Page 18 of Degrees of Control
“Baby, I missed you, too,” he says against my lips.
“It was hard to concentrate on anything else knowing you might be in danger. We seriously need to talk about the future at some point,” I say.
His eyebrows raise in question. “What would you like to discuss?” he asks right before Gaby walks in and I slide out of his lap and into the seat next to him.
“Did you already read this?” I ask, changing the subject as Gaby goes about her business in the kitchen.
“I just finished before you walked in. Nate did an excellent job capturing the evening without adding a lot of unnecessary detail,” he says as I begin to skim the article.
Chicago Midwestern
Chase Prestian Engagement Announcement Postponed
Nate Collins
A large celebration was planned for Chase Prestian, CEO and Owner of Prestian Corporation and his fiancée Katarina Meilers at the home of Carlos Larussio. It was anticipated the couple would officially announce their engagement. However, Katarina was taken ill and unable to travel from Chicago to New York City. Her mother, Karissa Meilers, stayed in Chicago to tend to her daughter while Chase and her father Carlos spent time with guests who had traveled in from out of the country. In attendance were Chase Prestian, his father Don Prestian and special friend Emily Hartsway, along with Carlos Larussio, and many of their family.
Carlos Larussio spoke openly to family, friends, and reporters gathered at his home this evening in a heartfelt announcement. He and his estranged wife Karissa, presumed to be dead for the last twenty-six years, are happily reunited. He told attendees they are looking forward to the union of their daughter, Katarina Meilers to Chase Prestian, a long-time friend of the family. The plans for another celebratory party are already underway for the happy couple.
“I like the articles he writes about us,” I say, closing the paper. “Why is it that you read everything else online, but you like reading the newspaper?” I ask.
“My parents used to spend Sunday mornings with coffee and a large newspaper and I would get the comics and sports pages. You can’t get dirty hands from an article on the computer and there’s no possibility at all of getting an imprint to stick to Silly Putty,” he says, laughing as his eyes light up in childhood memory.
“That’s great! Maybe we should buy some for next Sunday,” I say, laughing at his antics.
“We might have to do that,” he says.
“So what happened last night?” I ask, pouring the steaming coffee from the carafe in front of us into ceramic mugs.
“What would you like to know, Katarina? Things went as planned. Carlos and I had a quiet conversation that was picked up by some advanced listening devices. As a result, Jay and his teams were able to get a pretty good lock on devices and put tracking mechanisms in place. We have a team monitoring things around the clock and they’ve already identified a little radio traffic,” he says.
“So, now you just sit and wait?” I ask.
“Yes,” he says, watching me.
My mom interrupts my thoughts as she enters the room and joins us at the table for breakfast. “Good morning, Karissa. I take it you slept well last night. Jay has everything arranged for your travels to New York,” Chase says.
“Thank you for doing that. I’m so glad things went well yesterday. I was more than a little worried. I felt much better once everything was over and you were on your way home,” she says.
I flash a sincere smile at my mom. It is clear she likes Chase and I feel fortunate the two most important people in the world to me like and respect each other.
“Ladies, if you will excuse me, I need to make a couple of phone calls. I’ll return as soon as possible,” Chase says.
“So, if you move to New York, what happens to your job, Mom?” I ask.
“I can work from anywhere, as long as I have my computer and the ability to travel every once in a while. I’m actually surprised how much more I get done when working from home compared to constant interruptions in the office,” she says.
“I’m going to miss you after you leave. It’s been nice having you here,” I say.
“It’s a quick flight and Chase and Don are always flying between the two cities. You know your dad is going to want to continue to get to know you better,” she says.
Chase walks into the room and slides into the seat beside me squeezing the top of my thigh under the table as he does.
“Chase, I was just telling Katie that we’ll see a lot of each other. New York City isn’t far away and your father lives there, too,” she says.
“He does indeed. I’m sorry you weren’t able to see him yesterday. He was looking forward to it, but there will be plenty of other times. Are you all packed and ready to go? I just got off the phone with Carlos, and he’s anxious to have you in the air,” he says.
My mom’s face lights up. “I just need to finish a few things and then I’ll be ready to go,” she says, excusing herself from the table.
