LITMIR.BIZ

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had taken her all day to come to the decision that she would have to explain her position to Kane once and for all. She threw her coat over her arm and clicked off the lights to her office. Most of the staff had left the building, but she knew that Kane was still working. She could hear his voice through the door. Rather than disturb him, she continued past his office toward the elevator.

      Before the elevator doors parted, the door to Kane’s office opened. Erin quickly resolved to herself that this would be as good a time as any to have it out with him. She turned to face him and discovered that he wasn’t alone. Olivia Parsons was with him, looking as if she was hanging on his every word. Rather than intrude, Erin whirled and faced the elevator. Just as the doors were opening, Erin heard Kane call out to her.

      “Erin, wait!” Kane hurried to Erin’s side. “I’m glad I caught up with you. Do you need a ride home?”

      “I’ve got my car,” Erin replied, a little tartly. Why did Olivia always seem to be a part of the conversation? She looked cautiously at Olivia, but the calm expression on the brunette’s face didn’t appear to hold the slightest hint of interest.

      “Then I’ll see you at seven-thirty,” Kane rejoined.

      Erin looked from Kane to Olivia and back to Kane. “I…don’t think so…not tonight.” Olivia’s eyebrows raised just a fraction of an inch. The gesture was almost unnoticeable, but Erin caught the movement and the silent gleam of fascination in Olivia’s perfect green eyes.

      “Going out?” Olivia asked casually. “I don’t blame you. Who wants to cook after a full day at the office?”

      Erin couldn’t resist the temptation of disagreeing with Olivia. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve always enjoyed cooking.”

      Olivia’s face registered disbelief, but it was Kane who answered. “Good!” he interjected. “I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in ages. We’ll eat at your place.”

      Erin was about to reject Kane’s suggestion, but Olivia stilled Erin’s tongue. “That’s terrible!” she sang out sweetly to Kane. “I tell you what. Why don’t you come over to my house for a special dinner? We’ll have fresh seafood from Puget Sound…”

      “Thanks, Olivia. I appreciate the hospitality.” Kane seemed to agree, and Erin could feel her heart beginning to shred. Kane shot Erin a questioning look and continued, “But I’ve got other plans.” His response was gentle but firm.

      “Some other time…” Olivia persisted, only slightly dejected.

      “Some other time,” Kane agreed evasively.

      There was a slight pause in the conversation, and finally Olivia broke the silence. “I guess I’d better be running along. I’ll see you in the morning.” Although the farewell was meant for both Erin and Kane, Olivia’s warm green eyes looked directly into the cool gray depths of Kane’s gaze. Erin could almost see the invitation in those emerald pools.

      Olivia slipped into the elevator, and it started its descent before Erin began. “Look, Kane. I’ve made a decision. You can’t come over tonight…and I can’t go out with you. It’s as simple as that!”

      She pressed the elevator call button and waited for Kane’s reaction. She expected that he would be violent, but when he spoke it was with quiet deliberation.

      “You…would deny me a home-cooked meal?” he asked, and there was a mischievous smile in his eyes.

      “Of course not, but you’ve got to understand…”

      “It’s settled then. I’ll bring the wine.” He slipped his hand beneath her elbow and guided her into the elevator. As the doors shut he wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her feverishly on the lips. All of the warmth and intimacy that had been denied during the day was surfacing again in his passionate embrace.

      Before Erin could respond, the elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and Kane released her to smile at two of his new employees. Erin was sure that even in the slightly dimmed elevator light, the two young women could see her swollen lips and the trace of passion still lingering in Kane’s eyes. When she stepped out of the building she hurried to her car, and Kane didn’t follow. How was she going to deal with him and the web of emotions that was entangling her more tightly each day?

      It was crazy and she knew it, but she felt that she was beginning to fall in love with Kane Webster. The thought made her shudder as she reached for the headlights and the windshield wipers. You’re a damn fool, Erin O’Toole, she chided herself. She couldn’t be, wouldn’t be, in love with her boss. It was an impossible and ridiculous situation, but nonetheless, it existed.

      She was still arguing with herself as she stopped the car in her familiar spot in front of the apartment house. She bent her head against the wind and slight drizzle of the evening. A welcome light came from Mrs. Cavenaugh’s window and Erin stopped at the doorway to the little old lady’s apartment. She waited several minutes before Mrs. Cavenaugh’s voice called through the door.

      “Who’s there?”

      “It’s me, Mrs. Cavenaugh…Erin,” she responded, and immediately heard the click of locks as Mrs. Cavenaugh opened the door. The old woman peeked timidly through the crack in the door before removing the final chain and opening the door widely.

      “Come in…come in,” Mrs. Cavenaugh welcomed her.

      “I can’t…I’m having company tonight.”

      “Oh?” Mrs. Cavenaugh didn’t even have the decency to hide her interest. “Mr. Webster?”

      Erin eyed the half-bent old woman with loving suspicion. “How did you know?” she asked.

      “Lucky guess,” the old woman murmured, her blue eyes dancing with pleasure. “Don’t you have just a minute to tell me all about it?”

      “No, I’m sorry, truly I am.” Erin’s face was earnest, and Mrs. Cavenaugh didn’t doubt her sincerity. “I just dropped by to tell you that I got hold of someone to install the insulation. They’ll be here by the end of the week.”

      “Good!”

      “Look, I’ve really got to run.”

      “I understand,” was the kindly reply. “Oh, by the way, Erin, did you know that Mr. Jefferies is planning to move out by the end of the month?”

      “Oh, no,” Erin sighed, and then quickly hid her disappointment. “I knew that he had been thinking of moving in with his daughter and her husband, but I didn’t think that he had made up his mind.”

      “Seems they made it up for him,” Mrs. Cavenaugh asserted. “I’m sure he left his notice in your mailbox.”

      “Oh, thanks for reminding me.” Erin crossed the hallway and opened her mailbox. Among the various bills was Mr. Jefferies’s notice of vacancy. The last thing she needed right now was one more empty apartment. She needed the rental income just to keep up the mortgage, let alone the repairs and upkeep. But she couldn’t show her worries to Mrs. Cavenaugh. She called out to the friendly elderly woman as she mounted the stairs, “I’ll let you know exactly when the repairmen will be here.”

      “Thanks, honey,” Mrs. Cavenaugh responded before closing the door to her apartment. Erin raced up the remaining stairs, anxious to get into the familiar and secure surroundings of her own apartment.

      * * *

      Kane pulled the small black sports car to the curb and snapped off the motor. He sat in the darkness for a minute, staring at the apartment house that Erin called home. He was angry and he was tense, but he tried to control his emotions so that Erin wouldn’t become suspicious.

      Erin was already home. The lights in her apartment glowed in the night, and the Volkswagen Rabbit was sitting where she had parked it in front of the house. Kane’s eyes moved from the car back to the building. Even in the unearthly glow of the streetlamp he could see the signs of age and disrepair in

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