Marriage Contract

Lisa got out of the taxi and stood on the sidewalk, staring at Fare's narrow entrance, with its uniformed doorman. Why a restaurant? It wasn't the first time she'd asked herself that question since boarding the plane that had taken her from Boston to New York. It was supposed to be a business meeting, not a date. The doorman opened the door for him, and as he entered the premises he unbuttoned the button on his suit jacket. There was no one in the reception area, but she preferred to wait there to be seen; she wasn't in a hurry. She was used to meeting with representatives of charitable or scientific foundations to raise research funds, but this was something completely different. And although it had been her idea to turn to private investors to resolve the situation the clinic was facing, she never would have thought that one day she would have lunch with that man. Nervously, she ran a hand over her wide belt and rebuttoned her jacket. Then she shifted her leather briefcase to her other hand. —Is this Miss Armstrong? That voice brought her out of her thoughts. Lisa blinked and turned around. towards the restaurant employee who had called her name, a young woman. -Yeah. "Mr. Devlin is expecting you," the girl said with a smile, and gestured for her to go into the dining room. Lisa unbuttoned her jacket again, gripped the handle of her briefcase with her sweaty hand, and walked into the dining room. She spotted Rourke Devlin immediately. He was a friend of Ted Bonner, and while he commended the generosity he had shown him and Sara Beth, he couldn't imagine anything productive coming out of that business lunch. Rourke Devlin was a dark, powerful, arrogant man, as rich as King Midas. And he feared her as much as he feared the devil himself. Devlin didn't even stand up when he saw her approaching the table where he was sitting in the center of the dining room. However, his black eyes stared at her. He felt like a lamb being sent to the slaughter, and he cursed Derek again under his breath. He had promised Paul that, despite his reluctance, he would go all out at that meeting—and the other half dozen he had scheduled for the following week—but if it weren't for what Derek had done, none of it would have been necessary. A waiter suddenly appeared as if by magic to remove the chair for him. Lisa thanked him and sat down, leaving her briefcase on the floor beside her. There were many other tables around it, but none of them were occupied. Only Devlin's, sitting there in the middle of the dining room like a king in the throne room. "I've read some food reviews about this restaurant," Lisa commented. "They say the food is excellent." -Yes it is. Although Ted had assured her that Devlin had been willing to meet with her, Lisa couldn't help but recall her encounter with him months earlier at the Founder's Ball, an annual fundraising event held by the Armstrong Institute. She had danced with him only once, and she had gotten the impression that he didn't have a very favorable opinion of the Institute.