See Me by Nicholas Sparks Page A

smiling before striding down the hallway. Part of her was relieved by the brevity of the encounter, but at the same time, the sudden frosty professionalism left a bad feeling in her stomach, because it no doubt meant he was angry at her.
    A few minutes later, Jill poked her head in to apologize for the blind date, clearly mortified. They talked for a few minutes – Jill was heading out of town for the rest of the week for depositions – and Maria repeated to Jill the story she’d told Serena about her flat tire and the stranger who had rescued her, which only made Jill feel even worse.
    As soon as Jill left, Maria started calling garages, trying to find someplace close where she could get her tire changed after work, but soon discovered that all of them would be closed by the time she arrived. Her only option was to try to get it done over her lunch hour. It took six attempts before she was finally able to snag an appointment at half past noon – cutting it close for the initial client meeting at one thirty. She warned Barney that she might be a few minutes late getting back. He frowned but told her to do her best, emphasizing that her presence was important. She left the office at a quarter to twelve, hoping that the mechanics would be able to start early.
    But they didn’t start early. Nor did they even start on time. In the end, she spent the next hour waiting, alternating between panic and slowly mounting fury, making calls to Barney’s secretary and the paralegal, as well as to Barney’s cell phone. It wasn’t until after two that she was finally able to reclaim her car and speed back to the office. By the time she reached the conference room, the meeting had been in progress for nearly forty-five minutes. An icy stare from Barney signaled his displeasure, belying his slow, easy drawl as he welcomed her into the conference room.
    After the meeting, she apologized profusely to Barney. He was clearly irate; gone was any trace of the friendly grandfather that clients were accustomed to. Things remained tense between them for the rest of the afternoon. It was no better the following day, and pouring herself into the various tasks at hand, Maria caught up on the matters she’d ignored while at the conference, in addition to preparing the documents she knew Barney needed for a trial the following week. She labored past midnight on both Monday and Tuesday, and with Jill out of the office, she worked through her lunch hours all week, eating takeout at her desk while toiling on various briefs. Barney apparently didn’t notice or care, and it wasn’t until Thursday that his icy demeanor began to thaw.
    Later that afternoon, however – as she was finishing up a conversation with Barney in his office concerning an insurance claim that they both strongly suspected was fraudulent – she heard a voice behind her. Looking up, she saw Ken standing in the doorway.
    “Excuse me,” he said, addressing them both but mainly focusing on Barney. “Would you mind if I spoke to Maria for a moment?”
    “Not at all,” Barney drawled. He nodded at Maria. “Give them a ring and let them know that we’ll need to set a conference call for tomorrow.”
    “Absolutely. I’ll let you know what they say,” Maria responded. She could feel Ken staring at her, could feel the tightness in her chest as she turned to face him. By then, Ken had already turned to leave, and without a word, she followed him down the hallway and through the reception area. Her feet dragged when she realized he was heading toward his office. As they approached, his secretary averted her gaze.
    Ken held the door open for her, then closed it behind him. All business now, he moved behind his desk and gestured for her to sit in the chair opposite. He gazed out the window before finally turning to face her.
    “Barney mentioned to me that you missed an important client meeting on Monday.”
    “I didn’t miss it. I was late —”
    “I didn’t call you here to