She opened the stroller Leslie had brought and motioned to him to put Lulu in it. Before she straightened, she heard the squeak of leather shoes and George Mauriello’s voice. She shielded Lulu as though his mere presence had the power to corrupt her. At least dealing directly with him eliminated Wade. She would give the CEO of BRW what he wanted, and obtain in exchange the one thing she needed from him. Finally, everything would be set right.

“Here you are.” He handed her a bouquet of almond blossoms. “Feeling better?”

She buried her nose in the sweet-smelling white and pink flowers. “About what, exactly?” Her eyes took in Mauriello’s magnificently fitted Armani suit, his small-print silk tie, and that full head of slicked-back, salt-and-pepper hair. The inveterate charmer’s charisma had hardened into cold granite.

In his other hand he held a large stuffed panda. He bent toward Lulu, who, in turn, closed her mouth over the bear’s shiny nose. He laughed. Nola gently pulled the bear away.

Mauriello looked at Nola as though she were the focus of the universe, then, as he had done before, skipped several stages of acquaintanceship and looped her hand through the crook of his elbow, closing his fingers on it in a gesture of intimacy. He steered her away from the crowd toward a set of two love seats.

Still holding her hand, he gazed into her eyes. “I’ve neglected you this past year, and I apologize. I hope you and Wade will be able to join me in Morocco to celebrate New Year’s, then a few days in the Mediterranean on my yacht with some friends? I’d like you to be my very special guest of honor.”

“My, thanks,” she purred. If she wanted to spend time at sea, she would have accepted Keith Schwartz’s invitation.

She used the business of sitting down to disengage her arm while keeping an amiable expression. Mauriello had set the rules for this game and she was going along; afterwards she would owe him nothing. “You have some good news for me, I hear?” she asked.

“I sure do.” Again that sparkle in his eyes. She felt herself being carried away on a rising spiral of hope before she remembered that this was the same voice that had demanded that Wade “deliver” her. Mauriello patted her knee. “Panda bears and Lulu.”

“Panda bears?”

“The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has been trying to replace the old pair given to them when Nixon first came to China in 1972. Hsing-Hsing has joined his mate in Panda Heaven, or wherever it is that giant pandas go. With all the animosity between our countries, the Chinese were reluctant to offer another pair. Now they will, and they are allowing Lulu to accompany the pandas with fanfare.”

“Is this a joke?” Nola blurted. No, it wasn’t. Everything in this saga had become so bizarre that nothing was improbable.