Page 13 (1/1)
"Perhaps you misunderstood my call I didn’t call to seek your permission to seeht"
"Please, if I may be so direct, be discreet"
"Didn’t you just say that we’re both watched people? How discreet do you expect s, I believe that if you set your ly ioal"
"I wanted you informed, and I’ll do what I can on my end You do your job and spin it however it needs to be spun"
"Thank you for the advance notice I’ll do my best"
"I’m sure you will, Shelly You never disappoint"
Tony didn’t appreciate Shelly, Catherine, or anyone else telling him what he should or shouldn’t do with his private life Granted, it was Shelly’s job, and that’s why he called her in the first place Catherine, on the other hand, was family--dysfunctional and totally messed up--but as close to family as either one had
Truthfully, Catherine did have faoal of Tony’s trip to California was to do his part to bring Catherine’s daughter into the art fold of Northern California If Catherine was family, then so was Sophia Tony had made a promise to Nathaniel to watch over Sophia and help her He’d tried, but too often Tony’s personal life had gotten in the way Now he intended to help her focus on her talent and career After the web conference concluded, Tony had a scheduled ham of Shedis-tics to discuss one of his newest employees, Derek Burke Perhaps Sophia believed that she needed to follow Derek to California because of his new income Today, Tony would decide if Burke would be allowed to continue that new position Surely, enticing Derek Burke to California just to take it all aould be difficult on their e Maybe that would be the way to rid her of the man who didn’t deserve her
There was also another plan in the works After the ham, Tony had an appointment in Palo Alto with the curator of a se Sophia Rossi Burke had already received ide recognition for her art Unfortunately, recognition didn’t always equate to financial freedoe’s assistance, Tony had a plan to help Sophia achieve both It was an offer that Mr George couldn’t refuse
Cae’s dubious past Apparently, he’d s One er studio and his home in southern California, as well as a divorce When it was all said and done, Mr George was left with a s by a financial thread If Mr George didn’t receive assistance--or a savior--soon, his life’s work and passion would be gone, just like his wife and children While Tony had no influence over Mr George’s past, he believed he could impact his future This afternoon, Tony would take a personal interest in learning how far Mr George illing to go in order to save the re pieces of his life
With a busy day ahead of hirave;ce de résistance were his plans for dinner It had to be perfect In the event of paparazzi, Tony had sent Claire a stunning outfit from Neiman Marcus It was delivered prior to her trip to Texas and included his dinner invitation Tony waited to hear froement of their reunion When he didn’t, he decided that the absence of a refusal was the equivalent to an acceptance
He had the entire evening planned from the wine to the dessert On The E view of San Francisco Bay and the Bay Bridge It was consistently busy with both locals and tourists Patricia booked the private upstairs dining rooht it would seat two There was a car scheduled to pick Claire up at her condoiven the night off Tony had thought of everything and didn’t want their reunion interrupted
The last time he saw Claire, in person, was at the Iowa jail To say he was upset at thatwould be an understatement She’d asked him to take her ho prison sentence That alternative had been the perfect option It covered all bases--Tony’s fulfillation to Nathaniel, as well as his promise to love and keep Claire As a psychiatric patient at a private facility, Tony would have been able to facilitate her release When he first ut reaction to Claire’s failure to pass his test If she’d accepted his offer, taken the insanity plea, Tony wouldn’t have divorced her Their legal bond would have allowed hi his offer, pleading no contest, and continuing her disappointing behavior further fueled his rage For appearances alone, Tony distanced himself from Ms Nichols and her reputation It worked The world pitied the lonely, wealthy , treacherous woht, Tony would explain that he wanted that distance to end; he was ready to forgive her for the past and s didn’t easily forgive, but he would She’d failed a test and paid the price It was tiether Claire was his She had been his since she was eighteen years old He wouldn’t tell her that, even though it was true Together they would rebuild the trust that she’d severed