Remember When

and glanced at her watch, she realized she wouldn't have time to call Doug until after the production meeting. She didn't want him to hear about her marriage on the news; she wanted to tell him herself.

Doug was pacing back and forth in her office when she returned from her meeting, and judging from the ominous look on his face, he was not happy for her. As a precaution, Diana closed her office door, and the instant the latch clicked into place, he exploded in a low, incensed voice, 'Of all the stupid, irrational—I can't believe you actually married that— that piece of slime! You've lost your mind! God, I could shake you!'

Diana had intended to try to reason with him, but she was so annoyed by his description of Cole that she walked behind her desk instead. In angry silence, she stood there while Doug paced back and forth in front of her, raking his hands through the sides of his hair like a man demented. 'You have to unload him, now. Today. Make an announcement that he drugged you, do anything, but get away from him and stay away from him. He's not fit to be in the same room with you. Shoveling manure is all he's fit to do!'

'Why, you snob!' Diana burst out.

'If despising a corporate mobster makes me a snob, then I guess I am one.'

'How dare you talk like this!' Diana burst out. 'Who do you think you are, anyway?'

Instead of quieting him down, her obstinance sent him over the edge. Slapping both hands on her desk, he leaned across it, his teeth clenched. 'I am your friend. Now, do this for me—get rid of that sonofabitch!'

'You're being completely irrational.'

He started pacing again. 'What does it take to make you understand?' He stopped and turned to her again. 'His days of wheeling and dealing on the stock exchange are over! The SEC is going to shut him down, and that's only the beginning. When the federal government is done with him, he'll go to jail where he belongs, just like Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken. The state of Texas will shut him down here, too. When everyone is finished with him, he's going to be a broke ex-convict!'

Diana was shaken, but she managed to sound reasonably calm. 'Why do you say that?'

'Because the Cushman deal was dirty. He's a cheat and a manipulator. He's an animal!'

'Tell me why you're saying this. Give me one piece of evidence, instead of just gossip.'

'I can't!' he bit out.

'Then, please,' she said softly, holding out her hand to him, 'don't start believing in rumors. Trust my judgment. Be happy for me.'

At last, he calmed down, but his sudden sadness was worse than his anger. 'Diana, I would have walked in front of a truck for you if you'd asked me to do it, but I cannot be happy for you, and I cannot help you if you stay married to him.'

'I intend to stay married to him,' she said with a quiet conviction that surprised even her.

His face paled as if she had slapped him. 'That bastard really has a way with females of all ages, doesn't he? Even you. He can get you to do anything.'

Diana assumed Doug had known that all of Diana's teenage girlfriends had crushes on Cole, and she refused to respond to that or his parting shot. Her throat hurt with tears as her lifelong friend stalked to the door of her office.

'Doug?' she said, her voice strained with hurt.

He turned, his face set. 'Yes.'

'Good-bye,' she whispered achingly.

Chapter 41

Cole could hardly believe it had been only a few days since he'd walked through the doors of Unified's executive office building. He had married Diana Foster. He had actually done that. The thought made him smile as he walked past the startled receptionist.

To add to his feeling of unreality, everything seemed to have changed since he last was here. When he drove onto the grounds a few minutes ago, the manicured grass suddenly reminded him of emerald velvet, and the lake, shimmering blue crystals. He'd commented on the remarkably fine day and unusually bright sky to his chauffeur, and although the driver agreed at once, he had been shocked that his normally silent employer had taken a moment for idle conversation.

They didn't really notice the difference in the surroundings, Cole knew.

Because they hadn't just married Diana Foster. They didn't know how sweet she was, or how funny, or how brave and beautiful. Their wives had probably never packed up snake repellent to take on a camping trip or sobbed during their own wedding and then sat on their lap and told them jokes in a plane. Their wives had probably never worn a royal purple silk gown and walked through a ballroom like a queen, then gotten tipsy on champagne and called CNN to announce their marriage.

An executive staff meeting was just breaking up as Cole walked past secretarial cubicles and neared his office. A dozen of his executives filed out of the conference room, including Dick Rowse and Gloria Quigley from public relations, and Allan Underwood, the vice president of human resources. They looked at him with uncertain smiles, and finally Allan Underwood broke the ice. 'What a surprise!' he said to Cole, referring, Cole knew, to his marriage to Diana. The others immediately chimed in with a chorus of remarks.

'Congratulations, Cole.'

'It's great!'

'So nice!'

'Terrific!'

'Wonderful.'

Cole was in a hopelessly lighthearted mood. 'Oh—so you all like my new tie that well?'

'Your new what?' Gloria said blankly.

'My tie,' Cole said, but he couldn't quite control the smile that lifted a corner of his mouth or gleamed in his eyes. 'It's brighter than the ones I usually wear.'

'I meant your new—'

'Yes?'

'Wife.'

'Oh, yes,' Cole replied, losing the battle to hide his smile. 'She gave me the tie.'

He turned and headed off to his office.

Behind him the executives gaped at each other. 'Was he serious about the tie?' Underwood asked the others.

Gloria rolled her eyes at him. 'No, it was a joke!'

'Cole never jokes,' Dick Rowse said.

'He does now,' Gloria said and sauntered down the hall to her own office.

'Congratulations, Mr. Harrison,' Cole's secretary said with a formal smile as she followed him into his office, notepad in hand. 'I'm a great fan of the whole Foster family,' Shirley Forbes confided.

'So am I,' Cole said with an answering smile as he opened his briefcase on the desk and began removing the files he'd taken with him. Unable to dwell any longer on Diana, he turned his attention to pressing business matters. 'Tell John Nederly I want to see him.'

Shirley nodded. 'He's called twice already, asking to see you.'

'Congratulations on your marriage, Cole,' Nederly said as he walked in. 'My wife called me with the news an hour ago. She's excited about the prospect of meeting Miss Foster someday. She's a big fan.'

Cole wasted no time on niceties. 'Close the door,' he replied curtly. 'Now, what the hell is going on?' he demanded, leaning back in his chair and studying one of Harvard Law School's most gifted graduates with a frown of extreme displeasure. 'This morning a reporter informed me during a press conference that I'm under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.'

Nederly shook his head. 'You're not.'

Cole's frown cleared, but only for a moment.

'The SEC has asked the New York Stock Exchange to investigate the Cushman buyout, which is the first step, and that's what's happening now.'