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note. I was upset. Geoff kissed me. Then I treated
him like I would a client. He kissed me again. He
was apologizing. I was apologizing. Apologizing
for two different things we were. Now we re
friends.
He kissed you?
Don t make more out of it. He regrets it as it
is.
The nerve of him coming out and saying he
regretted doing it, Sally commented with mock
seriousness.
He didn t actually say he regretted it. He said
he should have never taken the liberty, and he was
sorry.
Oh.
Oh? Tori turned to face Sally and propped an
arm on the back of the couch. Is that all you have
to say this time, Ms. Talkative? Oh?
Well& Sally grinned. You have to admit
Geoff is a smart fellow, and smart fellows usually
come from good homes with decent upbringings.
With proper guidance, you have morals. He was
in a dilemma. He s attracted to you. He wanted
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you. He followed those instincts. Afterward, his
conscience got in the way because it s wrong to hit
on an attached person.
That makes sense, but then what about me? I
was raised right, too, and there I was kissing and
pawing him in David s kitchen. Now, here I am
getting proposed to by one man and lusting for
another.
Sally s bemused smile turned into a full-blown
Cheshire cat grin.
Did I hear right? Did you say lusting?
I ve& Tori bowed her head hoping to hide
the color from the rush of warmth she felt slide to
her cheeks. I ve had thoughts.
I see.
You see nothing. Here, she held out the two
tickets, take these back. I can t ask Geoff, and I
can t ask David because I don t want to talk to him
until I ve come to a decision. Therefore, I can t
go.
You can take them, she said, waving them
away, and you can ask Geoff. If he says no, then
you ve had nothing to worry about. If he says yes,
then it may help you to make the right choice.
Now go home and get some rest. You have a busy
day tomorrow ahead of you.
With her words hanging in the air between
them, Sally rose and left the room.
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Concealed Affairs
Chapter Eleven
usy wasn t the word Tori would have used to
B
describe the morning she had.
She had spent the previous night tossing and
turning, her mind and heart warring with each
other. Any sleep she had, had only come minutes
at a time. Now she could barely keep her eyes
open as she listened to the woman on the other
end of the line explain what she had been doing
when her computer froze.
No food. No sleep. It wasn t a good
combination.
It s really quite simple, Tori said, trying to
keep her tongue in check and not say something
caustic. It wasn t the lady s fault she couldn t
make up her mind about the biggest decision of
her life and that it had kept her awake. It wasn t
her client s problem that on top of a couple hours
of fitful rest she was ravenous, not having eaten
since breakfast the day before. She took a deep
breath and counted to ten. Hit the alt, control and
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delete buttons at the same time. When the menu
screen comes up and prompts you to end task, click
on the program you were using, then click on end
task. When the next screen comes up asking if you
want to wait, don t. Just hit end task again. If that
all fails, do the alt-control-delete command, then
click on shut down and choose restart. That will
restart and reset your computer, and fix whatever
caused the problem.
But I ve done all that already!
Have you done a hard shut down and re-
started?
What s that? The woman sounded close to
tears.
Turn off your computer at the power button.
No, I haven t.
Try doing that. Wait about ten to fifteen
seconds before you turn it back on. If that still
doesn t do the trick, I ll have a technician sent out
to you. Her second line rang. Her stomach
grumbled. She glanced at the bottom right corner
of her monitor. Twelve thirty, already. I need to
take another call while you do that. I ll be right
back.
Victoria Padden. How may I ser..
Victoria. David. Busy?
Yes. I have a client on the other line.
Then I ll make this brief. Though, I did want to
continue our discussion.
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Concealed Affairs
Discussion? She rubbed her sleep-deprived
eyes with her thumb and forefinger, blinked, and
saw the list of pros and cons she had written
sitting in the middle of her clean desk. Oh, that
discussion, she thought with disdain.
Yes, that discussion.
She let out a small gasp. She was more tired
than she thought if she spoke her thoughts out
loud.
So, Victoria, what s your answer?
What was her answer? A surge of panic waved
through her body and she saw the hold light on
line one keeping time with her rapidly beating
heart. He wanted an answer now? Of course he
did. Her palms grew moist and slick. Under
normal conditions the guy wouldn t even have to
wait as long as he had to hear a yes or no to the
request. The woman usually had her answer ready
the moment the question was popped. Her gaze
darted around her cubicle and landed on the sheet
of paper. Geoff s name was sprawled all over it.
Damn Sally and damn him. If it weren t for her,
she never would have met Geoff. If she had never
met Geoff, she d have a ring on her finger and be
making preparations for the big day. If she hadn t
met Geoff, she wouldn t be on the receiving end of
someone s practical jokes. If she hadn t met him,
she wouldn t be more aware of David and his
quirks.
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If only I had&
More time.
Pardon? Did I hear you right? You need more
time?
Her mouth and inner-thoughts had become
one. She shook her head and ran her fingers
through her hair, wondering when she had
formed this weird habit of voicing her thoughts.
She did need time, though, so she might as well
play along.
Yes. Give me till Monday.
Monday? Monday, David shouted the word.
I thought you d be more receptive to this request.
I thought you wanted to get married. Most women
when they re proposed to by the man they love
and want to spend their life with say yes
immediately. They& It s that man, isn t it? You re
not being logical because of
David, I am being logical. Getting married is a
huge undertaking, a serious matter. A step in a
person s life that shouldn t be taken lightly or
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