Once I left the city, the clouds broke up and revealed the kind of blue sky that only happens in autumn. Whereas the leaves in the Ozarks were in their early autumn show, the trees in Massachusetts put on their full autumn pageant with yellows, reds, and oranges. I wished I could enjoy it, but my mind kept playing over the encounter with Jared Steel.
He didn’t have to be so kind to me. Was he expecting something in return that he would cash in on later? That was typically how men worked, but I’d thought he was different. Of course as the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, he would have to have a mind for business. The question was how much of that ruthless quid pro quo philosophy he put into his personal relationships.
Oh, right, you don’t have a personal relationship with him. You’r
