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with Mr. Reid. He would like you to meet him at Lendal's this afternoon at precisely four-twenty. Shall I put you down in the book?"
    "Wait a minute," Kate sputtered, struggling away from a tangle of sheet and blanket. "I mean—please, could you tell me what this is all about?"
    "Mr. Reid did not provide me with any details on the matter," the secretary said in a hushed voice, as if Kate had just asked her to divulge state secrets. "I am sure, however, that Mr. Reid would not request this meeting unless it were essential. He is a very busy man."
    Kate sighed, her eyes wide open now. "What time did you say?"
    "Four-twenty sharp. Shall I give you detailed instructions to the restaurant? You turn south on—"
    "That's fine, Mrs. Adler," Kate interrupted. "I'll find it. Yes, yes, I'll be there. You can even write my name down in ink." Disgruntled, she hung up the phone. Avoiding Steven would be difficult with Mrs. Adler calling up to arrange appointments. And why not four o'clock, or four-thirty? Who on earth made appointments at four-twenty?
    Kate dressed, then ate her breakfast without appetite. Paula arrived a short while later to discuss business.
    "Mrs. Cleeve has decided to go Japanese all the way," she exclaimed as soon as she was inside the door. "Can you believe it, after she had us do her entire house in French Provincial? Now she's determined to have nothing but cushions. I mean it, Kate! Literally nothing but cushions and pillows. That means all her tables can't be higher than sixteen inches! What am I supposed to do with the ones we ordered? Chop off their legs?" Paula sounded on the verge of tears. Her brown eyes were big and dark in her slender face; her shining blond hair swung in two smooth arcs toward her chin. She looked especially young today and Kate had to resist the urge to protect her. Paula was unsure of her own abilities, but she had enough talent to become a full partner in the business someday.
    "All right, calm down," Kate said in her most authoritative yet soothing voice. "Everything will be just fine."
    "But, Kate, she's insisting that it's all our fault, the tables being too tall! She won't pay the balance on her account."
    Kate chewed the tip of her pen. This wasn't good news, especially after the money she'd spent lately on Steven's house. It was her practice to give clients a complete estimate of what a job would cost, including everything from the price of new draperies to the fee for her own time and expertise. She generally requested one-half of this amount in advance, an arrangement that usually gave her satisfactory working capital until the job was completed. But Steven's house was different. It had needs she could not even have guessed at in the beginning, needs she could learn only as she absorbed more of the house's shy yet gracious spirit. This meant she was using up Steven's deposit money much faster than she'd expected.
    Kate set down her pen, reminding herself firmly that all her purchases and repairs so far had been absolutely necessary. Somehow everything would work out. She turned back to her assistant. "Just relax. I know you can take care of Mrs. Cleeve, Paula. And we agreed you should have more responsibility, right?"
    "Yes, but not
this
much! Mrs. Cleeve's place has twenty rooms. It's the biggest account we've ever had, and I'm afraid we're going to lose it!"
    "Don't talk like that. You have to have a positive attitude to survive in this business," Kate said.
    Paula took a deep breath, then let the air out slowly through pursed lips. She sounded like a balloon deflating.
    "I don't think having a positive attitude is enough, Kate. The problem is, you're becoming obsessed with that Reid house and leaving me in the lurch with Mrs. Cleeve."
    Paula was right, unfortunately. Kate wasn't interested in decorating any other house but Steven's right now. She loved that old place; it was as simple as that.
    "Look," she said to Paula, "take Mrs. Cleeve over to Applebee's and buy her a