Free To Dream Again by Laura Lee Guhrke Page A

all the other toy train manufacturers, including Adrian, so that he could deal with the future, but the past was dead and gone.
    He turned away from the window. "So, did you tell your fiancée?"
    "Yes."
    "How did she take it?"
    "Better than I expected. Her father was furious. My future in-laws are not happy with me just now." He sighed. "I don't know why I'm doing this."
    Nathaniel grinned at him. "Because you have wisdom
    beyond your years, Michael. Let's start work."
     
    ***
     
    Mara never gave in to fits of temper. She prided herself on her ability to deal with any difficulty in cool, practical fashion. This partnership was no different from any other difficult situation, she reminded herself as she strode down the corridor to her office. She would be calm and logical, she would not give in to emotion.
    She entered her office and slammed the door.
    This partnership was a farce. Mara twisted his linen handkerchief around her fists, wishing he were standing in front of her now so she could wrap the piece of linen around his neck and choke that smile from his face.
    The laughter of the workers still rang in her ears. It had taken four years of great effort for her to gain their tentative respect, and Mr. Chase had destroyed that respect in less than a minute. By taking him on as a partner she had saved her company, but what had that accomplished? She herself was no better off.
    Buffeted about for eight years at one man's whim, suffering the consequences of one man's fancies. She'd fought so hard to distance herself from that, but now she was right back there again. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
    The knock on her office door broke into Mara's thoughts. Dropping the handkerchief on the desk, she whirled around to find Percy in the doorway.
    "Mrs. Elliot? Mr. Chase sent me down to tell you he's ready to begin our meeting. He's waiting for us up on the second floor."
    "The second floor? Why does he want this meeting all the way up there?"
    "I don't know, ma'am. But that's what he said."
    Percy departed and Mara reached for the company's latest financial reports, knowing Mr. Chase would want to see them, but her hand paused over the handkerchief that lay on her desk. Now he was waiting for her, was he?
    "Let him wait," she muttered, and circled her desk to sit down. She pulled out a sharp pencil and a fresh sheet of paper, then began to list all the reasons why making toys was impossible.
    Thirty minutes later, she read over her list and felt more in control of the situation. Once she had presented her reasons, he would see that it was much more feasible for Elliot's to remain as it was. Mr. Chase would have to put this silly notion of toy making aside.
    With a satisfied nod, she rose to her feet, tucked her pencil behind her ear, and carried the stack of reports upstairs, fully prepared to make her arguments in a calm, reasonable fashion.
    But when she entered the room, all her rational arguments flew right out of her head. Mr. Chase and a dark-haired man she'd never seen before were sitting on the floor, surrounded by pieces of metal that they were putting together to form a miniature railroad track, looking like a pair of schoolboys with a set of building blocks. Percy sat close by, taking notes. Various toys lay on the floor, including Mr. Chase's train.
    "This sectional track you've designed fits together extremely well, Nathaniel." The stranger's enthusiastic voice carried across the room to her. "Percy, we'll need to determine the amount of tin and wood for each set."
    "Of course." Percy jotted down a few words in the notebook on his lap. Mara hugged the pile of papers to her breast. Rather than wait for her, as she'd expected, they'd just started the meeting without her. She watched them for a moment, feeling very much like an outsider in the company she used to control.
    Taking a deep breath, she entered the room, and all three men rose to their feet as she approached.
    "Sorry I'm late," she said, careful to keep her