When she had asked Jean-Pierre why he couldn't first go over to France and open a joint account in both their names, he had told her that this was the best way, something to do with interest rates and international rules and regulations and other things she didn't understand, or care to know more about. The long and short of it, according to Jean-Pierre, was that a delay would cause them to lose thousands of dollars in interest. He obviously knew what he was talking about, and she had agreed to do it his way. After all, she rationalized, it was for their future. And besides, he had promised he would make no decisions without first consulting her. This way, if he found something that they liked, he would be able to act fast, securing the property quickly, without having to wait for signatures to arrive via slow, international means.
She pressed hard on the accelerator, hoping to catch Matthew while he ate lunch in his office, as he customarily did this time of day.
Chapter 18
"Matthew, it's all so positive," Laurence Maupin said with smiling allegiance as she closed the copy of the "Wall Street Journal" resting on his desk. "You've got the press in the palm of your hand these days."
"I'd say you've had more than a little to do with that."
"Just doing my job."
"And more," he said with a mischievous grin.
His secretary opened his office door and leaned in. "Matthew, your meeting with the executive staff has been moved to one-thirty."
He thanked her and she returned to her desk. He closed the issue of "Business Week" he had been reading, which featured an article Laurence had pitched. He appraised his young assistant appreciatively as she flipped through a manila file folder. She looked at him.
"How about some lunch?" she asked, closing the folder.