LITMIR.BIZ

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business and the rest of the time we’ll be on vacation.”

      “Me?” She almost strangled on the word. “I can’t do something like that!”

      “Why not?”

      She stared at him in disbelief. Didn’t he understand? Obviously not.

      “I’m in the middle of classes, for one thing. And it just doesn’t look right, our going to Hawaii together.”

      “It will be a business trip.”

      “You’ve never needed me on one before.”

      “Jodie, you’re a very competent secretary and levelheaded. As for school, I doubt missing a week’s worth of classes will cause you to flunk. Will it?”

      “Well, no, but—”

      “Then I don’t see a problem.” He ruffled through the stack of files on his desk. “Would you check with accounting and see if they have the latest figures on the Malone file? I’d like to see them before lunch if possible.”

      Two

      “What did you say to him?” Jodie’s sister, Lynette, asked her that evening after dinner.

      Jodie had a standing invitation for dinner at Chuck and Lynette’s home every Friday, but she’d never had such earthshaking news to share as she did tonight.

      Chuck had called earlier to say he’d be home later than normal and for them not to hold dinner for him. Jodie hadn’t mentioned Dean’s plan when she’d arrived. Instead she’d helped with dinner and then made certain that her nephews, Kent and Kyle—seven and six respectively—got their baths and were ready for bed.

      It was only after she’d joined Lynette in the living room while she nursed eight-week-old Emily that Jodie dropped her bombshell.

      “I think I muttered something but don’t remember what. I was reeling.”

      “You’re going, of course.”

      “He practically ordered me to go,” Jodie wailed with a laugh.

      “When are you supposed to leave?”

      “The tickets are for Sunday morning. Early Sunday morning.”

      “So his latest darling finally had enough of your romantically challenged boss, did she? She lasted longer than the others, though.”

      “I think what got to him was that she was the one who broke things off. He usually has the privilege of doing that. At least he got a taste of what rejection feels like.”

      “I can’t believe she turned down a trip to Hawaii. I would have gone and then broken up with him,” Lynette said with a grin.

      “She didn’t know about his plans. He’d kept the trip a surprise.”

      Lynette shook her head with disbelief. “Doesn’t the man know anything about women? The anticipation of going is part of the excitement.”

      “We’re talking about Dean Logan. Of course he doesn’t know anything about us. For a brilliant businessman, he’s unnervingly obtuse about the opposite sex.”

      “Well, who cares, if you get a free vacation out of it?”

      “I’ll be missing three classes.”

      “So? You’ve aced all your tests, you can easily catch up.”

      The door opened between the garage and kitchen, and Lynette peered over her shoulder. Chuck was home.

      “Good evening, all,” he said, sauntering into the room. He was a police detective for the city and looked good in his sports jacket and slacks. “How are my three favorite women doing?” He leaned over Lynette and gave her a leisurely kiss that made Jodie’s toes curl to watch.

      When he straightened, he brushed his lips across the top of Emily’s head. Emily ignored him. Dinner was more important at the moment.

      “Your dinner’s in the fridge. Just put it in the microwave.”

      “How are things going for you, Jodie?” he asked casually as he turned to go back into the kitchen.

      Before Jodie had a chance to answer, Lynette said, “Her boss has invited her to go with him to Hawaii for a week.”

      Chuck stopped in his tracks and spun around. “Are you serious? Logan asked you to go away with him? Wow. Aren’t you the sly one? I had no idea you two were an item.”

      “We’re not! Believe me, there is nothing going on in a romantic sense. The girl he’s been seeing broke up with him. He had the tickets. I suggested he should take the vacation anyway, and he decided to meet with a prospective client while he was there. He said he could use my help. So it will be a working vacation.”

      Chuck grinned. “And you believed him.”

      “Of course. Why shouldn’t I?”

      Chuck, his dinner forgotten, sat down next to Lynette. “Jodie. Honey. Let’s get real, okay? A man doesn’t invite his good-looking secretary to go away with him to a tropical isle without some strictly male motive. He’s going to do his best to get you into his bed. Count on it.”

      “Chuck!” Lynette kept her voice soft but emphatic. Jodie wondered how she did that. “Not every man has sex on the brain like you do.”

      He gave her an intimate smile. “Oh, yes, they do. Some just hide it better than others.”

      Jodie said, “You’re probably right, Chuck, but Dean is a definite exception. I’ve worked for him too many years not to know that he doesn’t notice me as a woman. I’m an efficient machine to him and that’s fine with me.”

      “If you say so. When do you leave?”

      “Sunday morning.”

      “Have you ever been to Hawaii?”

      “No.”

      “Then go and enjoy yourself. I would guess he’s picking up the tab for your accommodations.”

      “Actually he acquired a condo there a few years ago. It was part of a business deal he made. He went over to check it out and that’s the last time he was there. There are three bedrooms and three baths. I think the company he bought it from used the condo for the executives to, quote, get away, unquote, for some relaxation.”

      “So he’ll have you right where he wants you for a leisurely seduction,” Chuck replied, twisting his imaginary mustache with a grin.

      “Nothing wrong with your imagination, that’s for sure,” Jodie replied, laughing. “If you’d ever met him, you’d see how far off base you are.”

      “Why? Is he some kind of monster?”

      “Let’s just say he takes some getting used to. Once his business is completed he’ll probably forget that I’m there.”

      Lynette said, “Now that’s carrying the platonic bit too far, sis. There’s bound to be a middle ground between what you’ve imagined and what my crazy husband came up with.”

      “So you two think I should go ahead and plan to go?”

      They answered in unison. “Yes.”

      “But what about the talk around the office?” Jodie asked. “Won’t that give everyone the wrong idea?”

      “So what?” Chuck answered. “It will give them something to gossip about. Probably improve morale. The office employees will start a betting pool as to when you’ll announce your engagement.”

      “You’re a big help,” Lynette said, shaking her head at her spouse. “The idea here is to give her reasons to go, not make up stuff.”

      “Well, since it looks as though I’m going, I’ll need to go shopping for beachwear tomorrow.”

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