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Zach thought about JP’s question again Was he still going to LA? Why wouldn’t he? The chiefeditor position was the reason he took the job at Royal after all He said he was going and he would go And he said he wouldn’t sign Nora’s contract until he read the last page and he wouldn’t And when he told Nora they couldn’t sleep together until they were done working together, he meant it

He refolded the contract with a clear conscience and stuffed it in hison Nora’s writing She desperately wanted to get her chapters done even though she knew she had too ain, just because she was too busy for Zach didn’t mean he was off the hook entirely Nora picked up her phone and had the nu twice before a nervous voice answered

"Yes, hello?" the girl on the other end said

"Hello, little bird Guess who?"

Nora ssley had fantastic taste in the women of his coterie these days He never cared if they could afford thetheir keep Invariably, Kingsley’s ladies-in-waiting all had very useful talents inside and outside the bedroo told me about your day job Do you have an hour or two to do a favor forfor you,up the phone She forced thoughts of Zach aside and got back to writing

Zach checked his watch--almost five-thirty He’d been on the phone for the past two hours with his soon-to-be assistant at the West Coast offices They’d been discussing upco projects when Mary buzzed hi wo and a rolling table

"Mr Easton? Nice to see you again," she said

"Have weup

"Yes, I’ht"

"Of course, from the--"

"The club" She cut hinize her now Out of her costulasses, she looked like a very different person froht The club What can I do for you?"

The girl turned and closed his office door, locking it behind her

"You can take your clothes off, Mr Easton"

An hour and a half later Zach shut the door behind Robin and sank into his chair He was glad she’d coh in the day that almost everyone had already left He’d been reluctant at first but a professional irl hadout every single knot of tension in his entire body His e thank-you for arranging the e Since she wasn’t quite allowed to put her hands on hi for a loophole and found one

Zach stretched his arms and enjoyed how calm he felt, how peaceful It had been over a year and a half at least since he’d felt even rehtmare but had turned quickly into his best drea dark always lurked around the corner in drea itself even while he ide-awake Grace started conversations with hi conversations he refused to finish And then so had happened with her, or maybe it had happened with him All he kneas Grace had started to fade out on hi he could do She just slowly shut down on hi Robin’s hands on hie revelation He’d shared with Nora an incredible sexual intiotten drunk in her office and then last night in her Aston Martin But just to be touched by another wos…to be touched in a way that was sensual but not sexual felt as foreign to hi He wondered if he saw Grace again, would he be able to be more open to her than before? He’d love to touch her the way Robin had touched his he’d learned frouess ould be calling his office this late in the evening

"Nora, you’re the very devil," he said as he put the phone to his ear "But I’ht intake of breath on the other end of the line followed by a static-filled pause

"Zachary?" canize a thousand ht; his heart raced Everything that had been relaxed a ain

"Grace…" he breathed "I’ht you were one of my writers Nora Sutherlin--she’s a loony I think you’d like her But I’ like an idiot How are you?"

He lived and died through another terrible pause

"You’ve never ra Welsh accent, and Zach could picture the smile on her face as she said it "I’ve never heard you so friendly with one of your writers before You’re usually telling them what berks and idiots they are This one must be special"