LITMIR.BIZ

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more so. “And neither do you. So what gives?”

      “I thought I had it under control today, Gina. But it was awful. Like an ambush. I should have been prepared for the chance that the information would leak.”

      “Uh-oh. They found out about the pink tutu, huh?”

      Erin groaned and nodded. “And the leather mask, the bustier, even the handcuffs. The only thing that didn’t leak was the feather whip.”

      “I thought they’d kept that info locked tight.”

      Erin rubbed her temples. “Well, something that sensational, someone just couldn’t keep his or her mouth shut. I should have been prepared. I was ready to handle the inevitable questions on the location. But the clothes… I knew it was going to come out eventually, but I’d hoped to have already pumped up Sanderson’s importance to the community and how devastating his loss will be to so many charitable organizations. That way, when the inevitable cavalcade of demands for all the sordid details hit, we’d already have a solid foundation in place. I honestly didn’t think it would come out this fast.”

      Gina swore under her breath. “Well, that sucks.”

      “It was madness out there, Gina. They were rabid. Worse than a pack of wolves.” She rubbed her arms. “I feel unclean.”

      “That bad, huh?”

      “Worse then when we handled that shock jock, Harold Seaman’s, account.”

      Gina winced and whistled. “Wow, that’s pretty bad.”

      “I tried to maintain our position, but they wouldn’t even listen. You wouldn’t believe the kind of stuff some of those guys asked me. Right there on the steps of city hall. And I consider myself a fairly cosmopolitan kind of girl, but honestly they shocked even me.”

      “Men are pigs,” Gina said matter-of-factly. “They’d live with their minds in the gutter all the time if we women didn’t demand at least the veneer of civility from them. But I’m telling you, Erin, that’s all it is. A veneer. Underneath it’s always about big boobs, nice butts, how long those legs are and won’t they wrap just fine around my waist. It’s sex. That’s what drives them all.”

      “I believe just moments ago you were the one urging me to rip the veneer off and take one of those pigs out for a spin.”

      Gina grinned, shameless as usual. “Well, as long as you’re in control of things, they can be useful. I mean, just because they’re pigs doesn’t mean we should have to make do without them. Why should our needs suffer?”

      Erin just shook her head. She and Gina had had this talk many times. Both of them had been through several pretty rocky relationships and despaired of ever meeting Mr. Nice Guy. Gina had since decided to enjoy a string of Mr. Right Nows. She seemed happy enough. After Erin’s last breakup, she’d seriously wondered if her best friend didn’t have the right idea. And now, while they were working so hard to build their new business, it was just as well that neither of them got serious about anyone anyway. Not that this was a problem for either of them at the moment.

      Blue eyes and a cocky smile flashed through her mind.

      “Well,” Erin said, pushing that image right out of her mind, “it gets worse. I got a message about five minutes after I managed to escape that the mayor wants to see me in his office in two hours.” She looked at her watch. “That was three Alka-Seltzers and forty-five minutes ago. I was hoping to get to Brady first, make sure he wasn’t already on the warpath to get me fired.”

      “You should stick it to him over the leak. I’m betting it was the police. Those guys can’t keep anything sealed.” She laughed dryly and held up her hand. “No, don’t even go there. I know I left myself wide open on that one.”

      Erin merely sighed. “Don’t worry. I’m too upset to be a smart-ass at the moment.”

      Now Gina did look concerned. “You don’t really think the mayor would drop you. It’s not your fault those guys dug up the dirt. You ran your plan by the mayor and he approved it.”

      “Still, I should have seen it coming.”

      Gina didn’t bother to argue. They were both too stubborn. “Fine. So let’s stop beating ourselves up here and focus on a solution. Did you call Brady? You could set up a meeting on the way to the mayor’s office. Or at least confirm he’s not out there trying to tear you down.”

      “I tried on the cell on the way back here. He’s out on the case, didn’t respond to my call. Or the messages I left.” She blew out a deep breath as she spun her briefcase around and opened it. “I guess I’d better figure out what I’m going to tell the mayor that will save our butts.”

      “You’ll figure something out. You always do.”

      Erin rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks for all the help.”

      Gina grinned as she headed for the door. “That’s why they pay me the big bucks.” She paused in the doorway. “Besides, I’ll have my hands full trying to figure out a way to keep Tony from blaming me for what happened with his news director. Did I mention I hate insecure men?” She rolled her eyes, then ducked back to her own office.

      The space they’d rented was pricey, so it was small. Just enough for their two offices, a small reception area and a tiny file room that doubled as their break room. Gina had managed to negotiate a good enough deal to get them into the trendy section of town, but the rent still sucked up all their overhead allocation. So they dealt with not being able to hire a secretary, file clerk or receptionist.

      Actually, it wasn’t so bad and they both equally pitched in. Ever since the first day they’d realized they both dreamed of careers in public relations, Erin and Gina had spent endless hours planning this business, right down to the carpeting and watercolors on the wall. After eighteen months, things were moving along well, but they knew they had a good two or three more years of growth before they could safely say they’d realized a solid foundation to their dream.

      Both were willing to give a great deal to make that dream a reality, and give they did, often at the expense of anything resembling a real life. But they were having the time of their lives building a dream. And that was a pretty good life in and of itself, wasn’t it?

      “Most days anyway,” Erin muttered. No one liked the down days, but this one bugged her more than most. This job for the mayor was the first time they’d been given such a high-profile opportunity to showcase their talents. And she was this close to ruining it.

      She had just rewound her mini-recorder and was set to relive those lovely, excruciating moments on the city hall steps—hoping to find something, anything, to save her butt with—when a light knock on the door made her jump. She quickly stabbed at the off button, but not fast enough.

      “What, you didn’t get clobbered badly enough the first go-around?” Brady strolled into her office space. Space that became increasingly smaller with every step he took. It wasn’t that he was such a huge man, although he did fill out the shoulders of that jacket without additional padding. He just had…presence.

      “I don’t remember you being a glutton for punishment,” he continued, then smiled. “Unless you were the one dishing it out, of course.”

      “I’m not,” she said curtly, too on edge to banter with him. “So if you came here to rub my nose in it, don’t bother. Mayor Henley will be taking care of that little chore shortly.” Erin tried not to roll her chair backward as he came right up to her desk. She hated being caught off guard like this. If by some miracle she survived losing the mayor’s account, she was definitely going to find the money to hire a receptionist.

      “I didn’t come here to gloat,” he said. “That street brawl masquerading as a press conference pissed me off every bit as much as I imagine it did you.”

      That steadied her. “So, the leak is from your end?”

      “I have no idea. I won’t pretend we haven’t

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