Free Until the End of Time by Melanie Schuster Page A

like the last rib at a family reunion when he entered the reception area to find her standing behind the desk with a cell phone in her hand.
    She didn’t notice him right away as she was checking the appointment book for a customer. After marking off the appropriate time for the right stylist, she raised her long lashes to greet the new arrival. Without missing a beat she purred, “Andrew. How nice to see you. Have you an appointment today?”
    Andrew swallowed hard. Was it his imagination or had she put an odd inflection on the ‘nice to see you’? “No, I don’t have an appointment. I was hoping someone could work me in,” he admitted sheepishly.
    Renee’s smile got even more feline and feminine. “Well, why don’t you come over here and let me take care of you? I’ve never had the pleasure of styling you,” she said sweetly. And she strolled around the counter to take his arm and show him to the area she customarily used for styling her very few, very exclusive clients. It was hard to say if Andrew was the more astounded or if that honor went to Renee’s staff. Under normal circumstances Renee didn’t take walk-ins. And under no circumstances would she have volunteered to cut Andrew’s hair; his throat, maybe, but not his hair. The normal hum of conversation died to near silence as Renee hung up Andrew’s suit coat and had him sit in her adjustable chair. Luckily for all concerned, Renee noticed nothing amiss in the salon and the staff quickly gathered their wits and kept working.
    It must be pointed out that Renee’s surprise viewing of Andrew in the buff had a residual effect on her that was unexpected yet rather enjoyable. Besides the obvious smug feeling of having something on him for once, she seemed to have a surfeit of joie de vivre . An air of happy mischief hovered about her, which caused more than one person to look at her askance. She was so high-spirited at work that gossip was rampant that the boss had a new beau. And the fact that she was in such a good mood made them believe that he wasn’t one of her usual AARP denizens, either. Naturally Andrew’s presence just confirmed everyone’s suspicions; this must be the mystery man that had their boss purring all day long. He had to be the one because they certainly looked like they belonged together.
    For his part, Andrew was trying to relax and enjoy the process of getting his hair cut, but the level of apprehension that Renee aroused in him made it impossible. It wasn’t that she was being hostile or unpleasant; on the contrary, she was being sweet which was infinitely more unnerving. She acted as though they were the best of friends as she undid the top buttons on his shirt, removed his tie and turned his collar in. Chatting all the while, she put a neck wrap around his throat and draped him with a long cape to protect his clothing from hair. She had at least one hand on him at all times, almost but not quite caressing his neck, or clasping his shoulder.
    The apprehension at last went away, only to be replaced by something much worse, desire. Andrew was profoundly glad that the cape covered him to his knees because the proximity of Renee’s body and the soft fragrance that emanated from her warmth was driving him mad. When she put both hands into his thick, wavy hair and lightly massaged his scalp, he was ready to leap out of the hydraulic chair. He forced himself to sit still and submit to her ministrations.
    “ Andrew, you have beautiful hair,” Renee murmured. “All you Cochrans, do, darn it. If you all weren’t so nice, I’d be jealous. All this beautiful hair on a man just isn’t fair. There is no justice,” she went on, oblivious to Andrew’s growing discomfort. Finally done with her massage, she turned him to face the mirror. Looking at their reflection in the mirror she asked him how he wanted it cut.
    “ Short. Very short,” he emphasized. Renee raised an eyebrow as if to ask why and he hastened to explain. “I’m going