An Ever Fixéd Mark Read Online Free

trimmed
coif he wore the other night. The other pictures were from a
picnic, with various persons. Maybe from his company? Maybe a group
of friends? There was one young woman in a couple of the pictures.
A pretty blonde with blue eyes and a skinny waist. Of course.
    Lizzie clicked on his friends list. She
recognized the names of the faces she saw the other night…
including Sara. She saw his brother’s name and tried to click on
his profile. Oliver set privacy options that excluded her from
seeing it. The picture showed the older Cottingham didn’t look much
different than she remembered, with his dark hair and dark eyes. He
was straddled across a bicycle, next to a statuesque dark skinned
woman also seated on a bike.
    Not much. She went back to Ben’s photos,
appreciating the freckles that went over his nose. She didn’t want
to like him that much… but she couldn’t stop her heart beating more
quickly with another glance at his gray green eyes.
    She signed out of Facebook and clicked over
to Google. She typed in his name. There were a couple publications
in vocabulary about computers she couldn’t understand. She found
his company website, which also required some element of
translation. She understood there was a medical link to his
computer business. She also knew that he was the founder and CEO.
He had an impressive career… and no doubt bank account.
    There was a Ben Cottingham in a WWI roster.
And a Dr. Benjamin Cottingham came up a few times… but with very
few details. Both were much too old to be him. Lizzie couldn’t
remember if his father was named Benjamin. In fact, she really
couldn’t remember his father at all.
    She typed in Oliver’s name. His college
appeared, as well as his course listings from the previous spring.
She found a syllabus for environmental studies, as well as several
papers he had written on the environmental impact of plastics.
    “Did you have a good Thanksgiving, Lizzie?”
Dr. Chiang passed her desk on the way out of Richard’s office.
    “I did, thank you,” Lizzie offered up that
habitual smile. “And yourself?”
    “Quiet,” Dr. Chiang retrieved her coat from
the rack. Lizzie nodded at the small talk, wondering why the doctor
suddenly expressed an interest in her holiday. She always knew Dr.
Chiang, as she was undoubtedly the most attractive of the
department heads. She was also incredibly young. But no one, not
even Richard, was bothered by that fact. Her bright blue eyes
triggered admiration from everyone with whom she spoke. “Richard
said you have a connection to the Fulton Foundation.”
    Lizzie’s cheeks pinkened at the expectation.
“Well, I work at the Fulton House on weekends,” Lizzie wondered how
much of an age difference there was from Dr. Chiang, how much more
accomplished she was in her thirties than Lizzie who typed up
minutes and gave tours for minimum wage at a museum. Nothing half
so impressive as running a cardiac department. “I’ve met a few of
the Fultons when they came to see the house. Gerard Fulton came to
speak to the guides one afternoon about his family history. He’s
probably the only one I can say I know… and even then…
    “Would you feel comfortable sending him an
invitation to the gala?” Dr. Chiang buttoned her coat and looked at
Lizzie with those blue eyes. Lizzie was aware of Richard listening
through the door. “We would like to get him interested in the
hospital – as a funder for the new cardiac center.”
    “Of course,” Lizzie smiled, even though she
thought Gerard Fulton was a spoiled little boy in the body of a
46-year-old, who really had no sense of history beyond the
longevity of his family name.
    “Great,” she smiled back, fueling Lizzie’s
confidence. “You’ll let me know if he responds?”
    “I will, Dr. Chiang,” she let herself be
charmed by the blue eyes.
    “Thanks Lizzie,” Dr. Chiang lingered a
friendly glance before walking out of the office. Lizzie looked
back at the computer, no longer