An Unforgettable Lady(38)

"The Foundation has been through a big change and we need help."

Disgust clipped the man's words short. "This is ridiculous. You tell me we can't use Fredrique, who could really make a difference, only to bring on some new age, touchy-feely—"

"Do you think Mr. Smith looks like a touchy-feely kind of guy?"

Lamont's eyes flickered across the room at the other man and then shot back to Grace. "And just what do you hope to accomplish?"

"We need to have a unified team."

"Unified—" He shook his head. "Your father and I ran this place for years. The Foundation doesn't need a team, it needs a strong leader at the top."

"You and I see things differently." Before he could argue further, she cut him off. "What I'd really like is to stop fighting with you."

"I haven't been fighting. You're just defensive."

"So those conversations you've been having with board members behind my back are somehow supportive? You must show me what I'm missing." Grace smiled calmly while Lamont tried to construct a response. "But enough about this. Shouldn't you be in Virginia?"

Lamont shoved his hands into his pockets and began to rattle his change. "That's the problem. I spoke with Herbert Finn the third this morning. They've changed their mind. We aren't going to be auctioning off the collection at the Gala."

Grace covered her disappointment quickly.

Every year, the Hall Foundation Gala offered an important piece of Americana for auction. The seller agreed to take half the money and got a hefty tax write-off. In return, the Foundation got a generous donation and the evening was injected with the kind of sizzle that made people scramble to buy tickets to the event. At the auction, inevitably the bidding was fast, furious, and, in a genteel fashion, vicious. In the past, they'd sold a handwritten draft of Martin Luther King's "dream" speech, a pristine set of union     battle plans for Gettysburg, and Betsy Ross's first flag.

Losing the Finn Collection of letters was a real blow.

Grace sank slowly into her father's chair. "That's a shame."

"I think they pulled it because they're waiting to see whether the Gala will still be a draw this year. This is exactly what I'd feared and another reason we need Fredrique."

Lamont's voice was unusually restrained and Grace realized he was legitimately disappointed. But she refused to broach the subject of the party planner again.

"It's not going to be a problem."

"Where are you going to find something on a par with twelve perfectly preserved letters penned by Benjamin Franklin to Thomas Jefferson? That kind of thing doesn't just land in your lap. And let me remind you, it was your father who got us the Finn Collection in the first place, not you."

She smiled around gritted teeth. "I'll find something else."

"But while you diddle around with your OD consultant," he countered doggedly, "the Gala is getting closer by the day."

"Yes, so it is."

Lamont seemed ready to argue but then abruptly marched to the door. "Have it your way."

After the man had left, Grace shuffled a few papers on her desk impatiently. Unable to sit still, she burst up from the chair and went over to the bank of windows. She put her hands on her hips and stared down at the skyscraper across the street.

She was marching over to the bathroom, when Smith spoke up. "Go on. Say it."

She cleared her throat. "Say what?”

"What you're thinking."

"I'm not thinking anything.” In fact, she was filled with riotous emotions that she didn't want to let out in front of him. It seemed somehow weak, given his self-control. She forced herself to go to her desk and sit down.

"Liar."

"What the hell do you want from me?" she demanded, glaring at him. The calm curiosity in his face really ticked her off.

"Why is it so important for you to be in control?” he asked.



"This coming from you?" He cocked an eyebrow. "A man who makes the Terminator seem loose and easygoing? "

"Now there's an original comparison," he said sarcastically. "Never heard that one before."

She looked away. "I think you're right. We don't need to get to know each other."

She felt Smith keep staring at her.