CHAPTER SIX

      HAVING TURNED OFF the lights, he was letting himself out of his office when he came face-to-face with his partner, John Li. John had obviously been about to knock on his door. The two men had been friends since their freshmen year in college, when they’d been paired as roommates.

      John had a file in his hand. Looking astonished, he said, “You’re leaving?”

      With anyone else, Nate would have claimed to be meeting an investor for predinner drinks. Instead, he said, “Yeah. I told you I found a woman to be there when Molly gets home, and she did start today. But I’d like to make sure the arrangement is working. And, frankly, I’ve had so many distractions, I’m useless, anyway.”

      “I understand,” his partner said. He probably did; he was married and had two kids. His wife was an orthopedic surgeon, and somehow they juggled responsibilities with astonishing success. That didn’t mean it was easy or that there weren’t days when their arrangements for the kids failed. “This—” he lifted the folder “—can wait until morning.”

      Usually Nate wouldn’t have been able to walk away without knowing what this was, without turning and going back into his office. It was part of the drive that had taken K & L Ventures to the top of the pyramid. Right now, he said, “Thanks,” and continued on his way.

      He did remember during the drive home why he didn’t usually cut and run at five o’clock. Traffic crawled. He sometimes used the express lanes, which at this time of day required drivers to pay a toll, but he couldn’t see that it helped all that much. Funny, though, that he looked forward to getting home, something he couldn’t recall feeling in a very long time.

      It would be good to smell dinner cooking when he walked in the door, he told himself. And he wanted to hear how Molly’s day had gone. But Nate didn’t make a practice of lying to himself. And the truth was he liked knowing his house wasn’t empty, that somebody might anticipate his arrival.

      He didn’t kid himself that Anna would be glad to see him beyond the fact that, with him home, she could retreat to the apartment. Still, if he was lucky they might have another real conversation, the kind not barbed with hostility.

      Though he shouldn’t count on that.

      * * *

      ANNA WASN’T USED to having to take more than two or three steps from refrigerator to sink or anywhere else in her kitchen. This one was vast and so elegant and well equipped that a professional chef would be delighted. The pantry was as large as the entire kitchen in the house she’d just sold. Anna didn’t even know how to use all of the small appliances she found, and wasn’t 100 percent sure what some of them did.

      Fortunately, the kids were happily occupied playing Xbox games. Josh had wanted either a Nintendo or Xbox gaming system for a long time and always came home hyper after having a chance to play with one at a friend’s house. He’d been gleeful when he spotted it in the family room.

      Anna had heard snatches of some initial squabbling. Molly liked something called “Just Dance Kids.” Jenna had wanted that one, too. Josh said no way, creating a tempest. Left to themselves, they’d settled on “Lego Marvel Super Hero.” Anna had made herself unpopular by checking the rating. When she explored the pile of games, she didn’t see one that wasn’t rated Everyone, which allowed her to relax and return to the kitchen. Apparently, Nate didn’t have a secret addiction to “Call of Duty” or “Assassin’s Creed.”