Free Eclipse of the Heart by Carly Carson

broad-shouldered presence. Amanda saw other women
eyeing him and she was ashamed to feel a spurt of pride to be walking beside
him. He wasn't hers, and there was no point in pretending even for one second
that he might ever be hers.
    He touched her arm to halt her just before they reached the
elevators.
    "I'm meeting someone in the bar," he said calmly.
"So I'll say goodnight here. I've scheduled the jet for 9 a.m."
    Amanda's jaw dropped. He was leaving her? An unpleasant
emotion flared within her, but she couldn't take the time to analyze it. She
had to respond.
    "Okay. I'll be ready at 8." She couldn't meet his
gaze. She was afraid of what he might see there.
    "Excellent." Was his voice a little too hearty?
    She fled for the elevators, finally recognizing the nameless
emotion.
    Jealousy.
    Oh, she was in trouble already.

Chapter 9
    Amanda arrived at work early on Tuesday morning so she could
grab a cup of coffee and a bagel from the company cafeteria. She spotted Rosie
waving from a far corner and walked over with her tray.
    Rosie snorted as Amanda approached. "Now we know why
you've been christened 'Hump a Frump'."
    The tray clattered as Amanda almost dropped it on the table.
" Hu —" She couldn't repeat the words.
"That's awful! Who said that?"
    Rosie shrugged. "Thought you should
know. You want to be careful."
    "Help!" Amanda plopped
down into one of the hard plastic chairs. "Who said that to you? Is it all
over the company?"
    "If it's not now, it will be soon." Rosie's face
softened in pity. "I'm sure it came from Phoebe Cattus. That woman has a
vicious tongue. Add some jealousy to the mix, and it gets ugly."
    "Jealousy? She has nothing to
be jealous about."
    "Maybe not." Rosie shook
a packet of sweetener into her coffee. "But that's not going to stop
her."
    "What will?"
    "You could try getting rid of the 'frump' look."
    "It's the 'hump' part I'm worried about." Amanda
put down the bagel she'd just picked up. Her appetite had fled.
    "The 'hump' part is Phoebe's fantasy, right?"
Rosie raised her eyebrows. "She's been after that man since the day she
started with the company."
    "What do you mean, 'right'?" Amanda leaned over
the table. "You don't think I'm sleeping with him, do you?"
    "No," Rosie said, a trace of uncertainty in her
voice. "But the way he looks at you—"
    "He looks at me with annoyance and frustration because
I'm a woman who doesn't fall at his feet."
    "He looks at you like he's the biggest cat in the
jungle and you're the sweetest catnip he's ever seen."
    "That hardly means I'm sleeping with him!"
    "Well," Rosie argued, "you could pull the
stinger out of the 'frump' part of the phrase if you dressed better."
    "These are my clothes." Amanda gestured to
the—okay, frumpy—outfit she wore. "I can't afford a new wardrobe." In
truth, she'd spent money she didn't have to buy a few extra-dowdy items. She
figured the best way to keep her new boss from pursuing her for sex would be to
make herself unsexy.
    "No problem." Rosie leaned forward eagerly.
"I could help you. I live for cheap makeovers."
    "Thanks, Rosie. That's kind of you." Amanda
sighed.
    She knew Rosie meant well. But, after the trip to
Philadelphia, she was pretty sure Logan had abandoned his brief plan to pursue
her. She needed to make sure he remained uninterested, because she was afraid
that she was too weak where he was concerned. If he did pursue her, she might
succumb, thereby destroying all her plans. It would only be a matter of time
before he tired of her, and then her job here would be over. As well as her
insurance benefits for her sister.
    On the other hand, if the nickname Rosie had told her about
continued to circulate, people might assume she was sleeping with Logan
regardless of the lack of evidence, and her professional credibility could be
shot.
    She needed a solution. An attractive man walked by, and an
answer popped into her head. She needed a boyfriend. That would not only
discourage Logan, but it would also stymie company