Free Deceptive Love by Anne N. Reisser Page A

hovering and Keri said, loudly enough for Dain to hear, "I would like to give our personal thanks to the hotel personnel in the kitchen, Mr. Garson. They have done an outstanding job tonight and have helped to make it a most successful party."
    The manager proudly escorted her into the kitchen where Keri was sincere in her praise of the hotel staffs efforts. The pleased surprise told her that though RanCo often used this hotel's facilities for entertaining, evidently
    Miss Barth had not deemed it necessary to render personal thanks before. Keri thought, a trifle cynically, Miss Barth might be surprised at the warmer "reception" she would get the next time she scheduled a function at this hotel. That had been one of the first lessons her mother had taught her about catered affairs. Always thank the kitchen workers personally.
    The next step in her quickly formulated plan was easy to implement. She merely excused herself from Mr. Garson, saying that she would meet Mr. Randolph at the front desk after she had freshened up a bit.
    She went to the front desk and left a message for Dain with the receptionist, the gist of which was that she had made her own way home by taxi since it was late and she didn't wish to take him out of his way. A warm smile at the doorman got her an instant taxi and she sank into the back seat, so different from the plush leather of her earlier conveyance, with overwhelming relief.
    She figured that by the time Dain had retraced her trail through the hotel she would be well on her way home and so it proved true. She had been home nearly fifteen minutes before the knock came at the door. She'd taken the precaution of leaving the lights off everywhere except the bathroom, so there was nothing to betray her. He could assume she was home, but he couldn't prove it.
    Five minutes after the knocking stopped, the phone started ringing. She didn't answer it either and after it stopped ringing the first time, she took it off the hook. He must have been calling from a nearby phone booth, but he didn't come back up and try his luck with the front door again. Once he started getting busy signals he'd know she was safely home, but she wanted an undisturbed night's sleep, and trying to ignore the ringing phone certainly wouldn't give it to her.
    There was going to be hell to pay in more ways than one on Monday, but she comforted herself that she could always quit. With her typing speed she could turn out an error-free resignation letter in under one minute. Brief and to the point. An embassy job was looking more attractive by the minute. She'd been a nomad all her life. Maybe she shouldn't try to fight the system.
    If she went to sleep on a downbeat, Keri awoke to an upbeat. Her natural optimism and sense of humor had both reasserted themselves during the night. Her job was challenging, the pay enticing, and she was tired of running. It was time to stand and fight.
    But how? Well, to begin with, she decided, as she showered, she certainly wouldn't make the mistake she'd made with Schyler. There would be no dates with Dain Randolph, always assuming, of course, that he didn't fire her first thing on Monday morning. He couldn't force her to go out with him on a private basis. She didn't consider at the time that she might be outmaneuvered, and by her own emotions at that!
    Buoyed by her resolution, she ate a hearty breakfast, pushed the phone button down for a moment to reestablish a connection, and dialed her godfather's number. When he answered she greeted him cheerfully. "Good morning to you, Charles. How'd you like to invite me to spend the weekend with you and Mary?"
    "I'll tell Mary to put clean linens on your bed," was the satisfyingly prompt response. "Come when you can and stay as long as you can," he added.
    "You're a love. I'll be there in time for lunch," she promised. After she had broken the connection, she left the phone off the hook while she cleared away the breakfast dishes, packed her overnight bag, and