LITMIR.BIZ

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“Get me a tall mocha frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, please,” she said to Heather.

      “Yes, ma’am.” Heather was instantly on her feet.

      “I already have it.”

      Cari whirled around to see Marisa standing there with two coffees. She quickly reached for one. “I knew I loved you for a reason.” She took a sip and glanced at Heather, who was staring at her with wide eyes. At twenty-four she looked like a teenager. Cari knew she must have looked the same years ago.

      “Please get me the itinerary for the El Paso trip.”

      “Yes, ma’am.”

      Marisa followed her into her office. “I see you’ve heard the news.”

      Cari took a big swallow of coffee. “If you mean about Reed and the debutante, yes, I just heard.”

      “I’m sorry. I tried calling but you didn’t answer.”

      “Oh.” Cari patted her pockets with one hand. “I’m not sure where my cell is. I guess I left it at home.”

      Marisa gave Cari’s disheveled appearance the once-over. “What happened?”

      “Don’t ask.”

      “Okay,” Marisa said slowly, watching her. “I tried to get here earlier, but it’s a mad rush to get the kids off to school, and this morning Ellie was having a fit about her hair. Since she’s become a teenager, the naturally curly hair has become more of an issue. We seem to spend every morning taming it.”

      “No big deal,” Cari replied with a wave of her hand.

      She could feel Marisa’s eyes on her. “I know how you feel about Reed.”

      Her eyes flew to meet her friend’s. “That’s just between you and me.” With a sigh, she sank into her chair and took another gulp of coffee. Setting the paper cup on her desk, she asked, “Where did she come from? Has he been dating her long?”

      Marisa sat in a rose chintz chair, placing her purse on the floor. “My parents hosted a dinner for them last night and Colter and I met her for the first time. She’s a daughter of a business acquaintance of my dad’s.”

      “You’re kidding.” Cari sat up straighter. “I would have thought Reed would have avoided her like toxic waste.”

      It was a well-known fact that Richard and Vanessa Preston had ideas about who Reed should marry—someone with their social standing and assets. But since the fiasco with Marisa, Reed ignored his parents and chose his own women.

      “Me, too.” Marisa crossed her legs and took a sip of her coffee. “I think it was love at first sight. One of those wham-bam things.”

      “Mmm.” Cari twisted her cup, feeling the warmth against her thumb. She thought that strange when she felt so cold inside.

      “Cari, I’m sorry.”

      Cari looked into her friend’s honey-warm eyes and saw all her concern and caring. Marisa was one of those women who was beautiful on the outside as well as within. Looking at her delicate features and curly hair, one would think she was fragile and weak, but Marisa was one of the strongest women she knew.

      “Hey, don’t feel sorry for me,” she told her. “Reed and I weren’t meant to be together. We’ve had a number of years to connect and we haven’t.”

      Marisa glanced at her over the rim of her coffee cup. “I wonder why?”

      “Incompatible,” Cari joked.

      “But you work so well together.”

      They did, but Cari didn’t know how much longer she could continue to do that.

      “We don’t let our personal feelings get in the way of business. Dalton’s is always our top priority.”

      Marisa looked straight at her. “You care more about Dalton’s than I ever did.”

      “When you have to earn something, it means so much more.”

      “I think that’s it.”

      Cari blinked. “What? What are you talking about?”

      “Reed and I were born with the proverbial silver spoon in our mouths. By birth, everything was given to us. We earned nothing, but you’ve had to fight your way up. The first thing I noticed about you was your determination and confidence.”

      “So?”

      “I never think of you as being afraid, but I think you’re afraid of my parents and their social status and expectations. You’re afraid you won’t fit in or live up to their ideal mate for Reed. In your mind, you’re still that farm girl from Hillsboro, Texas.”

      “That’s—”

      “It’s true.” Marisa didn’t give her a chance to voice a protest. “If you had gone after Reed, you would have been a couple a long time ago.”

      Cari bit her lip, not bothering to lie to her friend. “Your mother ties my nerves into tight knots, and after a meeting with your father I have to rush to my office and put my head between my legs to catch my breath again. I don’t know why I’m always trying to fit in.”

      Marisa got up and came around the desk. Sitting on the edge, she placed her cup behind her. “Why do you have to try at all? You’re an intelligent, kind, beautiful, funny and compassionate woman. I’m lucky to have you for a friend and I’m so grateful you’re in my life. Just be yourself. My parents are just people and sometimes they haven’t been very kind or understanding. So don’t ever think you’re less than them.”

      “You don’t know what it’s like to be raised poor and to never have anything. People look down on you and that’s hard to overcome.” Suddenly Cari remembered the homemade hand-me-down clothes, food stamps and welfare. Her past was like a scar on her soul that would never heal.

      “Cari Michaels, I’m going to shake you. Look at all you’ve accomplished. From a saleswoman you’ve risen to a high-paying position in a billion-dollar corporation. That’s no small feat.”

      Cari lifted an eyebrow. “It helps to have friends in high places.”

      “Who?”

      “You, of course.”

      Marisa frowned. “I had nothing to do with you getting this job.”

      “When you left, you suggested—”

      “No, I didn’t,” Marisa quickly interrupted. “I was busy planning a wedding and getting to know my daughter. Dad and Reed always fill the top positions. Your job performance was miles above the rest. I’m sure there was never any doubt about moving you up. My father’s not an idiot. He knows who’s best for Dalton’s.”

      Cari was stunned. She’d thought Marisa had gotten her the position. Suddenly she was feeling so many things and each one was labeled stupid with a capital S. Confidence was always her strong suit…yet at times it was her weakest.

      “Okay.” She ruffled her hair with her hands. “I’ll admit I have a problem in that area, but I really thought you put in a word for me.”

      “Please.” Marisa slid off the desk. “You don’t need a word from me. Everything you’ve accomplished you’ve done on your own. You can stand toe-to-toe with my parents and Reed. I don’t understand why you get so down on yourself at times.”

      “I guess I love the misery.”

      Marisa pointed a finger at her. “Repeat after me—I am terrific. I am a woman and there’s not one damn thing I can’t do. Even recover from a broken heart.”

      Cari smiled and stood, hugging her friend. “Thanks. I needed that today.”

      “We have to find you a boyfriend,” Marisa said, her eyes twinkling. “My rodeo husband knows

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