She reached for the books, but he angled them out of her reach. “Let me take these for you. It’s the least I can do.”
“Thank you,” her eyes lowered demurely when she nodded.
In silence, they moved toward the library entrance. Gabriel was hesitant to surrender his hold on the books once they were in the lobby.
“Thank you again, so much-”
“I’m Gabriel.”
She smiled. “I’m Giselle,” hefting her arm load of books, she smiled. “Thanks,” she headed off with her burden.
Gabriel stood motionless until she was long gone from his sight.
~12~
Three Days Later~
Vale was tasked with the job of delivering tickets for the Portland trip. He and his brothers were booked on the noon flight the next week.
So far, it had been fun delivering the tickets and seeing everyone’s hopeful looks wane into disappointment when they realized they’d be traveling by coach instead of first class with Humphrey. Then, Vale had the pleasure of shaking them again with the news that there would be two trips instead of the one they’d expected.
Humphrey had promised the enjoyment of delivering the tickets would make up for having to play delivery boy. Vale found the real joy when his errand took him to the Tesano factory where Pitch spent much of his time. Vale made the delivery with a minimum of fuss and then he was off- one more delivery to go and luckily it was inside the factory as well.
He found the door closed when he turned the corner and smiled. He couldn’t say he was overly surprised. He raised a hand to knock, but reconsidered. He thought about sliding the ticket under the door and then decided to hold off on that altogether for the time being.
Moving closer to the door, Vale listened...and listened. Inching closer, he continued to listen... and smiled.
“I knew it,” he said.
~13~
Portland, Oregon~1 week later
To everyone’s delight, the Portland trip became the Portland/Chicago trip. Adding to the glee; and removing all disappointment over missing out on first class travel, was Humphrey’s announcement that the Portland trip would be shorter than expected. The Portland meeting had been cancelled. Somehow, Humphrey’s land development contacts had mistakenly booked a business trip that would keep them out of town during the scheduled meeting.
At least, that was the lie Humphrey fed his family. Truth was, the supposed land developers had never existed. There was never a meeting. At least not one Humphrey had planned to include his family on. The trip had been on his itinerary for well over half a year. He had come across Dr. Lucius Gage’s name when the research had tipped over into human reproduction. Gage was a respected gynecologist and one of a select number of medical professionals who had successfully carried out the artificial insemination procedure to a number of his patients. With such achievements under his belt, Gage was naturally quite busy. His time was very valuable, hence the meeting made six months out.
Humphrey didn’t intend to miss it for any reason. He had expected Aaron and maybe Stone to give him grief about a wasted night in Portland. They hadn’t. Humphrey guessed everyone could use a little downtime what with working hard to meet their father’s proposal deadline. There would be more than enough business to handle in Chicago, but also a fair amount of pleasure. Roman’s 18th birthday was upon them. Humphrey had already been in touch with their Uncles Tori and Mica who oversaw Tesano’s Midwest factories. They were thrilled about organizing a special treat for the kid as well as the rest of them. Humphrey doubted there would be a lot of upset over an unfruitful visit to Portland.
Yet he prayed his intended purpose for the visit would bear much fruit. He’d read a lot about Gage’s accomplishments and research. He was confident the doctor could handle the questions he’d not yet found definitive answers to.
Getting answers was only the tip of the iceberg for Humphrey. Getting Gage to accept his job offer would make the long awaited trip truly worth it. Besides, he didn’t know many researchers who would turn down the chance to have their work fully funded. Of course, Humphrey knew he was putting the cart way too far in front of the horse. Lucius Gage was a highly intelligent man. He’d be less impressed by flash and dazzle and more by a patient and cooly delivered plan.
“Mr. Tesano?”
The airy, feminine voice drew Humphrey from his reasonings. He looked up, hoping his face didn’t reveal the discomfort that had seeped into his bones as a result of being relegated to the worst chair ever created. He fiercely regretted arriving so early for his 2pm appointment.
The young woman was lovely to be sure. She wasn’t quite in the same league as a certain blonde library clerk he’d become smitten with over the last two weeks, but she was lovely. Judging from the white lab coat she wore over dark slacks and a matching blouse, he guessed she was one of the doctor’s assistants. He’d seen at least three dressed in similar style.
“Doctor Gage is ready for you now.”
Humphrey thought the assistant’s polite tone matched the welcome in her small yet sharp dark gaze. For an instant, he wondered what it must be like to be on one accord with what you said and felt.
“Madelyn Ferrat,” she said. “I’m one of Doctor Gage’s R.A.s. If you follow me, I’ll take you in to see the doc.”
“This is some place you have here,” Humphrey said as he followed Madelyn Ferrat from the lobby.
“Isn’t it?” Ferrat agreed, waving her hands toward the wide, brightly lit corridor where doctors conversed with other members of the staff. “In addition to nurses, lab technicians and X-ray specialists, we have three additional doctors and five research assistants. All in all, a group of around thirty.”
“I’ve heard impressive things about the doctor’s work,” Humphrey said. “The people here must really be top experts in their fields.”
“As one of those people, I thank you,” Ferrat’s laughter carried her voice.
They made the rest of the journey in easy silence until one final turn down a long corridor brought them to a set of black double doors. Madelyn opened one side and with yet another wave, urged Humphrey on ahead.
“Humphrey Tesano, Doctor Lucius Gage,” she announced.
The doctor stood, favored Humphrey with a polite smile and then turned to a young man who occupied a small desk in the far corner of the office suite.
“Mr. Tesano, this is Jonathan Reed, another of my R.A.s. He’ll be taking notes of our meeting if you don’t mind.”
Humphrey paired a smile with a single head shake. “Not at all,” he said.
“Please,” Gage urged Humphrey to take one of the chairs before his desk. “I thank you for your patience in waiting this afternoon, Mr. Tesano. That alone will make you a fine doctor.”
Again, Humphrey smiled. “Thank you, Sir, but I have no plans to become a doctor.”
Gage smiled, though concern etched his attractive, weather graced features. “I was under the impression you were conducting research.”
