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“How about one o’clock at the Four Seasons?”
“That’ll do,” Adrienne answered casually.
“Great. I’ll meet you there. We could walk over together but I don’t want to start tongues wagging. Okay?”
“Okay. Bye.”
For the rest of the morning, she worked like a woman on automatic pilot. There were so many unanswered questions. Where were LaMar’s sisters? How did he end up in Chicago? Was he married? Did he have any kids? When Regina or Sherry tried to make conversation with her, all they received in return was a blank stare and a monosyllabic answer to their remarks. After a while, they left her alone.
Adrienne turned heads as she entered the restaurant. Lloyd stood up until she was seated.
“How was your morning?” he asked, sitting down.
“Pretty good. Yours?”
“Great. I just saw a terrific apartment this morning. It’s not a rental, though. I’ll have to buy it.”
Adrienne wanted to ask what the cost was, but that would have been rude. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks. Hotel life just does not agree with me. The place I found is on East Seventy-seventh Street. It’s a three-bedroom duplex with a den, eat-in kitchen, and formal dining room. I’ll have to do a lot of business entertaining, so it’s just perfect.”
Adrienne didn’t know what to say, so she took a sip of her water and then gazed at him thoughtfully. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
Lloyd signaled a waiter and turned back to face her. “Let’s order lunch first. Are you in a hurry?”
“I don’t mind so long as you give me a late pass when we get back to work.”
He chuckled. “After lunch, I have a meeting across town, but I’ll write the pass on a napkin and you can present it to Regina Belvedere with my apologies.”
“That should go over well,” Adrienne said dryly.
“If she gives you a problem, let me know.”
A pale, thin young waiter eagerly approached the table clutching his pad.
“Welcome to the Four Seasons; may I take your order, please?” he asked with practiced enthusiasm.
“What would you like?” Lloyd asked, examining the single-card lunch menu.
“I’m not sure; how about the salmon?”
“Excellent choice. But then, you always had good taste. I’ll have a steak, medium rare, and a Caesar salad.”
Adrienne blushed and nervously cleared her throat as she passed the waiter her menu.
Lloyd chuckled. “I’ll have a cranberry juice with seltzer.”
“The same for me.”
The waiter flashed another winning smile. “I’ll be back in a moment with your drinks.”
Lloyd placed the card down and smiled.
An uncomfortable silence fell between them. “Let’s play a game,” she finally said.
He cocked his head to one side and stared at her. “What kind of game?”
“Let’s see if we can fill in a little of the seventeen-year gap since we’ve seen each other.”
