Moonrise Read Free Page B

room was empty, except for him. Glancing at his wristwatch, Paul saw that the meeting was scheduled to start in less than fifteen minutes. Usually more than half the directors would be already here, milling about, exchanging pleasantries or whispering business deals to one another, drinking and noshing.
    Where is everybody? Paul wondered.
    He paced the length of the long conference table, saw that each place was neatly set with its built-in computer screen and keyboard.
    He went to the long windows at the head of the conference room and gazed out at the towers of Manhattan, thinking how much better it was on the Moon, where all a man had to worry about was a puncture in his suit or getting caught on the surface during a solar flare. He craned his neck to see JFK, hoping to catch another Clippership takeoff or, even more spectacular, see one landing on its tail jets.
    “Paul.”
    Startled, he whirled around to see Joanna standing in the doorway, looking cool and beautiful in a beige miniskirted business suit. He hadn’t seen her since the day of her husband’s suicide.
    “How are you?” he asked, hurrying toward her. “How’ve you been? I wanted—”
    “Later,” she said, raising one hand to stop him from embracing her. “Business first.”
    “Where’s everybody? The meeting’s scheduled to start in ten minutes.”
    “It’s been pushed back half an hour,” Joanna said.
    “Nobody told me.”
    She smiled coolly at him. “I asked Brad for a half-hour delay. There’s something I want to discuss with you before the meeting starts.”
    “What?”
    Joanna went to the conference table and perched on its edge, crossing her long legs demurely. “We’re going to elect a new president and CEO,” she said.
    Paul nodded. “Greg. I know.”
    “You don’t sound happy about it.”
    “Why should I be?”
    “Who else would you recommend?” she asked, with that same serene smile.
    “Greg doesn’t know enough to run this corporation,” Paul said, keeping his voice low. But the urgency came through. “Okay, we’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead, I know, but his father nearly drove this company into the ground.”
    “And you saved it.”
    Paul felt uncomfortable saying it, but he agreed. “I had to practically beat your husband over the head before he saw the light.”
    Every major airline in the world began clamoring for Masterson Clipperships, once Paul pushed the project through its development phase. Yet Gregory Masterson II had almost ruined Masterson Aerospace, despite the Clippership’s success. Maybe because of it, Paul now thought.
    And his son was eager to follow in his father’s mistaken footsteps.
    “He wants to shut down Moonbase,” Joanna said quietly. “He told me so.”
    “You can’t let him do that!”
    “Why not?” she asked.
    “It’s the future of the company—of the nation, the whole goddamned human race!”
    She sat on the edge of the conference table in silence for a moment, her eyes probing Paul. Then Joanna said, “The first order of business in today’s meeting will be to elect me to the board to fill Gregory’s seat.”
    “And then they’ll elect young Greg president and CEO,” Paul said, surprised at how much bitterness showed in his voice.
    “They’ll have to have nominations first.”
    “Brad’s going to nominate him.”
    “Yes. But I intend to nominate you,” said Joanna.
    He blinked with surprise. A flame of sudden hope flared through him. Then he realized, “To show there’s no nepotism.”
    Joanna shook her head. “I know my son better than you do, Paul. He’s not ready to head this corporation. He’d ruin it and himself, both.”
    “You mean you really want me to be CEO?”
    “I want it enough,” Joanna said, slipping off the table to stand before him, “that I want us to get married.”
    Paul’s insides jolted. “Married?”
    Joanna smiled again and twined her arms around Paul’s neck. “I like being the wife of the CEO. I just didn’t