page6 (2/2)
Winnie walked slowly back to the Tower's building, trying to ignore her reflection in thefronts but it was ie blouse, hair scraped back froht, unsatisfied virgin
Yes, an uptight, unsatisfied virgin That's exactly what she'd become
Winnie stopped and stared at her reflection and hated what she saw This wasn't her This isn't how she felt on the inside On the inside she wasbeyondto risk all-
On the inside
There lay the problem No one knew about Winnie on the inside No one saw the fun side, or adventurous side of her No, she kept that side buttoned down and pressed back because once upon a ti to be popular and sexy and fashionable then she daet respect
Respect Aagh! Respect was fine for seventy-year-old matriarchs, but she enty-five She had no social life No dates No romance No wonder
Impatiently Winnie reached up and undid the top button of her stiff blouse She didn't want to be uptight She didn't want to be unsatisfied She didn't want to go through life without ever experiencing anything
Winnie unbuttoned the next button Checked her reflection again Still boring, still a virgin, still really, really not sexy And let's face it, two buttons unfastened on a beige blouse were not exactly a makeover What she needed was aexperience
She'd give up everything, she thought, if for one week-no, make that a month-she could look like Tiffany from the sixty-third floor Sexy, curvy, sensual A woman that made men hot A woman that made men melt
Crossing the lobby Winnie's sensible heels clicked loudly on the floor She pressed the elevator up button and waited A moment later the elevator doors opened People streamed out Winnie stepped back to let the others pass As she rabbed Winnie's arm
"Hey," Tiffany cried, latching onto Winnie's sleeve as if they were life-long friends "I just heard the news It must be nuts upstairs!"
"What news?"
"About Morgan Grady News Weekly's Man of the Year Isn't it incredible?"
Winnie blinked blankly "But Mr Morgan isn't Man of the Year, he was Sexiest Man-"
"No, no This just happened The azine doesn't hit the stands until tomorrow but it was announced on the noon news broadcast today Theupstairs-" Tiffany broke off, eyes widening "You didn't know? Where've you been?"
Winnie's throat dried "Out to lunch"
"Well, honey, you better check in because your Morgan Grady is Man of the Year"
The express elevator to the seventy-eighth floor always left Winnie's stomach at her feet, and today orse than ever
Stepping off the elevator, she walked into a frenzied sea of reporters and carefully picked her way through the crowd to the reception desk The young receptionist at the front desk, flagged Winnie down "Thank God you're here," the receptionist choked "They won't go away and they just keep arriving and I don't knohat to do"
"They're here for Mr Grady?"
"Yes It's about the Man of the Year award The phones keep ringing-" She was interrupted by the telephone and her face cruain to take the call
Winnie sized up the crowd Tiffany was right It was bedlam in here Every reporter from every paper and TV station must have a representative in the reception area
Poor Mr Grady
The receptionist hung up the phone "So what do I do, Winnie? How do I get rid of them?"
"Tell them he's not here"
"I did, but they don't care They won't leave They want Mr Grady and they're going to stay until he arrives”
Winnie recognized the stricken look on the poor girl's face and her conscience pricked her She couldn't leave this eighteen-year-old fro The journalists had been kept waiting for over an hour and they were iood is
She also kne Mr Grady would hate returning to face this crowd He'd never sought out the eous and eligible He routinely declined interviews, shunned society events, donated anony charities publicly
In the last six months she'd witnessed firsthand how theruns in Central Park, and dinner dates were nothing more than photo ops for the determined press Just last week a reporter with a microphone ju
etting a good sound bite for the evening's news
Morgan Grady was a hunted man
Winnie felt a wave of loyalty, laced with pity Facing the noisy throng she put two fingers in hersound silenced the crowd "Thank you," Winnie said briskly "Now is there so for a job?"