CHAPTER 47

CAROL HAD NEVER BEEN TO A BASEBALL GAME IN HER ENTIRE LIFE. The idea of actually going to a massive stadium for no work-related reason was completely foreign, even terrifying. Anything could happen in a place with tens of thousands of people all jammed together and only a few exits. The possibilities for pandemonium were practically limitless. Starting with a riot ensuing from the home team losing and moving right up the list to suicide bomber, poison gas, sniper, and total blackout of the entire tristate area—well, death by stadium could come from anywhere. She got the willies just thinking about all the risks a baseball game presented. She was 99.5 percent sure it was baseball. She must have been dead drunk when she’d agreed to go.

As she walked back to her office after lunch with the totally dreamy Brian Redfield, however, she still had a pretty nice buzz. She weighed her options. She could make herself unavailable by workload and hope for another opportunity. Or she could try to persuade him to do something else she’d enjoy more—not a good plan if he was a serious sports fan. Or she could bite the bullet and go to Queens, or was it the Bronx? She wasn’t sure, but she thought it was the Bronx. Carol, like all New Yorkers, was a borough snob. For every resident of New York, Manhattan lived at the top of the borough list. Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island were ranked in descending order, depending on where you came from. For Carol going to the Bronx for the evening was about the equivalent of traveling to the second circle of hell.

Still, she hadn’t had a date with a single, adorable, straight man in—give or take a few minutes—eighteen long years. Or indeed any man at all. Given that fact, she thought it might seem ungrateful to cancel almost immediately after being asked for the very first time. For all she knew she might have to wait eighteen years for another chance. Add to that Brian’s promise to get the lost bond money back without hurting Annie in any way. Well, she asked herself, what choice did she really have? She didn’t think Annie had stolen her money.

Despite the unpleasant prospect of going to the Bronx and running the risk of never returning, she was in a great mood when she got back to the office. Her desk was still cluttered and unmanageable, but in one corner some space had been made for a vase of really stunning Casablanca lilies tied with a white ribbon. The intoxicating aroma of the huge pure white flowers filled the small space, and she was almost staggered by the lovely gesture. That was really fast, she thought. Really fast. How could Brian have managed such speed? He must have dropped into a florist on the way back to his office and had the delivery person run all the way to her office to get there before she did.

Anticipating a smile at his thoughtfulness, she reached for the card in the envelope, and instantly she was crushed. It was a sympathy card from Arnold Angelico. She frowned as she read it: “I was so sorry to hear of your loss. Call Audrey to reschedule the Monday meeting.”

Carol was hugely annoyed. She didn’t want to reschedule the Monday meeting. She’d been planning and working on it for weeks. Doubly disappointed, she sat down at her desk to call Audrey, Arnold’s assistant.

“Hi, it’s Carol. Is Arnold there? I want to thank him for the beautiful flowers. It was very thoughtful of him. Or you,” she added in case Audrey had sent them.

“Oh, it was him, and he’s gone for the weekend. He told me to tell you not to worry about taking Monday off. He lost his mother last Christmas, so he knows how sad it is.”

“What? I’m not taking Monday off,” Carol protested. “Monday’s my fall presentation. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“I know. And we had a breakfast scheduled, but Herman told me you’re not ready.”

“He told you that?” Carol looked for her assistant, but didn’t see the Germ at his desk. When she found him, she was going to kill him.

“He said you’d missed a few days, including yesterday, and wouldn’t be here to present Monday. It’s not a big deal. Except that Arnold will be traveling for the next ten days. We can plan it for when he gets back. How’s that?” she said.

Carol’s voice was steady as she replied, “No, it’s fine. We don’t need to delay. I’ll be here Monday. I’m ready for it. I don’t know where Herm got that idea—I didn’t tell him to call you. In fact, I would have called myself if I had to reschedule. Is Arnold mad?”

“Nooo. Well, a little,” Audrey admitted.

“Jesus, Audrey. You canceled everybody without speaking to me directly?”

“We thought you must really be upset. It didn’t sound like you, at all,” she admitted.

“Well, it wasn’t me. What can we do about this? Is there any way we can get back on line for Monday?” Carol held her breath. She didn’t want to wait ten days for her meeting. She didn’t want to be late for the fall span. Every year after she presented, the department heads always argued and changed their minds a bunch of times. It would put her way behind. She started hyperventilating. She knew she had a reputation for erupting and didn’t want to start screaming at Audrey, who’d only tell everyone. Herm must have been counting on her temper to sink her. Her throat constricted as she tried to control her rage. Why hadn’t she gotten rid of him six months ago when he’d first started this nonsense?

“Oh, I don’t know at this point. I suppose I could check around.”

“That would be really nice, Audrey. I need that meeting to move forward.” Carol sat back in her chair. Her heart was pounding. It was just like yesterday, when she’d found out that her father had stripped the house of all her souvenirs and memories. It was like the day before that, when Matthew moved out and quit their marriage while she was at work. It was like Annie’s not telling her that a quarter of a million dollars was missing. She wanted to pound the table and scream. Hello, this was her life, and she wasn’t in control of it. What was wrong with people, she wanted to know. What were they thinking? Her assistant was the one person she was supposed to be able to trust, and he’d made her look like an irresponsible flake.

“Well, I could make some calls, but you know how people are. They might think you’re troublesome, Carol. And I know Arnold has already filled the time slot. It would have to be Tuesday. After that, he’s away.”

“Okay, Tuesday would be fine. I appreciate it.” Carol was out of her chair the minute she hung up with Audrey. She knew she couldn’t use the phone because Herman would only appear from nowhere, skulk outside her office, and listen in. And she couldn’t e-mail the head of Human Resources, because even though she changed her password every few days, Herm still knew how to get into her mail. She knew this because he made references to things he couldn’t know about any other way. It was unacceptable. She’d relied on him, and this was her thanks. A cumulative effect of many disloyalties fired her into an indignant frenzy. HR would not be able to talk her out of it this time. There was no other reasonable response to this kind of interference. Herman had underestimated her one time too many. He was history.