Coming To Reason (A Long Road to Love) (7 page)

The delicious aroma wafting outside the restaurant caused
her stomach to turn into what sounded like a pit-bull arena. Even Dan could
hear it growling.

Twenty people stood in line waiting to enter. She feared
she’d die of starvation before they got a table. Fortunate
ly
, Dan ignored
the line and entered the front door. A waiter smiled at him and waved him back.

Had the man dared show such easy familiarity with Trent, her
ever so proper fiancé would have ignored the fellow and complained to the owner.

The young man spoke when they reached him. “We have a table
opening in a half hour, but Dad thought you’d prefer the porch.”

“The porch is fine,” Dan assured him.

They followed the boy through the kitchen, where the
tantalizing aroma almost made her faint. She must have wobbled since everyone turned
and stared at her.

A large man wearing an apron and a puffy hat held something
an inch from her mouth.

“Eat!” he commanded.

She looked up to Dan, standing behind her, and he
reiterated the command. Trusting him, she opened her mouth and her taste buds
came alive with the riotous flavors. She closed her eyes.

Next thing she knew, she stared up at the stars. Dan and a heavyset
woman looked down at her with worry in their eyes.

Focusing on Dan, she smiled. “I’ve never tasted anything
half so delicious. Can I have another?”

They both laughed with relief. The woman hurried into the
kitchen and Dan pulled up a stool and sat beside her. “I’m glad you woke up. I had
my phone out to call 911. Do you often faint when your taste buds are tantalized?”

“No. But I did faint once before from not eating. I had such
a great time today, I missed lunch.”

His brow furrowed. “Have you seen a doctor about this?”

“I saw Dr. Lenard when I went to the hospital. He kept me
for several days while he got me hydrated and full of food.”

“Did he suggest a therapist to help you beat this?”

“Beat what?”

“Your anorexia.”

“I’m not anorexic. I just forget to eat.”
God, how
embarrassing! Her new employer thought she had mental problems.

“Would you mind if I ask Dr. Lenard’s opinion?”

“No. Go ahead. I’d give you his number, but my cell phone lies
buried in river muck.”

He pulled his phone and after a moment of searching, he
placed the phone to his ear. “Bernard, Dan Marshal. How are you? …Glad to hear
it. How’s Maggie? …Oh you’ve got to be proud there… Destiny is doing well, both
at Columbia and work… Yes. I’ve hired Carrie Hanson, Trent’s former EA, and I’m
worried about her fainting from the lack of food. She’s insisting she’s not
anorexic, but sometimes forgets to eat. She says you treated her once before. I
wanted to get your opinion. If she’s anorexic, I want to get her help at once.”
He smiled. “I know, but if she gave you permission, you could tell me, right?”

Dan handed the phone to Carrie.

“Dr. Lenard?”

“Carrie?”

“Yes, hi. Will you please tell my new boss I’m just
forgetful? Before he regrets hiring me.”

“How long ago did you and Trent split up?”

“Oh we’re not split. But Trent did surprise me with his
decision I shouldn’t work at Lancaster anymore, so I spent most of Sunday
researching and writing a
résumé
…thus
forgetting to eat. Then, today, Dan gave me a job and I focused on learning new
skills, forgetting to eat. So in the last two days I’ve eaten breakfast, but
not much else.”

“And what did you eat?”

“A quarter cup of oatmeal, a half cup of blueberries, and a
handful of walnuts, plus hot green tea.”

“Any idea how much you weigh?”

“No, but I’m close to eighty pounds.”

“Are your ribs showing?”

She
sighed
. “A little, but not as bad as when you saw me. I’ve been
trying to fatten up. I know I’m too thin, but life has been so crazy.”

“And you’re okay if I talk to Dan?”

“Yes, but I want to hear, too.” She looked at Dan. “Do you
have speaker?”

He took the phone and hit a button. “You there, Bernie?”

“I am. Carrie, you there?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“I do not believe Carrie is clinically anorexic. Anorexics
always feel they are fat; Carrie is aware she’s too thin. Also, what she does
eat is nutritionally rich, something anorexics do not worry about. She also
eats walnuts, which no anorexic would.”

“Then why is she starving?” Dan stared at her as he asked
his question.

She closed her eyes. God, she felt like such a freak.

“Carrie has an underdeveloped stomach that can
only
process a minimal
portion of food at a time, which accounts for her small stature. She requires
five small meals a day, however, her busy life seems to thwart her best
efforts. Any chance you can measure her weight?

The heavyset woman placed an enticing plate of appetizers
on their table. “I’ll go get the scales,” she whispered. She pointed to the
plate. “Eat while they’re hot.”

Carrie didn’t need further encouragement. She bit into a
half-dollar sized slice of toasted bread with melted cheese, a pesto layer and
a pile of raw salmon on top.

She groaned with happiness at the first bite.

Dr. Lenard must have heard her. “Do I need to come over?”

“
Only
if you want to join us for dinner. The appetizer is to die
for.”

He laughed. “If there’s no emergency, I’d better stay here.
I’m performing surgery in ten minutes. Leaving to eat dinner would be bad
form.”

Dan thanked him and hung up. He then stared at the plate
like a starved man.

“Eat! I will
only
eat one more and then I’m done.”

“Serious
ly
?”

“I wish Dr. Lenard had been my physician growing up. Then
maybe I’d be taller. I wanted to eat every two hours back then, but my parents
wouldn’t allow me to snack because they believed the snacks prevented me from
eating much at mealtime. And when I still couldn’t eat more, they accused me of
sneaking food at my friends’ homes.” She shook her head, remembering her misery
back then. “I spent most of childhood grounded and hungry. After many years, my
stomach figured out that sending me hunger pains didn’t result in getting food,
so the chemical triggering them most
ly
stopped. It will ral
ly
if I miss two meals in a row, but otherwise, I’m no longer
tortured.”

She nibbled on the second appetizer, wishing she hadn’t
shared so much about her life. The whole thing made her seem freakish. Still,
discovering her parents’ dogmatic rules had made her smaller than she could
have been annoyed her. Another few inches would have made a big difference in
her life.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“Dr. Lenard’s correlation between my stomach and my size
made me angry at my parents, which is stupid. I’m sure if a doctor had
mentioned to them healthy snacks between meals would make me grow more, they
would have allowed them. My small size mortifies my parents.

He reached over and covered her hand. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “No, I’m sorry. You’ve got to be rethinking
your impetuous hire today.”

“Not at all. If you had a twin sister, I’d hire her, too.”

A lifetime of pain slammed against her, making it hard to
breathe.

“Carrie. Whatever I said to hurt you, I take it back.”

He gripped her hands, his brow furrowed.

She took a deep breath and steadied herself. “
I
do have a
twin sister, but if you ever hire her, I will resign at once.”

“Then I take back my flippant comment. What I meant is I
could use more people like you.”

“Well, according to everyone who knows Caroline, she is a
billion times more impressive than me.”

“Impossible.”

She forced a smile. “She has a normal stomach, so she ate
normal portions during mealtimes and grew to be a normal-sized person, which
enables her to do everything better than me.”

He tilted her face to his. “I realize you may think she’s
superior because your parents preferred her over you.”

Carrie nodded as she willed herself not to cry.

“But I suspect she’s quite ordinary now, while you are
extraordinary.
Your small
stature makes you stand out. Anyone who meets you will remember you.”

She rolled her eyes.

“However, once they speak to you, unless they’re brain dead,
they will realize what an intelligent, perceptive, and intuitive person you
are. You never act in your own interest, but for the benefit of others. And you
genuine
ly
want to fix everyone’s problems.”

She shrugged, remembering how she had once told Dan to
search his database for other customers who might have been used by Trent’s
ex-fiancée from hell. He’d glared at her in return. “People don’t always
appreciate my need to improve things.”

Dan moved back to his chair and ate another appetizer. “If
you are including me in your generalization, allow me to protest. Telling me
how to solve my problem never bothered me. My annoyance came from the fact my
system couldn’t do it…or so I thought at the time.” He rewarded her with a
smile, no doubt because she’d fixed his problem three months ago.

“I’m glad I could help.”

“And so you know what a great impression you made today,
both Jeff and Greg asked to have you assigned to them. Greg is convinced he
could delegate to you and, not
only
would the work get done, but you’d do it faster and
better. Jeff believes he could triple his customer base with you as his secret
weapon.”

“
Really
?”

“Before he left, he popped into my office and let me know
his great idea. I, of course, had to refuse, because you need to be on your own
so other consultants can send you people. So you know, everybody’s phone conversations
are recorded.”

Carrie set down her half eaten appetizer and groaned.
Would
nothing ever go her way?
“Any chance mine could be erased for the day? If I
ever have to testify, the one call I made today would destroy my credibility.

“Good point. Would it be a problem if I ask you not to make
or receive personal phone calls until we resolve this?”

Trent would throw a fit, but he’d brought it on himself. His
phone call had been way over the line.

“A most reasonable request. If I thought I could get a
promise from Trent to behave properly, I might have suggested it as an
alternative. However, he is out of control right now.”

Dan raised an eyebrow. “So we are in agreement? No personal
phone calls?”

“Yes, but Trent has the number I called from. Can I get a
new one and you can discontinue my current line?”

“I’ll ask Destiny to handle it in the morning.”

“She does phones, too? Wow! You know, going to school and
working is hard. She could use help.”

“So you do think she needs a supervisor of some sort?”

“I assume she reports to Greg, right?”

He nodded.

“Seems like a good report structure. However, running your
firm’s three systems and the phone system while going to school is a heavy
load. You might consider hiring someone full-time, heavy on system and
team-working skills. And let Destiny have a say in the hiring.”

“Is the last bit of advice because she’s my daughter?”

“Not the primary reason, but it’s a good one. The main
reason is, it’s poor motivation to have your great work recognized and rewarded
by hiring someone else to take the choice jobs away from you.”

Tears welled in her eyes. If she hadn’t done such an
incredible job turning Trent’s company around, he’d have never let her go. And
he wouldn’t be reverting to ‘Master Trent’ again.

“Are you full now?”

She nodded. “But you can still order. I can talk while you
eat. I’ve already got several suggestions.”

“Then tell me on our way to New Jersey.”

“You don’t have to drive me home. Another train comes in a
half hour.”

When they tried to leave the restaurant, the owner protested,
“But you’ve eaten nothing but appetizers.”

Dan patted his back. “Another time. Tonight I had a
starvation emergency and you came to the rescue. I great
ly
appreciate
it.”

Once they settled into the limo, Dan gave the driver her
home address. His knowing it by memory surprised her. Trent still misnamed her
city, insisting she lived in Denver, New Jersey.