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information.”
    Reese quickly rattled off her hotel name, along with her flight information. “I’ll call you tonight once I get settled, and you can tell me if you were able to work things out.”
    â€œYou know I’ll be able to work things out. I have no intention of taking maybe for an answer. As a matter of fact, I’m packing as we speak.”
    â€œCan’t wait,” Reese said. “But listen, I’ve got to run. The last thing I need at the moment is to be late for my ride.”
    â€œNo problem. I’ll talk with you tonight. Have a safe trip.”
    â€œThanks. Bye.”
    Â 
    Reese hurried around the suite checking that she hadn’t forgotten anything. She breezed by the bedroom mirror then back peddled and stopped. She gazed at her reflection and smiled, once again filled with her old self-confidence. In her throaty alto voice, she belted out the last line of the R&B classic “And I’m Telling You,” by Jennifer Holiday. “I don’t wanna be fre-e-e. I’m stay—in’ and you’re gonna love me! Yeah.” She winked and hurried out of the suite.
    When she reached the lobby, she was pleasantly surprised to see Carmen waiting.
    â€œCarmen,” she greeted, giving the older woman a quick peck on the cheek. “I didn’t expect to see you. I thought you were just sending a car.”
    â€œThe car is waiting. I just thought it would be nice if we rode together to the airport.”
    â€œI think so, too,” Reese said with a smile, threading her arm through Carmen’s. “What about Max—I mean, Mr. Knight?”
    â€œHe always drives his own car to the airport.” She pushed through the revolving door and out into the balmy morning. “He hates being at the mercy of someone else,” she tossed over her shoulder with a wink and a smile.
    The double entendre was not lost on Reese.
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    He knew he was early and that there was plenty of time before boarding. That wasn’t the point. Maxwell paced the waiting area, checking his watch every few minutes. He was edgy. His nerves felt like they were about to snap. The lack of sleep, haunted by dreams of Reese, compounded by the unexpected phone call from Victoria Davenport, had him ready to crush the first person who crossed him.
    After nearly two years of complete silence, she calls out of the blue. Why? And why now? She said she’d been thinking about him a lot lately and had been too afraid to contact him for fear of rejection again. She’d said she’d heard through the grapevine about the chip development and she wanted to congratulate him. She, too, was planning on being in Los Angeles within the week, and wondered if he would be in town. If so maybe they could get together—just for a drink—for old time’s sake.
    Maxwell frowned and checked his watch again, retracing his path across the sparkling tile floor. Victoria, he’d learnedthe hard way, was not a woman who did anything without a damned good reason. If she wanted to see him again, she had one, and he was pretty certain her reason had nothing to do with congratulations or unrequited love.
    He checked his watch, then compared it to the huge clock that hung above the reservationist’s station. “Where is she?” he fumed between clenched teeth.
    â€œLooking for someone?” Reese asked, easing up behind him to practically whisper in his ear.
    He spun around and when his eyes landed on her smiling face, his stomach coiled into a knot of need. “Where in the devil have you been?” he growled in greeting. “Or don’t you realize we have a flight to catch?” He turned away and strode toward the departure gate.
    â€œThis trip is going to be longer than I thought,” she muttered to Carmen, who hid a smile behind her hand. Both women followed in comical military fashion behind the unsuspecting Maxwell Knight.
    Maxwell’s morning for