One Tuesday Morning Read Online Free PDF

about it, but she would understand because ultimately she had to. His job was their single source of income, and it cost a lot to run a household like theirs. They could talk about family or faith coming first in their lives, but the truth was everything else revolved around his work schedule. And it would until he was named president of the company.
    When that day came, he would make up for a lifetime of missed birthdays. Or at least that was the plan. And until then Laura would have no choice but to go along with it. The silence between them was too long to be anything but intentional. Eric rolled his eyes and focused on a vent in the hallway ceiling. “Laura?”
    “What?” Her voice was quieter than before, defeated.
    “I'm sorry.” He took a step back toward the meeting room. “Tell Josh for me.”
    “Good-bye, Eric.”
    “Hey …” If he didn't need to leave for Josh's party, then they might as well finish their discussion about Amgen and Chiron. It could take hours the way things were going. “Don't wait up for me.”
    “What?” Her anger was quick and intense.
    Eric held his breath and kept his voice low. “The meeting could last until after ten. If I finish up, I can go in late tomorrow and maybe have breakfast with you and Josh.” He gave her a chance to respond, but she said nothing. “Josh'll be in bed by the time I get home, anyway.”
    “Fine. Good-bye.”
    “That's okay, isn't it? Wouldn't it be better to get the meeting—”
    There was a click at the other end, and after a few seconds, the phone went dead. Eric closed the phone and stared at it for a moment. Fine. Work was easier when she was mad at him. It gave him another reason to stay late at the office. He steadied himself, then returned to the meeting room. A discussion was under way about the reality of Chiron's discovery in the cancer field. Before Eric joined in, he slipped his phone back into his briefcase and pulled out his palm pilot. In the notes section, he jotted down, “Buy Josh a boogie board.”
    Then he checked his weekend calendar. His flight to New York was first thing Saturday morning. That would give him Sunday breakfast and lunch to connect with Allen and a handful of execs from the New York office. Monday and Tuesday would be booked solid with meetings on the sixty-fourth floor of the World Trade Center.
    One of the most powerful places on earth.
    Ideally he could buy Josh the boogie board tonight. That way he could give it to him over breakfast. Where had he seen one recently? Eric stared at his palm pilot and tried to remember. Then it came to him. The Albertsons near the freeway. Every now and then the grocery stores carried beach supplies—even boogie boards. And last week Eric had stopped in for an orange juice, and there they were, stacked in a pyramid near the front of the store. Fortunately, the place was open until eleven on weeknights.
    Eric snapped the pen into the side of his palm pilot and slipped it back in his briefcase. Perfect. He would stop by the market on the way home, buy the boogie board, and surprise Josh the next morning. That ought to make up for missing the boy's birthday party. Besides, Clay was there. He'd help Laura get the presents to the car and make Josh feel special.
    That was all that mattered.
    Someone had shifted the conversation back to Amgen, and Eric listened for a moment before cutting in. “There're five other pharmaceuticals that need our consideration.” He opened the portfolio on the table in front of him. “Let me read you some of their statistics …”
    The meeting wore on hour after hour and didn't wrap up until ten-thirty. Disclosures had been made by each planner at the table, and finally they agreed that Amgen was their best bet. Put the money on Amgen and you couldn't lose. They were right this time. Eric could sense it.
    The moment they were finished, Murphy reached into his portable file and pulled out a single piece of paper. “I almost forgot. Allen wants us