“What? We’re on the interstate. I can’t just stop here.”
“Look, it’s imperative I make this call now, and we don’t have the luxury of waiting for the next exit.” He kept his tone even, but there was a steeliness beneath it. She sighed and turned on the blinker.
A horn blared from behind them as their car slowed down, and Payton swerved and let out a squeal of terror. “I hope this call is worth more than our lives.”
He continued to stare at the phone and no sooner had the car stopped than he had thrown the door open and was stepping out. He glanced back to see Payton shaking her head at him before turning her attention to the radio.#p#分页标题#e#
A minute later, Dick Eastman was on the phone, his voice that familiar booming sound equal parts friendliness and confidence. “I’ve looked over all the final numbers you’ve proposed.” Even with the noise of cars passing by, Cruz could hear paper rustling. Dick was old school, preferring hard copies in his hands over email. “And even though it’s not the lowest offer I have on the table in front of me, your numbers are reasonable. But as you know, it’s your company’s quality guarantee that has made this easy for me.”
Cruz was careful not to sound too eager. “Glad to hear that, Dick.” Using the man’s first name still felt odd to him, but Dick had all but insisted. “I assure you quality is paramount in all of our ongoing concerns. We have a deal then?”
Dick paused and the seconds ticked by abnormally long. A gust of wind brought a swirl of dirt up around Cruz’s feet. “Well, son, the pen is right next to me now and I can say that this thing is almost as good as yours. However…”
Cruz’s hope that had spiraled a moment ago sank. That single word couldn’t be good.
“One thing you probably know about me by now is that a lot doesn’t get past me,” the old man continued, and Cruz could picture Dick sitting in his massive office in a pinstripe suit and cowboy boots propped up on the desk. Like he’d seen too many Dallas episodes—new and old—and considered himself a regular old J.R. Ewing. He just needed a ten-gallon hat to finish the picture. “I like to keep my finger on the pulse of everything and everyone that could impact me and mine. Family, that is. And I know for a fact that you’re en route to a family event somewhere south of the Rio Grande. With my son’s fiancée, I hear.”
Shit. How the hell did he know already? In the back of Cruz’s mind he’d hoped that eventually his acquaintance and partnership of sorts with Payton would reach the old man’s ear in a positive way, confirming that Cruz was a man to be trusted. But to hear old Dick Eastman already knew was a little…disconcerting.
Then there was the fact that, according to Payton, the engagement was off. He didn’t think it was his place to share the news with the man now. He’d hear about it soon enough.
He cleared his throat, wishing he had a bottle of water from the car with him to wet his parched throat. “Yes, sir. Payton Vaughn and I happened to be on the same flight that—”
“Frankly, I don’t care a pirate’s fart about the hows and whys of why you’re together and you want to know why? Because I know you’re not an impetuous man, Cruz. You weigh the risks and rewards in just about everything you do. And diddling your most important client’s future daughter-in-law would not only be imprudent, it’d be downright suicidal to this partnership.”
Diddling? The old man certainly had a way with words. Not that there was any worry there. Payton Vaughn had as much interest in him as she did the guy who’d filled their gas tank earlier.
“No, what I want to discuss with you is a little different,” Dick Eastman continued. “I’m betting that at some point during this road adventure Payton has shared something of the drama going on between her and my son. She’s a beautiful girl and just as expressive. I don’t see how she couldn’t be. But I assure you; it’s simply a lover’s quarrel that will be put to rest as soon as they can clear the air. My son may be foolhardy, but he’s not a complete idiot.”
More silence and Cruz had to admit, he was still unsure where this conversation was going. So he agreed with the old man. “Right. Of course, I’m sure that’s all it is.”#p#分页标题#e#
“See? I knew you would understand.” He did? “I know from her mother that the gal feels that she has to cancel the wedding to save face under the circumstances.”
Ah, Payton’s mother. That’s probably how Dick Eastman knew about their current predicament. He hoped.