200|No Room For Error

Austin still had a few more meetings after his briefing with Sienna, but after checking the time, he figured risking Marybeth's wrath and pissing her off further wasn't worth the trouble. So he called his bankers and accounting firm and rescheduled their appointment for later that evening at his place.

Next, he cancelled the rest of his meetings for the afternoon, to Elizabeth's annoyance.

Huffing and puffing, she scurried into the living room, where Austin was packing his stuff, getting ready to leave.

"Mr Hawthorne," she began, pressing her lips together. Thankfully, she wore one of those smudge-free lipsticks; Austin would have hated to see her look like a clown.

"What is it, Elizabeth?" he asked, playing dumb even though he had a pretty good idea why she was frothing at the mouth.

"You can't do that! You can't just cancel appointments at the drop of a hat. It took us months to book time with the Germans. If we want exclusivity on this deal, this isn't how we'll get it, sir!"

"The