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A couple of days later, the newspaper planned a follow-up story, reporting that the state’s Bond Commission, chaired by Governor Rowland, planned to review a request for $185 million to fund a New London waterfront project. The bonding request indicated the NLDC planned to spearhead the project, which involved an unconfirmed Fortune 500 company. The paper planned to report that Pfizer was the company. It called Claire for a comment.

Claire declined to talk. Instead, she dispatched a Connecticut College spokesman, who told the paper there was no firm commitment from Pfizer. “The funds would get the site ready for marketing,” the spokesman told the Day. “It could be any business or corporation.”

The last time Tim LeBlanc had tried telling Susette he loved her, he had gotten an earful. This time, he decided to write his feelings down. He left a letter on her kitchen table.

Tears ran down Susette’s face when she read it. She couldn’t deny how strongly she felt for him. As a little girl, daughter of a single mother, Susette had learned to take care of herself. Then she had taken care of five sons. She had even cleaned up after her two husbands. As a medic and an aspiring nurse, she felt like she would always be taking care of somebody.

LeBlanc offered something she had never found in anyone, much less in a man: someone to take care of her. She looked forward to that for a change. She just couldn’t bring herself to verbalize affection.

That night she penned him a letter.

Dear Tim,

As I read your letter I wept.

You asked me to reveal what you saw in my eyes.

They are telling you that I am in love with you.

Suz Q.

She wiped away a tear and tucked the letter in her notebook. She never gave it to him.

February 3, 1998

A chilling breeze swept off the water at the New London port. Claire boarded a ferry dressed in a short skirt, displaying her legs on a cold February day. The weather didn’t faze her. The glances she got buoyed her, as did her company, Governor Rowland and George Milne. Hundreds of VIP guests were on hand for the formal announcement that Pfizer had selected New London for its new research and development headquarters.

As the most powerful political and business leaders on board, Rowland and Milne dressed the part: fashionable business suits, pressed shirts, power ties, and neatly tailored haircuts. But Claire stole the show. Her knack for the spectacular turned a press conference into a coronation. She had arranged for a ferry to transport the crowd down the Thames River during the announcement. Food, beverages, and entertainment abounded. Reporters and photographers were on hand. And every person of influence in the city had gotten an invitation. Even members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation showed up. No one staged an event like Claire did.

On board, the governor announced the sweeping package of financial incentives and commitments to the city and Pfizer. “This is going to make this a formidable location, with a quality of life second to none,” Rowland said. “I’ve never seen a community come together with such force, creativity, and vision.”

Anticipating press questions about the amount of money he had committed to helping Pfizer, Rowland insisted the spending was justified. “What I saw in this community was a spirit, a hunger, an interest in doing something good for this area,” Rowland said. “I saw a community really willing and able to develop, with some natural-born leaders.” He singled out Milne and Claire.

“This will be a center for clinicians and scientists who lead worldwide research,” Milne told the crowd. “The relationship between Pfizer and southeastern Connecticut is solid. There’s an enormous opportunity for continued growth. This allows us to remain very competitive on a global level.”

Satisfied, Claire smiled before speaking. Without her, Pfizer would never have selected New London, and the state would not have committed nearly $100 million. She had transformed a pipe dream into a massive development backed by big business and state government. Yet she deflected