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"Hey good looking, long ti tinoring that last line, he continued, "I’ve been trying to catch you at hoot two tickets to a Neil Diaood you’d never know the difference"
"That sounds u out of town for awhile on business and have no idea when I’ll be back"
"That’s ok; it’s not until next ht?"
"It could be a really long trip," Claire stressed, "I’ll have to get back to you"
Claire cringed as he leaned in closer, "just give us a chance Claire, old Billy will rock your world" Another annoying problem, Billy liked to talk about himself in the third person as well
Thanks to either good ti or what Claire liked to think of as divine intervention, the neighbor two doors down came out of his apartment and yelled, "Hey Billy, I need a lift to the store man" Claire took this as her cue to run like hell and took off towards her apartment She quickly unlocked her door and alht to the couch and laid down intending to take a short rest before packing for the trip She shuddered onecornered by ‘Williaot that desperate It had been well over three years now since she’d actually had sex, three long years and to say that she was so horny she literally followed the hunky mailman around like a stalker was an understateet that desperate Maybe it is tiesting
When Claire opened her eyes again, the daas just starting to break She ju; she’d slept through the night, and it was now 7:00 arabbed a suitcase out of the closet dropping it onto the bed She began pulling slacks and shirts out and within an hour she was fully packed and ready to leave for Columbia Claire said a quick prayer to herself that she actually had some clothes that would match as she locked her door and packed the suitcase in her car
Within an hour she was on I-20 heading towards Columbia She vowed to stop at the next rest area to look over her directions from Jason Claire finally allowed herself to take a deep breath and relax She would probably be a bit later than Jason intended but hopefully there would be no news of the contracts yet and she would have a et settled in She turned on her radio and heard Jon Bon Jovi proudly belting out "Livin' on a Prayer"
When she saw the sign for a rest area, she pulled in and went over her directions After quick restroo up as she drew closer to the City of Columbia She spotted her exit up ahead and turned on the adjoining road Thanks to Jason’s very precise directions Claire was soon turning into the driveway of Jason’s friend, Harold
Jason had told her that Harold’s fae ranch that bred and sold very expensive race horses to people fros and stables close to the house see back at an episode of her ht soap opera, Dallas You al out the door Maybe she could be Pam for the weekend, and Jason could be Bobby She chuckled to herself at that thought as she pulled her car into an available parking space Claire spared a glance at her reflection in the rearview mirror and opened the door to exit the car
She lifted out her s bounded up to her Reflexes kicking in, Claire quickly ju skidded to a stop in front of her and proceeded to lick her hand
"Wolf you crazy dog, stop!" Claire looked up as a pretty girl with a rather harassed air approached the car "I’m sorry about the ier he didn’t lick I’m Elizabeth, Harold’s fiancée, and you have already ave Wolf a quick pat and scratch behind the ears She offered her other hand to Elizabeth, "Hi; I’m Claire, Jason’s assistant"
"Good to meet you Claire, Harold asked one riding and have not returned yet"
"This is a beautiful place; I’d no idea that this was such a large ranch," said Claire
"Harold’s faenerations His parents retired to Florida a few years ago and now Harold is running the business; or actually, it see us most days, but we love it Couest roo have you worked with Jason?"
Claire followed Elizabeth into a surprisingly homey entryway and replied, "For al under Claire’s footback with an apology for on her lips, Claire looked down to see a plastic bone that she’d overlooked on her way across the foyer She looked over at Elizabeth and they both burst out laughing
"As you can see Claire, we’ve a pretty inforenerally the boss of it" Claire was pleasantly surprised at how friendly Elizabeth was and how comfortable she felt with her "Jason, Harold and I all went to college together," continued Elizabeth "and I just think the world of Jason The other groo at a hotel closer to don and they’re all going out tonight for what I highly suspect is a bachelor party for Harold," laughed Elizabeth "Harold is on the shy side, and the guys love to embarrass him I think Jason and Harold were always close because with Harold being the quiet one and Jason being the serious one, they see here with us and the others are staying at a hotel; Harold was afraid they’d do sohbors"
Claire followed Elizabeth up the stairs to the end of the hall Elizabeth opened a door saying, "This is your roo bathroo bedroom, and Jason will be there Jason has an office set up in the sitting area of his rooether if you are close"
"Thanks so "