Free Finding Mr. Right by Gwynne Forster Page A

evening as the precious experience that it is.”
    She pondered that, but didn’t respond. Byron could relax. She was not going to let him down.

Chapter 5
    W hen Tyra walked into her office the following Monday morning, she was more besotted with Byron Whitley than ever and in no mood to tolerate advances from any other man. So when Christopher Fuller walked up behind her as she opened the door of her office and patted her on her bottom, she swung around and, without thinking, let him have the weight of her briefcase across his face.
    “What the hell is wrong with you, woman?” he growled. “Who do you think you are?” He stood inches away from her.
    She didn’t back away. “If you ever put your hands on me again, this briefcase isn’t all I’ll hit you with. I should sue you for sexual harassment.”
    “Who’d believe you?”
    “Everybody. You’d be surprised what your colleagues think of you. If you’re charged with sexual harassment, what do you think it will do to your career. Now please let me get into my office.”
    “You haven’t heard the last from me,” he said.
    “You’d better hope you’ve heard the last from me,” Tyra replied and stormed off to her office.
    She sat down at her desk, made a note of the incident, dated it and filed it under the heading, C. Fuller. If she left her job, he’d probably be the reason.
    The incident didn’t occupy her thoughts for long. Memories of the previous evening with Byron crowded her mind. She had never seen a brighter, clearer moon or felt a softer breeze than when she sat snug in his arms in a red-bordered hansom carriage. The only sounds were the rustling of the trees and the clickety-clack of the horse’s hooves.
    She could still hear his voice. “I need to kiss you.” And she had raised her head from his shoulder and parted her lips for the thrust of his kiss. She hadn’t known that a man could find so many ways to cherish a woman, yet he’d promised her much more than he gave. And she knew he was a man who delivered what he promised. The telephone rang interrupting her thoughts.
    “Tyra Cunningham speaking. What’s the problem, Jonathan? Your girlfriend’s father has forbidden you to come to see his daughter?”
    “He says he’ll have me thrown into juvenile detention. If he does that, I won’t be able to finish high school with my class, and I’ll have a record. All I’m asking is for an opportunity to look after her. I’ve been giving her a part of my allowance. Now, I don’t know how I’ll get that to her.”
    “Has she been to social services?”
    “He wouldn’t let her to do that, and she’s scared of him.”
    “You wouldn’t expect him to approve of his sixteen-year-old daughter having sex, would you?”
    “No, ma’am. But if we hadn’t had to sneak around to see each other, we’d probably have been more careful.”
    “You’re not going to juvenile detention, so don’t worryabout it. Get a post office box, and give her one of the keys to it. That way, you two can communicate, and you can contact her through the mail. I would advise you not to go against his wishes.”
    “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll ask my dad to do it today. He’s fed up with Mr. Tate.”
    She hung up and looked through her messages, hoping there was one from Byron, although she knew that he normally didn’t call her at the office. She saw one from Lyle, her supervisor, and called him.
    “Can you see Ms. Saunders today, preferably this morning?” he asked her. “She’ll fall apart if she doesn’t get to see a counselor.”
    “Okay, but I’d rather it be my last appointment.”
    “Fine. She’ll be satisfied as long as she gets to see someone today.”
    Tyra prepped herself for what she expected would be a trying experience with Erica Saunders. A few minutes before her appointment, she went to the coffee room for a bagel and a fortifying cup of coffee and encountered Matt Cowan there.
    Matt poured a cup of coffee for her. “How’s it