the Stars Shine Down (1992) by Sidney Sheldon

Author:Sidney Sheldon [Sheldon, Sidney]
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-12-19T00:41:46.500000+00:00

"Not bad," Lara grinned. "Thanks, Jerry."

The executive suites of Cameron Enterprises occupied the entire fiftieth floor of Cameron Center.

Lara got off at the fiftieth floor, and by then the word had gotten around that she was arriving. The secretaries and staff were busily at work.

Lara turned to Jerry Townsend. "Come into my office."

The office was an enormous corner suite overlooking the city.

Lara glanced at some papers on her desk and looked up at Jerry.

"How's your father? Is he any better?"

What did she know about his father?

"lIe's... he's not well."

"I know. lIe has huntington's chorea, hasn't he, Jerry?"

"Yes."

It was a terrible disease. It was progressive and degenerative, characterized by spasmodic involuntary movements of the face and extremities, accompanied by the loss of mental faculties.

"How do you know about my father?"

"I'm on the board at the hospital where he's being treated. I heard some doctors discussing his case."

Jerry said tightly, "It's incurable."

"Everything is incurable until they find the cure," Lara said. "I did some checking. There's a doctor in Switzerland who's doing some advanced research on the disease. lIe's willing to take on your father's case. I'll handle the expenses."

Jerry stood there, stunned.

"Okay?" lIe found it difficult to speak. "Okay." I don't know her, Jerry Townsend thought. Nobody knows her. history was being made, but Lara was too busy to notice. Ronald Reagan had been re-elected, and a man named Mikhail Gorbachev had succeeded Chernenko as leader of the USSR.

Lara built a low-income housing development in Detroit.

In 1986 Ivan Boesky had been fined a hundred million dollars in an insider trading scandal and sentenced to three years in prison.

Lara started development on condominiums in Queens. Investors were eager to be a part of the magic of her name. A group of German investment bankers flew to New York to meet with Lara. She arranged for the meeting immediately after their plane landed. They had protested, but Lara said, "I'm so sorry, gentlemen. It's the only time I have. I'm leaving for hong Kong."

The Germans were served coffee. Lara had tea. One of the Germans complained about the taste of the coffee.

"It's a special brand made for me," Lara explained. "The flavor will grow on you. Have another cup."

By the end of the negotiations Lara had won all her points.

Life was a series of serendipities, except for one disturbing incident.

Lara had had several run-ins with Steve Murchison over various properties, and she had always managed to outwit him.

"I think we should back off," Keller warned.

"Let him back off."

And one morning a beautiful package wrapped in rose paper arrived from Bendel's. Kathy laid it on Lara's desk.

+| "It's awfully heavy," Kathy said. "If it's a hat, you're in trouble."

Curious, Lara unwrapped it and opened the lid. The box was packed with dirt. A printed card inside read: "The Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel."

The building projects were all going well. When Lara read about a proposed inner-city playground that was stymied because of bureaucratic red tape, she stepped in, had her company build it, and donated it to the city.

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.