He smiled.
“Geez, of course you can. You have Pemberley. And I can only imagine your palatial spread in the city.”
“It’s not as grandiose as you might think,” he demurred. “Um, I’ll be hosting a dinner for Jane and Charles and their friends. You can see for yourself.”
Right, because this is goodbye.Elizabeth quickly pushed down on the door handle. “Sounds good. I should go. I need to change and get over to my boss’s house.”
Darcy jumped out of the car, ran around it, and opened her door. Then he reached into the backseat for her bag. She took it sheepishly.
“Thank you. For the ride and for the lovely weekend. Pemberley is wonderful.”
“I’m glad you liked it. I enjoyed hosting all of you.”
A car honked loudly and they both turned to see a Toyota trying to get around Darcy’s Rover.
She walked toward the building’s front door.
“Elizabeth?”
She put her key in the door and turned it. “Yes?”
“I hope your meeting goes well.” He looked at her earnestly. “Everything will be fine. You know that, right?”
A cloud drifted by overhead, casting a shadow that hid her face.
“Of course.”
“If I can be of any help…” He reached for his wallet and walked quickly toward her. “Please, take my card. My office number is on it.”
His card? Couldn’t he just throttle George Wickham for me?She bit back that thought and took the card from him. She smiled sadly. “Thanks, but no need. Mr. Philips has some ideas.”
The Toyota honked again. And again.
“Well, then,” Darcy said. “I should go. Take care.”
Elizabeth walked inside to the elevator. She waited there and watched him drive away. “You too,” she said quietly.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Elizabeth’s meeting with Mr. Philips was short and to the point. He wasn’t angry with her; he wasn’t even disappointed with her judgment. He was just worried and out of ideas.
“Liz, I’m a birder. I watch golf, but I don’t even read the sports pages. I know, I know,” he said, frowning at her look of astonishment. “Why would someone like me want to dip his toe into the sports marketing world?”
Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. He was lost. Clearly, she was on her own in fixing this.
The stout, bald man gestured at the family photos behind his desk. “I have kids; they have kids. None of them cares a whit about a crested woodpecker or a bluebird nest. None of them needs another flash drive or mouse pad from one of our direct-marketing campaigns. But this book and the events we’re planning—they’re a different story. They’re cool! Which makesmecool! I can make the kids awfully happy with the team merchandise I bring home. These athletes, for good or bad, are their heroes.”
Mr. Philips sipped from a half-empty glass of cranberry juice. “So, a few of our ‘heroes’ are not such heroes. I know, I know, they’re innocent until proven guilty. But we can’t take a chance.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I called Stefan. His boyfriend told me he can’t talk to anyone.”
He really was pumped up.I should’ve wondered about it. Gymnasts aren’t usually quite so bulky.
“Elizabeth, we missed the Father’s Day market when the press run was delayed. I’m on my knees asking the printer for an extra week or two, but we still need to have it all ready to go by July 1. Maybe July 10 if I’m persuasive.” He looked at her, his brow wrinkled. “The timing is key, you know that?”
“Definitely. The kickoff to football season, back-to-school, baseball playoffs…I know.”And the book launch party.She didn’t want to think about that.
“You’ve lost the gymnast, the skater and…?”
