A Better Next Page 3

  “Would you like a drink here, or . . .” She hesitated, suddenly shy. “I have a room upstairs. Would you like to go up with me?”

  He smiled and held out his hand. “I’d love to go upstairs with you. Shall we?”

  As she moved to rise, her coat opened a bit. He stood in appreciation, then watched her walk to the door. Once they were alone in the elevator, she managed to get the room key from her bag and hand it to him.

  He pulled her close and studied the bright blue eyes he knew so well, striking amid the dark makeup, then giggled and nuzzled her ear. “I see you didn’t go so far as to get contacts. So you can’t see much, can you, my love?”

  She laughed then and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Lucky I recognized you!”

  They had arrived at the suite to find champagne, strawberries, and whipped cream on ice, and the lights down low.

  “Wow. Jess, you’re amazing! I can’t believe you did all this.”

  As he looked around the suite, Jess dropped her coat on the chair and stood before him in her skirt and black silk corset.

  “Va-va-voom. Look at you.” He started for her. “You’re gorgeous, Jess.”

  She moved away but did kick off her stilettos. “Let’s have some champagne and play, shall we?” She glanced at her bag. “I even brought your camera . . .”

  An airport security guard waving a hand at her window broke her reverie, so she drove the loop one more time. She smiled as she remembered that crazy, fun night and the sexy pictures Arthur had taken of her dressed that way. That night had brought them back together. She wondered what it would take this time.

  Arthur was at the curb as she returned. They exchanged polite pecks on the cheek, their normal greeting, and then were off to dinner. She had chosen the Worthington, an old-fashioned, white-tablecloth restaurant with a marvelous secluded bar that always seemed perfect for quiet conversations and excellent food. Arthur loved this cozy spot; they had come here often when they had first moved to St. Louis. Not so much anymore, though, which was why it seemed the perfect place to conjure up a mood of intimacy and sharing. As she drove, she found herself replaying the memory tape of their sexy getaway and reminded herself again that the marriage was worth saving.

  Arthur was chatty. He told her about the scientific conference, what it meant to his research, people he had seen whom she might know, and how great the food was in Quebec. He seemed to be in a good mood, and Jess wanted to forget her worries and tune in to him but found herself barely able to swallow her wine one minute and then succumbing to the ease of their shared history the next. They chatted happily about Vincente, a scientist from Italy and frequent houseguest, whose daughter, Liliana, was newly engaged to be married.

  “Do you remember when Liliana nannied that summer when the kids were little? She loved taking them down to the park all the time, and then we finally discovered why,” Jess said, while she thought about all the childcare, summer help, and after-school support she’d needed over these past years to keep things working at home.

  “You mean when it led up to some guy coming to the house one night and Tom getting to the door first and saying, ‘Oh, hi, Sean. Come on in. My mom and dad are here, but you can still see Liliana’? How old was Tom then? So cute the way he took charge of the situation.” Arthur laughed, and Jess joined him. Along with that sweet glimpse of the man she had married, she felt a glimmer of hope.

  When the food came, Jess forced herself to face the issue, straightened her spine, and calmly told him that Dick Morrison, Midwest Health’s CEO, had questioned Dan about Arthur’s plans and caused her own awkward interaction with Dan. “So, Arthur, what’s going on? What tale are you telling?”

  He wasn’t as steamed up as she’d expected he would be to hear that their mutual colleagues were talking about his career plan with her and not him.

  “Really? That’s interesting. Good old Dick is worried about his standing if faculty start to leave. Hmm. I didn’t think he had that much insight into how he was perceived in this whole mess. Maybe I should organize a revolt, have everyone threaten to leave, and see how that goes over.” He chuckled at his own musing, totally missing her body language, which forecast stormy weather ahead.

  She waited for him to deny the fact of the story—that there was no serious move under consideration, that he was just shaking things up. She waited for the denial that she wanted to believe and the apology she deserved.

  Years earlier, they had considered a move. Arthur had been actively recruited to take a special position at Johns Hopkins that would have been good for both his academic and his research careers. Jess had been encouraging. They had gone together to visit Baltimore, where the recruiting committee had wined and dined them. Jess had gotten excited. Arthur had not. “Too many elites—not enough room for me,” he had said. To her knowledge, no one since then had made any other serious attempt to recruit her husband away, or he’d put out the right signals that he could not be recruited. They then built their life in St. Louis and were happy there. Or were they?

  “Arthur,” she finally repeated, her head beginning to ache in the face of his continued light mood and his avoidance of her question, “please tell me what’s happening. Are you being recruited? Are you interested in the job? What are you thinking?”

  He finally looked at her and then away. “I may go. It’s a good place. My research would be well funded, and I wouldn’t have to deal with the Dicks of the world.”

  She heard only his first words and barely registered his reasons. She dropped her fork with such force that it ricocheted off her plate and onto the floor. “What do you mean, ‘I may go’? Need I remind you that you’re not a free agent? What about your family? What about me? Have you no sense that you can’t just leave?”

  The older couple at the next table turned to look as Jess raised her voice. Arthur reached down to retrieve her fork but did not look at her.

  How can he stay so calm when I’m reeling? What’s going on with him? She couldn’t continue the conversation. She crumpled in her chair and started crying quietly. Arthur signed the bill, and she handed him the keys. She was in no shape to drive home.

  As the adjacent couple looked on, Arthur took her by the arm and led her to the door, carefully putting her sweater around her shoulders.

  It was a quiet drive home, interrupted only by Jess’s involuntary sobs and the classical music Arthur chose whenever he drove. “Calming,” he always explained, “to face the idiots on the road.” But it grated now.

  Jess’s only thought as the car stopped was escape. She bounded out of her seat, slammed the door, and dropped her sweater in the street. She leaned down to retrieve it and realized Arthur had just dropped her off and was already driving away. Still in the street, she threw her sweater toward the car and spat out, “Where are you going?”

  But Arthur had already tuned her out.

  Chapter 6

  After Arthur’s evasiveness, Jess realized how serious the situation was. He might have become distant and moody of late—indeed, their marriage had cooled a bit over the past year or so—but he wasn’t usually this secretive. His withdrawal, added to his unwillingness to comfort her and tell her all was well, left her unable to sleep.

  The next morning, she rearranged her schedule to work from her downtown office to avoid going over to the campus. She changed a couple of meetings to conference calls and kept her door closed to focus without interruption.

  There were no tears today. She needed to regroup and fight back. She wouldn’t give up on this marriage, not because of a merger. If Arthur’s sulking was the result of his worrying about his research in the new world order, then she had other cards to play.

  She realized now that their own ground rule of not talking about work at home during this merger was a mistake. She recalled her relief when she had no longer had to listen to all his talk about work; as busy as she was herself, it had seemed like a bonus. How stupid she had been! And now it might be too late.

  A
n elevator speech. She needed one and needed it now— something quick and easy that would quickly silence the curious and discourteous but perhaps well-meaning people who would be all over her when she went to campus the next day. She would be ready, she would be rested, and she would be motivated by her number-one goal: saving her marriage. Loyalty to Arthur was how she would play this for onlookers.

  And she needed a sounding board. She e-mailed her friend Claire and made a lunch date for the next day.

  “This table isn’t right. We need one that’s not so close to the kitchen,” Claire commanded the restaurant host once she saw where they would be sitting. All five feet of her were in hyperdrive. No matter that there seemed to be no tables open and they had no reservation. Sure enough, Claire noticed a table in a quiet corner, overlooked by the flustered host, as she scanned the restaurant with her X-ray vision. “There—thank you. This is so much better. You’re a dear to find this for us.” She fawned over the host now that he was under her control, a flash of her green eyes and brilliant smile his reward.

  She caught Jess’s raised eyebrow and defended herself. “Hey, my East Coast aggressiveness is part of my charm. And besides, we now have a great private little spot. So don’t give me that look.” She smiled. “You know you love me just the way I am.” Claire waited for Jess’s smile of approval and then started in.

  “OK, what gives? You don’t usually give me only twenty-four hours to clear my calendar to meet with you. You know I always will, but out with it. What’s up?” Claire’s over-the-top personality always took over a room, but she also had an uncanny ability to zero in on the person to whom she was speaking. She silenced her phone and put her bag under the table. “I’m all yours.”

  Jess was unbeatable once she focused her thinking and was now in full combat readiness. She just needed someone to help her with strategy. Claire was an excellent strategist, and she knew Arthur. Actually, not only did she know him, but she also had his number.

  Jess remembered the first time Claire had come to dinner and met Arthur. In his usual manner, he had tested her intellect before making any effort to try to impress her. After thirty minutes of listening to him talk about the intricacies of his research, Claire had rolled her eyes and made a funny face to Jess behind his back. She asked lots of questions about the scientists involved and found it humorous that world-renowned researchers were fraught with the usual human flaws. She told Jess later that Arthur puzzled her: He was bright and charming when he wanted to be, but seemed to always know something nobody else did, and liked it that way.

  Claire was a realist and would call it as she saw it. That above all else was why Jess needed her—someone to check her thinking and keep her in the game, which she was determined to win.

  Jess distilled the story to its essence. Claire knew about the challenges Jess faced in her marriage, given the merger situation, so much could be omitted. “Arthur has evidently announced to some that he’s moving his research and himself to Portland. Dan and others are questioning my loyalty for not having told them this was happening, or for preventing it if it’s a real threat.”

  “Ooh, that’s rich. I didn’t see this one coming,” Claire offered. “There are so many dimensions to this, I don’t even know where to start.”

  She hesitated for a few beats and then asked quietly, “How do you feel about this? Do you want him to stay?”

  Jess avoided her eyes. “I can’t go there. I can’t even consider my emotions. This is business, and I need your help to make sure that my marriage remains intact. What are my options?” She could hear that her tone was off—she was speaking as if she were trying to close a business deal—but she knew Claire would understand how much she needed her as a friend right now.

  The waiter came to take their order. “Your best mixed green salad with grilled chicken, please,” Claire said without taking time to look at the menu. “Chef’s choice vinaigrette on the side, times two.” Jess didn’t protest.

  Claire played twenty questions about the offer, the institution, the prestige-factor comparison of the two universities, the players at each, and how the research would be funded at the new place.

  Jess hid her eyes behind her water glass as she drank.

  Claire’s beautifully arched brows lowered with concern. “Honey, how can you be worried about something that’s so unformed? Is it a real offer? How come you don’t know more about it if it’s serious?”

  Jess didn’t flinch. “He’s not speaking to me about any of this. So let’s just deal with it theoretically, as a competitive offer.”

  Claire looked directly at Jess until she had no choice but to respond. “I just thought he was ticked about the merger and acting out.”

  Claire went on to ask more about what was on the grapevine, who knew, and how the Midwest Health people, the medical school people, and Jess had all responded.

  Suddenly, a matronly woman wearing too much jewelry appeared noisily at their table, her eyes drilling into Jess. After she and Jess exchanged air kisses and warm greetings and Jess introduced Claire, the woman jumped in: “Jessica, what’s going on? Is Arthur really leaving for Portland?”

  Jess laughed easily and responded brightly, “Deanna, I’ve always admired your ability to steer clear of these rumors that come out of the blue.”

  Fortunately, their food was just being served, and the jostling helped move Deanna along. But not before she could whisper, “Call me, Jess” as her parting words.

  Once Deanna was no longer within earshot, Claire asked, “So, you’re basically dismissing the speculation as rumor?”

  “Yes, but you can imagine how long that will last.” Although Jess had not lost her nerve in the interaction, she could feel her cheeks flushing from the adrenaline rush.

  “And who was that again?” Claire started on her salad.

  “That was Deanna Miles, wife of the medical school dean, and I will not be calling her—”

  “Unless you want a megaphone for your elevator speech,” Claire quipped, and Jess couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “Frankly, I can understand how the Midwest Health people feel, as unfair as that may seem. You’re a trusted member of their team, and they have a right to expect an oath of loyalty from you.” Claire looked back over at Deanna, who had joined two other bejeweled matrons across the room.

  “Of course, your husband and his career aspirations are complicating things, but I don’t think you can keep this situation on hold for long. And as your friend, and someone who knows and admires Arthur, I urge you to talk this out with him. Like it or not, you two are in this together. Honey, you can’t afford to let him be evasive at this point.”

  Chapter 7

  Jess was scheduled for meetings at Midwest Health that afternoon, and she couldn’t go ten feet without bumping into somebody who wanted to talk to her about Arthur’s plans. She was leaning against a wall with her eyes closed, catching her breath, when Nate Michaels, a hospital administrator Jess had worked with on a clinic purchase, turned the corner of a wide hospital corridor and came upon her. He approached her with a gentle tap on the shoulder and ducked his head down to meet her eyes. He gave her a quick smile, took hold of her elbow, and said, “Let’s get out of here” as he escorted her out of the hallway and toward his office nearby.

  Once he had closed the door, he said, “My God, Jess. What’s happening? You look awful. Are you OK? I usually see you cool, calm, and collected.” He gave her a half hug before he lowered her into a chair and handed her a bottle of water. “What’s gotten you so rattled?”

  She could feel his eyes studying her closely as she tried to calm down. She hadn’t seen Nate for several months and could see his concern reflecting her stressed image back at her.

  Jess caught a stray strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear before glancing up at him. My God, I must look a mess, she thought. She measured her words as she said, “Oh, Nate, it’s so good to see you. I just need a moment. There was a virtual feeding frenzy going this morn
ing. Everyone seems to be rushing to be my friend in order to warn me of rumors going around about Arthur.” How much does Nate know? she wondered. Is he already aware of what’s really going on?

  “Oh, that—yeah. That rumor has been around since last week. I actually dismissed it, as I figured you’d tell me personally if there was something to it. You know how merger gossip is. For some reason, people have to sort themselves into winners and losers and choose sides. And when they hear a tidbit to strengthen one side or the other, they’re all over themselves to spread it like wildfire. Human nature, I guess. Fear can make even decent people act without thinking.”

  She felt her face relax as he went on: “As you yourself told me many months ago when this assignment came your way, it would be good and bad to be involved in this transaction, as it’s so close to Arthur’s professional life. But you believed it would be better to be a part of it and help make it go right than to be on the sidelines, watching it go wrong. Remember?”

  Jess straightened up, feeling her shoulders drop away from her neck. “I did? That’s right—I did.” She took a drink of water and smiled warmly at him.

  “It’s not too surprising that two members of a power couple involved in this crazy deal would be the focus of wild rumors. I said as much to Dick when he asked me about it the other day.”

  At the mention of Dick, Jess blanched. “Dick asked you about it?”

  Just then, her beeper went off, and she realized she was late for her next meeting. She gave him a quick hug, said quick thank yous, and dashed out the door, grateful that she had not had to deny the rumors this time.

  But for how long would she be able to keep that up?

  Over the next ten days, Arthur stonewalled Jess, and she stonewalled everyone else. It became easier every day, and Jess let herself be lulled into disbelief that there was a true threat. The tension of the situation just has him saying things he doesn’t mean.