The Stars Shine Down

"Thanks." He cleared his throat. "I...I don't know how to tell you how grateful I..."

Lara stood up. "I'm late for a meeting."

And she walked out, leaving him standing there, looking after her.

The meeting was with the architects on a New Jersey development. "You've done a good job," Lara said, "but I'd like some changes. I want an elliptical arcade with lobbies on three sides and marble walls. Change the roof to the shape of a copper pyramid, with a beacon to light up at night. Any problem with that?"

"I don't see any, Miss Cameron."

When the meeting was over, the intercom buzzed.

"Miss Cameron, Raymond Duffy, one of the construction foremen, is on the line for you. He says it's urgent."

Lara picked up the telephone. "Hello, Raymond."

"We have a problem, Miss Cameron."

"Go on."

"They just delivered a load of cement blocks. They won't pass inspection. There are cracks in them. I'm going to send them back, but I wanted to tell you first."

Lara was thoughtful for a moment. "How bad is it?"

"Bad enough. The point is, they don't meet our specifications, and..."

"Can they be fixed?"

"I guess they could, but it would be expensive."

"Fix them," Lara said.

There was a silence at the other end of the line.

"Right. You're the boss."

Lara replaced the receiver. There were only two cement suppliers in the city, and it would be suicide to antagonize them.

By five o'clock Philip still had not called. Lara dialed the number at his foundation. "Philip Adler, please."

"Mr. Adler is out of town on tour. Can I help you?"

He hadn't mentioned that he was leaving town. "No, thank you."

That's that, Lara thought. For now.

The day ended with a visit from Steve Murchison. He was a huge man, built like a stack of bricks. He stormed into Lara's office.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Murchison?" Lara asked.

"You can keep your nose out of my fucking business," Murchison said.

Lara looked at him calmly. "What's your problem?"

"You. I don't like people horning in on my deals."

"If you're talking about Mr. Guttman..."

"You're damn right I am."

"...he preferred my building to yours."

"You suckered him into it, lady. You've been getting in my hair long enough. I warned you once. I'm not going to warn you again. There's not room enough for both of us in this town. I don't know where you keep your balls, but hide 'em, because if you ever do that to me again, I'm going to cut them off."

And he stormed out.

The dinner at her apartment that evening with Paul was strained.

"You seem preoccupied, baby," Paul said. "Any problems?"

Lara managed a smile. "No. Everything's fine." Why didn't Philip tell me he was going away?

"When does the Reno project start?"

"Howard and I are going to fly there again next week. We should be able to open in about nine months."

"You could have a baby in nine months."

Lara looked at him in surprise. "What?"

Paul Martin took her hand in his. "You know I'm crazy about you, Lara. You've changed my whole life. I wish things could have turned out differently. I would have loved for us to have had kids together."

There was nothing Lara could say to that.

"I have a little surprise for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box. "Open it."

"Paul, you've already given me so much..."

"Open it."

Inside the box was an exquisite diamond necklace.

"It's lovely."

He stood up, and she felt his hands on her as he put the necklace around her neck. His hands slid down, caressing her breasts, and he said huskily, "Let's check it out."

Paul was leading her into the bedroom. Lara's mind was spinning. She had never been in love with him, and going to bed with him had been easy - the payment for all he had done for her - but now there was a difference. She was in love. I'm a fool, Lara thought. I'll probably never see Philip again.

She undressed slowly, reluctantly, and then they were in bed, and Paul Martin was on top of her, inside her, moaning, "Baby, I'm nuts about you." And she looked up and it was Philip's face she saw.

Everything was progressing smoothly. The renovations on the Reno hotel were proceeding rapidly, Cameron Towers was going to be finished on schedule, and Lara's reputation kept growing. She had called Philip Adler several times over the past few months, but he was always away on tour.

"Mr. Adler is in Beijing..."

"Mr. Adler is in Paris..."

"Mr. Adler is in Sydney..."

To hell with him, Lara thought.

During the next six months Lara managed to outbid Steve Murchison on three properties he was after.

Keller came to Lara, worried. "The word around town is that Murchison is making threats against you. Maybe we should cool it with him. He's a dangerous enemy, Lara."

"So am I," Lara said. "Maybe he should get into another business."

"It's not a joking matter, Lara. He..."

"Forget about him, Howard. I just got a tip about a property in Los Angeles. It's not on the market yet. If we move fast, I think we can get it. We'll fly out in the morning.

"

The property was on the site of the old Biltmore Hotel and consisted of five acres. A real estate agent was showing Lara and Howard around the grounds.

"Prime property," he was saying. "Yes, sir. You can't go wrong with this. You can build a beautiful little city in this area...apartment buildings, shopping centers, theaters, malls..."