LITMIR.BIZ

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banished the thought before it could make her maudlin again, and made up her mind. Her career was established and flourishing. She was a natural at creating ad campaigns that were simple yet sleek and caught the public’s attention. But after two years, it was a case of “Been there, done that.”

      What she wanted now was a challenge, something new to try her hand at. Something that was hers alone, not an integral part of the Fortune dynasty. She looked at the paper on the desk. The place was begging for help.

      And she was just the woman to give it.

      With a nod of her head, Kristina swept together the papers on her desk and deposited them in their manila envelope. Her pensive, restless mood had vanished, now that her course had been established.

      “Thanks, Grandmother. You always knew how to set things right for me.”

      Frank Gibson had been part of the advertising department at Fortune Industries for the last fifteen years. He had slowly worked his way up within the framework, losing a little more hair with each advancement. Now, as the senior VP, a title that he felt at times was more decorative than lucrative, he retained only a slight fringe of brown just above his ears. And even that was in danger of going.

      Such as now.

      He looked at the blond slip of a girl who had been all but foisted on him two years ago and digested what she was saying to him. He might have accepted her into the fold reluctantly, expecting nothing, but he had been more than just a little pleasantly surprised. He’d quickly discovered that Kristina Fortune pulled her own weight and then some. If at times that meant she ran over some toes, allowances could be made, not just because she was the boss’s daughter, but because she was damn good.

      He didn’t like the idea of doing without her for any long extended period of time.

      Frank rubbed his large palms along the edge of his desk, a sure sign that the news he was receiving was making him nervous.

      “You want what?”

      She knew she could do this without asking. No one’s opinion really mattered, when you came right down to it, except her father’s. And he would give her her head, as she was requesting, especially since it involved his mother’s bequest.

      But, technically, Frank was her boss, and she got along with him a great deal better than she did with her father. So, to avoid any bad feelings, she went through the proper channels and put her request to him.

      “A leave of absence.”

      They were unveiling a new perfume in a little more than two months. There were still a thousand details to see to. It had been Kristina’s baby all the way.

      “Now?” Frank asked. “In the middle of an ad campaign?”

      Kristina laughed. She couldn’t remember a single day going by when Frank hadn’t behaved as if everything were a matter of life and death.

      “Frank, we are always in the middle of an ad campaign.” Sitting down on the sofa against the wall, she crossed her legs and saw Frank’s eyes drift to her hemline before he quickly looked away. Frank’s romantic life began and ended in his mind. “It’s nothing you can’t handle.” She genuinely liked the mousy little man. He was kind to her without being obsequious. She tucked her tongue into her cheek. “Maybe not with my flair, but at least with my notes.” She nodded in the general direction of her office. “I left everything organized for you. It’s under Redemption.” Which was the name she had given to the new scent.

      Kristina had made her mind up to handle the inn herself a week ago, when she first received Sterling’s letter. But she had taken the extra time to do her homework on bed-and-breakfast inns. She never ventured into anything unarmed.

      Frank frowned. After years of trying, he could finally find his way around a keyboard, as long as it was attached to a typewriter. Word-processing and spreadsheet programs were completely beyond him. You might as well ask him to pilot a starship.

      “You know I hate computers. That’s what I have you for.” Finally comfortable with her, he was not above putting a teasing spin on their working relationship.

      She laughed as she leaned forward. “You have me for a lot more reasons than that, Frank.”

      In actuality, at this point, Frank was content to let Kristina head most of their campaigns. The TV spot she’d come up with for Hidden Sin had single-handedly upped sales a full ten percent across the board.

      “All right,” he agreed. “Rub my nose in it, but don’t leave.”

      “Leave of absence, Frank. Leave of absence.” Kristina enunciated the words slowly. “That doesn’t mean forever.” She knew how quickly Frank could come to rely on something. It was flattering, but right now, it was getting in the way of the new pair of wings she wanted to try.

      Kristina rose, giving the appearance of being taller than she actually was. “I’ll only be gone for about two months.” She thought of the photographs of the inn. “Two and a half, tops.”

      He knew it was useless to argue with her. She would do what she wanted to do. She was a Fortune and could afford to, unlike the rest of the world. “And what is it that you want to accomplish in those two months?”

      “Something new.” She couldn’t quite put it into words, but something was calling to her, telling her that this was right. That she had to do this. Maybe it was even her grandmother, whispering in her ear. She wasn’t certain. She just knew she had to go. “Grandmother left me her share in a bed-and-breakfast inn in California.”

      “California?” he echoed, horrified at the thought of the place. “They have earthquakes.”

      She laughed at the expression on his face. Frank was one of those people who were content never to try anything new in their lives. He ascribed the feeling to everyone. “And we have fog and tornadoes.”

      Frank snorted shortly. Nothing in the world could get him to travel to California, even on business. He would delegate trips if he had to. “A fog can’t kill you.”

      She looked out the window. The gauzy texture of the fog hadn’t changed since this morning. “No, but it can depress you to death.” She knew she didn’t have to explain herself, but because she liked him, she wanted Frank to understand. “I don’t know, Frank, I just feel that I want to try my hand at something that doesn’t have the Fortune stamp all over it.”

      “It will when you get through with it,” he pointed out, in case the fact had escaped her.

      She turned to look at him, her smile wide, satisfied, as if he’d gotten the point. “Exactly, but it’ll be my own stamp.”

      “Your mind’s made up?” It was a rhetorical question, uttered for form’s sake. He already knew the answer.

      “When have you known me to waver?”

      Never. She was the most self-assured woman he’d ever encountered, next to her grandmother. Frank sighed. “All right.” Cocking his head so that he resembled a sparrow eyeing an early-morning worm, he gave it one last shot. “I suppose there isn’t anything I can say to make you change your mind?”

      Kristina slowly moved her head from side to side, her amused eyes on his.

      Frank spread his hands wide, helplessly. Surrendering, since he’d never had a chance of winning. “Then there’s nothing for me to say except yes.” He frowned as he sighed, resigned. “When has a man ever said no to you?”

      She grinned. “Hasn’t happened yet.” Even with David, she’d been the one to say no. But that had only been after she discovered that his one and only love was the Fortune money. “And I don’t see it happening anytime soon.”

      He had no reason to disagree with her. “When it does, let me know.”

      She patted his face affectionately, with the camaraderie that had arisen in the trenches over the past two years. “You’ll be the first,

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