“So, how’s Deena?” Bronson asked.
“She’s fine. Thanks for asking.”
After they shared a few stories about what they’d been up to, he said, “Well, I’m working from home today and promised Sunnie I’d take her to lunch. So, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, Bron. Give Sunnie and the kids my love.”
No sooner had he ended the call with Bronson than Luna buzzed him saying another reporter was calling. A Mr. Herbert Thomas. “Tell Mr. Thomas I’m in a meeting.”
“Yes, sir. And Mr. Caulder?”
“Yes?”
“With your newfound popularity, you might want to consider getting a PR person to field the reporters’ questions.”
“Thanks for your suggestion, Luna.”
It was a short while later when he gave Luna’s suggestion any real consideration. He smiled, knowing just which PR company he would use. Namely, the Knight Group. Hopefully, once Iris got to know him better and trusted him as a friend, then she would have no problem moving forward with a more serious relationship with him.
* * *
When Iris stood waiting for the elevator to take her to lunch, the last person she had expected to step out of it was Matt.
“Iris,” he said, seemingly not as surprised to see her as she was to see him.
“Matt, this is a surprise.” Although she would admit it was a pleasant surprise, she would refrain from saying so. She had regretted leaving Westmoreland Country without seeing him again.
“I was on my way to your office.”
His words gave her pause. “My office?” she asked, stepping aside so as not to block others wanting to get on the elevator.
“Yes.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I’d like to discuss hiring you.”
“Hiring me?”
“Yes. Were you on your way out?”
“Yes. I’m leaving for lunch,” she said.
“Is there any way I could join you to see if you’re interested in taking me on as a client? My being Sid Roberts’s son still has reporters contacting me, and I think it’s time I released a statement.”
Iris recalled Pam mentioning that since he had attended the Sid Roberts Foundation banquet a few months back, he’d been bombarded with requests for interviews. She could tell him she was meeting someone for lunch, and that he could call and have her administrative assistant set up an appointment for him. However, there was no way shewoulddo that, mainly because she wasn’t meeting anyone for lunch. There was no reason she couldn’t share a meal with him, even if she had planned to go home for lunch.
She had been the one to decide they should just be friends, and she had done so for a reason. Although she hadn’t wanted to admit it, what Pam said that day at breakfast was true. Iris did see Matt as a threat and could definitely envision a relationship with him going beyond her wildest dreams, which would make her question the limitations she had established after Garlan’s death. That kiss they had shared had confirmed it.
“I had planned to go home for lunch. I cooked meatloaf yesterday and have a taste for a meatloaf sandwich.”
“You live close by?”
“Yes. In Echo Park.”
“Nice community,” he said.
“Yes, it is.”
