Page 7 (1/2)
Chapter One
Lemons
The secretaries, who always knew everything before anyone else did, had given her a going away fruit basket overfloith colorful os and apricots, star fruit and red persimmons—but the lemons so perfectly su show that they were all she could see She pursed her lips Only sour grapes would have been more apropos
“Stop et wrinkles Get out of the car Please? You’re going to love this place You’ll thank me later I promise”
“I told you, Robert Don’t call me that in public TS My name is TS”
No it wasn’t
Truly sighed and allowed her now ex assistant to take her hand as she stepped out of the silver BMW she would no doubt have to return to the dealership when she wasn’t able to make next month’s payments
Her na to forget since she was old enough to pronounce it The story of her parents falling in love during a drive-in showing of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had been pounded into her brain Along with years of aard introductions, bad jokes and worse pick-up lines
Robert thought her name onderful, and perfect for her career in culinary PR Obviously the television studio didn’t agree More to the point, the head of prograree “Bastard”
Robert’s lips for exactly who she was talking about “I think you’re being too kind I wouldn’t be a good assistant if I didn’t know exactly why he fired us You turned him down didn’t you?”
Truly sidestepped a puddle in the parking lot, unwilling toabout?”
Robert tugged on his ear, drawing attention to the dia his lobe “I knew it Truly, you and I both know thatstereotype There isn’t an intern or wannabe host who hasn’t learned about his more indiscreet tendencies the hard way I’o at you”
“You don’t know as much as you think you do Besides, he needed me His pocketbook took precedence over his…baser needs” Until recently
Truly shrugged, but inside she was seething It wasn’t what Robert thought Clive hadn’t come on to her He’d made it clear that she wasn’t his type at every possible opportunity, thank God
She’d always known she was safe from his type of harassment Not only was she fantastic at her job, but she also wasn’t blonde, subravitated toward
Clive leaned toward anorexic toothpicks and that did not describe her She loved food and it showed—in her breasts, in the ahs that reardless of the money she spent at the salon, her hair took every opportunity to kink around her like a frizzy, red halo A fact her boss never failed to point out But at least it kept hith He’d respected her business sense, her aesthetic He always took the credit for her ideas, of course, but he told her at least once a week that he didn’t knohat he’d do without her And for a while it was enough
Until she’d witnessed thelast week and got in the way
She’d known the kind of man he was He cheated on his wife Often He et aith it, but she hadn’t believed he would ever go that far And she’d had to do so wootten her transferred, with a glowing referral, to the news department Out from under Clive’s control
He hadn’t said anything to her about it Hadn’t even acknowledged his breach in protocol She’d thought he’d been too e