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Authors: Chris Keniston
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she bolted over the table to answer. . “Hello.”
Setting the dinner plates aside, Michelle stepped over to look at the caller ID. Steven Williams. Her throat closed and her palms started to sweat. Shaking her head like a petulant two-year-old, she waved her hands frantically at her sister. She did not want to talk to him.
“Gee, she’s, uh...in the shower. You know, long day and all. Can I give her a message?”
Michelle bit her lower lip. What little appetite she’d had when she’d gotten home had just left the building.
“Right. I’ll tell her. Bye.”
“What did he want?”
“ She wants to speak to you. In person.”
“Beth?”
Corrie nodded.
The funny thing was, after seeing Beth at the diner, she was almost worried about her, and she missed her best friend terribly. Right about now the only person she could honestly talk to about Kirk—or Lloyd, the liar—and the cruise, and her sister, and being dumped at the altar, was the person she’d been dumped for. “Do you mind eating alone? I think I’ll skip dinner and go take that shower.”
Corrie shook her head.
A long steaming shower, a hot cup of tea, and a sappy book would help her tonight. But what the heck would she do about tomorrow and the next day?
***
“Where’s Pam?”
Lloyd McEntire stood close enough for the scent of his cologne to tease every one of Michelle’s senses. All week she’d managed to steer clear of the man. Now he'd come within five feet and her every nerve ending tingled with anticipation. Stupid sensory memories .
“Dentist appointment. Usually she leaves notes for Mr. Harrison on his desk calendar.”
He looked up from the papers in his hand. For a second she thought he’d only now realized whose desk he was in front of. “I need revenue reports by territory going back eighteen months. I’ve only got six and can’t access the info from the office computer. Who else can get me the numbers?”
“Mr. Harrison wasn’t very fond of computers. I can access the information for you. Give me a few minutes to print it up, and I’ll bring it to your office.”
“Mm.” He nodded, and turned on his heel.
Changing screens, she pulled up the revenue data, typed in the time frame, hit Print, and stared at the empty hallway. The man hadn’t smiled once since he’d arrived. Not that she wanted him to, and certainly not at her, but this wasn’t the same person she’d spent ten days with. No, you idiot. You spent ten days with Kirk, not Lloyd.
Hidden behind an unending parade of reports, Kirk...Lloyd, rarely came up for air. If he wasn’t buried deep in the financials, or hammering away at his keyboard, he paced his office with the phone glued to one ear. No matter the task, his expression barely changed. Occasionally en route to another department, he’d sweep past her desk, and she would notice a shift from dour to merely glum, but the huge grins and hardy laughs she remembered all too clearly were nowhere to be found.
Every time Michelle turned around, she spied Pam running in one direction or another and always carrying stacks of reports. Before Kir...Lloyd had replaced Mr. Harrison, Pam would be out the door at five on the dot. So far, Pam hadn’t seen the street anywhere close to five. And according to Madge at the Corner Cafe, Pam had canceled all her dinner dates for the rest of the week.
On the ship, when Ki...Lloyd told her he worked hard and played hard, she had never imagined this. A stone-faced man who appeared to eat, sleep, and breathe business. According to the grapevine, he stayed in his office till almost midnight every night and only once had he ordered dinner. If you considered ham on rye dinner. Apparently he didn’t need sustenance to maintain his fit physique. And why was she going there?
The printer spit out the last page. She clipped the report together and took a fortifying breath. Buried in his work, he probably wouldn’t even notice when she stepped into the office. She
Setting the dinner plates aside, Michelle stepped over to look at the caller ID. Steven Williams. Her throat closed and her palms started to sweat. Shaking her head like a petulant two-year-old, she waved her hands frantically at her sister. She did not want to talk to him.
“Gee, she’s, uh...in the shower. You know, long day and all. Can I give her a message?”
Michelle bit her lower lip. What little appetite she’d had when she’d gotten home had just left the building.
“Right. I’ll tell her. Bye.”
“What did he want?”
“ She wants to speak to you. In person.”
“Beth?”
Corrie nodded.
The funny thing was, after seeing Beth at the diner, she was almost worried about her, and she missed her best friend terribly. Right about now the only person she could honestly talk to about Kirk—or Lloyd, the liar—and the cruise, and her sister, and being dumped at the altar, was the person she’d been dumped for. “Do you mind eating alone? I think I’ll skip dinner and go take that shower.”
Corrie shook her head.
A long steaming shower, a hot cup of tea, and a sappy book would help her tonight. But what the heck would she do about tomorrow and the next day?
***
“Where’s Pam?”
Lloyd McEntire stood close enough for the scent of his cologne to tease every one of Michelle’s senses. All week she’d managed to steer clear of the man. Now he'd come within five feet and her every nerve ending tingled with anticipation. Stupid sensory memories .
“Dentist appointment. Usually she leaves notes for Mr. Harrison on his desk calendar.”
He looked up from the papers in his hand. For a second she thought he’d only now realized whose desk he was in front of. “I need revenue reports by territory going back eighteen months. I’ve only got six and can’t access the info from the office computer. Who else can get me the numbers?”
“Mr. Harrison wasn’t very fond of computers. I can access the information for you. Give me a few minutes to print it up, and I’ll bring it to your office.”
“Mm.” He nodded, and turned on his heel.
Changing screens, she pulled up the revenue data, typed in the time frame, hit Print, and stared at the empty hallway. The man hadn’t smiled once since he’d arrived. Not that she wanted him to, and certainly not at her, but this wasn’t the same person she’d spent ten days with. No, you idiot. You spent ten days with Kirk, not Lloyd.
Hidden behind an unending parade of reports, Kirk...Lloyd, rarely came up for air. If he wasn’t buried deep in the financials, or hammering away at his keyboard, he paced his office with the phone glued to one ear. No matter the task, his expression barely changed. Occasionally en route to another department, he’d sweep past her desk, and she would notice a shift from dour to merely glum, but the huge grins and hardy laughs she remembered all too clearly were nowhere to be found.
Every time Michelle turned around, she spied Pam running in one direction or another and always carrying stacks of reports. Before Kir...Lloyd had replaced Mr. Harrison, Pam would be out the door at five on the dot. So far, Pam hadn’t seen the street anywhere close to five. And according to Madge at the Corner Cafe, Pam had canceled all her dinner dates for the rest of the week.
On the ship, when Ki...Lloyd told her he worked hard and played hard, she had never imagined this. A stone-faced man who appeared to eat, sleep, and breathe business. According to the grapevine, he stayed in his office till almost midnight every night and only once had he ordered dinner. If you considered ham on rye dinner. Apparently he didn’t need sustenance to maintain his fit physique. And why was she going there?
The printer spit out the last page. She clipped the report together and took a fortifying breath. Buried in his work, he probably wouldn’t even notice when she stepped into the office. She
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