Page 63 of Lilly

"Yes?"

She walks over to me as I sit up on the couch. "I'm sorry to bother you but you have another meeting in five minutes."

"Five minutes? It's only noon."

"It's one fifty-five, Sir."

I check my watch. She's right. I must've fallen asleep.

"Thank for you letting me know. I'll be there shortly."

The nap relieved my headache so at least I'm able to concentrate now. The meeting goes on for two and a half hours and I participate the best I can, despite my lack of knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry. Then I return to my office and type up some notes to share with William later.

At six I leave, exhausted once again. This isn't normal for me. I'm usually not this tired, which leads me to think I'm on the verge of getting a cold or the flu. That, too, isn't normal for me. I almost never get sick.

I'm not really hungry but I agree to have dinner with Grace and Meredith. Afterward, I spend some time with William, then go in my room and straight to bed.

The rest of the week is the same. I go to the office, but struggle to stay awake. By Friday, I'm thinking I should see a doctor. I can't be sick when I go to the committee meeting tomorrow. I have to appear strong, not weakened by illness. As the afternoon wears on, I change my mind about the doctor. I don't have time for that. I'll just stop and get something at the drugstore after work.

"Mr. Kensington," Sue says, coming up to my desk. I check the clock and see it's just after four. "I have to leave soon to take my daughter to an appointment. Do you need anything before I leave?"

"No. I'm fine," I say, scrolling through the spreadsheet on my computer screen. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She doesn't leave and I feel her staring at me. "Excuse me for saying this, but you don't look so good. Maybe you should go home."

"I'm just a little tired. I'll be fine."

"Would you like some water?"

"Sure," I tell her, just wanting her to leave. I need to finish these reports so I can go home and get some rest.

My head is pounding so I take another aspirin, then get back to work.

At six I return to William's house. After a brief dinner, we meet in the study to discuss tomorrow's meeting.

"I was able to get a copy of the agenda," William says. "The only item being discussed are the two candidates. They'll come in for a brief interview, then a vote will be taken as to whether or not they should continue on in the process."

"So there was nothing on the agenda regarding Katherine's son?"

"No. This meeting is focused solely on the two current candidates."

"Then perhaps attending this meeting is a waste of time."

"As I said before, you never know what topics will come up during the discussions. And by being there, you can ask questions that might give you the answers you're looking for."

"I suppose it's possible, although if Phillip's told the group to keep whatever it is he's hiding confidential then I doubt they'd tell me."

"You'll have to gauge the situation when you're there. There's always at least one weak link in the chain."

I smile. "And I'm an expert at finding it."

"You may not even need to. Ask the right questions and Phillip's response to them may be your answer."

"I still can't imagine this being about Katherine's son. He's too young to be considered. This has to be about something else."

"Well, you'll find out tomorrow."

The next day I arrive at the meeting just as it's starting. I didn't want to get there early. I wanted to take them by surprise when they're all seated and ready to begin.

---