Page 59 of The Betrayer
Chapter 24
Will
––––––––
JUST AS I HAD WHENPaul had taken off, I checked my watch. According to his schedule, his plane would be landing soon.
I had been grinning from ear to ear all morning, thinking I might have actually found a woman of which my son would approve. While Rita was young, she was also bright and different from anyone else I had dated—just as I had told Paul on the phone.
There was only one way to find out, and we would see at dinner on Monday.
Then I glanced at my watch again—I’d been so caught up in work I hadn’t realized what time it was. I had a meeting I couldn’t miss.
When I called Rita and offered to buy her a dress for dinner, I wasn’t sure my usual move would work. Rita didn’t seem the kind to fall for grand gestures and flashy illustrations of my wealth. When she had asked how fancy the meal would be, I told her it was just a regular dinner. Nothing too fancy, but if she had something of her own to wear, that would work, too.
Rita’s reply had been swift—my idea of a regular dinner and her idea of a typical dinner was probably an ocean apart. She doubted she had anything to wear on her salary. Surprisingly, she had taken me up on my offer, and now we had an appointment with Barker at noon at his dress shop over her lunch.
I hurried through the rest of that morning’s work and packed up, pulling my coat from the hanger as I was heading out the door.
“Heading out, Mr. Finlay?” Tara asked, looking up from her computer screen as I passed.
“I have a personal appointment at noon, but I should be back around one. Tell him I’ll be back if Paul gets here before then.”
“Will do, Mr. Finlay.” The young woman smiled in return.
I took a car the familiar route to the dress shop this time—it was too far to walk and still be on time. Besides, the weather was still nasty, rain pattering on the car’s tinted windows as we inched through traffic.
Barker looked up from his measuring tape as the bell over the door jingled. “Mr. Finlay, right on time.”
At his words, Rita looked over her shoulder from where she had been facing the mirror, allowing the dressmaker to take her measurements.
“Hey, Will.” Her smile was warm as if she was happy to see me.
I couldn’t deny that I was happy at the thought. I was also happy at the sight of Rita in the middle of the day. I didn’t have to wait until the next morning.
“The usual, Mr. Finlay?” Barker asked, finishing up his measurements and making notations in his little notebook.
