Fatal Image by Lenora Worth

Author:Lenora Worth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2007-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The next morning at work, Leo found a note on his desk to see Ronald. Dreading the meeting, he marched down the hall to the big corner office where Ronald spent most of his time. He found Ronald standing at the wide long window, staring out at the trees and bluff and the bit of ocean beyond.

“Ronald?”

Ronald turned on his expensive Italian loafers. “Leo, come in.” As always, he struck a practiced pose of head honcho and all-around important person.

That pose used to intimidate Leo. But this morning, it didn’t. He was no longer in awe of Ronald Blanchard. Because he was now awestruck by the man’s daughter instead.

He put on his game face. “You wanted to see me?”

Ronald’s condescension was palpable. “Yes. I see you’ve asked for a couple of days off at the end of the week.”

Leo nodded, careful to keep a blank expression on his face. “I have to go to my niece’s dedication service, remember?”

“I remember,” Ronald replied, rocking back and forth on his heels, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets. “But Leo, this is a crucial time. You’re supposed to be reporting in to me, regarding Bianca. I haven’t heard any positive news from you. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’ve been avoiding me. That doesn’t seem right, considering we had a deal.”

“I’ve been seeing her,” Leo said, going with honesty. “In fact, we had lunch together yesterday, just after we attended church together.”

“So I’ve heard. Seems the whole village is gossiping about spotting you two together here and there. Charming, but I don’t like getting my information secondhand and I need results regarding business, not your personal affairs.”

“You’ll get results,” Leo countered, not yet ready to tell Ronald those results would be very different from what he had hoped for. “Bianca and I are getting closer every day. And believe it or not, we do talk about business a lot.”

“Really? So you’ve got her believing you actually care about her?”

“I’m working on that.” Again, an honest statement.

“And have you approached her about coming to work here at Blanchard?”

“I’m working on that, too.” Not so honest, but they had discussed her career. Even though she’d told Leo her father was always after her to return, she wasn’t ready to leave Boston yet. Deciding to continue in the same vein, he added, “Of course, she’s leaving later this week, too. Something about an important case. It’s rather urgent, I think.”

That much was also true. Hoping God would forgive him the transgression of not telling the exact truth, Leo wondered if Ronald would even care about the truth.

Ronald looked displeased, but he kept his cool. “Bianca hadn’t mentioned she’d be leaving so soon. But I must admit, I’m surprised she’s stayed this long. She rarely comes home and when she does, she doesn’t linger here too long. But this time is different. I guess I can at least thank you for that.”

Leo didn’t want any credit. “She’s been visiting with her aunt and Miranda a lot.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.