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"I just bet you would, too," she purred

"I can’t help it I’m a slave to my curiosity"

"Slave? Mmm," she purred "That has potential, but what is it exactly that you’re curious about?"

"Whether green or purple is your natural hair color"

Celia laughed again and turned to ask Lana, "Can I keep him? Just for a couple hours?"

Grant lifted Celia’s chin with his finger and ive you three hours if you proreed Celia and grabbed Grant by the front of his shirt, tugging his I sacrifice in the name of art," said Grant with a smile "See you allater"

Lana just shook her head, staring in awe "How did he do that?"

"It’s the panty-dropping smile"

"The what?" asked Lana, totaly confused

Caleb studied her face as if looking for the joke "You realy don’t see it?"

"I guess not"

His s white teeth "Good"

For the second tiave a merry tinkle as another proble that Grant was going to be able to do to fix it

Oran flashed her a white s down her fundraiser

"What do you want?" she deured you’d be about ready to listen by now"

"You mean now that you’ve done your best to stop ed his athletic shoulders "I’et you back"

"I can tel by the way you’re sparing no expense for your engageht time to let her down easy," said Oran

"Like you did me?" she asked with false sweetness

Caleb ca copies for her He looked fro okay here, Lana?"

"Oran was just leaving," said Lana

Oran’s gaze slid to Caleb, and soh that he dropped his sured you’d be happy to see ? Not likely"

"I wasn’t trying to destroy your anything, darling I just wanted to open your eyes to a better way of doing business"

"Yours?"

"Wel, yes," he said, sounding shocked that she had dared ask

Lana felt rage swel inside her, threatening to spil over She realy wanted to punch Oran in the eye and leave hih, he’d press charges and Lana would end up in jail for assault "I’oing to go in the bathroom and let Caleb deal with you as he sees fit With no witnesses"

"Realy?" asked Caleb with allee

Oran frowned at her as if she’d done sohty That look used to be able to make her blush with humiliation, but now it just pissed her off "Leave, Oran"

Technicaly, it wasn’t a request, but Lana was done giving Oran even another second of her ti h that Oran straightened his tie with a nervous gesture "If I leave now, I’ back"

"Promise?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice

Oran turned on his heel and left, the little bels chi in his wake

Lana looked up at Caleb "I shouldn’t have used you to intimidate him like that I’m sorry"

Caleb slid a slippery strand of hair behind her ear "Don’t ever be sorry for needing a little backup I want to help you, even if thatoff sli the hair Caleb had tucked away flying again "I’m ashamed that I used to love that man"

Caleb’s voice dipped to a deeply serious tone "We can’t help e love You should try to remember that"

"What time does the youth center close?" asked Caleb as he fired off the last of the e-mails he needed to send

"Seven Why?" asked Lana

Caleb looked at his watch It was nearly nine, and he could see Lana was struggling to keep herself going She’d worked nonstop al day, not even pausing while she ate the Chinese food he’d had delivered Grant stil hadn’t come back yet, but Caleb had seen the black sedan pul into the lot about an hour ago The night guard for the office