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‘You’re right,’ Magenta agreed ‘Respect has to be earned on both sides’

‘And you have to lighten up’

Magenta huffed wryly at Nancy’s comment ‘Someone else said that’

‘Lether cheek

‘Neverfor equality, and that’s a serious business’

‘So is partying,’ Nancy insisted ‘So we’re going to put our concerns about thereive the to party you have to, too And you have to be nice to Quinn, Magenta He’s given us this chance, so now you have to give him a chance’

Now everyone started teasing her ‘All right, I give in!’ she exclaiive him a chance—a tiny, miniscule chance’

‘Yeah, right,’ Nancy said to a chorus of disbelieving jeers

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE night of the party turned out better than Magenta had dared to expect Her colleagues forgot their differences and started to ed across the sexes, which was exactly what she had hoped would happen—and so up, which couldn’t hurt But when Quinn called her into his office she soon realised that not everything was going to plan

She should have thought this through, she realised as Quinn gave her outfit a scorching review ‘That dress is shapeless’

And thin And she was only wearing paper knickers beneath her paper dress, while Quinn—alarly, incredibly—was dressed exactly as she would expect a sexy guy to dress for an evening out in the twenty-first century He wore a crisp, white shirt with the sleeves rolled back to reveal his muscular, hair-shaded forearms, sharp jeans with an understated belt and the cleanest black shoes Magenta had ever seen This, together with the craziest-coloured socks, she noticed now as he crossed his legs at the desk to lean back and stare at her—red, fuchsia-pink and black stripes—quirky, sexy, different ‘Let me explain’

‘Please do,’ Quinn invited dryly

‘It’s a paper dress,’ she explained, running her hands down the offending garn It’s meant to represent practicality’

‘Well, I doubt it will ever take off in a big way, other than into a niche ly as that doesn’t deserve to last in the realms of fashion’

‘Thanks for the vote of confidence It’s one of the products your team was keen to promote, by the way’