“Beside him a tiny elderly woman was leaning on a cane, studying him with curiosity. Since good manners seemed to require that he speak to her, Jon cast about for some sort of polite conversation pertinent to the occasion. “I hate funerals, don’t you?” He said.“I rather like them,” she said smugly. “At my age, I regard each funeral I attend as a personal triumph, because I was not the guest of honor.”

“Let's get it over with, so I can stop wondering. How many have there been?"Lauren stared at him."How many what?""Lovers," he clarified bitterly.She could hardly believe her ears. After treating her as if her standards of morality were childish, after acting as if promiscuity was a virtue, after telling her how man preferred experienced women, he was jealous. Because now he cared.Lauren didn't know whether to hit him, burst out laughing or hug him. Instead she decided to exact just a tiny bit of revenge for all the misery and uncertainty he had put her through. Turning,she walked over to the bar and reached for a bottle of white wine. "Why should the number make any difference?" she asked innocently. "You told me in Harbor Springs that men don't prize virginity anymore, that they don't expect or want a woman to be inexperienced.Right?""Right," he said grimly, glowering at the ice cubes in his glass."You also said," she continued, biting back a smile, "that women have the same physical desires men have,and that we have the right to satisfy them with whomever we wish.You were very emphatic about that-""Lauren," he warned in a low voice, "I asked you a simple question. I don't care what the answer is, I just want an answer so I can stop wondering. Tell me how many there were. Tell me if you liked the, if you didn't give a damn abou them,or if you did it to get even with me.Just tell me.I won't hold it against you."Like hell you wouldn't! Lauren thought happily as she struggled to uncork the bottle of wine. "Of course you won't hold it against me," she said lightly. "You specifically said-""I know what I said," he snapped tersely. "Now,how many?"She flicked a glance in his direction, implying that she was bewildered by his tone. "Only one."Angry regret flared in his eyes,and his body tensed as if he had just felt a physical blow. "Did you...care about him?""I thought I loved him at the time," Lauren said brightly, twisting the corkscrew deeper into the cork."All right.Let's forget him," Nick said curtly. He finally noticed her efforts with the wine bottle and walked over to help her."Are you going to be able to forget him?" Lauren asked, admiring the ease with which he managed the stubborn cork."I will...after a while.""What do you mean,after a while? You said there was nothing promiscuous about a woman satisfying her biological-""I know what I said,dammit!""Then why do you look so angry? You didn't lie to me,did you?""I didn't lie," he said, slamming the bottle onto the bar and reaching for a glass from the cabinet. "I believed it at the time.""Why?" she goaded."Because it was convenient to believe it," he bit out. "I was not in love with you then."Lauren loved him more at that moment than ever. "Would you like me to tell you about him?""No," he said coldly.Her eyes twinkled, but she backed a cautious step out of his reach. "You would have approved of him. He was tall, dark, and handsome, like you. Very elegant,sophisticated and experienced. He wore down my resistence in two days,and-""Dammit, stop it!" Nick grated in genuine fury."His name is John."Nick braced both hands on the liguor cabinet,his back to her. "I do not want to hear this!""John Nicholas Sinclair," Lauren clarified.”

“What were you thinking about justnow while you were looking out the window?" To his surprise, the question flustered her. "I—wasn't thinking.""Then what were you doing?" he asked, his curiosity aroused.A rueful smile touched her inviting lips, and she shot him a sideways look before turning back to thewindow. "I was… talking to God," she admitted. "'Tis a habit I have."Startled and slightly amused, Royce said, "Really? What did God have to say?""I think," she softly replied, "He said, 'You're welcome.' ""For what?" Royce teased.Lifting her eyes to his, Jenny solemnly replied, "For you.”

“He remembered the sheer perfection of her creamy breasts; the incredible silkiness of her skin; the exquisite taste of her lips; the way she had kissed him and held him to her..."Nick," the chairman said sharply, "I assume you are in favor of this proposal?"Nick dragged his gaze from the windows. He had no idea what proposal was being discussed. "I'd like to hear more about it before I decide," he prevaricated.Seven surprised faces turned toward him. "It's your proposal,Nick," the chairman scowled. "You wrote it.""Then naturally I'm in favor of it," he informed them coolly.”

“In the first place, you aren't qualified or experienced enough to work at this level.In the second place, I don't want you here."His contempt brought Lauren's simmering fury to a rolling boil, and she couldn't stop herself from goading him."Perfect!" she said brightly, backing away a step. "Now would you just be kind enough to call Mr. Weatherby and tell him that? I've already given him my reasons for not wanting to work for you, but he insisted that I come up here."Nick jabbed at the intercom. "Get me Weatherby," he snapped, then his gaze sliced back to Lauren. "Just what 'reasons' did you give him?""I told him," Lauren lied wrathfully, "that you are an arrogant conceited lecher, and that I'd rather be dead than work for you.""You told Weatherby that?" he asked in a low, threatening voice.Lauren kept her smile fixed on her face. "Yep.""What did Weatherby say?"Unable to endure the icy blast of his gaze, Lauren pretended to study her manicure. "Oh,he said that a lot of women you've slept with probably feel that way about you,but that I should put company loyalty above my understandable revulsion for you.""Lauren," Nick said silkily, "you're fired.”

“Ricco will take care of you," he said. "Ricco thinks you are beautiful-he blushes when your name is mentioned."Ricco took their order and blushed when he put a glass of wine in front of Lauren. Mary's eyes twinkled, but when he left she looked directly at Lauren and said without preamble, "Would you like to talk about Nick?"Lauren choked on her wine. "Please,let's not ruin a lovely lunch. I already know more than enough about him.""What,for example?" Mary persisted gently."I know that he's an egotistical, arrogant, bad-tempered, dictatorial tyrant!""And you love him." It wasn't a question, it was a statement."Yes," Lauren said angrily.Mary was struggling obviously to hide her amusement at Lauren's tone. "I was certain that you did. I also suspect that he loves you.”

“He waited until she was standing directly across his desk from him before he said quietly, "You've chosen a poor time to apologize,Lauren. I have to leave for a luncheon appointment in five minutes."Lauren almost choked on his outrageous presumption that she owed him an apology,but she merely favored him with an amused smile. "I hate to bruise your ego, but I didn't come up here to apologize.”