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.Turning on her computer, she put an expression of such focus and concentration on her face, hopefully the other woman would be reluctant to interrupt her.She heard the squeak of the outer doors opening, and she redoubled her efforts to look preoccupied.Who knew? It might grant her a temporary reprieve.“Ahem.”Then again, maybe not.Shannon sighed inwardly and grudgingly looked up from her work.“Yes?”Clarissa stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest, and Shannon wondered fleetingly if this was how it felt to be caught out past one’s curfew.“You’re dating Drew’s brother?”“Uh … ”“The last time I saw the two of you together, I thought there might be bloodshed.What on earth happened?”“Well, we — ”“And did you or did you not say he had a bad reputation?”“In high school, yes, but — ”Clarissa frowned and shook her head warningly.“Shannon, I know he’s a very handsome man, and it’s easy to be dazzled by that, but you need to use your head here.You’re not exactly a woman of the world, and a man like him could easily sweet-talk you into something you might regret later.I’m sure he seems exciting and wonderful now, but — ”“Clarissa!” Heat flooded Shannon’s face.“We’re just spending a little time together, that’s all.”“Really? Because I heard the two of you got pretty hot and heavy at the auction last night.”“Hot and heavy? It was one kiss! I — Look,” Shannon said, realizing just how defensive she sounded and struggling to keep her voice calm.“I know you’re just looking out for me, and I appreciate it, Clarissa.Really, I do.But even though it may seem on the surface like I’m going off the deep end, please trust me.I know what I’m doing.”“Are you sure? The whole bad boy thing aside, is it a good idea to get involved with your boss’s brother? Especially when there’s bad blood between the two of them? Oh, Shannon, please think this whole thing through before you take it any further.”“All right, I will,” Shannon agreed, desperately hoping this particular conversation would end quickly.“I promise.Okay?”Her promise must not have been that convincing, because Clarissa continued to frown worriedly at her.“I just don’t want to see you get hurt, honey.Please be careful.”Shannon nodded, and Clarissa turned to go to her own desk, still looking unhappy.Guilt flickered to life inside Shannon.Would Clarissa be less worried if she knew the truth about Shannon’s arrangement with Michael, or would she fret even more? This was not the way things were supposed to go.It was like planning what was supposed to be a nice little swim in the ocean but then realizing she had wandered too far out past the shallows, and now the currents around her were picking up speed.The phone rang, and Shannon automatically reached for it even though her head was not at its clearest.She drew a blank for a moment before habit took over and the words spilled out of her mouth.“Drew Kingston’s office, Shannon speaking.How may I help you? I’m sorry, he’s not in yet, but — ” Then someone cleared his throat, and Shannon looked up to see that Drew had taken Clarissa’s place in the doorway.His expression was impossible for her to read because it was one she had never seen on his face before.Her mouth went dry, but not in the way it usually did when she saw him.She swallowed and forced herself to speak.“Let me put you on hold for a minute, please.” Pressing the appropriate button, she put the receiver back in its place.“Shannon.”“Good morning,” she offered, doing her best to look him in the eye calmly but not finding it easy.“Shannon, I think we should talk.” Drew took a deep breath, as if maybe this wasn’t the most comfortable situation for him, either.“About Michael.”She nodded, putting her hands in her lap and clasping her fingers tightly together out of his line of vision.Her entire drive to work had been spent mentally rehearsing for this conversation, but nothing she practiced came to mind now.Better to let him say his piece first, and then maybe inspiration would strike her.“I realize your personal life is your own business, and who you spend your time with after hours is your choice, but … ” Drew ran one hand through his hair, a move that usually made her heart flutter.Today she barely noticed, maybe because her pulse was already faster than usual.“If it were any other man, I’d keep my mouth shut, but because it’s Michael, I feel a certain responsibility to speak up.You understand what I mean?”“I understand.”Drew took a step closer.“It’s just that he — ”The phone rang again, and Shannon glanced at the light already blinking from the caller on hold, then she looked back at Drew.He sighed in obvious frustration.“This isn’t the best time and place to do this, is it? All right, my last meeting this morning is over around noon.Can we have lunch together then and talk? I really think we need to.”“Okay, noon.You’ve got a call waiting on line one,” Shannon told him as she reached for the phone, her anxiety making her tone crisper than usual.“Drew Kingston’s office.How may I help you?”Drew moved past her into his office, his jaw tight with tension.As he closed the door behind him, Shannon sank heavily back into her chair and closed her eyes.• • •Shannon had no appetite to speak of, but the waiter watched her expectantly, and she finally ordered the soup of the day — whatever it was — just to get him to leave.She really didn’t care what he brought her so long as it gave her an excuse not to talk.She could feel Drew’s eyes on her and realized he was about as happy as she was to be having this conversation.Forcing herself to look up, she saw him fingering his tie as if it were too tight.“I don’t quite know where to begin,” Drew admitted finally, “but I have to say I was not expecting to see you and Michael together last night.” He shook his head in disbelief.“That’s the understatement of the year.The two of you — it’s the last thing in the world I would have predicted.”Shannon blinked.“I meant no offense,” he said hastily, catching the look on her face.“It’s just that you’re a nice girl, Shannon, and ‘nice’ isn’t really Michael’s type.Which is why I’m so concerned.Michael has always been a bit of a heartbreaker, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.So at the risk of crossing the line between professional and personal, I’m going to ask you to reconsider getting involved with him.”Shannon was silent.Here she was, sitting across the table from Drew in a nice restaurant, having lunch with him.This was something she had dreamed about doing for years.Shouldn’t she be more excited? Granted, she never imagined it under quite these circumstances, but here she was, the complete focus of his full attention.It was not as thrilling as she dreamed.“Please trust me when I say no good can come of it.Michael’s main concern is what feels good to Michael.Relationships with women are all about fun for him.Once the newness wears off, he loses interest.”These were all words she expected [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Turning on her computer, she put an expression of such focus and concentration on her face, hopefully the other woman would be reluctant to interrupt her.She heard the squeak of the outer doors opening, and she redoubled her efforts to look preoccupied.Who knew? It might grant her a temporary reprieve.“Ahem.”Then again, maybe not.Shannon sighed inwardly and grudgingly looked up from her work.“Yes?”Clarissa stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest, and Shannon wondered fleetingly if this was how it felt to be caught out past one’s curfew.“You’re dating Drew’s brother?”“Uh … ”“The last time I saw the two of you together, I thought there might be bloodshed.What on earth happened?”“Well, we — ”“And did you or did you not say he had a bad reputation?”“In high school, yes, but — ”Clarissa frowned and shook her head warningly.“Shannon, I know he’s a very handsome man, and it’s easy to be dazzled by that, but you need to use your head here.You’re not exactly a woman of the world, and a man like him could easily sweet-talk you into something you might regret later.I’m sure he seems exciting and wonderful now, but — ”“Clarissa!” Heat flooded Shannon’s face.“We’re just spending a little time together, that’s all.”“Really? Because I heard the two of you got pretty hot and heavy at the auction last night.”“Hot and heavy? It was one kiss! I — Look,” Shannon said, realizing just how defensive she sounded and struggling to keep her voice calm.“I know you’re just looking out for me, and I appreciate it, Clarissa.Really, I do.But even though it may seem on the surface like I’m going off the deep end, please trust me.I know what I’m doing.”“Are you sure? The whole bad boy thing aside, is it a good idea to get involved with your boss’s brother? Especially when there’s bad blood between the two of them? Oh, Shannon, please think this whole thing through before you take it any further.”“All right, I will,” Shannon agreed, desperately hoping this particular conversation would end quickly.“I promise.Okay?”Her promise must not have been that convincing, because Clarissa continued to frown worriedly at her.“I just don’t want to see you get hurt, honey.Please be careful.”Shannon nodded, and Clarissa turned to go to her own desk, still looking unhappy.Guilt flickered to life inside Shannon.Would Clarissa be less worried if she knew the truth about Shannon’s arrangement with Michael, or would she fret even more? This was not the way things were supposed to go.It was like planning what was supposed to be a nice little swim in the ocean but then realizing she had wandered too far out past the shallows, and now the currents around her were picking up speed.The phone rang, and Shannon automatically reached for it even though her head was not at its clearest.She drew a blank for a moment before habit took over and the words spilled out of her mouth.“Drew Kingston’s office, Shannon speaking.How may I help you? I’m sorry, he’s not in yet, but — ” Then someone cleared his throat, and Shannon looked up to see that Drew had taken Clarissa’s place in the doorway.His expression was impossible for her to read because it was one she had never seen on his face before.Her mouth went dry, but not in the way it usually did when she saw him.She swallowed and forced herself to speak.“Let me put you on hold for a minute, please.” Pressing the appropriate button, she put the receiver back in its place.“Shannon.”“Good morning,” she offered, doing her best to look him in the eye calmly but not finding it easy.“Shannon, I think we should talk.” Drew took a deep breath, as if maybe this wasn’t the most comfortable situation for him, either.“About Michael.”She nodded, putting her hands in her lap and clasping her fingers tightly together out of his line of vision.Her entire drive to work had been spent mentally rehearsing for this conversation, but nothing she practiced came to mind now.Better to let him say his piece first, and then maybe inspiration would strike her.“I realize your personal life is your own business, and who you spend your time with after hours is your choice, but … ” Drew ran one hand through his hair, a move that usually made her heart flutter.Today she barely noticed, maybe because her pulse was already faster than usual.“If it were any other man, I’d keep my mouth shut, but because it’s Michael, I feel a certain responsibility to speak up.You understand what I mean?”“I understand.”Drew took a step closer.“It’s just that he — ”The phone rang again, and Shannon glanced at the light already blinking from the caller on hold, then she looked back at Drew.He sighed in obvious frustration.“This isn’t the best time and place to do this, is it? All right, my last meeting this morning is over around noon.Can we have lunch together then and talk? I really think we need to.”“Okay, noon.You’ve got a call waiting on line one,” Shannon told him as she reached for the phone, her anxiety making her tone crisper than usual.“Drew Kingston’s office.How may I help you?”Drew moved past her into his office, his jaw tight with tension.As he closed the door behind him, Shannon sank heavily back into her chair and closed her eyes.• • •Shannon had no appetite to speak of, but the waiter watched her expectantly, and she finally ordered the soup of the day — whatever it was — just to get him to leave.She really didn’t care what he brought her so long as it gave her an excuse not to talk.She could feel Drew’s eyes on her and realized he was about as happy as she was to be having this conversation.Forcing herself to look up, she saw him fingering his tie as if it were too tight.“I don’t quite know where to begin,” Drew admitted finally, “but I have to say I was not expecting to see you and Michael together last night.” He shook his head in disbelief.“That’s the understatement of the year.The two of you — it’s the last thing in the world I would have predicted.”Shannon blinked.“I meant no offense,” he said hastily, catching the look on her face.“It’s just that you’re a nice girl, Shannon, and ‘nice’ isn’t really Michael’s type.Which is why I’m so concerned.Michael has always been a bit of a heartbreaker, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.So at the risk of crossing the line between professional and personal, I’m going to ask you to reconsider getting involved with him.”Shannon was silent.Here she was, sitting across the table from Drew in a nice restaurant, having lunch with him.This was something she had dreamed about doing for years.Shouldn’t she be more excited? Granted, she never imagined it under quite these circumstances, but here she was, the complete focus of his full attention.It was not as thrilling as she dreamed.“Please trust me when I say no good can come of it.Michael’s main concern is what feels good to Michael.Relationships with women are all about fun for him.Once the newness wears off, he loses interest.”These were all words she expected [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]