The Agreement Read Free Page B

Everything was cream and gold with rich dark wood on the furniture,
floors and all the trim.
    Almost two dozen people were there, most of them
rich businessmen in several-thousand dollar suits, a couple of women there as
arm candy, tall leggy bottle blondes who were managing quite fine in their own
stiletto heels. I was a dwarf compared to the rest of the women in
attendance. 
    Now, I'd have to explain to everyone why I was
bandaged up and limping. I searched for Nigel. Immediately, he called out to
me.
    "There you are my girl," he boomed,
pushing through the people standing around him to get to me. My cheeks burned
as everyone in the room turned at the sound of his voice.
    I smiled when I saw him and he opened his arms
wide. Close to three hundred pounds and six foot six, while I was all of five
foot three, and one hundred and fifteen, we made a comedic pair. He picked me
up and hugged me like a bear.
    "Hey, hey!" I said when he held me up.
"Watch it – I fell and hurt my ankle."
    He placed me gingerly back down on the ground,
kissing both my cheeks in that Continental manner, a huge arm around my
shoulder, helping me limp into the room. Immediately, a group of men surrounded
us and Nigel introduced me to them all.
    A few minutes later, Peter, my father's chief of
staff for his campaign, came by.
    "Kate what happened?"
    "I fell in the back alley."
    "Are you all right?"
    "I'm fine."
    "Your father's in a conference call. Can I
introduce you to a few people?"
    Nigel let go of me and now Peter escorted me
around the room, letting me lean on his shoulder for support.
    It was then I saw 'Dr. Delish' – Drake – standing with a man I met two years earlier before I went to Mangaize
with Nigel.
    Dave Mills was an MBA type who worked in
fundraising. He also happened to hit on me, blatant about wanting to take me
home at the end of a long booze-filled party. I refused him and his advances.
    " I'm Justice McDermott's daughter ,"
I'd said, hoping that would scare him off.
    "You need lovin', too," was his reply.
    He was attractive with blond hair and brown
eyes, well-dressed and erudite. He was a catch. But he was far too glib for my
tastes. He'd hit on me each time we met after that. I could almost predict what
he'd say and it bothered me, as if he couldn’t see me as anything other than
fuck material.
    He placed his beer down on the table and stood
up straight, adjusting his jacket when Peter led me towards them, me limping
along beside him.
    "Drake, Dave, may I introduce—"
    Before Peter could introduce me, Dave stepped
forward. "Ahh, the lovely Miss Bennet ," he said in an affected
British accent. "Um, I mean the lovely Kate needs no
introduction."
    "It is a truth universally acknowledged
that a man in possession of a good fortune must write out a check and make a
donation to the cause," I said in an equally affected British accent, not
wanting to miss the opportunity to tease him and also continue with the Pride
and Prejudice reference.
    Dave laughed. "Well played, Ms. McDermott,
well played."
     At that, Drake made a face of surprise.
"You're Katherine …"
    "Oh, this is Kate McDermott," Dave
said, gesturing to me.  "Kate, this is Dr. Drake Morgan, brain
surgeon, bass player, philanthropist. I assumed you already knew each
other."
    "I met, but didn’t really formally meet ,
Ms. McDermott," Drake said, his voice soft. "I've known you by
reputation for years. My apologies for not introducing myself."
    "By reputation?"
    "Your father told me about you, and I read
your articles on Mangaize."
    I smiled briefly, surprised that he knew who I
was.
    Dave turned to me. "Dr. Morgan's father
Liam fought with your father in Vietnam. Drake volunteers with Doctors Without
Borders," he said, sounding mock officious. "I run his foundation,
which donates surgical equipment. Drake goes to war zones where civilians have
experienced brain trauma and fixes them up."
    It was then I realized who Drake was and I
turned to him, totally surprised. "My