As Ashley headed toward her desk, her supervisor, Shane Miller, approached her. “Morning, Ashley.”
Shane Miller was in his early thirties, a burly, earnest man with a pleasant personality. In the beginning, he had tried to persuade Ashley to go to bed with him, but he had finally given up, and they had become good friends.
He handed Ashley a copy of the latest Time magazine. “Seen this?”
Ashley looked at the cover. It featured a picture of a distinguished-looking man in his fifties, with silver hair. The caption read “Dr. Steven Patterson, Father of Mini Heart Surgery.”
“I’ve seen it.”
“How does it feel to have a famous father?”
Ashley smiled. “Wonderful.”
“He’s a great man.”
“I’ll tell him you said so. We’re having lunch.”
“Good. By the way…” Shane Miller showed Ashley a photograph of a movie star who was going to be used in an ad for a client. “We have a little problem here. Desiree has gained about ten pounds, and it shows. Look at those dark circles under her eyes. And even with makeup, her skin is splotchy. Do you think you can help this?”
Ashley studied the picture. “I can fix her eyes by applying the blur filter. I could try to thin her face by using the distort tool, but—No. That would probably end up making her look odd.” She studied the picture again. “I’ll have to airbrush or use the clone tool in some areas.”
“Thanks. Are we on for Saturday night?”
“Yes.”
Shane Miller nodded toward the photograph. “There’s no hurry on this. They want it last month.”
Ashley smiled. “What else is new?”
She went to work. Ashley was an expert in advertising and graphic design, creating layouts with text and images.
Half an hour later, as Ashley was working on the photograph, she sensed someone watching her. She looked up. It was Dennis Tibbie.
“Morning, honey.”
His voice grated on her nerves. Tibbie was the company’s computer genius. He was known around the plant as “The Fixer.” Whenever a computer crashed, Tibbie was sent for. He was in his early thirties, thin and bald with an unpleasant, arrogant attitude. He had an obsessive personality, and the word around the plant was that he was fixated on Ashley.
“Need any help?”
“No, thank you.”
“Hey, what about us having a little dinner Saturday night?”
“Thank you. I’m busy.”
“Going out with the boss again?”
Ashley turned to look at him, angry. “Look, it’s none of your—”
“I don’t know what you see in him, anyway. He’s a nerd, cubed. I can give you a better time.” He winked. “You know what I mean?”
Ashley was trying to control her temper. “I have work to do, Dennis.”
Tibbie leaned close to her and whispered, “There’s something you’re going to learn about me, honey. I don’t give up. Ever.”
She watched him walk away, and wondered: Could he be the one?
At 12:30, Ashley put her computer in suspend mode and headed for Margherita di Roma, where she was joining her father for lunch.
She sat at a corner table in the crowded restaurant, watching her father come toward her. She had to admit that he was handsome. People were turning to stare at him as he walked to Ashley’s table. “How does it feel to have a famous father?”
Years earlier, Dr. Steven Patterson had pioneered a breakthrough in minimally invasive heart surgery. He was constantly invited to lecture at major hospitals around the world. Ashley’s mother had died when Ashley was twelve, and she had no one but her father.
“Sorry I’m late, Ashley.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
“That’s all right. I just got here.”
He sat down. “Have you seen Time magazine?”
“Yes. Shane showed it to me.”
He frowned. “Shane? Your boss?”
“He’s not my boss. He’s—he’s one of the supervisors.”
“It’s never good to mix business with pleasure, Ashley. You’re seeing him socially, aren’t you? That’s a mistake.”
“Father, we’re just good—”
A waiter came up to the table. “Would you like to see a menu?”
Dr. Patterson turned to him and snapped, “Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a conversation? Go away until you’re sent for.”