Chapter One
Darina closed her eyes and let out a deep breath as
frustration filled her. She lowered the pen onto the clipboard before grasping
the temporary employee badge the security guard had placed beside it. He’d been
flirting again, but she suspected it was more pity than genuine interest. Those
soul-deep brown eyes held a wealth of understanding as he watched her
studiously ignoring the scene across the lobby.
No. Don’t think about that.
She opened her eyes slowly and looked up to see the scene
hadn’t changed in the slightest. With a quick smile at the sexy security guard,
she clipped the badge to her blazer and pulled her purse more firmly over her
shoulder.
I can do this.
Lifting her chin, she tried to concentrate on each step as
she walked across the foyer to the elevators ahead. Willing herself to be
invisible had become more natural over the past few months.
So far, so good.
Luckily, Marc hadn’t spotted her yet. The last thing she
needed was for him to try to speak to her again. He just didn’t get it. Bad
enough the entire office knew he’d cheated on her and broken her heart, but now
he wanted to be friends? She couldn’t decide if he was an idiot or a vindictive
bastard. Most likely both. From the corner of her eye, she saw Heather look her
way before wrapping an arm in Marc’s and tugging him in the opposite direction.
Good. Keep him busy, you whore.
The thought made her smirk, wishing she could say it out
loud where everyone could hear. Unfortunately that would cost her this job.
Heather’s daddy owned the firm, and if she ever decided Darina was too much of
a distraction for Marc’s simple mind, Darina would find herself out of a job
faster than she could blink. It would be completely unfair considering the
years she’d given the firm, but such was the way of the world and fairness
never came into play.
Darina picked up the pace and made it to the elevators
without incident, not breathing easy until the doors slid shut and the happy
couple was no longer in view. She watched the numbers change as she neared her
floor and tried to focus on the day ahead. There was a ton of work to do,
reports to type and numbers to balance. Hopefully all that would keep her mind
on business and off the past few minutes.
The elevator doors opened and Darina walked briskly to her
office, finger-waving to her coworkers along the way with a pasted-on smile she
didn’t feel. Everyone smiled back, most even said good morning. Darina wondered
what was going through their minds. Were they thinking of the Christmas party
three months ago when her world came crashing down? Did any of them wonder how
her holiday had been since she’d spent it alone, mired in betrayal? She took
another deep breath and pushed away the self-pity that always made her feel
dirty and stupid. She was tougher than this and life had to go on. With a sigh,
she entered her office and got to work.
* * * * *
Sol Canova watched as Darina Tanner straightened her spine
and walked to the elevators seemingly without a care in the world. He admired
her resolve, knowing it must kill her to see her ex-fiancé in the arms of the
spoiled bitch, Heather.
Marc is a complete idiot.
What Marc saw in Heather that could rip him away from
Darina, Sol couldn’t even begin to guess. He had fantasies about Darina’s long
brown hair lying in loose curls over his pillow as she smiled up at him,
happiness gleaming from her cocoa-colored eyes. Her curves made his fingers
itch to caress them. Her breasts would be a perfect handful and her legs…yummy.
All of her, from head to toe in her fashionable navy business suit, looked like
a walking fantasy.
Heather, a blonde waif who wouldn’t know a healthy meal if
it was shoved down her throat, looked like a typical trophy wife. Her body was
the best money could buy and suited her personality. With a smile to rival her
politician granddaddy, she often acted as if there wasn’t a brain cell left in
her pretty
Darina closed her eyes and let out a deep breath as
frustration filled her. She lowered the pen onto the clipboard before grasping
the temporary employee badge the security guard had placed beside it. He’d been
flirting again, but she suspected it was more pity than genuine interest. Those
soul-deep brown eyes held a wealth of understanding as he watched her
studiously ignoring the scene across the lobby.
No. Don’t think about that.
She opened her eyes slowly and looked up to see the scene
hadn’t changed in the slightest. With a quick smile at the sexy security guard,
she clipped the badge to her blazer and pulled her purse more firmly over her
shoulder.
I can do this.
Lifting her chin, she tried to concentrate on each step as
she walked across the foyer to the elevators ahead. Willing herself to be
invisible had become more natural over the past few months.
So far, so good.
Luckily, Marc hadn’t spotted her yet. The last thing she
needed was for him to try to speak to her again. He just didn’t get it. Bad
enough the entire office knew he’d cheated on her and broken her heart, but now
he wanted to be friends? She couldn’t decide if he was an idiot or a vindictive
bastard. Most likely both. From the corner of her eye, she saw Heather look her
way before wrapping an arm in Marc’s and tugging him in the opposite direction.
Good. Keep him busy, you whore.
The thought made her smirk, wishing she could say it out
loud where everyone could hear. Unfortunately that would cost her this job.
Heather’s daddy owned the firm, and if she ever decided Darina was too much of
a distraction for Marc’s simple mind, Darina would find herself out of a job
faster than she could blink. It would be completely unfair considering the
years she’d given the firm, but such was the way of the world and fairness
never came into play.
Darina picked up the pace and made it to the elevators
without incident, not breathing easy until the doors slid shut and the happy
couple was no longer in view. She watched the numbers change as she neared her
floor and tried to focus on the day ahead. There was a ton of work to do,
reports to type and numbers to balance. Hopefully all that would keep her mind
on business and off the past few minutes.
The elevator doors opened and Darina walked briskly to her
office, finger-waving to her coworkers along the way with a pasted-on smile she
didn’t feel. Everyone smiled back, most even said good morning. Darina wondered
what was going through their minds. Were they thinking of the Christmas party
three months ago when her world came crashing down? Did any of them wonder how
her holiday had been since she’d spent it alone, mired in betrayal? She took
another deep breath and pushed away the self-pity that always made her feel
dirty and stupid. She was tougher than this and life had to go on. With a sigh,
she entered her office and got to work.
* * * * *
Sol Canova watched as Darina Tanner straightened her spine
and walked to the elevators seemingly without a care in the world. He admired
her resolve, knowing it must kill her to see her ex-fiancé in the arms of the
spoiled bitch, Heather.
Marc is a complete idiot.
What Marc saw in Heather that could rip him away from
Darina, Sol couldn’t even begin to guess. He had fantasies about Darina’s long
brown hair lying in loose curls over his pillow as she smiled up at him,
happiness gleaming from her cocoa-colored eyes. Her curves made his fingers
itch to caress them. Her breasts would be a perfect handful and her legs…yummy.
All of her, from head to toe in her fashionable navy business suit, looked like
a walking fantasy.
Heather, a blonde waif who wouldn’t know a healthy meal if
it was shoved down her throat, looked like a typical trophy wife. Her body was
the best money could buy and suited her personality. With a smile to rival her
politician granddaddy, she often acted as if there wasn’t a brain cell left in
her pretty
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