Everyone was talking about Dow Tech. The stock price was already rising, but not so fast or so much that it made her look foolish for not having priced it higher. It was a textbook offering, and what everyone wanted to happen when they took a company public. She was sitting at her desk, feeling pleased with all of it when Cal called her.

“So what's our next stop, Meredith? I'm ready for the next city.” He was teasing and she laughed.

“Me too. I can't believe it's over. Looking back it all seems so easy.” She smiled as she said it, but it had all gone very smoothly.

“Yeah, like childbirth. It only seems easy now because everything went so well, thanks to you. I don't know what to do with myself now that I'm back.”

“You'll think of something.” She knew he had plenty of new projects on the back burner, they had talked a lot about them.

“How was Steve when you got back?” he asked politely. They seemed like old friends now.

“I haven't seen him yet. He was working. He's taking the weekend off, and he said he was going to lock up my briefcase.”

“I don't blame him. I would too. Tell him to take you dancing.” She laughed at that. Steve was no Fred Astaire, like Callan. In fact, he hated dancing. He'd rather sit home and watch TV with a glass of wine.

“That's not his thing, I'm afraid. We'll probably go to a movie tomorrow. That's more his speed. What about you? How are the kids?”

“Great. I don't think they even missed me.” Cal and Meredith were like two kids home from camp or boarding school, they didn't know what to do at home now. “They have endless plans to torture me all weekend. The girls want me to take them into town, and I have to take Andy to soccer practice. Pretty exciting.” They both led fairly quiet lives, although Meredith suspected that wasn't always the case for Callan. Charlotte had been a good indication on that score.

“No big social doings this weekend?” She was still curious about him, even after the time they had spent together, or perhaps even more so.

“You mean like bingo at my church?” he teased. “I do that on Tuesdays.”

“Yeah, me too,” she laughed. “Actually I'm meeting a new client next week about an IPO, it sounds pretty interesting. They're a small high-tech firm in Boston.”

“I've been gone for less than a day, and you're already being unfaithful to me. I thought you'd want to hang up your spurs after this one, and just live on our memories.” He sounded poetic as he said it.

“How's Charlie doing, speaking of memories? Happy to be back in the fold?”

“I'm not sure,” Cal said vaguely. “He scheduled a meeting with me this afternoon, and I get the feeling something's brewing. He's still ticked off that we went public, but that's no secret. You knew that.”

“Charlie doesn't exactly keep his feelings secret, does he?” she laughed. She didn't miss him. He had remained ornery right up to the last few minutes, but he'd been momentarily gracious when he left them. And even he had to admit that the entire process had gone far better than anyone had expected.

“Well, have a good weekend, Meredith, and a good rest. You've earned it.”

“So have you, Cal.”

“I'll call you sometime next week and see how things are going,” he promised.

She hung up, and got caught up in her office all afternoon, and when she got home at six o'clock, Steve was waiting for her. He swept her off her feet as soon as she walked into the living room, twirled her around, and kissed her.

“Boy, have I missed you.”

“I've only been gone a week, you goof.”

“It seemed a whole lot longer. To me at least.” He smiled and kissed her again, poured them both a glass of wine, and an hour later, after they chatted for a while, he started dinner. He had been hungry to talk to her, and see her, and feel her next to him in bed at night.

He made pasta for them, salad, and garlic bread, and halfway through the meal, he got amorous with her, and the rest of the meal went untouched as he carried her into their bedroom. They never got up again that night, and when she got up the next morning, she threw the remains of their dinner away and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Steve was still asleep, and when she checked The Wall Street Journal, the tombstone she had proofed the day before looked exactly as it was meant to.

She left for the office quietly, and Steve called her at the office when he woke up at noon, and for once she managed to go home early. Steve was waiting for her in the living room, he already had dinner on, and as soon as they finished, they went to the movies.

In every possible way, it was an idyllic weekend. They talked and laughed and went for long walks in the park. The weather was still warm and balmy, it was that perfect time of year in New York that felt almost like spring, that happened nearly every year in the last weeks of September.

And on Saturday night, they went out to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant they both liked. It was a far cry from Harry's Bar where she'd spent the previous Saturday night with Callan, but this was just what she wanted. She and Steve managed to spend uninterrupted time with each other for the first time in months. He was off call all weekend, and she lived up to her promise to him not to touch her briefcase. Everything was perfect. And on Monday morning when she left for work, he put on his scrubs and left for the hospital. He was going to be gone for two days this time, some of it on call in the hospital, and the rest actively on duty. And they both had easy weeks ahead of them, or at least Meredith did. With him, he could never quite predict it.

She checked on the Dow Tech stock when she got in, and it was still going up at a good clip, which pleased her. She was thinking about calling Cal to congratulate him again on it, when her secretary buzzed her.

“Callan Dow on the line for you, Mrs. Whitman,” she said briskly, and Meredith stopped what she was doing and took the call.

“Hi there. I was just about to call. The stock's still going up very nicely.” She had bought a fair-sized chunk of it for herself right after the opening, as the SEC permitted, so she now had a personal interest in it as well. “What's new in California?”

“Well, Meredith,” he said, sounding strange to her for a minute, “things have been moving and shaking out here.” A lot had happened since Friday, and he hadn't had a chance to call her all weekend. He'd been busy with his kids.

“What does that mean?” Meredith sounded puzzled, but intrigued by the way he'd said it.

“Charlie handed in his resignation on Friday, which could be a problem, if it upsets the stockholders, or triggers a lawsuit, but I'm hoping that won't happen. We had a long serious talk, and he just can't make his peace with the fact that we're a public company. He doesn't want to answer to shareholders, and he's violently opposed to my acquiring another company eventually. Actually he was pretty decent about it, and he says I've outgrown him. He says he's too old to make the adjustment. And I honestly think he made the right decision, given how he feels.”

Meredith nodded as she thought about it. “It may be for the best, Cal, although I know you have a lot of history with him. You need to find someone now who fits the direction you're taking and is willing to grow with you, and is even enthusiastic about it.”

“That's what I'm hoping,” he said simply.

“Do you have anyone in mind yet? How much notice did he give you?”

“The answers to both those questions are ‘yes,’ and ‘two weeks,’ in that order.”

“That's hardly a generous notice.”

“To tell the truth, I think he made his mind up before the road show, and he was just waiting to tell me when we got back. He doesn't think he should stick around now that he's decided he's going.” And it was hard for him to go too. Callan knew that, in his own way, Charlie loved Dow Tech and what it represented to him. Callan knew that better than Merrie.

“So who are you thinking of for the job? Someone on the outside, or within the company?” she asked him, sounding pensive, trying to think if she knew anyone for him, but she didn't offhand.

“Outside actually.” Sitting at his desk, he was smiling, but she couldn't see it. “I wanted to see what you thought of my idea.”

“Do I know them?” She sounded interested. She had a maternal interest in Dow Tech now, and was touched that he had called her to advise him.

“Intimately, actually. In fact, I think this person is the ideal replacement for Charlie.”

“I'm dying of curiosity, Cal,” she said, smiling. “Who is it?”

“Go look in the mirror, Merrie,” he said softly, and there was a long pause as she absorbed what he was saying to her.

“What does that mean?” She sounded startled.

“I'd like you to be our new CFO, Meredith. You're exactly what this company needs … and what I need. You have the same kind of vision I do, the same goals for the company. You know everything there is to know about this business. And I've shared all my secrets and future plans with you. Merrie, you're perfect.” At first, she thought he was kidding. At least she hoped so. It was very flattering, but there was no way she could do it. She already had a job, a home, and a husband, and there was no way she could leave New York now. What would Steve do?

“That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in years, Cal.” She hated to turn him down, but she knew she had to. “But you know I can't do it.”

“Why not?” He didn't sound as though he were going to take no for an answer. “Of course you can do it, if you want to.” And he sounded as though he was going to be insulted if she didn't.

“I'm an investment banker, Cal. And I really don't know enough about your business to be an effective CFO. As impossible as he is, Charlie knows a hell of a lot more about it than I do. What's more, I'm a partner in my firm, and I have a husband who works here. I can't just drop everything and move to California.”

“People do it all the time, Meredith, and you know it. They change careers, jobs, fields, that's what life is all about, changing and growing. You'd be terrific at it. And what's more, you're heading for a dead end where you are, and you know that too. It's written all over the walls there. They don't appreciate you, they don't have any concept of how extraordinary you are, but I do. You would be invaluable to me here. And if you want me to be crass about it, you'd make a hell of a lot more money. This could be a great thing for you. And Steve could get a job here. We have trauma units here. SF General has one of the best in the country. Does that answer all your objections?” She was overwhelmed for a moment as she listened.

“Some of them. But I can't just make a decision like that at the drop of a hat. I'd have to discuss it with Steve. He has a great job here.”

“As the number-two man. Maybe he could be the number-one guy here. Why don't you talk to him about it?”

“And say what? That I'm giving up a career I've spent twelve years on, and I want him to drop everything too, and follow me out there? Cal, this is an enormous decision.” She sounded breathless as she answered. He had really stunned her.

“I know that, Meredith. I didn't expect you to do it lightly. But as your friend, I can tell you that I think it would be the best thing that ever happened to you. Why don't you come out this week and talk to me about it?”

“I can't,” she said, sounding panicked. It was the first time he had ever heard her sound ruffled.

“Why not?” He was relentless when there was something he wanted, and she felt as though there were an express train heading toward her. There were reasons why Callan Dow had been so successful. When he wanted something, he pursued it, until he got it.

“I have meetings this week,” she said weakly.

“Then come next week, or this weekend. But let's at least discuss it.”

“I know the job, Cal. I know the company. I know you. That's not the problem. You don't need to woo me. But I have a life here.”

“You'd have a better life here. Do you want me to speak to Steve about it?”

“No, I'll talk to him myself. But he's going to think I'm crazy, or you are.” She sounded worried, but he seemed euphoric, which scared her. He didn't want to listen to her very sensible objections.

“Maybe I am crazy, but it's the best idea I've had in years. I think Charlie McIntosh did me a great big favor.”

“I think he turned my life upside down is what he did,” she said, laughing, catching her breath finally. Cal was amazing.

“Will you consider it at least? Talk to Steve and see what he thinks. He's a smart guy, from what you tell me. It could just be he'll see this as a tremendous opportunity, which it is. Meredith, I'd be willing to give you options to acquire up to one percent of the company, and I could pay you a lot more than they do.” There was no question about it, with the stock options he was talking about, the offer was very tempting. But they still had a life in New York, and Steve's job to consider. Palo Alto was a long way from Manhattan, and everything they had and knew there.