CHAPTER 18

THE FOLLOWING DAY Tanner was sitting quietly at his desk when his secretary buzzed.

"There's a committee here to see you, Mr. Kingsley." "A committee?" Yes, sir.

"Send them in." Supervisors from several Kingsley Group departments walked into Tanner's office.

"We'd like to talk to you, Mr. Kingsley." "Sit down." They took seats.

"What's the problem?" One of the foremen said, "Well, we're kind of worried. After what's happened to your brother…

Is Kingsley Group going to stay in business?" Tanner shook his head. "I don't know. At this point I'm still in shock. I can't believe what's happened to Andrew." He was thoughtful for a moment. "I'll tell you what I'll do. I can't predict our chances, but I'm going to make every effort to see if we can stay afloat. That's a promise. I'll keep you informed." There were murmurs of "Thank you," and Tanner watched the men depart.

THE DAY THAT Andrew got out of the hospital, Tanner set him up in a little staff house on the property, where he could be taken care of, and gave him an office next to his. The employees were stunned to see what had happened to Andrew. He had changed from a brilliant, alert scientist to a zombie. Most of the day Andrew sat in his chair, looking out the window, half asleep, but he seemed happy to be back at Kingsley Group, even though he had little idea of what was going on. All the employees were touched by how well Tanner treated his brother and how solicitous and caring he was of him.

THE ATMOSPHERE AT Kingsley Group changed almost overnight. When Andrew was running it, it had been casual. Now suddenly it had become more formal and was being run as a business instead of a philanthropy. Tanner sent out agents to sign up clients for the company. Business began to flourish at an extraordinary pace, and Tanner changed the company name to Kingsley International Group, just as he had planned.

WORD ABOUT PRINCESSS'S good-bye note had spread quickly through KIG. The employees had been prepared for the marriage, and they wondered how Tanner would take this blow. There was a great deal of speculation among the staff about what he would do after being jilted.

Two days after Tanner had received the letter, an item had appeared in the newspapers announcing that Tanner's bride-to-be had married Edmond Barclay, a billionaire media tycoon. The only changes in Tanner Kingsley seemed to be an increased moodiness and a work ethic that was even stronger than it was before.

Every morning he spent two hours alone, working on a project that was shrouded in secrecy.

ONE EVENING, TANNER was invited to speak at MENSA, the high-IQ society. Since many of the employees at KIG were members, he agreed to accept.

When Tanner came into headquarters the following morning, he was accompanied by one of the most beautiful women his staff had ever seen. She was Latin looking, with dark eyes, an olive complexion, and a sensational figure.

Tanner introduced her to the staff. "This is Sebastiana Cortez. She spoke at MENSA last night. She was brilliant." Tanner's whole attitude suddenly seemed lighter. Tanner took Sebastiana into his office, and they did not reappear for more than an hour. After they came out, they had lunch in Tanner's private dining room.

One of the employees looked up Sebastiana Cortez on the Internet. She was a former Miss Argentina, and her home was in Cincinnati, where she was married to a prominent businessman.

When Sebastiana and Tanner went back into his office after lunch, Tanner buzzed his secretary and told her to hold all calls. Moments later, Tanner's voice could be heard in the reception room through the intercom, which had been left open.

"Don't worry, darling. We'll find a way to make it work." The secretaries started gathering around the intercom, eagerly listening to the conversation.

"We have to be very careful. My husband is a jealous man." "There's no problem. I'll make arrangements for us to keep in touch." It did not take a genius to figure out what was happening. The staff was amazed at how quickly he had gotten over Princess. It was all that the secretaries could do to keep from giggling. "I'm sorry you have to go home just now." "I am, too. I wish I could stay, but-it can't be helped."

WHEN TANNER AND Sebastiana left the office, they were the picture of decorum.

The staff took delight in the idea that Tanner had no clue they were aware of what was going on.

The day after Sebastiana departed, Tanner arranged for a phone, gilded in gold, to be installed in his office with a digital scrambler. His secretary and assistants had orders never to answer it.

From that time on, Tanner spoke on the gold phone almost every day, and at the end of each month, he went away for a long weekend and came back looking refreshed. He never told his staff where he had been, but they knew.

Two of Tanner's aides were talking, and one of them said to the other, "Does the word rendezvous ring a bell?" Tanner's love life had started again, and the change in him was remarkable.

Everybody was happy.

CHAPTER 19

THE WORDS KEPT echoing through Diane Stevens's brain: This is Ron Jones. I just wanted to let you know that I received your paperwork and the change was made, just as you requested… We cremated your husbands body one hour ago.

How could the mortuary have made such a mistake? Lost in her grief, could she have called and asked them to cremate Richard? Never. And she had no secretary. None of it made any sense.

Someone at the mortuary had misunderstood, confused Richard's name with a similar name of another body at the mortuary.

They had delivered an urn with Richard's ashes in it. Diane stood, staring at it. Was Richard really in there?… Was his laughter in there?… The arms that had held her close… the warm lips that had pressed against hers… the mind that had been so bright and funny… the voice that had said,

"I love you"… were all his dreams and passions and a thousand more things in that little urn?

Diane's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. "Mrs.

Stevens?"

"Yes…" "This is Tanner Kingsley's office. Mr. Kingsley would appreciate it if he could make an appointment for you to come and meet with him."

THAT HAD BEEN two days ago, and now Diane was walking through the entrance of KIG and approaching the reception desk.

The receptionist said, "May I help you?" "My name is Diane Stevens. I have an appointment to see Tanner Kingsley." "Oh, Mrs. Stevens! We're all so sorry about Mr. Stevens. What a terrible thing to happen. Terrible." Diane swallowed. "Yes."

TANNER WAS TALKING to Retra Tyler. "I have two meetings coming up. Let's do a complete scan on both of them." "Yes, sir." He watched his assistant leave.

The intercom buzzed. "Mrs. Stevens is here to see you, Mr. Kingsley." Tanner pressed one of the buttons on the electronic panel on his desk and Diane Stevens appeared on a wall television screen. Her blonde hair was tied back in a knot, and she was wearing a white and navy pinstriped skirt, and a white blouse. She looked pale.