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Ten years ht have been the perfect recipe for it to fester and ferood in him

The other volunteers assured her it was the latter Which wasn’t thrilling to hear But Ivy’s only chance of landing a big donation lay with a powerful corporation, and who else could truly understand what her foundation was trying to do better than someone who’d lived it, like Cade West had?

When a group of suits finally burst out of the elevators at nine a dread that she was about to find out for sure

With one quick, steadying breath, she blended into the group as a card iped and the glass doors side open

Ivy recognized his backside instantly First, because the other men seemed to wait for him to pass before anyone else, and no one seemed in a hurry to catch up with him Second, because he towered over the with his snohite shirt collar

Co careful not to walk too close, Ivy soon realized she wouldn’t have been able to catch up even if she tried He walked like a born leader, with long, sure strides that ate up the floor beneath hi at someone on his cell phone

Boy, the

She smoothed her hands down her buttoned blouse and skirt as he disappeared into the office at the end of the hall She briskly stopped and had to improvise, so she turned to stupidly survey the leaf of a potted plant to her right

Her nerves began to choet settled It really didn’t oal A hundred and twenty new local diagnoses had been made this week—and without treatment, most of these women didn’t stand a chance

Ivy wasn’t going to have it

With one last pull of air, she quickly straightened and rapped on his open office door As she waited for an answer, she noticed an elderly wo in her direction, and Ivy was spurred to action

She took a quick step into thehi into his cell phone

It was like she’d just locked herself in a cage with a wild panther

Her heart stuttered under all that testosterone in the air, and then her lungs all but stopped working Holy mother of God The word “handsome” was far too tame for this man In ten years, Cade West had beco More dark More broad More man

He was all sex So raw Like a live wire An exposed nerve

And suddenly, with his dark black jacket and silver tie, behind that enorround behind hirim reaper to her Her pulse went crazy as she forced herself to stretch out a hand in greeting

He hung up his cel

l phone, his stare strangely vacant when he looked directly at her from behind his desk “My answer is no”

“Excuse ray that made his pupils see force Surprised by the weakness in her knees, Ivy lowered her arm and slowly took a chair across from his desk, disappointed to discover he was still a dickhead “But, sir, I haven’t yet told you what I’m here for”

“My answer is no There’s the door”

Her startled gaze slid down the length of his long, blunt finger and to where it pointed, then she returned her attention to his impassive face, now bent to survey an open folder

She dragged in a shaky breath and racked her brain for her usual opening “Mr West, I’hts Breast Cancer Foundation We’re a fully volunteer, nonprofit organization ai to facilitate early detection and prevention of breast cancer as well as pronosis”

His broad, jacket-clad shoulders had stiffened as soon as the word “cancer” had come out of her mouth, but his attention remained on his file