Daniel and the Angel Read Online Free PDF Page B

people." She leaned forward, propping an elbow on her knee and her chin on a fist. She looked right into his eyes. "I'll tell you a secret."
    "What?"
    "I would have come for nothing."

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    Be not forgetful to entertain strangers,
    For thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
    —Hebrews 13:2
     
     
     
    L ILLI SAT IN A LARGE LEATHER WING CHAIR IN HIS STUDY and looked at the paintings, the rich mahogany and brass furnishings, the long windows that looked out over the street two stories below, and the snow that was falling again outside. She looked at everything. Except him.
    "Lillian."
    She turned.
    He didn't look at her. He sat at his desk, his chair turned to the side and his gaze fixed elsewhere. He had all the appearances of a man who did indeed have the world at his feet. There was no denying that D.L. Stewart had power. His stance, his manner, his surroundings, even his voice exuded it.
    He picked up a gray-marbled fountain pen and tapped one end on the desk blotter, then absently flipped the pen and tapped its other end. "You said something that caught my attention when you were here before."
    She didn't say anything. But she did wonder what she could have said that would be of interest to such a powerful man.
    He continued: "You claim there are things money can't buy."
    "There are."
    "I don't agree."
    She started to say something, but he raised his hand. "Let me finish. I don't agree, but I like challenges."
    "I could tell," she whispered.
    He gave her a stern look that said he wanted her quiet. She gave him what he wanted.
    "I find what you said very intriguing."
    "Oh? So what are you saying?"
    "I'm giving you the opportunity to prove your point."
    "I don't understand."
    "You claim that you have no place to go."
    She nodded. "It isn't a claim. It's the truth."
    "If that's the case, then this is simple. I'm offering you a place to stay. You, in turn, will attempt to prove your theory correct." He swung his chair around and leaned an arm on his desk, pinning her with a dark stare that could intimidate Saint Peter himself. "Prove to me that there are things in this world that money cannot buy."
    "Why? Why this? And why me?"
    He leaned back with a bored look that she sensed was calculated. "For entertainment."
    "But you called this a challenge."
    "It is." He raised the pen and twirled it before his eyes. "You see, while you are trying to show me the things that money cannot buy, I, in turn, will show you just exactly what money will buy. Each of us will be out to prove our point."
    "What are the stakes?"
    He looked surprised, then laughed loudly and genuinely. There was no sardonic tone to his laughter this time. It had a rusty sound, as if he didn't do it that often.
    "Name your price."
    She shook her head. "You only think in terms of money."
    "Name your reward then."
    She thought about her circumstances and her goal. This almost seemed too easy, as if his whole plot was playing into her hands.
    Perhaps her years in Heaven had earned her a small modicum of divine help.
    Perhaps the carriage accident had knocked her senseless.
    "Anything?" she asked.
    There was something wicked in his eyes when he answered, "Absolutely anything."
    "If I prove you wrong, you will—personally, once a week—find and create an opportunity for someone who has no hope. Someone like those people I gave your money to today." She watched for his reaction.
    "Fine."
    She froze. He had agreed too easily.
    "What do you get out of this?"
    He said nothing but stared at a legal paper in his hand. He seemed to be thinking deeply.
    After a long silence, she cocked her head and said, "Mr. Stewart?"
    He looked up.
    "You haven't answered me,"
    He gave the paper another look, then seemed to come to a decision and quickly set it aside. "I'll get companionship." His tone was clipped, and he braced his hands on his desk and stood up quickly, then shuffled some papers. "I have an engagement to attend tomorrow night and another a few days later. You will