Devotion
by
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Rachel Stuart peeked out from under the covers and saw it was approaching daylight. She stretched and moaned, "How I hate getting up so early to catch a plane. Why'd I let myself get talked into a special assignment, and at springtime? Spring's my favorite time in New York." She thought of the greening of trees in Central Park and the blossoming of flowers along Fifth Avenue, then shook her head to clear it of thoughts of spring. She slowly raised her head, sat up, swung her long, shapely legs out of bed, then paused. With a tiny push, she stood and headed for the shower. Dressed in a navy blue business suit and snowy white blouse, Rachel marched into her tiny kitchen and had a cup of coffee at the counter. She picked up the phone and called the limousine service to verify that the driver was on his way. Back in her bedroom, she checked luggage and briefcase and saw all was in order. She set her coat, shoulder bag, luggage, and briefcase in the hall, as was her custom before an extended trip. After a quick check of the apartment, she straightened a few things so her housekeeper wouldn't have any reason to complain the next day. Satisfied, Rachel opened the door, locked it behind her, and walked to the bank of elevators. At the front door, James greeted her with, "Morning, Miss Stuart. Off again?" "Morning, James. Yes, I am. The housekeeper will check my apartment tomorrow, and the cleaning lady will be here Thursday. I stopped my mail, too. I hope to be back within three weeks." She smiled as he held the heavy doors of the West 23rd Street apartment complex open for her. He helped her into the waiting limousine. "Have a good trip, and return safely, Miss Stuart." "Thank you. Take care of yourself." "I will. I'll keep an eye on your apartment, too." She nodded and waved as the limousine pulled away from the curb and headed toward the Midtown Tunnel and LaGuardia Airport. Rachel Stuart was an executive for the Sunset Corporation. She had a lot of responsibility, and she took her work seriously, giving more of herself than any other executive. No job was too big or too small for her. John Foster, the president of Sunset, knew that if there was ever a problem with any of their subsidiaries, he could count on Rachel to correct the plant manager's mistakes.
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About the Book
Rachel Stuart worked for the Sunset Corporation as a troubleshooter. Whenever there was a problem in one of their plants, Rachel was the person to correct it. Arriving at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport, she was met by Ben Worthing, the manager of Sunset’s Atlanta Plant. After settling her at the Ramada Inn, they lunched and Ben advised her that they had a dinner date with Alan Simpson. Rachel agreed to the dinner date without knowing who Alan Simpson was. Arriving at the plant, she was welcomed but immediately noted things were not the way they were supposed to be. Low-quality films were substituted for films which were always of the highest quality and were purchased from reputable companies. The substitution created many problems for their sophisticated process printing presses. As Rachel investigated deeper into the problem, she became a thorn to Alan Simpson’s quest. At a break-in of her suites, she was guarded by Richard Hagarty of the Kramer Agency. Richard fell in love with her and vowed to marry her. He took her home to his ranch after the break-in, but Alan Simpson followed. He gained entrance late at night to the residence and poisoned Rachel with Curare. She became paralyzed, but, because of the devotion of Richard Hagarty and his mother, Nell, Rachel was well taken care of and regained some of her old spirit. She was still a threat to Simpson, who stalked her day and night, because Rachel wouldn’t give into his demands. During her life-threatening illness, she found out that John Foster, her mentor, was really her father, and the owner of the Sunset Corporation was her grandfather. This was a tremendous shock, but she welcomed them both into her life. When Alan Simpson struck once more, she became so ill that she lay in a coma for almost two years. It became the truest test of Devotion.
About the Author
Ruth Jonassohn left Germany as a child in 1939, and moved with her parents and siblings to La Paz, Bolivia, where she spent her childhood years. In 1949, they moved to the United States and settled in New Jersey. Ruth went to Business College and then worked in New York and Connecticut for a Nonprofit Corporation in the Baking Industry as a Packaging Buyer and Purchasing Manager. She was also a member of the Packaging Institute, U.S.A. In 1982, she and her husband moved to Tamarac, Florida, where she became an active member of the Board of Directors for their association. She is trilingual and enjoys classical music, opera, theater, reading, and writing. She is the author of six published novels.