.’
Inwardly, she shrank. Explain what? That she wanted to go to bed with Lorenzo—and not once, but many times, and each of those times was going to be more inventive than the last—
‘I hope you haven’t circulated this list to your colleagues,’ he said, showing a distinct absence of humour .
‘No, of course not!’ That was the one thing she could be sure about. The list Lorenzo had just placed on the desk in front of him was one of a kind.
‘Good,’ he said evenly. ‘It could corrupt in the wrong hands…’
Forget toughing it out! ‘Sorry.’ Snatching the list off his desk, she ran out. If she was going down she was going down with all guns blazing!
Back home that night, wanting to take her mind off Lorenzo, and inspired by his prowess in the kitchen, Carly baked a cake. And not just any cake. A cake decorated with emerald-green icing. The bottle of colouring had been tiny, the bowl large—who knew you were supposed to put in a drop of green colouring and not the whole bottle?
In spite of this small setback she decided stubbornly that it would make an excellent centrepiece for the buffet table at the Christmas party.
‘Emerald-green icing?’ Madeline stared.
‘It’s festive,’ Carly pointed out. She had drawn quite a crowd on her arrival in chambers, and was prepared to defend the first cake she had ever baked to hell and back again.
‘It will brighten up the buffet table no end,’ one of the clerks agreed. ‘You could use it for a centrepiece .’
‘That’s the plan…’ She was smiling again by the time she replaced the lid on the tin.
‘You have got everything ready for tonight, haven’t you, Carly ?’ Madeline asked anxiously as everyone peeled away. ‘Only Lorenzo went off to court like a bear with a sore head—’
‘Did he…?’ she asked, trying to sound indifferent while she inwardly groaned. This was it. She was finished. After the encounter in his office and the wretched list she should have expected it. ‘Of course I’m ready.’ She changed track quickly, seeing Madeline’s suspicious nose was already twitching at the thought of something juicy to spread around.
‘What will you wear?’ Madeline gave her the quick up and down.
She wasn’t falling for that one again. ‘I haven’t decided yet,’ Carly replied vaguely, her mind on other things—like the tirade of anger due from Lorenzo.
‘Don’t you think you should?’ Madeline demanded with a frown, taking a large bite out of a succulent Krispie Kreme . ‘Want one?’ she offered, holding out the box. She didn’t just offer, she held the box stuffed with freshly-baked doughnuts right under Carly’s nose. ‘I didn’t have time to stop for breakfast,’ Madeline explained as the mouth-wateringly sugary smell invaded Carly’s quivering nostrils.
Carly’s stomach growled in disappointment as she refused the offer. But what could she do? She had nine hours to drop a dress size, and no intention of squandering a single minute. ‘I had breakfast before I left the flat, thank you,’ she lied glibly. ‘And now, if you will excuse me, Madeline, I really should be getting on…’
‘Of course…’ Madeline looked curiously at the hefty brief beneath Carly’s arm, tied ostentatiously as all briefs were supposed to be with bright pink ribbon. The sight of it didn’t have quite the same effect on Madeline as the box of Krispy Kremes had had on Carly , but at least it made Madeline’s predatory gaze narrow, which was something.
‘Lorenzo entrusts you with his briefs?’
‘I’m looking this one over for him, actually,’ Carly said, excusing her fib on the grounds of extreme provocation. The truth was Lorenzo had left the papers behind in the flat, and she thought he might need them. And returning them was as good an excuse to see him again and beg for his mercy.
‘What about your dress for
Inwardly, she shrank. Explain what? That she wanted to go to bed with Lorenzo—and not once, but many times, and each of those times was going to be more inventive than the last—
‘I hope you haven’t circulated this list to your colleagues,’ he said, showing a distinct absence of humour .
‘No, of course not!’ That was the one thing she could be sure about. The list Lorenzo had just placed on the desk in front of him was one of a kind.
‘Good,’ he said evenly. ‘It could corrupt in the wrong hands…’
Forget toughing it out! ‘Sorry.’ Snatching the list off his desk, she ran out. If she was going down she was going down with all guns blazing!
Back home that night, wanting to take her mind off Lorenzo, and inspired by his prowess in the kitchen, Carly baked a cake. And not just any cake. A cake decorated with emerald-green icing. The bottle of colouring had been tiny, the bowl large—who knew you were supposed to put in a drop of green colouring and not the whole bottle?
In spite of this small setback she decided stubbornly that it would make an excellent centrepiece for the buffet table at the Christmas party.
‘Emerald-green icing?’ Madeline stared.
‘It’s festive,’ Carly pointed out. She had drawn quite a crowd on her arrival in chambers, and was prepared to defend the first cake she had ever baked to hell and back again.
‘It will brighten up the buffet table no end,’ one of the clerks agreed. ‘You could use it for a centrepiece .’
‘That’s the plan…’ She was smiling again by the time she replaced the lid on the tin.
‘You have got everything ready for tonight, haven’t you, Carly ?’ Madeline asked anxiously as everyone peeled away. ‘Only Lorenzo went off to court like a bear with a sore head—’
‘Did he…?’ she asked, trying to sound indifferent while she inwardly groaned. This was it. She was finished. After the encounter in his office and the wretched list she should have expected it. ‘Of course I’m ready.’ She changed track quickly, seeing Madeline’s suspicious nose was already twitching at the thought of something juicy to spread around.
‘What will you wear?’ Madeline gave her the quick up and down.
She wasn’t falling for that one again. ‘I haven’t decided yet,’ Carly replied vaguely, her mind on other things—like the tirade of anger due from Lorenzo.
‘Don’t you think you should?’ Madeline demanded with a frown, taking a large bite out of a succulent Krispie Kreme . ‘Want one?’ she offered, holding out the box. She didn’t just offer, she held the box stuffed with freshly-baked doughnuts right under Carly’s nose. ‘I didn’t have time to stop for breakfast,’ Madeline explained as the mouth-wateringly sugary smell invaded Carly’s quivering nostrils.
Carly’s stomach growled in disappointment as she refused the offer. But what could she do? She had nine hours to drop a dress size, and no intention of squandering a single minute. ‘I had breakfast before I left the flat, thank you,’ she lied glibly. ‘And now, if you will excuse me, Madeline, I really should be getting on…’
‘Of course…’ Madeline looked curiously at the hefty brief beneath Carly’s arm, tied ostentatiously as all briefs were supposed to be with bright pink ribbon. The sight of it didn’t have quite the same effect on Madeline as the box of Krispy Kremes had had on Carly , but at least it made Madeline’s predatory gaze narrow, which was something.
‘Lorenzo entrusts you with his briefs?’
‘I’m looking this one over for him, actually,’ Carly said, excusing her fib on the grounds of extreme provocation. The truth was Lorenzo had left the papers behind in the flat, and she thought he might need them. And returning them was as good an excuse to see him again and beg for his mercy.
‘What about your dress for
Similar Books
