Sanford had known Professor Joyner long enough to understand his


    temperament. The man was a ssic entric genius-brilliant, arrogant, and utterly indifferent to convention. He fit every stereotype.


    After the final roadshow, Carman had a conference call with Noreen to report on their sess. All that was left was the final review from the securitiesmission, which, given their current momentum, seemed like a mere formality.


    "You''ve worked hard," Noreen told him. "I''ve already had Sophia inform the staff that everyone is getting a week of paid vacation. It''s apany-sponsored team- building trip, all expenses covered."


    "What about you?" Carman asked. "Aren''t you going to take a break and rx?"


    "I''m buried in grad school prep. I can''t go anywhere."


    "Then I''ll stay behind too—"


    "You absolutely have to go," Noreen interrupted, not letting him finish. "One of us needs to be there to represent management. Otherwise, it''ll be chaos."


    Carman reluctantly agreed.


    Noreen had just hung up when ire called. She answered on speakerphone, continuing to type her thesis without missing a beat.


    "Babe, you will not believe who I ran into today!" ire''s attempts at building suspense were always a failure. If Noreen didn''t take the bait, ire would just spill everything like a leaky faucet anyway.


    "I ran into Jerk Seth and Bitch Bianca!" she announced. "Seriously, those two are so obnoxious. Rivercrest City isn''t big enough for their PDA, so they had to bring their lovey-dovey act all the way to Northcrest. You have no idea how nauseating they were at this g. And people were actually asking them about their love story! I''m sitting there thinking, who on earth wants to hear the romantic details of their affair?"


    "And Bitch Bianca, going on and on with ''my Seth this'' and ''my Seth that.'' You''d think they were already married! Which, by the way, someone actually asked. ''You two seem so in love, why aren''t you married yet?""


    "And guess what Jerk Seth said?"


    Noreen''s typing paused for a fraction of a second. "What did he say?"


    "He said that Bitch Bianca is focused on her career right now and wants to achieve something significant before thinking about marriage. And that he, of course, respects her decision. He was ying the part of the perfect, supportive partner to a T!"


    ire finished her tirade and was met with the tter of keyboard keys.


    "Babe, are you even listening?"


    Noreen finally stopped typing. "Why were you at a business g?"


    ire fell silent. Was that really the point? Why was her focus so off?


    "I was there with an investor," she mumbled.


    Noreen frowned. "Didn''t I specifically tell your agent that you don''t have to attend any of thoseworking events?"


    "He''s... sort of a rtive."


    "You have rich rtives?"


    "...The nouveau riche kind. His family''snd was bought out by the city, so now they have a little money."


    When the sound of typing resumed, ire let out a quiet sigh of relief. She had managed to deflect.


    The call didn''t faze Noreen in the


    wowelet


    slightest. As soon as it ended, she was once againpletely


    immersed in her work.


    The next morning, herwyer called with an update. The case had taken an unexpected turn.


    The driver of the white sedan had recanted his testimony. He was now insisting that he had acted entirely on his own and that Lana had nothing to do with it.


    There was a very real possibility that Lana would be released without charges.


    In the space of a few short


    sentences, Noreen''s expression turned to ice. So that''s why Seth had


    stopped bothering her. He had found


    another way.