Full Circle by Davis Bunn Page A

Dr. Beachley.”
    â€œEspecially her. I haven’t seen the professor since the funeral. Or come back here.”
    She watched him finish his drink and sigh his satisfaction. “You have foam all over you. Chin, nose, mouth, cheek. You drink like a little boy.”
    He liberally applied his napkin. “Better?”
    â€œMuch.” She slipped the envelope from her pocket and slipped it across the table. “I’m an official company emissary today. I asked Daddy if I could help out with something. This was it.”
    Adam made no move toward the unsealed envelope. “Does this have something to do with why I’m not in the office today?”
    â€œSort of. Open the envelope, Adam.”
    He did so, pulled out the single slip of paper, and stared at it dumbly. “Five thousand dollars?”
    â€œPounds,” she corrected. “About ten thousand dollars at today’s exchange rate.”
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œHe said you were to consider it a signing bonus.”
    â€œBut I haven’t. Signed anything, I mean. We haven’t even agreed on my salary.”
    Kayla released his hand. “You’ve said it yourself, your mother’s illness stripped the cupboard bare. You’re living in rented rooms. Your clothes, how can I put this?”
    â€œI’m not after charity.”
    â€œJoshua wants to fire half the remaining staff, starting with you. Daddy calls it a gradual amputation and has refused. This morning, Joshua told my father that he intends to take the matter up with the board. He says that either they make these severe cutbacks, or the company goes under.”
    â€œWhat does your father say?”
    â€œIt’s three weeks to Christmas. What difference does it make if they wait until January? That’s what he told Joshua. What he told Honor . . .”
    â€œGo on, Kayla.”
    â€œHe didn’t actually say it. But what he’s thinking is, the company is going under.”
    â€œHow long does he think they have?”
    â€œThree months at the current level of employment.”
    â€œSo three months if he keeps the people, and how long if Joshua gets his way?”
    â€œTwice that, maybe a bit more.”
    â€œThat’s a big difference.”
    â€œThese aren’t just employees to Daddy. They are friends . They share his vision .”
    Adam looked at her with an intensity that seemed to peel away the layers. “You are a really great daughter.”
    â€œI don’t feel like it at all. I feel . . .” She pointed at the check. “Daddy says you should have a bonus for coming all this way. As chief financial officer, Joshua has to sign off on all employment contracts. If Joshua gets his way with the board and you’re fired, Daddy might not be able to give you anything then.”
    â€œIt’s been a while since I’ve had extra money.” Adam picked up the check, shook his head over the amount, folded it care-fully, and stowed it in his pocket. “Are we done?”
    â€œNo. Daddy intends for you to spend what days you have as his protégé. He needs you to look like one.” She rose to her feet and said briskly, “Let’s go kit you out.”

chapter 8
    T hey left the café and entered Oxford’s old town. Adam felt himself transported to a distant era, one where gargoyles might well spread their stony wings and leap from high gables. Kayla led him down cobblestone lanes, tight caverns carved from buildings of stained glass and golden stone. Occasionally the crowds pushed them together, causing their bodies to brush. Adam wondered if she shared the same electric hum every time they touched.
    Kayla named ancient structures with the casual manner of introducing old friends. The Radcliffe Camera, Foyles, Brasenose, Magdalen, Balliol. She spoke of others who had walked there before—Isaac Newton, C. S. Lewis, Cromwell, Tolkien, a dozen kings of England, hundreds of