“I wouldn’t turn down a cup of your coffee, Miss Rosetti.” The doctor smiled.
“Coming right up.”
She escaped down the hall, glad for a task to keep her occupied. Her relief evaporated, however, when Mr. Reed followed her into the kitchen.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked. “You’re quite pale.”
“I’m fine.” She tried to ignore him while she filled a pot with water and got out the tin of coffee.
“I can stay if you think I might be of any help.”
His sincere blue gaze did funny things to her pulse as she measured out the grounds. She tried hard to hold on to her anger, yet seeing him tend to the injured woman with such care made it that much harder.
“I’m sure with Dr. Henshaw here, we’ll be fine,” she said.
A flash of emotion, disappointment perhaps, flitted across his handsome features. “I hope she and the baby will be all right. Would you mind if I telephoned tomorrow to see how she is? I feel somewhat responsible since I was the one who brought her in.”
“That would fine.” She turned on the flame under the coffeepot, then turned to face him. “Thank you for everything you did for her, Mr. Reed.”
“It’s Darius, remember. And I only did what anyone else would do.”
She shook her head. “Not many people would help a stranger. In fact, some people would purposely go out of their way to avoid them.” She paused to study him. “Despite our differences, I do believe you’re a good person.” Deep down, she sensed this to be true. He’d protected her at the fundraiser, helped with the leaking sink, and hadn’t hesitated to come to a defenseless woman’s aid. She was certain now that his quest to buy Ruth’s house wasn’t an act of greed, but something he felt obligated to do for his job.
“Thank you. That means a great deal,” he said gruffly. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He gave a slight nod, then disappeared down the hall.
Olivia stared after him for a long moment, attempting to let her emotions settle before getting back to the task at hand.
“Despite our differences, I do believe you’re a good person.”
Olivia’s words filled him with warmth all the way back to his office. Why such a small compliment meant so much to him he couldn’t say. But at least it seemed like she might have started to forgive him for calling the inspector.
He shook his head. Somehow he needed to find a way out of this mess. Convince Walcott that going after the Bennington property wasn’t worth the effort. Hopefully the pending reinspection would buy Darius the time he needed to come up with a viable alternative.
When he reached his office, Mr. Walcott was talking to Kevin in the outer area. “There you are, Reed. I need a word with you.”
He held back a sigh. So much for time to prepare. Kevin moved off toward his office while Walcott waited for Darius to open his door.
“What can I do for you, sir?” He set his hat on the coat stand.
Walcott closed the door behind him. “I gather the Bennington Place inspection hasn’t yielded the desired results.”
Darius sucked in a breath. “Actually, it has. The house needs some substantial repairs to the roof, and unless they can come up with the capital to cover it, they won’t pass another inspection.” He struggled to keep the guilt from his face.
“That’s going to take too long. I’ve got a better idea.” Walcott smirked. “I sent Caldwell to canvass the neighbors in the area to see if he could dig up some dirt on Mrs. Bennington or her operation.”
A slow burn of anger flared in Darius’s chest. “That’s a bit low, don’t you think? These women are trying to do something good for the community. They don’t deserve this type of treatment.”
Walcott stared at him. “Careful. You’re breaking one of the cardinal rules of business, Reed. You’re making it personal. This is just another property we’re trying to acquire.”
“You make it sound like they are an anonymous corporation when it’s nothing like that.” Darius stalked across the room, too agitated to sit.
“Hear me out,” Walcott said. “Caldwell came up with some good stuff. One neighbor in particular is very vocal about his dislike of the home and its residents.” He leaned across the desk. “Claims that prostitutes are living there.”
Darius stiffened. “That’s not—”
“If we can get the word out, the public will put up such a stink that the widow will have to leave town. This Simmons character has even got a petition started. He’s going around to all the area businesses and residents to get signatures. Says he plans to bring his complaint to the city council in the hopes that they’ll shut the home down.” He gave a loud laugh. “This guy might do all our work for us.”
Unable to muster a response, Darius dragged a hand over his jaw. He knew this would get ugly if his boss had free rein.
“I thought you were going to give me time to do this my way,” he said at last.
“I did. In fact, I even offered the inspector an added bonus to make sure he found something wrong. But the whole episode is taking too long and there’s still a chance they’ll pass the next inspection. Then we’d be back to square one.”
Darius sucked in a breath. Did his boss really just admit to bribing a city official?
Walcott pursed his lips as he began to pace. “This is what I want you to do. Interview Simmons and take his statement. Then write up an article and get it into The Daily Star. Once this hits the papers and the neighbors learn about the type of people inhabiting that place, there will be a huge outcry.”
“That’s crazy.” Darius flung out his hands. “We don’t even know if his claim is true. I’ve been inside, and I didn’t see anyone resembling a prostitute.” Tension seized his shoulders. All he
