Dr. Beachley.â
âEspecially her. I havenât seen the professor since the funeral. Or come back here.â
She watched him finish his drink and sigh his satisfaction. âYou have foam all over you. Chin, nose, mouth, cheek. You drink like a little boy.â
He liberally applied his napkin. âBetter?â
âMuch.â She slipped the envelope from her pocket and slipped it across the table. âIâm an official company emissary today. I asked Daddy if I could help out with something. This was it.â
Adam made no move toward the unsealed envelope. âDoes this have something to do with why Iâm not in the office today?â
âSort of. Open the envelope, Adam.â
He did so, pulled out the single slip of paper, and stared at it dumbly. âFive thousand dollars?â
âPounds,â she corrected. âAbout ten thousand dollars at todayâs exchange rate.â
âFor what?â
âHe said you were to consider it a signing bonus.â
âBut I havenât. Signed anything, I mean. We havenât even agreed on my salary.â
Kayla released his hand. âYouâve said it yourself, your motherâs illness stripped the cupboard bare. Youâre living in rented rooms. Your clothes, how can I put this?â
âIâm not after charity.â
âJoshua 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
âWhat does your father say?â
âItâs three weeks to Christmas. What difference does it make if they wait until January? Thatâs what he told Joshua. What he told Honor . . .â
âGo on, Kayla.â
âHe didnât actually say it. But what heâs thinking is, the company is going under.â
âHow long does he think they have?â
âThree months at the current level of employment.â
âSo three months if he keeps the people, and how long if Joshua gets his way?â
âTwice that, maybe a bit more.â
âThatâs a big difference.â
âThese arenât just employees to Daddy. They are friends . They share his vision .â
Adam looked at her with an intensity that seemed to peel away the layers. âYou are a really great daughter.â
âI donât feel like it at all. I feel . . .â She pointed at the check. âDaddy 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 youâre fired, Daddy might not be able to give you anything then.â
âItâs been a while since Iâve had extra money.â Adam picked up the check, shook his head over the amount, folded it care-fully, and stowed it in his pocket. âAre we done?â
âNo. Daddy intends for you to spend what days you have as his protégé. He needs you to look like one.â She rose to her feet and said briskly, âLetâs go kit you out.â
chapter 8
T hey left the café and entered Oxfordâs 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 beforeâIsaac Newton, C. S. Lewis, Cromwell, Tolkien, a dozen kings of England, hundreds of
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