“But we’ve always used the horses themselves as our selling point. People identify emotionally with abused animals.”
“And kids. The whole point of the easement is to connect kids with horses, and horses with kids, right? Win-win. The controversy, as you call it, is a strength, not a liability.”
“I think he’s right,” said Brian.
Jack began dictating an imaginary letter as he slowly made his way out of the room. “Dear friend of Horse Stability: As you may have heard, our proposal to create a unique resource for young people and rescue animals in the Barrington Hills community was strongly opposed at the recent board of trustees meeting. This is a major setback for our efforts, but it is only temporary. With your help, et cetera et cetera . . .”
Brian and Holly looked at each other as Jack’s voice trailed away.
“Does anyone ever say no to him?” asked Brian.
“Not that I can tell,” said Holly, more pointedly than she’d intended.
Brian shook his head in either disgust or admiration. She was familiar with the dichotomy.
“The event planner’s still coming?” he asked.
“She’s running a little late,” Holly said, surprising herself with a brief but vivid vision of taking Brian into a guest bedroom and locking the door while they waited. “But we’d better get to work.”
Later, when Brian was gone, Holly asked, “So where did she move from?”
They were in the kitchen, and Holly was putting two chickens in a roasting pan. Jack had a half dozen bottles out, along with a cocktail shaker and an assortment of bar tools, and was poring over a cocktail book.
“Where did who move from?” he asked distractedly.
“Your lunch date. The director of medical monitoring and consulting.”
Because she’d already looked her up online, found her pretty face on Cancura’s “Our Team” page, and confirmed her title.
“I hired her away from our partners in Phoenix.”
Which explained why he no longer needed to make monthly visits.
“So she’s someone you’ve worked with a lot?”
“I wouldn’t say a lot, but I know her pretty well.”
And she was pretty. Not gorgeous, but with a wholesome, heart-shaped face framed by wavy chestnut hair. If she’d dyed it a striking color, as Sienna had suggested, it had been since the headshot was taken.
“She’s going to be out of the office a lot, since we just put her on the American Healthcare Systems rollout,” he added. “She doesn’t realize it yet, but she’s basically relocating to Omaha.”
“Oh,” Holly said, tired of wondering what was even true.
Chapter Eighteen
JESSICA AND HOLLY
Disagreements are inevitable. Never walk away angry.
—“How I Lied about My Name and Discovered My Truth,” a TED Talk by Jon M. Wright
It was three o’clock on New Year’s Eve, and Cancura was filled with the unfamiliar sounds of early departures as everyone hurried to get out of the office. The shift in tone from all work, all the time, to What are your plans tonight? was audible as even the stalwarts headed home to prepare for the evening, whether they were planning to attend parties, dine at one of the seemingly hundreds of restaurants with meal-and-party packages, or simply stay in to count down with the people on their TVs.
Jessica was in no particular rush. New Year’s Eve fell on a Tuesday, meaning the office would be closed on Wednesday, and then it would be back to business as usual by Thursday. She still badly needed some catch-up time before she met Jon at home for a quiet dinner, an eastern standard time New Year’s toast, and a long-overdue opportunity to ring in the New Year by making love until they both fell asleep, sated and exhausted.
She’d been out of town since mid-December—first for what had been a busy and exciting seven days in Omaha at the headquarters of American Healthcare Systems. AHS was a big, cumbersome organization with a work culture to match, but she was energized by their enthusiasm about onboarding the Revelate technology and took pride in her role as the point person for Cancura. From there, she’d headed home to Gilbert, Arizona, for Christmas with her mom and latest potential stepfather. It was a welcome week off from nonstop work, even if her mom had set an interrogative tone by peppering her with questions at the breakfast table starting Christmas Eve morning.
“Explain this whole Revelation thing again, will you please?” she’d asked, filling both of their mugs with watery coffee.
“Revelate,” Jessica corrected her. “It’s cutting-edge technology that can painlessly diagnose childhood cancer before there are any symptoms.”
“So you’ve been transferred to Omaha?”
“I’m commuting back and forth.”
Her mom regarded Jessica over the rim of her mug. If it was possible, her filler-plumped skin looked more sun-damaged than when Jessica had left Phoenix just three months earlier. Of course, Kent, Mom’s newest flame, was a spry ten years younger. That he was currently out of work was apparently beside the point.
“I thought you said you have an apartment in Omaha,” her mom said.
“Cancura is renting a corporate apartment for several of us.”
“You’re sharing a place with coworkers? What about Jon?”
“Everything is great with Jon,” Jessica said, ignoring her mom’s prying. Jon and Kent were roughly the same age, which apparently made them competitors. “There are three bedrooms, and I have my own bathroom. Various employees are in and out. As for Jon, you are the only one who knows, and it needs to stay that way.”
“Mum’s the word,” she said, stirring her coffee pointedly. “I assume that’s why he can’t be here?”
“He has to be with his children this year,” Jessica said. “The separation has been rough on them, and they need him.”
Given her mother’s three marriages and counting, she hoped that particular truth would hit home.
“So, next year, for sure . . . ?”
By next year, there would be so much more to celebrate, especially if the Revelate implementation in AHS was as successful as projected. As Kent sprawled on the couch, absorbed in a college football game, Jessica had tried but couldn’t picture Jon
