The meeting as it progressed was baffling and infuriating. The men had apparently accepted her with no problems, yet they all acted with a caginess when presented with Mason’s counter-proposal that was completely illogical. Diana’s proposal had been concise to the point of terseness to avoid any loopholes in the agreements. It was fair and reasonable, and yet the other men disagreed with every phrase. When asked what they disagreed with, they vaguely murmured something about the wording being unacceptable. When asked for a better alternative, they simply shrugged their shoulders.
Diana put up with this farce of a business meeting for the better part of an hour. Then she suddenly put down the papers she’d been holding and started stacking everything together. “Gentlemen, I believe the meeting is over with,” she stated, a thread of controlled anger in her voice. “You apparently don’t want a reasonable proposal, and you can’t come in with an alternative of your own. Please call us and cancel the meeting the next time you wish to be so unreasonable. Our time is too valuable to be wasted like this.”
Owen had got up at her words and, as she turned to walk out of the room, he was right behind her and quickly closing the doors after them. She continued to walk rapidly down the hall and Owen had to trot a little to keep up with her longer legs. Fuming in silence for a minute or so, she suddenly realised that she was going too fast for him.
She said a little sheepishly, “Sorry,” and slowed up.
“Quite all right, my dear. You’re very tall, aren’t you?” He said it mildly.
“Damn it, Owen, did I do anything wrong?” Diana exploded suddenly.
“You handled things marvellously, my dear. You closed the meeting just when you should have. The devil of it is, I can’t figure out why they didn’t just call and cancel the meeting.”
“Did you see their faces, Owen? They were relieved when I got up to go. It was as if they’d been vague on purpose, and never intended to try to reach an agreement for a contract. They came here and didn’t even try!”
“I wonder if they might have heard that the Pittsburgh workers were on strike. It’s hard to imagine where they would have heard that, because we’ve kept it very quiet,” he mused. “That’s the only possible explanation I can think of that makes any sense.”
Diana rubbed her neck tiredly. The rest of the day seemed to suddenly become a burden that she didn’t want to carry. She said her goodbyes to Owen as he reached his floor, and continued up to the top floor. When she reached the offices, she poured herself a cup of coffee and collapsed on the couch in Carrie’s room, smiling twistedly at the other woman.
Carrie turned off her typewriter and asked, “How did things go in the meeting?”
“Pretty bad,” Diana replied. “They didn’t even want to come to an agreement. The only thing Owen and I can figure out is that they somehow got wind of the strike in Pittsburgh and they’re afraid we won’t be able to make shipments on time. Nothing else makes any sense.”
“Alex is going to be livid,” Carrie stated with conviction, “absolutely livid! I wouldn’t be surprised if he never worked with Nelson again. They never did like each other very much. Roger Nelson is an old man who inherited the business and who’ll give it to his son to inherit. Alex, to them, is just a cocky upstart who never belonged in the elite group of aristocratic businessmen in the first place. They always resented the way Alex was able to make Peter Jackmon’s dying business a highly powerful company. Of course, Peter Jackmon was their friend and neighbour, which didn’t help matters at all.”
Diana whistled. “There’s a lot of history involved in this that I didn’t know about, then.”
“Oh, yes. In a way it’s almost comical. All the businessmen’s wives and daughters absolutely love Alex, and all the businessmen—at least, the ones who are envious of Alex’s ability—hate him.”
“And how does Alex feel?”
“Oh, Alex loves the ladies. As for the businessmen, he couldn’t care less. He appreciates it when they avoid him. He never could stand incompetence.” Carrie smiled as she spoke.
Diana groaned as she got up from the couch. “Lord, my head hurts! Will this day never end? I suppose it’s back to the grindstone again.”
As she reached the door, Carrie spoke behind her. “Why don’t you make an early day of it today, Diana? You’ve been here early and gone home late for the past few days. Surely things can hold off until tomorrow, if you leave around four, can’t they? I’ll take care of locking up the office for you.”
Diana turned. “That sounds really tempting. I’ll think about it and let you know, okay? I want to see how fast I can get through the pile of stuff on my desk.”
In the end Diana did go home early. The drive home was accomplished in a hazy daze. She was too tired to even care when the traffic got maddeningly slow, or stopped altogether. She simply sat quietly until it was her turn to go. When she got home and let herself into the apartment, she took enough time to make a broccoli casserole to pop in the oven. Then she set her alarm and fell into bed to sleep until her dinner was done.
* * *
The ringing went on and on and on… Diana jumped out of bed and, realising it was the phone, made a grab for the receiver.
“Hello,” she sighed.
“You were asleep, weren’t you?” Alex accused. “This is the second time I’ve woken you up. Considering that I’ve only called you twice so far, that’s a pretty high average.”
“It also isn’t an accurate average, since you’ve only called twice!” she retorted.
“I’ll have to keep track of my calls and your naps, then, to get an accurate estimate of how much time you spend in bed.” He chuckled deeply.
She cleared her throat. “This,” she said severely, “can’t possibly be the reason why you called, can it?”
“No, Madam Dragon, it isn’t.”
“Madam Dragon!” Diana exclaimed, giving up all hope of ever getting Alex out of his teasing mood. “Is that how you see me?”
“My dear, you might blush if I told you how I see you right now.” His voice had a definite note of amusement in it, and Diana felt a warmth on her cheeks, but forbore to tell him she was blushing anyway. He continued, “I talked with Owen just a few minutes ago. He told me about the meeting this morning.”
“I’m sorry about the contract,” she apologised.
“Don’t be,” he spoke crisply. “I’ve a feeling that we’re better off without it. Nelson’s an old lady.”
“We thought that the only logical explanation would be if they heard about the strike and wanted to push us into breaking relations with them,” Diana told him. “We just couldn’t figure out who told them about the strike, because so few know about it. How are things in Pittsburgh?”
He replied with enthusiasm, “I got everything worked out this afternoon. They start back to work in the morning!”
“That’s terrific!” she exclaimed.
“Terrific as far as production goes,” Alex replied hardly. “The whole thing looks as if it was rigged, except I could have sworn that those strikers were really worried. Now what I’m trying to find out is who would want to set me up?”
“Can you think of somebody in particular?” she asked quietly.
“I can think of quite a few people. I just have no way of proving it.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Come home. Will you meet me at the airport tomorrow morning at nine o’clock?” At her affirmative, he continued, “Good girl! I’m glad to be coming home. Did you miss me?”
Searching for just the right note of light amusement, Diana was pleased with her reply. “Of course. I had a hard time filling in for you. Your shoes were too big for me!”
He sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. I bet nobody missed me. Everyone was probably glad to have me gone.” Pathos oozed from his self-pitying tone.
She laughed at him. “I think you’re nothing but a dramatist!”
He sounded offended. “I beg your pardon
!”
They rang off after a few more minutes, and Diana went to take her casserole out of the oven with a lighthearted feeling. It would be good to see him again, she thought to herself. She searched her mind in an effort to understand just why it would be nice to see Alex. It was an odd feeling, one she had seldom felt before, this active desire to see someone else. Alex had such a charisma about him, an indefinable charm that made her laugh. He appealed to her sense of humour. She appreciated his wit. She marvelled at how compatible they both seemed to be, and how quickly a working relationship between them had been established.
It felt like such a luxury to sit down at a supper before eight o’clock. Diana lingered over her meal and read the paper. Then she made a pot of hot tea and went into the living room in her dressing gown to watch television. There was a good mystery movie on and she enjoyed the suspense, the pleasurable tingle of fear that it gave her.
When ten o’clock rolled around, she was still feeling alert and restless, so she locked up the apartment and went downstairs to the old double garage that Terry, Brenda and she used for storage. She unlocked the side door and, walking in, brought out a slim, gleaming bicycle. She climbed on it and wheeled out of the driveway.
The wind whistled through her hair and she cycled down the street. The whole night was restless, the trees swaying and clouds gliding as the wind prowled the night. A half-moon gave a pearly glow to the quiet streets. Diana could hear dogs barking some distance away. She continued for about an hour or so, until she started to feel a little winded. Then she turned for home again, always taking side streets and winding roads, searching for solitude, until she finally ended up back at the old garage. By now, she was exhausted, and she thankfully climbed the stairs to go into her apartment, kick off her shoes and get ready for bed. She felt her muscles relax slowly under the soothing warmth of her blankets. This time she had a peaceful night.
* * *
The next morning she got out of bed feeling refreshed and relaxed. Not being a morning person, she felt sure it had quite a bit to do with the extra hour of sleep, and not getting up at five o’clock. She showered and put on her make-up before going to start some coffee. Then she went to pick out something to wear. The past few days she had worn skirt sets, but today she reached for a black pair of slacks and waistcoat with a shimmery white shirt-blouse that had a ridiculously extravagant bow on the neck. The frilly blouse brought a relief to the very plainly cut pants and waistcoat, and when Diana looked in the mirror, she knew she looked good. Satisfied, she turned to pick up her keys and bag and then left.
At the airport, she parked the car and went to find the gate that Alex would disembark from. She had a few minutes, so she took her time peering into a few shops and watching the people. When she reached the gate, she had a few magazines that she had purchased, tucking them under her arm. She found a seat and started to leaf through the magazines, and was halfway through the second one when she felt a slight tickling behind her ear. Reaching up, she tried to brush it away, but it came back, this time a little stronger. She turned her head.
“Alex! How long have you been standing there?”
He was bigger and more handsome than she remembered, she thought as he replied lazily, “Only for a moment. I just had enough time to tickle your neck.”
Diana got up in one swift motion, her body fluid and graceful. Alex watched her move. She said, “It’s good to see you. Do you want to go straight to the office, or would you like to stop by your apartment first?”
“Neither one. I’m famished, girl! I think we should go and get something to eat first of all,” Alex grumbled, raking his hand through his hair, making it wavy and chaotic.
She laughed, “Didn’t you eat breakfast?”
Cocking an eyebrow at her, he replied, “Of course. But that was hours ago. Everything I ate has been digested.”
She made a face. “How horrible! I guess we’d better do something about it, since you’re so obviously dying of starvation.”
He winced. “Oh, sarcasm! Now she really is disgusted with me!”
“I am not, so quit playing the pathetic role. You’ll get no sympathy from me,” she told him.
They reached the car and got in, Alex holding the door for her, before getting in himself. They went to a delightful little breakfast place that Alex knew of and ate mushroom omelettes with cheese, and some delicate pastries afterwards, and drank far too much coffee. They talked about everything: Diana told him about her trip to Italy, Alex spoke of England and his stay there several years ago, and they both shared college experiences. Alex delighted her with several stories of his madcap adventures with one of his college buddies. She didn’t believe half of what he told her.
He seemed offended. “You really don’t believe me, do you?”
“No, I don’t,” she laughed, leaning back in her chair. He watched her face and its changing expressions with apparent fascination.
“What is it you don’t believe?” he asked. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I can prove it, all of it!”
“Well, for one thing, I don’t believe you took all the laboratory rats from the psychology department and put them in the women’s dorm!”
“We did! I swear it!”
“—or that you would be cruel enough to jam the doors from the outside, so that the poor girls couldn’t get out!” Diana accused him. They were laughing hysterically, and he sat there, holding his sides, and shook.
“And when they finally got the doors open, the girls had to sweep the rats out with brooms!” Alex howled, covering his face with one hand.
“Rats all over the campus!” gasped Diana, tears streaming from her face as she tried to control her laughter.
Their waitress walked by them to another table, giving each of them a strange look, almost as if she was half offended at the thought of anyone being so disgustingly cheerful in a public place. They managed to compose themselves as Alex paid the bill and went to leave the tip, but as they walked out of the restaurant, they both still had fits of uncontrollable mirth.
They then stopped by his apartment so that Alex could shower and change before going to the office. He showed Diana around the place before disappearing into the bathroom. “Feel free to wander where you like,” he told her, “as long as you don’t wander around in my bedroom when I’m about through with my shower, otherwise you might see something you’d wish you hadn’t.” His eyes danced.
Diana said dryly, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll keep myself busy in your living room, looking at your books.”
As she strolled over to look at his book collection, she was pleased to see a great variety of books including several classics, quite a few current best-sellers, a little science fiction and fantasy, and a collection of mysteries. It revealed a little of Alex’s personality in that he was well rounded and versatile in his tastes. She picked up a book that she hadn’t seen before and started to leaf through it. Putting it back on the shelf, she had moved to the curtained windows when she heard the bathroom door open and the heavy tread of Alex’s footsteps in the hall.
“Would you mind if I opened the curtains to look out of the window?” she called over her shoulder. Catching a glimpse of blue, she turned to see him walking casually into the room in a short terry-cloth robe that showed a great deal of muscular, hairy legs. Trying to appear as casual as Alex, she looked back to the window and away from the sight of him.
“Of course not,” he replied. “I certainly think we’re high enough so that no one can peek in if they wanted to.” The apartment was located at the top of a high-rise apartment building. Only three apartments were on this floor, and Diana was secretly impressed when she’d found out that a separate elevator was used by the top floor tenants only.
As she pulled the curtain cord, she became aware of Alex standing right behind her and looking over her shoulder. Afterwards, she couldn’t remember how she knew that he was there, for he never touched her in any way. Some sixth sense warned her and sh
e looked back over her shoulder at him.
“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?” he said softly as he looked out over the city. “At night I can almost feel as if I’m on top of a mountain looking out over all of civilisation, just watching the lights winking and blinking all through the night.” He smiled a wry, twisted smile as he glanced down at her still and listening face. “Of course all I have to do is to look up around me at the walls of my apartment confining me and the illusion is lost. But sometimes I don’t look around me.”
Diana looked back over the city and imagined what it would feel like to be on a mountain. She said flatly, “I can’t picture it. I’ve never been on top of a mountain in my entire life. This has got to be the highest I’ve ever been, except for flying in a plane, and I’ve always taken afternoon flights.”
Alex shook his head. “Honey, have you missed out on a lot of living! There’s nothing like the feel of climbing your last, dirty, aching tired step to stand up and look over all you’ve climbed and attained. The view is best when you have to sweat for it.”
Diana laughed lightly and swung away from the window to go and sit on the comfortable sofa. She shook her head at him as she scoffed, “Men! They’re all alike. Why do men like to climb mountains so much? I think it has something to do with the macho image that all men think they have to project for all females!” She chuckled as she teased him.
He began to smile at her sexist remarks. “There are plenty of women mountain climbers, you know, and not every man likes that particular challenge. Besides, haven’t you climbed your own personal mountain, attained your own personal goal when you qualified for your degree? It’s the same thing.”
“Whoa!” She held up her hands as she stopped Alex’s flow of words. “You, sir, are getting entirely too symbolic for this conversation. No—all right, I take back the ‘sir’. But what I’d like to know is what happened to our light and meaningless conversation when I was being a chauvinistic and sexist pig? Now, that was fun.”
A Deeper Dimension: A Vintage Contemporary Romance Page 4
