that’s okay. You won’t be longer than three days, though, right?”
“Three tops, Sid. I promise.” He rubbed vigorously at his scalp.
“You couldn’t get out of the New York trip?”
Sidney shook her head. “Lawyers don’t get excused from business trips.
It’s not in the Tyler, Stone manual of being a productive attorney.”
“Christ, you do more in three days than most of them do in five.”
“Well, sweetie, I don’t have to tell you, but in our shop, it’s what did
you do for me today, and, more important, what are you going to do for
me tomorrow, and the day after that.”
Jason pulled himself up to a sitting position. “Same at Triton;
however, being in the advanced technology business, their expectations
go into the next millennium. One day our ship will come in, Sid. Maybe
today.” He looked at her.
She shook her head. “Right. So while you’re waiting down at the docks
for our yacht, I’ll keep depositing our paychecks and paying down debt.
Deal?”
“Okay. But sometimes you have to be optimistic. Look into the future.”
“Speaking of the future, have you given any more thought to working on
another baby?”
‘Tm more than ready. If the next one’s like Amy, it’ll be a breeze.”
Sidney pressed her full thighs against him, quietly pleased that he
voiced no objection to enlarging the family. If he was seeing someone
else… ? “Speak for yourself, Mr. Male Half of this little
equation.”
She pushed him.
“Sorry, Sid. Typical brain-dead man thing to say. It won’t happen
again, promise.”
Sidney lay back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling as she gently
rubbed his shoulder. Three years ago the thought of leaving the
practice of law would have been out of the question. Now, even
part-time seemed too intrusive on her life with Amy and Jason. She
longed for total freedom to be with her child. Freedom they could not
yet afford solely on Jason’s salary, even with all the cutbacks they had
made, constantly fighting the American-consumer compulsion to spend as
much as they earned. But if Jason kept moving up at Triton, who knew?
Sidney had never wanted to be financially dependent on anyone else. She
looked at Jason. If she was going to tie her economic survival to one
person, who better than a man she had loved almost from the moment she
had laid eyes on him? As she continued to watch him, a glimmer of
moisture appeared in her eyes. She sat up, leaning into him.
“Well, at least while you’re in Los Angeles you can look up some of your
old friends–just skip the old flames, please.” She tousled his hair.
“Besides, you could never leave me. My father would stalk you.” Her
eyes slowly drifted over his shirtless torso: abdominal muscles stacked
on top of one another, cords of muscle rippling just beneath the skin of
his shoulders. Sidney was once again reminded of how lucky she had been
to collide with Jason Archer’s life. And she also knew beyond doubt
that her husband believed he was the lucky one for finding her. He
didn’t answer, just stared off. “You know you’ve really been burning
the midnight oil the last few months, Jason. At the office at all
hours, leaving me notes in the middle of the night. I miss you.” She
nudged him with her hip.
“You remember how much fun it is to snuggle at night, don’t you?”
In response he kissed her on the cheek.
“Besides, Triton has a lot of employees. You don’t have to do it all
yourself,” she added.
He looked at her and there was a painful weariness in his eyes.
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”
Sidney sighed. “After the CyberCom acquisition closes, you’ll probably
be busier than ever. Maybe I should sabotage the deal. I am lead
counsel for Triton, after all.” She smiled.
He chuckled halfheartedly, his mind clearly elsewhere.
“The meeting in New York should be interesting, anyway.”
He abruptly focused on her. “Why’s that?”
“Because we’re meeting on the CyberCom deal. Nathan Gamble and your
buddy Quentin Rowe will both be there.”
The blood slowly drained from her husband’s face. He stammered, “I–I