The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again Read Online Free PDF

Company.”
    “Is it in Sperry, Massachusetts?” Shirley inquired, naming a town thirty miles north.
    Carolyn was taken aback. “The
town
was named after the
company
! Are you new to the area?”
    “No, I’m not.” Shirley responded quietly with a smile. “Perhaps this offers some assurance that not everyone in the Boston area knows about your private concerns.”
    A tap sounded on the door.
    “Come in,” Shirley called, and a woman entered, bearing a silver tray set with tea and gingersnaps. “Thanks, Sally,” Shirley said as the woman set it on the table.
    The next few moments were occupied with serving tea.
    “Thank you.” Carolyn accepted a cup. “I didn’t mean to be abrupt. I admit I’m on the defensive these days. Sperry has become just a flea on the back of the giant paper companies, and I’m sensitive to the loss of its importance.”
    “That’s perfectly understandable—”
    “Sperry is holding its own. We’ve cut our inventory to focus on our signature product: elegant, personal, watermarked stationery. We still employ over three hundred people, and except for a slight dip a couple of years ago, our orders are actually on the rise, but we have to be vigilant. And I have a double whammy of responsibility.”
    “Oh? Why is that?”
    “My great-grandmother Geraldine Sperry started the company in 1918.” Carolyn leaned forward, her words spilling out in a rush. “She was widowed, with two little girls, and yet she managed to found a successful enterprise from her own interests, talents, and initiative. Geraldine Sperry intended for the company to pass from mother to daughter. But my father’s mother gave birth to only one child, a boy. My father. Aubrey Sperry. I’m an only child. I’ll inherit the company. I’m the vice president now. And—I’m pregnant.”
    “Congratulations.”
    “Yes, thank heavens! I’m thirty-seven years old! All the Sperry employees, as well as everyone in the town, and anyone belonging to a certain stratum of Boston society, have been waiting for me to produce this child.”
    “And you?”
    “I’ve always dreamed of having a daughter someday.” Carolyn placed her hands gently on her protruding belly. Her emotions brought a tremble to her voice and tears to her eyes. “We’ve had the amnio. It’s going to be a girl!”
    “I’m so glad. How far along are you?” Shirley asked.
    “Just two months.” Carolyn caressed her belly, and as she met Shirley’s eyes, she felt her face soften with a love and vulnerability she was powerless to hide. “I’m so happy! It took me a long time to get pregnant. I was afraid I’d waited too long.”
    “This is your first child?”
    “Yes. Hank and I were married five years ago.” Carolyn laughed abruptly. “I’m still surprised
any
man married me. Most men can’t deal with a woman being more successful or wealthy than they are.”
    “And Hank can?”
    “Oh, absolutely. He’s a Wellingell. His family is much wealthier than mine. The Wellingells run a private environmental conservation foundation. His mother and sisters are so strong-minded they make me look wimpy. Hank travels a lot, evaluating fragile or endangered ecosystems, helping groups set up preservation, advising on government policies.”
    “So he has nothing to do with the paper company?”
    “Nothing. Which is good. I have to work with my father. That’s enough stress.”
    “Tell me about your father,” Shirley suggested.
    Carolyn’s mouth tightened. “My father is handsome, charming, and well liked by everyone at the company.”
    “And your relationship with him . . . ?”
    Carolyn shrugged. “I love him, of course. He loves me. We work together well enough. But we’ve never been close, except perhaps when I was ten, when my mother died.”
    “Your mother died when you were ten? How terrible for you.”
    “It was.” Carolyn looked away.
    “What happened?”
    Carolyn lifted her chin defiantly. “Heart attack. At