He looked at them both for a few seconds as Hallie got up, adjusting her hair and clothes, while Santer huffed and puffed angrily.
“Sorry to bust in here,” Hallie said, “but Miss Santer refused to let me see you even though I had an appointment.”
“Is this true, Miss Santer?”Luke asked in a rather stern voice.
“This woman caused you to have a terrible accident,” Santer replied, “I don’t think it’s good for you, or the company, to have anything to do with her.”
“And yet you knew I made an appointment with her,” Luke replied.
“I was only doing what was best—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he cut her off.“Miss Santer, you will apologize to Hallie at once.She is a new employee of this company, and I expect you to treat her with respect.”
“Sorry,” Miss Santer said crisply.
Hallie was not totally convinced by that apology, but she said, “It’s all right.”She was happy enough with the way Luke handled this.
“Now, if you don’t mind, Miss Santer,” Luke said, “I’d like to speak to Miss Mathews about her new position with us.”
Miss Santer transfixed them with her steely gaze, then made a scoffing noise and left the room.
Chapter 42: Success!
“Did you know tatertwisters originated in China?”Luke asked, twirling a dart in his hand.
“Yeah, I knew that.I had them at the Chinese market one time.”
Hallie looked around the office.Classic European paintings of mountainous landscapes hung on the walls, along with a couple of dart boards.Luke flung the dart, and it landed just a little off the bull’s eye.
“I’ve really got to invest in those things.They’re so tasty.”
“Are you just talking about tater twisters as a stalling tactic?”Hallie inquired.
“Stalling?Why would I be stalling?”His fingers drummed on the edge of his desk.Perhaps he was more nervous than he wanted to admit.
“Because you still haven’t apologized to me.”