Page 7 of By the Letter

“If you’ll schedule a meeting with Terry, we can speak then.”

Oh no. That sounded much more formal than I meant it to. From the way Roman chuffed, he felt the same way.

“That’s how it’s going to be, Mrs. Goldman?”

I flinched at the bite in his tone. “It’s just Shira,” I murmured, flicking my gaze back to his, hoping he’d see the plea for understanding there. “My schedule…it’s—”

He raised his hand, halting me. “I heard you loud and clear, Shira. If I need to speak to you again, I’ll talk to Terry.” Backing toward the exit, he slowly shook his head. Once he reached the doorway, he tapped on the frame. “I knew Frank a long time ago. He played a pivotal role in the direction of my life so I have a soft spot for GoldMed. Do you even care about this company?”

It was Frank’s legacy. I had to care about it. For him. He’d turned my life around when I was spiraling. Offered me shelter and companionship when I’d been all alone in the world. Married me so I’d always have the security I’d lacked during the first part of my life.

I could have said all those things, but all that came out was: “I do.”

He brought his hand to his jaw, which was heavy and squared off in the corners. “We’ll see, Shira. We’ll see.”

Our first meeting had set the tone of my relationship with Roman Wells. Over the last week, every time we spoke, I’d put my worst foot forward. I just couldn’t seem to stop doing it, and it drove me to the brink. Even worse, all my warm fuzziness had evaporated, and room ten was becoming nothing more than a distant memory.

Terry poked her head in my office, knocking me out of my thoughts. “Conference room in five. Do you need anything before the meeting?”

I shook my head. “No. I have my notes prepared. I think I’m good.”

My assistant leaned against the doorjamb, one hand on her hip as she surveyed me. “He would understand if you didn’t do this.”

I shook my head. “I made a promise.”

Terry sighed. “A promise he shouldn’t have extracted from you. I could throttle that man…”

Terry had been Frank’s assistant for twenty-five years. She’d known me since I came into his life ten years ago and was the only person who understood what our marriage had been from the beginning. Frank had trusted her with everything, and now, I did too. In her sixties, she should have retired a few years ago, but she was sticking around for me. I should have told her to go, but there was no way I’d get through a day at GoldMed without her.

“You couldn’t,” I said.

She cocked her head. “Couldn’t what?”

“Throttle him. No body, after the cremation…”

She stared at me for a beat then slapped her thigh and snickered. “That’s highly irreverent, Mrs. Goldman.”

Grinning, I pushed up from my seat and snagged my tablet. “What’s the use of being a widow if I can’t make dead-husband jokes?”

She put her arm around my shoulders when I reached her. “You have a point. That man claimed most of your twenties. It’s only fairyouget some laughs out of it.”

“Frank was your friend,” I reminded her.

“He was. That doesn’t mean I agreed with everything he did. I’m no yes-woman. That’s why he kept me around for so long.”

I leaned into her. “That, and you know every one of his secrets. Can’t fire someone with all that blackmail material.”

She huffed. “Please. As if anyone would ever fire me.”

“I wouldn’t, I know that.”

One more squeeze, and she let me go. “I know that too. Let’s go conquer this meeting.”

The meeting with the executive team had gone as well as it could have, considering the circumstances. I’d prepared what I’d wanted to say, but Roman had managed to cut me off several times, disrupting my train of thought, and when he’d asked me questions, I’d either answered him curtly or allowed Terry to take over.

So…yes, it had gone as well as it could have, further cementing Roman’s ill opinion of me.

In my hurry to vacate the conference room, I’d left my phone behind. Terry was busy when I made the discovery a few minutes later, so I ventured back on my own, certain the room would be empty by now.

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