Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [134]
“Can we have dinner this evening, Annie? I’d like you to meet my nephew Ben. He needs to hear your side of the case before he turns in his report to his professor.”
Annie stared bug-eyed at the handsome man she’d promised to marry. Did she just hear what she thought she’d heard? She struggled to feel something. She’d made love to this man, lain in his arms, promised him there would be a future for the two of them. Now she could barely stand the sight of him. What did that say for her? “I don’t think so, Parker. Just about every hour of my time here is accounted for. Why don’t I call you when I get back home?” How inane. She might as well have said, let’s do lunch sometime in the next decade.
“I think you owe me more than a Fed Ex Dear John letter, Annie. My nephew and his partner are going to your class reunion tomorrow, so why don’t I tag along. Surely we can find ten minutes to talk. I’m not giving up, Annie, I want you to know that.”
A chill ran up and down Annie’s spine. “Why would your nephew be going to my class reunion?”
“He wants to meet you and Jane. This project is very important to him. He’s convinced you are the one who took the money.”
“Really! Read my lips, Parker. I’m up to here with theories and suppositions where that robbery is concerned. Your nephew had better not show up. He had also better not plan on causing any kind of a ruckus. Are we clear on that?”
“Then have dinner with me and meet him.”
“Not in this lifetime, Parker.” Annie fired off her last zinger as she turned to walk away from him. “The Daisy Shops will not be renewing our contract with the Grayson Coffee Company. Sit on that one, Parker, and do a full spin.”
Annie beelined for the elevator, whose door swished open. She was shaking so badly she could hardly press the button for the fifteenth floor. She wondered if Parker had the gall to stand and watch the overhead numbers of the elevator to see which floor she got off at. She started pressing numbers and got off on the eighth floor to take the stairs to the fifteenth. She didn’t need Parker Grayson knocking on her door. If he slipped someone money, would they give up the information? Of course they would. The answer to that was she would move over to the Ritz Carlton but not check out of the Four Seasons until it was time to leave for home.
Annie was winded and breathless when she opened the door to her suite. She wondered if her expression betrayed what she was feeling. She had her answer a moment later when Elmo, who was sipping his double scotch, and Jane both said, “What’s the matter?”
“You look funny, Aunt Annie. Did you run up the stairs?”
“Actually, Daisy, I did run up seven flights. I needed the exercise. Would you get me a soda from the fridge, honey?”
“We’re going to be leaving soon, Daisy. Go into the bathroom and clean up. Put on that pretty pink dress we just bought, okay? Make sure you pick the right ribbon for your ponytail.”
“Do you need to do grown-up talk, Mommy?”
“Uh-huh. I’ll call you when it’s time to go.”
“I’ll have another double scotch, Jane. I haven’t felt this good in weeks.” Jane rolled her eyes but did as the old man asked. “What happened, Annie?”
Annie explained her visit to Andrew Pearson’s father and what she’d learned. “His nurse gave me this,” Annie said, tossing the packet to Jane. “Then when I got to the lobby, guess who I ran into! Parker Grayson. He flew his nephew here, and the nephew is going to our reunion. He figures I was the one who found the money. He and another law student were assigned unsolved crimes, and this kid just happened to get the one that involved us. Parker wanted to take me to dinner so I could meet him. I said no. I also told him I wasn’t renewing our coffee contract.”
“Good going, Annie,” Elmo said, smacking his lips.
“Does that mean we aren’t going to the reunion?” Jane asked.
“That’s what it means. In addition,