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Before he could get carried away with thoughts that would only enrage him, he made himself back down and quit speculating. He’d find out before the end of the day.One way or another. And then he’d decide what to do about Chloe. And his account. When the game ended after the visiting team failed to score the necessary runs to overtake the Tide in the ninth inning, Chloe stood, her cheeks flush with excitement.“We’re going to have an awesome season. I just know it!”He stood beside her unsure of what would happen now. Nothing had gone the way he’d anticipated. Sure enough, she grabbed his hand and began pulling him toward the exit. “Come on,” she said.But they didn’t leave the stadium. Instead they went down to a restricted area, where Chloe flashed a pass he hadn’t seen up to this point. He shouldn’t be surprised. But when they stopped outside the players’ locker room, he was. They waited a good while. Several members of the press came and went. Finally one of the players stuck his h
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“I’m afraid I am, sir. I wish I could say it was something I regret, but Chloe is one of the brightest minds I’ve encountered. She’s going to single handedly turn my advertising efforts around. I think in a year or two, Packard Enterprises won’t simply be one of the leaders in athletic apparel, but the undisputed leader when it comes to sportswear.The two brothers eyed Chloe with renewed interest while Chloe just stared at Timothy, her eyes wide with shock. He could almost swear she looked a little teary. He smiled at her and reached for her hand. He didn't even know why he did it, but to his surprise she didn't withdraw as he thought she would. Instead she accepted without complaint and curled her fingers tight around his.“If you’re meeting Bryce about business, we’ll just scoot on out,” Darell said. “Will you come over for Sunday dinner this time or will you be busy again?”“I’ll try,” she said as she leaned up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Sorry about the last time. Something cam
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Her presentation went off without a hitch. Each part of her team executed their part flawlessly, and through it all, Evan Reese sat back with a very satisfied expression on his face. By the time she was done, she was as convinced as everyone else that Timothy would sign with Golden Gates promotions. He’d be a fool not to. The lights went back up after her last video clip.“This concludes our presentation,” she said to Timothy. “I hope we’ve convinced you of our commitment to you and your company.”He took his time responding. For a moment he studied her, his hands stretched out in front of him. Then he simply nodded.“I’m very impressed. My question is, how soon can we move on this?” he asked._______________The after party that evening was packed with the after-work crowd, but the entire back room was filled with Golden Gates Promotions employees, all celebrating their biggest coup to date—Packard Enterprises.Chloe was high on her achievement, but she couldn’t shake the anxiety ove
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Chloe's cab pulled up to her apartment, and she pulled out several bills to pay the driver. While she was far from toasted, she didn’tt wanted to chance driving home, so she’d left her car at the office and took a cab from the party.It was late, but not ungodly so, and she was still riding high from the celebration. The cab pulled away and across the street she saw Matthew Willis leaning against his car, watching her. He started forward, and she stood there like a statue, watching him approach.“Out celebrating?” Matthew asked with a slight smile.She nodded. “After-work thing. Took a cab back so I didn’t have to drive.”“You should have called me. I would have come to take you home.”“I don’t think that would have been necessary. It was perfectly okay to take a cab. And I got home safely, didn't i?”He regarded her with no expression. Then he shrugged and asked, “Going to invite me in?”Chloe wanted to say no. She was in no mood to talk to Matthew about anything, but she didn't want
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For the first time since he signed the contract with Packard Enterprises, he put the news out of his mind and headed towards the kitchen. He peered in and saw that he was right. Christina stood in the kitchen cutting up some veggies. His eyes drifted to the stove, which had a steaming pot on it. He wasn't crazy... His wife was making dinner....For the first time since they lost their baby. He was surprised, but also very happy. Finally, a little progress. This day was turning out to be one of the best days of his life. She had her back to him, so she didn't see him come in."Tina," Evan called.Her shoulders tensed and she turned quickly, dropping the knife she was holding in the process. "Oh my God, Evan. Don't scare me like that" she said as she placed her hand on her chest. "You almost gave me a fucking heart attack!" She bent to pick up the knife and rinsed it in the sink, then she turned back to cutting up the carrots. Evan stared at her tense shoulders for a while. He could
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Not that one twelve-ounce Diet Coke can was going to make much of a difference. No, if she really wanted to cool off, she might as well go downstairs to the bookstore and try to do some work on her laptop. At least the bookstore had air-conditioning. And there was even food in the break room and an honest-to-goodness coffee pot.She stood there for a while, battling with the decision of either staying at home and continuing with her book, or going to work. Finally she decided to do the former. So she took the day off to rest, it wasn't a big deal. She deserved to rest a bit after all she'd done. Besides, the work wasn't going anywhere. It would still be there when she finally went to the office.That decided, she hurriedly went to the bathroom to take a quick shower, then she headed downstairs to the bookstore.. By 1:00 pm, she went out to get some groceries and food stuff. She returned home an hour later, then hopped back on her bed to continue reading her book.Chloe read in bed for
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He didn't know how to reply. The truth was that now that he was here, he wasn't quite sure how to explain himself. He had just gotten into his car and drove off, driven by his need to see her... To talk to her... To touch her again. He shoved both hands into his pocket and looked around the living room. The way she was staring at him was making him very uncomfortable and he knew he had to say something to fill up the awkward silence between them. Maybe after that, then he would be able to put his words together and explain what he was doing in her house, but for now he had to say something else."This is nice" he managed to say as his gaze found hers again. "I mean... Your apartment. It's beautiful. I love how you arranged it... So elegant and simple. But then I shouldn't be surprised. You have always been that way... Simple and elegant... Charming…Sexy"Chloe felt her cheeks grow hotter, and she knew he could see her face turn red, because his lips curled upwards as he grinned at her
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He reached for another onion from the tray on the table, but his head was full of her. Thoughts tumbled around, endless questions. Unable to tear his eyes away from her, he watched as she looked around the kitchen.Chloe —with great masses of black hair that escaped in tendrils from her ponytail and fell in wisps around her face. A long curl hung down the back of her neck. Her shorts clung to her hips and he could see a hint of her cleavage as she leaned over the table. Timothy stared at the onion in his hand and tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing with it. Their eyes met and held. He heard the drip of water from the tap. A moment passed, and then with a self conscious little shrug, she came to stand beside him and began to work on some green beans.“I really thought you were leaving after the meeting," she said. "So why did you stay?""Why do you want to know?""I just want to. I'm curious, but you don't have to tell me if you feel like it's none of my business"Daniel
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He pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh. I don’t want to hear that word cross your lips. It’s me who is sorry. I was an ass. I said despicable things to you.”Her eyes widened, and she felt the ridiculous urge to cry again, as if she hadn’t done enough of that in the last few days.“First, I want to talk about this,” he said as he drew out the dreaded newspaper clipping from his pocket. She froze, her stomach seizing with dread.“Don’t look like that. I don’t believe a word of it. But it’s obviously an important part of your past. It hurt you and it’s affected a good portion of our relationship. I want you to tell me what really happened.”Her lips trembled and she twisted her hands nervously in her lap. “I got out of college, intending to rule the world. I loved it…I loved my job. I was in a big, busy city, and I was away from home, away from my family. At the time that was important to me. I was stupid.”“I think we all go through the desperate need to get away from our family,” Timot
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It was written in the guise of an article announcing the deal brokered between Packard Enterprises and Golden Gates promotions. It detailed her job history, colorful as it was, to the present and hinted broadly about there being a relationship between her and Timothy. Nothing was left to the imagination. Everything she’d worked so hard to overcome had been splashed in excruciating detail.She should be angry. Furious even. But what she felt was…..resignation.She looked up into the worried eyes of Bryce as the realization hit her. It would always be something. Timothy was right to be angry that she’d placed more importance on what others thought of her than she did what he thought of her. As long as the people she loved knew the truth, it shouldn’t matter what some stranger thought. Evan believed in her and her abilities. She had the backing of her agency. She had people who loved her unconditionally. Timothy evidently didn’t care who knew they were involved, so why should she?For th
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Love was such a messy emotion. It was bound to be inconvenient. You sure couldn’t put it on a schedule and love never played by the rules. He liked rules. And schedules.. Ah, hell, he was absolutely in love with her.It was why he was sitting here in such a terrible mood that his usually easygoing office staff wouldn’t come near him for fear of being decapitated.He looked again at the article, and his chest utterly caved in. Chloe. God, he’d been such an idiot. A complete and utter, madly-in-love moron. He’d reacted just like a petulant child, furious that his favorite toy was being taken away. In this case, Chloe had wanted to put their relationship on hold and all he could see was that she was pushing him away, and sacred that she'd leave him again, he had panicked. He’d been a total ass.She needed him. Needed his support. And he’d told her to take a hike. Worse, he’d arrogantly told her not to bother changing her mind and come crawling back. He winced. Holy hell in a bucket but
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She sighed. “I’m in love with him. And now he hates me.”All four men’s mouths rounded into Os. There was marked silence, and she regretted having blurted out that fact. Love was girly stuff, and none of the men looked like they had a clue what to say or do next.“Look, I appreciate you guys. I love you all to pieces. I don’t know what I would do without you. I don’t expect you to fix this for me. I’m not a little girl anymore. I’ll figure out something. I just needed a place to lick my wounds and regroup.”Peter frowned. “Now, you wait just one damn minute. You’re family, Chloe. I don’t care how old or how big you are.”Even Darell scowled and nodded his agreement. Bryce merely squeezed her hand and told her bluntly to shut up.“You can always come to us when you need us and we'll be here for you,” Darell said in his soft, gravelly voice. “That doesn't and will never change. We love you and we’ll always be here for you to come running to. You got that?”“Yeah, I do.”“Now come here
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"Maybe you did… or maybe not," Chloe replied. "I think I did the same with Timothy, and I understand how you feel. But you and Tina are soul mates. You have been married for years. You have been been through so much together, and I believe that if any couple can pull through this, then the both of you can… just like you did before" "How is that supposed to happen when she won't even let me see her or speak to her? She fucking hates me" "I don't think she does. As a woman, I understand her perfectly. You screwed up, don't pressure her into forgiving you. That will only make her resent you even more. Give her some space. The truth is that you can't make her forgive you, so what you have to do now is stay away… even if it's for a while and let her decide if she wants you back""And if she doesn't?" Evan asked, dreading the reply. "Then you have to live with it. It's hard, but it's the consequences of your actions. That's life…" Evan felt dejected and stared at the closed door for a w
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There was a wary look in his eye that warned her this wouldn’t be easy. But then he didn’t give a damn about what people thought. He wasn’t ruled by the opinions of others. As she had so many times before, she wished she could be like him. Instead of answering him, she rummaged in her bag for the stupid gossip rag and then she thrust it at him as if it was self-explanatory. And it was in a way. He glanced over the paper and then looked back up at her. “So? What’s the problem?” he asked. She knew he’d react that way. Positively knew it, and it drove her crazy. She wanted to scream and rail at him, but she’d come across as some hysterical banshee, and then he’d never take her concerns seriously.“That’s not all,” she said stiffly. “It’s all over the Internet. An advertising community site has it on their blog along with some snotty little line about how I got the account after the announcement of you signing with golden gates.”He looked blankly at her. “I fail to see what the big dea
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With a sigh, she explained the whole sorry tale about her her history with Timothy, their reunion and their trip to the beach house. She left out the mushy details she’d shared with Ann. Evan was, after all, A. her boss and B. a man. He didn’t need to know that she’d stupidly fallen in love with a man she’d be working with for a long time to come. It made things entirely too messy. What if they broke up? Would Evan feel weird about continuing the relationship with Packard enterprises or would he take his business elsewhere?There were a million reasons why she should have never ever gotten involved with Timothy , and yet, she hadn’t heeded any of the warning signs.“I overheard what Ann said about how it shouldn’t matter to me how you got the account. I won’t lie. It doesn’t. Furthermore, it’s none of my business unless you broke the law or did something to damage the reputation of Golden Gates. I don’t think this qualifies. My concern is for you. I know how devastated you were by wha
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Chloe and Timothy returned from their trip as a couple, but he had to go back to his home and so did she. After a Sunday of fielding curious questions from Bryce and his brothers about where she had been the past week, Chloe was relieved to go into work on Monday. She wasn’t ready to admit to them that she and Timothy were anything more than business associates. She loved them for their undying loyalty and their absolute faith in her. But for some reason she was reluctant to confess to a relationship with Timothy.She was late, thanks to a traffic snarl that lasted an entire hour and an already late start from her apartment. By the time she made it off the elevator, it was closing in on noon, and her mood was in the toilet.When she saw Caroline, she knew something was wrong. The usually cheerful receptionist eyed Chloe with something that looked suspiciously like pity, and she refused to hold her gaze for long. Not even wanting to know what that was all about, Chloe bypassed her usua
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Evan Reese opened the front door of his house and headed straight to the kitchen. His wife, Christina stood at a table, frosting a cake. She looked up in surprise to see her husband and dropped the piping bag. "You are back, " she said. "Is something wrong? Did you forget something?" Evan shook his head. "No… I mean… yes." He scratched his head and then buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply, which made Christina even more concerned. She immediately washed her hands in the sink and came towards him, but when she reached out to touch him, he pulled away. "Please don't. Not right now please." said Evan. He was afraid that if he let her touch him, he would change his mind about doing the right thing. He wanted to keep his marriage, but he knew that secrets like this were of no use. They usually ended up coming to light, and he feared that the damage it might cause would be even worse. It was best to rip out the bad aid and face the consequences of his actions. "Tina, there's s
