Free Tall, Dark and Divine by Jenna Bennett Page A

reception was elegant, with hardwood floors, cream-colored walls, and tall ceilings. It had a classic feel, with Greek columns outlining the door into the rest of the building, where—she assumed—Eros’s office, along with a bathroom and maybe a kitchenette—were located. There were a lot of green plants, but the only decoration other than that was a marble statue in a corner of a winged god with a bow and arrow. Someone had covered the god’s private parts with a sticky note saying Do Not Remove.
    Annie’s lips twitched. It was probably Eros—the real Eros; the Greek god—and someone, maybe Ari, insisted on keeping him there as a joke. The sticky note must be a concession to Ross’s—the man’s—vanity.
    Along one wall stood a long, sleek sofa, also cream colored. Three women sat side by side on it, looking exactly like models at an audition. Long legs crossed at the knees, slender feet in high-heeled shoes jiggling, gorgeous faces. The women didn’t even look like they were wearing makeup save for a smear of lipstick; how did they manage to look so good? They turned toward Annie with identical expressions of curiosity.
    One was the stunning Brita from last night. The young woman was slightly more appropriately dressed today, in a business suit whose flaming red color and short skirt did a fine job of emphasizing her long legs and gorgeous curves. Next to her sat a strawberry blonde with a delicate face and huge turquoise eyes, dressed in a beautiful silk dress with all the colors of the rainbow and then some, while a gorgeous brunette in a bright blue dress topped by a black jacket rounded out the collection.
    Annie smiled weakly. “Hi.”
    They all smiled back, and the effect was like being hit between the eyes with a sunbeam. Exhilarating and painful all at the same time. She could just imagine how poor Harry Mitchell must feel.
    “Can we help you?” Ari asked again, and Annie turned toward the desk.
    “I…um… Is Ross here?”
    There was a pause while all four women looked at one another. Annie couldn’t quite interpret the looks flying among them, but she was afraid they might be saying something like hag alert or incoming; batten down the hatches.
    “He’s still upstairs,” Ariadne said, pushing her chair back from the desk, “but I can go get him—”
    “No!” If he was upstairs and out of easy reach, that was just fine with Annie. Leave him there. Maybe he was still in bed. She’d overheard Dion say Ross owned and lived in the building.
    The mental picture—all that soft skin and hard muscles warm against crisp white sheets—distracted her for a moment. Until Ari got to her feet. “I’ll just—”
    “No. Please.” He wasn’t here. There was no need to disturb him. None at all. Put off the inevitable. “I…um…I met him last night at Dionysus’s bar?”
    She didn’t know why she phrased it as a question when it was exactly what she’d done and she knew it.
    Ari nodded. “I saw you talking.”
    Right. “He…was nice enough to walk me home. To make sure I got there safely.”
    “I see,” Ari said, while out of the corner of her eye, Annie could see the other girls exchange glances.
    “I just wanted to…um…thank him.” She put the cookies on the desk, right on top of a stack of files, where the grease would probably bleed through the paper bag and stain the folders at any moment. Way to go, Annie. Ruin the man’s work .
    Ari looked from the bag to Annie, question clear in her eyes.
    “Cookies,” Annie said.
    Ari blinked.
    “I work in the bakery across the street.”
    “The dog bakery?” The question came from one of the other women. The one with the dark hair and blue dress. Her perfect lips were twitching.
    “Was he a dog?” the strawberry blonde added, giggling.
    “No!” God, no . Flushing, Annie added, “They’re lemon coconut cookies. With…um…sugar crystals.”
    All three women were laughing now, and even Ari was smiling. “Just let me get him