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‘I hate to interrupt this conversation,’ she piped up with a saccharine s, Justin The dinner starts at eight and you pro at the main bar at seven-fifteen And it’s way past that now’

‘You’re right See what I mean? What would I do without her? No doubt we’ll run into each other again during the dinner Maybe we can even sit at the same table Mind us a spot if you can Meanwhile, IAnd no, don’t ask me who he is, sweetheart,’ he threw at Charlotte, then pressed his index finger to his lips ‘Client confidentiality, remember’

‘Who the hell is Mr Wong?’ he whispered to Rachel after a sour-faced Eric grabbed Charlotte’s ar her forcibly past Reception in the direction of the main conference room, the venue for the dinner

‘No idea,’ Rachel confessed ‘I made him up’

‘But why? The idea is to stay in Eric and Charlotte’s coht’ And nodded towards the departing couple’s backs

‘She was flirting with you,’ Rachel pointed out indignantly

‘So? That was good, wasn’t it? It’ll rel jealous and insecure’

‘I was afraid youit’

‘I was But not the way you’re thinking I wouldn’t touch that cold-blooded bitch in a million years God, Rachel, you don’t know me very well if you’d think that’

‘But I don’t know you very well, do I? You have an unexpectedly wicked streak in you, Justin McCarthy Yet before tonight I thought you were…uled to find a word other than ‘nice’

‘Staid?’ he suggested drily ‘Boring?’

‘No! Never boring Maybe a little staid No, you’re not really staid, either Oh, I don’t knohat I uess I just didn’t think you’d ever conceive of so so devious as towe aren’t That was incredibly conniving of you, and manipulative’