Ann and Becca, who took an almost instant dislike to Adrian. She should have heeded their warnings. After all, both had been happily married for years. Didn’t that mean they should be good judges of character?
But she wouldn’t listen. Adrian had bowled her over. He was charming, worldly, poised. When he spoke to you, it seemed as if you were the only person in the room. Unfortunately, Sarah didn’t learn until after they were married that shallow brooks babble loudest.
The only true substance to Adrian was his surgical skill. If you needed life-saving neurosurgery, he was your guy. If you needed a monogamous mate, look elsewhere.
Despite all the problems, the arguments, the miscommunications, and the bursting of the romantic bubble, she was willing to stick it out, see if it was just a period of adjustment, until the affair, which turned out to be just one of many.
Adrian’s social circle, and thus hers, consisted of the city’s most prominent citizens, making their divorce a public spectacle. When the news hit, the salacious details became spicy grist for the rumor-mills. Each morsel savored. Each tidbit relished.
The unwelcome spotlight cast on her private life had been almost too much to bear. She withdrew from the social scene, not only to avoid contact with Adrian, but to avoid the knowing looks and catty comments from the city’s so-called paragons of society.
Soon the invitations dried up, taking with them Sarah’s ever-growing need for excuses to decline, and dimming the spotlight, a spotlight she hoped would never shine on her again.
No, she decided, the car was not a replacement for sex, or men. Why would you want to replace something that didn’t really hold any interest for you?
At least that’s what she tried to convince herself.
Chapter 3
Dressed in her best Marc Jacobs power-suit, Sarah checked her appearance in the ladies’ room mirror.
The last two weeks had been hectic. Between the aggravations of dealing with the police and the insurance company over the stolen car, and the pressure of polishing her résumé and worrying about what to wear for her interview, she’d barely had time to prepare and practice her responses to the usual interview questions: What unique qualities do you bring to this position? If hired, what would be your first priority?
In a few minutes she’d sit before the selection committee at the boardroom’s barge-sized conference table and do her best to wow them. She’d worked with several members of the board on legal matters, but the stakes had never been this high. The job had grown in importance since Ken first approached her.
The Admiral had been as excited about the possible promotion, as he had been appalled over her car purchase and the car’s subsequent theft.
Her father’s approval had always been important to her. Not that she’d never gained his approval. She could remember countless occasions when her father had been proud of her–when she’d graduated from high school as class Valedictorian; when she’d been accepted to William and Mary; when she’d graduated with highest honors with a degree in literature; and later, when she’d graduated from William and Mary law.
But she could also remember the disappointments–when she’d announced as a college sophomore that she was going to be a writer; when she’d given up on her teaching career after only three years; and of course, when her ill-advised marriage ended in divorce.
Walking to the boardroom, she reminded herself it was these disappointments that made this job so important. It would make her father proud again.
She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. At someone’s request to come in, she stepped in and greeted the three board members who served as the selection committee with a warm smile. She was relieved to find that she already knew two of them.
“Welcome, Ms. Edwards.” Mrs. Dillard extended her bejeweled hand to indicate the chair across from them. “Take a seat, and we’ll get started.” As the mayor’s wife, Mrs. Dillard not only served as the city’s first lady, but also the Grand Dame of Jacksonville society.
She introduced Mr. Cheswick to her left, current board president, and Mr. Spalding, to her right, owner and CEO of the city’s largest real estate development company.
Mr. Cheswick, she remembered from her past dealings with him, was a stickler for details, being the head of a large accounting firm, but pleasant and warm.
Mrs. Dillard was the consummate socialite, an ideal politician’s wife, polished, smooth, articulate. But get on her bad side, and you’d never grace the doors of the