Austin spent the weekend setting things up in his bank. He used his pent up frustrations for energy. He couldn‟t believe the nerve of the bachelors in town who kept asking claire to dance on Friday night. He would try to get back to her when someone came up to him to discuss his bank. Had it not been for the fact that she declined most of the invitations to dance so she could talk to some of the wives, he would have picked her up and dragged her home. Fortunately, she seemed to be blissfully unaware of their

intentions. Why didn‟t the men take the time to notice her before he married her? It wasn‟t his fault that they didn‟t get to her first.

He tried not to let his sour mood show when a box of chocolates and flowers from a man arrived at his house on Sunday afternoon shortly after he and Claire came home from Church. Since Claire was in the den reading, he was able to throw them out before she discovered them. He immediately added

Ethan to his list. He was able to cross Wil Vance off the list since he watched her tell him to leave her alone at the dance. So he had to tackle Donald Cline, Ben York and now Ethan Bower. Would the list ever end? It seemed the more appearances she made in public, the more men noticed her. Who

wouldn‟t notice her ever since she started wearing nicer clothes and letting her hair down? He was glad that he could enjoy her

company for the next two Fridays safely out of town.

On Monday morning, he arrived at work an hour early and unlocked the door so jasper Tennyson and his other employees could get

their things ready for business. He did feel a sense of pleasure and accomplishment when he saw his name with the word "President"

on his office door. It made all the aggravation with lancelot worth it. He sat at his oak desk and glanced at his office which

was decorated with three oak chairs, one his and two for visitors, and a large bookcase which displayed pictures of places he had

traveled to. He had several books and a large file cabinet in the corner of the room, but for the most part, it was open and free of

clutter. He even had a window so he could see the dress shop and other businesses from across the street. He could also see who was coming into the bank.

He opened his daily planner so he could pencil in upcoming appointments. So far several new customers had opened accounts at the bank. Things were going better than he had hoped.

A knock on his open door brought his attention to Jasper who was grinning at him. "Did you have a good time on Friday?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Claire is certainly catching a lot of attention. Leave it to you to take an oyster and pull out the pearl."

He inwardly shivered at the mention of oysters. After eating Rocky Mountain oysters, he didn‟t think he would eat actual

oysters ever again.

"Anyway, I thought you looked unusually happy until she started dancing with other men," Jasper continued.

"Technically, she is married. Their behavior was inappropriate.""Does she know that she‟s been getting flowers?"

"No. And you‟d better keep it that way."

"Hmm..."

Austin was beginning to get irritated. "What?"

"You‟re not starting to care for her, are you?"

"Of course not. She‟s a friend but that‟s it."

"A man could be lucky to have such a beautiful friend."

He didn‟t like the way Jasper looked amused. "Get in here so we can discuss business," he growled.

Jasper got serious and sat down. "What is it, boss?"

"On Friday, I have a meeting in Richmond. I need you to fill in for my responsibilities on that day. Then next Friday, I am going to New York on a weekend vacation, so I‟ll need you to take over for that day as well."

"I‟m looking forward to it, boss. Is there anything else?"

"Mr. Gregory and Mr. Peterson requested several investment accounts, which you will help them with. Mr. Gregory will be in this afternoon at three and Mr. Peterson will come by first thing tomorrow. Jerry Thompson and Stephen Michael don‟t

have the necessary experience to help them yet. They will learn with time but right now you need to train them. Meanwhile, I will

be running around most of the day taking care of loose ends."

"Do any of these loose ends involve Claire‟s suitors?" he asked, looking amused.

"Everything I need to do is strictly business," he snapped.

"Sure." It was obvious Jasper didn‟t believe him. "I heard that Donald Cline plans to go by the library to help Claire with her

children‟s story hour at eleven. You might want to fill that into your daily planner while you‟re running around doing everything

else, business related of course."

"You‟re in a sensitive position, Jasper. As your boss, I could easily fire you."

"You wouldn‟t dare. I have a wife and children to feed and clothe. I need this job.""Then let‟s stick to business."

He shrugged. "Very well. Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Austin scowled at him as he left his office. He doesn‟t have to act like he‟s enjoying it. He grumbled as he erased his original

appointment at eleven and changed it to one. He took the list out of his breast pocket. At least, Donald Cline was one of the names on it. He stared out the window and tried to remember who Donald Cline was. He tapped his pencil on the desk. His mind

was blank. He was ready to ask Jasper who the man was when he recalled his friend‟s enjoyment over Claire‟s future potential suitors.

Why do I care? I shouldn‟t care. I should be happy for her. Her life will be better now. A woman shouldn‟t live her life as a spinster. She should have a husband and children, especially when she‟s as caring as Claire is.

"Mr. Hansworth ," someone interrupted his thoughts.

He glanced away from the window and saw a nervous looking twenty year old Stephen standing right outside his office

door. "Come in, Stephen."

"Actually, there is someone who insists on talking to you.

I offered to help him or for him to talk to Mr. Monroe, but he‟s

adamant that it must be you."

"Who is he?"

"Daniel Riley. He said he spoke to your wife at the dance and she recommended he talk to you about the investments the

bank offers."

Was that just another diversion for another man to get close to Claire? "Mr. Monroe is perfectly capable of handling that

discussion."

"I told him that but he won‟t take no for an answer."

He sounds a lot like Claire. She didn‟t take no for an answer either when he met her. He sighed. "Alright. Bring him in."

Daniel Riley was a skinny, tall man who looked too young for Claire .