Free Nice Girls Finish Last by Natalie Anderson Page B

that would see all his problemssolved—an inspirational activity for the boys and Lena back in bed with him ASAP.
    She might have cheated him out of the chase before, but it was all on now.
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    For the first time ever Lena was late to work—only by five minutes—but given she was usually there at least an hour early it was notable. This morning she’d stood so long in the shower it wasn’t just her fingers and toes that had turned into prunes, but her face, as well. Or maybe the sour expression was because she was in an extremely bad mood—with herself.
    She shouldn’t have done it. Not that it was sleeping with him that she regretted, but her wistful aftermath. She wished she could have gone to breakfast with him at a café, wished she could have showered with him, wished she could have played more with him. Wished he’d want more from her. She wished she were a different person.
    Yeah, the more she truly wished for, was from herself.
    But while she was trying, some things weren’t going to change, so there was no point in wishing. Instead she cleared her inbox, determined to finish even one job so she’d feel as if she’d accomplished something and was in control of her morning—and of herself. But it was an effort to keep her thoughts on task and she fiercely fought to focus. To help, she put on some music—letting the rhythmic beat be her lead. The one song on repeat became like white noise in the background, a cue for her brain to concentrate.
    She finally got into the rhythm of it, her fingers typing and her head nodding in time, her emotions at ease, letting her brain work through each message. She paused, fingers above the keyboard as she framed the wording of her current email, and glanced away from the screen.
    She jerked, doing a double take at the tall figure in her doorway.
    Her heart leapt; she tried to suppress her gasp but all the effort did was make her breathless. ‘What are you doing here?’
    She had no idea how long he’d been standing there. She had no idea why he was standing there. But her whole body reacted, her numbed nerves screamed back to life—an instant inferno of surprise, embarrassment and that uncontrollable desire.
    â€˜Stalking you.’ His smile was too easy.
    Her heart galloped like trapped wild horses who’d just found a gap in the fence. Was he here to ask her out? She was so surprised and thrilled and flustered. ‘I—I thought we agreed—’
    â€˜Don’t worry, I was kidding,’ he interrupted, walking across to her desk and taking the seat opposite in far too relaxed a fashion. ‘There was a misunderstanding yesterday. I wasn’t here to see Dion, I came to see you.’
    â€˜Me?’ Suspicion sharply squeezed her heart. ‘Why?’
    â€˜We probably should have discussed this sooner, but I got…distracted.’
    What should they have discussed? She swallowed, suddenly nervous. She refused to think about how he’d got distracted. She refused to think about how dazzling he looked in the tailored suit. How his slightly damp hair was rumpled, reflecting that hint of wicked playfulness she knew was a mere scratch below his surface. She refused to think about how much she wanted to touch him. Now.
    He sat back in the chair, his gaze dropping to her scrupulously tidy desk. ‘I’m involved with an organisation that helps at-risk youth. Teen boys mainly, who have had a couple of brushes with the law, who have high truancylevels. Kids who need some guidance and inspiration to stick to a straighter path.’
    Lena’s blood chilled as her heart shrank. She waited, knowing he was about to ask her for something and that it wasn’t going to be personal. The man had an agenda. He’d had one the whole time.
    His lashes lifted and his blue eyes were cool, his voice measured. He was clearly having no trouble focusing—a little fact that stung her