Envy(74)

“Vodka. Straight up and extra dirty.”

One of her artfully waxed eyebrows arched. “I like the sound of that.”

“Here.” He lifted the pick from his glass and extended it toward her mouth.

Keeping her eyes on his, she touched the tip of her tongue to the olive, then closed her lips around it and sucked it into her mouth. “Hmm. My favorite thing.”

“Join me in one?”

“I’m afraid I can’t, Morris. Rain check?”

“I’ll call.”

She flashed him her most promising smile. It had been mastered after years of practice and was now practically habitual. She told him to enjoy his lunch and turned away to rejoin Maris.

To her consternation, the smile worked too well. Blume trailed her, making an introduction to Maris unavoidable. She executed it with as much casualness as she could affect.

As the two shook hands, Blume said, “I’ve long been an admirer of your publishing house.”

“And a suitor,” Maris remarked.

He grinned disarmingly. “So you’ve read the numerous letters I’ve written to your esteemed father?”

“Along with his replies.”

“Do you agree with him?”

“Wholeheartedly. While we’re flattered that an entity like WorldView is interested in merging with us, we like ourselves the way we are.”

“So your husband told me during our last meeting.”





Chapter 17


Noah was reviewing the company’s most recent shipping invoices when his wife stormed into his office and slammed the door behind her, stunning his secretary.

She tossed her handbag and damp raincoat into the nearest chair and strode to the edge of his desk. She’d been testy and despondent since her return from Georgia last evening, but she had never looked better. Today she was dressed in a suit tailored for office wear, but it was a form-fitting one he’d always admired. Time spent on the beach had put some color in her cheeks and stripped it from her hair. Sun-bleached strands framed her face, giving her a youthful, healthy appearance.

Her expression, however, wasn’t sunny.

“Hello, Maris. How was your lunch?”

“I was just introduced to WorldView’s whiz kid, Morris Blume. He told me to give you his regards.”

Goddamn Nadia! he thought. Why hadn’t she called to warn him of this? Then he remembered: He had given Cindy strict instructions to hold his calls until after he’d had time to review the financial statements stacked on his desk—ironically because of WorldView. He’d been going over the charts and columns entry by entry, becoming intimately familiar with them, seeking potential trouble spots which might cause Blume and company concern. Should they pose any questions, Noah wanted to have an explanation ready.

Remaining as unflappable as possible, he said, “How nice of Mr. Blume to remember me.”

“Apparently it wasn’t that much of a stretch for him, Noah, given you two had a recent meeting.” She braced herself on his desk with stiff arms and leaned toward him, her eyes flashing. “What meeting is he talking about, Noah? And why wasn’t I informed of it? What meeting?”

He stood up and came around the desk. “Maris, kindly calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down.”

“All right, then, I’m asking you to. Please.”

He reached out to take her by the shoulders, but she backed away and slung off his extended hands.

“Would you like a glass of water?”

“I would like an explanation,” she said, enunciating each word. “You know how Dad and I feel about conglomerates like WorldView.”

“I share your opinion.” He hiked his hip over the corner of his desk and placidly folded his hands on his thigh, although he would have liked to wrap them around her slender neck. “That’s why I agreed to the meeting with WorldView.”

She shook her head in disbelief, as though up until that time she had been clinging to the hope that Blume was lying. “You met with those jackals? You actually did? Behind my back and without my knowledge?”

Noah sighed and gave her a pained look. “Yes, I met with them. But before you go into orbit, can you be reasonable and give me an opportunity to explain?” He took her fuming silence for permission to continue.

“Blume’s flunkies had been hounding me for months. They called until I stopped taking or returning their calls. With no regard for that blatant hint, they began faxing me until I got tired of throwing the damn things away.

“They made nuisances of themselves until I determined that the most expedient way to handle the situation was to attend a meeting and tell Blume to his baby’s-ass face that we were not interested in anything he had to offer by way of a merger. Period. End of discussion. I don’t think I could have made our position any clearer. I didn’t tell you about it because you were extremely busy and didn’t need any additional stress.”

“I’m always busy.”

“The meeting was inconsequential.”

“I hardly think so.”

“And, frankly,” he said, “I anticipated that you would react emotionally rather than rationally. I predicted that you would fly off the handle and lose all perspective. I hoped to avoid a scene such as this.”