Read Online Stranded by J. C. Valentine - Free Book Online Page B

a dashing man dressed in suit and drenched from head to toe had stumbled through her door needing her help. He had given her so much more that night, Poppy thought to herself as she finished zipping up her dress.
                  Life had felt empty before, but after Felix walked out her door, it had become unbearable. The silence she had grown accustomed to was deafening. Even Bo’s company wasn’t cutting it anymore. The time they had spent together reminded her of how good it could be to have someone near, to share your bed and your thoughts with. She hadn’t realized how much she missed simple connection with another human being until then.
    She tried to occupy herself by delving fur ther into her books and baking—her other favorite pastime. But none of it worked, and after two days and nights of restlessness, Poppy decided it was time to get back into the world and start looking for a job.
    Spending each afternoon in the city, walking the streets and filling out applications, she had managed to keep her mind fairly occupied. It was the nights, when the world grew quiet again and she was left to her thoughts that were the problem. When Felix wasn’t dominating every waking thought, he was starring in her dreams. She could still feel his touch on her skin, taste him on her lips.
    And Bo wasn’t fairing much better.
    He never had trusted people, which meant that he never liked anyone either. After Felix, Bo was a different dog. She often found him sitting on the porch watching the road as if he were waiting for something…or someone. And when Poppy settled down with him in the evenings, he sat her feet while she held a book in her hands, and fixed sad eyes on the door, letting out an occasional whine from time to time like a heartbroken child.
    The only change in their lives had been Felix, and so Poppy had to contribute Bo’s behavior to him. It seemed he had worked his way into both their hearts and when he walked out that door; he had taken a piece of them with him. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part. Bo was probably just reacting to her shift in mood. He always had been very perceptive.
    Shaking off her self-imposed depression, Poppy slipped into a pair of sensible black pumps and scooped up the black suit jacket that went with the formfitting casual dress she wore from the foot of the bed and headed downstairs.
    The time for self-pitying was over. Poppy had a job interview with a very important man at a very important business in the heart of downtown. Having been out of the workforce for nearly a year, she was as excited as she was nervous.
    After rummaging through her purse and a few coat pockets, she finally tracked down her car keys and, with a quick hug and a promise to return later for Bo, she was out the door.
     
     
    Poppy was flushed by the time she reached office. Traffic had been murder, even at ten in the morning, and she had had to hunt for the always elusive parking spot. After nearly fifteen minutes of circling a four block radius, she caught sight of a car pulling away. Pulling off a few reckless maneuvers and earning a few angry gestures, she managed to dart into the spot without causing an accident or getting a ticket.
    The downside was that the spot was three blocks awa y from her destination and she’d had to jog the distance—in heels—crossing traffic and dodging pedestrians the whole way. Once she entered the high-rise office building, she found the elevators were being maintenanced and ended up having to take the stairs…to the thirty-fourth floor.
    Winded and damp with perspiration, Poppy approached the receptionist desk with a tired smile.
    “Can I help you?” The woman behind the desk was gorgeous. With wide blue eyes that matched her blouse, perfectly coifed blond hair and brilliant straight white teeth set behind full pink lips, the woman held an air of superiority, and Poppy instantly felt dull with her plain brown hair and simple