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Feeling shell-shocked, I accept the letter and confirm the details For afroer to embarrassment to utter fury explode inside me and I push to my feet “Can you excuse me for a few minutes? I need to take care of one small detail before I accept”

“Oh, yes Of course How long—”

I turn, already exiting her office,and sure, my temper barely contained The ride in the elevator is eternal, but I find plenty to fill the space Das for s for hi he can order under a table He gaveto be one of who kno iant cubicle room I could have had that in Texas

By the time I exit the elevator onto the executive floor, I aht up when she sees reet her “Is he in his office?”

“Yes,” she calls behind me

Entering the lobby area, I find Daht in Terrance is seated across fro in his chair, takes one look atto Damion I can’t hear and then moves toward me

“Kali,” he says, with a nod at my approach

“What happened to ‘Ms Miller’?”

If I intend to throw hi his formality the day before, it does not work “Apparently,” he replies, “she hasn’t had her coffee,” and s the door shut behind him

Damion arches his brow “Problem, Ms Miller?”

“Yes,” I say, closing the distance between us and rounding the desk He rolls his chair around to facelike sin itself in his black suit and a pale-green tie that matches his eyes Eyes he has focused on me, not on the letter, as I smack it down on the desk and add, “This is the problem My transfer with the condolence raise meant to make cubicle hell survivable”

“You’re mad about a raise?”

“Youto try to cover your own ass” And it hurts I hate that it hurts I hate all the old feelings it stirs and how I can als to me “You shouldn’t have wasted my time to cover your own ass” I try to move away

He rolls farther toward ainst the desk, his hands on either side of me “First, you are not a conquest Not even close I work seventy hours a week, and the last thing onI do is mix business with pleasure I take my work too seriously for that Second, what happened between us happened after you quit If I was trying to o away, I would have let you walk away”

He’s right He could have let o “Then why didn’t you?”