Free Fall into Him by Evelyn Harper

being
entirely honest.”
     
    Philip crossed his arms and leaned back against the elevator wall. “Do
you think Mr. Young will ever lie to me again?”
     
    Jennifer shook her head.
     
    “From now on, he's going to work twice as hard as he would've even if
he'd been hired legitimately,” Philip explained. “He's going to be on edge and
when he talks to his brother, that's going to carry over. Mr. Young will
explain how very generous I was and how lucky they both are. They're going to
watch every step very carefully, never sure if one little mistake is going to
get them fired.”
     
    She nodded. “I get it.”
     
    “Now, for my question,” Philip straightened as the elevator dinged. As
they walked through the doors and into the lobby, he asked, “you seemed a bit
distracted in there. What was so heavy on your mind?”
     
    Jennifer looked away. “O-oh! I’m so sorry, I should’ve been paying more
attention! It was nothing, really.”
     
    “Are you sure?” Genuine concern warmed Philip's voice.
     
    “I'm sure,” her stomach tightened at the realization that he cared, but
she still couldn't bring herself to admit what she'd been thinking.
     
    “All right,” Philip agreed.
     
    They arrived back at the car. He slid into the back seat first and
Jennifer followed. “You're going to have tomorrow off,” he said suddenly.
“There's a private board meeting I need to attend.”
     
    “Oh,” Jennifer tried not to let her disappointment color her voice. “I
understand.”
     
    “I will call you when I need you,” Philip added, a softness to his voice
that sounded strange after the way he'd been talking to Mr. Young.
     
    As silence fell over them, Jennifer let her mind wander back over the
day. She felt like she had learned more about Philip in the past few hours than
she had the entire time they were in Japan. He wasn't just a diplomat,
persuading people to his point of view with careful questions. He could be
strict and firm, making authoritative statements with clear consequences. It
was a lot, she realized, like they were growing a real relationship, or
whatever it was between them. He definitely had a lot more substance to him
than she'd originally thought.
     

Chapter 10
     
    Jennifer didn't know why she was so nervous. It was just Brad. She knew
him, had known him for more than a dozen years. She knew what he was like and
how he'd behave. Her nerves had been stretched so thin that Rachel had almost
called off work to stay home with her. Only Jennifer's insistence that she
needed time to herself to think finally convinced Rachel to leave. The instant the
door had shut, she'd headed for her closet to find something better than
pajamas to wear. She needed to find something that said “I'm over you so I
don't care what you think,” but was also nice enough to make him feel bad about
dumping her. And it couldn't look like she'd picked it especially for him.
     
    It took her longer to find something for this than it had the previous
day to pick out clothes for work. Making it even more difficult was Brad's
voice echoing in her mind from years past, all of his critical comments and
vicious barbs, often disguised as advice and backhanded compliments. Finally,
she decided on a nice pair of jeans and a cute peasant top Rachel had picked
out for her last year. Since Brad hadn't given a specific time, Jennifer
settled on the couch to wait. By the time the knock came at the door, her
stomach was in knots and she was ready to explode.
     
    “Brad,” to her surprise, her voice was even. She motioned for him to
come in and, as he passed by, she couldn't help but catch his familiar scent.
He still used the same soap and, unbidden, she remembered shared showers, lying
in bed with her head on his still-damp chest. She shook her head. She couldn't
let herself get lost in her memories. He'd embarrassed her in front of her
boss. He had to know that he couldn't behave that way anymore.
     
    “Before you say