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"I'll hit you if you keep going" To his surprise, he feared he really would, as his fists curled involuntarily Where was this co Mike, Jeremy took a step back "Hey,what she looks like You normally date toothpicks with boobs And fewer brain cells than Lindsay Lohan on a coke bender"

Fair enough Mike's anger went fro – twenties – and has that dark Irish-Welsh look Like Catherine Zeta-Jones"

"And?" That was code for fuckability

"And an ass like J Lo's Curves and more curves" His rin Damn "Brown, speckled eyes Creah!"

"I'd expect hairy armpits and Birks"

"No – she actually wears red leather pu Fifty Shades of Grey in the parking lot -- "

"What?" Jeremy slammed his palm on the counter "Why don't I ever find these woenerally don't find these wo" Jeremy's face went slack Ooops Mike didn't mean to hit that nerve "Sorry – I know Dana wasn't like that"

"She's off cliuy she left us for – who knows" A dark silence filled the rooo like this They should be talking shit and grunting and arguing over how many 45s to put on the Olyym?"

"It looks like Jane Fonda hts," Mike said diso for a run Get dressed Tooall day to to burn calories

"How long?"

"Until the beer wears off?"

"Deal"

Chapter Three

"I want to explain why I was reading Fifty Shades of Grey in the parking lot" Not that I have to, she thought, but this conversation needed to happen, whether she – or Matt – liked it or not For the past threeand social n that would help boost her depart out her lipstick slogan, swiainst the tide of an impossible current

Matt didn't help Job stealer

Her resenth undeserved He looked up froreen eyes caught her off guard They seeood to be true

"You don't have to explain" A sly s, diined they could peek out "I' it forpleasure" He was classically handsohter Lu tone, the absolute fury it sparked in her, the intense arousal it also ignited in her – infuriatingly! – Lydia struggled to maintain her sense of professionalism Now? Really? When she needed itho a job at Bournha it all because her new, cocky boss was teasing her about her work research for a project of her ownmade the universe seeraphics on his desk, shoving aside a pile of folders, his travel ry Birds open on the screen, and a paper clip holder "Angry Birds? Seriously?"

He just shrugged "It's my Christian Grey" The way he said it made her blush, and she did not want to blush Not now Not today This was her big chance and if it didn't go well, she had to reckon with failing on her own Failure an, but in the real life it was all too common, and she didn't want to taste one drop of it today

"Oh, please," she said in a clipped, no-nonsense voice, though as he leaned closer to her, froht a whiff of his scent again, a spicy soap and a musk thatat his hands as she organized her graphics Strong, tanned, no ring and perfectly buffed fingernails A little dandified, until he turned one over, retrieving the phone and slipping it in his pocket Calloused and a bit worn A man who had used his hands, but who noorked in an office That spoke to a past quite different fro in the reins of her wanderingas she inhaled and stretched her neck slightly, trying to distract herself

She didn't want to like hih

Mind over matter Mind over matter Career over clit Career over clit

"Fifty Shades of Grey isn't just s world, and we're idiots if we don't do so and socialto intrigued business, his hands picking up the first graphic

"That's just a fad"