With a sigh she did, but it was tough going from the start, a dire continuation of the morning’s frustration. No one she phoned was in and every form she completed lacked some vital bit of information which she could not lay her hands on in the instant. Of the no less than six calls she received in an hour, five involved either complaint or criticism. An evening of pure relaxation had become an absolute necessity by the time she neatened her desk at six thirty.
“So you’re still here?”
Justine’s head flew up to find none other than the cause of her sleeplessness last night. Sloane hadn’t been far from her thoughts all day, an undercurrent of mystery which only served to aggravate her steadily fraying nerves. Now, she steeled herself against his subtle command.
“Just about finished,” she spoke brusquely. “It’s been an awful day. I’m very happy to see it end.”
Sensing his approach, she continued to pack folders into her case as though she were alone.
“That bad?” he asked quietly.
“That bad.” One more folder. The Ryder case.Where was it?
“Have them often?”
“Not very.” Impatient fingers flew to the file cabinet behind the desk, yanked out a drawer, then dug into theR’s. Regan. Rollins. Rohmer. Ryan. No Ryder.Where was it?Check again. Rollins. Rohmer. Ryan. No Ryder.
“Try S.”
“It’s Ryder. It doesn’t begin with S.”
“Look under S anyway.”
With a grimace of disgust she flipped to the firstS.Ryder. An apologetic smile teased her lips as she shook her head, then she lowered her head to rest on the top of the cabinet. “How did you know?”
His voice was much closer. “It’s a common mistake in the rush of filing. LastR—firstS.It’s done all the time.”
Red-blond waves rippled down her back as Justine tilted her head up in supplication. “Why me? Why today?” Then she groaned as she bowed her head again. “I have such a headache.” Her soft whisper was muted, self-directed, yet he heard it.
The gentle hand that moved beneath the thick fall of her hair to knead her neck brought instant relief, as did the voice which flowed like a rich and mellow Burgundy wine. “You look exhausted. Just try to relax and we’ll get that headache under control. Remember, it’s all in the mind.”
“Hmmm, a mindache …” she played beneath her breath, suddenly giddy.
“No, my dear, a cure for your headache!” Once again the nonimitation, drawled deeply.
It was enough. Eyes closed, she followed his instructions, relaxing beneath his touch until he finally withdrew it.
“Better?” he asked, dark eyes beaming energy into her.
“Ummm, better.”
“Ready for dinner?”
“Only if it’s light.”
“You count calories?”
“Always.”
“Never splurge?”
“Nope.”
“Never?”
She shook her head, her green eyes locked into the dark and beckoning depths of his.
“Never?”
