“Ha. How long have I been here?” Henrietta
sounded irritated and a lot like her old self, even if the volume of her voice
was considerably reduced. “I can’t seem to keep track of time.”
“You’ve been in the hospital about three
days. Your surgery was a little over two days ago.”
“What day is it?”
“It’s Thursday.”
Henrietta’s brows drew down. “Thursday. I
have a very full calendar today. Who’s taking care of that?”
“I wondered when that was coming,” Derian
mused.
“Don’t get smart.”
Derian grinned. “Vonnie and Emily have things
totally under control.”
Since that was the truth as far as
Henrietta’s calendar, she didn’t mind obfuscating just a little bit. Telling
Henrietta that Donatella had moved into her office was the last thing she was going
to do.
“They won’t give me a phone,” Henrietta
fussed. “So I need you to give Vonnie a few messages.”
“No deal. HW,” Derian said, “you’re just
going to have to let them take care of the agency for a while. You’re not ready
to start working.”
“I’m hardly working, lying here,” Henrietta
said, but her voice was flagging and she looked tired.
“Trust me,” Derian said, vowing again to keep
her word, “everything at the agency is under control. Emily, Vonnie, and I will
make sure of it.”
Henrietta’s eyes closed for an instant, then
slowly opened. “Sorry, I know you never wanted…”
“It’s okay,” Derian murmured. “I’m not sure I
ever really knew what I wanted.”
Henrietta drifted off to sleep and Derian
leaned back in the chair, listening to her breathe. HW wasn’t out of the woods
by a long shot, and the staff had made it pretty clear she wouldn’t be ready to
take on any kind of work-related activity for an indefinite period of time. The
longer Donatella was at the helm of the agency, the harder it would be to reverse
whatever destructive mandates she put in place. Emily needed to be in charge,
just as HW had directed. Martin would oppose that on principle. Aud had said
without Henrietta’s backing, and considering Emily’s nonresident status, the
chances of Emily taking charge were slim.
The first order of business, then, was to do
something about that. She needed to think like HW—what was the goal, and what
was the most direct route to success. She’d need to spend more time at the
agency, and with Emily, to find out. She closed her eyes and smiled. Not a bad
plan at all.
Chapter Eighteen
At eight o’clock in the morning, the streets were
teeming with taxis, people, delivery trucks, and the occasional unwary traveler
who hadn’t any idea that driving in New York City would be like navigating in
an unknown universe at warp speed. The temperature was much more springlike,
the sky was an unusually clear blue, and Derian opted to walk to Midtown,
enjoying the bright sky and keeping her mind a careful blank. Anticipating what
was to come would only sour a perfectly good morning that had started with
memories of an even better evening. When she thought of Emily, she had a
completely irrational urge to whistle. Next thing she knew, she’d be skipping.
She laughed softly, wondering if she looked as crazy to the passersby as she
felt. This was a crazy she liked, and seeing Martin, however unpleasant, would
be no worse this time than it ever had been before. Funny, how coming
face-to-face with his disdain never got easier, despite how much time had
passed. Ridiculous, really, to be bothered by it after all this time.