God's Gift Read Online Free PDF Page A

congratulations.”
    “Oh? You won your case?”
    He rolled his eyes. “You, my little friend. When were you going to call me?”
    Her…oh, the stock that went public…Her smile widened. It had been such a long day she had actually forgotten. “It was only a little killing,” she demurred.
    “Sixty-four percent in one day. And you had an even hundred thousand on the line. I would have brought ice cream as well, but they were out of pralines and cream. You look good,” he said, seriously.
    She wasn’t in the mood for serious tonight. “Thanks a lot, friend. Go get silverware, the game’s on.”
    He moved around her town house with the ease of an old friend, finding plates and napkins, the pizza cutter he had put in her stocking last Christmas.
    The living room coffee table had served as a table for many such late-night dinners. Dave discarded his suit jacket and tie, rolled up his sleeves, kicked off his shoes. He settled on the floor, using the couch as a backrest. “Who’s winning?” The Chicago Bulls game was muted on the TV.
    Rae handed him one of the sodas she had snagged from the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, helped herself to a slice of the thick-crust supreme pizza. “The Bulls are up by eight in the third quarter, the Sonics are having a bad night.”
    He nudged the book on the edge of the table around so he could see the title. “ Cell Microbiology ?”
    “Research for my book,” Rae commented easily, sinking back against the pillows she had pulled from off the couch. “This pizza is great. Thanks.”
    “No problem.”
    “What were you doing at the office till ten o’clock?”
    “Some pro bono work. Yet another father not fulfilling his child support obligations.”
    “Will he come through?”
    Dave shrugged. “I can force it here as long as he doesn’t go underground with a cash job or change states.”
    “You’ll let me know what the family is short?”
    Dave nodded. “The fund got enough cash?”
    “Eight thousand. It will last about another ten weeks.”
    “Let me know when it runs dry. I’ll match you again.”
    “Thanks.”
    Dave nodded.
    Rae smiled quietly at her friend as he snagged the remote and turned the sound back on. They frequently supportedfamilies they knew were in financial need. He was as generous as she was, he just didn’t like people to know it.
    They watched the game and ate pizza, the silence between them that of old friends. “So, have you thought about coming with us?” Dave asked finally.
    Rae laughed. “Lace sent you, didn’t she?”
    “Rae, you did not come last year. We understood. But you need a vacation. I’m not accepting any excuses this year. If I can get a week off, you can, too.”
    “Dave, I’ve got new clients to deal with, a load of new stock issues to evaluate, and a market that’s so high it makes me cringe. I can’t afford to be gone a week.”
    “That is exactly why you have to come. There is never going to be a good time to take a break. When the markets are good, you’re worried about them dropping, and when the markets correct, you’re worried about losing other people’s money. You’re coming.”
    She tipped her soda can toward him. “When did you get so pushy?”
    He chuckled. “Rae, I’ve always been pushy, you just like me too much to care.”
    Rae sighed. She had thought about the problem at length. She did want to go…. “I’ll call Jack tomorrow and see if he’s free.” Jack had been her and Leo’s first backer in the business, and as an experienced stockbroker, she trusted him to keep the accounts stable while she was away from the office.
    “He is. I already called him.”
    Rae chuckled. “I should have never given you that power of attorney.” It had made sense at Leo’s death to have another partner officially on the books in case something happened to her. Dave had been the natural choice.
    “I’m your biggest backer, not to mention one of yourmore wealthy clients. You have to listen to me,”