ARTHUR Doris, Nathan, Emma, the head pharmacist, and the new manager we hired, Ethan, and I got into the limo. We were going to the biggest pharmaceutical conference of the year, the American Association of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmaceuticals. It was in Philadelphia this year, so we had plenty of time to discuss strategy on the way to the conference. We were almost all the way there when Emma looked at her tablet, and she saw that the bottles we were using to test the development of the drug were interacting with the drug itself. "Oh no!" Emma said. "This is going to make the entire first batch usable." This was a huge setback. "We'll fix it. We'll work around the clock to get a fresh batch and make sure we get the drug to clinical trials on time." "Emma, that was a good catch. It's a good thing you checked," Doris said. Doris was right to praise Emma. Still, I
ARTHURA few seconds after I heard Doris turn on the shower, my phone rang. It was Cathy. I kept forgetting that I was supposed to call her back. This was a good time as any. I picked up the phone."Hi, Cathy. I'm sorry we haven't connected earlier. How are you?"She hesitated. "I'm OK. I've been traveling around Asia. I know it can be hard to get me with the time difference.""I really should've called you earlier, but I bought a hockey team, started a pharmaceutical company, and I've been busy with Doris. I wasn't ignoring your texts. I just keep forgetting to call. I'm sorry. What can I do for you?"She paused again in a way that wasn't good. It gave me chills. Dread went up and down my spine.It wasn't just that she paused. It was the way that she paused. It wasn't just silence. It was an eerie, cold silence.Whatever Cathy was going to ask of me, it was big, and
ARTHURTrue to my word, I started the morning with passionate sex, and then I made Doris breakfast.But I couldn't wait too long until I told Doris the specifics about the conversation that Cathy and I had. I didn't want to do it in the penthouse, and I certainly didn't want to do it in Doris's apartment. Noah might be there.I thought it would be best to do it somewhere in neutral territory. I decided on Central Park. There was a little grove in the northern area. It had a tiny bridge over a small lake, bushes, and moss.Mid-morning, under a tree, it was shaded.Because of the time of day, nobody was around. It was perfect.I held Doris's hand. I told her about what Cathy had said.Doris was quiet until I finished, her expression a combination of horror and shock."Oh, my God," she said when I finished."I know.""Wh
DORISAfter the excitement of Mia's birthday party and a picnic afterward when Mia was so enthusiastic about adopting a new baby, I spent the entire next week at my apartment, basically avoiding both Arthur and Mia. Yes, it was a chicken scaredy-cat move. But I wanted some time to myself. I needed some time to adjust and to think. I hadn't spent much time with Noah, and it gave me time to catch up more.Of course, I updated him on everything with Cathy, Arthur, and Mia and the new situation. Noah was ecstatic; the idea that he was already a grandfather, and now would be a grandfather twice tickled him pink.I understood that. It must be amazing to wake up out of a coma and then many things are different with your daughter.Noah decided he wanted to go back to school to be an emergency response worker and ambulance driver. Even though he never worked in that
DORISI rang the doorbell to Nina's apartment just after lunch. She was practically high because she was buzzing with so much excitement. She was really looking forward to the rest of her day.Her face was freshly scrubbed, and she had a towel wrapped around her head. I gave her a big hug."I haven't seen you this excited since…well, since you told me you made a gazillion dollar sale on the same day you saw Nathan's muscles," I teased."I plan to make him drool.""Again," I interrupted."So I'm glad you're here to help. You keep my nerves in check.""What are you going to wear?"We went into her room and she showed me three different dresses. Each one was completely different from the others."This one," I said. "It brings out the blue in your eyes." I helped her button up her dress. She looked stunning, and a pang of jealousy tugged at my heart.
DORISWe went to Central Park in the day time but didn’t find any clues.We had to put the Wayne and the strange note on hold because tonight Arthur was throwing a huge gala to celebrate Nathan's big promotion.Everyone who was anyone in business was invited. It was a smart move because it gave Nathan clout. Arthur had gone all out planning the event.It was a glamorous evening. It got lots of press. It was touted as the spectacular event commemorating Nathan's rise to CEO of AmeriCapital.When Arthur, Nina, and I arrived at the ceremony, we were joyful about our friend's outstanding accomplishment."Look at him, Doris," Nina whispered, her voice filled with admiration."Yeah," Arthur said. "Nathan's come a long way. He deserves this."I nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "He truly does. I couldn't be happier for him."The air was fille
DORISI looked out the window of Arthur's private plane.I was sad to leave Norway, but happy that we were about to land in Madrid!The landing was smooth, and we were rested and excited."I can't believe we're really in Spain," Mia said. "I've been dreaming about this my whole life.""You didn't even know where Spain was until last week," Arthur said."That doesn't mean I didn't dream about it," she answered back."Well, I've been dreaming about it too, pumpkin. And I knew where it was."Clearly, Arthur and Mia were just as excited as I was. Arthur didn't tell us exactly what he had planned, but I was sure he had arranged something great.We debarked from the plane, and we all piled into an extra-long white limo with Spanish bulls painted on it.I couldn't help but smile as
DORIS"Is that France?" Mia asked, leaning over her father and pointing out the plane's small round window."That’s Paris, yes," Arthur said."Can we sing French songs and eat French fries?"Arthur and I laughed."Of course, pumpkin."We went to the central park right away, and Arthur asked someone for directions to the carousel in what sounded to me like perfect French."I’m impressed," I said."Don’t be," he responded. “I speak French, Spanish, Hindi, and Mandarin, and I butcher them all.""It sounded pretty good to me," I said."It sounded like blah blah blah blah blah blah to me," Mia said.We found the carousel. It didn’t look exactly like an American one. The animals were more fantastical, like something out of an old-fashioned children’s book.The carousel was also larger than I had expected, much larger.It wasn’t moving, so it was easy to walk past pink lions and purple and blue striped zebras to the octagon-shaped center column.We had to walk around three sides before we fo
Annabel introduced us and then said to her husband, "Let me tell you quickly what is going on."And then, in the fastest French I have ever heard, which sounded like a-shoo-blah bahn-swah-blah, voo-lez-blah, cush-evec-blah to me, except everything sounded like she was speaking through her nose, Annabel caught Anton up on the story and brought him up to speed.Anton and Annabel turned to us and smiled.We all walked into the kitchen."Look at the tiles," Anton said. And I did. They were all very light blue except for six large tiles that were paintings of different famous Paris landmarks, the Eiffel Tower, the carousel, the Louvre Museum, etc."I will go get my tool kit," Anton said.“What are we going to do?" Mia asked.Arthur looked at her. "We’re going to carefully remove the tiles.""How?"