Chasing the Wind (41 page)

She began to protest, but he interrupted. "I'm good with kids. We'll be fine."

"I can't leave him."

"God gave you a mind as well as a heart, chère. I'm offering help. Don't drop the ball."

Her eyes were fixed on Luke. "He
is
asleep."

"Right. So don't wake him."

Her eyes turned up to him, those dark eyes that he so loved. If she loved this child, he would too. Perhaps she sensed something of that thought, because he saw just the beginning of a smile hovering at the corners of her mouth. She wanted so badly to believe him, he knew.

"Rebecca's covering for you, but you don't have much time." He looked at her. "She said to tell you that."

Still she hesitated.

"Where's your car?"

Seconds passed and in the red glow of the neon emergency sign, he saw her arrive at a decision and a smile lit her face, sparking her eyes. She pointed. "It's right over there."

"Good. Now get going. I'll treat him like my own. I'll call you from Touro and take him home with me tonight."

She stood there for a minute. Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, and whirling, raced for her car, digging into her purse for the keys as she ran. He watched until the headlights went on, and then hugging Luke close, he headed for his own.

Sitting in Amalise's office, Rebecca glanced at her watch and pulled the next of Amalise's unfinished purchase agreements from the stack on her desk. She'd completed her own allocation this afternoon around the time Amalise had disappeared. As minutes ticked past, she bent and wrote, filling in the final information for the closing.

Beads of perspiration formed on her brow and over her upper lip as she worked, setting each completed agreement aside and picking up the next. She'd made the call to Jude about forty-five minutes ago, she guessed. Any minute Raymond or Preston would be down here looking for both her and Amalise and wanting the purchase agreements.

Amalise drove within the speed limit, stopping at every light, avoiding the delay a speeding ticket would cause her, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel and worrying about Luke, the unfinished work on her desk, and the time ticking away. Robert may have already noticed her absence. She fixed her eyes on the red light above and willed it to change.

The length of any traffic light was relative, she knew, the time stretching in inverse proportion to your panic. This red light seemed endless. She gazed at a solitary man stumbling toward her. He walked in the gutter near the curb, as if the curb would lead him in the right direction. She reached back and locked her door, then she went back to staring at that light.

There was still a chance she'd make it back to the office undiscovered.

At last the light turned green. Stepping on the gas, she drove on toward the central business district and the First Merchant Bank Building, all the while silently thanking Rebecca for calling Jude.

In the conference room, Bingham watched as Doug pushed back his chair and stood. "I'm taking off," he announced. He looked at Preston. "Everything under control?"

"Yes, we're almost there."

Doug scanned the conference table and the neat stacks of documents beginning to make their way around the edges of the table, each one piled fifteen high—originals for the various lenders and their counsel.

Doug nodded. Slipping his jacket on, he turned to Bingham. "You planning to get some sleep tonight?"

Bingham nodded. "I'll be leaving soon." He glanced at Robert, then back at Doug. "Where are those purchase agreements for the agents? Are they ready? We want those guys spreading out over the area first thing Friday morning, making offers and tying things down while everyone's still in a good mood after Thanksgiving turkey."

From the other end of the table, Raymond looked up. "Amalise and Rebecca are working on those. They'll be here soon."

Doug shot his sleeves and adjusted his cuffs. "Go check on that for Bingham, will you? Timing's everything now."

Raymond pushed back his chair. "Sure thing. Right away." He followed Doug to the door.

Bingham lit up a cigarette and nodded. "Good. We'll wait. I don't want to leave until we're certain we're rolling down the final hill."

Robert snorted. Bingham glanced at the clock. He sure hoped that Amalise showed up with those agreements soon. A few more minutes and Robert would go track her down, causing a scene.

Rebecca glanced at her watch and knew this wasn't going to work. It was 9:30, and beside her were seven, maybe eight more unfinished purchase agreements. She had left the conference room almost an hour ago, and Raymond would be looking for her. She sucked in her bottom lip, eyes on the pile of work still to be done.

Then she set down her pen and pressed the phone button for Ashley Elizabeth's desk. Standing, she picked up Amalise's unfinished agreements, bundling them in her arm, taking the finished ones in the other. Ashley Elizabeth appeared in the doorway.

"Amalise is in trouble," Rebecca said, and Ashley Elizabeth's face blanched. She handed the finished agreements to Ashley Elizabeth and asked her to take them to the typing pool. But not right away.

Rebecca tossed her head. "Now here's what we need to do."

The car seemed to move in slow motion. By the time Amalise pulled into her regular parking spot, it seemed as though hours, not minutes, had passed since she'd left Jude and Luke.

The garage elevator was lumbering and slow. Under the harsh fluorescent light, she studied the metal walls, picturing chaos in the conference room as Raymond or Preston or, worse, Robert discovered her extended absence. As the doors slowly parted, she shot out of the elevator and dashed past the ticket booth toward the opening to Common Street. Three seconds to the corner, she figured. Three more to cross the street and reach the door of the First Merchant Bank building. She prayed the security guard would be there to open the door right away.

Ashley Elizabeth had returned to her desk with the completed agreements from Amalise's office. Rebecca held onto the unfinished files and flew down the hallway toward her own. As she set them down on her desk, she heard the elevator bell ding, probably announcing an unwelcome arrival.

She searched her desk for the purchase agreements she'd finished up earlier that day. In the hallway, the elevator doors clunked open, scattering her thoughts. She heard footsteps and then Raymond's voice calling out to Ashley Elizabeth. Whirling, she found the completed agreements she was seeking on the end of her credenza, ready for delivery to the conference room. With a deep breath, she scooped them up and, piling them into her arms, hurried back out into the hallway.

Raymond was walking toward Amalise's office. Ashley Elizabeth stood up, holding something as she stepped around the desk directly into Raymond's path, head down, as if absorbed in reading.

Raymond raised his arms as they collided.

Ashley Elizabeth dropped the papers, and her hands flew to her face. Stumbling back against the desk, she cried out. Raymond reached out and caught her. "Steady," he said.

"Oh!" She gave a nervous laugh and shook her head. "Excuse me. I didn't see you there." She looked around. "I must have been in another world. Are you looking for Amalise?"

"Yep."

"She's in the restroom. Can I help you?"

Rebecca saw that Ashley Elizabeth had spotted her. She hurried up, clutching the armload of finished agreements.

"I need the purchase agreements she's been working on."

"Raymond," Rebecca called.

He turned on his heels as Rebecca arrived, arms full of documents. She caught her breath as she halted just beside him. "Amalise asked me to bring these up to you. They're finished. She'll be there shortly."

"Great." He took the documents from her. "And how about yours? Bingham's hanging around until they're all on the closing table."

Rebecca flushed and, despite her attempt to smile, felt tension tighten the corners of her mouth. Amalise would owe her for this one. She flipped back her hair. She'd never failed to meet a deadline before. Not ever.

But she looked straight into his eyes and said, "Mine aren't quite finished." At his frown, her face grew hot. "But I'll get them to the conference room as soon as possible."