her daughter, she didn’t want to become too personally involved with him. During the benefit dinner he had mentioned the kind of donations they were trying to elicit in their fund drive. He suggested a million dollars and upward, which was obviously not for himself, but for research. There was clearly an ulterior motive and an agenda behind his random moments chatting with her in the hall. A donation was certainly possible, though perhaps not quite that large. If they cured Bethanie, she would be forever grateful, but it made her uneasy that he saw her as a source of money and was preying on their plight, however subtly.
“Do you like to sail?” he asked her one day in the hall, and she said she did, but hadn’t in a long time. “I have a small sailboat I keep tied up at the Chelsea Piers, if you’d like to come out with me sometime.” He was very attractive, somewhere in his mid to late forties. He reminded her of a younger Ed, or a more professional-looking Ian. He was definitely a type, her type. He was at the top of his field, as Ian was. She had called Ian several more times, and he still hadn’t responded. But Jeff Armstrong made it clear that he was eager to spend time with her during their lengthy stay in New York.
“I don’t think I should leave Bethanie right now,” she said with a warm smile, and she mentioned him to Sam when he came by that night. He brought a drawing from Nathan to Bethanie. She was still very sick, but on the whole, she was holding up well.
“I think I have a problem,” Coco told Sam, after he told her how Tamar was. She was still depressed, and the baby was colicky. Nathan had hit his head at school that day and had to be picked up and brought home.
“I’m turning into Mr. Mom,” he said with a sigh. He was doing all he could for his kids, and Tamar was despondent. He said she cried all the time.
“I think Jeff Armstrong is hitting on me,” Coco shared with him, looking worried. “He suggested I buy a ticket to the benefit, which I did to support the cause, and he had me seated next to him, which was a little awkward. He invited me today to go sailing with him on his boat. And he wants a million-dollar donation or more. I can’t afford that, though I’ll certainly give them a healthy donation if they cure my daughter. I can’t put my finger on it, but he’s just a little too friendly for my taste. He’s also what I always fall for. I’m not here for that, I’m here for Bethanie. But he’s so damn smart and attractive. He’s the flash you always talk about, Sam, which is my nemesis.” He laughed at her.
“You’re just too damn beautiful and sexy for your own good.”
“Like hell I am. I look a mess. I’m not feeling sexy. This isn’t the time or the place. And I’m still in love with Ian,” she said sadly.
“Did Jeff tell you he has a gorgeous Chinese wife? She’s a professor at Columbia Medical School. She’s a knockout. She lectures all over the place, she probably couldn’t make it to the benefit.” He looked startled that Jeff had gotten personal with her. It seemed inappropriate to him.
“So what’s he after? Just money?” she asked him innocently.
“That, and you. You’re a doubleheader, Coco. You’re young and beautiful and you can make an enormous donation. Not many women your age can.”
“I don’t want to be the object of his attentions, particularly if he’s married. Here we go again.”
“Just keep saying no. He’ll get the message eventually.” Sam thought it was funny and Jeff was harmless. He was a busy man and an important one. He wasn’t going to stalk her. But Coco didn’t trust herself. He was a very attractive man, she was lonely and scared, and he was cast in the role of savior, which made him even more dangerous for her. She knew herself. And she did not want a married man, under any circumstances, savior or not. All she wanted from him was that he save her daughter.
He asked her to lunch the following week when he saw Coco in the hall when Bethanie was sleeping. He wasn’t being overly pushy, but he was persistent, and married. She saw him in the cafeteria a