Hot Number (33 page)

Nick exhaled a heavy sigh, and then hugged
her tightly. “Did I ever tell you how lucky I am to have had you
and Dad as my parents?”

She was smiling broadly as he released her.
“At least a few hundred times, but go ahead and tell me as often as
you want. I won’t ever get tired of hearing it, and I know your
father can hear it, too.” She tilted her face up and looked at the
ceiling for a moment.

As Nick laughed, his mom gave him a wry smile
and then launched into a hilarious recounting of some bouts of
trouble his dad and Mike Webb had gotten into as young Marines. As
he sat back and listened, feeling so grateful to have a mother like
her, he couldn’t help thinking of Sadie. She’d grown up without a
mother, and with a cold, controlling father. Yet she’d somehow
found the courage and strength to make something of herself, to
build a life of purpose and meaning. Against all odds, she’d found
the courage to fight and to change.

It was time for him to do the same.

* * *

Sadie adored her upscale two-bedroom condo on
North Marine Drive. The mortgage payments sometimes stretched her
budget, but she hadn’t been able to resist the majestic view of
Lake Michigan through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living
room. When greeted by the early morning sun slanting in off the
blue waters of the lake, she would always spend the rest of the day
with a little extra bounce in her stride.

This morning, though, the lake reflected her
mood—gray and gloomy, with choppy waves that looked cold and
vaguely threatening. She’d arrived home from Las Vegas last evening
to a rainy, chilly Chicago, and her apartment had felt as
unwelcoming as the weather. Listless, all she’d been able to do
before falling into bed was check her phone messages. After that,
she’d crawled between the sheets and fallen into a restless,
dream-filled sleep.

As she poured her first coffee of the
day—extra strong—she glanced at the note paper she’d used to jot
down the voice mail messages. Her father had left three of them,
each frostier than the last, and all demanding that she call him
immediately. She hadn’t told him beforehand that she was going to
Las Vegas, but instead had left a message at his office when she
landed at McCarran Airport. Three other messages would probably
turn out to be junk calls, and the final one had been left by the
chair of the math department, Alexander Koenig. Alex’s voice
carried a note of worry, and he asked her to call him as soon as
she returned.

It was Saturday, but Alex always spent
Saturdays in his office. Most Sundays, too, just like her and many
others in the department. Working slave labor hours went with the
territory if you wanted to build your career and secure your
academic reputation.

She hated to admit it, but Alex’s message had
unnerved her. She thought she could see her father’s hand behind
it, and that couldn’t be a good thing.

Then again, maybe she was being paranoid. But
after her ignominious ejection from the Desert Oasis, who could
blame her? So much about that last day had been wretched, but the
image that would stick with her was Nick wishing her a safe trip
home, as if he were no more to her than the front desk clerk who
checked her out of the hotel. Did their time together really mean
so little to him? For her, those few days with him had changed so
much.

After choking down a piece of toast, Sadie
took a quick shower and threw on some clothes. On a weekend day, no
one at the university would care that she wore her comfiest pair of
faded jeans, a thick, red fisherman’s sweater and a scuffed pair of
cowboy boots. Her hair was an unruly mess, but what else was new?
Alex, the quintessential math professor, probably wouldn’t even
notice.

Traffic on Lakeshore was light and she made
the thirteen mile drive to campus in twenty-five minutes, arriving
at Alex’s office before ten. She couldn’t help cracking a smile as
she realized he’d already been there for hours. The remnants of his
breakfast—complete with coffee spills—added to the room’s lived-in
appearance. The shelves that lined the walls were stuffed with
texts and stacks of bound documents and loose papers. The only
pristine surface was the smallish conference table surrounded by
four institutional grade chairs.

Though barely fifty, Alex Koenig had achieved
the status of a senior statesman in a department populated by
brilliant and aggressive young mathematicians from all over the
world. But to Sadie, he was simply a generous mentor and a truly
kind friend.

He looked up from his papers as she gave his
door a light rap. “Sadie! I thought you weren’t going to be back
from Sin City until next week.”

Sadie forced a half-smile. “There’s only so
much sin a person can take, Alex.”

He picked up on her mood right away and
grimaced in sympathy. “That good, huh?”

“It had its moments,” she hedged. The last
thing she wanted to do was make small talk. “Your message sounded
important. What’s up?”

He gestured her over to the conference table.
“You never have much time for meaningless social discourse, do you,
Sadie? I’ve always liked that about you.”

As she sat down, Sadie tried to swallow her
impatience but couldn’t manage it. “Has my father been on your case
again, Alex? You don’t have to pretend with me, you know. I already
got three icy messages from him.”

He sat and started massaging his forehead
with two fingers of each hand, just above the eyebrows. “Sorry, I’m
fighting a headache. I’ve been here all night. Had to get something
down before I lost it. You know what it’s like.”

She sighed. “Sorry for interrupting you. I
should have called first, but you made it sound pretty
important.”

“No, it’s fine. To answer your question,
then, you know very well the depth of your father’s concern about
you. And Anthony says your behavior has become increasingly
erratic.” He held up his hands when she began to protest. “That’s
him, Sadie, not me. Anyway, he’s convinced you need a break from
teaching. He sounded me out on the idea of a sabbatical, perhaps in
Europe, to allow you to focus all your energy on your
research.”

A sabbatical? Europe? How could her father
broach such an idea with her department chair without so much as a
word to her first? “How thoughtful of you two to arrange my life
for me.”

She sounded bitter and didn’t care. It was
all just such typical behavior from the people in her life.

Alex shook his head. “Relax, Sadie.
Obviously, nobody has made any decisions about anything. He was
simply inquiring as to the possibility. On the face of it, the idea
is not without some merit.”

“Maybe you haven’t made any decisions,” she
said, feeling weary beyond words, “but I have no doubt Dad was
trying to get all his ducks lined up so he could present me with a
fait accompli, as usual. I bet he’s already talked to his pals in
Paris and Lyon.”

“I wouldn’t know about any of that. But if
you can think about it objectively for a minute, what do you think
of the idea? An initial reaction, nothing more.”

She glared at him. “My initial reaction is
that it’s a wrong-headed tactic from a man who fundamentally knows
little about his own daughter.”

Alex’s brows shot up. “Sadie, you’re being
too hard on Anthony. He loves you and he’s just trying to help.
It’s obvious to everyone that the disappointments of the past few
months have taken their toll on you.”

Obvious to everyone, huh?

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying
to sort through her feelings. Yes, her father loved her, but that
didn’t mean he understood what she needed or wanted out of life.
“Of course I know he means well, Alex. But if I’m going to fix my
career and my life, I have to do it right here. Going on sabbatical
now would just be running away.”

Alex visibly relaxed. “Well, Anthony will
undoubtedly rain hellfire down on my head for saying so, but I
actually agree with that conclusion. I told him I would present the
idea, but I wouldn’t promise to try to sell you on it. On the
contrary, I believe there are other options—ones better suited to
your situation.”

Sadie’s mouth dropped open. Alex Koenig
standing up to the great and all-powerful Anthony Bligh? Would
wonders never cease? “Well, don’t keep me in suspense, Alex. Let’s
hear those options.”

Alex nodded, smiling. “As you know better
than anyone, your father’s entire career has revolved around his
research. Even before he won his first Eagleton, his teaching load
in the department had become minimal. He and the university both
wanted it that way. There was so much hope he might someday bring a
Nobel here.”

Tell me something I don’t already
know.
“Get on with it, Alex, please.” She could barely rein in
her impatience, even though she knew he always preferred a
circuitous route to get to his point.

“You don’t have to follow his path, Sadie, no
matter how much he wants you to or thinks you should. It’s true
that you’re a gifted researcher, like Anthony. But you’re also a
truly gifted teacher. One of the best in the department, if not the
very best. Your students continually confirm that. All the student
surveys have rated you number one among your colleagues, and this
year has been no exception. You have a talent for mentoring young
people that I’ve rarely if ever seen matched.”

Sadie was well aware of the results of the
student surveys, but she’d never heard Alex or any of her other
colleagues express such an opinion before. As much as she enjoyed
teaching—and she did love it—she’d always viewed it as merely a
necessary adjunct to her research work. Math professors didn’t
become renowned and remembered through teaching.

“I’m not the only faculty member around
here,” Alex continued, “who thinks we’re all so preoccupied with
our research that we don’t give enough attention and recognition to
good teaching. Well, you can help change that, Sadie. In fact,
someday I’d even like to see you sitting in this chair, leading a
department where teaching and scholarly research have achieved an
appropriate and lasting balance.”

Sadie couldn’t think of a thing to say,
amazed by words that were flipping her small world upside down. But
even as her brain worked feverishly to process their impact, her
heart raced on ahead. Could she have a fully successful career
without following step-for-step in her father’s footsteps? By
teaching? It seemed such a simple and elegant solution that she
could only wonder why she’d failed to come to that conclusion
before.

Because Dad would hate it, that’s why.

Alex sat quietly, watching her with an
encouraging smile on his face. If he thought it was possible...

But more importantly, did
she
think it
was possible?

Well, why not? She’d just spent the better
part of a week doing things she once would have said were
impossible for someone like her. If she learned nothing else from
her time in Las Vegas—and her time with Nick Saxon—it was that she
could do pretty much whatever she wanted. The consequences wouldn’t
always be pleasant, but Sadie knew she could survive and grow
stronger, no matter what. And she could do it without the help of
her father.

Suddenly, she felt like clouds had just
parted, allowing a glimpse of sun to sneak through.

“So, let me make sure I’ve got this
straight,” she said. “You’re saying I could scale back my research
in order to focus on teaching, and you and the department would be
fine with that?”

Alex nodded. “Absolutely. I’d want you to
mentor our junior lecturers, and any other professors who’d like
help with their teaching techniques. There’s a real need for that,
as I’m sure you realize. In time, you might think about devising
some kind of formalized program to do just that.”

Excitement rippled through her, charging her
with energy. More than anything, that reaction told her she was on
the right track. “You’ve given me a lot to consider, Alex. I think
this could work, but you need to let me run it by my father. He
will not be pleased if we go in this new direction.”

In fact, he would probably disown
her
.

Alex gave her a knowing smile. “Don’t
underestimate Anthony. He might just surprise you, Sadie. He loves
you very much, and wants only what’s best for you.”

Sadie took that bromide with a grain of salt,
but there was only one way to find out—by standing up to her
father. She’d never really done that before—not about anything
meaningful—but she’d just spent a week breaking barriers and taking
risks. Surely she could handle one more, even if the consequences
were life-changing.

Nick grabbed a beer out of the fridge and
cracked it open, still in a daze at how quickly his life had
changed over the last three days.

Three days
. That’s all the time it had
taken him to land a new job. Not his life’s ambition, for sure, but
a decent job. In seventy-two hours, he’d gone from the humiliation
of knuckling under to the chief and running Sadie out of town, to
the satisfaction of knowing he’d never have to work another day for
Buzz Carson.

Ironically, what had driven him to quit the
Desert Oasis—Carson’s set-up—had also proven to be the key to
landing the new position. After he’d spoken to his mother, Nick had
wasted no time in confronting his boss. Carson hadn’t hid his
amazement that Nick had actually followed through on his orders and
blacklisted Sadie. The chief’s newfound, grudging respect over that
constituted the highlight of their brief weekend meeting.

Instead of a shouting match, they’d had a
more or less civilized conversation. When Nick announced his
resignation in a professional manner, Carson—no doubt relieved to
get rid of him—had agreed to give him a strong recommendation. The
next day, Nick discovered his reputation was solid when he was
asked to interview for the chief of security position at the
Sunrise Canyon, a new, relatively small hotel and casino complex on
the eastern edge of the city. News travelled fast in Sin City, and
the general manager of the Canyon had heard right away about Nick’s
resignation and wanted dibs on him before anyone else. The money
was a little less than his salary at the Oasis, but it was enough
for his and his mother’s needs. And he’d be running his own
security department now, even if it was a mere fraction of the size
of the Desert Oasis’s. Most importantly, he’d be able to continue
to provide well for his mother, and spend lots of time with
her.