Free Deceptive Desires by Lilly LaRue Page A

face. On the whole, one might describe her as compelling rather than classically beautiful.
     
    She should have been confident in her presentation. After all, she’d interviewed with several intermediaries in the past two months and presented herself well. However, she really wanted to move away from her present company and become part of Hyperion, and only the CEO could make that happen. That knowledge made her extremely nervous and high-strung.
     
    Struggling to maintain a steady, well-modulated voice, Bari answered the questions put to her by Mr. Fielding. Many were similar or identical to the questions posed by other interviewers at Hyperion during the last two months. She’d made each cut until she was finally seated before the president of the company.
     
    Finally, Cooper closed the folder and gave her an encouraging smile. “As I’m sure Dick told you during the last interview, this was just a formality. I wanted to get an impression of you and hear you answer some questions. I’d like to formally offer you the position of director.”
     
    Glowing with pleasure, Bari strove for a calm voice. “Thank you, Mr. Fielding. I would be honored to accept the position.”
     
    “ Welcome aboard,” he said, his voice flowing smoothly, as he held out his hand. Bari shook it, and found herself wondering what that hand would feel like running up and down her lithe body. Mentally shaking her head, she returned her attention to her new boss. He gave her the details that hadn’t been relayed from other interviewers, and Bari agreed to start in two weeks time.
     
    ♥♥♥
     
     
     
    Bari caught the flight back to Houston that afternoon, finding the afternoon hot and humid, despite the lateness of the season. She took the time to hand deliver her resignation, before returning home to her apartment. Once inside, she did a dance of joy around the living room, ecstatic that she’d been given the highly coveted position of director of R & D with Hyperion. At her age, twenty-six, it was quite a coup to beat out so many other qualified candidates.
     
    She didn’t even mind the move to Richmond, Nevada. In fact, it was a plus to Bari. She’d hated Houston for all of the nine years she’d lived there and was eager to escape. The fact that she would be getting away from Greg lightened her spirits too.
     
    The only thing she would truly miss about Houston was her apartment. She had the corner apartment of a six-floor building. She’d carefully decorated the rooms with her personal tastes in mind. Big, comfy furniture, bright throw pillows, and afghans on the couch. The walls and carpet were bland, but she’d enlivened things as best she could. Each room had a decorative border, and each border was different. The living room was bordered with autumn leaves, the kind that fell from Vermont trees in late fall, not dried out Texas foliage. She also had butterflies, cows, puppies, and flowers. The borders would be hopelessly ruined when she removed them.
     
    If she walked out onto her balcony, Bari could see the park. One of the true spots of green in the suburban maze where she lived. The sidewalk literally stopped at the lawn of the small park. Azaleas bloomed in glorious color, the perfect backdrop for the numerous mothers and young children to be found at the park throughout the day. Bari had often imagined taking her own children there to play some day. Instead, they would be born and raised in Nevada.
     
    With more hope than reason, Bari had already begun the preparations for her move to Nevada over a month ago, so there was little left for her to do. Movers would be arriving in the next two days, and Bari was only packing the delicate items. Before flying back from Reno, she’d paid a deposit on the apartment being held for her, so everything was set.
     
    Groaning, Bari decided to break the news to her mother and step-father right away, to get it over with. She knew Efrem would disapprove and try to talk her out of