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applying her mascara to stare at him.
 Sure, why not? Sounds like a great way to spend the morning, Li, Greg was
carefully nonchalant in his response. He didn t want her to suspect what he d done.
Last night when Karina called and Liza had been in the shower, he d used the
opportunity to talk privately with her. He had asked if she had plans to volunteer on
Saturday as she normally did. Karina told him that she wanted to, but might have to
miss because her husband insisted on installing her stereo in her car and his own
vehicle was being serviced Saturday morning as well. That had given Greg the
opportunity he needed to suggest to Karina that she ask Liza to take her to Girls
Unlimited.
But, he hadn t fooled Karina. She d asked him point blank what he was up to and
he d confessed that he had ulterior motives and thought the experience would help his
wife.
He hadn t had to say anything more. Karina fell in line with his suggestions and
eagerly agreed to ask her friend to drive her to the recreation center.
Now the trick was convincing Liza to not only drive Karina there, but to stay.
 Ummm. I don t know, Greg. I m not sure if that s something I really want to do,
she said and turned back around to face her mirror. He saw the way she titled her head
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to the side just slightly and pooched her lips out, the way she did when she was
thinking about something.
Usually it made him randy as hell to see her stick her pretty full lips out like that.
But this time, he was concentrating more on hoping she d take the bait he and Karina
had set up.
His baby needed to come to terms with a few things. She wasn t going to do it by
refusing to confront some key issues from her past. Maybe she d see that she d built
them up into something bigger than they were.
Maybe they were still big and just as ugly as they were when she was a child. But
she d never know unless she confronted them.
 It s up to you, babe. But if nothing else, you ll be able to give Kari a ride down
there and Coop can pick her up, he smiled and kissed her as he pulled his jacket on his
shoulders.
 Yes, I can do that, I suppose.
Greg smiled inside when she looked at him carefully. His wife wasn t anybody s
fool. He carefully kept his face cheerfully blank as he ushered her out of their bedroom
and down the staircase.
* * * * *
 Greg, may I speak with you for a minute?
 Sure, Renita. Come on in, Greg glanced over at his assistant as she stood in the
doorway.
He noticed right away how she was rubbing her hands down the smooth knee-
length, slim fitting dark skirt. When she noticed his eyes on her hands she immediately
stopped the nervous smoothing and walked inside his office.
 I ve been doing some thinking and I believe that it s time for me to make some
changes, she started out.
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 Please, Renita, have a seat. Greg could tell this was something serious. He
motioned for her to take a seat in one of the leather chairs that faced his desk. She
smiled and gracefully sat in the chair, before folding her hands in her lap.
She looked like a nervous schoolgirl sitting there in the oversized chair, clenching
and releasing her hands.  Renita, is everything okay?
 Oh& yes. Everything s fine, Greg.
She seemed at a loss for words, which was unusual for Renita. She was reserved
and had a tendency to be selective with her words. She never spoke more than was
necessary to get her point across. However, she seemed more to be more hesitant than
reticent this morning. He didn t say anything, just waited for her to speak.
 I think that, for a long time, I had false hopes, she began and although her voice
was hesitant, there was a clear determination in both it and the directness of her gaze.
 False hopes about what?
 To be honest& that there could be something between us, she stated boldly.
 Something beyond our professional relationship.
 Did I ever give you the impression of that, Renita? Greg was suddenly
apprehensive. Maybe his disclosure earlier regarding his relationship with Liza had
been out of line. Maybe he d crossed some invisible barrier that he shouldn t have with
her.
 No. It wasn t you, Greg. It was all me. The laugh that she uttered was totally
without humor. When she suddenly stood from the chair and walked away from the
desk toward one of his large bay windows, Greg felt a slight apprehension in his gut.
 What s going on, Renita? You can tell me. Please do, I m a bit in the dark about
this.
 I ve been in love with you since the first time I interviewed with you and I ve
decided to quit. I don t think it s a good idea for me to work here anymore, she
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admitted bluntly turning around to face him, her light amber-colored eyes sparking
with a look akin to relief.
Renita felt crazy and nervous, yet at the same time, she felt like a burden had been
lifted from her shoulders just by uttering the words to him. Out loud. With no care for
the consequences.
She knew that Greg loved Liza. She had no doubt in her mind, despite the rocky [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]