“Yeah, Mark.”

“And I think I asked Terry to haul you from your desk when I saw you there at 5 when I got back from Goldman’s.  I’d like to believe people heard me when I basically broadcasted to everyone in the floor that I’d have his ass if he didn’t put you in a cab right that second.”

Diane had to smile at that one.  “I’m pretty sure even the people above and below our floor heard you.  So please don’t get mad at him,” she started.

Mark roared with laughter at her joke, and leaned forward, waving his hand, “You know I was just kidding about Terry.”

But, after a few seconds, his eyes took on a more serious glint, as he said firmly, “You’ve got to pace yourself, Diane.  You’ll burn out if you don’t.”

“Thanks for the advice, Mark.  But, I have a really good reason why…”

“Diane,” he interrupted her, his gigantic hands (or paws, more likely) forming a steeple as he laid his elbows on his desk.  “You’ve only been here a month, and already you’ve helped me close one of the toughest deals that we’ve had this year, aside from giving me good analysis on another one that really helped one of our biggest clients.  You are, by far, one of the smartest people we have.  And clearly one of the most gifted in structuring deals.  I know that already.  So does George, and George will not be happy if I let you push yourself to exhaustion.”

Diane opened her mouth to speak, but he put his hand up, and continued, “Worse, Bette will have my ass.  Never mind George!  She’ll have me drawn and quartered in the middle of Park Avenue downstairs without hesitation, if something happened to you, Diane.  She’s not someone to mess with, believe me … even George steers clear of her when she’s angry.”

Diane chuckled, and he smiled back at her bemusedly, but his worried look remained.

She pursed her lips, then decided to plunge forward with the proposal she’d been working on, on the side, for the past few weeks.

“Mark, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with either one of them, of course.  But I’d like to propose potential deals or clients in a sector that the firm could consider getting into, since it hasn’t expanded to it, yet.”