Free TWICE VICTORIOUS by Judith B. Glad Page A

wondered if he'd done the right thing.
    Then he'd think about KIWANDA, and know he had.

Chapter Five
    ATTACK: a sudden attempt to pull ahead
of the pack or any other group of riders
    "I'm a glutton for punishment," Adam muttered to himself as he dialed. It had been
a week since he'd seen Stell. A week of peace and quiet. A week without contention,
without arguments over whether business or sports were more or less healthy.
    A week of aching loneliness.
    At the fourth ring, her answering machine kicked on. He waited for the record
tone, tapping two fingers against the shining cherrywood of his desk. Finally, "Stell, this is
Adam. I'm having dinner with some representatives of Life Sport tonight and I just found
out their wives will be there. Are you free?"
    A click and her voice cut in. "Adam, I'm here. I was just trying to get some work
done."
    He tried to ignore the accelerated beat of his heart as she answered. It hadn't been
his idea to invite her this evening, but Juliana's. When his sister had pointed out the
competitive advantage he'd have if a world class cyclist was his date, he'd had to
agree.
    Soon it was all arranged and Adam hung up, half glad she'd accepted. The other
half of him was wishing he'd never gotten acquainted with Stell McCray.
    The glad half spent the rest of the afternoon looking forward to the evening and
not getting a lot of work done.
    "Why me?" Stell asked that evening as he escorted her to his car. "You must have
three dozen names in your little black book, all of whom could help you sell KIWANDA
to Life Sport."
    He carefully avoided touching her arm as she slipped into the car. "None of them
know cycling like you do." His words echoed in his ears as he went around to the driver's
side. "And," he continued, once he was in his seat, "it's not black. It's burgundy."
    "It would be." She chuckled. "I'm glad you didn't deny having one."
    Adam was relieved that she didn't seem inclined to return to the topic of
conversation that had ended their last date. "Any good businessman has an address book,"
he said, putting as much sanctimoniousness into his voice as he could. "Don't you?"
    "Yes, but all mine contains is client names." From the corner of his eye, he saw
her lean back, as if she were tired. "Are you trying to sell KIWANDA to Life Sport?"
    "I don't have to. It sells itself." He saw a flashing red light ahead and quickly
steered the car to the left. If the drawbridges across the river were closed, they'd better take
the freeway downtown or Roberts and Schwartz would think they'd been forgotten.
"Tonight's in the way of saying thanks. They're going to do a feature on KIWANDA
CycleWear in the winter issue."
    As they swooped down onto the freeway, Stell said, "Where are we going?"
    Adam looked upriver as they climbed high above it. Sure enough, traffic was
backed up at all three downtown bridges, whose spans were raised high above the water. It
looked like a Navy ship coming in to moor at the Esplanade. "The Sky Room. It's got the
best view of downtown."
    "Oh, my. Are you sure I shouldn't have worn my diamonds?"
    "Do you have any?"
    "Of course I do. All successful Yuppies have them. And I was, you know."
    "Successful? Or a Yuppie?"
    A gurgle of laughter accompanied her answer. "Both, Adam. I was both."
    "I never doubted it." He slanted a look sideways, liking what he saw. Tonight she
was wearing a slim blue dress of supple knit. He'd bet it was a wool blend, from the way it
clung to her, defining her small, high breasts and her tight, sexy bottom. She'd tossed a
matching suede jacket into the back seat, for so far the May night was warm and balmy.
Rain, always a possibility this time of year, was still only a promise in the low clouds.
    "We're early," he said, pulling to a stop beside the parking attendant's booth.
"About fifteen minutes. Do you want to walk around, or shall we go on up?" As soon as
he'd spoken he thought of her leg. Could she walk around, especially in those shoes?
    "Let's go up.