A Wife In Time

Stashing her purchases in her oversize purse, Susannah hurried back to her employer’s display booth. She never did get around to eating, as a rush of people stopped by the booth. As one of the representatives of McPhearson Publishing, it was her job to answer any questions booksellers might have about the line of books McPhearson published.

Smiling at conventioneers as they passed by the booth, Susannah couldn’t help wondering if Charles the Intern had told his ridiculous story to anyone else, aside from his wife and his brother. Specifically, had he told any of her co-workers? And if he did, surely they hadn’t believed him, had they? Not that she was about to come out and ask. But perhaps she could make a few discreet inquiries....

She started with Roy, the head of Marketing. “So what’s your impression of our batch of interns this year?” she asked him during a lull in the action.

“They seem okay,” Roy replied. “Is it just me or do they seem to get wetter behind the ears each year?”

Susannah was tempted to ask about Charles specifically but then reconsidered, realizing her inquiry might only raise further speculation. The best thing to do would be to confront Charles when she returned to the office Monday morning—to go directly to the source...and kill him!

She grinned, making a passing sales rep pause and look at her twice. Of course, Susannah had no intention of doing Kane’s precious baby brother any bodily harm, but she’d certainly make him wish he’d thought twice about dragging her reputation through the mud.

She pumped Roy from Marketing again. “Ever heard of Wilder Enterprises?”

“Aren’t they that hotshot company on the forefront of the new CD-ROM technology?”

“CD-what technology? Speak English here, Roy.”

“I forgot I was speaking to a technophobic editor afraid to turn on the computer on her own desk.”

“I’m not afraid to turn it on,” Susannah calmly denied. “We have an understanding. I don’t bother it, and it doesn’t bother me.”

“It could make your workload a lot easier.”

“I know I’ll have to learn how to use it eventually,” she admitted. “But I’m not in any rush since the rest of the office isn’t hooked up yet.”

“It will be by the end of the year,” he told her.

“Let’s get back to Wilder Enterprises and the CD-ROM stuff.”

“It involves storing information onto compact disks and then reading them on your computer. How about your own library with 450 of the world’s greatest books on one disk?”

“Who would want to stare at a screen instead of reading a book in the comfort of their own easy chair?” she asked, mystified by the very idea.

“They have computers small enough to hold in the palm of your hand,” Roy reminded her. “The twenty-first century is right around the corner, you know.”

“Don’t remind me,” she muttered.

“So why the interest in Wilder Enterprises?”

“I just ran into Kane Wilder....”

“No kidding? He’s considered to be a visionary in the computer technology of the future. A regular whiz kid.”

“He’s no kid,” Susannah retorted, “although he does have a kid brother. Our own Charles the Intern.”

“Which one is he?” Roy asked.

The lying, deceitful one, Susannah was tempted to reply. Instead she said, “The dark-haired one with the wire-rimmed glasses.”

“Sounds like nerdiness runs in the family,” Roy noted with a laugh.

Guess again, Susannah thought to herself. If there was a nerdy bone in Kane Wilder’s body, she hadn’t seen it. His dark business suit had a European cut that spoke of quiet elegance. Not a nerdy plastic penholder in sight. The only nonconforming element of his attire had been the tie he’d been wearing, as she only now recalled the tiny blue computer screens that had adorned the burgundy silk.

He might have been attractive, had it not been for the way he’d glared at her. Not the kind of man to make an apology easily. But apologize to her he would, because he’d made a mistake big-time when he’d crossed her. Talk about computer chips might make her tremble, but Kane Wilder she could handle!

* * *

Kane entered his hotel room and headed straight for the phone. His afternoon had been consumed with taking care of his company’s business. Now it was time for family business.

Automatically punching in the numbers for his calling card, Kane reflected back on his meeting with Susannah Hall. It hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped. He hated surprises, and she’d certainly been one.

He’d expected something different, someone different—not a sweet-faced, sharp-tongued woman with a temper to match his. And big brown eyes that seemed to secretly laugh at him, effectively telling him that she thought he was an idiot.

Kane wasn’t accustomed to being looked at that way. Most people considered him to be of above-average intelligence. Way above. He’d skipped ahead two years in grade school and another two in his college’s accelerated program.

The bottom line was that Kane had been called “gifted” by his teachers and “good-looking” by the women in his life. He prided himself on not conforming to the nerdy stereotype so many of his cohorts were tagged with. He’d been called “a maverick” and “a loner” accustomed to being on his own.

But he wasn’t entirely on his own. He never had been. He had Chuck. Their mother had died when Chuck was only four. Kane had been fourteen—ready, willing and able to take his brother under his wing to protect him from their abusive alcoholic father. The old man had finally drunk himself to death on the eve of Kane’s eighteenth birthday. Kane held no fond memories of his father.

With help from Philip Durant, his counselor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kane had petitioned the court for legal custody of his then eight-year-old brother. Philip and his wife had become surrogate grandparents to Chuck and firm believers in Kane’s determination to make a better life for himself and his brother.

Now Kane had that better life, but his brother didn’t seem to appreciate it one bit. Kane wished Philip or his wife were still alive to advise him, but they’d both passed away in a car accident two years ago. Kane still missed them, especially at moments like this.

The sound of his sister-in-law’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Hi, Ann,” he said with deliberate cheerfulness. Despite his initial misgivings about the advisability of his brother marrying at the young age of nineteen, he’d decided that Ann was good for Chuck. She kept his feet on the ground. At least she always had in the past. She was a sweet girl and she deserved better than this, Kane noted savagely. But his voice reflected none of his inner feelings as he asked to speak to his brother.

“He’s not here right now,” Ann replied in an unsteady voice that was husky with tears.

“What happened?” Kane demanded gently, not wanting to set his sister-in-law off again. “Did you two have another argument?”

“Chuck doesn’t really argue, you know that. He just quietly does whatever he wants.”

Kane swore softly. “I’ve been too easy on him.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Ann said. “We both know there’s only one person to blame. Her. Did you find her? Did you talk to her?”

Since this entire thing had begun, Ann had refused to use Susannah’s given name. Kane had told Ann about his intention of confronting Susannah once he’d discovered she was attending the conference. Working out of Boston as he did, this was his first chance to meet Susannah. “I found her and I talked to her,” he replied.

“What did she say?”

Kane was reluctant to tell Ann that Susannah Hall claimed she was innocent of any wrongdoing. Until Kane could talk to his brother himself, he decided not to be too specific about the details.

“Don’t you worry, Ann,” he reassured her. “I’ve got everything under control.”

* * *

Susannah was running late. So what else was new? she asked herself as she dumped her briefcase on the bed and kicked off her high heels. She sighed in relief, rubbing her toes as she sat on the bed for a second to catch her breath.