Part 7 (2/2)

”You know, that's one thing about living in Hawaii- the kids decide to leave, but the friends and relatives show up regularly. I don't really mind, but sometimes I feel like I'm running a B and B.”

”I'll bet you do.”

”You probably find that, too. Do you have a lot of relatives coming over?”

”Not so much,” Annabelle said. Try never. That part of her plan had worked out perfectly. Every once in a while she missed Maizie and Rufus, but she could bear it, just knowing that Genevieve and Lincoln were headed for a better life.

After she painted tiny orchids on Judi's toes, she did her fingernails and created a conch sh.e.l.l pattern on those. By the time she was finished, it was nearly noon and still no call from Genevieve. She tried not to be nervous, but she had a gut feeling something was wrong.

She had a half hour for lunch, which wasn't enough time to do what she had in mind. She walked up to the reception desk and spoke with Elena. ”I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach,” she said. She hated lying, but she couldn't very well say she needed the time to drive to Rainbow Systems and check up on her daughter.

”Cramps?” Elena asked, sympathy in her almond-shaped eyes.

”Guess so.” She'd never had cramps in her life. She was from backwoods people who didn't believe in such nonsense, and any minor cramps she'd had as a girl had been cured with a nip of Rufus's moons.h.i.+ne. ”Would you reschedule my afternoon appointments? Please tell them I'm sorry.”

”Sure,” Elena said. ”Go on home and take some Midol.” She winked. ”And I've heard that a good session with a vibrator helps, too.”

”Really? I didn't know that.” She did, however, know about vibrators. After Lincoln's daddy had left and she'd sworn off men forever, she'd become intimately acquainted with them. She'd discovered that a woman could exist just fine if she had a good mechanic for her car and a vibrator tucked in her bureau drawer.

”See you in the morning,” Elena said.

”Sure thing.” Annabelle walked out into the summer heat. She could hardly wait for tomorrow morning to come, because by then she should know exactly where her daughter was.

Matt had forgotten what good s.e.x with a willing partner could do to cure depression. After a night spent with Celeste, he felt like a new man. He tackled paperwork that had been sitting on his desk for weeks, and more than once he caught himself whistling. His secretary, Kendra, kept giving him funny looks, and he wondered if she suspected that he'd gotten laid last night. She might. Women were smart about things like that.

Frankly, he didn't care if she suspected. He'd been an object of pity long enough. But n.o.body needed to pity a guy who had managed to attract a twenty-three-year-old cutie like Celeste into his bed. He still wasn't sure why she'd suggested it, but they'd had a terrific time. She'd had him doing maneuvers he'd only read about in Playboy.

Yeah, he was kind of stiff this morning, but it was a good kind of muscle pain. Still, he'd decided not to take Celeste up on another round tonight. He wanted to maintain his image as a stud, and for that he needed at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Tomorrow evening, though, they'd try a few more combinations. He thought the antic.i.p.ation would do him good. He was a little short of events to antic.i.p.ate these days.

When lunchtime arrived he'd about decided to go out for a change. Normally he ate at his desk, but the day was gorgeous and he felt like a drive and a shrimp salad someplace where he could look at the ocean while he ate. Before he could act on that plan, Kendra buzzed him.

”Annabelle Terrence is here to see you, Mr. Murphy. She says it's urgent.”

Terrence. She had to be Genevieve's mother, and he wondered if she was here to question him about the behavior of his partner. He hoped not. Genevieve and Nick were both consenting adults, and although he didn't approve of Nick's little trips with female employees, he wasn't the guy's keeper. Or Genevieve's, come to think of it.

But he might as well see what the woman wanted. Maybe she was no relation to Genevieve. ”Send her in.”

The minute Annabelle Terrence walked into his office, he knew she was related to Genevieve, but he a.s.sumed she was an older sister. Her hairstyle, facial features, even her curvy figure reminded him of Genevieve. In her flowered sundress that bared toned arms and a graceful neck, she looked like she might be mid-to late thirties. He noticed she wasn't wearing a wedding ring.

Now this was more like the type of woman he should be taking to bed, he thought as he came around the desk. Then he silently reprimanded himself for such a boorish concept. He was supposed to be beyond the stage of seeing every woman in s.e.xual terms. His night with Celeste must have set him back a few years and made him think like a cra.s.s young man again.

”I'm Genevieve's mother, Mr. Murphy,” she said.

His eyes widened. Either she'd had cosmetic surgery or she'd had Genevieve when she was about twelve. Recovering himself, he extended his hand. ”Nice to meet you.” He registered warmth and firmness in her handshake. ”Have a seat,” he said, waving her into the chair in front of the desk. ”And please call me Matt. We're not formal in this company.”

She smiled, which made her look younger still. ”So Genevieve has told me. She feels very lucky to be working here.” She sat in the chair and put her little shoulder purse in her lap.

”She's an excellent employee.” Leaning his hips against the desk, he found himself holding her gaze a little longer than he should. He liked her eyes, wide-set and a velvety gray. Celeste must have really flipped a switch somewhere deep inside him. Yesterday he hadn't thought that he'd ever be attracted to a woman again. Today he was ready to hit on Genevieve's mother. ”What can I do for you?”

”It's about that trip she went on.”

d.a.m.n, here it came. All thoughts of asking her out disappeared as he prepared to defend his partner's sleazy motives. He hated being put in this position, and he'd have a little talk with Nick when he got back.

”What about the trip?” he asked, realizing for the first time that she was agitated. She hid it well, but he'd become aware of the way she was folding the strap of her shoulder purse into tight little accordion pleats.

”She promised to call me when she got to Maui, and she didn't call.”

This was getting weird. Most twenty-six-year-old women he knew didn't call their mothers a few hours after leaving the house. ”She probably got busy.”

”I thought that, too, but when noon came and she still hadn't called, I decided something had happened.”

Wow. This woman was terminally overprotective. And of all things, she seemed to be concerned about the flight itself. In his opinion she should be less concerned about that and more upset about whether Nick pulled his usual trick of dumping his conquest once he brought her home again. ”Mrs. Terrence, I'm sure-”

”Annabelle. You said you're not formal here.”

That had been when he'd thought this was a social visit. ”Sorry. I'm sure Genevieve is fine, Annabelle. My partner is an excellent pilot.” Not such a, great guy, but an excellent pilot.

”Matt, I'm here to beg you to call wherever they were supposed to go on Maui and find out if they arrived.”

He swallowed. ”Look, I'm sure she'll contact you this afternoon, or maybe tonight, after the day's meetings are over. I-”

”Please.” She was actually quivering now.

And here he'd thought Genevieve had a fairly normal home life. Instead she lived with a paranoid mother. Poor Genevieve. From the terrified expression on Annabelle's face, he had the feeling that she'd break down if he didn't do as she asked. A sobbing woman wasn't going to improve the quality of his day.

With a sigh he moved around to his desk and picked up the phone. ”Kendra, would you get me the Maui branch office, please?”

”Right away, Matt.”

While he waited until she patched him through, he looked everywhere but at Annabelle Terrence. This was one of the stupidest things he'd had to do in a long while. He should have refused her, but she'd looked so desperate. He was also irritated with her for missing the obvious danger to her daughter. It had nothing to do with Nick's flying. Maybe Annabelle wasn't all that bright.

Finally Ed Modene from the Maui office came on the line to ask what he needed.

”I just thought I'd see how the meeting with Nick was going so far,” Matt said, feeling more foolish than ever.

There was a pause. ”Nick didn't make it over here.”

Matt felt a little queasy. If Nick was using the company plane to conduct his brief affairs without even making a pretense of doing business at the same time, they had a real problem. ”I thought he was planning to be there this morning, but maybe I misunderstood.”

”We had a tentative meeting scheduled, but he said if he hadn't shown up by nine that would mean he wasn't able to make it, and we'd reschedule for next week. He didn't show, so we canceled the meeting.”

”Guess I didn't get the word,” Matt said.

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