Page 102 of Stuart Woods' Smolder

“I have no idea, but it’s another possibility. Though I don’t know why he’d quit or be fired because of that.”

“Could be as simple as he was skimming from the register and they finally found out.”

“For the most part, transactions at galleries would either be by credit card, bank transfer, or check.”

“Please tell me you’ve heard of credit-card skimmers.”

“Right. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I can think of one other reason,” Stone said. “What if he told someone about his conversation with you, and they weren’t happy.”

“But why fire him for that? He didn’t tell me anything.”

“Perhaps they thought he did.”

“However he lost his job, he probably hasn’t responded because he’s not in the mood to talk to anyone,” Viv said.

“How about this?” Stone said. “Let’s give him a few more hours. If he hasn’t gotten back to you by then, you and I will drive out to his house.”

“That’s a great idea,” Monica said, her tension easing. “Thank you.”

“In the meantime, how about we take a drive along the beach? It’ll take your mind off all this.”

“I’d love that.”

“Viv, Dino, you are welcome to join us. I was thinking we could have lunch in Malibu.”

“Sounds great to me,” Dino said. “But I defer to my beautiful bride.”

“We’d be delighted.”

—

“When I was in high school, my friends and I would drive to Malibu to look for movie stars,” Monica said, as they passed the city limits sign.

“You grew up in Los Angeles?” Viv asked.

“Just north of it, in Ventura County.”

“Did you ever see any?” Dino asked.

“Only once. We were at a stoplight and Martin Sheen pulled up next to us. I waved to him, and he smiled and waved back. And then the light turned green and that was it.”

“You won’t be able to miss them at the party on Saturday.”

“Party?”

“Billy Barnett is throwing a post–board meeting party at his house. Didn’t Stone invite you yet?”

“As a matter of fact, no.”

All eyes turned to Stone.

“Monica, would you like to join me at Billy Barnett’s party on Saturday?”

“Are you only asking because you’re being pressured into it?”

“I’m asking because I planned to do just that but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”

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