Free For Services Rendered by Patricia Kay

the hotel. You look tired."
    "No, I'm fine, really."
Oh, dear, he must think I am a real dud. An ungrateful dud. Here I am, in one of the best restaurants in New Orleans, and I am gloomy and boring company.
    But Nick paid no attention to her protestations and hustled her into a cab and back to the hotel in record time. As they rode up in the elevator, he said, "Claire, would you mind coming up to my suite for a while? I'll order coffee. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
    Although alarm bells went off in her mind at the idea of going into his suite, Claire didn't know how she could refuse. She took a deep breath. "All right."
    Don't be nervous, she told herself as he unlocked the door to his suite. And her nerves did settle down a bit as he quickly walked to the open door leading into the bedroom and shut it. He motioned her toward the dark blue Victorian sofa. She sat and waited while he called room service.
    It didn't surprise her that their coffee arrived within ten minutes. Claire already knew people jumped when Nick so much as looked their way. She picked up her cup, her eyes meeting his as she sipped. The intensity of his expression caused her insides to begin fluttering once more.
    "Claire, I wish you'd tell me what's wrong. I sense something troubling you and I'd really like to know what it is."
    An image of the woman in the wheelchair flitted through her mind. Kitty's face, so innocent, so blank, superseded it. Suddenly, Claire's hands were trembling and the cup rattled against the saucer. She bit her bottom lip.
Pull yourself together!
She carefully laid the cup and saucer on the coffee table and held her hands together in her lap to keep them from shaking.
    He was sitting opposite her and he leaned forward, his eyes twin pinpoints of blue. "Come on. Tell me."
    She wanted to. The desire to unburden herself was so strong it was almost a physical pain.
    He stood and moved around the table to sit beside her. He reached for her hands. The feel of his strong, firm hands closing around hers was her undoing. Appalled, Claire could feel tears sliding out of her eyes and down her cheeks. She yanked her hands out of his grasp and angrily knuckled away the tears. She started to stand. She had to get away. She was falling apart and she didn't want him as a witness.
    "Claire, please ..." He stood, too, putting his hands on her upper arms, and through the wool fabric of her suit jacket she could feel their heat. "Claire, look at me."
    She slowly raised her head.
    "Is it your mother?"
    Shock reverberated through her. How did he know about her mother?
What
did he know about her mother?
    "Yes," he said softly, "I know. I know everything about you." Before the import of those words had had a chance to sink in, he added, "Whatever it is that's worrying you, we can take care of it. But unless I know what it is, I can't do anything."
    "You can't do anything, anyway."
    "Try me."
    She sighed. His surprising statement about her mother had accomplished one thing. Her urge to cry had disappeared. Now all she felt was a bone-numbing weariness. "Look, Nick, I really appreciate your concern, but this is my problem. I have to find a way to deal with it."
    "It's not wrong to ask for help if you need it, Claire. The company helps employees deal with problems all the time. You know that."
    She did know it. She also knew the company couldn't solve this problem.
    "Can't you trust me enough to at least tell me what it is?"
    She sighed again. Inching away from him, she sat back down on the sofa and, after a minute, he did, too. He didn't touch her and for that she was grateful. "It's really very simple. Since you know about my mother, you know I have her in a private nursing facility. It's very expensive and I've barely been able to make ends meet for a long time. Any unexpected expense is enough to send my budget into a tailspin."
    He said nothing, but his eyes encouraged her.
    "Sunday night I found out the nursing home is raising their