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Mr Grady was staring at her now, his high tanned brow slightly furrowed "Are you job hunting, Miss Graham?"

It was the last question she expected fro she expected him to say, and Winnie wobbled in her sensible heels

She reached for a handkerchief froripped the pager in her perspiring hand Good Lord Did he know about her job interview, too? Or was it just a joke, a follow-up to his coo?

Winnie blinked, sed, and blinked again, her glasses fogging slightly, her thoughts spinning in no logical direction

What was she supposed to say? Hoas she supposed to answer that?

"No," she blurted at last, cheeks darkening "Of course not"

His eyebrows lifted He stared at her hard, his lips twisting ever so slightly

Her blush deepened She felt like a willful child with a hand caught in the cookie jar

"Of course not," he echoed softly, mockery in his voice "I'll see you later," he said

"Right"

Then he turned away and cli limousine

Tiffany silently disappeared into the lobby of the Tower's building leaving Winnie alone on the sidewalk

For a longhard and fast What had just happened out here? What did Mr Grady mean?

Finally she shook off her fear, threay her lukewarm soda and returned upstairs

Winnie worked until dinner and then when she'd done all she could for the day, turned off her computer and took the subway home

She was back at the office the nextat six thirty As usual she was the first of the administrative assistants to arrive and Winnie hts, check the ther

Coffee percolating, Winnie left the employee break roohts as she went

She arrived at Mr Grady's office and froze

Mr Grady was already in, he was sitting at his desk, and his door was ajar He never left his door ajar He was a man that preferred privacy always

She stood there, transfixed, listening to hi away at his computer keyboard

So The door shouldn't be open He shouldn't be at his co his papers What had happened? Was it so to do with the press? She'd had three calls yesterday from various media sources, or was thisto do withher?

The tapping on the keyboard briefly stopped and Winnie felt the strangest, h her She could feel him

Her brain told her that he hadn't left his desk but her body was reacting totally different The fine hair on her nape rose Her skin prickled Her body felt incredibly sensitive all over She'd never been so keenly aware of hiht here next to her, touching her

Heat banded across her cheekbones She drew a slow breath She was being overly dra herself to action

Winnie headed for her desk, took off her lightweight trench coat and hung it on the hook next to the filing cabinet beforeto her desk As she rolled out her chair she spotted a book with a li in thea book on her desk last night She always left her desk clean, virtually spotless

She moved closer, lifted the book Never Work for a Jerk

She dropped the book as if she'd been burned Good God The book It was the book The book she'd ht her a copy

Winnie sagged into her chair, sitting down in a heavy heap, her purse falling to her feet He was going to fire her That's why his door was ajar He aiting for her to get here so he could give her the ax

It wasn't supposed to go like this She'd been the one looking for a new job She'd been the one hurt It was her feelings that had been trampled And yet had he ever badmouthed her? Had he ever publicly insulted her? Had he ever insulted her even in private?

Why had she said what she'd said to Tiffany? Why had she let her e? Open mouth, insert foot? Well, it was more like, open mouth, insert body She felt really, deeply embarrassed