Free Patently in Love by Rhoda Baxter

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Tags: Romance, Contemporary Romance, England, Patents

Stevie
Winfield
To: Marshall
Winfield
Okay, even if
that was the problem, you have no excuse for the last year when I've been
away at uni?
    ##
    From: Marshall Winfield

To: Stevie
Winfield
Apart from the
whole Dominique thing? If we exclude that, I have no excuse. I hang my head
with shame.
    ##
    From: Stevie
Winfield
To: Marshall
Winfield
Wait a minute.
A self deprecating joke??
You like her!! You really REALLY like this
girl!
Which means you are a super big GIANT idiot for not kissing her.
What am I going to do with you?
I hope you're at least going to ask her out
today. So that you can snog her without feeling like you're taking
advantage.
    ##
    From: Marshall Winfield

To: Stevie
Winfield
I'd like to ask her
out, but you know how badly things can go wrong when I date people from
work.
We work in the same team, which means we wouldn't be able to
avoid each other. At least with Dominique, she was at the other end of the
office.
Also, I'm trying to make partner, remember. I've already had one
warning about office relationships once--cue Dominique again. I can't risk
another.
Besides, Jane's just come out of a bad relationship. I think she still
feels a bit fragile about it. It's probably not a great idea for me to land her with
another one.
    ##
    From: Stevie
Winfield
To: Marshall
Winfield
Fine. Fine.
Whatever.
But you DO like her, don't you?
    ##
    From: Marshall Winfield

To: Stevie
Winfield
She's pretty. She's
clever, She's nice. She's interesting. And I feel totally at ease when I'm talking
to her.
So yes, I like her. But she's still a work colleague, so I can't ask her
out.
Sorry to disappoint you.
Marsh--boring old fart.
PS: Of
course, all this makes it very distracting work with her.
    ##
    From: Stevie
Winfield
To: James Edwards

Cc: Louise Edwards

Jim
I think Marsh is in love
with this Jane girl. But he's refusing to ask her out because they work together.
Can you talk some sense into him?
I'm CC 'ing Lou in case she has any
good ideas about it.
Stevie
    ##
    From: Stevie
Winfield
To: James Edwards

One other question Jim.
What's Jane's last name?
Stevie
    * * * *
    Jane yawned and switched her computer on. It had been a long night and she was still
shattered. It had taken a lot of effort to drag herself into work on time.
    Ruth's head appeared above the partition. "Late night?"
    "Eventful. I had my purse nicked."
    "Oh my god, are you okay?"
    Jane decided not to tell the whole story about her and Marsh. "Yes, I'm okay. Just a
bit pissed off. I had to buy a new phone and a new handbag to put it in on the way into work.
It's a real pain."
    "If you need to borrow a bit of money to tide you over..." she said.
    "That's really kind of you," said Jane. "But I think I'll be okay."
    "Well, the offer's there." Ruth sat back down.
    "Thanks." Jane opened up her email.
    * * * *
From: Polly
To:
Jane Porter
We heard you
sneaking in during the small hours last night. So? What happened? I want
details.
Pol
    ##
    From: Jane Porter
To:
Polly
Nothing much happened. I told
you he rescued me from the muggers. After that, we went to his flat.
He
made me tea and got me to phone the police. Then he cooked me dinner. He
made pasta sauce from scratch, Pol. He just got the ingredients out and cooked.
No fuss. And it was delicious. I didn't know men could cook like that. Ash's
idea of cooking me dinner was to make me a tuna sandwich!
Marsh was a
total