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"You’re still in bed?" Krysta’s voice cut through the room like a sharp knife

"Yeah, I'm still in bed You’re my savior" Clenched in Krysta’s hand was a telltale paper cup with a green logo on it "Please tell me that’s a double"

"It’s a triple"

"Oh! Marry al in this state, but no I don’t ive their panties to their boss in an elevator"

"You’re never ever going to letto hold it over your head until the day you die"

"Well, if you don’t giveto be today" The hot liquid, just the perfect te her brain with arecede; her confusion, her thoughts about her s for Matt She was one with the coffee and then she looked at Krysta and said, "Advil?"

Reaching into her purse, Krysta pulled out a bottle, shook out three orange pills and handed the s she could relax Now she could give herself the time she needed to start this day because work – as going to be really interesting today

And it all started with coffee

"So voice made his blood run cold as he stepped off the elevator and looked at her in horror His hair was dyed back to brown, he kneearing the contact lenses because he’d seen himself in the mirror of the Toyota he rented as he drove to work thisabout?

"What are you talking about, Lydia?" he asked, on guard, standing close to the elevator and ready to jump back on it if need be

"Dave," she said slowly "Dave" Her face was radiant She looked like a college student, a high school girl, a fresh faced ingenue who had just been handed the best news of her life It didn't square with the half-drunk woone, coone"

"Really?" Mike had to act surprised He knew Dave was gone, because after digging through his HR file he discovered that Dave had falsified his resule searches that Human Resources hadn’t bothered to do when they hired hio told him that Dave had a rather active life as an online liar One phone call to Harvard told him that he certainly hadn’t eared his MBA there With very little effort, he’d had him completely canned and offered a very neutral reference should Dave attee for his speedy exit He was beginning to dig this reality television show bit It was helping him to find all sorts of information about his coone" He leaned in, face neutral, but voice intih Not Dave"

She blushed "I, uh, don't knohat to say Um, thanks?" Her voice squeaked on the last word

"For what?"

"For taking care of hed "That's not quite how I re care of me" He pointed to the office and as they walked, he realized this could be caught on camera if he wasn't very, very careful

A crinkle in her nose as she winced h Logic brain kicked in, though, and he changed the subject

"I guess that means his job is open"

His eyes lit on hers and she went completely ice queen on hihtened her a little too quickly "You’re right, Dave’s job is open"

Her nearly instant turn on her heel andview of her retreat Of her ass in all its glory Of the curves that he wished to touch once ht help everyone Matt Jones was about to give Lydia her big break

He followed her As he walked around the wall of her cubicle he found her sitting at her desk, ht a feords "Pompouswho does he thinkacts like he owns"

He suppressed a grin and cleared his throat so he didn’t scare her She whipped around, her hair flying through the air and then floating over her left shoulder as she tipped her face toward him "Oh" She went from the vulnerability of her true emotions to the mask of professionalism "Yes, Matt? What can I do for you?"

Oh, what can you do for one, who is technically in charge?"

She bristled "That would be you, Matt, until we have a new director And above the Director of Communications we have Senior Vice President for Co"

"I see" Mike knew that that wo a multi-million dollar pitch for a new client "Well, then, if I’ the position, I would like to ask you to continue your work on the romance project"

The look on her face told hi she expected "Youdo?" she asked, her voice filled with incredulity "Butwhy?"

He shrugged "It’s a good idea and it deserves to be tried out"

She recovered quickly "How far do you want me to take it?"

They stared at each other, their breathing labored as he felt his skin prickle, his hands tighten, holding back fros very, very far with her But in terms of the project