Free Oh Stupid Heart by Liza O'Connor Page A

didn’t
like liars, given the swiftness of his retaliation. The driver crushed her
fingers with such force, she yelped in pain. He released her hand in horror.
“Miss, I’m so sorry!”
    Carrie massaged her mangled
paw, praying no bones had snapped. “Just learn from your mistakes. I’m going
inside now.” She hurried off before Mr. I’m-Sorry-Clarence could screw up his
job worse.
    Once settled in her
suite, she called Trent and told him about her painless flight and her painful
departure from the San Francisco airport.
    “What service did you
use? I’ll call and get the guy fired,” Trent offered.
    While she refused to
tell him, because he would do it, she also loved him because he wanted to do
it. She’d never had anyone on her side before Trent came into her life.
    And while he'd seemed
unlikely champion material when she first met him, with patience and love, he
was becoming a hero any woman would want.
    Her thoughts darkened
as she recalled one tall, beautiful blonde who clearly wanted him…back. And
Coco would have two long weeks to work her magic without anyone coming to
Trent’s rescue.
    Only their desperate
need for a change specialist kept Carrie from aborting the classes and flying
back to NYC. And if the classes didn’t prove helpful, she’d head home.

Chapter 8
    A tall, lanky fellow
in his early thirties, wearing tan slacks and a high quality knit shirt entered
the classroom and smiled like a lion spotting its prey. He perused each of the
eleven students carefully. Physically, Carrie classified him as average, but
his coal black hair combined with intense blue eyes gave him a decided air of
intrigue.
    “How many of you
asked to come here?”
    The students looked
about, but none responded.
    “How many are glad
your company has sent you?”
    Everyone raised their
hands.
    “How many believe the
skills you learn here will help you when you return?”
    Only Carrie and three
guys held such expectations.
    He pointed to a woman
wearing shorts and a t shirt who hadn’t responded to his prior question. “So if
you don’t think you’ll learn anything of use, why are you glad to be here?”
    She smirked. “It’s San
Francisco, and I’m not at work!”
    He turned his palms
up in defeat. “Fair enough. Who else feels the same?”
    Six students grinned
and joined the I-came-to-play group..
    “Okay, let’s get to
know each other. Tell me your name, your job title, why you think you were sent
here, and what you hope to get out of it.”
    He winked at Carrie.
“Let’s start with this pretty lady.”
    She started to speak,
but he stopped her. “Please stand up and face your classmates.”
    A pale thick-lipped
guy in the back row said, “Maybe you should stand on your chair, ‘cause I still
can’t see you.”
    To her horror, the
whole class laughed. At the present, chucking this training and returning home
sounded like a great idea. But if she did, this jerk would think he’d scared
her off. Her eyes narrowed as she gave him her best death glare.
    The instructor
pointed his finger at the guy. “You can leave.”
    “Huh?”
    “Go, out of my
class.”
    “But—”
    “Out.”
    He stood, grimacing
as if in pain. “I’ll apologize if you want.”
    “Let’s hear it.”
    He grinned at Carrie.
“Sorry I teased you about being a dwarf.”
    Some the class snickered,
others groaned.
    Carrie sent him more
death ray glares. If only they worked!
    “Would you like to
respond, Carrie?” the instructor asked.
    “I’m not a dwarf. I’m
a small person.”
    She wanted to add
‘which I can’t change anymore than you can being an idiot,’ but given this was
a class of transformation and positive thoughts, she swallowed the last half of
her sentence.
    “Is that all?” The
instructor’s hand rested on her arm.
    She nodded.
    “All right.”
    The guy smirked and
sat down. The instructor shook his head and jerked his thumb to the right while
declaring, “You’re out.”
    “But I