Free Love in the Air by Nan Ryan

afternoon. Each of those times, he fixed her with that shuttered, arctic stare, and she’d grown increasingly angry with each encounter. She’d had just about enough of his uncivil treatment.
    Fed up and furious, Kay stormed down the long corridor to Sullivan’s office. Knocking loudly, she didn’t wait to be invited in. She threw open the door, saying, “Sullivan Ward, I want—”
    Sullivan shot up out of his chair. “If you don’t mind, as you can see, I’m busy.” He indicated a startled Janelle Davis, seated across from him, a steno pad on her lap.
    “Janelle,” Kay said sweetly, “I have to talk to Sullivan.”
    “Have you no manners, Kay?” Sullivan glared at her. “Sit down!” he commanded to a rising, nervous Janelle Davis.
    “You’re the one with bad manners, and I for one am sick of it!” Kay put her hands on her hips, looking defiantly at a seething Sullivan.
    “I’m leaving,” Janelle announced on her way out.
    “Stay where you are, Janelle,” Sullivan shouted angrily.
    “You may go.” Kay smiled sweetly, took Janelle’s arm and escorted her to the door while a shocked Sullivan almost choked. Kay closed and locked the door and turned back to face him. “You sit down,” she said commandingly, and watched the towering man slowly drop back down into his chair. “That’s better,” Kay said and circled his desk. She took a seat atop his desk, crossed her legs and said softly, “You and I need to have a little talk.”
    Kay saw the fury in the dark eyes and took a deep breath. Some of the fury subsided when he let them slowly slide from her face down to her legs. Well aware that the tight skirt she wore was riding up over her knees, Kay refused to pull it down. He was not going to make her nervous.
    “Sullivan, you didn’t want me back in Denver and I understand your reason.” His eyes lifted to hers and he laced his long fingers across his stomach. He said nothing. “You were angry with me for leaving the show all those years ago. You thought me selfish and ambitious and perhaps you were right, but if you had—”
    “I see nothing wrong with ambition,” he interrupted coldly. “You stepped on me to climb one notch higher up the ladder. Well, that’s fine, no hard feelings.” Sullivan jerked a cigarette from a pack, lit it and added, “Certainly, there’s no blame due you. If I, at age thirty-one, was fool enough to let a nineteen-year-old kid dump on me, well, shame on me.”
    “Sul…it wasn’t like that. It…I—”
    “It was exactly like that, Kay. I gave you a job as my partner against my better judgment. You were seventeen, the cutest little thing I’d ever seen, and you had talent. Nothing wrong with that. But I let you get under my skin and I wanted you.” Sullivan pushed back his chair and rose, looking down at her. “Yeah, I wanted you so bad it drove me crazy and I told myself I was a fool, that you were a kid and I’d never forgive myself if I…”
    “Sul,” Kay began, reached a hand out to him, but he caught it in midair.
    “No, damn it, no. I don’t want you touching me, can’t you understand that?” His eyes were fierce again. “Can’t we call it even? I broke the rules and made—I took you to bed, and for that I’m sorry. But you broke a few yourself, didn’t you, sweetheart. You left me without so much as a goodbye.”
    Near tears, Kay said breathlessly, “Oh, Sul, I didn’t want to, but you—”
    He looked disgusted. “Sure, sure. You had no choice. I’m tired of reminiscing, Kay. I really have got work to do, so if you’ll just leave…”
    Beaten, Kay slid from his desk. “Fine, you refuse to listen. I’ll not try to explain further, but do me a favor, will you?”
    Sullivan looked down at her. Her face wore a pleading look that tore him apart. “What, Kay?” he said evenly.
    “Can’t we put the past behind us? Won’t you be my friend, or if not a friend, at least will you stop hating me? I’ll leave you alone, Sullivan,