
She’d only broken her promise to Zach once, and that was at the very end of their meeting, when they’d all stood and were saying their goodbyes. Georgie had turned to Carolyn Love—and Zach had been right about her: She was businesslike, and Georgie immediately liked her—to say she’d call for an appointment in the next few days, and Jonathan Pierce had said, pointedly, to Zach, “Call me as soon as you’ve made your decision, Zach, so I can get that new equipment ordered.”
Before Zach could open his mouth to reply, Georgie said, also pointedly, “Dr. Pierce, you’ve already been told that it’s me you’ll be dealing with from now on. I’ll be the one calling you.”
Pierce’s gray eyes had darkened, and he’d glared at her. But before he could reply, Zach said, “Yes, Jonathan, Miss Fairchild will be contacting you.”
They were saved additional histrionics by the doctor’s pager going off, and he’d abruptly left the small conference room where the meeting had taken place, but not before giving Georgie the evil eye. She almost laughed. Her eyes had met Zach’s and he’d winked.
Maybe I’ve misjudged him, she thought grudgingly.
She and Zach rode the elevator down to the main floor in silence. There were hospital personnel getting on and off; it paid to be discreet.
Georgie tightened her scarf as they exited the building. She was also glad she was wearing warm leather gloves, because the temperature seemed to have dropped while they were inside. Or maybe the contrast between the warm building and the bitterly cold February wind just made it feel colder out. Georgie did notice how quickly most of the people on the sidewalk were moving, most with their heads down.
Before hailing a cab, Zach turned to her and said, “Do you mind if we stop off at my apartment before going back to the office? I left some files there that I meant to bring with me this morning.”
“No, that’s fine.”
A cab pulled over almost immediately, and they got in. Georgie found she was actually looking forward to seeing where Zach lived. Maybe she’d even get to meet his wife.
“My oldest daughter is home sick today,” he said after giving the driver their destination. “She’s got a strep infection.”
“I used to get those when I was a kid. They’re not any fun.”
“No. She was pretty miserable yesterday, but the antibiotic seems to be doing its job. She seemed better this morning.”
Georgie knew it was none of her business, but he’d given her an opening, so she said, “Is that why you left the office early yesterday afternoon?”
He only hesitated a moment before shaking his head. “No. I had an appointment at Katie’s school.” He sighed. “She’s had a rough time since her mother died.”
Georgie’s mouth went dry. “Your … your wife died?”
“Yes. Jenny … had cancer.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Georgie’s mind spun. A lot of her ideas about Zach had been wrong, then. He wasn’t married. And he wasn’t a playboy who stayed out late every night. He was a widower with three young children. That’ll teach me to be so judgmental, to jump to conclusions about people.
What else had she been wrong about? Maybe he wasn’t a slacker as far as work was concerned, either. He certainly had conducted himself well today, and he definitely seemed to know what he was talking about. She could see that both Jonathan Pierce and Carolyn Love respected him. And Love, in particular, had impressed Georgie as the kind of businesswoman who wouldn’t be easy to fool.
Georgie wondered if Zach would say anything more, but he turned away from her and stared out the window on his side … or pretended to. She wondered how long ago his wife had died. Maybe his children weren’t as young as she’d originally thought. Maybe that photo on his desk had been taken a while ago. But she’d be willing to bet that Zach was only in his thirties. He certainly didn’t look any older than that. So unless he’d married right out of high school, which she was certain wouldn’t be the case, his children couldn’t be that old.
Now she was avidly curious about him. Why hadn’t Alex informed her that Zach was a widower? Yet why should he? She realized Alex rarely repeated anything personal about any of the Hunt Foundation employees, especially since she’d begun working for him. Actually, she appreciated his respect for their privacy. That told her he would not have discussed anything personal about her, either, not with Zach and not with any of the people she’d worked with or for.
Her mind teemed with unanswered questions during the ten-minute cab ride. When the taxi pulled up in front of an apartment building on W. 66th Street, right around the corner from Lincoln Center, Georgie blinked in surprise. Even as a newcomer to the city, she recognized that they were in a high-rent district.
As they exited the cab, a uniformed doorman opened the door of the building as soon as he recognized Zach, saying, “Good afternoon, Mr. Prince.”
“Good afternoon, Thomas.”
The doorman smiled at Georgie.
There was a security guard sitting at a desk in the lobby of the building, and he, too, called Zach by name. “Cold one out there today,” he said as they approached.
“Sure is,” Zach said, then added, “How’s Mona doing?”
“Better,” the guard said. “She’ll get her cast off next week.”
“I know she’ll be glad.” Turning to Georgie, Zach said, “This way,” and led her around the corner to a bank of three elevators.
Georgie couldn’t help thinking what a fortune this building must cost to live in. How did Zach afford it? She knew his job at the foundation couldn’t begin to pay enough to live on this scale. In fact, she knew, because Alex had recently mentioned it, that the board of directors had been talking about raises for the administrative staff since salaries at the Hunt Foundation had been found to be lower than comparable companies, and if they wanted to remain competitive and attract the best employees, they had to spend some money.
When the elevator doors opened on the eleventh floor, Georgie wouldn’t have been at all surprised to find they were already in Zach’s apartment, but instead they walked out into a hallway. There were two entrances that Georgie could see. Zach headed for a double doorway midway down the right side of the hall. After unlocking the doors, he gestured her ahead of him.
They entered a small foyer containing an antique lowboy upon which sat an ornate